We just returned from a 3 day holiday, our final one of the school year. We decided to go to Porto Marina, a resort/spa located approximately 100 km from Alexandria on the North Coast. This is an area that is experiencing a boom in growth as companies are trying to capture the Mediterranean tourist trade. The resort has been in operation less than two years. It consists of a large hotel, numerous upscale shops and several restaurants all located on the sea. This resort seems to cater to a little more of a traditional crowd as opposed to similar resorts in Sharm and Hurghada. Many of the guests this weekend were Egyptian, probably from the Cairo area. A few of our students’ families own villas in this area and will vacation here in the summer time.
The hotel is built around a man-made lagoon. The view from our window was of this lagoon. Shortly after we arrived, we took a gondola ride in the lagoon.
The service in the resort was very good; several times hotel and restaurant management came over to us and wanted to know how the service was. Our plan was “all-inclusive” so it included all of the meals, drinks and snacks in the afternoon, a lagoon ride, a foot massage, and full service in the heated pool, fitness and spa area. Cost was approximately $120 per day (regularly it is $275 per day). All of the women who used the pool were dressed in the traditional full bathing suit so that only their faces, hands and feet were not covered. This is the first resort we have been to that has allowed women to use the pool with the traditional suit on.
Security was closely monitored on our drive back to Alexandria. At one of the checkpoints, we were asked to pull over and our passports were checked. Our driver was asked to get out of the car and go with the security for further questioning. He didn’t seem very happy when he returned. When we asked what the problem was but he didn’t want to talk about it.
On Friday, our seniors left for Budapest for their senior trip. Last year I accompanied our seniors to Prague and enjoyed the trip. This year’s class is a little smaller and really are a nice group of students. Two of the girls did not go on the trip. They are both scarved and come from very traditional families. Their parents did not want them to go out of the country unless accompanied by a family member so they stayed home. Both sponsors were not able to attend. Earlier in the week one of the sponsors who plans to start on her doctorate, was informed that the exam for entrance into the program was changed to Saturday, so she had to cancel and find a replacement. Then Friday, at the airport, the other sponsor was not allowed to leave the country due to an issue with his passport. So another staff member (actually the husband of the person who was replacing the first sponsor) was able to go.
This is a busy time for our seniors as many are receiving word on their acceptance into colleges. Some will attend college in the states while many will attend the American University of Cairo. In the states, this is usually an anxious time for seniors as they learn whether or not they will receive scholarships. For our students, this is not an issue s their families can easily afford to send them to any college they choose to go to. Hence, a scholarship is more of an honor than a financial reward.
About 10 days ago, one of our parents, who operated a day care center, came to the elementary (or Lower School as it is now called) to speak to the students in grades 2 through 6. Students in those grades have done community service fund raising for this day care center in the past and will do so again in the next few weeks. The day care center is very basic, even by local standards. It is held in half of a garage; a few years ago our students helped to construct a wall to divide the day care center from the other side of the garage where a van is kept. It has a bathroom and a gas stove, but neither is in working order. The money that our students raise (or donate) will go towards paying the salaries of the day care teachers (hopefully so they can be paid the going rate of 150 LE – about $30.00 – a month) and for snacks and milk. Snacks usually consist of 3 or 4 fruit loops and hopefully they will raise enough so the children can have 2 glasses of milk a week. Hand in hand with this project is a plan to raise funds for a free clinic for the children so they can be treated by a physician. The money will go for medical supplies as the doctor and nurses donate their time for the children. The parents of these children are usually unemployed and cannot read or write. The goal of the day care is to teach the children enough so they will be able to attend a government school when they are of age to begin school. Our students are also asked to bring shampoo as this is often given to the families for holidays, as families cannot afford to purchase shampoo.
We have five weeks left of school – I’m sure these weeks will go by very fast as there always seems to be many things to do. The Lower School has another week of MAP testing, a sleepover, science fair, field trips while the Upper School has two weeks of MAP testing, Prom, Honor Society, and of course semester exams . It is no doubt the same in the states, but is seems here that due to our size, everyone is involved with nearly every activity.
