1 week down.......many to go:)

Here is a list of things we have seen/done/experienced in our first week in Egypt. We haven't been to pyramids and tomorrow we are walking to the shores of the Nile. This list is just the day-to-day living things.

Our hotel room is on 7th floor with excellent view of Maadi and Cairo in the distance.

There is a washer, but no dryer....just a drying rack where I hang all the clothes to dry. Kids tell me their underwear is "scratchy".

Kids have to wear PE uniforms. They like them and each grade has the same color shirt.

The doors and windows have no sealing around them, so each morning you awake to a fine coat of dust on everything inside your house.

There are men you pay monthly who wash your car, sweep the walks and water the plants in the buildings you live in. They are called boabs.

Air pollution is bad here.....it leaves a bad taste in your mouth in the morning, but blows off by early afternoon.

It is windy here a lot, especially during this time of year I am told. Sand storms blow in off the Sahara and fill the air with sand.

It rained for only 45 seconds the other day and all the kids at the school ran out of their classrooms onto the field to dance in the rain:) That was fun to watch!

The McDonalds Arabia has WAY healthier and tastier food then American McDonalds. I heard tonight that the McDonalds in the Alps have pastries and gourmet drinks:)

Everything you need/want can be delivered to your door, 24hours a day here. Fast food, pharmacy stuff (without prescriptions necessary), cases of water....pretty much whatever.

We have seen men pushing cart fulls of bananas down the road in carts, selling them. We have seen a fresh fish stand, equipped with a small boy swishing a leather "wand" to keep the flies off. We have seen a HUGE cart of garbage being pulled by an old man on a bike. There are no garbage trucks, just these guys who sort through the trash, recycle for you (for money from the government) and then haul the trash away somewhere.

Josh is learning Arabic in school and they start either Arabic, French or Spanish in the third grade and continue through high school. Rebekah will take Arabic next quarter as well.

Elisabeth is doing a MLKjr. play in her class.

Emma tied her own shoes for the first time this week....she was so proud of herself:)

Sarah and I are spending A LOT of time together and I am trying to enjoy that. We have walked many different places together and are learning a lot together. The local people are very open and kind to her. They really love children.

Patience and humor seem very important values to possess here.

Kids and I all burst out laughing when walking home from school because a city bus (smaller than ones we are used to) was absolutely BURSTING with people. It was about ready to tip over when they went around the corner. We all just randomly started laughing at the sight of it.

There are TONS of stray cats and dogs....mostly cats....everywhere.

The small shops, not the bigger stores, jack the price up for us "rich" Americans, but give the Egyptian in line behind you a much lower price:)

Most things are pretty cheap, but NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, is free. Even the toilet paper in a public place costs. Even asking for directions in the street prompts someone asking you for "basheesh" which is a tip.

I wish I knew Arabic better. Brent and I are still learning by cd, but we will probably take some classes or hire a tutor to come in the evenings a couple nights a week.

Cars here honk as a form of communication, instead of using blinkers for example.

The call for prayer for the Islamic people echos from loud speakers 5 times a day. The schedule varies, but some days it starts at 4:30 am!!

The steering wheels are on the same side as in America in the cars, but they drive on all sides of the street, even against oncoming traffic.

Animals we have seen so far: birds, stray dogs and cats, pet dogs and cats, pigeons, goats, a donkey pulling a cart, and a wild ferret-looking thing. No rodents---probably because of all the stray cats!

A lot of the bathrooms have toilet and what the kids call a "bum cleaner". I haven't tried using it yet. I can't figure it out!

Builders mix their own concrete, so their are piles of sand and buckets of water and they make a pile, add some "glue" and mix in water and then mix it. Walls are all concrete and floors are either wood or marble.

Some roofs are covered in garden terraces, other are used for tossing junk, and other are used for construction sites.

We aren't drinking the tap water, though most people say it is safe. We are brushing our teeth and drinking with bottled water (luckily very cheap) and using tap water for bathing, washing dishes and laundry. Kids have gotten very used to that already. And no one has gotten sick yet (knock on wood).

You could eat a large, traditional Egyptian breakfast (pita bread with hummus like spread and tomatoe) for about 1 egyptian pound, which is about .22 cents US.

In the local market, a package of Oreos cost $10 US! Glad we have commissary for grocery shopping, though some things are cheaper on local market if you don't mind Egyptian brand name.

I bought a cell phone and turned it on and it was all in Arabic. I had to have hotel desk help me switch it to English because I couldn't read instructions on how to do that myself.

We are having fun, learning a lot and just trying to be open and patient. Things are going good here, but we miss you all very much! The transition to living here has been smoother because the people, from many differnt countries, have been very welcoming to us. I am not used to being so dependent on people (we have no car, no stuff besides our suitcases) and people have been offering to take me to the store or feed us or let kids come over and play with some toys for awhile (I should have packed some toys in the checked luggage on the plane....lesson to all you out there who do this sometime in your life!).
People from the school, the church and the Navy lab have been wonderful, so we feel blessed and watched over by a kind Father in Heaven.

Love to you all and miss you all so much. Keep in touch!