Linda is alive and well in Egypt!

Wow, Helen... I've missed you. Your descriptions could be of Egypt except for the rains... we don't get ANY here. Not one drop.

We haven't had e-mail since mid-July, so today I'm trying to catch up on 2 months of postings. Whoa. The traffic here has taken quite a while to get used to... ohhhhh my. The roads that are paved are nice and smooth, and have these pretty decoratave lines painted on them my some well meaning person. Someone might believe that they were meant to be lanes for the cars to drive in, but, alas, they serve no purpose to the drivers who use the road as a slalom course. There are parts of the Corniche along the sea shore in Alexandria that have "7 lanes" in each direction -- 14 lanes wide road, we're talking major thoroghfare -- and as it hugs the curves of the sea shore, the cars drive straight, mostly straddling those dotted lines, instead of staying between them as I would have supposed. I can not capture the craziness in one paragraph -- it's taken 2 months to make my nerves settle down enough to enjoy going for a car ride. But there is SO MUCH TO LOOK AT that I feel interrupted when someone wants to talk to me while we're passing by buildings that may or may not be inhabited; donkey carts or horse carts coming straight at us (on coming traffic in our lane - no big deal here) stray cats and dogs who seem to understand that if the car "beeps" at it that it should move out of the way... there is so much to look at. And sometimes it looks back at you -- our driver, Magdy, speaks some English, and we were returning from Carrefour (the western-style grocery about 40 minutes from our flat in Alex.) when I realize there are big eyes looking right at me from the back of a pickup truck in front of us. "It is the wife of the Buffalo" says Magdy. Translation: female buffalo, or cows. Some (the lighter skinned pink ones) will be milked, and some (the darker gray ones) will become meat. Ohh... speaking of meat. They just hang it out for all to see. A chunk hanging on a hook as we drive by -- with flies and all. That's why we shop at Carrefour... it comes in a styrofoam dish with saran-wrap on top. Maybe as we get more used to the area and our tummies get stronger and more used to the "wee critters" in the food and water here, we may venture out in our shopping worlds and buy more local fare.

Construction here seems to be all concrete and brick, very little wood. The nicer "slums" have stucco on the outside of the brick and might have wooden shutters on the window openings (no glass), but some buildings are impossible to tell if they're abandoned or occupied. Very little greenery here, unless someone waters it. We got a flat in Al Maamoura which is a gated community. Now don't go thinking "wow! gated community!!!! Great! Big lawns, big villas, expensive ooooohh aaaahhhh's"... that's not it. It's more like a neighborhood of 14 story apartment buildings, very plain outsides, but they have stucco on them (not exposed brick as with the slums) and it's probably an acre in size. The cars who enter have to pay 40 Egyptian Pounds so that deters the ones who don't really need to go inside. Inside Maamoura we have a tiny grocery and a few restaurants, all walking distance. And there are several Hotels along the sea shore. We bought membership to Paradise Inn Hotel so we can use their pool and beach. I also go walking most mornings on a great paved walking path that is a stone's throw from the sea. I can watch the waves on the beach as I get my 6 laps in. Very beautiful -- and I feel safe there. No homeless wanting money or begging for anything... I just get to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine and beauty. The path is red with yellow waves, maybe you can find it on Google Earth? Our flat is near the exit to Al Maamoura, right above a gas station (they're NOISY) and we have train tracks that pass just outside the entrance gate. The train goes about every 40 minutes or so. Also very NOISY, but we're getting used to city sounds. There is a really nice fountain at the entrance area, so if you do find it on Google Earth, our building is closest to the circular fountatin by the gas station, and near the entrance "toll booths".

We've been gettting Cartoons here, too... but most of them have been dubbed into Arabic. Power Puff Girls in Arabic. Kaisa doesn't seem to mind, though. She likes the pictures. Last week we signed up for ShowTime at our flat, so we have english Cartoon Network and Boomerang and movies, etc. now. Drew is happy again. Instead of having only about 8 channels to pick from, we have lots of familiar ones to watch again.

We got a maid to come help us once a week - her name is Subrin - and she is a hard worker. I pay her 50 Egyptian pounds, and that's very good pay for her (about 10 dollars for us) She takes all the furniture and rugs out to the balcony and mops the floors and then puts it all back like it was. Wow. I would have just vacuumed the area rugs, swept the visible part of the tile floors and called it good. I haven't looked for any help with cooking because of all my food restrictions. I have to know what goes into the prep, and if I'm going to "hover" in the kitchen, I may as well do it myself anyway.

We're starting to settle in now, after 2 months, and I hope you are too. I'm planning to check your blog next, but this is my first access to mail since mid July and I'm starting chronologically.
Love,
Wendy