Hello, everyone! It’s been five days since we landed in Cairo, so it’s time for an update.

So far life has consisted of settling in to a life in a suburb of Cairo. There are many, many suburbs, which make Cairo look enormous from above! It is definitely a big city, with many people coming and going.

This is the first time for both of us in Egypt, and in the Middle East in general. So, naturally, there are many things that have surprised us and enlightened us about life here in Egypt.

Our area, in particular, is seeing crazy amount of construction, with buildings and complexes being built all around. It isn't the most beautiful scene, due to the rubble and dust left behind from demolitions but the areas that are done are simply stunning!

I lived in France for some time, and I did notice that many more people smoked, but it was fairly tolerable and there is a growing negative attitude towards smoking there. This is not quite the case here. While I don't see as many people smoking as they walk, like you would down Paris streets, you can go to a mall or restaurant, and be sitting next to three tables with people smoking. Needless to say, this puts a dent in our appetite...

Our first evening featured a trip to Mall of Arabia to do some grocery shopping. We finished at nine o'clock and made our way out to head home. We pass the movie theatre, and within a minute, I see three Egyptian families,with young children of all ages, walk in to the mall and make their way to the theatre. Egyptians have very active night life, and even on school nights, they have their children going out with them to the mall, to see a movie, or even just run around and play at home. This makes teaching morning classes rather challenging.

{4 - Friendly Locals }

There have been many family members and friends who have warned us about trusting people in Egypt, even Egyptians themselves have told us to be cautious. While there are those who will try to pocket an extra 10 or 20 LE before giving you your change, so far we have had nothing but good exchanges with Egyptians. They are much more patient and friendly than I had imagined, and now that I am working at the school, I have a chance to interact with the Egyptian staff on a daily basis!

{ 5 - Tolerable Heat }

When it comes to heat, I have always been a big baby. I do not like getting too hot. Back home, anything above 27 degrees was enough excuse to stay indoors. Since we've been in Egypt, the weather has been low 40s and high 30s. I am very pleased to say that due to the dry weather, the heat is much more tolerable than back home! I now know that 39-42 is quite hot and you will get a sweat after 10 minutes in the sun, but you will make it for quite a while in the shade. When it is 34-38, it is quite perfect outside! By evening time, when the temperature drops to about 22-24, I can even turn the air conditioning off for a few hours!


There are may other things I could put on here, but these are things typical of most third world countries, such as the discrepancy between the rich and poor, the hectic driving, the stray dogs, etc.

So far, we are pretty excited to be here! We are planning to do some more 'tourist-y' things once the school year gets going. We have a bit of a holiday coming up at the end of September, so there is a group of us looking at Luxor and the Valley of the Kings! A visit to old Cairo and the Pyramids is also high priority on our list, so that will be happening over the next several weeks.