Cairo Chronicle, Volume 2, Issue 7, April 15, 2001

The days and weeks grow ever shorter until our time in Cairo ends. We officially have eight weeks of school left. And, since we know that Japan (!) is the next stop on the Thomas tour of the world, they can't go too quickly! Todd will miss his kids, as he has grown quite fond of his class this year. Barbara has so much to do - still two more programs! - that she thinks the time will fly by (or she hopes).  We plan to continue our email adventure log under the caption "Stories from Sendai." If you think you can come up with a catchier slogan for us, we'd like to hear from you. 

Late in March, Barbara's sister Julie and her husband, Jason, came for a visit.  They took a weekend stopover in Rome before they came to see us.  Unfortunately, we didn't have school off, so we were only able to visit with them in the evenings and on the weekend. Todd took the day off from school to pick them up from the airport, but that was about the extent of it. 

They were pretty busy the first day, seeing the Pyramids at Saqqara and Giza.  They had a lot of the usual headaches at Saqqara, with tour guides and hawkers that were less than honest. Giza was much more pleasant for them.  The next few days were spent sleeping late into the morning, then traveling by subway to the Egyptian Museum and Coptic Cairo in the afternoon.  Our plan for the weekend was to go to Taba on the Red Sea.  This is a tiny town walking distance from the eastern Israeli border.  We would  rent a car, and drive across Sinai.  About a five-hour trip.  Everything was set to go.  We came home on Thursday, ready to pick up the rental car, when Julie pulled Barbara aside.  She explained that Jason was sick, and could we just cancel the trip?  The last thing they wanted to do was travel 10 hours total in one weekend.  So Barbara ran to the rental agency, apologized profusely, managed to get the deposit back, called the hotel to cancel the rooms, and then commiserated with them both.  So we have no stories of driving in Egypt for you this month.  What did we do instead? Just what any other bored expat might when they can't go to the Red Sea.....Bowling!  There is a really nice complex in the Bandar Mall in Maadi that we had never tried.  The four of us played a few games and had a nice relaxing time.  Barbara beat Todd; Jason beat Julie!

On Saturday, Barbara, Julie and Jason went to see the Citadel.  Todd had been there on a field trip, so he declined going.  As we've explained, the Citadel is an ancient fort in which the original Mohamed Ali built a beautiful domed mosque.  There are also several museums.  After seeing the mosque, we followed the signs to the Military Museum.  Near the entrance a food stand caught Jason's eye.  Ice cream!  Julie tried not to groan.  You see, Jason had purchased ice cream all through Rome -- and Cairo.  We sat down at a table, chatted and ate.  But Jason, happily munching on his delicious treat, must have gained that extra gram, and his flimsy plastic chair caved beneath him, sending him almost tumbling!  Having savored Citadel ice cream, we went through the museum.  The Military Museum is a nice history lesson, beginning with the Muslim conquest of Egypt, to the present day.  Much of it was roped off, but there was so much to see.  The guards really liked Julie - they teased her and flirted with her, both at the entrance, where she checked in her camera, and at the exit when she tried to get it back. 

During their time here we ate a lot of Asian food, a little American and Egyptian, and saw the sights of Maadi.  Before they left, we finished two little errands:  Jason finally got a photo of a donkey cart in the street (they REALLY are not that easy to catch on film!), and we found him a tape of Arab pop music.  He amused many people at the Citadel -- and Road 9 in Maadi -- by dancing to it.  

One of the joys (or headaches) of Cairo living is the traffic. As you may remember, there aren't any real traffic laws to speak of; mandatory insurance is unheard of.  Accidents occur frequently, with drivers attempting to solve their own problems in their own ways. Most drivers, in accident situations, jump out of their car in the middle of the road, yell at each other, make obscene gestures and stop traffic -- all to vent their frustrations. Thus, the streets here are a chaotic free-for-all, in which survival depends on how much inner fortitude you can muster. It's a different story every day, and traveling in a school bus like we do has its own sense of adventure. One thing the bus drivers in Cairo tend to do is race each other on the road. While not the safest of exploits, it certainly has its entertainment value. While some drivers take these road races for their entertainment value, others take it very seriously. Such was the case with us one day this past month on the way to school. Our driver, who is normally a very careful and courteous driver, was being sandwiched by a small automobile attempting to pass on the right, and a large workers bus attempting to pass on the left. The road on which we were driving was -- you guessed it -- a two lane road. The car, which had been edged by the traffic onto what might be deemed the shoulder (there is no such thing here), was attempting to squeeze itself back onto the main road. At the same time, our bus -- as driving courtesy here demands -- was trying to give it room. This did not make the driver of the bus to our left very happy. This bus, which could have slowed and let our driver past -- again, the proper response as driving in Cairo demands -- refused to yield and sped up to keep up with our bus. The next moment, a loud crash is heard in our bus. The left-side bus' outside passenger-side mirror had crunched into a back window of our bus. One of our teachers happened to be resting his head against this window, and was knocked away by the impact. Safety glass shattered and littered his lap and shirt, along with the seat he had previously been sitting in. He was stunned, but uninjured. Our bus driver then tried to speed up to get past the other bus, but not before our driver had considered an eye-for-an-eye retaliation against the other driver for having ruined his precious bus. It took us teachers seconds to figure out what our driver had in mind, then (all in screaming chorus) letting him know that our safety was utmost and to just get us to school quickly. The driver -- being yelled at -- was forced to take our advice. He slowed down and let the other bus pass by us. The car our driver had allowed past had long since gone its merry way. We arrived at school, hearts racing but unhurt. 

On April 10th, we had another program for Kindergarten to second grade, with the theme "Silly Spring."  Since the auditorium is still not finished, we had to use the Green Area again.  We packed a crowd of students and parents into that small space.  Another program is set for May 2nd and 3rd. Barbara and her students have resigned themselves to the same venue.  Will the auditorium be finished by the end of the year?  Only time will tell, and Egyptian time at that....

Well, happy Easter to all of you.  We've just stuffed ourselves silly at our friend Myra's apartment, and brought home tons of turkey to boot.  Enjoy your holiday if you have one. We have the week off, and plan to rest, and rest some more!

Todd and Barbara Thomas

Just for fun: Todd and Nigel spending quality time bird watching.

On top of the Citadel, looking out over one of the city's many Mosques.

Jason has one too many on his "Ice Cream Tour of the Mediterranean." 

Well, some people just can't stop dancing to Arab pop music...

A friendly donkey cart driver on the streets of Maadi.

Second-grade Omar, playing the metallophone at the concert.

Does this look familiar to some of you?  (No, I'm not asking for a Heil, Mrs. Thomas!)