Cairo Lite

I realize that when I restarted this blog, I mentioned something about posting more frequently. Hah! I think I need to resign myself to being a more sporadic blogger. The problem is that when enough time passes without writing, I get too overwhelmed trying to figure out what exactly to write about or focus on. At the same time, life is most mundane in Small Childrenville, so there often isn’t much to write about that would be interesting to anyone other than me, and perhaps Dan. Who really cares what pureed food Theo is now eating or who Emma is playing with at preschool? (The answer to those questions, lest you be left hanging, is mango and Ameera.)

A couple of weeks ago, Dan and I had climbed into bed with our books to wind down at the end of the day. As usual, Dan tried to read while I interrupted every ten seconds with some conversational tidbit—an unfortunate side effect of not having enough adults to talk to during the day. That particular conversation reflected on the relative ease of our current life circumstances, with many of Cairo’s difficulties blunted or cushioned by the perks of working for the US government. As we talked, Dan mused “Really, we’re living Cairo Lite.”

Indeed, we are living Cairo Lite. I first visited Cairo about ten years ago when my sister and her husband were doing their seminary field work at a church in Shubra, one of Cairo’s poorest and most populous neighborhoods. All of my cross-cultural confidence evaporated instantly the second I emerged from the airport and was faced with the hyperbolic nature of the city, the craziness of public transportation and the sheer amount of noise. I was literally numb for the entire ten days I was there. Subsequent visits over the years have chipped away at my culture shock, but being here with the government is a completely different experience. Tucked away in Maadi, living in an apartment complex with reliable maintenance, a back-up generator, filtered water, strong AC, and a play area in the courtyard has meant that life is quite manageable. Yes, the dust and noise and pollution are right there at our doorstep and on our windowsills, but our home is a calm and cool oasis and the rhythms of our life are basically pleasant and regular. So here are some highlights (and lowlights) from our Cairo Lite Life.

In early September, Emma got to accompany her cousins to the Aqua Park (or Aqua Bark, as it is pronounced here) for her first water slides experience. Given that she has managed to work it into conversation EVERY SINGLE DAY since then makes me think it was a fun and memorable experience. Almost every imaginary role play moment since that Saturday weeks ago has involved some mention of the Aqua Bark. We have rigged up many an Aqua Bark slide with mattresses and cushions. In addition to the Bark, we’ve also benefitted from several more trips out to the Kennedy beach house. We always manage to make the trek on the hottest days of the summer, when the sand is literally burning the soles of our feet, but last week, we got to enjoy somewhat more temperate weather out there. We look forward to more days like that as the temperatures start to ease off ever so slightly. We’re still hitting the high 90s, but some days are pleasantly 80s-ish.

The latter half of September saw us descend into a bit of an illness tunnel, which contributed to some sleepless nights and general malaise. Poor Emma had it the worst with a sore throat one week, followed by fever and an ear infection and roseola the next week, followed by throwing up the third week. Since Dan and I have been accustomed to never being woken up at night by her, it was a bit of an adjustment to deal with two children during the wee hours of the morning. I managed to pick up a stomach bug myself along the way, and hit the floor in a faint one early morning on the way back from the bathroom. For whatever reason, Dan found this highly amusing. I guess part of what keeps our marriage strong is not taking each other too seriously.

An October highlight was our visit to Jordan to see the grandparents and breathe some clean air. In just a few short hours, we were transported into what felt like a totally different world with just a mere 2 million occupants, as opposed to the usual 20 million to which we have become accustomed. The weather was cool, the air was clear and the food was wonderful. Emma enjoyed painting with Tayta while Theo just rolled around and continued practicing his perpetually surprised expression. We made a few quick forays to some fun spots, like the Citadel and our favorite café, Wild Jordan. We also got to connect with friends who had been crucial to my sanity during the Awful Yemen Year. My parents gave us the wonderful gift of some nights of babysitting so that Dan and I were able to get out and be on our own for a few hours. All in all, the four days we were there felt tremendously refreshing, aside from an underlying crankiness from our three-year-old, who went on a bit of a food and sleep strike.


The highest drama of my days comes from my trips to get Emma from preschool. The morning run is pretty low-key, as most kids are in school by then and people have generally made it to work. The afternoon run is a different story. The world around me basically goes mad between 2 and 3pm, with millions of children being picked up from school on every possible street corner. Just getting down our street can take forever as I wade through a sea of kids and jostle around several buses and twenty cars all stacked at the intersection. The preschool’s side of town is even worse, with narrower streets, more kids and angrier drivers.

A few weeks ago, as I attempted to slalom around several cars and a parked truck, I heard the horrible sound of a scraping along the side of our car, followed by the even worse sound of a deep gouging up behind the passenger side as the taxi cab whose bumper I was crunching popped its trunk lid. I couldn’t bear to see the damage I had caused to our car or the other car so I just kept driving until I arrived at my destination. It was as bad as it sounded and par for the course here in Cairo. At least now our shiny, sleek car isn’t so shiny and sleek any more. I’ve been observing other cars around town and have noticed identical dents and scrapes in similar spots, so am comforted that I am not the only uncoordinated idiot on the roads.

A few days after that, I emerged from the preschool and stepped right into an enormous street brawl among about thirty young guys who had emerged from their schools, apparently ready to rumble. They were going at each with boards and rocks, and unfortunately, the only way out for me was through. So through it I went, leaning on my horn, flashing my lights, and hoping I wouldn’t be adding more gouges from flying debris to my already scarred car.

Two days ago, the afternoon pickup involved skirting around a face-off between a bunch of school boys and the pack of wild dogs that roams around that part of town. That had me pretty nervous, as I am not current on my rabies shots and don’t particularly have it in me to fight off crazy dogs. The boys were trying to provoke the dogs by chasing them and throwing rocks at them, then running away with the dogs snarling in hot pursuit. I ran inside, hoping that by the time I got back out, they would be done. No such luck. And of course, as I tried to hustle Emma into the car with Theo in my arms, she became completely obstinate, wondering why I was forcing her into the car and wanting to see the dogs. Um, no. At least I can say that her preschool helps me to keep it real.


Aside from those blood-pressure raising moments, life is good. The siblings are enjoying each other, particularly as Theo gets more mobile and more interactive. He is crawling now, after a fashion, with a motion that can only be described as a cross between a breakdance ‘worm’ move and the butterfly stroke. No matter, he is able to make a beeline for any dangling wire or cord within seconds of being put down. I am having to up the ante on my vigilance, so I find myself even more tired now at the end of each day. I am grateful for gradual movement towards consolidating routines together, such as Theo eating some ‘solid’ food at the family’s mealtimes, and now taking baths with Emma given that he can sit up in the tub. This means slightly longer gaps between the many competing family needs so that my time is not quite as fractured in meeting the various demands.

















We are looking forward to heading to Sweden next month for a brief visit to Dan’s brother and his family. We can’t wait to see green grass and open spaces, though the viewing hours of such marvels will need to be between 9am and 3pm, given the shorter days. This may be the only time that we wear any of our fall/winter clothes all year.