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6月11日 Comfort Foods This past month has been absolutely insane. It seems every year we are in Cairo, the months of May and June get more and more manic. Why is that? Is it the same every year, or are we just more connected with people, or more intimately involved with situations requiring our attention??
There is a Greek tragedy going on at the school at this particular time. I will not go into the details, except to say that some of us are hoping to win "Survivor" and not get voted off the island, or out of the car, or whatever. The pressure has been absolutely insane, and I'm not suffering directly from it - there are others who have had to shoulder much bigger burdens than I (Kelvin included.) But I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we will be glad to have this year finished. But for most of our students, it has been a good year. And as always, I find myself already starting to miss my kids, and feeling sad about leaving them.
The one thing that I really looked forward to tonight was stopping at McDonald's on my way home, and ordering a Big Mac Combo, supersized, please. I am so thankful that these small comforts are available, and that we can afford to splurge once in a while. I am thoroughly enjoying my "two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun" this evening! I have a colleague that can say it backwards...apparently at one point (and I am thinking I am far too young to remember this) you could get a Big Mac free if you could say it backwards in under 3 seconds. I'll have to try it when I'm back home..has anyone else tried it?
5月4日 Reckless Raging Fury This week has been a challenging one. We had a friend in difficulty, and were powerless to know how to help. It was pretty scary, and reminded me again of just how much of life we don't have control over. So much that we need to trust to God, and pray that he will work.
Another theme that came out this week was the whole idea that God is not required to make us happy or comfortable. He wants us to stay close to Him, and will do whatever it takes to drive us back to Himself. That is not a new concept, but it hits with new force when facing a life-death struggle. (Thankfully this turned out not to be, but we didn't know that initially.)
Sometimes, He seems conspicuously absent in the midst of our messes, but it is faith that gets us through, and the knowledge that ultimately He is good, and intends good. But he is so wholly OTHER, so different and beyond us, and beyond our understanding. He is really quite terrifying when we add up what we really know. It reminds me of a Rich Mullins song - the words actually speak for themselves.
There's a wideness in God's mercy
I cannot find in my own And He keeps His fire burning To melt this heart of stone Keeps me aching with a yearning Keeps me glad to have been caught In the reckless raging fury That they call the love of God Now I've seen no band of angels But I've heard the soldiers' songs Love hangs over them like a banner Love within them leads them on To the battle on the journey And it's never gonna stop Ever widening their mercies And the fury of His love Oh the love of God And oh, the love of God The love of God Joy and sorrow are this ocean And in their every ebb and flow Now the Lord a door has opened That all Hell could never close Here I'm tested and made worthy Tossed about but lifted up In the reckless raging fury That they call the love of God 4月28日 Testing WeekGreetings again from the sandbox! It took us a full afternoon (6-7 hours of steady housecleaning) to dig our way out from under the sand. We left a bunch of our windows open (did I mention that?????)
Testing: I like it and I hate it. It is a nice change of routine for the first day. It also means less planning for the mornings (yay!) But it can also be very hard on the kids. But I was really impressed with my little grade ones (six and seven year olds.) They spent three full mornings sitting quietly, concentrating on some pretty tough academic stuff. All of them were very quiet and focused, and this is the class that I can't keep quiet for a ten minute spelling test!
We just finished testing last week, so we were all pretty wiped (except for the kids who responded by acting very wired by the end of the week! Like climbing the walls wired...) On Tuesday, by the end of the day, they left the classroom screaming about anything and everything. Their parents were probably wondering what I fed them. (Nothing, honest! Not even the tiniest bit of sugar, yellow food dye, or anything else of the sort! I promise!!!) Wednesday I had three kids in tears at afternoon recess, and by the end of the day, the count was up to five ( including a couple of repeat offenders.) Thankfully, Thursday was a little bit calmer. For all of us.
My kids came out with some classic lines last week. For example: one girl came racing up to me and said "Mrs. K., Mrs. K., my blood is in space!"
To my blank look, she elaborated "Aliens and space are calling out to my blood!"
Another blank look (possibly blanker than the first), and then "I mean I really REALLY love space and planets!"
Aaaah, the coin drops. Space is in my blood. Now it is clear.
Same girl, about an hour later: "Mrs. K., I have LE15.00. I can't decide if I should spend it on a new book folder, or a golden mermaid I saw at Carrefour!" Hmmm, I have to admit, I'm stymied too...how to choose? I think she thinks her teacher is completely retarded!
Finally, another student. "Mrs. K, I forgot my library book at home."
"What was the name of your book?"
"The one about the dogs...you know...Lady and the Cramp!"
At which point, I began to giggle. Not just a nice little chuckle, but the kind of little giggle that rapidly grows into uncontrollably shrieking. (Perhaps they weren't the only ones that were wired...) Thankfully, it was just about recess, so I could send them out before I lost it completely.
So, after a moderately restful, and not-at-all productive weekend, I'm ready to go back into the land of short people, with great hearts. I love my job! (Cover me, I'm goin' in!) 4月17日 Post Sham-en-Nessim Sandstorm As I type this, my fingers are becoming coated with yellow and brown dust. We had an interesting sandstorm today. It wasn't the worst I've seen, but it was impressive. It went on for most of the day, off and on, and the wind was strong enough to bring down trees. We left windows open in the house, and pretty much everything has a quarter-inch of dust/sand all over it. Argh! Part of me is tempted to not dust until mid-June, but the other part of me hates having dirty hands, and so if I don't want to have skin lesions from washing too much, I'd better do something about it! Kelvin mopped, bless his heart, so it is a matter of dusting pretty much everything, washing the linens on the bed, and etc. Anyways, after all that, here is a photo of the sky late afternoon (around 4:30pm. It was quite a bit more orange this morning, but we didn't have the camera at school! The last photo is the dirt that came out of the mop bucket after Kelvin mopped four rooms.
Apparently no one told the weather man that Sham-en-Nessim is supposed to signal the END of the spring winds!!!! 4月12日 A New and Surprising Love! Kelvin and I just returned from an amazing trip to the desert. Now, I must confess, that since first arriving in Egypt almost ten years ago, I've had a love/hate relationship with the desert, mostly hate! There were times that I remember flying in or driving back from green spaces to Cairo and the Sahara, and feeling my gut tighten, and every sense resisting the return to the dry barren land that is our home. That has slowly changed over the last few years, and while I haven't LOVED the desert, I've learned to appreciate some of its aspects. Like the fact that lizards, birds and beetles can survive, and the occasional flower and tumbleweed as well. Or the contrast of yellow sand and blue sky that can dazzle the eyes. I've been going out to the local dry riverbed (the Wadi) for walking weekly for several months now, and I've learned to enjoy the quiet and clean air that can't be found in the city. However, that said, going to the desert wasn't a major excitement for me, and this trip was not really something that I was anticipating.
Boy, was I in for a shock! To my surprise, I absolutely LOVED our time in the desert. We travelled to Bahariyya Oasis by bus, and then headed out with our Bedouin guides for two nights camping in the great outdoors. The first day was interesting - typical khamasiin weather, with lots of wind and dust, and reduced visibility. It was also 34 degrees celcius outside. We stopped in the black desert, which is totally covered with caramel coloured sand and incredible pieces of black volcanic rock in various shapes and sizes. We carried on then to the "Old White Desert" and off-roaded to our camping sight in the "New White Desert." It was incredibly strange - a completely wild, barren, beautiful landscape, that looks like something you might see on the moon. We ate our dinner that had been cooked over the campfire, with grit in our teeth, eyes, nose and hair, and sand stinging any exposed skin. It was a bit uncomfortable until the wind and sand stopped around 2am, and then it was beautifully clear.
The second day we walked a bit in the White Desert, visited some springs in the area, and then drove a ways to part of the Western Desert. That was absolutely beautiful, and more remote than the first camping spot. There were huge limestone/sandstone cliffs, and huge drifts with no human tracks or marks. There was more volcanic rock, as well as some really interesting rocks that looked like some sort of fossilized somethings, and quartz all over. The weather was absolutely amazing, and as we lay under the stars, it was impossible not to think of our Very Imaginative Creator! The next morning, I woke slowly, but opened my eyes to see a beautiful backdrop of hills and blue sky, and white and yellow sand. I then realized that an early morning visitor had hopped up on my chest! A little yellow and green bird was hopping around investigating everyone as they woke up. I could wake up like that more often!
We carried on that day to "Chrystal Mountain" which again is a beautiful reminder of who made this earth! We saw a train of camels returning to Bahariyya from a trek to one of the other oases in the area, and saw a pumping station on one of the spring sites in the area. We returned to Bahariyya to spend the last night in a hotel, before returning to Cairo the next day. It was the day after Sham en Nassim, and the bus was packed - literally standing room only. Thankfully we got seats, but I felt sorry for some of the folks who ended up standing for the full six hour trip. However, everyone was good-natured about the whole thing, and we all ended in Cairo late Tuesday afternoon. There was sand in everything, and even though I washed my clothes, my bag, my shoes, I still have pounds of sand to remove!
All of that said, I am absolutely blown away by the variety of landscapes and the breathtaking beauty of the desert. I can't wait to take another trip down there ( minus the bus-ride, of course!) Kelvin is quite keen on taking a longer trip - maybe in the fall, and maybe going by camel! I'm in love - who knows, maybe this could be the start of a beautiful friendship!!!! 1月12日 The Rich Life, Christmas Cheer and Pineapple Upside-Down Cake I woke up this morning with a really great feeling that our life here is rich and full. We live simply, but we enjoy our life, and on days like today I think we are squeezing every bit of enjoyment and adventure out of it that we can.
Starting about two weeks before Christmas, a flock of parrots could be seen before and after school, snacking on pecans from the trees behind the building. The parrots are apparently not native to here, and they seem to come around near Christmas time. It is guessed that they either were released by someone here, or they escaped from a private owner, and now this is part of their "migration" route. They are a bright green with an orange and red beak, and look like they belong in a jungle somewhere! They have stripped the pecan trees of virtually all of their fruit(also not native to Cairo - one of maybe four or five trees in the whole country which just happens to be on our school property!) I've included some pictures of them. What a treat to entertain such lovely visitors!
We started back to school this week, and today (Friday) I can honestly say that I love my job. I have a really great class this year, and some really fun personalities in my class. I love being able to set my own schedule each day (well, to a point, anyways) and I don't dread going to work in the morning, which I think for a lot of us is something big. Don't get me wrong - I hate getting up early when it is still cold and dark, and I frequently dream of spending my life reading, gardening and eating bonbons, but overall, I wouldn't choose anything different! I work with a really great team of teachers, and in a very nurturing and positive place, and that is hard to come by!
On a completely different note, I made my first pineapple upside-down cake today, and it turned out great (I think...it is still cooling!) I had to be sure to lock the cats out of the kitchen, though. A week ago I made cheesecake "cups" and put a lovely orange topping on them, and returned to the kitchen less than 5 minutes later to find that 7 out of 10 of the cups had cat lick-marks on them, right in the middle! Needless to say, we couldn't serve them to anyone, so we had to eat them all ourselves....sigh! What a hardship! I like experimenting in the kitchen, although sometimes my experiments are a bit...well...inedible. But, the prep and eating I find quite therapeutic.
Our cats were so happy to have us home over the break that they sat curled up on us for almost the full two weeks! It was really sweet, until one day Kelvin found Memphis napping in the toilet bowl. Now, don't ask me how on earth that is even possible. Thankfully, she chose the toilet that has no seat, so it hasn't been used more than two or three times since we moved in. She wasn't even wet when she came out - just a bit dusty. Kelvin thinks she went in for a drink, and then just curled up for a rest. Still, yuck! After that, I wasn't so eager to have her snuggle with me!
Okay, another Heather story. Not nearly as good as the vomit story, but it works. Just before Christmas, I was doing some star-shaped crafts with the kids. Everyone knows that Christmas crafts just aren't the same without loads and loads of sparkly glitter, tastefully appointed with tons of glue. Well, at the end of the day, I accidentally sat down on someone's star-shaped, glue-covered, glittery craft in my black pants. I ended up having to go to the Christmas celebration and the staff Christmas party with a star-shaped glue/glitter mark on my butt! Some christmas cheer, anyone??
I always feel like I have to sign off on these things like a letter (which is maybe a clue to why I wait so long to write...) So, toodle-oo to whoever is out there reading these. Is there anyone reading these?? 12月25日 Merry Christmas! Well, I've been composing blog entries in my head for weeks now. We've had a very busy fall, and lots of interesting things happening. (I'll have to update everyone over the upcoming weeks!)
However, it is now holidays, and we've finished the "Christmas Rush" such as it is. We've had people in for Christmas Eve lasagna and watched Jimmy Stewart tell us again how wonderful life really is. We attended the candle-lit carol service at the church. We had a leisurely lie-in this morning, and snacked all morning on wonderful goodies given to us (thank-you Wendy and Brandon & Liz!) We made a cheese-cake and then went to a friend's for a great turkey dinner. It was great to eat, sit and chat with old friends! Until today, I've been missing family quite a bit, and even missing the snow (which I rarely miss, especially when I think about shoveling the stuff, or driving in it!) But today we were reminded of how rich our lives are, both here and in North America. We have been blessed with some great family, and some super friends. We miss both frequently, but when we miss them, we know that we have relationships that are real and rich.
So for all of you, here in Egypt and at home in Canada (and perhaps a few scattered around the globe) we love you, and we thank you for letting us be a part of your lives. Merry Christmas! May the light and peace of the Prince of Peace be ever yours! And as Tiny Tim says, "God bless us, every one!"
11月7日 Through the Eyes of a Child Working with children is always challenging, usually rewarding, and lots of times just down right fun. One of the things that is so enjoyable is hearing the things kids have to say. They often see things very differently than we do, but can say some really profound things. And sometimes just profoundly silly!
For example, there is the child in last year's class who used to write me love notes (perfectly innocent and sweet!) with expiry dates on them!
Or the child in Grade one who wrote "feyk yu" in one of his stories. I was a bit concerned about that one until a colleague pointed out that if you say "Thank you" with a really thick Korean accent and no front teeth, that is how is sounds!
Or the child that prayed that she wouldn't be bullied, while she sat next to the "bully".
Or the kindergarten child who shouted "I'm sliding down the precipice" as she went down the slide.
Or the child who went home and told her mother that she didn't do anything in school except watch videos every day. (I think we watched one video in the whole year!)
Or the child who when told to make a story plan, missed the "story" part and drew a beautiful plan for an inground swimming pool.
Or the child who prayed "Thank you God for friends. I don't mind if they're ugly, as long as they are nice."
Or the six year old child, who when hearing about the struggles Christians sometimes have over agreeing about doctrine, lamented "Why can't we all just get along? We all love Jesus. The rest doesn't matter."
Everything I need to know I learned in Kindergarten (or at least in primary school!) 11月6日 How to...Prune a Tree 1. First you should pick a very very healthy tree. Ignore the ones that are dying or have many dead branches. Go for the green.
2. Find a very small hatchet, preferably one with a dull blade. No motorized or electric gadgets. It takes all the fun out of it.
3. Begin very early in the morning, preferably just after first light. Following the morning call to prayer is a good time. And be very sure to begin ON A WEEKEND.
4. Randomly hack off any healthy and bountiful branches. Symmetry and shape are not good - they squelch artistic expression!
5. For tall hibiscus trees, hack them off about half-way up, and plant the severed tops in dirt. (Amazingly, this works! Two or three yellow leaves, and the silly things took root.)
6. For franjipani (also known as Indian Jasmine) lop off any branch that has any green. it should be full and green within about...6 months to a year....
(*sigh*) Disclaimer Well, this is a disclaimer for all who will read ahead. Kelvin and I really enjoy living in Egypt most of the time, but there are a number of frustrations that build with living in a cross-cultural situations. Most of them involve the unanswerable question "Why on earth do they do it THAT way???" These frustrations tend to build unless released in a constructive, creative way, preferably with much laughter involved. So, I am beginning a series of entries called "How to...". Please know that I am not attempting to make fun of Egyptians, but just voicing a difference of opinion in a humourous, tongue in cheek way. Please, people, don't take me too seriously! 9月28日 Settled in Cairo Well, we have been back in Cairo for seven weeks. I can hardly believe it! Where on earth has the time gone? Kelvin and I both looked at each other today, and wondered where the time has disappeared to. How on earth can it be Thursday again already?
We have settled back in after some initial upsets. First, our flat was a complete and total mess when we arrived back. We were hoping that it would be in better shape. (For those of you who don't know, we had to move this summer. Our landlord broke his hip, and needed the flat on the ground floor, so we moved up to his flat on the second floor. But it needed a LOT of work, which he said would be done over the summer.) A lot of the work had been done - the floors had been refinished and he had painted the walls, but he hadn't painted the colours we had carefully chosen. He had also installed our ceiling fan (that we had bought with our own money) in one of his other flats, and the kitchen was an absolute disaster - completely dirty and full of garbage, broken and dirty dishes, and two inches thick in grease. We spent the first week back scrubbing on hands and knees. To make matters worse, the weather was in the low 40's (celcius) and humid, and we were absolutely melting!
But, finally after all that work, we have found the gem in the rough that is our flat. We have lots of room, more light than on the ground floor, and beautiful green views from the balconies that are a rarity here. It is more secure and more private than being on the ground floor, and hey, we get more exercise going up and down! So in the end it has been a real blessing. Just in disguise - a dirty, greasy disguise!
The other hard thing that happened was that our pastor and friend, Dave Petrescue, passed away suddenly on September 5th. We were shocked and saddened, and it has made September a bit harder than expected. The whole community here has been deeply affected. It is not so intense for us right now, as we only saw him on weekends, and sometimes that was sporadic. However, the memorial service and hurting for the family have been very difficult. It has been especially hard for his family here - his sister and her husband are here - and also for the people who worked with him daily. Their whole lives were interwoven, and it will be a while before the pain is healed.
School is going well. We have been busy, and are enjoying the year so far. We have a great team of teachers this year, and a lot of experienced ones, which is new but great! I only have a class of three this year, which seems impossibly small, but they are all a bit needy, so I think it will be a very good thing. We are starting to bond, and to enjoy each other. I will post some photos soon.
Kelvin continues to faithfully work in the admin office, and see to the needs of the teachers. I think sometimes he gets tired of working with so many women!!! ( I can't say that I blame him, actually!)
Anyways, that is all for now. I have loads more to say, but my bed is calling. Night night, all!
7月23日 A New Thing Well, after enjoying the blog of a good friend for the last few months, I've decided that us Klauds need to try blogging as a way of keeping people posted on what is happening in our lives. Who knows...every one of my friends knows what a terrible letter writer I am, and that I am not much better at emailing, but maybe I can redeem myself???
Right now, we are at home with Kelvin's family. It has been great to see them, and it is a treat to be back in Canada for a while. I can walk down the street without being stared at (at least not overtly!) and I can go to Tim Horton's any time I want (which is many times a week - sometimes many times a day!) The shopping has been nice, and sooooo much easier than in Cairo. One-stop shopping is such a treat! However, I realize how much our life straddles two continents right now, and that is not easy. I miss routine especially, I miss my kids, and I miss the feeling of doing something that has meaning and purpose. I miss having my own home, and I find it difficult to live out of a suitcase. Sometimes I even miss the challenges of Cairo life!
I have discovered that I always become a bit maudlin in the summer time, (and often in January as well) and as with most highs and lows, it changes quickly. It also comes as a result of realizing that while we have been gone, life has gone on. Our neices and nephews are 9 months older, and don't recognize us when we first arrive. Families move, grow, change. Traditions and things "that always were" continue to change as well. Friends have grown older, and have developed lives without us...how dare they!
But all in all, this means that I do have friends and family that care about me, and that I care about deeply. I am blessed to be able to live this rich life, and experience the adventure both here in Canada and in Cairo. I just realize that all of it is experienced in part - we have left parts of our hearts in all kinds of places, and we'll likely never get them back fully! Those of you with pieces of our hearts, treat them gently! |
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