Last month John and I went to Alexandria with some of our friends for a few days. It was a lot of fun. We explored the catacombs, the site of one of the ancient libraries of Alexandria, and many coffee shops throughout the cuty, and we ate great fish. Here are some shots of the bay.





This was on our way to the catacombs.



This was at Ptolemy's Pillar, believe to be the site of one of the ancient libraries of Alexandria.

Along the Nile.

John and I took a bunch of pictures infront of our favorite mall on the Nile one Saturday.





This is a lovely view of the Nile.




This is my favorite bridge in Cairo.




Driving across my favorite bridge.






Me and my boy.

Anafora

Last month my school sent us on a staff retreat to a beautiful farm called Anafora. It is a Coptic Orthodox retreat center, run by Bishop Thomas, and his amazing staff. Everytime I go there I come away feeling relaxed and refreshed. It's an wonderful place. Here are some shots of it.




This is a view from the front balcony of the second floor of the main building.



This is the room where we met for morning and evening services. In the evening all the candles were lit. It was lovely.




These are the rooms where we stayed. I don't have photos from inside, but I wish I did. They were so nice! Very simple, but lovely.





Beautiful Palms!








This is the entrance to the church at night. The whole thing is lit only by candles. We attended a service there. All left there shoes at the door out of reverence, and entered in quiet. The service was very simple, Scripture readings, hymns, and prayers in Coptic, Arabic, and English.




This is the inside of the church at night in the candle light.

Amsterdam Photos

I finally uploaded pictures from my fabulous new camera that my fabulous brother gave me, so I thought I'd share random pictures with you.

On my way back home in August, I was able to do a canal tour of Amsterdam during a long layover. So fun!
These are a few pics.






This orange people are lined up to go into the Anne Frank House, which is the building behind them.

We're Getting Married

After constant touble since April with paperwork and international law, my fiance and I have finally found a way to get married!!! And we're going to be able to have a wedding in both countries. What a huge relief!

We celebrated by spending a few days in Dahab with our friends. Fabulous place. Fabulous time. We did some snorkelling, some lounging on the beach, and a whole lot of eating. No diving this time due to our wedding budget. Maybe next time.

Now it's back to Cairo and the long lists of thing that we have to accomplish in the next two months.

I am hoping that soon our apartment will be finished. I am living there now, well, more like sleeping there. I lock myself in my bedroom at night, and leave in the mornings. I can't wait to have a home to live in. It's not the most comfortable thing cohabitting with a crew of Egyptian workmen. Now the walls are up. Most of the painting is done. Doors and windows are finding their way back to their respective holes in the walls. Soon the men will begin work on the floor. After that, I think it will be done.

Now for some furniture...

I live in a fishbowl where everything I do ticks somebody off. Quick, break the glass and save me from this constant audience.

Review and Progress

Yes, I am still alive. I haven't blogged in forever. It's hard to have access to the internet anywhere, but at work, and it's hard to find time to blog at work, so not a lot of blogging is getting done. Anyway, here's the deal. I am becoming more and more at home here in the sandy land of Egypt. Things are going really well. I have moved since the last time I posted. I now have a home, a place where I can relax and truly rest. It's great. My fiance and I put up and decorated a fake Christmas tree this past week, making it feel even more homey and comfotable. The weather has been chilly, which is perfect for me. It's nice and cold so that I can bundle up in all the sweaters, and drink the hot drinks that I love, but it's not frigid to the point that I can't enjoy the cold like it gets in the USA. The only problem with that is that we never get snow days. I did ask God for a snow day this week though, and He answered by giving us a day off due to an electrical fire in the school. I was just happy for the extra time to catch up on work!!! I do really love teaching here. The staff and students are awesome. Every so often though, it's nice to have some down time to catch up on work. We will be getting a Christmas break soon though, and I will not be traveling for it, so I will be able to catch up on things. That will be nice. I am going to miss my family and friends a lot over the Christmas holiday. It's going to be strange to have Christmas all by myself. My fiance and his parents all have to work that day, so it'll be me. Pout. I'll have to find something to do. We shall see.

Coffee Anyone?

You Are an Espresso

At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung You drink coffee when: anytime you're not sleeping Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Rough Week

This past week has been really rough. Our little community here has suffered a great loss. The staff is all fairly exhausted and emotionally drained. I haven't been here as long as the others, so my role is more one of emotional support than personal grief. It's still pretty tiring. I am having on of those weeks where I feel like I just can't get ahead of things. I really enjoy my job, but I think it's going to take at least a year before I will be comfortable enough with the material and in the classroom to face a day without extreme amounts of time and preparation going into it.

Engagement

I have now gotten engaged three times. The first time, was the necessary cultural engagement, with parents approval. Culturally it's inappropriate for a couple to go out together without that, and since we plan to live in this culture, we must follow it's rules. Our parents chatted and basically both gave their approval to our relationship. The second time was just three days ago when John proposed on a sailboat on the Nile. I must say the Nile provides an excellent stage for romance. That was our engagement, not for anyone else but us. The third time was last night at our Khotuba, or engagement party. It was almost a wedding in itself. I had the hair, the nails, the make-up done. Family and friends gathered. I was hidden from my fiance until he came to usher me into the party with everyone watching, including the professional videographer and photographer who was hired for the event. We exchanged rings. John's uncle did a special message and prayed over us. We ate lots of good Egyptian food. We toasted and fed each other wedding cake. It was quite an event. So now, after all that, I think I'm quite officially engaged. No questions about it. Who wants to help me plan the wedding?

Getting Started

I have finally found a home! It is near my work, near modes of transportation, and near all the basic shopping needs. I am pretty excited about it. My roomate and I get to move in in a week. We were supposed to move in today, but some things are not finished yet. I will be happy to move in and get settled.

I started work last week. I am pretty excited about it, and a little nervous of course. I think it will be good. I just hope that I do a good job. Once I get through a week or two, I'll feel a lot better. I just need to get my feet under me. I'm sure I'll learn as I go.

Homeless

I am still homeless. I begin work in less than two weeks. I need a home! So far things haven't worked out to get an apartment, but I am hoping that they will soon. Until then a remain a vagabond refugee in my fiance's parents' home. They are so good to me, but I have that western need for autonomy, and I am really getting desparate to have a life of my own. I hope it will all work out soon. I'm sure it will, I'm just getting a little nervous.

Culture Shock

I embark on another venture into culture shock. This time it's with someone that I love which makes it so much easier. Language issues and cultural discomfort, however, cannot be avoided. I am living in a sort of language immersion program. From morning til night I hear Arabic. You would think I would learn faster than I do. Sigh. I know this process will take time, but I'm not very patient. I feel like I am a baby. I can't talk or do things for myself. I can't express to those around me that I have a functioning brain. I can't express myself at all. It's very frustrating. My fiance's parents, though, have been so patient and kind. Thank God for them. I hope their patience doesn't wear out anytime soon, because it's going to take quite a while for me to conquer this language. Until then I have to rely on my face and actions to convey what I want ot say.

This culture is not mine, and so I don't naturally understand cultural expectations, therefor I am constantly concerned about offending. It's draining to spend the whole day focussing so hard to understand just a little about what's going on around me or to have the right reaction to each situation even when I can't understand the situation.

People here are incredibly warm and gracious though, which makes my own faults easier to deal with. Lord give me grace and wisdom.

I am actually alive

Yes, I am still alive. Access to the internet and time to post have been non-existant for the most part. The past three months have been crazy. At the moment, however, I am staying in a location that has internet, and so I will post.

Over the past several months I have packed up my life in four bags and moved across the Atlantic once again. For the past two months I have been living with a group in an apartment in a neighborhood in Cairo, doing orphanage work. The group that I had been living with left the country last week to return to the USA, leaving me homeless. After a considering several bridges to live under, I decided to take refuge in the home of my fiance's parents who have been gracious enough to offer me a place to live until I find on of my own. My mission at the moment is to find a place to live before the school term starts next month.

I am very excited about the school that I will be teaching at, and the people who I will be working with. I'm slightly nervous about teaching secondary school since I have never done it before, but this is the level that I wanted to teach all along,so I can't wait to begin.

April Update

I thought that I should blog at least one time in April. The month is almost over and haven't blogged at all. I'm sure that once I head to Egypt I'll blog more frequently. So far this month has been good. I spent a weekend out east with a bunch of my college friends. That was a ton of fun. I realized once again how much I miss college and how much I miss them. Sniff sniff. I spent Easter with the family. This was the first Easter that I have spent here with the family in about seven years. Other than that I have been working, spending as much time as possible with friends and family, and trying to get everything for the trip organized before I go. The whole thing has its stressful mooments, but I am really excited about it.

Brief

My time here in the U.S. is winding down. Less than two months before I'm off to things unknown. The job opportunity that I mentioned before looks pretty positive, which means I'll probably be staying in Egypt after the others come back from our trip together. It seems highly likely that I will be staying there to teach for a couple of years. It's all very exciting, but I am beginning to get a little nervous. I am hoping to at least be home for summers, but we will see what happens. Right now I am just enjoying everything, and spending time with the people that I will miss while I am there.

Your Heart Is Purple




For you, love is about establishing and developing a deep connection.
If it's true love, it brings you more wisdom and inner strength.

Your flirting style: Sincere

Your lucky first date: An afternoon at a tea house

Your dream lover: Is both thoughtful and expressive

What you bring to relationships: Understanding

EEEEEEEEEEEE

Some breakthroughs on the job front. Very exciting stuff, but I will refrain from details until a later time. Ambiguities until some things have been settled. Details to follow.

Anxiety

I am beginning to get stressed about finances. I feel like I will never get ahead. I am tired of struggling though. I am still trying to prepare myself financially for this summer. I have this dumb school loan to pay off. People are always asking to go out and do stuff, and I really can't afford to. I feel like a jerk turning them down over and over again, and when I go I feel guilty for spending money that I shouldn't be spending. I want so badly to get out to Denver to see the boys out there before I leave the country. I know my job isn't going to help much, but there are reasons that I have this job and not a better paying one at the moment. Life just gets stressful sometimes.

Misc

Life's been busy. We opened the new store this past week. I'll be working six days a week at the store and at least one with the girls, which is great. I know that I don't have the highest paying jobs, but they are jobs that I love, and hopefully I will be able to save a little bit of money. This summer's coming quickly, and I need to be ready for it. I am so excited about it. I talked to my friend about our travel plans yesterday, and it seems that everything is falling into place. So far so good.