Flat!!

Ok folks... too much fun lately! So, both me and Nichole headed to our flat, 6 days after signing the contract decided to move in asap. The landlady called me one afternoon saying all furniture is in and that we can sleep there that night; we were impressed on how fast things were sorted.

So we went to the flat that afternoon, to have a look ... We had a bit of a shock... seeing the furniture in our living room, which is very Egyptian-style.

We had a look around … I was not very impressed… maybe more in awe, coz my expectations were very different and I guess, when you have expectations, the disappointment is bigger. I cant say I was waiting for fancy things, but just a comfy sofa that I can curl up on and watch tv with a cup of tea/cold drink. The sofa is just impossible to sit on … u cant really be comfortable when sitting on it.
But hey, we decided to accept it and go from there. There was a washing machine in the kitchen, that we were happy about; not a new one, but at least there is one; we decided to try and see if it works and we’ve put something in. In the meantime, we decided to spray the stove, which was kind of "degolasse" (fr. disgusting). We kept laughing as we were spraying it, saying it is winter and we've got snow bla bla ...

We spent all day in the kitchen trying to clean it … the fridge was actually the same old one, that they did not replace.. they just painted it on the inside, with white paint over the dirt and put stickers on the front door. We decided to go on with our work …Later we discovered that the bottom part of the fridge has a a little part that comes off, so we took it off. Big mistake!!!!!!!! That was so dirty that i would not even allow my worst enemy to clean. But did we have a choice?? Not really!! So, take the gloves Gaby and start cleaning!!

We washed the walls with Detol (local brand for disinfectant), cleaned the sink (it looked “degolasse” under – covered in a 1 cm layer of …. you name it. Nichole did a great job cleaning that sink!!

The funniest/most dangerous thing happened when we were washing the walls - water went into the socket; what followed?? well, first of all.. funny noises, then a smell of smth burning, then noises again and then something like an explosion. I got so scared and had no idea what to do.

Later after the "explosion" the washing machine started leaking and it kind of jumped off, as if it wanted to do one of Michael Jackson's dances. That was scary too ...

I almost started crying, thinking that nothing works properly in this house and how on earth will we be able to live here?

The stove looked absolutely disgusting, the fridge more or less the same, the washing machine was dancing and leaking .. and all of that only in the kitchen!!! Not to mention our ceiling fan!! By the way.. how to you open the door to your cupboard?? Usually you just take the door handle the move it towards you to the right /left side and there you go!!! Well, it doesnt work like that for ours!! First you need to remember to turn the ceiling fan off, otherwise there will be an accident between the fan and the cupboard door, which will give you the impression that something is going to fall on your head! Secondly you need to move the fan so that you can open the door!! It is not that easy!! you need instructions for this one! Nichole knows!!!!!!!!! I guess i knew too, after her little accident, but i instantly forgot and it happened to me today too... and i couldnt stop cursing ... in a nice way.

It turned out to look better at the end of the day … when we were just so tired…. And not really ready to start over again next day… but we did…. We started again in the kitchen and managed to finish the rest of the flat with some help from friends...

Now it does look much better, since we had Mohammed to do some more cleaning the other day .... I guess is hsould take the 'after' pictures as well... It will come soon!! But not before another interesting post!!

Settlers!!

After a long day at school, Heather invited us over to play Settlers. I never played this game before, so i just watched this time. I am in love with it and i hope to get to play soon!

I ended up playing with nichole and we almost won ... but Freddie was quicker than us!!

More relaxing days ...Aqua Park

We started work at school and after 3 days of training our boss thought we need to relax, so he took us all to the Aqua Park.

Aqua Park is about 45 min drive from Maadi but it is an incredible place to go swimming and enjoy the different types of slides, including the "black hole".

We stayed until 2:30 when the bus came to pick us up; the entrance fee was about 45 LE, which included a drink and lunch (either a chicken sandwhich or fish and rice/chips and veggies). Nichole went for the chicken sandwhich which she did not like at all, so it all went into the bin. My veggies were fried in butter, the rice had a lot of oil and the chicked was deep fried, but i ate it anyway; it was not that bad!

The most amazing thing was to see the way the women go into the swimming pool, completely covered, just as they go out on the streets.

I bet it is not too comfy to swim with all those clothes on!! Both me and Nichole were wearing a one-piece swimsuit and i felt naked; usually at home, girls wear two-piece swimsuit and that is normal, but here, i guess i was the naked one.

A strange things happened, while i was under water trying to do one of the tricks Nichole taught me - a man pinched my bottom and i felt so bad!! I felt violated, but at the same time a feeling of guilt came along, as i was one of the few persons "naked" - according to the Egyptian culture.

All in all, i had a great time there ... i love swimming!!!!!!

The Nile

So, with everything sorted for our flat, we decided it was time to relax, so Kathy too me and Nichole for a felucca ride on the Nile which we enjoyed a lot.

It was in the evening, just when the sun sets ... and i took some amazing pics that i am so proud of!!!

Kathy took some of the new staff at CAC on the felucca and she invited us too.

It was just great to be able to relax, far from all the noises in the city, and just admire the beauty and calm of the Nile.

Both me and Nichole were happy for being able to join them on our very first ride on the Nile.

Talking about Nichole, she is just great! We have been in touch for a while, before coming to Egypt and the day i met her, i felt like i've known her for a lifetime. I am happy we are getting along so well, and i feel blessed to have her with me here in Egypt; i would feel very lonely without her!

The guy that was in charge of the felluca, didnt want to understand that we wanted to stay for another hour, so he just took us back after the first hour. It was a shame we didnt stay longer, but he was just too stuborn ... even when we told him in Arabic that we want another hour, he pretended he doesnt understand.

Anyway, it was one of the most relaxing experience i have had so far in Egypt... so i kind of know what to do when i feel overwhelmed: felluca!!!!

Flat hunting

So... visa kind of sorted... now we needed to start looking for a flat. This was a very frustrating experience; our first day looking for a flat was a waste of time, i would say, if i were to look at things from an European perspective. We didnt manage to see any flats, just got some contacts of a few people.
After walking about the whole day, we had 5 telephone numbers ... Once we got to Wendy's flat we started calling people, so in the end we had an appointment for the next day to go and see 3 flats.
First flat was kind of ok... but a little bit too far from our school.. and the neighborhood looked a bit dodgy... After that, this Egyptian guy, Gamel, took us to a roundabout where we were supposed to meet his friend in 10 minutes. Gamel bought us drinks while we were waiting; his friend didnt show up until 1 hour later, right when we wanted to go home and send Gamel to the hospital, cause his wife was delivering a baby. We thought it was very strange for him to hang with us, while his wife is having a baby, but i guess it is the culture.
His friend, Hossem which turned out to be Hussein (our ears are not tuned into Arabic yet) showed us 3 more flats; the last one we saw, was a 3 bedroom apt which we kind of liked. There was hardly any furniture in, but the landlady promised she will bring everything new. Hmmm.. i doubted that, but it looked like a nice place. The price was more than we were willing to pay (2500 Le), but in the end we kind of decided that is the place we want to get.
We contacted some other people and decided to come back with an Egyptian man, that can interpret for us and make sure the English version of the contract is the same as the one in Arabic, because often, the contracts differ a lot and as a foreigner you might get in trouble in case you want to leave the flat or anything happens.. I've heard many stories about that.
Well, it is a nice area and the 'land family' is nice - they like both me and Nichole a lot and they seems very friendly.
We went back a few days later, with Sameh and signed the contract. They promised in a week's time they will buy the AC and furniture so we can move in; they promised a new fridge and new furniture ... insh'allah!

Mogamma

Ok.. so i am in Egypt .... Every single person that comes to Egypt on a tourist visa, has to go to the Mogamma, which i think will be one of the places i will see very often... due to several reasons.

Anyway, Wendy took me and Nichole to get our visas. We took the metro from Maadi and got off just in front of this huge, impressive building.

There were many foreigners there, but luckily we went early in the morning, which is an advantage as it tends to get quite crowdy in the afternoon. We went to the first floor, filled in a form, then we bought stamps (we payed around 80 LE - Nichole actually, for a one year visa); after that, we gave our forms together with 2 copies of our passports and a photo to the lady and she told Nichole that her visa will be ready in 2 hours. My visa wasnt going to be ready untill 10 days later. We went to Mc'Donalds - pretty close to the mogamma, had breakfast there, and then we went to the American University to check out their library.

Of course, i was very disapointed i had to come back after 10 days ... it came as a shock, as i had no idea about the whole procedure. That was one of the worst days i had in Egypt so far.

Well, today i went back to the mogamma to pick my visa up; luckily an Egyptian friend came with me and helped me; it was good to have her with me, as they charged her only 25 piastres for a copy of my passport, instead of 1 pound that we payed last time we went there.

The funny thing is that you need to push in and not wait in a line, otherwise you will never be served. I thank God for Neglaa!!

Finally in Egypt!!

Greets!

I've been in Egypt for a little more than 2 weeks, but i never had the time to update my blog due to house hunting, cleaning, school starting etc.

I arrived on a Sunday evening/morning; i left my house at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, got the train to Bucharest; my flight was at 00:40, but luckily Cristina (my friend who lives in Bucharest) picked me up at the train station and i got to spend some time with her before leaving. She was so happy for me as Egypt has always been her favorite country.

Got to airport at around 10 pm ... there were many Arabic people there and one thing i couldnt stop looking at was this family of 5 + mother in law =6; the husband was sitting next to his mother 2 chairs from his wife, who had to handle 3 little girls plus 3 huge carts of luggage. That was my first encounter with the Egyptian culture.

I was very tired and i thought i will get some sleep on the plane, but there was a large group of teenagers who seemed to be having so much fun and they were so noisy!!!!!!! In the end i decided i wanted a coffee and i didnt sleep at all.

After 3 hours we were above Cairo ... i was dissapointed at first thinking it is such a shame not being able to arrive during daylight, so i can see the city ... but it turned out to be such a great view at night!!! The city is huge and there were lights everywhere!!

Once on the ground i had to fill in a form asking for my name etc, plus the person/family i am visiting and the address i am going to live at. Everything was simple. After that, i went and payed 15 $ for a visa..and that was it!

I got throught the customs faster than i thought ... they didnt open my suitcase or anything; the only thing htey asked me was if my husband is in Egypt, and then i pointed to my finger showing i have no ring, meaning i am not married. Next question was if my parents are in Egypt... which they're not; last question but not the least was if i plan to marry an Egyptian; i started smiling and eventually i said no. it was very funny to hear them speaking English as i couldn't understand a word of it!!!

The Himes arrived a little bit later, which was my suggestion in the beggining thinking it will take a while to get out of the airport.... so i just sat there trying to keep calm and wait for them. We took a taxi and headed home.

I slept from 5 am to 11 am ... That afternoon they showed me the area, and introduced me to so many things that i already forgot!!

i was excited to meet Nichole, whom i have been in touch for a couple of months before arriving. I met her 2 days later as she was in Dahab with some friends. She is lovely and i am happy we are living together.

I lived with Kathy a very nice lady who works at a different school here; she's been very kind to have me at her place for the first two weeks!

Nichole stayed at Wendy's, in a big building at the 17'th floor, wt a gorgeous view over the Nile and you can see the pyramids from there too!!

We live in Maadi, a nice suburb of Cairo .. very green compared to the rest of the city; Maadi is bigger than i thought ... but it is a safe area and i love it here. There are many shops where u can buy everything u need, there is a club with swimming pool and many other things to do during the weekend.