Reflections of Egypt

As I look back on our first four months in Egypt (February to June), I can't help but be thankful for how God has provided for us through all of our ups and downs.  We have had an adventure!

First of all, just GETTING to Egypt from Korea was an adventure in itself, as we had to be diverted to Istanbul and then Dubai because of the Revolution.  Through lots of prayer, we made it to Cairo... WITH our luggage, thankfully!

Then, just after we had settled into life in Cairo, we found out that because of some corruption in our apartment building that we had to move to a new place.  We packed all of our things up in literally 40 minutes and high-tailed it out of there.  Our new place had a few problems-- ants, a stove that leaked gas, a washer that electrocuted me...  not to mention that it was far away from everything that we knew.  We had to take taxis everywhere and were constantly getting ripped off.  Not to mention that that same week, some 5th graders at school were giving me lots of problems.  I wanted to give up.  To be honest, there was a good week or two that I found it nearly impossible to have a good attitude.  And I am a glass-half-full person, so I really didn't like feeling that way.  Thankfully, I have an encouraging and level-headed husband who reminded me that we were there for a reason, and that God would get us through.

And He did.  And not only did He get us through, but I began to see the country in a new light.  For example, one thing that really bothered me at first was that I felt like we were being cheated and ripped off all the time.  In Egypt, everyone expects a tip, which is different than what we're used to, but fine.  At the grocery store, we tip the cheese slicer, the bakery person, and the bagger.  At our apartment, we tip our doorman and trash collector.  Many times we tip the taxi cab driver.  All of this is fine and usually keeps everyone happy.  What is not fine is when we are badgered for more money after already giving generously.  Or when a taxi driver takes the obvious long route so as to get more money out of us.  Or when we give money to someone begging and they refuse it because it's not enough.  Or when we get the "foreigner's discount" (which is not really a discount).  These situations were really frustrating to me.  But then I realized that Egypt is in such a state of desperation that some people are willing to do whatever it takes to get money to survive.  So yes, maybe some people are trying to get more money than they deserve, but many of them don't have a lot of other options.  This realization helped me A LOT, and completely changed the way I viewed the people we came in contact with.  While we obviously don't want to be taken advantage of, we also are not going to dwell on the small things. We have been blessed with jobs that more than provide for what we need, and we are constantly reminded to be thankful for that.

As every day life started to get easier, so did the teaching.  Tim gave me lots of tips and advice for how to deal with a few unruly 5th graders, and they worked!  The students and I settled into a nice routine, and they understood my expectations for them.  For about 3 months, I was completely consumed with planning and rehearsing for the end of the year concert.  The theme was "Food, Glorious Food", and each grade learned two really cute songs about food.  I also had small groups that I worked with four days a week after school- two dance groups, a small singing group, a drama group, and a percussion group.  I'll be honest, after I got started with everything, I was sure I was in over my head!  But thankfully, Tim helped me SO much!  I don't know what I would have done without him!  It was great to see the students get really into the rehearsals, and to see blossoming talents. :)  June 2nd was Concert Day, and I really didn't know what to expect from all of my 483 students.  I was really nervous about everything coming together, but it did, and the students performed brilliantly!  I couldn't have been happier with my first Music concert experience, and now I can't wait for the next one.

Tim spent four months teaching Kindergarten!  While this is not his grade of choice, he did an amazing job!  During my breaks, I spent my time in his class, and I could tell that those kids adored him!  Yes, they were crazy.  No, they would not listen.  But they were cute and they loved Tim!  It was a really good experience for him, but he is really thankful to be teaching 3rd grade next school year!

While we had several ups and downs in our beginning stages in Egypt, our friends and our church were the constants.  We have been blessed with lots of great friends that we enjoy spending time with, whether we're playing games, playing tennis, or just hanging out.  Once our social life started getting busy, we felt even more a sense of belonging, not to mention that we had encouragement and support from others. We enjoy our church for the friends we've made, the Bible study we were able to be a part of, and the opportunity to be on the worship team.  It's such a blessing to find a place like that in a country like Egypt.

Our experience in Egypt could not be more opposite than our experience in Korea, and we laugh about it a lot.  It's like God really wanted to stretch us or something. :)  So while we don't have amazing public transportation in Egypt, or that welcome feeling from the local people, there are things that we have come to like about Egypt.  For example...

-The climate!  I hate being cold, so Egypt's climate is like a dream come true for me!
-The vacations!  We actually get good breaks now, and Europe and the Middle East are conveniently close!
-The cost of living!  Everything is cheap in Egypt.  We were especially excited about the low cost of groceries.  This low cost of living allows us to save a lot.
-The history.  We've loved seeing the pyramids, and we have SO much more to see that we are excited about.
-Family!  Having Angie, Norris, and Jovee close by is going to be such a huge blessing!
-Our jobs.  Yes, we are exhausted after school is out for the day, but we really do enjoy our jobs and our students.

In the midst of dirty streets, filled with trash and stray animals, crazy traffic, and loud calls to prayer, we have found our life.  We've definitely had lots of lessons in patience, plans falling through, and being flexible.  And I know that these lessons will inevitably continue, but things are getting easier.  Starting in September, we will be living in a new apartment in a nice area of town.  We're really looking forward to this.  We're hoping that things in Egypt stay stable, and that the upcoming elections go well.  Now that we've found our groove, we're ready to be there for a few years.