Notes from Hurghada

I'm so sorry, dear blog readers, that it has been so long since I last posted a blog. You'll be pleased to hear that this is because I've been so unbelieveably busy that I've hardly had a moment, but of course this means this will be a bit of a long blog post so I can catch you up will all the news. I've decided to commit to writing a blog post at least once a fortnight, even if it's a short one.

Goodness me where do I start? I think I'll start from now and work backwards. I'm in Hurghada at the moment. It was a really short notice trip for just two nights with a friend. This is one of the things I love about living in Egypt. You can decide at the last minute to spend a weekend by the sea in the sun, and the flight takes less than an hour. I felt I really needed this break because I have been really ill for over three weeks. I originally thought I had a virus because I had a temperature, aching joints and other symptoms which I won't desrcibe. But as I wasn't really getting better, I eventually decided to go to a doctor. Well I had already been to see a doctor at the Anglo American Hospital as an emergency (severe stomach pains) and whilst that helped with the acute symptoms, I still wasn't getting better. Anyway. The healthcare system here in Egypt is confusing (which is the kind word) and I didn't really have a clue how to find good doctor, so I looked on What Clinic. I went to see him and it turns out that using the criteria "having a kind face" for selection was highly successful. He was lovely. He asked about my medical history, spent loads of time talking to me and took care to make sure I understood what he was saying. It turns out there's a parasite that's endemic in the water here in Egypt called giardi which causes an illness called giardiasis. Which is what I've got. I was shocked. I always thought the water in Cairo was safe. I don't drink it out of the tap, but I do boil it up for tea and rinse my vegetables and fruit in it. Boiling it for tea isn't long enough apparently. So it's bottled water from now on, although the long term solution is getting a filter fitted to the water supply. I'm pretty sure he's right though because since I started the drugs he prescribed I feel a million times better. Thank GOD. The other good thing is that I now have my own doctor.

Ceiling of the Nilometre

A friend of mine who is a tour guide took me on a trip to the Umm Kulthum Museum and the Nilometre on Friday. Both of these were fascinating. I've written an article on Umm Kulthum for Oasis magazine (more on that later) so I won't repeat it here. The Nilometre was amazing. If there's one thing I love, it's functional items that are also beautiful. The Nilometre was built about 1200 years ago to measure the level of the Nile floods, and from that taxes were calculated. But for something with such a prosaic purpose, it's really quite beautiful inside. I have attached some photographs. Anyone in Cairo reading this, I highly recommend a visit. As with most of these hidden gems in Cairo, there was no-one else there. The guard had to unlock the door and switch the lights on for us.

I have been doing loads of writing, it's really quite incredible. And it all started with this blog and going to my writer's group. I have written four articles that have been published in the CSA magazine Oasis - the CSA is the expat association. I have attached links at the end for anyone wants to read them. Even more astonishing than this, I have had an article published on the online English Language Egyptian newspaper, Egyptian Streets, and it was shared over 1000 times. I was completely overwhelmed. It was my friends in the writer's group who said I should send it for publication but I was stunned when it was actually published. There's a link to that too at the bottom. Despite my lack of blogs, I do love writing. I've found that in some really difficult moments it has helped enormously to write stuff down. Maybe I'll use some of this in the future to write a book.

My job is going really well. I love it. Obviously it has its challenges but I don't think I could find a job that better suits my skills. It's also a lovely place to work socially, my colleagues are friendly and in the main easy to work with. I also have the best boss IN THE ENTIRE WORLD (...and his wife reads my blog hee hee!) The only problem really is that my salary is being gradually eroded by the appalling exhange rate between Egyptian pounds and every other useful currency (£, $ Euro). I also have a driver which makes my commute so much easier. What I should do on my commute is revise my Arabic or something else useful; what I actually do is check my Facebook news feed, look at Buzzfeed, play Words with Friends etc. The most amazing thing about my job is that I have to go to events at the British Embassy. So far I have been to the Cambridge International Exams and Pearson Edexcel High Achiever's Awards, a dinner with the Royal College of Surgeons and the Queen's Birthday Gala. It's unbelievable. I've met the British Ambassador. He's lovely. A came to the Queen's Birthday Gala and, like all of us, fell in love with the Ambassador, who gave a whole speech in Arabic.

In terms of living in Cairo, I'm truly amazed at what I can do now compared with when I first arrived. I am happy travelling all over the place to go to work and meet friends. I can go to the shops and buy food and other things (except the butcher). I am progressing in Arabic (but it is really hard!) I have a life here and friends, and I do interesting things. Sometimes, though, I am gut-wrenchingly homesick, which was particularly true when I was sick. The longer I live here the more layers of Egyptian culture I uncover, and the more I realise just how different these two cultures are. Many things about Egypt get me aerated, but there are also many things that I love, although I'm almost at the end of my rope with the fact that we still don't have broadband.

I'm also still teaching my group of young ladies. They are still a pleasure to teach and I love it. They are so enthusiastic. I must admit it's good to teach when you can choose your pupils. One of my friends teaches and some of her students aren't nice to teach at all. I'm not sure how I would cope with that.  But it's good to keep my hand in with the teaching.

Chico

Oh yes - big news. I have a cat. I'm supposed to have two cats but one cat is a bit poorly and is still in the shelter. My cat is called Chico and he's about 4 years old. He's a bit of a character. Very lovey dovey one minute and then trying to bite my hand off the next. Sigh. Still, I do love him and it's really nice to come home to someone who's pleased to see me. It makes the apartment less empty when A isn't there, which is a lot of the time. It would be a lie to say that everything is rosy in the garden in my relationship. The challenges of an intercultural relationship have been well and truly brought home to me over the last few months. It really doesn't help that the tourist industry in Egypt is rock bottom - I read the other day that tourist numbers had dropped again in March - I find it hard to see how they can go down much further. This has caused a lot of stress and one of A's businesses has had to close down. So tempers are fraying. But I think our commitment to each other is as strong as ever and we're trying hard to get over these bumps in the road. I can't deny that it's hard though sometimes.

My life in Cairo continues to develop. I now have loads of friends, including some Egyptian friends. We went to see the opera Aida a few weeks ago in Cairo Opera House. Opera isn't really my thing but it was an experience. I think Aida is supposed to be a beautiful young maiden, rather than a fat woman of my age who groans when she stands up, and I think the hero is supposed to be young and fit, not a short fat Korean. But still. It was still good fun. I'm still going to writer's group and reading group, and various other things that get organised on Internations. I am a member of a quiz team for the fortnightly quiz at the British Community Association.

I'm sure there's more to tell you but that will have to wait for a future blog. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy my last day here in Hurghada.

Egyptian Streets Article

Is love enough?

Culture Shocked

The things we do for love

A coffee, a croissant and a whole new life, please (page 87)