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Summer is officially over. I’ve been to work for two days now. Meetings, orientations, the early days of school seem to be the same. It’s back to the grind, and my body is fighting the adjustment to the schedule. I find I tire quickly and am ready to go home by 3:00, overwhelmed by the constant bombardment of new information. Add to that the heat of Cairo and it makes for a great setting for the perfect afternoon nap.

I’m resisting the urge, and finding ways to keep busy. Right now, it’s by writing this blog.

So, I’ll try to point out some of the more interesting moments I’ve witnessed in the past week:

We had to get an HIV test. (I know, a big turn in the blog theme, but hang in there – it’s a good story and that’s just to explain the setting of the story and let you know why I was visiting a hospital.) SO, every teacher that was here early piled into a bus – a 12 passenger van that if it wasn’t illegal to transport students in before 2006, it definitely would be now.

We went to the “good hospital” in town, and stopped to wait by the curb. I don’t know what we were waiting for, bus as we sat there, a city bus came rolling by and dropped off a rider.

This guy was no more than 16, and he jumped out while it was rolling at a speed of 10 mph or so. He crashed, hard, into the pavement.

I can still see it in my mind, in slow motion, and I know it hurt. It had to. He jumped out and landed with his feet, shoulder width apart, and both exactly on a line in parallel to the direction the bus was moving. His left leg had not the ability to absorb the weight of his being against the momentum of his travel, so down he went.

He picked himself up slowly, examining the ground as if to see if there were any pieces left or blood staining the pavement, and I was certain he broke his arm. I was glad that A) it was only that, and B) that the hospital was right there. As he was grabbing his elbow, and slowly walking over to a wall and sat in the shade of a tree, I remember thinking he didn’t have much further to go to seek medical attention.

Now, Egyptians are very nice people, so our bus driver seized the opportunity to go and speak with the young man. Our driver quickly got out of the van, went over and stood they boy up, and checked to see if his arm was broken. In Egypt, bus drivers must be taught that the proper way to do this is to grab both wrists of the patient, and pull both arms quickly straight above the patients head, as if to stretch both arms at the shoulders, elbows, and wrists. Then, you take the injured arm and lower it back down, and begin forcing the arm to bend to a 90, and straighten out again. If nothing else, this proves to the boy that his arm still works. Rapid motions and other such flexibility tests are conducted in a wild and erratic manor, until there are no other obvious tests to try.

Once sufficiently examined in this manner, our bus driver took the time and showed proper concern for the young man. Being a bus driver himself, he properly demonstrated to the boy that when jumping from a moving vehicle, one must run quickly in the proper direction, so as to land gracefully and safely on the concrete, and not to end up sitting under a shade tree with a not-broken but painful arm.

It was wild.

I’ve been buying work clothes. (I only brought two bags to Cairo, and one was for technology stuff.) There’s one suit in particular suit that interests me greatly. It’s pretty cheap and of poor quality, but it’s about $40. I’m considering having it tailored to reach just past my elbows and just past my knees. I could call it a shuit (short suit) and wear it for Halloween, for fun or just to beat the heat. I don’t know if I could keep a straight face with the store when I purchase it, but who cares.

I want to invent a game called Camel Polo and play at the pyramids. Maybe the preferred uniform would be a shuit. I bet tourists would give me money.

I found trips to the Red Sea to go diving will cost me about $45-$50 per day. Transportation, hotel, and drinks and meals are included in that fare. My guess is that diving is not as cheap, but I think it’s something I can afford with that base price working…and who knows, it might actually be another great deal. It’s surprisingly affordable to do things here. I could either go to a place called Hurghada or Sharm-El Sheikh (curious google hunters go for it) and both look not too shabby from here. We have a break for Ein El Fitr in a month, so I’m beginning to plan my first excursion.

I’ve learned not every teacher has an equivalent apartment. I knew enough to be careful about sharing my earning wages (I haven’t told a soul what I make – I dare not) but I now am a bit nervous about “showing off” my place. I think I’m lucky, and I know there are better ones out there, but we have a couple of teachers who are ready to leave based simply on their living situations. One of them might pay $800 U.S. to be relocated. It’s crazy, and I feel lucky to have what I do.

I’ve signed up for Arabic classes. In the past two weeks, I’ve figured out how to tell a taxi everything about where I want to go, can easily say hello and goodbye to everyone I meet (and do so at every possible moment – whether they enjoy it or not.)

I still haven’t met my “Bowab,” the guy who is apparently most important to help with my apartment. I also haven’t met my landlord, and apparently never will. So I’m just making myself at home in an apartment I don’t think anyone really cares about. I’m considering taking out a wall and opening the place up a bit.

Other than that, I guess I know I’m teaching yearbook. They’ve tried a few times before, and have never been able to do it. I hope my students are ready to work as hard as the WHS kids with a lot less equipment and technology. It should be interesting, challenging, and more. (I don’t even know where to begin with talking to an Egyptian printing company!)

Last note: My picassa image gallery works fine on the blog, but for some reason it takes forever to recognize the latest galleries. Once again, if you click on the photos on the top of the blog, you will be redirected to fosterinegypt’s picassa site. A couple of clicks (“all photos” or “all galleries” or something) and you’ll see my latest batches – Pyramids trip and another group from a boat ride on the Nile at night. Happy hunting,

Thanks for reading,