WE'RE HOME!!!!!!

After 36 hours of traveling (with the poor cat in his carrier), we are finally home! We got a wonderful reception at the airport with all our family holding signs and balloons. Such a nice surprise! But the best welcome home reception was back home with lots of tail wags and wet noses from our dog Desiree. She was psyched to see me and wont let me out of her sight now. (The cat wasn't so psyched to see her though)

I can't get over how luscious and green everything is here! Although it's pretty humid and muggy here also. (icky) We're going to go to Target later, that will be culture shock for me after all this time.

Ma' Sallama to all our Egypt friends. We will miss you and Egypt so much!

Coming Home

Well the students had their last day of school. We celebrated graduation. And we had our last teacher work day at Schutz. In less than one hour we will be loading up a van to drive to the airport in Cairo to start our trip home. It's bittersweet leaving. It's been very hard to say goodbye to the many great friends we have made here and we will miss them and living in Egypt very much. But we are also excited to get home and be close to family again. We can't wait to have our dog Desiree back.

Goodbye our Schutz friends. We will miss you dearly.
Friends and family back home, we can't wait to see you again.

Diving in Qaitbey

As some of you may remember, Kristal and I got PADI certified in Scuba Diving last October/November.  You can refresh your memory here and here.  Anyway, one of the things we’ve wanted to do since we arrived in Egypt is do an archeological dive.  One of the best sites around is just outside of Qaitbey near the old Fort.  It is here that centuries ago old Alexandria stretched out further than it does today.  Over time, earthquakes, rising sea level, etc. has caused much of the old shore to now be under several feet of water.  Unfortunately, Kristal had not been feeling well, so in her best interests, she hung out with several of the girls in Agami while I dove with our friends Mike, Frank, & Jane.

Surprisingly, it’s not terribly deep.  Our first dive had a maximum depth of only 10 meters, or about 33 feet.  Here we saw some remains of the old lighthouse pillars, several Greek, Roman, and Pharonic remains, and even swam through a tunnel created by the fallen objects.  Unlike our certification dives, we also saw several types of fish and such.  I have to say – it was pretty darn awesome looking at all of these remains.  Jane and our guide, Mr. Sayed, even danced on one of the tables down below.  

The second dive was a mix of archeological remains and an old wreck.  It was only 5 meters deep.  However, visibility just flat sucked and it was hard to keep everyone within eyesight some times.  You could see their outline, then the next second they were gone and two seconds later it was all clear.  It was quite important to pay attention to direction and orientation, but nobody was ever worried about losing anyone else. Anyways, we got to see an old WWII plane that crashed in the bay only a couple hundred meters from shore.  You could still identify the cockpit, wings, engines, etc. but you could also see where parts of the tail had been ripped apart in the crash.  We even saw an ammunition pack of still live bullets and a helmet (was it planted or not?) left at the site.  From there we saw a few more pillars and blocks similar to the first dive.

One interesting thing to note is that several of the blocks we saw had thick, heavy ropes tied around them and numbered tags.  We asked Mr. Sayed and he said that those blocks are tagged to be removed from the water soon.  You probably heard about the big news here earlier this year when they removed a 4 ton pylon from another underwater temple in a near by bay.  You can read about it here.

After we finished, we rode back to the dive shop and then headed back home.  During the dive, I didn’t seem to notice that I was working very hard at all.  There were some minor currents since we were in a bay area and very close to shore.  It wasn’t until after I got home that I was SO tired I couldn’t sleep.  I ended up spending all day Saturday resting and recovering…I need to get in better condition!  However, the dive is very worthwhile and definitely on our list of things to do when we come back to Egypt for a visit.  Kristal is sad she missed it but, Insha’Allah, she will have the opportunity again.

Turkey

My parents took this amazing picture of these turkey's in their backyard a few weeks ago.  I can't wait to get back to the mid-west and see some wildlife again and sink my bare feet into that luscious green grass. If you missed it, also check out this great picture of the deer they took a few months ago.  My mom is becoming quite the wildlife photographer.

Sunset

A beautiful Mediterranean sunset we saw while eating at a beach restaurant.

We'll miss these.

Stretch.

Strreeetttccchhhh!  

Yaaaaawwwwwn.

Man it must be good to be a cat!

Cairo Weekend Getaway

At the beginning of this year, Seth and I said we would make it down to Cairo a log more for weekend getaways. Well, as you know, things are easier said than done and the only time we spend in Cairo this year (other than work related trips) was during spring break when Seth’s family was here. Well, we are quickly running out of time so we finally just picked a weekend and stuck to it.

We took the train down right after school on Thursday. We stayed at the President Hotel in Zamelek, an area of Cairo that we really like. We just couldn’t wait another three weeks until we get home and indulged ourselves in ordering Papa John’s! It was quite a treat for us! The next day we spoiled ourselves to Subway. Are you seeing a trend yet? Yep! That’s right! This trip was mostly about treating ourselves to good food we can’t get in Alexandria. Besides eating, the only other thing we did was shop! We spent most of our time at the Khan El Khalili. We finished up all the Egyptian gift buying we needed to do for people back home, as well as, bought a few more things for ourselves that we hadn’t yet gotten. Two years in Egypt and we hadn’t bought a single piece of Alabaster!!!!!

It was a wonderful get away and very relaxing and fun of the two of us. We wish we had made more of an effort to do this more often during the year. The only snafu of the whole trip was that our return train was an hour and a half late! This is very unusual and since Ramses Station in Cairo doesn’t have any signs, message boards and all announcements are only made in Arabic…we had a little trouble figuring out what was going on. But as things usually work out here, we befriended a family that spoke English who were waiting for the same train and they helped make sure we knew what was going on and got us on the correct train home.

Pictures from the Khan el Kahlili

 

We came across a Harley-Davidson store in Zamelek!  Who knew!

(We also have pictures of us stuff our faces with Papa Johns and Subway, but who really want's to see that!)

Also.....

Today is Seth's Birthday!  

Happy Birthday Sweetie.  I love you!

8th Grade Mt. Sinai Trip

Every year the 8^th grade class takes a trip to Mt. Sinai and the Red Sea. Last year I was one of the chaperons on this trip but for whatever reason I didn’t blog about it. However, this year Seth and I were both chaperons so I got to go for a second time.

This is a very different kind of trip than most of our socially elite students are used to. No four star resorts or restaurants, no overly indulgent shopping sprees, and worst of all no cell phones! Instead, we climb a mountain, sleep outside under the stars, cook our own food and do our own dishes.

We spend weeks leading up to this trip every year preparing the students. Their P.E. class is amped up to prepare them for the long hike and they spend some time talking about healthy eating habits, a little known concept around here. Since these kids have never hiked or camped before they are required to bring in their bags to school the day before. We got through and make sure they have everything on the packing list and send home all the miscellaneous things they do not need. We show them how to properly pack their backpacking bag and attach their sleeping bag.

We loaded up the bus early morning Friday and left Alex shortly after 6:00am for the ten hour bus ride to the Sinai Peninsula and Mt. Sinai. Since the Sinai Peninsula still has the potential for an area of conflict, we have to get government permission to travel through it and there are several check points along the way. It is a little disconcerting when armed military guards board your bus of 15 thirteen year olds that you are responsible for and you can’t easily communicate with them. But we had no problems, and the guards whom could speak a little English with us usually joked with us about they’re glad they weren’t in our shoes being in charge of all those kids.

We finally arrived at Mt. Sinai a little before 4 o’clock. We had to hire a local Bedouin guide to lead us up the mountain. It didn’t take very long into the hike for the group to spread out, leaving Seth in the very back with the slow-pokey climbers. With the rest of the group too far ahead to see, Seth and the slow-poke took the wrong trail, luckily we had borrowed some walkie-talkies (illegal in Egypt by the way) from a friend and quickly got them back on track. It took just a little over three hours to get to the top. This was a lot faster than last year and since we had left earlier we didn’t have to do the final 150 Step of Repentance in the dark….MUCH better and safer.

We ate our packed dinners at the top of the mountain, enjoying the last few remaining rays of color from the sunset. Most brought Cup-O-Soup (knock off brand) and bought boiled water from the Bedouins who had propane heaters up there. It had gotten quite chilly at the top, especially once the sun went down, so the warm noodles were very nice!

We rented mattresses for 10LE and rolled out our sleeping bags under the stars. It was the first time for any of these kids to sleep outdoors, and without the light pollution from the city, they were amazed at the expanse of all the stars.

Around 3 o’clock in the morning, we were woken up by large tour groups coming up the mountain. At 5:30am we woke all our students up to go to the very peak of the mountain to watch the sun rise. There is a small Orthodox Church and mosque at the summit. We ate our packed breakfasts and descended the mountain. Wow, going down is a lot easier.

At the base of the mountain we stopped and visited St. Katherine’s Monastery. The Monastery of St. Katherine is the oldest continuously inhabited monastery in the World and its library has the largest religious collection after the Vatican. It was built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6th century AD, although there was already a church at the site of the Burning Bush erected by the Empress Helena in 330 AD. Byzantine Orthodox monasticism has even earlier roots, and the area is sacred to all three monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Chapel of the Burning Bush, the most sacred part of the monastery, is a small chamber that lies below and behind the altar of the church. The bush, protected by a stone wall, is of a bramble species, the like of which is not to be found in all Sinai; it neither blooms nor gives any fruit, although carefully tended by the monks. It is said that this bush is a descendant of the original Burning Bush and is several thousands of years old.

Then we loaded back onto the bus and drove another 2 hours to the Red Sea and Basata, the eco-lodge we spent the remainder of our trip at. Basata in Arabic means simple and that is exactly what Basata is. We stayed in bamboo huts on the beach with no electricity. There is a larger bamboo building that acts as the kitchen, dining room, and living room for all guests. It is a place to come, relax by the tranquil sea and enjoy good old fashioned conversation with people from all over the world, and enjoy Egypt at its cleanest and finest. Dinners are provided and served family style to all guest s in the traditional Bedouin style, meaning sitting on rugs and pillows around a low table. Breakfasts and lunches are cooked yourself and you are expected to clean up after yourself and do your own dishes - something most of our students are not used to. Yes, we did have to teach some how to scramble and egg and how to wash their plate.

The area is completely secluded by geographical location and by two rocky mountains that extend out to the sea on either side of their property. It is known to have one of the finest beaches in all of the world, with a very soft shallow sandy shelf that extends for over 100 meters into the sea before flourishing sea grass community and then a beautiful coral reef that has been protected and less damaged than most in the Red Sea.

At Basata, they have their own water refinery and waste water management system. They recycle everything, well actually, you are expected to sort and recycle all your stuff. They have their own small farm which they feed the leftover bio waste to the goats, camel, donkeys etc. Also getting their own eggs from their chickens, no meat is eaten at Basata except fish. They have their own greenhouse where they get all of their vegetables and even their own school. It only has grades 5^thth currently (because that’s what grade their children are in) but they are trying to expand to a full school to support more of the local community. and 11

Mr. Sheriffe, the owner of Basata, has really done a wonderful job. He is really passionate about what he does and cares a lot for his home country of Egypt and sees the potential if only he can get the rest of the country to care to keep Egypt clean and support more eco-tourism. Due to his success with Basata, he has started his own NGO which manages all the waste from tourist resorts and locals from Hurgada to Dahab!!! They feed the bio waste to the Bedouin’s animals and take the rest to his recycling plant where everything is sorted and sold to companies who can recycle the materials in Cairo.

Most of our time at Basata the students and ourselves had free time where they enjoyed bonding with each other, swimming, playing sand soccer, sand volleyball, reading, and playing games. I saw three Lion Fish while I was swimming and a Moray Eel! We did spend some time each day working on journaling and other assignments from their teachers.

Our second day at Basata we took a jeep ride to the Colored Canyon and hiked through it. It’s a beautiful canyon that is only wide enough for one person at a time and winds and snakes it way through the mountain. The kids really enjoyed this hike, we saw a few lizards, a snake and there are a few challenges like wiggling their way through a small hole created by a fallen bolder that they really enjoyed.

After our hike we stopped at the Hemeya Recycling Center, Mr. Sheriffe's NGO. We watched a promotional video about the center and got a tour of how they sort and process the recycled materials.

Over all it was a great trip and I have to say went a lot better than last year. It was easier knowing was to expect from my experiences last year, changing a lot of the things that didn’t work well, and it’s very nice chaperoning with your spouse. It’s fun taking these kids out of their element of five star resorts and shopping and Prada and seeing them enjoy hiking, camping, cooking their own food and cleaning up after themselves.

When we finally arrived back home after a 12 hour bus ride, we had another nice surprise. And as a reward for reading our blog, you will be the first to know! Seth had an e-mail from his old school district Shawnee Mission asking Seth to call them soon. Seth is currently on leave but with the current education situation in Kansas we thought (and were told) that there was little chance of him getting reassigned. However, somehow everything worked out and they did have a position for him at Hocker Grove, the middle school he first taught at 12 years ago! Of all things, he’s taking the position of one of his best friends so that she can take a leave of absence and will be in the same classroom! Of course, since he accepted this position he has gotten several other calls for interviews at other schools…such is life.

So it looks like the plan is that we are heading back home. We’ll be back June 21^st and I’ll start looking for a PTA position soon.

Once in a Lifetime Experience...again.

I guess sometimes a “Once in a Lifetime Experience” happens twice. Several months ago I was lucky enough to chaperone the sixth grade on a trip to Taporsiris Magna, an archeological dig sight about an hour west of Alexandria. You can go back and read about that day here. At the time I thought it was an unbelievable once in a lifetime experience but I guess sometimes we can be doubly blessed because two weekends ago the Schutz staff was invited to come for a special tour of the site.

Five years ago Taporsiris Magna was declared a “dead site” meaning they believed they had found everything that they were going to find at that site and there were no new discoveries to be made. Preparations were to begin in order to make the site a tourist area. Until Kathleen Martinez, from the Dominican Republic, went to Dr. Hawass and presented her theory that Taporsiris Magna may be the location of Marc Anthony and Cleopatra’s burial. As Dr. Hawass personally explained to us that he has always been a dreamer and had been in love with Cleopatra since he was a little boy, so when Dr. Martinez came to him with this theory, he decided to give her a chance. This “chance” granted to her by Dr. Hawass made Dr. Martinez the first person from any Latino country to get permission to do archeological work in Egypt. Now after two years of work, she is honored to be the first Latino to make discoveries in Egypt. Just four days before our visit, she had unearthed a statue of Ptolemy IV and earlier that month she had found the lost east entrance to the Isis temple. Using the newest radiographic machines and the help from Yale and the Swiss government, she has located several underground tunnels that she is now starting to explore. Plus, outside the temple she has found what is believed to be the largest burial site it all of Egypt with over 12,000 bodies, all with their heads pointing east and evident of being gilded in gold.

The day that she had invited us to come was the day that she was announcing many of these discoveries to the international press and local Ambassadors of Egypt. We were very honored and privileged to be part of such an event. There was press from all over the world with film and camera crews, and Ambassadors from many Latino countries as well as France, Spain, and Korea, and the most exciting was Dr. Hawass, Secretary Genral of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. If you have ever watched any Egyptian documentary of the Discovery or National Geographic channel, then you know who Dr. Hawass is.

 

Kathleen Martinez, Seth, Dr. Hawass, Kristal 

We arrived a little early and were waiting on the Ambassadors to arrive from Cairo so we had a great opportunity to talk with Dr. Hawass one on one and take some pictures taken with him. He is a very friendly guy, easy going and quite funny.  

Once the Ambassadors arrived we felt like VIP’s getting lumped with the Ambassadors for pictures by the international press. Then we had a lecture by Dr. Hawass and Dr. Martinez about history of Taporsiris Magna, past excavations done there, Dr. Martinez’s current theories about the site and discussions about what she has already found and what she believes she still might find. Then we were taken on a tour by Dr. Martinez around the site, up on top of the pylon, to the newly opened tunnel, out to the Pharos Lighthouse replica and to the burial grounds. Dr. Martinez was very gracious to us; even though she had several important people to play host to, she often found the time to come over to us and translate for us, tell us more personal stories of her work here and showed us to areas which she did not lead the entire group. We were very grateful for her generosity that day and are awe inspired by her efforts and honored to know her.

 Seth with the Ptolemy IV statue.  This statue was discovered just four days before we went!  There has been a lot of international press about it lately and the significance of it.  Follow the links to read more.

Dr. Zahi Hawass's page 
Ptolemy IV statue discovery
Dr. Kathleen Martinez

Excavations of the newly found east temple entrance was currently being done by workers while we were there.  Exciting!  History being reviled right before our eyes.

Examples of some of the smaller artifacts that they have found at the site.  We were allowed to touch them...WOWSERS!  You don't get to do that at the New York Natural History Museum.  Oh, by the way, next month an Taporsisis Manga will kick off an American museum tour before heading to the Dominican Republic and Europe.

Lots of pottery fragments.

Big hole.

As I mentioned earlier, Dr. Martinez is using the latest technology in underground imaging to locate lots of hidden underground tunnels beneath the temple.  She believes that these tunnels might lead to the burial chamber of Cleopatra.  After weeks of work, they were able to dig down the the depth of one of these tunnels.  So far Dr. Martinez has been the only one to go down to the tunnel.  Dr. Hawass was suppose to receive the honor of going down today but the lift broke half way down and he got stuck.  He had a very good sense of humor about this.

Well what do you think she found in that big hole?  Well so far just these two bodies.  These are not mummies but rather just skeletons.  They believe they fell down into the tunnel at some point.  Around their necks they found religious necklaces.  The most exciting part...all the important dignitaries and ambassadors didn't see these!!!!  Dr. Martinez show us these on our own!

When I came here in December with the sixth grade class, we were very restricted of what we were allowed to take pictures of since her findings had not been published yet.  Now that she has released a lot of her discoveries AND since were there during an big wig VIP press conference, we had free range to take pictures of whatever we wish...and boy did I!

Entrance to a large family burial chamber.  Yep, you can see several skulls inside.

Seth and I in front of the scaled replica of the Pharos Lighthouse.  This is just east of the temple.  Since this wasn't actually used as a lighthouse, and the location of it is just "funny" and there is radiographic evidence of a large chamber underneath; Dr. Martinez thinks that there is a chance that this replica Pharos lighthouse might actually be more like a tombstone for Mac Anthony's burial chamber.

Mummies!!!!!!!!!!

Talking with Dr. Hawass and Dr. Martinez we learned that from the discoveries that she has already made here, this site will be an active site for a long long time.  We learned that in Egypt it is a rule that only Archeologist can uncover bodies and not workers and that it can sometimes take up to three years to unearth a mummy.  Since they have recently realized that Taporsiris is the largest burial ground now known in Egypt with over 1,200 bodies, they still have several decades of work ahead of them.  Dr. Martinez was telling us how when she first got permission to come to Egypt she was only given a two month permit to explore Taporsiris Magna, now she is thinking ahead to training predecessors to take over her work for years to come!  So enjoy these pictures, because Taporsiris Magna will be a closed excavation site for probably most of our lives and possibly our children's too!

If you'd like to see all of my pictures from this day on my Shutterfly share site, e-mail me and I'll send you the link and password.

Happy Cat

I love this picture of Sokkwi and had to share it. He looks so happy, relaxed and comfortable! Totally chill!

New Look

Like the new look? I'm pretty proud of myself, I just taught myself how to design my own blog background today. I've been trying to learn for awhile now.

I actually don't like this look very much. I just grabbed some Egypt stuff that I had to play with while I was teaching myself. This is just the trial and test to see if it actually worked. When we get back from our weekend, I'll try to create a better one, so check back next week to see.

Rotary Club Race

Two weekends ago Seth and I participated in a Run/Walk-A-Thon put on by the Alexandria Rotary Club to benefit a local school for girls. It was 13 kilometers (8 miles) along the Cornishe; the road that runs along the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was a beautiful sunny day with a lovely sea breeze so we really enjoyed the day. My friend Lianne and I tied for third place in the women’s running competition!!! Many other staff friends and students won awards as well. Schutz School got the trophy for the organization with the most participants. The next three days of school, you could really tell who had participated, because after 13 kilometers, we were all really sore.

(pictures to come...hopefully)

A Moment In Time- Global Mosaic

What will you be doing at 10:00 am on May 2nd? Well pick up your camera and share with the world.

LENS, a subset of The New York Times, is doing a project and inviting everyone to participate. They are trying to capture "A Moment In Time" around the world. The submitted pictures will be complied to create a global mosaic. So on Sunday May 2nd, 15:00 U.T.C. pick up your camera and snap a picture of what you are doing and then submit it.

It will be 6:00 am here in Egypt, 11:00 am in New York, 10:00am in Kansas City, and 8:00 in Cali.

Click here to go to LENS website for more information.

Metal Detectors

I sometimes feel like I am in the Land of Metal Detectors here. You have to pass through a metal detector everywhere you go. Not just at the airports and government buildings, but even when we go to the mall, movies, library, or grocery store. Heck, even our own school has one at every entrance.

The thing that gets me is that they seem to be pointless. I never empty my pockets or take of my jewelry and detectors beep just about every time I walk through; but in two years, I have never once been stopped. I have even boarded a plane with an open bottle of water in my hand. I have determined that the guy that watches your bag on the monitor of the x-ray machine has a job equivalent to a Wal-Mart greeter. I’m beginning to think that half the metal detectors do not even work. It makes me think of the old Police Academy movie when Michael Winslow would make the beeping sound every time Lieutenant Harris would walk through.

My favorite example of this was when Seth’s family was here and we were taking them to the Citadel, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Egypt. There was a large gate open, big enough for two cars to fit through, but they wouldn’t let any people walk through. Instead they funneled everyone through this small guard shack and created quite the bottle neck. When we finally got to the guard shack, the metal detector wasn’t even turned on and the three guards were sitting in front of a laptop with video controllers in each of their hands playing Nintendo 64. Not once did they look up from the screen that I was able to stop and point out this hilarious behavior to all our family. I thought taking a picture might be pushing my luck.