Arrival

Finally made it to Cairo. It was a very long flight, Halifax to Toronto (I waved to Linda and Colin), Toronto to Zurich, Zurich to Cairo. 3:00 PM Wednesday till 9:30 AM (Atlantic time) . I was met at the airport and taken to the hotel. The trip by car was an eye opener. There are about 4 Lanes of traffic on a three lane road. The cars are ALL scraped and bumped from running into each other. They don’t signal they beep the horn. Through all this my driver was talking on the cell phone. Good thing they can’t drive very fast. I saw a donkey and cart in traffic as well. Besides this there are PEOPLE wandering through the traffic. Cross walks ?? What are they? I am at the Maadi Hotel which is not too bad, Ann Mac Dougall and Hughie would appreciate the 12 or more stray dogs living below my window, who barked most of the night! Also there is a mosque below my window and they pray a lot over the loud speaker at various times through the day and night. Despite all that and the constant car honking I slept like a log. Safety standards aren’t up to Canadian. This morning I filled the sink with water and the hair dryer , hanging above the sink fell and submerged in the water. A very shocking experience by the time I got it out. Either their house hold current isn’t as strong as ours or the warnings are over rated. I can see the Nile from here and three pyramids. There is a lot of pollution so the air is hazy. It is like Halloween, there are so many types of dress. Didn’t see a burka yet but did see quite a few ladies with only eyes showing. Tonight I am going to dinner with one of the teachers Bonnie Thibideau. I am going to Linda Crawfords tomorrow. I will go to School on Saturday to have a look and will have a few days transition before I begin in class with students. The weather during the day is May-June here and as is the evening. They all appear to think it is very cold for they are wearing big puffy jackets and warm coats. I am not cold for a change.