Back to Bulaq

A group of us went to Bulaq again today (high of 41C) to look at fabric and the sights. The fabric is awesome and the market is loaded with fabric and clothing. Got a bit more silk, so cheap I couldn’t resist for $6.50 a meter. We walked through the network of walking streets and each one filled with fabrics and clothing. Then you run out off the fabric section into the next area. The neighboring souq/market is car parts. All arranged in every nook and cranny. The dresses are very flashy and full of sequins and lace. I posted some to my web album…… http://picasaweb.google.com/colmac27 …. The picture of the fellow on the bike is classic Egypt. They can drive a bike with an almost impossible load. The same goes for motorcycles and small cars.

Irlen Lens

Time for an information break!! I have been involved with promoting Irlen lens/filters for students since about 1 ½ years. I discovered it accident, because I had many capable, intelligent students in my class who were not achieving their potential, especially where reading and paper work was involved. Because of them I searched the net and found the Irlen method of helping readers using colored lens. These students who obtained the Irlen lens have on the whole experienced a surge in their learning process ranging from moderate to astonishing. We have to keep in mind the Irlen lens/filters are a “piece of the puzzle in solving learning problems. For some it is the only puzzle piece which is missing, for others it is one of the pieces but there are other factors which play a part.So if you are a capable person, unable to reach your potential, have problems with the words on the page moving, going into 3D, they may have shadows or just disappear, read on. Studying is a nightmare for you, for no matter how hard you study you can't retain the information, you are sun sensitive, dislike reading because of the work your eyes have to do, maybe have headaches and feel restless when you have to sit still, check out this web page and do the self test questionnaire and read all about this Syndrome. ------------- http://www.irlen.com/I am very excited for now a group of parents in Egypt are going to have their children, who I have screened, tested for the Syndrome. PS: I am not involved in selling them!

Bulaq Fabric Market

Doesn't time fly!! One more week, can't believe it. Maadi is in a fly lane and when I see the big aircraft flying over, I think, won't belong before I'll be on one heading out. Today I went to Bulaq the fabric market, with an Egyptian teacher for both of us wanted to get some fabric. We went by subway and got off at the Nasser Station. Coming up from that station you are hit by a mass of humanity and vehicles. The street is choked with vehicles which are honking most of the time, so very, very noisy. Getting across the street is like a Video game. As Gerri Mac Donald told me “use a local as a shield”. So watch when Egyptians cross and follow behind them. It is one big market, with stores filled to the top with fabric. The prices there were much better than what I have seen before, $9 a meter for silk, and $2 for crepe lining. The fabrics there are beautiful, Egyptian cotton and so many patterns and kinds of silk Besides fabric there is so much clothing, and every thing else you can think of stuffed into tiny shops. I looked in one place off the sidewalk and there were car wrecks stacked 3-4 high selling car parts, another shop had large coils of rope and there are people wandering about selling food and drinks.

Ain Sukhna Beach

Today a group of us took a van to Ain Sukhna, a resort town on the West bank of the Red Sea about 2 hours from Cairo. We went to the Ramada Hotel beach, (you have to pay to use the hotel’s beach) and got to sit in the sun and swim a lot. The water was very warm, past the very best temperature Cape Breton can offer, even in August. The beach fee includes towels and a lunch from the beach restaurant. It is a sandy beach and has a lot of little tropical fish swimming as you swim. There was a huge oil tanker anchored off shore and some type of refinery close by but the water appeared clean and was the usual turquoise colour. Some of the girls saw 5 dolphins body surfing in the waves. The beach wasn’t crowded and some Muslim ladies were there dressed in heavy jeans or full length heavy skirts, long sleeves and headscarves. Hot, Hot, Hot. The Muslim bathing suit consists of something like a full body wet suit and some wear a dress over it and the required headscarf ……... http://www.jelbab.com/Swim-Suit.asp

A Walk Downtown on Friday the 13th

This morning I went to pick up a new suit case and walk around in the downtown shopping district. On the way to the subway I noticed so many mango trees, just like apple trees at home, full of mangos. I also saw a fig tree which has the fruit very close to the trunk of the tree. I took the subway to the square opposite the Egyptian Museum. The subway is always very crowded and there are, just like in NYC, hawkers trying to sell their wares to a captive audience. Today there was a lady with assorted trinkets, a man with air freshener (very bad smelling) and a fellow with sesame seed sticks all in the same car at the same time. The subway brings you right to the heart of a very busy intersection. I can never get the courage to walk through traffic like the Egyptians. They just stroll calmly through the 3 or 4 lanes of heavy traffic. It is amazing more aren’t killed in the street. Walking down the street was getting very crowded as I went down Talat Harb Street, for the sellers were opening up their bags and spreading their wares over the side walk. Suddenly they all expertly grabbed the four corners of the square of cloth they had their wares spread on, or others lifted up the large tray their wares were displayed on to their heads and they all (20 or more) went running or dragging their wares down the street. Behind them ran a policeman, (but I could see he was enjoying it for he was trying not to laugh). They all melted into alleyways and down other streets. After the policeman left I could see them peeking out and reestablishing themselves in a safer area. It is amazing how many friendly people approach you and strike up a conversation asking where you are from and praising Canada. Then….they start trying to steer you off to the store they are working for to sell you fake papyrus, poor quality gold or ‘essence’. Scammers everywhere!! I found some shops selling fabric and saw some beautiful silk for about $20 a meter or less. The Egyptian cotton was very nice as well and I bought a piece. (I guess all they sell here IS Egyptian cotton.) Tuesday I am going to a big fabric market called Boulac.

Baa Baa in the hallway

This picture is priceless. As I walked down the stairs to the lobby (outside porch) of my apartment I could hear children laughing excitedly. This is what I saw when I came down. The children in the apartment above me had bought the sheep in a market and brought it home in the car and were waiting or their dad to come home and see it. Don't think he knew about it..... It was gone when I returned and and all traces swept up. I'll have to ask the kids next time I see them.

Hemochromatosis

This information could make a big difference in your life! In 2003 I was curious about my blood iron/Ferritin levels and asked for them to be tested (It is important to stress it is NOT the hemoglobin test but the Ferritin level). Turned out I had very high levels and further genetic testing revealed I had the genetic condition Hemochromatosis (iron overload). Symptoms do not appear till damage has occurred, so it is important to be checked before you show signs. This condition has a higher rate among people of Celtic/European descent. Since I have this condition, it is a fact, Hemochromatosis is scattered throughout my family tree, the French one and the Scottish. (among those names in ‘Fair is the Place’ our family genealogy) Both my mother and father were each carrying at least one gene for me to be positive. My own children all have at least one gene for Hemochromatosis which makes them all carriers. Quoting The Canadian Hemochromatosis Society

“Hereditary Hemochromatosis (HHC) is the most common genetic disorder affecting Canadians. It is a crippling, potentially fatal condition caused by a defect of iron metabolism that leads to iron overload in vital organs, joints and tissues. The complications caused by the disorder are preventable if a diagnosis is made before the excess iron causes irreversible damage, and effective treatment exists.”

By the way I discovered it early, no damage, just regularly give blood. One of my first tasks when I get home will be to make appointments to give about 3-5 pints of blood (one a week) as soon as possible. I was not comfortable giving blood in Egypt, so I am overdue. Their website: http://www.toomuchiron.ca/index.php So.... get your Ferritin tested!!

Water Games

Sitting here with my hair soaked, I was working and forgot to put the AC on, when you start dripping then you realize how hot it is. Time is flying by and the end of year activities are starting. Today we had a games day in the afternoon. The high school kids planned it for the elementary. They were outside games with one twist. They all involved water. As the kids played the games they were continually being sprayed with hoses or sprinklers. They were all totally soaked by the time it as over as well as a lot of teachers. Only in Egypt could you do that without worrying about the children being wet and cold. It was about 36C today so we dried off very quickly. The mango tree, one house down is growing big fat mangos (Nora) although they are still green, hey look very good. On Tuesday after school I am going to the fabric market to look for some silk or other exotic fabrics. Tomorrow afternoon I hope to take the Metro (subway) Downtown to have a last look around. The roads are very uneven and bumpy, and walking after dark is hazardous not because of thugs (there are literally policemen on every corner in my neighborhood) but because of the holes and bumps in the road. I am learning how to roll with a fall. Last night I added a few more bruises and to my road rash look after I unexpectedly hit a speed bump.

How much hotter??

Put the thermometer on my window ledge at my apartment and this is what it read! Finished my report cards at last and had to stay in my bedroom where the AC was cold to do them. The bird family has moved out of my kitchen AC unit, so my landlord is going to get it repaired. Tomorrow I will have to get another suitcase to carry home what I have acquired. I bought a scale so I will know for sure how much I can pack.

Ticket Home

Pictures of my students playing games with a parachute I borrowed from another school. Hot as can be today 40C+. Like an oven but a dry heat. IT IS OFFICIAL, I LEAVE CAIRO ON THE 25TH OF JUNE, FLY TO HEATHROW, MONTREAL AND ARRIVE IN HALIFAX AT 11:30 PM THE SAME DAY. I could take time to travel in Europe or elsewhere but it will be much better to get to Canada again and see what is familiar and Canadian. Susan tells me my daffodils are blooming, the asparagus is up and my fruit trees blooming. That is exciting to hear. Report card marks are due in on Sunday the 8th then it is much less stressful. I was sitting out in the sun at school today waiting for my students when a little boy came and sat next to me. He looked at me and said, “Your hair is so beautiful! It has two colours, white and brown”. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Dahab in May

This is one of the Bedouin children, hitching a ride. The other is the "Blue Hole" from above. The light coloured water is coral reef. We left for Dahab from Maadi around 5:00 and arrived there about 12:30. A long ride by bus. We had a coach so they are more comfortable. We stayed at the Star of Dahab Hotel. A new place with the same almost desalinated water as last time. Next morning we all met for breakfast at the restaurant which is a sit on cousins area just on the beach with shade from the sun. After breakfast the divers started their diving schedule which left us non divers to do whatever we wanted. I got snorkel gear and explored the reef near the board walk. The reefs start right at the waterline and go out to varying distances then it’s a drop off, to deep water. I guess we are on the continental plate boundaries and the water is very deep just meters from the beach. The fish are wondrous to see, neon colours, deep blues, oranges, vivid yellows, spots and stripes. There are larger fish and tiny ones too. It is a wonderland. It is also so strange for they aren’t afraid and you swim in the midst of a school of fish, but they don’t ever bump you. In between going in the water it was time to walk the board walk or just lay out in the sun. That evening we went up in the mountains for a Bedouin meal. We drove up in off road vehicles and there was a meal set out for us. The light was provided by candles in sand bottles. After we ate the food which wasn’t so authentic Bedouin but still very good in the dark, who could tell what it was anyway. We just stretched out and listened to a Bedouin sing American songs and looked up at the stars which were so very bright. Next morning we went to two places down the coast, the Canyon and the ‘Blue Hole’. The snorkeling there was awesome. We ate lunch at one of the seaside restaurants and looked down over the verandah to the sea below where we could see the coral reefs so clearly in the water. The fish cluster near the reefs. They just swim about eating things off the coral. I thought it would be fish chasing each other to eat each other but they just swim lazily by without a care, so it seems. At the “Blue Hole” the reef goes out maybe 10 meters or less then there is a drop off to about 1800 meters. When you look down it is blue with fish swimming everywhere close by and in the far distance. These beautiful fish swim in as far as the water line. I saw Nemo again, this time in the real sea Anemone. The Bedouin kids and camels are everywhere, selling bead work or riding by on camels trying to get riders, On the way out to the Blue Hole the little fellows about 8-10 hitch a ride on the back of the truck/jeeps by jumping on the bumper and hiding behind where the driver won’t see them. No one seems to care. I think these kids just leave home in the morning and reappear sometime before it is time to sleep. Not many restraints on them. On the way home we drove up the coast North as far as Taba, very near Israel/ Jordan and then cut over toward the Suez tunnel to Cairo. It was a long trip back. We left at 4 and arrived back in Maadi at 1:30 AM.