This is quite a hiatus from posting! It has been quite an adjustment since coming here. I have a new home, new school with new colleagues, students, parents, new culture with a new language, church community, friendship circles, ways of getting around, food, and places to go and see. After more than three months living in Egypt, I still haven’t found time to visit the Giza Pyramids yet! Hopefully soon.
So here’s a little about where I live. If you look on Google Maps at Cairo, you’ll notice a long road circling the city. This is called “Ring Road.” The Nile River separates the big city: on the east side of the river is Cairo city proper, and on the west side of the river is the city of Giza. Both places are under different local government jurisdictions, called Cairo Governorate and Giza Governorate, respectively. I think of Governorates as a loosely related term to State governments in the US, though I haven’t done any research to see if that is a correct way of thinking of things.
I live in a “suburb” called New Cairo. There’s still at least a million people living there, and many consider it part of greater Cairo, so it’s not really a suburb. Perhaps you could think of it like Manhattan or Brooklyn in relation to New York City. New Cairo is just outside of Ring Road on the east side. Another name used for this place is Tagammoa El Khames, in Arabic meaning “The Fifth Settlement.” I’ll write in more detail about New Cairo later. Now for some photos!
I live in an apartment building with eight other teachers from ISE. Below are some pictures of my apartment:
And to the left out of view from the living room is a door out to a balcony. And it’s the best part!
I later learned that the mosque in view of my balcony was the mosque ex-President Mohamed Morsi used to attend while he was in power. Now he is in prison and his political party has been outlawed. But taxi drivers still point out his mansion almost every time I ride past it; it’s hard to miss, and is located in a busy street not far from where I live.
I hope to make more posts about where I attend church, and about my school. God willing, of course. Right now we’re at the end of the first trimester at school, and gearing up for the Winter Show. Next few weeks will be busy. I miss you all!