Well we have quite a bit to update everyone on now (in chronological order):
- We moved into our house! My pessimistic predictions were nowhere near accurate, because the movers showed up with all of our stuff on September 2! All this during Ramadan, and working with the ban that prohibits trucks in Maadi until after 7 pm. Things here either happen painfully slow, or before you even think about them. The total time spent in the hotel was just 6 short weeks. Not too much damaged either, so we felt very good about it all.
- We have our car! This was one of those painfully drawn out things. From the time we agreed to buy it to having it registered in my name took three weeks. But it's a good, big, beater car for exploring the country, and Kate is also driving it around Maadi herself!
- We have a Maid! Nadia started a week after we moved in part time - 4 hours a day/5 days a week. She has worked with expat families in Maadi for the past 20 years so she is an enormous help to us. My shirts are folded just like I found them in JC Penny, and she does a lot of prep work for Kate's cooking. It's also just nice that she knows a lot of essential servicepeople in Maadi and will make living much easier.
- We went on vacation! During Eid (a 5-day weekend that marks the end of Ramadan) we went to St Catherine's in the Sinai peninsula. It was a great vacation, although a bit more rustic and physical than we were expecting. We camped out on and did a morning summit of Mt Sinai. We stargazed at an ecolodge in the middle of the desert, and we learned to ride camels!
- We have a Cat! Sakkara came from a animal shelter on the road to the Sakkara pyramids, and is a nice addition to our family. She's still settling in, but loves to sit with us on the couch and chase around water bottle caps.
