The first of June!!! How is that possible???

Well, probably because I’ve been staying really busy lately!
Let’s look at the highlights.

On Saturday, I spent the day at “Aqua Park” – a nice waterpark with pools, waterslides, etc. The main reason for the trip was to have a day of fun for Craig and Karen’s boys, but the rest of the MCC group was invited along, too. It’s been really hot lately, so it was a great break from the heat. Price was good too. 45LE ($7) for the full day and that included a sandwich, small pizza, and a drink!

I haven’t been to a waterpark since the party for some baseball team! That’s over 15 years ago! Great fun. Everything worked out ok, except for the small hole I now have in the back of my swimming suit. *frown*

The place had some pretty big waterslides, including one that you went down in the dark! In that one, you were also sitting on a big inner-tube, or on a double-tube with someone else. You could go forward or backwards! I guess they had about 5 different slides and a nice area for the kids, too. Since Egyptian schools are still in session, it wasn’t very busy. A few Egyptians, but mostly expats (including lots of Russians).

I feel odd when I do such fun things but in talking with Craig, I decided that part of what I’m learning about Cairo (and what I should be conveying to people) is that it _is not_ this really exotic place. Sure, you’ll see odd things here (carts pulled by donkeys, women carrying large objects on top of their head, etc) but you also get many things that could be part of life in N. America (like taking kids to a waterpark).

Every MCC’er has a different experience and each country/city where we serve plays a big part in that.

This weekend, I also watched 2 movies. Friday night, I saw my first “western movie” in an Egyptian cinema. 10LE (less than $2) to see “The Hours”. Has anyone else seen it? Apparently, it was nominated for many awards and I can see why. I really enjoyed this film. The performances were excellent by Nicole Kidman, Julian Lewis, and Meryl Streep. Ed Harris and Jeff Daniels were good too, but the ladies stole the show!

The cinema was nice, if a bit run-down. Comfortable seats, decent sound, a normal-sized screen, and even a guy who escorted us to our seats (requiring a small tip, of course)

We were an international group that went after Frisbee. 2 Americans, 2 Sudanese, and a young woman from Turkey.

On Saturday after Aqua Park, I met at the office with Mike and Carmen to watch “Chicken Run” from Nick Park, the guy who made the Wallace and Gromit . Funny and filled with so many puns! References to Star Trek and everything!