Great Cairo site to keep you occupied

Since I probably won't be blogging for the next 2 weeks, I wanted to find things to keep you occupied! Well...while searching for a picture of the big governement building in Cairo, I found a beautiful, interesting, and well-designed Cairo site.

It's called "Last Tourist Cairo" and is sponsored by the Dutch Embassy in Cairo and one of the cutting-edge art galleries in Cairo.

I really think you all should take a look at this site. More than anything else I've seen, this site really captures the feel of Cairo. The hand-drawn maps and black-and-white pictures give it that timeless feeling that it has.

Easy dealings with the Egyptian Government

Would you believe that I just got back from a quick and easy trip to extend my Egyptian Visa? Well...it's true!

Granted, they didn't give me the Visa, but that's just a small thing!

*laugh*

(no, that doesn't mean I have to leave when my current Visa expires -- keep reading)

Without making the story any longer than it has to be...with my current Visa expiring in a week and passport expiring at the beginning of November, they didn't know how to process a new 6 month Visa at this point. So they told me there's a 2-week penalty-free grace period for renewing Visas and I'll just wait until I get my new passport and then go back to this same office again for the Visa.

Now that's efficiency! I don't have to go to the big, scary government building in Cairo or anything!!!!

Bible Quiz

Quick! Can you list all the books in the Bible? Just in the Old or New Testament?

If you're like me, the answer is no. In fact, if you're like me and someone says "Is there a book of Nahum in the Bible?", you will probably stare at them blankly. (What can I say? I never went to Sunday School very much -- watching Buck Rogers seemed like a better choice)

Well...as part of my ongoing educational experience in Egypt, I learned today that there is a book of Nahum, plus a whole bunch of other somewhat obscure books after Psalms and Proverbs.

So, think about this for a minute and then take a peek at a list of books of the Bible.

Doing the paperwork

Applied for my new Passport last weekend in Cairo. So, that took me to the U.S. Embassy for the first time. Boring place, but I met a guy working there who used to plant tulips in the summer in Holland, MI.

Tomorrow, I go for my new visa to keep me here the next few months.

After that, I jump on a big ol' bus with a bunch of Egyptians and head south. Yes, to where the weather is even hotter!!! Monasteries, Luxor, Aswan, and Hurghada for about 9 days.

The apartment-hunt continues. No updates.

Helped some kids at the church today with their pronunciation in English. They have a big competition later this week in Cairo and they need to do short speeches and such in English. Kinda fun to see these young kids express themselves in English.

My new apartment

Well, I just found out that the new apartment I've been waiting for months to move into isn't going to work out. *sigh* Long story.

So what this means is that I need to get things rolling over the next couple of days to get people looking for places for me so that there are options when I get back from my trip that leaves on Wednesday.

Kinda discouraging -- I've had so many conversations about this, including last week when I said "Look, just level with me and tell me the truth. I just want to know if I should keep waiting or look for something else." and it's just gotten me nowhere. Well, I guess I've learned from the experience, but it definitely hasn't gotten me a permanent place to live.

In the long run, this might work out for the best. We shall see.

Last Weekend?

Wow...I just love having other people in MCC Egypt with Blogs. They write things and take pictures so I don't have to!

For example, I didn't tell you much about last weekend when I went to Cairo...but Alice, the teenage daughter of my Country Representatives, James and Linda blogs about things. We happened to be at the same event last weekend, so you can read what Alice had to say about it!

Last Weekend?

Wow...I just love having other people in MCC Egypt with Blogs. They write things and take pictures so I don't have to!

For example, I didn't tell you much about last weekend when I went to Cairo...but Alice, the teenage daughter of my Country Representatives, James and Linda blogs about things. We happened to be at the same event last weekend, so you can read what Alice had to say about it!

What a difference a day makes!

Saturday morning -- woke up about 8am and relaxed with a good book in Heliopolis. The apartment I stay in when I'm there is away from a major street and doesn't get a lot of traffic. It's cool and quiet until around 11am.

Sunday morning -- woke up about 8.45am to the sound of a jackhammer going...and it hasn't let up yet after 5 hours. Yes, an actual jackhammer. They're starting construction on a new high-rise apartment right beside the building where I'm staying right now. In fact, I can look out the window of the bedroom where I sleep and see the project.

The past few days

Just back from a fun few days in Cairo. I went on Wednesday afternoon on a trip with people from Tanta and then stayed after that. The trip was to Coptic Cairo with the old churches and also to a part of town called Ma'adi. There's a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and a few decades ago, they found a Bible floating in the Nile nearby that was open to a passage that was interpreted as a blessing on the people of Egypt.

Then on Thursday I took some of our new volunteers to a small stretch of Islamic Cairo. It's an area I really love and a good opportunity to spend time with new people. On Friday I went to church and then took the new arrivals to play Ultimate Frisbee.

Now I'm back in Tanta for a few days of teaching. Wednesday, I leave for a big 9-day trip with people from Tanta to Upper Egypt. More details on that later.