World Map

Many months of work have finally paid off. I had wanted to leave behind something tangible for the kids to look at for years to come while they are here. The world map project is something that PCVs from around the world engage incorporate their community in; I wanted the same thing for my school. 

Peace Corps provided us with a manual for the entire project; from drawing the borders, grids, drawing the countries, painting and labeling.

I had numerous kids help, which was a blessing. I want to mention this before I go any further the KIDS did all of the work except painting the ocean blue background. I did not intentionally go around the school and ask kids to help. I started working on the map and once they saw what I was doing they wanted to chip in. For several weeks I tweaked and tweaked the borders of the map. Without it being square the whole map will be off. I think pictures will better tell the story.

Grids were drawn.

Countries were drawn using the grid sheet.

I examine the next move. 

Andrew, class 5, was the boss when either I was there or not. He had significant role in 

every aspect of the map project.

All of the kids that assisted with any aspect of the map got the honor of painting their

 name above the map.

Shimoni-South Coast

The month of June went by pretty fast. This is in part because I went to help a fellow PCV at her site with behavior issues at the school. She had told me on numerous occasions how things were getting worse and no sign of improvement. I mentioned I had a PCV come to my site in early February to help me with my special needs class. Because Mary did such a wonderful job teaching and training me; there was immediate results happening in the class room. I felt confident in what I was doing on a regular basis at my school that I could help her out.

Her site is located on the south coast, near Mombasa. It took me two full days to get there. Upon arriving in Mombasa from Nairobi I took a tuk tuk to catch the ferry. I don’t remember ever getting on a ferry before. I stood in line with everyone else. The gates were opened then cars, tuk tuks buses, and people boarded what I thought was the platform for the ferry. While waiting on the ferry to come (it was on the other side of the inlet) we started to move. I was really confused. It finally hit me, what we were all on was the ferry. 

I boarded the matatu and headed for Shimoni, 2 hour ride. I was greeted by Vicki at the final stop in Shimoni. It was really nice to see her. Walking to her place was a breath of fresh air; no more rushing to get some place.

Over the next few days I would go with her to her school to observe a normal day’s activities. Later in the evening, she and I would discuss things that I saw and the possible suggestions for making things run more smoothly. These things included: time out chair, reward system, positive reinforcement and effective communication between teacher and pupil. It was really nice to see for both her and I the positive changes taking place among the pupils. Their is the added benefit of her counterpart at school who is on the same page as her.

We also tried to enjoy the village of Shimoni a little bit. One afternoon we visited the boardwalk at the pier. We both anticipated crashing waves from the indian ocean beneath as we walk on the boardwalk. When we arrive we look at each other with confused looks. I was thinking, are we at the right boardwalk. There was no water to found anywhere. As we are walking along Vicki is welcomed to the boardwalk by the droppings of a bird. She said it is 3rd different continent that has happened. We find a bench to sit for a moment. We notice out in the distance a couple of goats grazing and then a man walking near by. In a area that is covered with water normally, goats are residing. This was quite funny.

The week at her site and school went by really fast and a lot of things getting accomplished. We both left Friday for Mombasa. I was to leave Saturday morning to head to Nairobi. While in Mombasa we both indulged in great food (pizza shawarma (pita bread stuffed with meat, ice cream and masala chips) and a little bit of second hand shopping. 

"Easter Egg Hunt"

Some of my lessons are spontaneous which makes for a fun class on occasions. I have noticed the school ground not as clean as it should be. I took the opportunity to teach the kids the importance of cleanliness. I had the conversation with a friend who takes her kids outside of class on a consistent basis in the morning to pick up rubbish with the lesson of keeping your school clean is the right thing to do, I agree. As was the case with her class and mine as well, funny looks and questions do ensue. Why are you picking up trash, why now, you (me, the teacher) are picking up trash too.

The topic for the lesson was CRE, Christian Religious Education, At the beginning of the lesson I said God made the trees, sun, animals and people. God wants us to care for the land that He gave us. When He sees rubbish He is sad. He wants us to keep it clean. I then split the kids into pairs and we went around the school picking up rubbish. I would point out some trash and they would run to pick it and throw it in their paper (yes I know what you thinking; that is plastic and not paper. I have never heard the plastic being used). I had no idea the kids would have so much fun picking up trash. I am planning on doing this on a consistent basis, if not daily most assuredly every week.

Keeping Current

You have probably noticed by the recent entries in my blog the activities themselves do not correspond with the dates that they are posted. I have done a poor job of being consistent with updating my blog. I have ever intention of at the least every two weeks to fill you in what is going on here. There has been a lot that happened, but sometimes sitting down and writing is the hardest part. I will start with what just happened then gradually fill in some missing holes along the way.

Self Help Group

Several weeks ago, Saturday, Mach 19, I went to my monthly Parents of Deaf Self Help Group. It has been customary since the beginning of the year that every other month we would have a meeting at a member’s home. On this occasion we went to Madam Mary’s house. I was told by my counterpart, of all the homes to visit this one is a must.

It was raining and cloudy the day of meeting so the departure time was pushed back. I was also wondering if I would be going because some places would be very hard to pass due to the mud. The rain subsided a bit and I headed to the meeting point, Kakamega.

I met two of the members in Kakamega while the others went ahead because I was caught up in the rain back at site. We took a matatu from town for 30 minutes then alighted. We were met by a man who looked like he was just from the shamba (garden). A conversation ensued and the man led us into the village. After 20 minutes of walking we were handed off to another man to take us the remaining way to Madam Mary’s house. 

We were all welcomed in their house and took a seat. Every house I visited the sitting room has couches and chairs covered with fabric (mostly white with a little designs). We were treated with mandazi and chai. Each person virtually had a plate full of mandazi for themselves. We chatted for about 2 hours then we were given lunch. Yes I was completely full, but it is extremely rude to refuse lunch. There was rice, fried and boiled meat, ugali, and skuma, There was so much food. It was really easy to get full from just looking at all of the food.

After we had relaxed a bit from gorging ourselves the meeting started. I was asked to give a short KSL lesson. I have taught for many months at the self help group and because the members pick up the signs really fast being creative with new teaching material is a struggle at times. This time I taught things inside the house. I pointed to various items in Mary’s house ie: window, chair, table, clock, calendar, sufria etc.

I was really appreciative for Madam Mary to welcome us all into their home. 

Madam Mary's home

Madam Mary 

We are being served our mandazi and chai

Support Group with Madam Mary's Family and Friends

Learning to Spell

This past week I had my kids do a simple exercise. Apparently it is engrained in Kenyans to love cameras; therefore I put the idea the to good use. I wrote out on pieces of paper the letters that make up their name. For each letter of their name they would sign and I would take a picture. Of course they enjoyed this. Below is pictures of a few of the kids.

Ruth

Daniel

Jacob

Change from the Inside Out

I was asked recently how Kenya has CHANGED me. Sixteen months in kenya and counting and my mind never seems to stop thinking about what appears to me everything under the sun.

Being in country this long so many things passed by that does not affect me like it did when I first arrived. I wonder if those things would alter how I have changed.

I have a great respect for the mama that sells fruit and vegetables in a wooden make shift shack. She does not have electricity or anything fancy; she is just selling what she has to make enough money so her family can eat that evening. 

I appreciate that people go to great lengths to make sure things are clean. Children and adults wash their clothes after one use. They have control over how clean they can be and they take pride in that. Or what about the duka (shop) owners who sweep away the trash from in front of their place. They make sure that the dirt is clean with no rubbish anywhere.

I have learned about self confidence. It was fairly certain that my belief in myself before coming to Kenya was very shallow. Living in a foreign land for months standing up for onself and believing in yourself comes with the territory. I am very grateful for where I have come from and where I am now. Self confidence was something I greatly desired as part of my journey here.

I am learning what I am competent and good at doing, teaching. I knew very little about teaching before coming. After receiving training for two months I was thrown to the wolves. I can assuredly say that I am a good teacher. I do not have years of experience as my counterparts, but I believe in what I am doing. I have realized along the way that if I am passionate about the subject and care for the kids it will translate over to the kids wanting to learn themselves.

Leaving a world of abundant resources at my fingertips to coming to a place where people are resourceful for what they have. Children make their own toys. Empty juice cartons, bottle caps, wire, and sticks are assembled together to make a car. If one car is not enough they will string together several together to make a train of sorts. 

Kids love playing football (soccer) and since buying a ball is virtually out of the question for all of the kids they make their own. The pupils gather paper (plastic, plastic bags are called paper bags) bags and tie them together with some string for their homemade ball. I have yet to learn how they make the ball, but before I leave I am going to learn.

I can take a bath with 3 liters of water. I turn on my lights only when necessarily, at night. It is no inconvenience for the power to go out and for me to use a candle or a lantern.

Washing my clothes in a basin and hanging them to dry outside shows me that having a washing machine and dryer are not a must. I agree, it will be nice to use on a regular basis. On the same note, I would not be afraid to clean my own clothes and then hang them dry.

Community and Friendships in Kenya are very much a part of the culture. Visitors are always welcome and invitations are not needed for someone to drop by. If you are visiting someone who is just leaving their house it is rude to not welcome them in the house and have a cup of tea. If you are sick it is expected that people will stop by all the time to see if you are ok and what they can do for you. This of course is different than the west. We want our privacy. Thoughtfulness of others is always welcome, but we want to be left alone while we get better. 

Where ever you are going, greeting people along the way is necessary.

I appreciate the community model that happens here. The focus is not about self, but caring about your neighbor. I think in the west we have missed that a lot of the times.

Rewarding Moments

Teaching has those very rewarding moments that reminds you that what you are doing is having an effect. There are several other PCVs that are teaching class one, two and three and a few teaching remedial. I will occasionally call or read their blogs to find out what they are doing so I can steal/borrow their ideas. They have a vast knowledge of different activities that I can definitely use with my kids.

This past week I was re-teaching counting 1 to 5, Ok I have taught counting for the whole year. I wanted to do something different than writing on the black board. I took the kids on the walkway outside the class. Who wants to sit inside a class all day.

I wrote their names and numbers 1 to 5 with chalk. I have a good friend in town that I had asked her to keep all of the bottle caps of the sodas she sells. We used those bottle caps for the kids to put the caps on top of the chalk numbers that I wrote. They kids were enjoying themselves. 

Daniel

Ruth

Witney

W Ouma

David

Meshack

Benjamin

Linda

Jacob

Follow up to possible South Africa trip. Senior Peace Corps staff discussed the issue at length and decided that only two PCV will be given clearance to go. I am not one of the two that are going. This of course is not the news I wanted to hear. 

Map project.

It is hard to believe after nearly 4 to 5 weeks the map is drawn on the wall. There were several kids that helped in drawing. I envy their drawing ability, they are really efficient and good. I hope in the next few days to start painting the individuals.

Remedial Help

The phrase, you will be teaching remedial/special needs class this term (maybe year), had brought about a lot of stress and anxiety. I was clueless how to teach such a class. I wondered how I was going to survive. I requested from Peace Corps for a fellow PCV to come to my site for one week, 14 February to 18 to do what felt like a miracle. Mary left her site on a Saturday morning and arrived in Mumias Sunday afternoon. Traveling from the coast to western is a two day journey. 

A synopsis

Monday. Mary sat in the class and just observed my co-teacher and myself to get a feel for how we teach and the behaviors of the kids. At the end of the day she ran across me what she observed and things i could possibly do.

Tuesday to Friday.

I implemented a lot of things she noted. There were a lot of things she said that i took to heart and it made a difference. I will list those here. 

-Being attentive to every child--they are all different

-caning is not the answer

-continue using the time out chair for discipline. The chair faces the corner of the wall and the pupil must sit there for a few minutes before returning to his/her seat.

-coming to class prepared is vital. There are kids that need the artwork drawn for them.  need to do that before and not when i am through teaching.

-after i finish teaching and give out the exercise books i go around the class giving high fives and encouragement to the kids. Without being prepared i can not do that.

-the more visuals for the kids to see the better. One day i brought in a live kuku (chicken). Yes, their attention was held.

-when a kid or two are misbehaving i need to go around to the other kids that are working well and give HIGH 5's to say they are doing good. The 2 misbehaving kids will notice.

-when multiple kids are being disruptive i must chose the appropriate battle to fight. I can not address all of the needs at one. I should chose the situation that is most important and more than likely if that one stops the others will simmer down as well.

-implementing a behavior chart-this is inclusive of class rules (no fighting, do your work,  and stay in class). If the pupil can do these i will give them a reward after two periods. I must start on a small scale. The better behaved the kids become the longer between rewards. The behavior chart is taped to the wall so the kids can see whether they are following the rules.

If you would have seen my class Monday then came again on Friday, it was night and day. I told Mary there were a few instances during the week where i was speechless. "I am confused, it is quite and they are all working. That has never happened. “

With out a doubt her visit has done wonders for my self confidence, behavior of the kids, and allowing myself to teach and not try to manage behavior the entire period.

Impromptu English Grammar Lesson

I made a recent trip to Kisumu to visit some friends this past weekend to get away from school for a short time. I was meeting a friend at the sports grounds in Kisumu so I found a place to sit in the shade till I got a call from her. At one entrance, the one where I was sitting, there is roughly 10 express passport photo stands just seconds walk from one another. While waiting I began to read and noticed something peculiar about the signs advertising for passport photo printing. Most of the signs had the same message, but their were three that caught my attention. Express Passport Size Digital In 10 Minutes,” “Express Passport Size and Photos After 10 minutes”, , and finally “Passport Size Express Digital For 10 minutes.”

After reading the signs I knew I had to take a picture of each. When I got to the last one “...for 10 minutes” the gentlemen manning the station asked what I was doing. I informed him of the different signs and the different meaning of each. I then broke his heart and told him his sign is just wrong. It is very bad English and makes no sense. You could say, express photos for shilingi hamsini (50 kenyan shillings). I then showed him the other two signs and explained the difference. Not to long after that, every man that has a express photo booth was standing around listening to my explanation for what is proper English grammar. One gentlemen spoke up and said, “which of the other two are best?” I then replied by explaining what each of them means before giving an opinion. “In 10 minutes” means that the photos will be finished between 1 and 10 minutes. Your window for doing this work is very short. The other sign that said “After 10 minutes” means that the pictures will be finished AFTER 10 minutes. This could mean 11 minutes, 12 minutes, 20 minutes, 2 hours or Christmas. This phrase does not give a parameter when it will be finished. 

After explaining each in detail they wanted to know which of the two was the best. I told them “In 10 minutes” and “after 10 minutes” are correct. The gentlemen insisted on knowing which is best so the customers would pick that one. I said using “In 10 minutes” tells the customer it will get finished fast, under 10 minutes. 

While I am writing this recap of the event I am noticing that as a whole, all three signs have bad English aside from the “in, after and for.”

This was definitely a fun experience. I wonder when I go back if any of the signs will be changed.

Remedial/Special Needs

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Another teaching year at Mumias Deaf Primary is underway and there are a few changes to my teaching schedule. This year I have the challenge of teaching remedial/special needs in class 0. I did not put in a request to teach this class, but somewhere along the way I was selected to co-teach with a fellow teacher. 

During a staff meeting last year it was a consensus at the time that the panel heads of each department (ie, math, science etc) would choose teachers to teach the subjects. The selection was based on merit and discretion of the panel heads. On the day of selection I was looking forward to teaching math to class 5 because I taught them in class 4. I waited to here my named called, but it was not in the cards for any subject not just math. As you can probably guess I was confused, agitated, a little irate amongst other feelings. I expressed my feelings to the staff and administration. The response as I stated before, selection was based on merit. This was not sufficient for me. I swallowed my pride and in hopes things might change in the coming days. Well, nothing changed. I was placed in remedial/special needs class 0. I know with out a doubt I can sleep peacefully because I gave 100% last year and the kids improved. Maybe I will not understand the reasoning, but I know what I did and will stand by that.

Teaching remedial class is nothing but a challenge. As the name implies there are kids that need special attention. I was used to that last year, but somehow this seems like running up a wet grassy hill with traction less shoes. I made up my mind to put my heart into it and see what happens. In light of my lack of experience in this arena I have asked a fellow volunteer, Mary, to come visit for a week 14 February to 18th to assist in anyway possible. I am so looking forward to her visit. 

Suggestions for teaching Remedial/Special Needs????

In other news I am starting to draw/paint world map project. Numerous other PCVs have completed this at their school so I thought it would be good to be done at my school as well. The project as name implies is a large painting of the world with all of the countries. It will be painted on the outside of one of the classrooms. After a very slow start to the project, I am getting underway today. The map final size will be 308 cm by 616 cm, this is huge and thus a ladder is required. I really don’t like ladders at all. I will fake it for the duration of the project so the kids will have something very nice at their school to learn from. I will update with pictures along the way.

Finally today I have some tentative exciting news. I heard from a fellow volunteer about the World Congress World Federation of the Deaf Conference in South Africa, July 2011. This conference happens once every 4 years all over the world. For the first time ever it is being held in Africa. People from around the world deaf and hearing will meet in Durban, South Africa for one week to learn about deaf culture with one focus being on developing countries, ie. Kenya—in my case. Among the many topics covered from different presenters there are 4 main focus areas: deaf education, sign languages and studies, developing countries, and human rights.

  

I am mentioning this information because I am very much interested in going. I can not think of a better way to establish friendships and contacts from other deaf people and organizations from around the world than by attending this conference basically in my backyard. I have for sometime now contemplated other avenues of work and/or direction with the deaf community, but have not gotten very far besides Special Olympics (which I assisted with while in South Carolina) and being a deaf education teacher (I am doing that right now). A deaf teacher colleague at my school has expressed interest as well. For now, I am waiting on feedback from Peace Corps whether I can go. I am confident in a yes. When I hear something I will post.

Frog Giggin

There are days when you wish you had not promised someone something, well that day was today (15 January). Several months ago and virtually all of last year the kids would always ask me if I have eaten anything from a crocodiles to snakes. They have a fascination about asking if I have eaten snakes, There is a persistence in saying that mzungus eat snakes. I don’t know one person that has. I am not taking into account Andrew Zimmerman (from the Travel Channel). I am really not sure where this fetish comes from. 

Somewhere along the way they asked if I have eaten a frog. I honestly don’t remember eating one, but maybe once or so way back when.  My mom said she had, so I knew it was within the family. In a way to excite and see their disgusted looking faces, I said yes. I told them for some reason if they catch a big one I will cook it for them. Well that day was today. They found a descent size toad and brought it over. Chui (my cat) enjoyed his time playing with the toad with no intention of killing or eating, just playing. There were 3 kids that really wanted to try. I knew one kid would; he ate a live grasshopper in class last year (caught that one on video). I boiled then fried the toad. I gave the arms and legs to the 4 kids (Andrew did not want to try before, but when I finished cooking he wanted to taste). Maybe next time they will get a bigger toad.  

Cultural exchange of some sort.

New Bed

A year has passed and I have a new bed. The bed that I used for the better part of last year was requested from the school to be used for visitors. I decided that I would rather have a wooden nicely built bed over continuing to use a kid’s bed the school offered me after I gave my original bed back. 

My first opportunity to have a personalized bed was exciting and I got exactly what I wanted; something simple with a book rack on the head board. After two weeks my bed was finished. I went to go pick it up this afternoon and had it taken to the house via a boda boda (bicycle) tied to the back. I am continuously amazed on how and what boda boda’s can carry. I have seen so many things tied to the back: a goat, 7 straw chairs, 4 people, bed and so many others. 

Due to the fact the bed was so big the man riding the boda had to push his bike to the school. Upon arriving at my house several kids were there anxious to ask me who’s bed this was. I informed them that it was mine then they were eager to help me carry out the old kids bed and bring in an adult bed.

There were six kids that had a great interest in helping put the bed together. They went right to work. Bickering and complaining among some of the kids blossomed into lackluster performance and corporation. I told them, “work together.” They got the message and worked on a section at a time making good progress. They came upon a speed bump, the side boards were not sliding into the head and foot board very well. I remember seeing the carpenter put corresponding markings on the boards to indicate which board attaches to what. I explained the importance to the kids of planning ahead so when the time to put something together it can run with less hiccups. We removed what we had done and switched around the side boards and they slid right in. 

These were the six kids that put the bed together.

Christmas in Egypt

Cairo

December 19

I took a bus from Mumias to Nairobi where I spent the night at Milimani Backpackers. A ten hour bus ride is seldom any fun, but I knew the final destination would be worth it.

December 20

I met my two other traveling companions in Nairobi for our 17:30 flight to Cairo with a stop over in Adis Ababa, Ethiopia. Jon, Amanda, and myself dined for a sub sandwhich at Serit Center. We then took a city hoppa bus from downtown to the airport. Taking the city hoppa was only 50 kshs/ea compared to 1000 kshs for a taxi.

It was a strange feeling being back at JKIA (Joma Kenyatta International Airport) roughly one year ago I got off a plane where I left everything behind to undergo a journey of a lifetime. The journey is till continuing.

Our flight consisted of 3 meals. The flight to Adis Ababa, Ethiopia was 1 ½ hours but they game us a meal. Then the flight from their to Cairo we had two more meals. I was stuffed after the first one. I did not let the food go to waste.

December 21

We all arrived in Cairo around 03:30 and were taken to our hostel via a cab provided by the hostel. Going to bed once we got there was not a hard thing to do. Several hours later we got up for a late breakfast. Our first day to walk around the city a bit was nice to stretch the legs and see some new things.

Our first destination was Islamic Cairo. Walking through back alley ways and gazing at the various shops was interesting. The walk path was just big enough for a small car to slowly drive. How would I know that; a few cars made their way down the alley ways. I was amazed they were able to maneuver it without knocking over anything. There were a lot of shops selling carpet/rugs and fabric. 

December 22

Egyptian museum.

One thing that was interesting was the lights on the road that gave an additional reminder of a traffic light. This really did catch my attention. In Kenya there are roundabouts where you force yourself into the flow of traffic with no traffic lights, except for Nairobi.

This day was specifically set aside for visiting the Egyptian Museum. When we arrived there was already an extremely long line. We all agreed to talk a walk across the Nile River and come back after having lunch. On the way we saw the opera house. 

I am yet to understand the number of Tourist Police around all of the major attractions. When we visited the Pyramids our tour guide told us that there were about 50 tourist officers per monument/site. Some sites it felt like there were more police than tourist. I did see regular cops; they were usually were directing traffic. Also a vast majority of them had a bullet proof shield with them to protect from who knows what.

Lunch before heading to the Museum we backtracked a bit to look for some authenic Egyptian food at Abu Tarek.  Once arriving I remember watching an episode of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain on the Travel Channel eating at this establishment. It looked the same from tv. Since I am a fan of the show it was nice to go there and try their food. Their main dish and seemingly only dish was Kosery. This consisted of noodles, lentils, fried onions with chili sauce. It was really good and a very simple dish. As you will see from the picture the men working the stations are going nonstop. There is high demand for good Koshery cooks. Also you will notice the customers are holding reciepts from orders waiting for it to be taken. It is as chaotic as it looks, but there was some structure to the chaos.

We were not allowed to take in cameras into the Museum so images are regulated to my memory for now. There are a few things that stick out to me. First, on the ground floor is two huge statues. These were several meters high; therefore the museum was built around it. Secondly was the the gold mask of King Tut (Tutankhamun) which weighed 23 lbs of solid gold. We wondered what the difference visually from a king and a pharaoh. We heard that is was whether they had a straight beard or one that curled up at the end. I recently was doing some research on the web and there seems to be a wide range of distinguishes from one to another based on the time/dynasty and the sculpture.

After finishing the museum we headed in a general direction of our hostel but of course we had taken the back streets. I really liked this method of seeing the city. We were able to see beyond the normal touristy trinkets and crowds and better
got a better idea of normal city life. On our way we saw this and just had to take a picture.

I am a big fan of street food and this was yet another example of taking a commodity and tweaking it abit and make it into an income generating activity. Roasted Sweet Potatoes.

During our walk we went down a street that was selling everything from clothes to food to motorcycles. I am used to looking through a big heap of clothes to find my size then bargaining for a good prize. This was different. The clothes were in shops on hangers with marked prices. It was a culture shock.

At dusk and with the hostel meters away it was time for the Muslims call to prayer. I was used to the call and people praying in the mosque. This picture is of men on the sidewalk  bowing to prayer in the middle of town. There are speakers throughout the city so missing the call to prayer seemingly could only granted if you are deaf and blind.

December 23

We took a visit to Coptic Cairo. I remember reading that there were coptic christians in Cairo, though just few compared to Muslims. The history of the area was interesting. It is traditionally held that the holy family hid in this area taking refuge from King Herod. 

Though the travel guide and Wikipedia hyped this area we all were disappointed. It was a tourist trap. We could not see the residental quarters. It was all around a let down. There was one bright spot though the Convent of Saint George. Depictions of St. George slaying a dragon are engraved in the outside of the church and the inside, paintings and more paintings. Reading the story of this is interesting. 

December 24

Pyramids

I think there are somethings in life where words don’t adequately paint a perfect picture, the pyramids are one of those times. Enjoy the pics.

December 25

Christmas in Alexandria

We took the train from Cairo at 8:30 and after a 2 hour ride we arrived in Alexandria. I was looking forward to looking at the scenery along the way but the smog, I mean fog was thick and consistent for most of the trip. The station in Cairo was under construction, the smell and feel also showed the same thing.

Kenya on the other hand has few bakeries, but their variety is very limited. The Arabs do it right. Of the many selections included date filled, hard and soft breads, rolls bread sticks and many others.

At the station in Alexandria we meet two people who joined us on our walk around for a brief period. The lady was a lawyer  from China but doing a one year stint in London and the gentlemen was a teacher in Japan apart of the DoDDs (Department of Defense) teaching at a military base to children of soldiers.

We walked for a good hour then went in and saw Ramsess II pillar at Amud El-Sawari. The site was in the middle of town with buildings surrounding it. After that we walked up a hill for a bit to some catacombs. I remember the catacombs in Rome and these also did not disappoint. Majority of the burial slots were a few feet by 6 or so feet. So though were quite deep.

After our visit 3 floors below the earth’s surface that was discovered because a donkey fell in hall in the early 1900s we walked back to the train. We had plans to visit the Mediterranean Sea and have fish for lunch. In brief we walked for 2 hours and ended up were we started. At this point we were tired and wanted to go to the train. Though we did not see the sea we did get to see some residential life.

Upon arriving back in Cairo we stopped several times for some food: gelato ice cream --WOW, fruit juice mix with slices of bananas, pomegranates and oranges, shwarma (hoaggie roll with onions and slices of meat, falafal (smashed green gramms with flour fried as a patty and served in a pita bread with veggies. I ate so much, but so worth every bite.

December 26

My last day in Cairo and Jon and I visited A sultan mosque a good 6 km away from the hostel. Along the way I saw this lady displaying her pita bread to be sold. You are correct that is the on the step. A few feet later another person had put theirs on atop of a roof of a car.

The Sultan Mosque was huge and is still in use today by Muslims. These men are washing themselves before going to pray.

Our last destination was the Citadel that overlooked the city. It was a spectacular view.