There are lots of reasons why we moved to Egypt. Notably, we wanted our kids to have experiences they would be unable to have in the US. We wanted them to become members of an international community and we wanted them to understand that the world is a really, really big place. So far, the kids have done well getting acclimated to life in Egypt (though we realize we’re still in the honeymoon phase… please check on us in October).
While most of our weekends have been spent setting up our life (where do we get a toaster? How do we get an Egyptian phone number? Should we be worried about the pack of wild dogs that lives outside our building?) we’ve tried our darndest to pepper in some fun.
This is Maadi House. It’s run by the US Embassy and it’s a refuge for us ‘Mericans. Guys, THEY HAVE BACON! You can order a BLT or a side of bacon or a pulled pork sandwich and they even have luxuries such as White Claw, Corona, and PBR! (Yes, these are all luxuries when you are in Egypt). We aren’t members of Maadi House (yet! I’m still working on convincing Kyle that $800/year for our family is totally worth it… did I mention that they have a pool? And a playground? And English-speaking wait staff? It’s a nice little slice of Egyptian-Americana, in my humble opinion) so that means that we can only go there on Tuesdays (when CAC staff are welcome) or when we’re invited by a friend (and can get in through their membership). Since we’ve been here, we’ve gone to Maadi House a couple times a week. Kid favorites include the fruit smoothies, cake pops, homemade mac and cheese, and of course cheeseburgers. Kid un-favorites include the stray cats, the HOT temperatures outside, and all the ants that find their way to the table by the tree.
Other than Maadi House, we’ve tried to weasel our way into invites to fun places. Because that just makes sense. One such fun place was this super sweet pool party hosted by another newbie (OK, so all the new staff at CAC are called Newbies. This is a yearly thing – not just for our cohort. The group that came the year before are referred to as “Twobies.” How cute is that?!) It has been really fun getting to know the Newbies; we spent the first two weeks of our Cairo lives together and have bonded over many shared experiences (mainly, how the heck to live in Egypt). One of our fellow Newbies invited us to her home for a pool party. Though she’s new to CAC, she has lived in Egypt for a few years. THIS IS HER HOUSE.
While I’m on the topic, the story of HOW we got to this pool party is worth noting. First, let me just say that we don’t have a car. This means anytime we need to get somewhere that’s not walkable (or not walkable with 3 kids in 100-degree heat) we take an Uber. This has been pretty easy to manage and honestly, I don’t miss driving at all. The pool party was about 45 minutes outside the city, so Kyle and I decided we would take 2 Ubers so that all our kids could have a seatbelt. (Car safety is not a huge priority in Cairo). Kyle took the girls and I was with Kannon. We got into our cars and settled in for the trip. Eventually we made our way past the desert and into what looked like housing complexes. We drove through a gated checkpoint and soon were dropped off outside a compound of some sort. As we got out of the Uber, I got a text from Kyle saying “This is not the place” and that’s when the panic began to set in. I looked all around. No Kyle. No girls… The Uber driver, sensing my panic, sped away as soon as we got out of his car. I tried calling Kyle, but cell networks are also a fluid concept in Egypt, and while I tried to maintain my composure, Kannon could smell my fear. Where was Kyle? Where were the girls? How in the heck do I find my way to the pool party? You guys, we were in the middle of the desert. Yes, we were next to a compound with 4 gray vans parked out front, but the place was completely walled in and although we could hear music blasting, we were quite sure this was not the right party. Seven minutes, no shade, and no Uber drivers later BY THE GRACE OF GOD another Uber pulled up with 2 CAC faculty members who also ended up at the wrong pool party. I shouted at them, “STAY IN THE UBER! THIS IS THE WRONG PLACE!” like a manic idiot. They got the message though, and Kannon and I jumped in their car. From there, we spent 20 minutes driving around the desert using Google Maps, Apple Maps, dropped pins, and broken Arabic to finally find our way. Halfway through, maps had us turning right and the right-hand turn was literally a road of rubble and garbage. This happened many times. I now understand the term “BFE.” FINALLY we made it.
When we got there, Kyle and the girls were there too! Apparently their Uber driver took them to a second location after realizing the compound with the sketchy gray vans was not right. They were super excited to get to the pool party… Kyle walked in with the girls, swim bag in hand and ready for a relaxing dip in the pool ONLY TO REALIZE HE WAS AT THE WRONG POOL PARTY. They walked in on a villa full of smoking Egyptians who were lounging, swimming, and listening to very loud music. Needless to say, the Egyptians were very surprised to see Kyle. Thank goodness I married a person who handles these situations like a champ, because he quickly identified the one English-speaking Egyptian and told him the story. Within minutes the guy had offered to drive Kyle and the girls to the real pool party. Egyptian hospitality is a thing, and we were so grateful for it on this day.
Kennedie quickly realized she could play fusbol AND eat dessert at the same time. Oh! And this fancy pool party was catered. It’s a thing. Everyone caters everything. It’s not too expensive and it’s SOOO good.
After several hours of swimming, it was time to go home. Luckily, the drive home was not nearly as eventful as the drive there. Can’t wait to see what other adventures lay ahead!
