My mom is in town! It’s all very exciting. She arrived at 1:30am on a SCHOOL NIGHT.
In true Grandma Connie fashion, the kids woke up to Christmas presents stacked neatly under our houseplant.
First stop, the Pyramids of Giza. This is my second time seeing them and I can honestly say that I see what all the fuss is about.
Meet Marianna the Egyptologist. She had lots to teach us about Ancient Egypt and my mom was the best student. It’s almost like she used to be a teacher or something.
My mom takes her tours on ancient civilizations quite seriously, as evidenced by this photo.
Not only was Marianna a wealth of knowledge, she also found us these sweet camels to ride!
My mom displayed some excellent horsemanship (camelmanship? And why not camelwomanship?)
After basking in the Egyptian sun all morning, it was time to meet back up with the kids and hit up our local cafe. It’s right down the street from our apartment and the employees are very patient with us as we practice our Arabic on them. The kids had fun teaching my mom new phrases they’re learning in class. Right now our favorite sentence is “Ana sakin fin al Maadi” which means “I live in Maadi” and it gets you cheaper prices when you’re bargaining for something. Oh heeeeeeeeeey.
Speaking of bargaining, the next day I took my mom and Kennedie to the Khan el-Khalili, Cairo’s huge open air market. It was a sensory overload but we snapped this cool photo in between being hassled by street vendors. Our favorite word that day was “La” which means “No,” and “La-ah” which means an emphatic “No.” But isn’t it pretty?
This weekend we’re off to Luxor – wish us luck!
And for all of you wondering, we’re safe here in Cairo. The events taking place in Israel and Gaza are atrocious, and it’s sobering to realize that they’re only 200 miles away. Our Head of School is in constant communication with the US Embassy and we have been monitoring the situation closely. We appreciate all the well wishes we have received and we will update you if anything changes. We love you all!
