The Simons arrived together in Cairo in August feeling energized and excited about their new lives as international teachers. They made new friends, attended various parties and excursions, and settled into their large ground-floor flat in Maadi, which offered them a cockroach invasion as a welcome back present. They attended new teacher orientation at school and faculty meetings ad infinitum. And then...
Absolutely nothing happened. The Egyptian Ministry of Education, in an ill informed attempt to combat H1N1, decided to delay the beginning of the school year for three weeks, coincidentally until the end the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Later, for undefined reasons, the ministry delayed school for yet another week, fear of swine flu in a country that has been comparatively spared the brunt of a disease that in most cases is not fatal leading to ridiculous overreaction.
So, without much to do and without their first paychecks, Jen and Jay waited for the beginning of school, filling their mounting leisure time with metro rides around Cairo, visits with friends in Maadi and Heliopolis, and yet another trip to Dahab on the Red Sea.
Despite the always-welcome downtime, questionsn remain. Will our heroes ever go back to work? Will they go insane from boredom? Will disease cripple the entire world? Tune in next time.
(photo: sweating their asses off at the Khan al Khalili in mid-September)
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