Day 173 - Finding a home in Cairo, tough job!
Sunday, December 23rd, 2018.
Got up at 8:00am and got ready to go see another apartment downtown at 10:30. The host came to meet us and was super friendly. When we first arrived, we were wondering what was happening because the road was blocked and we saw many police officers. Gulp, something happened, I thought. Well, when I texted our host to let him know that we were there but that we couldn’t find the building, he told us that it was the police station. Ok, I thought, at least it's safe but the neighborhood didn’t look better and the building was terrible, it looked so old and dirty. The place was just OK but with lots of street noise despite being on the 11th floor. At least it had everything we needed in the kitchen, it was clean and had Internet. I was ready to go for it but when Gregory said that we would be stepping down, I realized that I was just settling in for it because I was tired of looking for places! We told Osama that we were going to think about it. We went back home, sat in the stairwell to get some WiFi and started the search for a place to stay.
Gregory had booked a hotel for us to spend Christmas and another 2 nights. I can’t believe I declined this amazing offer but the kids and I just wanted to find one place and move one time. We are all very tired of moving around. We decided to stay in another neighborhood, far away from downtown but hopefully quieter. Gregory found a place and we booked immediately because we had to leave this one.
The apartment looked modern and decent in the pictures but we don’t trust pictures anymore. We took an Uber to our new destination. It took like 45 minutes [20 minutes according to the Uber receipt] to get there. The place wasn’t looking any better but I guess all of Cairo is like this. We found our place and our host came out to welcome us. The building looks OK from outside. Inside it's under construction, so not so great and definitely dirty but the apartment looked decent. It is OK, it has everything except heat. Did I mention that it is very cold in Egyp? It is freezing! [Gregory's note: 50s F at night. Oh, and it's a little noisy. Through the miracle of modern technology, or really stupid architects, road noise bounces off the concrete and into every room in this building -- and next door, too. Decent windows would help, but we haven't seen a window that closes correctly since we left Israel. It's the little things that make up luxury, it seems.]
Anyway, our host was finishing cleaning up the place, he said that someone had just left. He drove us to the grocery store and was following me around the store like a puppy. I told him that I was OK and that I could do the shopping alone, but he wanted to help with the translations. If he knew how many places I have been OK without a translator.
We took advantage of the ride and tried to buy supplies for a week, but the grocery store was small and didn't have a lot of options. Our host told us not to buy bread, eggs, or meat there because it wasn’t fresh. Later, we stopped by a bakery because his car was parked in front of it. I just wanted to buy a treat for each kid. Well, he ended buying a lot of bread and pastries for us!
He drove us back home and even unpacked our groceries. We just wanted him to leave so we could relax and have alone time, but he finished cleaning and chatting like he was part of this family. He finally left, everyone relaxed a little and then I started dinner. It got really cold to the point that we asked our host for a heater. Gregory kept saying that it was like Mexico, but I don’t recall the house being this cold but maybe I have forgotten.
We had dinner, watched TV, and talked to Gregory’s parents. I’m still trying to catch up on this writing. Now that I have Internet, I will.
I forgot to talk about the horse "chariot" races outside our apartment. We heard a lot of commotion outside and when we went to see what was going on, we saw a chariot race in the main street. The people were riding horse and donkey chariots but in the regular traffic lanes, so you can imagine all the cars honking non-stop. There were some people cheering. At first, we thought it was funny and unique but after watching for a while and seeing and even hearing how bad they hit the animals, we went back in. Daniel was the first one to walk away saying, I don’t like to watch how they abuse the poor animals.
Got up at 8:00am and got ready to go see another apartment downtown at 10:30. The host came to meet us and was super friendly. When we first arrived, we were wondering what was happening because the road was blocked and we saw many police officers. Gulp, something happened, I thought. Well, when I texted our host to let him know that we were there but that we couldn’t find the building, he told us that it was the police station. Ok, I thought, at least it's safe but the neighborhood didn’t look better and the building was terrible, it looked so old and dirty. The place was just OK but with lots of street noise despite being on the 11th floor. At least it had everything we needed in the kitchen, it was clean and had Internet. I was ready to go for it but when Gregory said that we would be stepping down, I realized that I was just settling in for it because I was tired of looking for places! We told Osama that we were going to think about it. We went back home, sat in the stairwell to get some WiFi and started the search for a place to stay.
Gregory had booked a hotel for us to spend Christmas and another 2 nights. I can’t believe I declined this amazing offer but the kids and I just wanted to find one place and move one time. We are all very tired of moving around. We decided to stay in another neighborhood, far away from downtown but hopefully quieter. Gregory found a place and we booked immediately because we had to leave this one.
The apartment looked modern and decent in the pictures but we don’t trust pictures anymore. We took an Uber to our new destination. It took like 45 minutes [20 minutes according to the Uber receipt] to get there. The place wasn’t looking any better but I guess all of Cairo is like this. We found our place and our host came out to welcome us. The building looks OK from outside. Inside it's under construction, so not so great and definitely dirty but the apartment looked decent. It is OK, it has everything except heat. Did I mention that it is very cold in Egyp? It is freezing! [Gregory's note: 50s F at night. Oh, and it's a little noisy. Through the miracle of modern technology, or really stupid architects, road noise bounces off the concrete and into every room in this building -- and next door, too. Decent windows would help, but we haven't seen a window that closes correctly since we left Israel. It's the little things that make up luxury, it seems.]
Anyway, our host was finishing cleaning up the place, he said that someone had just left. He drove us to the grocery store and was following me around the store like a puppy. I told him that I was OK and that I could do the shopping alone, but he wanted to help with the translations. If he knew how many places I have been OK without a translator.
We took advantage of the ride and tried to buy supplies for a week, but the grocery store was small and didn't have a lot of options. Our host told us not to buy bread, eggs, or meat there because it wasn’t fresh. Later, we stopped by a bakery because his car was parked in front of it. I just wanted to buy a treat for each kid. Well, he ended buying a lot of bread and pastries for us!
He drove us back home and even unpacked our groceries. We just wanted him to leave so we could relax and have alone time, but he finished cleaning and chatting like he was part of this family. He finally left, everyone relaxed a little and then I started dinner. It got really cold to the point that we asked our host for a heater. Gregory kept saying that it was like Mexico, but I don’t recall the house being this cold but maybe I have forgotten.
We had dinner, watched TV, and talked to Gregory’s parents. I’m still trying to catch up on this writing. Now that I have Internet, I will.
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| I have found Knorr everywhere in the world, although different kinds depending on the country. Aculturacion diria mi profesor de Sociologia. |
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| Pastry store (fig cookies) |
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| Chariots races happen every Sunday night in the main road add to the local color -- and road noise |
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