We're Here!

After long hours of traveling, we have arrived in Amman. We are staying at a nice hotel; it is a Howard Johnson. Amman looks nicer than Cairo so far, and the Fulbright office said they have an apartment in mind for us. So, on Sunday we'll start orientation and learn everything we need to know :) Some exciting news for us is that a couple that we know from U of A and Glorietta will also be in Amman while we're here. They are also studying Arabic at the same university as Jason. We'll have friends! I'll update more when we get a chance.

We're in Tucson!

We just arrived in Tucson last night, to see family/friends and get winter clothes out of storage. Kyle's first birthday party was this morning, and it was a lot of fun. Ellie's face lit up when she first saw Kyle, and it was neat to see him walking around. I won the "guess how many cheerios are in the bottle" game. :) Jason and I just went to our storage unit to get clothes and various other things out. Since it is jam-packed with stuff, we ended up just grabbing what we could get at, so not everything we wanted was obtainable. Luckily a lot of our clothes were in the front. We'll just have to buy whatever else we need.

We'll be here until Tuesday, and hopefully we can see everyone!

Trip to Tucson

Plans have changed, we will be coming up to Tucson the weekend of the 26th instead. Which means, we can go to Kyle's first birthday party! Also, we are flying out of Phoenix, so it means less driving for us, since we will not be returning to Havasu. So, we hope to see everyone then :)

Disneyland pics

Ellie with her Mickey Mouse glasses
Bryson (What a smile!)
Cousins on the carousel

Pictures from Egypt!!

Us at the pyramids
Ellie eating an ice cream cone ON the ice cream cart
Our friends from the drink store next to the hotel

The Happiest Place on Earth

We arrived in Phoenix safely on Saturday; only to leave on Sunday to go to Disneyland. What a culture change!! Although exhausting (hello jet lag!), it was a lot of fun. It was quality family time, especially with the Porters; Jason finally met our nephew Bryson (or Isis as Ellie calls him). We'll be in Arizona for 3 weeks more!

Here We Come!

We leave in the morning to fly back to Arizona. The last week has really flown by. The hotel staff is really sad to see Ellie go (they don't really care about Jason and I). This place has become like our home and although we are very ready to return to the US, we are a little sad to leave. Our life here has been very relaxed, no real responsibilities, besides Jason showing up for class. Jason and I play cards together every night since we don't have a television, and that has been a nice change. But, we are ready to see our friends and family.

We are planning on coming to Tucson around August 19th (so Nichole, don't come to Havasu that weekend). Hopefully we can see everyone then. Email me or post a comment if you want to be included in the tour :)

The top 10 ways you know you are in Cairo

10. Everyone else in the restaurant is smoking, but no one is drinking alcohal

9. You enter a shop to buy a pair of shoes, and you end up sitting and drinking their cup of tea

8. You start hording small bills as you need them for taxi fares ("Sorry, no change. I'll just take your 20.")

7. Your teacher tells you that a favorite sport in Cairo is "Chasing after the bus"

6. Every taxi that comes across you walking down the street stops and honks until you wave them away

5. Every building has about 25 satelite dishes on the roof

4. People follow you down the street trying to sell you cherries/mint/limes/kleenex/flowers

3. Crossing the street is like a game of frogger

2. You tell time by the calls to prayer (oh, there he goes... time for Ellie to go to bed!)

1. It is almost 100 degrees out and everyone is wearing long sleeves and pants!

A Little Parrot

I forgot how much toddlers really soak in so quickly. And how they repeat EVERYTHING they hear. Ellie repeats almost everything we say to her. Sometimes it will be right on the money, like "mouse" and "Bible." Other times it will be totally off the wall, like saying "myrefsh" for "camel." The coolest word she can say now is "spiky," which she learned from one of the hotel staff since her hair sticks straight up when she wakes up. Yesterday she dropped a book off the bed and Jason said "I'll get it," and she repeated clearly "I'll get it." Amazing!

Yesterday afternoon we had lunch with several of Jason's classmates from U of A. It was really fun to be with a bunch of Americans for a while. It seems that all of them are world travelers, so we learned a bit about a lot of places. I guess students in area studies are able to travel for school a lot more. It's neat for me to be able to travel to all these places as well, but not have to take the classes!

We have only two weeks left here. Things are winding down and we are doing things "one last time." I am trying to find Christmas gifts here, but since I already got everyone the typical Egyptian souvenirs, I have to be a little more inventive. If anyone knows what they want, let me know. We can get just about anything here, probably cheaper than in the US.

All we want for Christmas

We have just really realized the full ramifications of being in another country during Christmas. We had been so looking forward to seeing Ellie and her cousin Bryson tearing through the wrapping paper together this year. And although thinking about Christmas in July is a bit odd, we will probably have to leave all our presents for others in Arizona when we leave for Jordan, so we are thinking about shopping now. So, if anyone knows what they would like, feel free to let us know. By the way, if anyone would like to get us an early Christmas present of a nice luggage set, that would be highly appreciated :)

Last night we found the best restaurant. It is called La Bodega, and easily within walking distance of our place. We were surprised to see that it is a really fancy-looking restaurant, with a great selection on the menu. The best part is they have what they call a "set menu." There are three dinner options you can choose from, and for each course there are about 3 options. If that doesn't make sense, let me break it down. We ordered a 4 course "set menu" meal. For starters, we chose tomato soup, then a calamari appetizer, grilled fish w/potatoes in lemon butter for the main course, and finally chocolate mousse for dessert. This was meant for only one person, but we shared it. The lightly battered calamari was the best I have ever had, and everything else was amazing as well. The best part? All of that, not including a drink, but including tax and tip was 65 Egyptian pounds, or less than $12. A four course meal!!! Isn't that amazing? We are definitely spoiling ourselves, because we will not be able to eat like this in the states. We are very sorry Gram that we didn't find this place before you came :(

It seems like we have just settled in here, and already we are making plans for future travel. Jason's Fulbright stuff all has to be in very soon. We are leaving for Jordan in less than 2 months!! We have already decided that no matter how much it costs, we are definitely finding somewhere to live that is more than just one room. 3 people, especially including a rambunctious toddler, in one room is way too much. Ellie and I go to the grocery store maybe twice a day just to escape the four walls.

It may seem that all I talk (or write) about is Ellie, but really all I do every day is spend time with her. I see Jason for lunch and then about 4 hours at night, but we usually watch a movie at night while Ellie's sleeping, so that doesn't leave much time for talking. Plus, the same thing happens every day for Jason and I, but Ellie learns and experiences new things every day. So, if any one is sick of hearing about Ellie, sorry.

Here are all the new words she has learned here. Mommy (instead of mama), cookie, socks, okay (which she says to everything, all the time), Gram (which she says as Meem), and then various animal noises (including for bee, horse, owl). She has also learned some new signs for frog, elephant, and alligator, and she blows kisses. She also runs pretty fast, dances, spins in circles, and walks backwards. And, although I know she can say Mimi, because she makes that sound for Mommy and Gram, she insists on making her sign (sticking out her lower teeth). Sorry mom.

Jason and I have discovered that we aren't really in love with the authentic Egyptian food here, as a lot of it is greasy and fatty, but we love the fact that we can go to a restaurant with good American-type food and eat for less than it costs for McDonalds in the states. Oh, and I bought a pair of pink sneakers the other day, which I wouldn't have bought normally but they are cute and only cost the equivilent of $11. Nichole, you want some for your birthday?

I received pictures today of my nephew Bryson who is over 4 months old. He is adorable, and we are very excited to see him in August (and Tara and Zane of course). Almost every day I have Ellie say the names of everyone in our family, and when she says Bryson, she smiles really big and yesterday she did the sign for baby. So, she knows who he is and is also excited to see him.

The Whirlwind Is Over

Sorry if I have worried anyone with a lack of communication. Jason's grandmother came to visit us here and we have had a whirlwind of adventure for the past week and a half. We visited all of the normal tourist attractions, including mosques, churches, pyramids, restaurants, and a felucca (sailboat) ride on the Nile. Yesterday we even went to Alexandria! Ellie sat and splashed in the Mediterranean Sea. There were only mild waves, but it was kind of scary because a crowd of older kids came over and were all splashing and grabbing at her, like she was a baby doll to play with.

Ellie's burn is pretty much healed. It was pretty bad, with some nasty blisters turning into scabs, but there is only a small pink area left where the scabs came off. Luckily, no infection, even though it is very difficult to keep things clean here, especially toddler hands.

One thing we were worried about with Ellie was her fear of scarf-covered heads of women in the US. Surprisingly, she has done just fine with most of the women here. However, we recently discovered that she is terrified of the women wearing the full covering with only their eyes showing. Jason pointed out that it isn't too weird of a fear, since they kind of look like ninjas. :) Some young girls were trying to talk to Ellie and she screamed, even after they pulled their face coverings off.

Jason's classes are going well, with him adapting to speaking Arabic 5 hours a day. Only five weeks left!

'Cuz you had a bad day...

We (at least Ellie and I) really had a bad day yesterday. First, I dropped our laptop, so half of the screen doesn't work. There is a big crack in it. Anyone know if that is fixable? Secondly, Ellie found a water dispenser at the hotel which unfortunately dispenses hot water as well as cold. I was a split second too late and she burned her hand. I knew something was really wrong when she wouldn't stop crying, even to nurse. It was getting redder and redder, so I told Jason to find us a doctor, which he did. We went to the hospital, Ellie screaming the whole way, where we found out it was pretty much like a really bad sunburn. Water blisters formed, and it looks really bad (red and peeling), but it should be fine. She hasn't complained at all today about it. We have a cream to put on it twice a day. The last catastophe was at night, when Ellie pulled on a decorative scarf on our fridge, pulling down everything on there. Including two heavy drinking glasses that exploded upon impact. Luckily she only got a couple of very small cuts on her feet. How embarrassing to show up at the hospital again! (not to mention, of course, that we were happy that she was safe.)

Today has been much better.

Sweets for the sweet

I am still amazed at how Ellie is treated here. I thought she was a little spoiled back home, but she is treated like a celebrity here. She runs around with full rein and when I try to stop her, people say, "no, it's okay." Everywhere we go, people give her sweets, like candy bars, cookies, etc. She has mastered the word "cookie." I have even come to expect this, so much so that yesterday when a man randomly asked me if she liked orange juice and if I wanted some, I said sure. So, he goes and gets some, brings it back, and then asks me for money. Oops.

One of the Arabic teachers from U of A, the one that Jason and I had together, is here in Cairo and her son is taking the same classes as Jason. Her husband is Egyptian, so she has a membership at a "club" here in Zamalek (that's the neighborhood we are in). It is somewhat like a country club, but it is huge, more like a college campus. It has everything, swimming, tennis, squash, basketball, restaurants, and even a gigantic children's area. She has given me and Jason guest passes so we can come to it as well. What a relief, to have somewhere fun to take Ellie to.

Home Sweet Home

We finally found a place to stay. It is nothing like we originally wanted, but at least it is somewhere to settle down. After days of fruitless searching (everything is extremely expensive this time of year), we settled on a long-term hotel. So, it is only one room, but it has a bathroom, three beds, and a safe balcony for Ellie to play on. The nice thing about a hotel is we don't have to wash our sheets or towels, they have a small breakfast available each morning, we don't have to pay for utilities, and most importantly, the man at the front desk is a wealth of information. Oh yeah, and since we don't have a kitchen, I'm not expected to cook!

Jason was able to give a huge sigh of relief once we decided to stay here, because he spent countless hours on foot searching. Now we can settle in and relax. Ellie is still getting used to sleeping in the same room as us (Mimi, Papi, and Aunt Nichole know what that means), but she is getting better.

We're here!

After two long days, we are finally in Cairo. Ellie was amazingly good during the traveling, maybe because she was the only one out of the three of us that was able to sleep at all. Jason and I are still exhausted, since we arrived at our hotel around 2:30am last night after not sleeping for many hours. Hopefully tonight we can get a full night's sleep.

The hotel we are staying at until we find an apartment is great. I found a review of it on a traveler's website, and it is perfect for us. It is much cheaper than the American chains here, but very English-friendly. There was a wonderful breakfast buffet this morning with eggs, sausages, breads, yogurt, cereal, and pastries. The manager of the hotel is helping us to find an apartment and is an excellent resource for finding things around the neighborhood.

I am amazed at how all the men here act much differently toward me than last time I was here. Since I have had Ellie strapped to my hip, they don't really pay any attention to me. Almost every single one has cooed and made faces at her, trying to get her to laugh. She is handling the different culture very well, and has not been afraid yet.

Jason begins classes on Sunday, so until then we will just be getting used to the city. I'll keep you all updated!

Ellie's beach portrait
from our trip to LA

One week to go!

It is hard to believe that there is less than one week until we leave for Egypt. We have a nonstop flight from Phoenix to London that is 11 hours long. Eleven hours! The only saving grace is that is begins at 7:30 pm, Ellie's approximate bedtime. We are hoping really hard that she will sleep through most of it. She couldn't last 10 minutes through Jason's sister's graduation; I doubt she would be much fun for that long in such closed quarters. The second flight from London to Cairo seems short in comparison, but it is still five hours. I'm thinking that would be a good naptime. Let's see if Ellie agrees.

So, we found out that we have to be at an in-country orientation for the Fulbright that is September 3-7th. We'll have a little less than a month in between Egypt and Jordan to visit friends and family. The only thing is that Jason's classes in Jordan don't start until the middle of October, so we will have over a month there with no plans. Travel, maybe? I'm not sure what countries we can get into, but there are some really interesting ones around that area.

Jason's Gram is going to be visiting us in Cairo the end of June. We are SO EXCITED about that, so I wanted to open up the invitation to all. If anyone has ever wanted to visit Cairo or Amman, Jordan, now would be a good time to come. You'd have a place to stay and an Arabic-speaking tour guide!

Hello friends and family!

Once again, I am beginning a new blog. Myspace was okay, but some people had problems with it. So, this seems to be the easiest way to post our updates.

Right now we are traveling between all the grandparents, until we take off for Egypt June 12th. Ellie is loving it, as she loves being the center of attention. The only downside for her is she misses her Aunt Nichole and friend Kyle (well, mostly Mindy). She even invented her own sign for Nichole. For those of you who don't know, she uses sign language to communicate, and she knows about 20 signs. We were showing her a family picture and every time we pointed to Nichole she would cross her arms in front of her. We can't figure out yet if she is saying "I Love you", or if it is because Nichole often crosses her arms, or if it is something completely different. Either way, she is one smart cookie.

We have some big news (no, no new baby). Jason was offered the Fulbright award, and after much deliberation, we have accepted it. This means that we will be going to Jordan (the country in the Middle East) this year, from September to June of next year. We'll post more about that later, but we are still planning to go to Wisconsin for Jason's Ph.D., it will just be delayed a year.