Small acts of independence

Alone in an Uber for the first time. 

As of last Saturday we have lived in Cairo for 86 days. Before this past Saturday here in Egypt I had never: taken an Uber by myself, gone grocery shopping alone or paid for anything outside of AIS.  At home (USA) these are such everyday occurrences but everything is so much more complicated here.  It was a nice moment when I completed all of the above, it felt so good! 

Since Mark was occupied with the visitors all day it was up to me to figure out transportation and get some errands completed.  While I don't like the idea of driving/parking here (more parking than driving) having to take multiple Ubers and give directions to places I have never been got old very fast.  Jared was invited over to his friend Kareem's house and so that was our first stop.  He lives inside a compound so getting the address to show up on the Uber app was not working.  Kareem's mom has given me some directions and once we made it there I was so relieved.  I got Jared settled and then requested another Uber and the same guy came back to get me.  It was pretty funny.  Getting to the grocery store from there was not bad and shopping went fine.  I was there early enough that it wasn't too crowded and had been to the store a few times with Mark. My biggest worry for shopping was being able to pay.  My debit card was not working and so I had Mark's and I was so nervous it would not work as well.  The next worry was meeting the Uber at the pick up point.  I am pretty good with maps in areas I am familiar with but Egypt is a very different story.  Meeting up with Uber's is always stressful.  What would have taken less than 1.5 hours at home took 3 hours here.  Lydia handled being at the apartment all that time very well. She and I had some nice time together without the boys and then I had to do it all over again to pick up Jared.  There is a lot of construction happening by the compound and it took a long time (again) to find a gate we could go through.  Once we got in I could not get an Uber to pick us up!  It took at least least 3 tries and some translating from Kareem but we did it.  It made me miss my highlander so much. 

I would love for us to have a car for Friday and Saturdays.  Then we could drive ourself to church Friday and run errands Saturday. I was so happy once we made it back and I did not have to take any more Ubers, it was a lot for one day.  Everything truly takes so much longer here and a lot of this time would be cut down if we had a car for those 2 days.  It's something to consider as our quality/ease of life would really improve.  I was so thankful I managed to get all these stops in and loved that feeling of accomplishment. 

Jared had an awesome time at Kareem's!  His house is beautiful and has everything you could want.  Jared and Kareem rode bikes (he had extras around), swam (just a little it was too cold to stay in, the high was 79 Saturday!!)) in the pool, soaked in the jacuzzi, played Minecraft and with Nerf guns and ate homemade pizza.  His house is nice and open and has a really nice yard, a trampoline and ping pong table. We will just leave it that they are in a very different tax bracket than us. But they seem like very nice people and I am so glad Jared and Kareem are becoming friends.  Jared was there for over 5 hours and both of them wanted him to stay longer. I didn't intend for him to stay that long but with how long the Ubers took and getting everything sorted it just happened and they were so happy.  Kareem's parents were out of town on a holiday together but his grandma and live in nanny were home with the boys. It was nice to get to visit with his Grandma. I am admittedly so curious about the lives of local Egyptians and want to know what the home lives of the students from school are like.  

Visitors from SLC

This past week our branch had visitors from Salt Lake City. Elder Randy Funk and his wife came over with Sharon Eubank, and Brother and Sister Bingham.  They visited with branch members, held trainings and then did some sightseeing.  

Here in Cairo we have an English speaking branch (Foreign service officers and their families, teachers like us, one or two here for work/just wanted to relocate and some USAID people) and an Arabic speaking branch which has a few Egyptian members but is mostly Sudanese.  The Nile River branch (Arabic) just passed the one year mark of its formal organization.  With Mark's calling he spent a lot of time with these visitors.  The district Relief Society president lives here in Cairo so she and the humanitarian missionaries organized the itinerary and took care of transportation and food.  This was a huge blessing as I would have had no idea how to handle that.  After church Friday our family attended dinner with the visitors at the Perry's house (Branch president and District Relief Society President).  It was a unique opportunity to spend individual time with them in such a small setting.  They are such good people who want so much to serve others and lift people up.  I felt rather out of place at dinner Friday because most of the conversation was focused on members of the Nile River Branch and I have not met many of them but it was very good for Jamie Perry to have a chance to talk to them about these situations.  

Mark spent the next day with them sightseeing.  They went to pyramids and rode camels and ate dinner at a fun restaurant with a great view of the Giza Pyramids.  Sunday I actually covered his classes for him at school while he attended some important meetings with them.   Mark met with the Ambassador from America and then with the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs.  They were very happy the meeting with the MFA happened as in the past it has been scheduled but then the person canceled last minute.  Mark said it went really well and instead of having 30 minutes they talked for almost an hour.  Then Mark escorted them to the airport and met up with the Bednar's who were coming from Jordan.  That was a fun bonus!  Sister Bednar commented that it was nice to meet him and Mark smiled and said "We've met before, at BYU Idaho."  So they talked about when we were there and how much Mark and I loved our time there.  

Mark at The Mena House 

Elder Bednar commented that just as there were pioneers in 1847 those of us here were pioneers in the area. He also said "great things were happening here (specifically the temple in Dubai) and we were just getting started here."  It was a really cool encounter.  

All of these visitors were traveling on to Sudan from here together.   They left Cairo yesterday and then today we heard the news of the Coup in Sudan!  They were actually traveling there because the church was supposed to be formally recognized. I do not think that actually happened because when we heard about the visitors this afternoon they were all safe at the hotel and the coup happened this morning.  We hope things will settle there quickly and they will be able to leave soon. 

Happy Birthday Jared!

We tried our best to carry on with our birthday traditions from Virginia and it went pretty well. We managed to find a nice party store and get some decorations and helium balloons for Jared.  Sadly, the balloons lost their helium by the next morning but we tried.  Jared went back and forth about whether or not he wanted to try to do something with new friends or just celebrate with family.  Up until about a week before his birthday he was planning on just family but then he started talking about two boys from school more and ended up choosing to have them over.  We had Kareem and Yassin come home with us from school and they payed board games, played at the school, ate dinner and then they roasted marshmallows over our fire pit. That was Jared's other request, to have a campfire.  It may have been 90 degrees that day but by evening it was in the mid 80's.  This was most likely the warmest birthday Jared has ever has. Yassin had never roasted a marshmallow before so that was kind of fun.  They are nice boys. I can see Jared hanging out with Kareem more than Yassin but its just really nice to see him be at a point where he wanted to have people from school over. 

Jared, Yassin, and Kareem

For his birthday Jared wanted crepes for breakfast, steak for dinner and brownies for his treat. This was the first time since 2015, (Kindergarten) that he did not want ham, potato, and broccoli soup and meat rolls for his birthday dinner.  I am not sure if he wasn't sure if we could make that meal or if he really wanted to try something different this year. It was a little sad to not be making it but he was happy with the meal he ended up with, steak, funeral potatoes and homemade rolls.  His birthday was actually kind of a hard day for me.  I missed Virginia and our friends/life there more than other days but I think we pulled off a fun birthday for Jared. 

Jared opened his presents before school. We actually planned ahead and bought a Lego set with us from home and saved it for his birthday.  He was very happy to have the set to build.  Yassin got him a set as well and Kareem for him the Java version of Minecraft.  He was thrilled with that.  The present that has gotten the most use is the table top ping pong net we got him.  It has been a hit.  Both Jared and Lydia have enjoyed playing ping pong together and with Mark and I.  It's nice to have a different family activity to do together. 

We have been really proud of Jared and how well he has handled this move.  He has transitioned to middle school nicely and is doing a good job staying on top of school work and figuring out a complicated new schedule.  We recently got some growth test scores back for him, Jared scored in the 95th percentile for reading and 80th for math.  He was actually the top student in reading for 6th grade which makes sense since essentially all his classmate have English as a 2nd language but as Mark and I looked into it it was still a very good individual score.  He was the 2nd highest student in 6th grade for the math tests. Again, having English as your first language is a major boost but he is a smart kid who can do very well in school. He misses Virginia and our life there but also seems to be pretty happy here.  He still regularly talks to Parker and Tyler his two best friends from home which I think is good for him.  He is one of two young men in our branch which is a big change from home where there were 9-10 deacons but he is rolling with it.  It is odd when I think of what his youth experience was like in Virginia compared to here.  The other YM is 14 and he will be moving this Summer.  He also lives in Maadi and so they just don't interact much.  For youth activity that week they got together for a baking activity.  They made a birthday cake for Jared which was very thoughtful. Youth activities are hard as most frequently they are held Tuesday night in Maadi which is a rough drive for Jared.  We were so spoiled living 4 minutes away from our church building in Charlottesville. 

He is still prone to holding grudges and needing to have the last word in situations/having things done his way which we would love to see him outgrow.  When he doesn't like something he just walks away which can be good in some situations but frustrating as well.  For example, when he and Lydia are playing together and he doesn't like something she suggests or does he just shuts her out and goes to his room.  He loves Legos, reading, Minecraft and fishing something that is much harder to do here in Egypt.  He is very responsible and trustworthy. He is definitely growing up more, and I see it happening even quicker here in Egypt where he does not have the same options for activities as he did at home (like exploring the woods, fishing and biking).

Birthday Interview

What is your favorite color? Blue
What is your favorite toy? Legos
What is your favorite movie? Lord of The Rings
What do you do well? Read
What do you like to do with Dad? Play basketball
What makes you happy? Reading
What is your favorite scripture story? Captain Moroni
What is your favorite song? The Spirit of God
What is your favorite animal? Orca
What is your favorite book? Lord of the Rings, Hunger Games
Who is your best friend? Tyler, Parker, Kareem
What is your favorite thing to do outside? Going into the woods
What is your favorite drink? Miranda
What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
What do you like to do with Mom? Play Ping Pong
What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Crepes
What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Ham, Potato Broccoli soup or steak
What do you want to be when you grow up? Not sure

Cairo District President

 Our Cairo church branch is part of the Cairo District.  This district covers the top of Africa including, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Sudan.  Spencer Penrod, who we knew when we lived in Egypt previously has been serving as the district president for the last 6.5 years.  Yesterday, Spencer was released in a special district conference and Mark was called as the new District President.  

Mark met with Elder Funk and Elder Singer, of the district presidency out of Salt Lake back in August right after we arrived.  Not much happened from that meeting so we didn't think much of it. In fact, shortly after that meeting Mark got called as a counselor in the branch presidency so we figured they found someone else to replace Spencer who was moving to Virginia the end of September.  We were wrong.  About a week and a half ago Elder Funk's secretary emailed Mark asking to meet with us both. We met over Zoom and they extended the call to Mark.  

This calling is similar to a stake president in an area with more members.  While our district covers a very large area it does not have a lot of members.  I am still not entirely sure all that will be entailed but we are ready to figure it out and try our best. Mark did call one of the humanitarian missionaries currently serving in Sudan to be his counselor which will be a great help.  There could be travel involved but with Covid restrictions it may not be for awhile yet.  I think it will be a lot of mentoring and training.  There are some important people from SLC coming out to visit mid-October so we have a meeting this week to figure out what that will involve.  I read the itinerary today and it feels like a lot but the humanitarian missionaries serving here take on a lot of that planning/hosting.  The district Relief Society President is here in our Cairo branch and she helps a lot too.  It will be quite the adjustment.

Both Mark and I bore our testimonies last night to the whole district.  It was a weird sense of deja-vu as we just did this in April. Elder Hern (in Sudan), the Penrod's and Elder Funk did as well.  I went before Mark and as I finished I looked over at Jared and saw that he was asleep!!  It was so awkward.  We were unmuted and couldn't do much to wake him up.  Once I finished I just had to try to subtly wake him up.  I can laugh about it but I was just hoping not many people had their Zoom on speaker view.  A sister in the branch here sent me this picture today so they clearly had it on speaker view.  In his defense it was a little warm with all of us on the couch. I guess my testimony was super riveting. 

After the meeting concluded the four of us stayed on the Zoom with Elder Funk and Spencer set Mark apart.  We had Spencer over for dinner before the meeting started and were glad to visit with him.  Elder Funk talked about how first the district presidency had to get special permission to have Mark set apart this way from Elder Ballard who got it from the First Presidency on Thursday when they met. As the Salt Lake Temple where they have met historically is closed for renovations, they all met in a dedicated room in the Joseph Smith Memorial building that has been set up to look like the room in the Salt Lake Temple.  This room is where all the weekly meetings of the 15 senior leaders take place so that was a fun piece of information. It's odd to think that Mark was talked about for a brief minute by these leaders.  Elder Funk was explaining this to us all so Jared and Lydia could hear about this different type of experience but I am not sure they got it.  After Mark was set apart by Spencer we chatted a little bit with Elder Funk.  I was in and out trying to get Jared and Lydia ready for bed but I think it was really good for Mark to have that time.  He will be talking with them a lot now.  I am really happy he has a willing counselor to work with and one who has more flexibility to travel. He will be a great help to Mark. 

Mark Spencer and Spencer Penrod   
When he began the meeting Elder Funk mixed up their names, another sense of deja-vu as this happened when we all lived here previously. 

When we got our job offers in December I immediately had the thought, "We got this job because there is something the Lord wants us to do in Egypt." AIS is a good school and international teaching is so much more competitive than it was 13 years ago. AIS was the one school that met our criteria and offered jobs for us both.  We knew the branch president was moving to Turkey shortly before we arrived and thought maybe that was why.  We were close but not quite right.  This will be an interesting new phase for us. 

First week of 4th grade and 6th grade

 We stopped by AIS a few nights before school started for our annual back to school photo shoot.  Carrying on traditions we established in Virginia has been a high priority for me to help us all feel more adjusted to Cairo. It was a little odd to see Jared and Lydia in uniforms but they don't seem to mind them so far.  Both were fairly nervous and excited for school to start. We have been waiting for so long.  

"More Than Me" This is the AIS Middle School Theme.  Two years ago they introduced it to the Middle School with the hopes of providing service learning opportunities and helping students see that they should be able to look beyond just their own life and see how they can help and impact others.  I really love this theme and think it is great for Jared and Middle School students in general. 

After we took pictures we came home and Mark gave them each a back to school fathers blessing which seemed to reassure them both.  I think being here in Egypt will provide us with more opportunities to make use of this special gift. 

First Day of School, September 12.  We started the day with a big breakfast.  A family from church kindly bought us some bacon from the commissary and we had bacon and eggs and some cinnamon bread that I made.  Lunches were packed and we rushed out the door to school. The middle school has a complicated rotating A/B schedule.  They have 4 periods a day and go to the same 4 classes each A and B day but the time they attend class rotates each day.  So day 1 was an A day and they had periods 1-4 and then day 2 was a B day and they had periods 5-8 but on the the next A day they start with period 2 and their day goes period 2, 3, 4 then 1.  Same with the next B day.  They start with period 6 so the day goes: 6,7,8,5.  It keeps rotating each day. Each day starts with Homeroom so in homeroom the teachers remind them of what day they are on and which class they start with.  Its confusing and complicated but Jared seems to be handling it very well. 

We really like Lydia's teacher Ms. Emily.  Unfortunately the school is a for profit school so the more students they enroll them more money they make.  Lydia's class has 25 very social students in it which is 5 -7 more students then she ever had in a class at Baker Butler.  So she finds it way too loud and busy.  We warned/told her many times that students are very different here but I don't think she quite expected such a loud noisy class. That has been very hard for her.  She attends AFL (Arabic for Foreign Learners) each day (Jared has it each A day) and it is her favorite part of the school day.  She loves that it is a small class with only 3 students and that she feels challenged, like she is learning something and using her brain.  The first few days of school are quite boring so it makes sense that she would enjoy feeling like she is learning something.  She is always happy to tell/show us what she learned with Ms. Yazmine. There are some nice kids in her class and we are hopeful they will settle down a bit more at least and that Lydia will adjust as well.  She gave her first day a 6.5 which is quite high for Lydia to give anything in Egypt.  It was very hard to leave Baker Butler especially knowing what I knew about AIS.  We loved it there and I do feel like it was a better school than AIS at least for Lydia but that does not mean that AIS can't be a good experience for her.  We were just very fortunate to be at such a good, strong school.  Lydia does not love school, some days she doesn't even like it but she does love being there with Mark and I.  While the school is very large her AFL class is very close to Mark's classroom and it is Middle School lunch when she leaves AFL so she can get daily hugs and check ins from us which she loves.  We have had many talks about looking for the good at school and implemented a new requirement that she has to tell us one good thing each day and it can't be AFL. We are hoping this will help her and she will feel more comfortable soon. The kids in her class are being perfectly nice to her and I think she will be able to make new friends soon. I don't expect her to love school like she did with Baker Butler necessarily although that would be great but I do hope she can find good things and do well. Today her class did mad libs to practice types fo words and she loved it.  It was so great to see her happy about school. 

Jared seems to be doing well.  He has commented that he prefers the elementary style of staying with one teacher but is adjusting easily to the rotating schedule and figuring out how to organize his supplies for each day.  They are not sure if they will do lockers this year because of COVID so he has to make sure to pack all the right notebooks each day and his backpack is heavy!  He would love to have a locker. Kids have been pretty nice to him and we hope he can be brave and be willing to put himself out there as well and get to know some nice kids.  He chose Study Hall and Spanish for his electives and ended up with Study Hall for this semester which is good I think.  It's a good break from the loudness of his classmates.  He has commented that his social studies class is really loud and he does not like that.  Social Studies is his favorite class and we have gotten to know his teacher as she is also a new to AIS this year teacher.  She is awesome and I hope that the students in there will settle soon. He is able to buy lunch so we are using a lunch allowance for the week.  The first time it didn't go so well but he tried again and got what he wanted.  He gave his first day a 7 so that was encouraging. Both of them said it was better than they thought it would be.  We will take it. 

After school we headed over to Ikea for our traditional first day of school ice cream. This was the first year Mark could join us which was nice.  It was really nice to go and hear about their first days. I spent most of my first day helping students find classes and preparing my personal substitute binder.  Mark had a pretty good day.  He is teaching 7th and 8th grade and so far the 8th grade class is way more chill than his 7th grade classes. I have been visiting as many classes as possible so I can see how teachers run things before I fill in for them.  It is so interesting to see how different teachers are and also how they all implement some of the same things.  I do think overall the school has very good teachers who are professional and enjoy teaching.  I will be nervous to fill in regularly but also glad to as not having things to do makes for long boring days. 

One week in our mornings are still quite rushed as it feels like Jared and Lydia are so slow to get things done.  We tried letting them stay up to 8:45 and it's too late for them.  So this week we moved bedtime up to 8:30 and will plan to get them both up at 6:40.  We need to be out the door by 7:35 at the latest so we need to get more efficient.  We are lucky to live across the street from school.  Choosing this apartment was the right choice. We are all just kind of holding our breath to see if we can stay in person.  Today was the beginning of the second week and the whole High School quarantined today.  It was originally just 10th grade for the week as a 10th grader tested positive for the Delta Variant but as they looked into it more they decided to do the whole high school for today at least.  I am not sure when the other grades will be back. There was also a 2nd grade class who has to quarantine this week.  It's all just a waiting game and a time to see if people follow guidelines and the guidelines work.