Our Family Blog

May Day 2010

2010-11-14T06:11:00.000-08:00

It has been over six months since either of us last posted. With Harmony's new job and graduate school, she's very, very busy. And I've been taking care of Zoey more. Anyway, this video dates back to May 1. If you start it, make sure you stick around until about 1:10 when Zoey says how her dress makes her feel.

Zoey on a Camel

2010-06-16T18:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, here it is, at last: proof that Zoey rode a camel! Our own pictures from that day were lost, so thanks to Ian, the student who sent us these pictures.

Sure, It's Cheezy, but It's Fun!

2010-06-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I couldn't resist making a little video set to Walk Like an Egyptian. Surprise! Oh, well, it's not bad. There might be another one soon.

Street Scenes

2010-06-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

These are some of my favorite photos that don't have Harmony or Zoey in them. I was a bit surprised at how well some of them turned out since I took them with my cell phone from the bus during the time we were without a better camera.

Temples, Statues, and Mosques: Oh, My!

2010-06-11T17:22:00.000-07:00

I think most of these speak for themselves. I'll add a few comments along the way. I realize this is a lot of photos, but I hope you enjoy some of them.

Luxor

Temple of Ramses II

Military Outpost in Alexandria on the Mediterranean

Fishing in the Mediterranean

Pompeii's Pillar in Alexandria
This is made from red granite, hauled hundreds of miles north (downstream) on the Nile from Aswan in southern Egypt. We also saw the quarry from which this pillar came.

Egyptian National Military Museum in Cairo

The Citadel in Cairo

Mohamed Ali Mosque

Early Models for the Great Pyramids of Cairo

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo
After we landed, we had four hours before we headed for this well-known museum.

Random Egyptian Artwork

2010-06-11T12:51:00.000-07:00

In this post there are examples of the artwork of the ancient Egyptians, including painting and rock carvings. A later post will include photos of their building prowess. I'm not going to add text to the photos, but I do think one of the photos is worth noting: you will see a painting that obviously looks more "Christian" than the other. In fact, it was painted by the Coptic Christians, a religious minority in Egypt. They routinely chiseled off the faces of the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian gods and replaced them with their own.

More Pictures (from home!)

2010-06-09T10:42:00.000-07:00

I wish I could say I took these, but I didn't. These are from one of the students.

The Nile.

Ruins (though I can't remember which ones...)

Zoey with Anna and Whitney (students) by the Red Sea.

The pyramids at night.

Highest point in Cairo.

Camel riding near the pyramids.

Family photo on the Red Sea.

This is the family of the Arabic Fullbright Scholar, Sara, who was at Drake last year. Her family had a small group of us over for dinner one evening.
From Left to Right: Top: Ian, Zack (Drake students), Sara's mom and brother, Marc, Isaiah (Drake student)
Bottom: Amy (Drake student), Sara's sister-in-law, Sara, Zoey, Lindsay (Drake student), Judi (Sara's niece and Zoey's new best friend). Harmony was behind the camera for this one.

From Chicago--Photos of H and Z

2010-06-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

We are close to home and spending the night in Chicago. After having slept only about 2-3 hours in the past 36, we are very happy to have a nice bed and kitchen in this hotel room so we can enjoy the foods we missed a bit.

For this post, I'm going to upload just a few photos of Zoey and/or Harmony. Lots more coming.

Random Topics

2010-06-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

Last night we were playing with Zoey in a fairly nice playground area. There were U.S.-style units with swings, slides, walkways, etc. Suddenly I noticed that there were dense clouds of fog surrounding the hedges and trees. Then I saw the men with masks. We went to the beach to escape, but soon the pesticides/insecticides floated down there, too. The smell was overpowering and nauseating. We sprinted for the room. I’m not sure, but I would be willing to bet these sprays are outlawed in the U.S. They seem very effective, but at what cost?

It is difficult to determine how many classes there are in Egyptian society. This is complicated by the fact that external appearances are clearly misleading, by our standards. Sara, the Fulbright Language Teaching Assistant with whom I worked this past academic year, invited us all to her home in Alexandria. The outside of the apartment complex was not very nice, by our standards. Inside, we found a nice, comfortable middle-class dwelling, but not ostentatious, by any means. Sara had told me she wasn’t worried if she didn’t find a job when she got back to Egypt because her family has enough money to support her for her entire life. Hmm.

Mahmoud told me the Egyptian middle-class is disappearing rapidly, both in terms of numbers and influence. That coincides with what I have observed. What I see is a very, very poor group, who often doesn’t have any work, but seems to get by; agricultural workers; a group of “clerks” who serve others, often tourists; a quite wealthy class who holds jobs such as lawyer, judge, journalist, etc.; and the very, very wealthy.

When one drives through the countryside in Egypt, one notices many “shacks,” “cottages,” “lean-to’s,” or whatever they really are. I don’t quite know the word for them. They often have rock walls, though many are logs/sticks laid together and palm-leaves for the roof, if there is one. These are found on small farms (really, really small, like your front yard) and on properties that are hundred of desolated acres. I asked Mahmoud why this is and he said they are “security” to prevent squatters from building on the land. Funny, I had assumed they were, in fact, “squatters.” Shame on me, since I teach a course on intercultural communication. I am reminded how difficult it can be not to assume similarity instead of difference. I think I’m doing well at avoiding ethnocentrism, prejudice, and stereotypes, but I have studied these things for years. The students can be quite offensive, but I am hoping the long-term impact of the trip will effect them for years to come.

Resorts, Hotels, and General Employment

2010-06-02T08:48:00.000-07:00

We are currently in a resort on the Red Sea. There is a modern fitness room, three Olympic-size pools, three restaurants/bistros, etc. And lots and lots of employees. Some water the grass (which is very rare in Egypt) and hedges, others clean the pools, sweep leaves, hand out towels, etc. I have wondered since arriving whether they are happy to have these jobs or not. I’m sure that Egyptians don’t smile as much as people in the U.S. It’s not that they don’t smile; they just don’t do so constantly or, usually, at strangers. Some of the employees seem to have hostile looks on their faces, at least by my standards, and others are indifferent. Many, many are friendly, possibly because of Zoey. But, back to my question: are they happy to have these jobs? Again, the unemployment rate is very high, though I’m not sure the rate. There are many, many more physically-demanding jobs, e.g., construction (of which there is, inexplicably, a great deal), giving rides on carriages pulled by donkeys or horses, washing clothes, etc.

Once, when walking by many people asking to sell us things, I did hear one voice say, “Spoiled Americans.” That really got me to thinking. They are aggressive in their selling, for sure, but their livelihoods depend on it. These “trinkets” are very cheap. One must be careful, for example, if one wants to buy a piece of pottery made in Egypt, that it isn’t actually made in China. How many do they have to sell to be able to eat? When the little boy tried to take the ice cream cone I had gotten from McDonald’s for Harmony and I pulled away, was I wrong? Well, now I’m getting to deep. I can’t solve Egypt’s poverty problem, but should one try it on a case-by-case basis? A question for the ages, perhaps.

Police and Military

2010-06-02T08:46:00.000-07:00

In Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, and other large cities, there are military figures with pistols and/or AK-47s every block or two. I don’t mean just on busy streets and interstates, but also in decrepit neighborhoods, maybe a little less densely distributed. I’m not sure what they are there for, but they get a lot of deference from the neighborhood people. They are brought tea frequently. Often there are intense conversations when someone approaches with tea, but I’m not sure what that’s about. Mahmoud explained that these jobs are the worst of the worst, in terms of security jobs, because these jobs go to the men who have not learned to drive when they join the military or police. They are paid very little. But is that good or bad, given how high the unemployment rate is here?

On Tipping, Negotiating, and Bribing

2010-06-02T08:43:00.000-07:00

We are still not used to the “system” here. Even people in the U.S. who stay regularly at hotels know to tip the employee who brings up luggage, but one normally has a choice about whether to carry one’s own bags or not. Here there is no choice. That’s not so hard to get used to.

When one goes to the beach or pool here and wants a towel, there is someone there from whom one may “rent” a towel. And one may not bring a towel from the room for the beach or pool. OK, we can get used to that, too.

Simply asking a question will result in someone waiting politely, possibly with a hand out, for a “tip.” “Which way is our room?” Well, better have some small change ready. Of course, a standard tip is seldom more than a U.S. dollar, but it adds up.

Harmony and I were discussing how next summer’s trip might be more accurately advertised. Students paid a flat fee, plus airfare, and were only supposed to have to pay for a few more meals. However, I’m sure each of t hem has paid an additional $200-300 in “tips,” mostly to get their luggage loaded or unloaded and brought to rooms. No choice.

We also knew coming in that we would be able to “negotiate” prices on things in markets. We, especially Harmony, has gotten quite good at it. Prices change, depending on whether one is a native speaker of Arabic or not. One example: Harmony wanted to buy a small Egyptian-style dress for Zoey. The seller wanted to sell the dress plus some head-attire for 250 Egyptian pounds. Harmony responded she only wanted the dress. Back and forth, back and forth. Eventually Harmony offered 90 Egyptian pounds and made a deal for the dress only. As they were walking away, the seller threw in the “hat” (for lack of a better word) for free because Zoey is so cute. So, how much profit is there, really?

Also, if one store doesn’t have something in a particular size or style, or doesn’t have change for a bill, the desired size can be gotten from another store with no formality and the change will be gotten from another person, even a seemingly random police officer. Are they actually entrepreneurs or a collectivist selling organization? How are profits distributed?

Bribes are also a common part of life here, although no one will tell me what the standard rate is, if there is one. For example, every time we load the bus, we need to get out into traffic, often requiring a very difficult u-turn. For a fee, the local police will stop traffic completely, let us load, and then complete the u-turn. Lots and lots of honking and shouting, but everyone waits. Lots of other things can be “waived” if one knows how to do it. More on the police in the next entry.

Zoey's Puppy

2010-05-30T13:27:00.001-07:00

May 30th
The Tale of Zoey’s Puppy
by: Harmony

As many of you know, Zoey has a lot of toys and stuffed animals and has never had any particular attachment to any one toy (she just always wants to bring a toy along wherever she goes, but has never cared much which toy it is). Well, that all changed when we came to Egypt. On the night before we left for our trip, I told Zoey to pick a toy to take on the airplane and she chose a brown puppy that I had actually never seen her play with before. But, I thought it was a good choice, so brown puppy came along with us on the airplane. After arriving in Egypt, I offered Zoey her baby elephant or her tiger toy to play with and she played with them a little bit but soon developed a special relationship with brown puppy. In fact, they have been inseparable. Brown puppy comes to every meal with us, visits every tomb, temple and pyramid, sleeps in Zoey’s bed, brown puppy has even gone sailing on the Nile and camping in the White dessert. We have also realized the hassle of having one special toy.

Our first trouble came when we were in the Land Rovers in the white dessert (on our way to our camping trip) and Zoey threw brown puppy out the window. Well, I was sure he was gone forever, so I told her that he was gone and she’d have to play with another toy the rest of the trip. Well, the tears came immediately. She was devastated. But, before she could cry too long, one of the Land Rovers behind us stopped and backed up and retrieved brown puppy. Phew.

Well, tonight it was my mistake that nearly resulted in the demise of brown puppy. Zoey had fallen asleep after a night of shopping and I was carrying her back onto our cruise ship (over a suspended walkway that takes us from land to the boat). She was holding brown puppy (but of course, being asleep, she wasn’t really holding on) and brown puppy slipped out of her hands and into the Nile. We have come to realize, however, that Egyptians will do anything for a child. And sure enough, 5 grown men got right to work on the rescue mission, retrieving puppy from the Nile with a 30 foot net. After a good washing in the bathtub and a little run under the hair dryer, he should be good as new by morning. Zoey (who slept through it all) will be none the wiser. Phew.

Let’s hope this is the end of brown puppy’s adventures.

Pictures in the White Dessert (Camping Trip)

2010-05-30T06:01:00.000-07:00

Another Egypt Update 5/29/2010

2010-05-30T05:27:00.000-07:00

May 28th By: Harmony

Alexandria was beautiful! It sits right on the Mediterranean Sea, it’s cleaner than Cairo and the architecture looked more similar to Europe than the other Egyptian architecture we’ve seen. We got to tour their famous library (built about 7 years ago) that houses over 1 million books. It was amazing. The building itself cost 250 million dollars and was designed with skylights that are shaped like eyelids in order to let in natural light without direct sunrays (ideal for reading). The building also had materials that absorb sound to keep the library quiet, among other features. It also housed many special collections of art and rare manuscripts. It was very cool. We did some other sightseeing in Alexandria and spent time with Sara, who was the Arabic Fulbright Scholar at Drake last year. We were all sad to leave Alexandria.

After a miserable night aboard a sleeper train (miserably hot and Zoey kept trying to snuggle me right out of our top bunk) we arrived in Aswan and climbed aboard our cruise ship (YIPPIE!). We’ll be cruising the Nile for 4 days now, stopping in towns each day for sight seeing, but eating and sleeping on the ship. Aswan is in the far Southern part of Egypt, which is actually referred to as Upper Egypt because it is upriver from the other cities in Egypt (the Nile flows South to North). Therefore, although Cairo and Alexandria are in the Northern part of Egypt, they are considered “Lower Egypt”.

May 29th By: Harmony

Yesterday evening we visited several things in Aswan. We saw the High Dam (the place where the Nile is dammed to control flooding all throughout Egypt) and Nasser Lake (the lake behind the dam). We also saw a temple that was built for the goddess Isis as well as some other temples built by Egyptian Kings to honor gods (and themselves). There were carvings in the walls of the temples depicting the stories of the gods and also showing Kings defeating their enemies, making offerings to the gods, etc. At some point in history, the Christians used these temples for their own purposes and at that time they attempted to destroy the carvings by chiseling away the faces of the Egyptian gods. However, there are so many carvings that they couldn’t all be destroyed and some were still in good condition.

The whole group is getting to the point where we are a little sick of each other and overly tired and ready to just have some time alone, so today was it. We had a relaxing day on the boat. It was just what everyone needed! We swam in the swimming pool on the top deck of the ship, spent some time together (just the three of us), and just enjoyed a relaxing day. This afternoon, we went with the students on a sailboat ride and had a little sailboat song and dance put on by the boat captain and crew. This evening, Marc went with the students to see another temple, but Zoey and I stayed poolside. I thought she needed a day without any sightseeing, just to relax and be a kid. Tonight there is going to be a party and we are all to wear traditional Egyptian attire (conveniently sold right here on deck). I know it’s a tourists’ thing to do, but it will be fun anyway.

Catching Up

2010-05-26T23:40:00.000-07:00

Sunday, May 23rd
After many complaints from the students about the length of the activities yesterday, it was decided to have a bit of a “down” day. That means everyone went to bed 2-4 a.m. and was ready to go by 1030. We went to bed earlier, but we have reasons.

We drive about 90 minutes away from Cairo to a resort on the Red Sea. The clean beach was mostly deserted. The tourist season is really from October to April when it’s not so hot, so we enjoyed almost all the beach to ourselves. Although Egypt has a real trash problem on land, the water was clear and blue. I walked out maybe 400 yards before the water came to my neck. There were seven tankers to be seen a couple of miles out, big ones.

After swimming, we had dinner and sat around the pool for an hour. Then we rode back and went to bed. In the morning we have to be ready to leave by 7 for the nine-hour drive (four by bus, five by four-wheeler in groups of four) to the White Desert. We had a mini-lecture about dress codes and proper etiquette when meeting the Bedouins. It should be interesting.

(Sorry for the break between days, but I think Harmony wrote something.)

Thursday, May 27th
We are sitting in the lobby of Le Metropole, a five-star hotel in Alexandria in which the King of Egypt stayed in the summers prior to 1952. It’s one block from the Mediterranean. We’re feeling pretty spoiled, but then the room in Cairo wasn’t as good.

Yesterday we made the four-hour drive to Alexandria, including lunch at a restaurant in which they had chained baby lions right next to the tables. Lots and lots of animals, but very sad.

Once we got to Alexandria, we toured some Greek and Roman ruins, including the Tower of Pompeii. Lots of tombs with three or four levels underground that used to be above ground. Very interesting, but after a while, for me at least, ruins are ruins. This morning we are going to the famous Alexandria Library, so that will be a bit of a break.

After the Library, another museum and then the four-hour ride back to Cairo. In Cairo, we will get on a train that we will stay on overnight until we reach Aswan in the south of Egypt. There we will take a three-day Nile cruise back up to Cairo.

There are many anecdotes I could write about, but it’s about time to leave. More later. Oh, I think we’ve about decided we’ll have to upload all our photos and videos once we’ve gotten back. We do have Internet access, but it’s not free. It’s by the minute and uploading data eats that time up quickly. Sorry.

Egypt Journal, Part Three

2010-05-25T20:05:00.000-07:00

By: Harmony

We are a few more days into our trip now and have seen quite a bit more. We have learned that although there are traffic laws here, they are not enforced well and the strangest thing we've seen is a family of 5 on a mo-ped (you know those little motorized scooters that are smaller than a motorcycle). There was Dad in front, driving, two very little kids in the middle and Mom was sitting side-saddle on the back with a baby strapped to her front. That is completely illegal as no one under the age of 16 is supposed to be on a motorcycle, but again, the laws are not well-enforced here.

On May 22nd, we had a tour of the Citadel, including the Mosque of Muhammad Ali. We also saw the Christian part of Cairo.

On May 23rd, we had a much needed rest and headed for the beach! We spent the day swimming in the red sea. Zoey loved that, she loved the water and wasn't even afraid of the waves (albeit very small ones).

On May 24th we left for our camping trip in the White Dessert. We traveled by bus for 4 hours and then we got to the point that the bus could take us no further, so we loaded everyone into 5 Land Rovers and drove (some on roads and some right across the sand) another several hours to get to our campsite. We got to see a lot of the dessert and when we got to our campsite we were more than 200 miles from the nearest medical facility (an important fact to tell 17 students who are 18-22 years old and.... adventurous). Of course, my biggest concern was those guys who drove the Land Rovers. Have you heard the expression, "Little boys with big toys"? That would explain the Land Rover drivers. They drove very fast across the sand and slid around corners, kicking up sand all over the place (including into our open windows). The only ones who had seat belts were Marc (he was in the front) and Zoey (there was only one in the back seat and the girls in our vehicle agreed to give it to Zoey. I am more than relieved to know that we made it safely and I think there won't be any more riding in vehicles smaller than a bus. It's amazing how old I got when Zoey was born, but I think that's a good thing.

Zoey loved the camp-out and even slept like a baby. We had a traditional Egyptian dinner (made over campfire) and then the drivers and crew that came along with us put on a show with drums and dancing. The drums and dancing reminded me a lot of a native american pow-wow, but maybe that was only because of the drums and the campfire. It was an interesting experience to be overnight in a place without any water source, much less a bathroom. We had drinking water, of course but we were very dirty by the time we returned to Cairo.

On May 25th, we woke up early in the dessert and drove back to the nearest town for a little sight-seeing. We saw a mummy museum and a temple that had wall carvings representing ancient Egyptian gods and the stories explained using hieroglyphics. We returned to Cairo late (another long bus drive) and went to bed late. When we got to Cairo last night, we had a small dessert just in our shoes, underwear, ears and hair.

May 26th: We are up early this morning to head to Alexandria and start the second portion of our trip (away from Cairo). More updates as we can.

Egypt Photos May 21st

2010-05-21T09:14:00.000-07:00

We used Marc's cell phone to get a few photos today.

This is King Ramses' Sphinx (the second largest sphinx in Egypt). Of course it is much less famous than the giant one, but this one still has its nose.

We went to an Egyptian carpet-weaving store and here are some of the women who make the carpets.

This pyramid with 6 steps is the first pyramid ever built and it is 4,650 years old! There are 6 steps because the ancient Egyptians believed that the number 7 represented heaven and so the 7th step is supposed to be in heaven.

Egypt, a Novel: Part One

2010-05-21T09:12:00.000-07:00

Egypt Journal

Part One, Thursday, May 20, 2010
By: Harmony

We had some trouble getting Internet, so this is the first chance we have had to update you all.

After more than 24 hours of travel, we arrived at our hotel in Cairo at about 4 a.m. After a short sleep, we were off to the Egyptian Museum that houses the contents of King Tutankhamen’s tomb (King Tut, as we usually say in the US). It was amazing how many things came out of that tomb, it was an entire floor of the museum. We also saw many pieces of art ancient, sculptures, sarcophagus, and other remnants of the ancient civilizations of Egypt. After a short rest at the hotel, we had a very nice dinner at a restaurant right on the Nile.

After very little sleep (the time difference of 8 hours means that we are trying to go to bed here when it is only about 3 or 4 pm in the US) we were off Thursday morning to see the Pyramids and Sphinx. Marc went into one of the pyramids, but I decided to stay out because we were warned that it was a very small space and I am a bit claustrophobic. After seeing the pyramids, some of the Drake students wanted to ride camels. Of course, so did Zoey so I rode with her. She loved it! She kept saying, “Look mommy I am riding a camel in Egypt! I did it!” She also said, “This camel is really bumpy and wiggly”. I am surprised at how big the camels are here compared to the ones we see in Zoos in the US. They don’t even seem like the same animal.

We are staying in very nice accommodations, we have our own bus to take us everywhere, and the other professor who organized the trip is Egyptian, so we have been very insulated. However, there are a lot of poor people here and the gap between the rich and poor is much more visible than in most places in the US. Another unfortunate thing for the people who live here is that they used to have neighborhood trash collection and it worked well, but a while back the government hired corporate trash collection and gave the companies a monopoly. Since then, they will not pick up trash in some neighborhoods, or they will only collect what they want to collect, so there is a trash problem in the poorer neighborhoods. We have seen makeshift landfills in the middle of neighborhoods as well as people burning trash right in the city. It makes me appreciate the infrastructure and services that we normally take for granted.

Traffic in Egypt is something to behold. I am glad we are in a big bus with seat belts. I didn’t know that people were capable of driving 40- 50 mph with (literally) less than 12 inches between cars. Sometimes in 3-4 lanes of traffic, all only 6-12 inches from each other. There is no attention paid to traffic lights or even the white lines on the streets. The cars mostly seem similar to rural Iowa. Some very nice cars, some older ones, but I am surprised that they don’t all have scrapes on the sides by how the traffic is here.

When we had lunch today, we accidently left our camera at the table. We called to try to get it back, but they hadn’t seen it. We are hoping they find it and call us back. If not, we will have to buy a camera here. We do have our video camera and have taken a lot of good video footage (thank goodness!) and the students will also share their photos with us, but unfortunately we might have lost our first two-days worth of photos (thank goodness we didn’t loose it on our last day here, I guess). So, there are no photos that we can post yet. We will post video, if possible, at a later date. Tonight we are off to a concert.

We are safe, happy, and enjoying our time!

Finally!

2010-05-21T08:36:00.000-07:00

(First mea culpa: I lost our camera, so I don't have many images to fill this with. We will put some up as we can, so please revisit posts you have already ready read if you are interested in accompanying images.)

May 21, 8 a.m. By: Marc
Another morning and I’ve had two cups of good, strong coffee, none of that see-through U.S. stuff. Today we are off to Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt. The city lies about 30 minutes south of Cairo. Should be great.

I have to admit I’m a bit frustrated at the delay in getting Internet access. the problem is that all of us bought a mobile Internet card that is supposed to work for both PCs and Macs, but it doesn’t work with Macs. We don’t speak Arabic for the help line and, though they have people of the help line who speak English, they don’t seem to quite speak well enough to help us (or maybe we don’t understand what they mean, though we understand the words).

Last night we went to a semi-formal event with a performance of classical Egyptian music. All of us went, but when we got there, we learned only children over seven could be admitted. Zoey and I (and someone who accompanies us everywhere and appears to be some type of security person, though I haven’t asked) stayed in the lobby while Harmony and the others went in. What an experience! Boy, did they fawn over Zoey. People brought her cookies/sugar wafers, played hide-and-seek with her toy elephant, and photographed her with their cell phones. And most of them were men! A little off-putting, but very normal for this culture in which men and boys routinely kiss each other on the cheek in greeting and often walk either with their arms on each other’s shoulders or hold hands. Oh, and while we waited in the lobby, we saw several babies and children younger than Zoey go in. I guess it's whom you know.

A few bits of random things I learned but don’t want to forget: the city east of the Nile here is actually Cairo; the city west of the Nile is Giza. All of the tombs and pyramids are in Giza because that is where the sun sets. Setting sun = death. It didn’t enter the minds of the ancient Egyptians to bury someone in Cairo.

As we were driving to the Egyptian Museum the first day, one of the students asked about why so many of the buildings seem unfinished. Seeing, for example, the first floor of an apartment building or house with metal studs/supports sticking up into the second floor is extremely common. It seems that families will often purchase a plot of land and build the first floor and then add on as their family expands, e.g., sons marry and bring their families home, a very common practice. Of course landlords build first floors and then higher floors as they rent them out. It’s kind of strange and makes even middle-class and upper-class areas of the city seem a bit chaotic by our standards.

There are donkey- and horse-pulled carts everywhere, in areas of the city for every class. Traffic is so tight that it’s hard to see how there aren’t more traffic and pedestrian accidents. We often see camels and donkeys in the backyards of middle- and working-class people. Many of the camels are for tourists, but even more are working animals.

The buldings remind me very much of what I saw in Turkey. The top floors are covered with satellite antennas and tubs to collect water, in a 21st century kind of way. Mercedes, BMWs, Audis, Saabs, Hyundais, etc. next to buses, taxis, horses, donkey carts, and tons of pedestrians of every variety.

Last night as we returned from the concert we saw many interesting sights, but the most peculiar one was someone sleeping on a bed in the middle of an empty lot right in the middle of a very busy four-way intersection. I couldn’t understand how anyone could sleep there. Traffic was very thick at midnight and would be until about 5 a.m., as Mahmoud, the Egyptian professor explained. Egyptians really only have a one-day weekend and it’s on Friday. So Thursday night, as last night was, is a very late night for everyone. Mahmoud has probably said 20 times so far that Cairo is a city that never sleeps.

At the pyramids yesterday, I was told on three separate occasions that I look Egyptian, mainly because of my beard. I had been told I look German in Germany, Azerbaijani in Turkey, but I didn’t expect to be told I looked Egyptian. Indeed, there are Egyptians of every skin color, though few as light-skinned as Zoey and I.

I was also struck by how few people there are my height (6’1”). I didn’t expect that. Harmony mentioned yesterday that there are very few heavy Egyptians. We talked about how there are some with bellies, but the majority is quite thin, as expected.

Harmony mentioned I left the camera at the restaurant yesterday and lost two days of photos. Very upsetting in the moment, but I suppose I’ll get over it. Anyway, the restaurant was barbeque and the servers brought four huge containers of smoking barbeque. The vegetarians got their own container of barbequed vegetables. It was all great. We had some of the expected dishes: hummus, baba ganoush, spicy tabouli (but nothing like tabouli in the U.S.), a yoghurt sauce flavored with quite a bit of garlic, etc. Nothing tasted quite like it does in the U.S.: it was a bit spicier. I think it was cayenne pepper, but they also had hot sauces (Heinz) on the table. We had bottled water to drink; one of the students said it was very weird that they served drinks in 1 ½-liter bottles. She didn’t have an answer when I asked why we use 2-liter bottles. Neither do I.

Oh, and back to the topic of food: they do eat a lot of pitas here, including pitas filled with french fries. Take a look:

Enough rambling (the two cups of coffee have gone a long way). Time to get Zoey up and get ready for the bus ride ahead.

Tulip Time, Part 1

2010-05-10T16:27:00.000-07:00

Sarah came up and we took the girls to Tulip Time again this year. We missed out on the world-record-breaking dutch dancing, but we had some yummy poffertjies (Harmony's favorite!!). We also got our annual pictures of the kids by the tulips in sunken garden park. (For a fun comparison go look back at 2008 and 2009 May blog posts to see previous years' tulip times as well!)

Tulip Time, Part 2

2010-05-10T16:20:00.000-07:00

Zoey loved the Tulip Time Parade and really got the hang of standing up and begging when people were handing things out. She did score a cookie, but missed out on many of the other handouts. She gave up pretty quickly when she missed the tulip ladies and cheese wagon, but when the chocolatier came by, she wasn't going to give up so easily. Look carefully at that last picture and you can see her half-way down the block chasing the chocolate wagon. We finally caught up with her, before she caught up with the chocolate, but it was a good try!

Fishing

2010-05-10T16:18:00.001-07:00

We took Zoey fishing for the first time at a local pond. They weren't biting (which was just as well... ) but she had fun trying.

Visit with Family

2010-05-10T16:13:00.000-07:00

Zoey and I got to spend a day in Pella while the Aunties (that's the young aunties, not to be confused with the old aunties) were here for Grandma and Grandpa's anniversary. Here are some pictures from a little outing at Red Rock.

Bouncing Around

2010-05-07T16:03:00.000-07:00

The last time Sarah was in Des Moines, Harmony and Zoey decided to entertain her.

Lemons Are, Well, Zingy

2010-05-07T15:50:00.000-07:00

This sequence is self-explanatory.

A Nice Duet

2010-05-05T15:44:00.000-07:00

As one of the talented people present at Marilyn and Marion's 60th wedding anniversary, Mark shared a very nicely played piano piece. I have included about 0:45 of the longer work. You can see the looks on everyone's faces as an indicator of the crowd reaction.

Hang on for the ending. Someone is quite a ham.

Zoey's First Kite

2010-04-27T13:53:00.000-07:00

Zoey recently got her first kite and we went out to fly it on a day with a strong breeze. She had almost as much fun as we did.

Now I Know My ABCs

2010-03-14T17:01:00.001-07:00

She sure is getting older. Or maybe it's just me.

Emma and Sarah, I love you.

2010-03-14T16:55:00.000-07:00

Zoey talks to Emma and Sarah all the time when they are home in "Kansas City," as Zoey says. We haven't taught her to differentiate KC from Liberty yet. She's looking forward to lots of time with her big sisters.

Being a Vegetarian Is Good

2010-03-14T16:44:00.000-07:00

Who says two-year-olds don't like fruits and vegetables? Zoey has her own system or sorting her food, though.

Sarah Helping Zoey at Gymnastics

2010-03-14T16:42:00.001-07:00

Sarah was very patient and Zoey loved the attention. I'm sure Harmony appreciated the helping hand, too.

Sarah's 14th!

2010-03-14T16:40:00.001-07:00

And she's going to get her permit in Iowa as soon as she can.

Zoey's Birthday Present

2010-03-14T14:09:00.000-07:00

Sarah brought Zoey's birthday present with her for a recent visit. Zoey has prepared food for her cats, parents, sisters, dinosaurs, etc. You get the idea.

Zoey Knows Her Dinosaurs

2010-03-14T14:04:00.001-07:00

Zoey loves the PBS show "Dinosaur Train" and since we've started watching this, we have all become familiar with a lot more types of dinosaurs. It might be only we can understand some of what she says, but she knows them.

Sister Teaching Sister . . .

2010-02-22T14:43:00.000-08:00

how to play video games.

Zoey the Cat

2010-02-21T15:42:00.000-08:00

It turned out Zoey thought she was a cat, too, but there was one big difference.

The New Cat Tree

2010-02-12T18:29:00.001-08:00

For all the cat lovers out there:

Absolutely Not!

2010-02-07T12:46:00.001-08:00

Zoey turning down watching television? Couldn't be. Or could it?

Celebrating with Mike

2010-02-07T09:42:00.001-08:00

We are fortunate to have another family in Chariton to celebrate the holidays with. Zoey always enjoys driving down to visit Gppa and if there are presents, even better.

Grover Rocks

2010-02-06T18:32:00.000-08:00

Lots of children memorize books before they learn to read, but Zoey is about as cool as it gets here. (I know I said the same thing about Emma and Sarah when they were "reading" their own books.) Grover's pretty cool, too.

I Need Some Scissors

2010-02-06T12:01:00.001-08:00

. . . either because my hands are tired from opening presents or the present has been child-proofed.

But it was worth the wait once it was open.

Jarret and Zoey

2010-02-06T11:57:00.000-08:00

Zoey couldn't decided if she wanted to play with Santa hats or open presents.

Everybody Likes to Have a Holiday

2010-02-06T11:51:00.000-08:00

And the hit parade rolls on . . . .

Stille Nacht

2010-02-06T09:09:00.001-08:00

Who says people in the U.S. aren't bilingual? Well, at least for "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht."

Silent Night

2010-02-06T09:05:00.001-08:00

The family-sing-a-long tradition continued during the 2009 holiday celebration. Although this time it was "Silent Night," the night was anything but silent.

Jingle Bells

2010-02-06T08:54:00.000-08:00

It's Jingle Bell time, Zoey's favorites holiday song. It took a while for Mark to find the music, but you have to admit he does a top-notch job making everyone merry.

Katie and Zoey

2010-02-06T08:52:00.001-08:00

This clip shows Katie and Zoey playing. Or maybe it's Katie trying to keep Zoey from pulling down the Christmas tree.

Merry and Zoey

2010-02-06T08:48:00.001-08:00

It seems just about everyone gave Zoey a present of their time during the holiday celebration. In this short clip, Merry and Zoey play ball in the kitchen.

Zoey and Her Great-Grandma

2010-02-04T15:59:00.000-08:00

In this clip, busy Zoey eventually finds a book and wants Mrs. Vander Linden to read to her.

Marlys Flies an Airplane

2010-02-04T15:55:00.000-08:00

There are lots of great video clips from this year's holiday celebration in Pella. Being the only person there under 17, Zoey sucked up lots of attention. I'll try to put up individual posts that feature everyone who partook in the delightful merriment. This clip shows Marlys teaching Zoey how to fly a paper airplane.

Winter in Des Moines

2010-02-02T19:44:00.000-08:00

We have had a rough winter in Des Moines.

Bodiless Zoey

2010-02-02T14:43:00.000-08:00

Poor Zoey. She lost her body. I don't think our loveseat is going to last as long as it should, but, oh well.

Biggest Kid Ever!

2010-02-01T14:26:00.000-08:00

The holidays left us with a lot of video clips of time shared together. Coming soon are many clips of the festivities at Mr and Mrs. Vander Linden's home in Pella, but, before that grand event occurred, Zoey was busy convincing us that she's "the biggest kid ever!"

Misc. fun pictures

2010-01-28T08:52:00.001-08:00

We take Zoey to a lot of basketball games and she loves the mascot, the cheerleaders, the players, and most of all... the popcorn!

Sarah and Zoey cuddled up and watching a movie.

Zoey hates it when the sun gets in her eyes and sometimes the only help I can find her is whatever pair of sunglasses happen to be in the car that day.

Say Cheese

2010-01-28T08:43:00.000-08:00

Zoey likes to pose for pictures, but as you can see in the pictures below her smile looks more like a growl.

She will be taking indoor swimming lessons at the YMCA this February and she is very excited about her new swimsuit, which she is proudly modeling in this pic.

Gymnastics with Sarah

2010-01-28T08:40:00.001-08:00

Sarah came up for a long weekend and was able to come along to Zoey's gymnastics class. Zoey behaved really well with her sister there (much better than she does with just mom).

My Monkey and Me

2010-01-03T20:49:00.000-08:00

Just for fun.

Holiday Time with Family

2009-12-25T16:07:00.000-08:00

We didn't do too much for Christmas this year, although we did have a very nice party at Harmony's grandparents' house. We have lots of really good memories, though, so we are still enjoying the season.

Mistake at the Zoo

2009-12-21T17:38:00.001-08:00

Well, Harmony and I initially decided to delete this embarrassing moment at the San Diego Zoo, but when we told everyone at the Christmas party at her grandparents' house, there was a general uproar against deleting it, so I retrieved it.

I have no idea why we thought this anteater had three heads: maybe too much sun or too many beers in the beer garden. Regardless, we were both convinced it had three heads. In the video it clearly doesn't, so our dialogue is pretty funny.

Note how I blamed it on Mony. Not a nice thing to do.

Harmony doesn't know I'm putting this up, so we'll so how long it's here.

Birthday Party for Two

2009-12-21T16:28:00.000-08:00

Zoey and Hannah have birthdays that are very close to one another. Harmony had the idea this year to repeat a favorite childhood memory, people celebrating birthdays while embarrassing themselves skating. So that's exactly what we did this time, too. We did have a lot of fun skating, eating cupcakes, falling down (especially Monkey), and laughing at the DJ. A very nice way to spend time together.

Thanksgiving with Sarah and Emma

2009-12-21T14:39:00.000-08:00

For the first time on a major holiday, the five of us were together. We were very thankful, indeed. Sarah and Emma were very generous with Zoey, whether they were coloring,

teaching her to say "Happy thanksgiving,"

sharing a pretty non-traditional Thanksgiving meal,

celebrating Zoey's birthday, the day after Thanksgiving this year,

or playing with one of Zoey's birthday presents,

everyone had a great time.

6:30 = Milk Time

2009-12-21T14:36:00.000-08:00

Harmony and Zoey on Coronado Island

2009-12-21T14:30:00.000-08:00

While I was at the conference one afternoon, Harmony and Zoey took the ferry across San Diego Bay to Coronado Island. The tour looked like fun and was geographically enlightening, as well. Wish I could have gone.

Affectionate Animals

2009-12-20T08:48:00.001-08:00

I was surprised when Harmony bought tickets to the San Diego Zoo because she doesn't really like zoos. The one in San Diego, we felt, was pretty typical. This habitat was a lot nicer than the others, though. It might have been Harmony's favorite. I'm not sure how often otters and monkeys occur together in nature, but they're fun anyway.

Unexpected Sea Lions

2009-12-20T08:42:00.000-08:00

On our first day in San Diego, we were surprised by a homeless person sitting on the edge of the bay and "barking." I didn't really know what he was doing, but before we knew it, there were two sea lions barking back at him. It was great fun for Zoey.

Moo, Baa, La La La

2009-12-20T08:35:00.000-08:00

Zoey is at the age where she has memorized the text of a few books. She's got this one down. Turn up the volume, though, because she speaks softly through part of it.

Last Day of Gymnastics

2009-12-20T08:01:00.000-08:00

Zoey has a lot of fun at her gymnastic classes. I'm not sure how much gymnastics she actually does, though. In this clip, you'll see how anxious she is to get started.

Here she's anxious to jump on the trampoline and run around afterward. The chaos at gymnastics class isn't a very good match for my personality, but it's worth it.

Sometimes you pay good money to watch your child get a drink from the fountain. Zoey has had twelve weeks of gymnastics now and this clip was without a doubt Harmony's favorite moment. It's hard to learn that you have to hold in the button at the same time you get a drink instead of one after the other.

Eating Adventures

2009-12-19T17:35:00.000-08:00

I know we have put up several posts showing Zoey's eating lessons, but this one is just too funny. It shows her (and Mony) eating corn on the cob.

Great Face

2009-12-19T16:17:00.000-08:00

Harmony and I just finished one of several DVDs we have made for Zoey. While making it, we came across some fun video clips.

I am not sure what kind of a face Zoey is making here, but it's pretty funny.

Fun Stuff

2009-12-12T08:57:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I lose sight of how much we do. Emma and Sarah were here for Thanksgiving, a nice, long six days. Zoey had great fun with them.

Emma was also in Lil' Abner right before she came, so there are some clips of her in that musical.

Zoey had two birthday parties, one with Mike, Harmony, Emma, Sarah, and me at Chuckie Cheese (I swore I'd never go again, but, oh, well) and one with Hannah to celebrate her November birthday. The roller rink for that one gave us all a lot of laughs. Enjoy!

Memories of Fall

2009-11-27T09:13:00.000-08:00

When I look back at everything we have done in the past few months, I realize how quickly time is passing for me. I also realize, sadly, how little we have seen of Emma and Sarah. They are here for Thanksgiving, though, and that's terrific because it's the first major holiday in almost six years they have spent with us. Truly something to be thankful for.

And Eating, Of Course

2009-11-10T18:14:00.001-08:00

Once all that cooking was done, Zoey had to eat. She does that quite well.

Cooking Together

2009-11-08T17:58:00.000-08:00

Whether it's making a stir-fry or boiling water, Zoey insists on dragging a chair into the kitchen. to help me when I'm at the stove. I'm sure I need the help. So far, she hasn't put her hand on the burner, but, as you can see if you are patient, she does freak us out a bit when she reaches out over the stove. At any rate, I'm glad to have the company.

Effigy Mounds in September

2009-11-08T17:17:00.000-08:00

Last September the three of us drove to northeastern Iowa to bike and hike. We had a very good long weekend. Zoey watched Sesame Street DVDs while we biked, so we actually got to go 15-20 miles. The hiking was fun,too. One of the places we went to was the Effigy Mounds, the Indian burial grounds on the Mississippi. I had been there as a small child, but for Zoey and Harmony, it was a new experience. I loved taking pictures and videotaping the two of them connected by the backpack carrier.

Fall Leaves

2009-11-07T09:26:00.000-08:00

We filled Zoey's swimming pool with leaves and she really had fun playing in them. She is at such a fun age because she doesn't remember things from last year so everything seems new again. When I made piles with the leaves and showed her how to jump in them and run through them she screamed with delight as if she'd never seen anything so exciting!

Happy Halloween

2009-11-07T09:12:00.001-08:00

It was a cold and rainy evening, but Zoey did some trick-or-treating anyway. Here are a few photos that I took indoors before she went out to get her candy.

Fun!

2009-10-15T18:30:00.001-07:00

That's what I had making this. Hope you enjoy it.

Visiting with Sissi Sarah

2009-09-11T17:38:00.000-07:00

Sarah was able to come up one weekend in August. Emma got a job as a lifeguard and was too busy to come. Good money.

As you can see in the video clip, the two girls got along wonderfully. Zoey was very sad when Sarah had to go home.

2009-09-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

During August Zoey took swimming lessons for two weeks, thirty minutes per day. Harmony and I alternated getting in the pool with her. There were only three other kids in the pool, all siblings. Zoey like her teacher a lot, too. His name is Luke and all the way home after a lesson, Zoey would say, over and over, "Bye, Yuke. Bye, pool. Bye, tsids. Bye tsids' mommie." She really learned a lot at swim lessons; she is a good swimmer, too, unafraid of the water.

Back at Last

2009-09-10T16:22:00.001-07:00

These long absences are going to drive our loyal readership away. We apologize.

Harmony has been busy babysitting for a teacher friend's seven-month-old son. He and Zoey get along pretty well, but with some jealousy and competition for Harmony's attention. She is handling it better than I could, though. It's somehow different when they're your own.

The semester has started up for me, replete with new levels of challenges and stress. We're coping well, though.

We did get away to northeastern Iowa to hike and bike in Yellow River State Forest and the Effigy Mounds. Lots of video of that to come.

In the video clip here, Zoey and Harmony are practicing "Down, Down Baby" as they learned it on Sesame Street. Zoey's pretty good and Harmony's not bad, either.

At Jill's in Florida

2009-08-09T15:24:00.000-07:00

While we were at Aunt Jill's, Zoey got to meet some of her removed cousins and their pet puppies. We had a very nice time at Jill's wonderful house and land.

So Much Energy

2009-08-09T14:24:00.001-07:00

I know I'm getting old, but Zoey is even wearing Harmony out. You can see why in the clip.

By the way, for those of you who have been reading my boring text closely, you will have noticed that I used "lol" a couple of times. I confess I heard what I thought was a funny joke on Michael Feldman's "What Do You Know?" He said that Iowa had recently passed a law that allows Iowans to text in their former 911 calls. Feldman gave an example: "OMG. Just got shot in the face. LOL."

More Firsts

2009-08-09T14:22:00.000-07:00

After we got back from Florida, Zoey continued to show off. Here she catches a ball for the first time. Very proud of herself.

The Swamp, a.k.a. Lettuce Lake

2009-08-09T14:15:00.001-07:00

No, we didn't see any alligators. Shucks. But we did see a lot of birds and some snake-birds. Zoey dumped out her goldfish crackers for the critters to eat and we enjoyed our visit during the thunderstorm that was coming. It was my first time in a swamp, though Harmony had been once before and been eaten by an alligator. lol

Here you see the squirrel that was begging Zoey for food. Too bad the goldfish were long gone by that time.

Finally, evidence that what we had heard about strange Floridians might be true:

At the Beach

2009-08-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

Going to the beach near St. Petersburg, Florida with Zoey was a lot of fun. She ran in and out, went under and got up, but never gave up. She loved it. Fortunately, only her parents got sunburned. It's good to see Aunt Jill, too.

Vacation at Busch Garden

2009-08-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

Mea culpa, mea culpa. Just as I thought I was getting back in the groove of blogging, Harmony told me that I had already posted two of the three videos I posted last week. These that I am posting today, though, are guaranteed new.

Two weeks ago we flew to Land O' Lakes, Florida to spend a long weekend with Harmony's Aunt Jill. We had three full days there. The first of those we went to Busch Garden, the second we went to the beach, and the third we went to the swamp. We had a very good time and I will post some video of each of the three days.

In this first clip, Harmony and Zoey had a good time on a ride. Unfortunately, Harmony got sick afterward. lol

In this second clip, Zoey and I had an adventure in a little area high above the people on the street. As you can see, Zoey handled it better than I did.

Here Zoey gets to bounce around on the moonwalk-type thing. We had let her try one of these at Chariton's Fourth of July celebration, but she wouldn't try it. She sure got it here.

In the groove

2009-08-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

Marc is officially back to work for the semester and I am getting into the groove of being a stay-at-home mom. Zoey and I are spending a lot of time outside, so I wanted to post a few pictures of our summer fun. Fortunately, Marc gets home early enough to join in for some of the fun!

Hokey Pokey Emma and Sarah

2009-08-03T17:33:00.000-07:00

Once in a while all three of the girls are able to get together. The last time this happened, Emma and Sarah got coerced into reading "Hokey Pokey Elmo," albeit somewhat reluctantly. Lots of fun, though.

Dining Etiquette

2009-07-27T18:15:00.000-07:00

Having two cats at home and a dog next door has definitely had its effect on our little animal.

2009-07-27T17:42:00.001-07:00

Oh My

2009-07-05T18:03:00.000-07:00

There are no pictures or video with this one but just a short story... The terrible twos have hit full-force already (Zoey is 19 1/2 months old) and she is very busy. She plays rough, has awful tantrums, hits, kicks and gets plenty of "time-outs". She also LOVES to climb.

Tonight we were hanging out before bedtime and I went to get Zoey to brush her teeth, but she wasn't in the living room and wasn't in the dining room and wasn't in the kitchen. I got pretty worried and I told Marc that I couldn't find her. Finally I looked in the stairway and there she was sitting quietly at the top of the stairs. The baby gate was still in place, so she must have climbed over it! This is a whole new chapter as it means she is big enough to climb over (and out of) her safety restraints, but not old enough to keep herself safe once she gets over. Luckily for us tonight, I got to her without her making any sudden moves and she is safely in her bed now, asleep.

2009-06-20T17:59:00.000-07:00

a new haircut

2009-06-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

I cut Zoey's hair this week to keep it off her neck and out of her eyes for the summer. She wanted to pose for a few post-haircut pictures.

How Did She Learn to Slide?

2009-05-16T17:26:00.000-07:00

Delrae and Mike gave Zoey a nice playset last summer, one that has two slides, a tunnel, etc. Zoey liked it last year, but she couldn't do too much on it.

The other day, Harmony and I were outside with Zoey. Harmony was working on her plants and I was raking. All of the sudden I looked up and Zoey was standing on one of the slides, ready to sit and slide down. As the video clip shows, she is pretty good at it. I would just like to know how she learned to do it.

More Egg Hunting

2009-05-15T16:05:00.000-07:00

Harmony took some great photos of Zoey's first spring egg hunt. We all had a very fun time. It didn't take long for Zoey to get the hang of what she was supposed to do. You can see how much fun she had in this little video clip.

May Egg Hunt

2009-05-11T16:46:00.000-07:00

We had a visit from the "May bunny" who hid eggs for Zoey last weekend. She enjoyed finding the eggs and the snacks inside were good incentive to keep hunting.

Tulip Time 2009

2009-05-11T16:40:00.000-07:00

Emma and Sarah came up this weekend for tulip time. We ate and shopped and we went to the evening lighted parade this year since the girls had only seen the afternoon parade before.

Diyari Aarif Vander Linden

2009-05-11T16:36:00.000-07:00

Logan and Tamara had a baby boy on April 28th. He weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. and is doing great. Here are a few pictures.

Zoey Knows Our Names!

2009-04-18T17:20:00.000-07:00

Well, Zoey has begun calling us by our first names occasionally. We've been told we may regret this later, but, for now, it's very cute.