My Thanks.....

First off, a big thanks to everyone who has left a comment over the past few weeks. It makes me think people are actually reading this thing, instead of me just typing this for my parents. So Thank you so much for saying hello or leaving a note.

I suppose I haven't really introduced you to Cairo yet. The city is huge, dirty and very busy. There are some where between 16.5 and 20 million people in and around this city. So far, everything looks the same, although I'm beginning to be able to tell where I am sometimes. Life here is rough and many people are poor, some extremely poor. I believe I read that the average Egyptian makes $1,200 a year. I've seen rich ex-pats living in Maahdi, a suburb S of the city, which looks completely different to what I see daily. I've also seen people, even children, sleeping on a piece of cardboard in the street. It's a little different.

I'm living in a 2 bedroom apartment with a guy named Alex in Heliopolis, a suburb NE of the city center. It's located near the airport. It's a nice suburb, but don't get the idea of suburbia like in the States. There are tons of apartment buildings, shops, stores, fruit stands and cats. Lots of cats. Everywhere. We also live next to the Military Academy, which is interesting.

I take a taxi everywhere I go. I often meet up with some people in Korba, an area of town that is 10 minutes away by cab. The ride is cheap, around 5 LE (which means Egyptian Pounds), this is equivalent to less than a $1. Good deal. Because of the cheaper standard of living, things here are very cheap, once you figure in the exchange rate. I can buy a huge bottle of water often for 2 LE or maybe a little more.

As for my job (yes, I do work too), I don't actually have any students until the 17th of September. We are moving into a new building, which is still being built, so the start of school has been delayed. Good times!!

I hope all is well. More will come soon and I'll try to get some photos up as well.