The only thing constant in life is change. If you don’t know this already – my husband accepted an international job assignment in Cairo, Egypt for the next 3-5 years. We officially moved here March 16th and have been living in Maadi (Cairo Governate) for a week now!
This week has truly been a week of ups and downs. If you can imagine completely transplanting your life to a different and foreign country, with only ONE other person you know, that’s what we’ve done. I’ve had to turn off my US phone, with all its connections, find new places to get groceries, relinquish driving myself around, locate medications – all while translating in a language I know not a single word in. Needless to say, you learn fast!
We arrived in Egypt just as Ramadan has been going for a week already. Ramadan is observed by practicing Muslims, and involves fasting, prayer, and community. It’s truly a beautiful time for them, where working hours are shorter – from 9-3 pm, large feasts with all your family and friends at sunset and focusing on eliminating bad habits from your life. The iftar meal, which is when the fast is broken at sunset, happens from 6-7 pm. It’s the quietest part of the day! Most Egyptians are rushing home from 3-4 pm, so they can prepare the iftar meal and be with their community. Because it’s such a significant holiday and time, it’s challenging to know what to expect as the norm for day-to-day living. We’ve encountered unreliable business hours, quick to change delivery times, and many items out of stock or impossible to find as a result. The closest comparison I can think of would be the weeks surrounding Christmas and Thanksgiving in the States, but for a whole month here!
When we first showed up to our guest flat (day 1), it was empty of all food except for a bag of oats, and we could only find one bath towel!! We’ve since learned that was not the norm (and have found more bath towels) but covering basic needs was the highest priority for the first few days. My second day here I accidentally got locked in, because we only have one key, and was stuck in the flat for 6+ hours. **The security of our flat is unmatched**
That second day is when I absolutely sank into a depression and felt the isolation. Missing basic needs was a huge part, but even more, I didn’t realize how much I valued my independence – the ability to get in a car and drive to wherever or immediately walk outside knowing which way directionally I needed to go. Neither were possible, especially locked in.
I’ve not once felt unsafe here, so in theory, it’s easy to open up Google Maps to find your way around, but what if you didn’t know WHERE you even wanted to go? Like you need something, but you don’t know the place to get it? What’s the best place to find something familiar? Can I even get pizza here? Imagine the daily life things in your normal routine, but not being readily available nor knowing where to find them.
Despite all of this in the initial few days, it’s been on the up and up! We’ve managed to find groceries (but you still have to go to 3 different stores to get what you normally would in one trip to H-E-B lol), buy some furniture, get internet set up, and start the process of moving into our permanent place!
This past week has been consumed with surviving, but also thriving in a small way with little wins! Learning Arabic, finding a local bakery, and exploring are some things that have excited me this week. All point toward making this city home for the next 3-5 years. Cheers! xo
Aspire Higher 
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