Egypt--Fixing the Hieroglyphs in Our Last Message

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Dear Family and Friends:

As you may have noticed, a few portions of our last blog entry came through as gobblely gook. This was the fault of the computer we were using in Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, and a sample of the many techological problems we have encountered! Thankfully, not much was missing, although the funniest part of the visit to our guide's home was lost...all photos are there.

In the beginning of the original message, we recommended that, if short on time, you simply read about the bathrooms and the visit to our guide's home (further down in the text).

With regard to the visit to our guide's home...the text got bad just when we were describing the back yard of farm animals. It was an incredible number of animals in a very small space. When you first come in the house, on the left is the kitchen, although we never saw it (it would surely be very primative) and, on the right, you enter a large center room, with four small rooms off of it. All appear to be bedrooms, simply furnished and at least two are also used for eating (primarily sitting on the ground around a small round table). Everything was dark, as the shutters were closed to keep out the oppressive heat. Even with light, the walls were dingy and empty. We were shown to the first small room on the right (in the front of the house) and offered a lemon drink. We felt terrible saying that we could not drink it (two of us were still struggling with intestinal problems, probably from the local water), but were offered Coke instead. The children of the house were given our glasses of lemon drink.

So, we waited for the Coke, but discovered that what needed to happen first was that the children had to drink the lemon drink and hand over their (dirty, smudged) glasses for us to use. It was a bit of a shock to us to see the glasses go straight from the kids to us without being washed! We got through it...then we left the glasses to go for a tour of the rest of the house. As is the custom, the first son to be married builds a second story on the house and then the second son builds on top of that, and so forth. The 2nd story was typical - sparsely furnished with well-worn furniture and a few posters on the wall. The 3rd story (our guide's) has beautiful tile, paint, and western bath, but the only furniture is a refrigerator and bed. Not one item more. He and his wife are waiting so that they can afford nice items. The funny part is that, if his in-laws knew that their daughter was living without furniture, they would make her come back home. So, when they visit and if they ask to go upstairs, our guide takes them to his brother's flat instead, after removing his brother's wedding photo, and presents it as his own! A wife is supposed to supply the curtains, bedcovers, kitchen, washing machine, and tv, but the husband must provide everything else, including all of the wife's jewelry...

After the tour, we returned to our small room to discover that one of the children had drunk the last 1/2 of Lauren's Coke! It was never discussed, of course. The food was brought out for us - plates of meat chunks (it was difficult to eat them, with the livestock only feet away!), french fries, rice, cooked vegetables, and sauces. There were no utensils. You just picked up the food you wanted off the communal platters and ate with your hands! Unfortunately, the room was too small to fit anyone but us, so the rest of the family huddled around a small table in the next room. After we ate, Ken and Lauren gave the only gift we had - they sang for the family, to much delight. Then, a tray was brought in with tea and more used glasses! You could see the leftover tea in the bottoms, as well as the smears....but it would have been rude to decline. Our western sense of cleanliness was certainly challenged.

No one in the house spoke English, but we hugged, and smiled, pointed and gestured...eventually finding a way to communicate. The main focus was on a 2-week-old baby, Sara, born to our guide's sister. By tradition, a daughter returns home to her family for 40 days after a baby is born, even if, as in this case, it is her 3rd child! We were definitely the honored guests, but we were SO honored to be there! It was a thrill to experience the Egypt of today.
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The bathroom section appears to have come through well, but we did think of three more things to add. First, Kate almost got arrested in Paris when she took a photo of the railroad station bathroom turnstyles - you had to pay to get in to the bathroom and the attendant went beserk when she saw that Kate had taken a photo.

Then, there was the "Loo with a View" (the actual brand name), in the middle of the Serengeti, where we ate breakfast after our balloon ride. It is three-sided, so that you can sit on the throne and still have a view! A sign on the reverse indicates "Vacant" or "Engaged," although Lauren reported that one of the signs kept changing in the wind...

The final bathroom-related comment has to do with the public bathrooms in Egypt, even those in restaurants and hotels. There is ALWAYS an attendant wanting a tip. In one case, she was barefoot and asleep on the floor and in many, he or she held the toilet paper and paper towels hostage, so that you were forced to interact. In one case, the attendant placed the paper towel on the edge of a plate on the counter intended for tips and even bumped it a bit to make the change jingle! You know it is how some people make a living and what a dreadful one it is, but, on the other hand, you find yourself not going, just to avoid the awkwardness of it all...how much do you tip? What if you don't have any money on you? Is 9-year-old Lauren expected to tip? So, it is fair to say that we are loving western-style, above-ground toilets that are free!

OK - we hope this one goes through better. We are at a gorgeous hotel in Bangkok (The Prince Palace Hotel) with the best internet we have had in 2 months! Tomorrow afternoon, we have a 9-hour flight to Sydney, but hope to write about Tanzania while we are still here during the day (we will need a box of Kleenex for the orphanage report). For comparison: internet in Egypt for one hour: $22! In Moshi, Tanzania: $1! Here, we purchased a 24-hour card for $20, so will take advantage of it tomorow.

K4

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Comments

[Gunga]

Toilet advice
Been there.. done that. ALWAYS carry small change with you , and yes, everyone is expected to pay. In Poland I was charged: 1st for TP, 2nd for soap, and 3rd time for a paper towel. My son said not to begrudge the little old ladies as they have no other means of support. Other words from him- go to a McDonald's or Pizza Hut or some other Am. chain. Toilets are usually free and clean. Love your blogs and all Kate's close calls with the law :-)