Training in Cairo

I arrived in Cairo about two weeks ago to attend some computer training at the U.S. Embassy here.

The driving in Cairo is absolutely crazy. It makes Honduran driving seem tame. Apparently there are more deaths per mile of road in Cairo than anywhere else in the world. Lovely. I consider it a miracle that I made it unscathed from the airport to my hotel. I have not felt any more comfortable as I've had to take local taxis to subsequent destinations. You may know that I am not a great passenger even in "normal" circumstances, but when you take away seatbelts and headlights, and add in the craziest driving you could ever imagine, it's downright scary. I'm not sure why they bother putting up stoplights or painting lines on the roads here. These types of things seem to be completely ignored. If there is an empty space on the road, somebody will drive up and fill it in, no matter where it is. But what's worse is when you have to cross a street on foot. Ahhhh! I feel like I'm in a real-life version of Frogger.

The hotel that I'm staying at is called the Semiramis Intercontinental. It has some beautiful views of the River Nile and is very convenient to the Embassy. It's like a little city of its own, with tons of shops, a pretty pool, a good gym, a wonderful complimentary breakfast with just about anything you could imagine, and several nice restaurants.



The U.S. Embassy here is massive. Like many things in the area, it is undergoing some major reconstruction. It's been fun to see old friends there and to meet lots of terrific new people. My training classes are good. I am learning a lot and having a fun time. A few of us in the class get together in the evenings to go out to dinner or check out the city.

There is a decent-sized LDS branch here. It's located in a town called Maadi, where a lot of the expat families live. It's a little strange, though, because they have church on Fridays here. So instead of having Sunday School, they have Friday School. I got there last week without much difficulty taking the metro and then catching a cab. Unfortunately, today, the people that I spoke with, including a few cabs that I got into, didn't speak or read English at all, and so it took me a really long time to find the church. The first clue that they have no idea is when you hand them a piece of paper with an address on it and they try to read it when it's not facing the right way.


I have been missing my family and Brussels a lot, especially during my wife's birthday and Thanksgiving. Thank goodness for Skype which allows us to video conference every night. I'm really looking forward to having Sarah come and visit me in a few days. Everything's better when you have somebody special to share it with. I'm looking forward to going to the museum, park, and pyramids with her. So hopefully by then I'll have some more exciting stories and pictures of Egypt to share.