Tuesday May 3, 2016

5:56 am

Okay. So my last post had the wrong date on it. Did I say it is just a little bit difficult getting adjusted to the time, calendar etc. over here?  For instance, yesterday Monday, May 2^nd was EASTER! Yes, there are Christians here in Egypt. And Sunday, May 1^st was Labor Day! Then my daughter informed me that the clocks turned back automatically yesterday, however the present regime is not making the change in the time until Ramadhan which doesn’t begin until around June 6^th! And there are people here operating on the changed time! Whew! So if I get dates and times and whatever else a little twisted, forgive me.

Sunday evening, my son-in-law, 2 of my granddaughters and I went to Cairo Festival Mall to shop for a recliner for me at Ashley Furniture. That place is the BOMB! It easily rivals Crystal City, Tysons Corner, AND Towson Town Center (for all my DMV folks on here). I got 45 minutes of walking in towards my goal for the day just visiting 2 stores – Ashley Furniture and Cinnabon, per my granddaughters’ request. My daughter and I will go back ALONE and I promise to take pics. They have EVERYTHING there – Bath and Body Works, Victoria’s Secret, Guess, Polo, Apple Store, Reebok and other name-brand and not so familiar, but-high end European stores! The only thing is, the prices can be somewhat inflated. I bought the girls each a pair of high-top Converse sneakers from the US for $50 a pair; at the Converse store in Cairo Festival Mall, they cost $92!

Night over Egypt

Night over Egypt 2

My circadian clock is beginning to adjust to the time; I’m sleeping a good 6 to 7 hours a night (with one, maybe 2, bathroom breaks, a serious issue of aging!). Since I am an early morning person and typically don’t go back to sleep after fajr (the morning pray that comes in around 4 am here!), I usually take a nap for a couple/few hours during the day (a luxury of being retired!). I have noticed this is my most productive time over the years and will stick to this schedule as long as it works for me.

You know that Mark Zuckerberg is an absolute genius! I am absolutely LOVING connecting with family and friends via FREE Facebook video chat AND audio calls. It does come with a “cost” though; they know my every movement, location; likes, dislikes, and send me stuff in my newsfeed on Facebook! I started getting advertisements for places/things in Egypt and thought, “Now wait a minute. Why am I getting article or that ad in my newsfeed?” Quite frankly, this is really a good thing for me. I need SOMEBODY to know where I am at all times living in a foreign country. So it really serves as a level of security for me. I know there are those who think/believe differently and I respect that. But I try not to have any secrets; my life really is an open book, as you will begin to discover as I find time to put it all down in this blog!

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