A Day in the Life

My wonderful Arabic tutor 

     Life has become accelerated these days.  I will give you a bit of a look at what happened on one blessed day last week...Tuesday, I believe..

    As usual, we made our way due east, passing all the guys washing cars on the streets--taking off the past day and night's dust--or mud. but this time we were on a mission to find and purchase binoculars, a search that began several weeks ago and involving a kind young man at the nearby stationary story. He had given us the names of several places to look. Finally, a few days before, David spotted binoculars in a shop window near the Asian restaurant that he had just found. This time we went during business hours, just after 10:00 (which extends till 2:00).
   Sure enough, we found the shop open, a friendly English-speaking gentleman who had traveled all over the world, including the U.S., spending over twenty years working for a shipping company. We had a good conversation about the U. S. involvement in the Middle East--which he was definitely not happy about. He thought the Clinton era was far better. Our president simply is not high on the list of most people's approval rating here since he backed the disastrous Morsi regime that resulted in a second revolution (June 2013) and installation of current President al Sisi.  Nevertheless, most people are good to us. I was so excited to finally have a compact binoculars in hand...
    The next adventure was with my new language tutor, a very lovely woman who takes me to a private club over-looking the sea during a time when all is quiet (11:00-1:00). We sip tea and she poses  situations. This time I was introduced to vocabulary for going to a fish restaurant. Of course, other vocabulary comes up, and we share our values and stories. She claims it is gift enough that I simply chose her to be my tutor as she is often bored with her life--as are many housewives here, it seems. This day, her 10-year-old son was with her. He goes to a private school, and his English is quite good, but he wanted to stay home to meet a native English speaker.
    At 1:30, I went to afternoon mass for a while and was surprised when Father Gabriel tapped me on the shoulder and called me outside. What had I done?? But no, he had heard that I had questions about the mass and was offering to explain some things in English if I wished.... very kind of him! He said that he had some books he could share with me that might help...
    I came back for our Egyptian lunch that arrives at our door anywhere between 2:00 and 3:00. We were just finishing up our rice and fish, and cabbage, tomato, cucumber, pepper salad when neighbor Father Rewis knocked on the door to share some "holy bread" with us--good soft, fresh-baked bread--their way of extending fellowship.  I am always surprised how sharing people are. Even the vegetable seller on the street offered me a piece of his sesame cake that he was eating when I stopped by to shop. I really love this part of the culture.
    After lunch, I took a quick nap and prepared for the evening classes of teaching Pre-intermediate listening and speaking from 5:00-9:30, with a short break for grabbing supper (usually soup) between the two classes. After class, I am usually both tired and wound up, so cannot retire till 10:30 or after. This is not our preferred schedule, but at least we need only go downstairs to "go to work."
    We never know what the next day will hold, but are confident that we are in the good hands of God and the fellow believers in this Coptic community.