Not the wake up call I was looking for

It's been three weeks since I left Josh in Istanbul and flew back to Egypt, and I'm slowly settling back into some routine.  As much as I enjoyed Turkey, it has been nice to spend time with friends, speak a language people can understand, and be surrounded by something familiar.

Work has brought some changes in the past couple weeks.  We've started an Egypt wide contest for the computer game (www.baalty.org) that was developed to teach business skills to the kids in Aswan.  There has also been a new group of kids that has entered the program and my work has shifted to helping them articulate their experiences with work, the thought being that if we can do some initial documentation of their experiences, once they have completed the program it will be easier to look back and see how far they've come.

It has also been nice to be welcomed back by my colleagues at work, who seem to have all missed me.  I've been out a few times with Lamia and her friends on Thursdays nights as well which has helped me feel more a part of people's lives.  Even the man who I buy bread from maybe two times a month asked where I had been...and then have me at least 1/3 more bread for a pound than usual...so either I've been over paying or it was a welcome back gift.

Last weekend I went back to Cairo for a few days to visit friends.  Most people would think it counter intuitive to want to 'get away' from the peace and quiet of Aswan to spend a few days in the chaos of a city of 20 million, but me it provides some mental sanity.  Three days of good conversation, a lot of laughs, a panel discussion on the psychosocial needs of refugees, and way too much food was just what I needed.  Oh, and I also went with a bunch of my friends to a church in Maadi that too me right back to the time I spent in Kenya a couple years ago.  There was the typical call for every visitor to stand up and say where they were from and of course the music and dancing.  All 8 of us somehow managed to avoid the introductions but definitely got our groove on from the back row.

I got back to Aswan after a 4:45 am flight out of Cairo and had planned on getting a few hours of sleep before heading into work.  This plan however was not shared by the public works department in Aswan and woke up feeling like the ground was shaking.  Apparently this is what they had in mind...

Needless to say I was not impressed.  While many things in Egypt seem to take forever and require much negotiation and encouragement, these workers must be very motivated.  At 11:30 last night they were still hard at work.  Hopefully they keep it up and are finished soon.