Owie Mallawy Thanksgiving

The seemingly awesome thing about working for an American International school in an Islamic country is that you get breaks for both cultures... Fresh off a week long Eid break, we got a long weekend for Thanksgiving (too bad the upcoming Islamic new year falls on a Tuesday or we'd have another long weekend!). The frequent breaks and days off we've been having have been marvelous for traveling but horrible for planning classes, especially ceramics...



BUT. back to my weekend. I traveled to Mallawy with Joan to spend a few days with her in-laws. When I told my friend in Cairo I was going there, they said "Mallawy, I don't think I've ever heard of any tourists going there, why are you?".... Their question was actually my answer. I love going in little off the beaten trail places and Mallawy is just that. I was *the*only* foreigner I saw for 2 whole days... It's a small village town near Minya; a 3ish hour train ride going (and a 6 hour coming back...I'm not a math person but even I know that does not add up)...

Mallawy reminded me of Iowa in many ways... It's a rural, agricultural village... People are friendly, family lives close and together (as in most of Egypt).... Really though, it was just so good to see GREEN and to *not* be a spectacle walking down the street that got hassled with every step. Joan called it the zebra phenomenon. It's like if you saw a zebra cross the street in Iowa, you'd do a double take, then shake your head in disbelief because it just wouldn't make sense that you saw a zebra. By the time you convince yourself it may have actually been there, it's gone...

We traveled the city and the country... Visiting farms with animals, dropping in on two random weddings (where everyone thought I was a celebrity, had me take pictures and dance with the family), exploring tombs and ruins rarely visited by tourists-including an underground city-like complex of tombs with a room for baboons and an underground tunnel that connects to the citadel in Cairo!

My favorite part though, putting the "tours" and "traveling" aside, was spending the weekend with a family. They were so generous and welcoming. There was a significant language barrier, they spoke little english, and I forgot my arabic dictionary at home.. but somehow... we communicated extremely well..

I bonded with the kids, especially Mahmoud... who I let use my camera the whole time (first experience with a digital camera) and as a result, have more pictures from these 48 hours than I took in my entire Eid break traveling ;)

Hip hip hooray for a Mallawy Thanksgiving... What a perfect way to celebrate the day to give thanks... with beautiful people, family... all you really need in life...