Jenyfer Matthews

It is hard to believe that I’ve been in Maryland for nearly an entire month already – where does time go? No, seriously – where does it go???

I wasn’t really up for much sightseeing before because I’ve been just a titch stressed out, but since this weekend will likely be our last in Maryland I decided we needed to make an effort to see a few of the bigger attractions. I mean really – Washington DC is right there. So Saturday morning my sister and BIL and I gathered everyone up and we went to the National Zoo.

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It was a little gray outside, but not too cold so all in all fairly pleasant. I never normally think of going to a zoo in the winter time, but unless it is truly cold and snowy winter weather, it’s a good time to go to the zoo because the animals are all out frolicking and not limp from the sun and heat – the children either!

We had only just arrived when a man who was passing told us that the lion cubs were out playing so we ought to go there first, before they went inside. As it turned out the lion cubs were way on the other side of the zoo, but it was worth the hike to get there – they were so cute!

Apparently toddlers of all species like to chew things!

There were two lionesses and about six cubs, who were all romping around below while the daddy lion sat up on the hill alone. Every now and again one cub would go and try to get his attention.

You can see how well the daddy lion reacted to these overtures!

The only thing more entertaining than the lion cubs was the nearby bronze dinosaur skull. Who could resist this pose? I’ve been to three big zoos in the last year and I think I’ve enjoyed the bronze statuary as much as seeing the live animals.

They are not the most exotic of creatures, but prairie dogs are so cute! We gave them nearly as much time as the lion cubs. I’d be embarrassed to tell you how many pictures of prairie dogs I’ve taken in the last year between the Minneapolis Zoo and this one.

I honestly try very hard not to take too many pictures in zoos because what’s the point? Yes, the animals are cute but how many of those kinds of pictures do I need cluttering up my computer? I couldn’t resist this red panda though. They kind of look like a cross between a raccoon and a fox. Their coat is so plush and you might not be surprised to learn I am partial to red heads!

We left the zoo just before it closed at 4:30pm and drove down into Washington DC so that I could at least see, if not explore, the main attractions. It was interesting to see the White House and the Capital Building in person, having seen pictures so often on TV / in movies. Mostly I was amazed by how close everything was together! Of course “close” is relative – we walked around for about 1 1/2 hours and didn’t see nearly everything there was to see. One day we’ll have to go back and tour the Smithsonian museums (though I don’t suppose they’d let me pose with my head in a dinosaur jaw there!)

The first question out of my son’s mouth was “Is the Washington Monument taller than the pyramids?”

Given all the Masonic symbolism in Washington DC, I should have known that was a trick(y) questions. I looked it up when we got home, and yes, it is taller than the Great Pyramid. I also learned several other interesting and possibly disturbing facts about the layout of Washington DC. This would be great stuff if I were a conspiracy theorist or a thriller writer (though I suppose it’s been done to death already) Take them with a grain of salt…

The sun was going down by the time we reached the Lincoln Memorial. As you can see behind me, the reflecting pool is drained for renovation – even the WWII memorial fountains were turned off for winter. Bad timing for me. I’m sure the minute I leave the area all the cherry blossoms will burst into flower too.

The sun was down by the time we left the Lincoln Memorial but the Vietnam Memorial was still a moving sight – so many names.

It was a long day, but one very well spent introducing my children to some of their own country’s national monuments for a change. Both children were born abroad and have never actually lived in the US – its probably just as well for to have a crash course in American history since it looks like we’re going to be here for a while…

After spending every day of the last month from the moment I wake up until the moment the children finally collapse at night acting as mother, teacher, and activities director I haven’t had much time or mental energy in which to write anything new. Go figure.

I haven’t been totally idle however. I stayed up really late on Thursday night doing multiple file conversions for all four of my books so that I could upload them to All Romance Ebooks – which I did last night. Do I know how to have fun on a Friday night or what?

It was actually so easy and fast that I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. I hope I don’t get an email sometime soon telling me that middle of my book is missing due to an error in conversion or uploading. I truly hope the ease of this process had more to do with my technical know-how and the speed of the internet in the US. I’m sure that it would have taken me all week to do what I accomplished in an hour last night on even the best of days in Egypt.

So for anyone who doesn’t trust Smashwords and who shuns Amazon Kindle, you can now get all of my books in one of five popular formats for the great low price of $2.99 at All Romance Ebooks. What are you waiting for? My choices at present are sell a few books or get a job pushing French fries…

Before we left Cairo, our neighbors asked if it was okay for other university faculty who lived in apartments in more outlying areas to stay in our place in the event that things turned even uglier and they felt unsafe or isolated (or both). We agreed – but we also moved our nicer carpets, my quilts, and the contents of our liquor cabinet (it isn’t a house party after all) into the master bedroom and locked that door. That left three other bedrooms, the rest of the house, and contents of the kitchen at their disposal, as well as our TV and large DVD collection.

As it turned out, no one stayed in our apartment. However, when my husband returned to Cairo on Wednesday night and opened the master bedroom, he discovered that one of the windows in that room had blown open while we were away. Cairo is dusty on a normal day with the windows shut, and there had been a sand storm in our absence. I don’t really want to think about the mess that the open window let in. The rest of the apartment was nice and tidy though because a neighbor in the building sent over her housekeeper to clean in preparation for my husband’s arrival – the housekeeper that I fired at the beginning of January. I’m grateful she didn’t hold a grudge, and also embarrassed. You’re not quite good enough to clean for me, but you’re just dandy in a pinch?

Just to make things all the more awkward, my husband will likely end up hiring her back while I am away because while he cooks and does laundry, he certainly isn’t going to do the floors, dusting, or bathrooms himself. Having her help is great for him of course, but then what? I show back up at some point and fire her again like the wicked witch?? Going to put that out of my head for now think about it later…

The sleet on Monday afternoon ended up delaying my husband’s flight out to London by two hours, but the children sure did appreciate the overnight snow the next day. Ever the mom, I used the snow as the carrot to get them to do their school workbooks. It was amazing how efficient and cooperative they were about it, with the fresh shiny snow beckoning them.

I admit it – after a decade in the desert, I’m not much of a cold weather person. I like the idea of it more than I like the reality. But after the last few weeks, we all needed a little bit of levity to break up all the tension. After the school work was done and we’d all had a snack, I walked the children up to a nearby community park.

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This is my snow angel. What? You didn’t actually think I was going to LAY IN THE SNOW did you??

There is something irresistible about fresh snow.

The only picture I would allow of me right now.

When you walk from place to place and really look, nature always offers something beautiful to look at no matter where you are.

I saw these before the snowfall – they are even prettier with the snow filling.

I don’t expect the snow to last all that long, but we’ll enjoy it while it lasts. I’ll be especially grateful if the cold temperatures and the snow play encourages my children to sleep earlier at night…

My husband is going back to Egypt today.

In spite of our neighborbors’ assurances that things are “fine”, I’m fairly certain “fine” is entirely relative. The grocery stores are apparently as well stocked as they ever are and schools are beginning to re-open, but there is still a curfew in effect, there are still army tanks guarding the perimeter of our suburb, and apparently the banks and ATMs are not functioning as usual. What good does it do you to have a well stocked grocery store if you can’t get the cash to pay for anything?

My husband isn’t thrilled about going back just now, but he’s forced to go back for the sake of his job and our collective income. The children and I are staying in the US for now, until he gets back and has some time to assess the situation for himself.

I’m not thrilled with the idea of being separated. I’d prefer to be back in my own home, in my usual routine, with the kids in school and doing their endless tennis lessons. Funny how the same-old-same-old-stuck-in-a-rut-routine can seem so attractive when it’s been abruptly interrupted and taken away.

Given how the unrest is spreading across the region at present, it doesn’t make sense to go back until we can be reasonably certain that we wouldn’t have to pick up and evacuate immediately again. In spite of my post title, I don’t think there is much question that for now it’s best that I stay put – however much I dislike homeschooling the kids…

I’m a guest on Sia McKye’s blog today, talking about what I packed on my hasty departure from Egypt. Stop by and tell me: What would you pack if you only had 24 hours and one suitcase per family member?

Two weeks back in the US after our evacuation from Egypt and I still feel disoriented.

To be honest, I don’t attribute this feeling entirely to the stress of evacuating my home – I feel this way every summer I am back and see all the changes that have occurred since my last visit. The feeling is somewhat exacerbated this time however by being in a large metropolitan area instead of the north woods.

In my decade of living abroad I have developed a particular set of skills useful for traveling in foreign countries: I can fake my way through conversations in languages I don’t actually speak and usually get my point across, I can pack a bag within a pound of the luggage allowance without using a scale (it’s something of a personal challenge in fact), and I can navigate nearly any airport in the world.

It’s things like credit card swipe machines, self-checkout lanes, and choosing a bottle of shampoo (or a loaf of bread) on an aisle with fifty different varieties that throw me off.

The one big new-to-me thing that I’ve had to learn to deal with this time back is using a GPS to get around.

My first experience with watching anyone use a GPS was on a trip to Germany back in 2007. The husband of a friend there had just purchased a car with a built in GPS and he wanted nothing more than to play with and rely on it. His wife, my friend, wanted him to also pay attention to road signs and make some independent decisions. Many an argument ensued. I watched from the backseat and tried not to snicker when he misinterpreted vocal directions from the GPS and was then instructed to “make a u-turn”.

When I am in the north woods I have no need for a GPS because there is all of one highway that runs up and down the coast of Lake Superior and the towns I am navigating are both familiar and small. Not true of the Maryland / Virginia area where I am now. I had only been in the US two days and had my rental car for a matter of hours before I had to find my way from my sister’s house to the home of a friend half an hour away.

Ever tried driving an unfamiliar rental car on a six lane beltway that is under construction, in the dark, with jetlag and nothing but the disembodied vocal commands of a GPS to guide you? It’s a bit like playing a life and death video game. I am happy that all ended well – and that it wasn’t snowing or raining – but it isn’t a trip I would have attempted at that time if the friend I was going to see hadn’t been leaving for India the next day.

I admit that the GPS is indeed handy – I have been able to find specific places I need to go independently while my sister is at work- but I have noticed a few quirks too. For instance, I have been to the same shopping center at least four times and even when I start from the same place, the GPS has taken me at least three different routes. It’s almost as if the GPS is messing with me – or trying to make me dependent on it.

And once in a while it announces the directions too soon – like giving me the next three instructions while I’m sitting at a traffic light – or too late – as I’m sailing past the turn. I admit that I am not that great at estimating what 200 feet looks like, but “make a u-turn” isn’t always a possible maneuver when you miss a turn and suddenly find yourself on the entrance ramp for the interstate. “Recalculating…”

Monday morning was the worst though. The GPS seemed to have woken from its slumber disoriented. We turned it on, ready to go back to the same shopping center yet again. I started out the same way as ever, having learned the first several turns on my own. It remained stubbornly silent for the longest time, yet every correct turn I took, it said “recalculating”. At one point it directed me to turn in a new spot so I did, trying to be cooperative. “Recalculating…Make a u-turn.” I went back and then promptly started to ignore it for the next several blocks. I was going the correct way, but it persisted in telling me to“turn around here, keep right, recalculating”… I eventually made my way to the shopping center in spite of the GPS and only hoped that it would collect its wits so that it could assist on the way home.

It was actually kind of funny as it hysterically issued instructions to me as I made my way through the parking lot, ignoring it in favor of my eyes and brain.

Somewhat appropriately, the REM song “Stand” was playing in the office supply store in the shopping center:

Stand in the place where you live
Now face North
Think about direction
Wonder why you haven’t before
Now stand in the place where you work
Now face West
Think about the place where you live
Wonder why you haven’t before

If you are confused, check with the sun
Carry a compass to help you along
Your feet are going to be on the ground
Your head is there to move you around

I have since returned the rental car and am now back to navigating on foot. Yes, it takes longer to get places but hey, it’s also hard to get lost in a hurry…

I realize that the tone around here has been pretty heavy lately – you know what with the Egyptian revolution and being evacuated and all. This song made me giggle though – and I love falafel too so I wanted to share.

I hope that whatever you are doing today you are feeling happy. I’m still working out what will happen next for my family, but am happy that I don’t have to stand night guard duty on the street here and that I have a bag of dark chocolate covered pretzels to munch on.

If you are in the mood for a cozy, romantic read don’t forget that all of my titles are now available for $2.99 in multiple formats on Smashwords and on Amazon Kindle. Just check the Books tab at the top of this page.

I wanted to share the above video because it so beautifully counters so many of the images of the angry, unruly, mob that news channels are showing. The people in Tahrir Square are not rioters, they are peaceful protesters and there is a world of difference.

I’ve had a week to decompress a little from the intense stress of leaving my home in Cairo in such a hurry. I’ve even had time to generate some optimism of a sooner-than-later return to Cairo with various reports from friends and neighbors who have stayed behind and who say that everything is “fine” – no nearby violence, no looters, schools re-opening.

I am intensely grateful that we have a comfortable place to stay while we sit tight and wait to see what happens next, yet it is hard to make decisions on how to proceed from here when everything is so up in the air. The decision making portion of my brain seems to have been overloaded in recent days – it’s even hard to decide what cereal or bread to buy in the grocery store right now with too many choices (but at least those sorts of choices are not life and death)

I was waiting to hear Mubarak’s speech with as much anticipation as everyone else in Egypt yesterday – sure that this was what we had all been waiting to hear, that he was finally going to do the sensible thing and step-aside. It seemed that by giving his powers to the vice-president he was setting it all up for an easier transition. I allowed myself to hope that we could confidently return to Cairo by the end of the month – even if it was only for the remainder of the school year.

When Mubarak announced that he had no intention of stepping aside, I was as disappointed as everyone else – though a large part of me wasn’t surprised. This is a man who has been part of the militarily supported dictator machine for half a century. He isn’t the sort of person who possesses any subtly or diplomacy – or obviously any charm. I don’t think that anything short of a coup against him will get him out of office at this point. I didn’t trust his choice of Vice President – why should anyone else? The people of Egypt don’t want him making any more decisions, period, so they certainly don’t want him to decide who will take power next, and especially not someone who himself is so heavily involved in the current corrupt machine.

I’ve have thrown my shoes too if it had helped anything.

What does this mean for me and my family? I still don’t know – but it seems pretty clear that things are going to have to come to a head soon and that with each day this drags on, I will be forced to make some decisions about building a new life outside of Egypt. The children can’t continue to watch cartoons and play Wii all day long, however much they enjoy it, while I obsessively read messages from friends back in Egypt, searching for some kernel of hope…

ETA: Apparently I spoke too soon – who would have guessed that Mubarak would announce today that he is stepping down after his ridiculous speech last night? And again, hope springs up…

My family departed the Cairo airport on Tuesday February 1st, at the private terminal where the US State Department had set up chartered planes, and were sent to Istanbul. I only have the highest compliments for the US State Department – they were very organized and calm in a time when I was so stressed out I could hardly follow the simplest of instructions.

We stayed in Istanbul for a few days, to collect our wits and relax. I wanted very much to enjoy my time in Istanbul because who knows when I might get back, if ever, but it was bittersweet. I was too emotionally raw to fully relax. Also, Istanbul is too reminiscent of what Cairo could potentially be like with proper leadership and care.

Well meaning friends suggested I should take advantage of the tip to shop. There were certainly many lovely items I could have happily bought in other circumstances, but with the thought that we might shortly be both homeless and jobless, I decided to limit myself to taking pictures instead.

It helped that we had been to Istanbul once before because we even though we arrived a bit shell-shocked, we were able to arrange for a hotel in Sultanhamet, the historic area of town. We stayed in Sultanahmet ten years ago – Istanbul was our first big trip abroad after we moved to the United Arab Emirates, before we had children.

Both of the pictures above are from the roof terrace restaurant at the hotel. Isn’t the Bosphorus lovely?

We happened upon this local market and I recognized it as one we had explored ten years ago, and I am pretty sure we bought two lovely carpets in one of the shops. I deliberately avoided the carpet shops this time. I have a weakness for them and carpet merchants are extremely persistent.

I was more drawn to the ceramics, but it isn’t so easy to carry around – particularly when you don’t know where you’re going to end up.

The Grand Bazaar is a wonderful place. I enjoyed it more this time, now that I have more bargaining skills.

We didn’t end up buying anything except two soccer jersey sets for the children – the one bright spot of the trip is that I bargained him down to 50% of his starting price.

Now I’m killing time at my sister’s house in the US, waiting to see what happens next. I find myself alternating between despair and anger. Despair over all that has probably been lost in Egypt and also anger that it could have been avoided if only the regime had listened to the people they ruled. I know it is much more complicated, but even if the president had invested a fraction of the money he lined his pockets with for three decades, it is likely that all of this could have been avoided. As it stands, not only will the country have to be calmed and rebuilt but all of the accumulated mistakes of several decades rectified.

I have often likened the various economic and political problems in the US to a diet – it is very easy to gain weight but it takes a long time to lose it. In the same respect, people expect Obama to fix America’s problems in a much shorter time span than they were created. How long will it take to fix the problems of Egypt?

I was reading a blog summarizing the problems in Egypt recently in which an anonymous comment asked “Why should I care? If they want a better life, they should leave.” It is always more complicated than that. Many do leave, but many more are either prevented from leaving by the immigration policies of other countries or they do not wish to leave because they want to live in their own country. There are no easy answers, anywhere.

Yes, my own life is in a time of upheaval, but I do at least have other options. I have another country to go home to and eventually will find new job opportunities. There are so many hard working Egyptians that I have met in my time in the country who are only going to be hurt by these problems, at least in the short term, that I cannot help but be depressed for them – and perhaps foolishly optimistic that I can return to Egypt if only to say a proper goodbye…