Wittenberg in Egypt

Well, now that we’ve been here a week and a half and have gotten a chance to adapt to life here, we thought we’d share with you what it’s been like living in egypt.

We are staying at a retreat center which has a cluster of maybe seven or eight buildings, and they look really cool–there are domed ceilings, marble floors, arched doorways and cross-shaped windows. The outside would remind you have stucco, and looking out your window and seeing all the buildings against the green of the fields here is a really amazing view. This residence is self-reliant; they grow some fruits and vegetables, especially olives, and even make their own yogurt. There is also a reflection pool here that winds all throughout the complex, and it was rather startling to walk to the pool and pass cows that roam freely and a pigeon house. Everything is really beautiful and relaxing here, and our room is really comfortable, even though we sleep under mosquito nets.

Another really interesting thing about our room is the bathroom. There is no shower in the bathroom, but rather a nozzle on the wall between the toilet and the sink (kind of like how they are on a train). Because the whole bathroom is tile and at a slight slope, the drain is just in the corner and after you shower you have to squeegie the floor so the next person who comes in doesnt slip and fall. The water pressure isn’t very good, but if you shower in the afternoon, you can get really hot water. Another thing we had to get used to was that you don’t flush toilet paper here, but rather throw it away, so it was a real challenge to adjust to that our first few days here.

Because we are staying in an Egyptian residence, we do have to be careful about the way we dress. On the dig site, we have to be completely covered, with long sleeves and long pants. This is not just to prevent sunburn, but also because we work with work teams of men who belong to a very different culture than we are used to. At our residence, we can be slightly more relaxed in our dress code, but we still do not wear tank tops, and we have to wear capri pants or long skirts (below the knee). We thought before we came that having to cover up so much would be unbearable in the heat, but it really has not been too bad at all. It seems you can get used to almost anything.

Speaking of getting used to things, the food here has been another adjustment. Everything is really organic, and the fresh fruits and vegetables (like carrots, cucumber, tomato, melon, apples, and bananas) have been fantastic. Some of the other dishes, however, have taken some getting used to. Kusheri is an example of this…it is a very heavy combination of rice, lentils, noodles, tomato sauce, beans, and onions…it is rather hard on our digestive systems to say the least. There are also many other dishes involving rice, potatoes, and bread, which are very good but also very different than what we are used to eating. The staff here have been really great at accomadating to western style foods: we even had french fries for lunch one day! The EDMAP team has also treated us to ice cream and soda, so don’t worry, we are not lacking in any vital food groups! : )

We are still working hard at the dig site, and looking forward to seeing the Pyramids at Giza this weekend…look for another update soon

Erin, Nikki, and Trinity