Caturday in Cario

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

It's 2 pm on Saturday here in Cairo and it's 5 am where I come from in the US. We tried to go to the American Embassy today and turns out they happen to be closed on Saturdays. I'm writing you from the McDonald's next to the American University downtown. I've had real trouble stomaching the food here and can barely eat anything excepts some fresh fruits and vegtables. After the underground ride last night I threw up three four times walking to the pharmacy and Waleed had to do an emergency injection in me right there. This adjustment period has been so difficult. So far I've see stray cats and dogs that break my heart and there are rats that eat the wires and the people burned the trash yesterday making the air toxic. I keep asking Waleed to please let us go to Hurghada where I know it is a newer development and cleaner but each day is delayed by something for the visa. He wants to finish it all before we go but the conditions are so difficult for me to tolerate. I didn't think I would be so sensitive but I'm feeling pretty weak after catching the microbug when I first arrived. My health is not good and this McDonald's is the only normalacy I've felt in awhile. It's nice to just sit here with the mixture of people around me while munching on some fries.

At the Embassy the sign said they can not answer visa questions but when I called DOS before I left they said they mailed packet 3 to his house on April 6th but he never recieved it. They changed the procedures for the medical and you have to show this letter requesting the medical for the Embasssy now. So we are hoping to pick up the updated packet to get this letter and will have to try again tomorrow. Does anyone know other than going directly to the Embassy how we go about procedures Egypt side instead of State side? A number to call? I've sent three emails and never recieved replies until I got ahold of DOS. DOS takes forever to get through ect...

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Also I might add for those trying to reach me that my internet is few and far between.

[Ban Hammer 13,283]

good morning olivia, and all other mena ladies.

[HLM 1]

Happy Caturday everyone..

Olivia- Good to see you posting here (: I know what you mean about the pollution and all I'm so sorry about that! I really wish Egyptians would take cleaniness seriously! anyways; insha Allah everything works out with you and the embassy I honestly don't have any advice for you but keep us updated hun.

[Nagishkaw 510]

So far I've see stray cats and dogs that break my heart

I wonder why there isn't a no destroy animal shelter....there needs to be something done to help these poor creatures !

[nurse1967 287]

The thing I noticed in Cairo is most of the strays look fairly well fed because they eat of of the garbage in the streets. And I also noticed there are far more stray cats than dogs. Funny story related to that is when we went to the Khan Al Kallili market there was a mom cat with some tiny baby kittens. I picked one of them kittens up and my husband about had a heart attack on the spot. LOL. Also, why are so many Egyptians petrified of dogs??? Any thoughts on this?

[sassysis 0]

I am sorry you are so sick, I hope things settle down for you soon.

[JeanneVictoria 55]

Good morning and happy Saturday! Beautiful day today.

Olivia, sorry to hear you are ill. Hope you feel better soon!

Will make a trip to the mall today. Don't know about where you

live, but have you noticed that the malls and stores aren't as crowded

as they used to be. We were out last night and noticed the traffic was

down also. Perhaps it's the rising cost of gas, but we certainly have

seen a difference.

The University of Arizona sent Wael a letter yesterday stating he will

need another MMR immunization before he begins classes. Some states

require only one MMR but Arizona requires two. He feels like a pre-schooler!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day! Take care and stay safe.

[~Jess~ 0]

Happy Saturday all

And

HAPPY HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY to my little man Joshua!!!!! i cant believe its been 1 full year since he was born!

[JeanneVictoria 55]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH!!

[SaadBell 0]

Olivia,

That sucks that you are sick makes things much worst, but hang in there you will soon feel better. I so know what you mean about hanging around American places, last time I was in Cairo, husband had to fly to Kuwait for some important meeting and I had two days in Cairo alone. I was well taken care of but for some reason I just wanted to eat American fast food, so I went to KFC and sorrento's pizza. That was a big change from when we were in Egypt visiting family, we were out in the middle of nowhere land. I had a blast, and my blood sugars were excellent, WHY, cause I was too far away from the junk of good old USA. I know what you mean about the dogs and cats wondering around, I am with you Nag, they should have some kind of no-kill shelters for these poor animals. They don't have pets like we do here, so they don't understand. Keep us updated, as much as you can. We are here for you sweetie.

JOSH,

Edited May 30, 2009 by Ganja_Girl

[sara535 15]

So far I've see stray cats and dogs that break my heart

I wonder why there isn't a no destroy animal shelter....there needs to be something done to help these poor creatures !

There is at least one no kill shelter called Maadi Animal Shelter, there is also a free or low cost shelter that does spaying and neutering but surprise surprise they are all terribly underfunded and not really considered a priority by most people....

egypt animal shelters

and Happy Caturday all

Olivia I hope it gets better for you soon.

[R and F 34]

Hi everyone. Hope you guys has a great Saturday. In Morocco there are million of stray cats on the street, I thought that was crazy. We had at home about 8 cats in all.

[Krissy! 0]

Happy Caturday Everyone.

It's good to hear from you Olivia. I hope you recover very soon from the "bug".

Regarding the animals:

It saddens me hearing about the strays around the area -- while I also side with everyone here, it's probably not feasible to have a no-kill shelter in that area, unfortunately. But I agree there should be a shelter at least. Why? No-kill shelters would be over-populated by the vast numbers of strays needing homes... and it seems like keeping them as pets is a bit of a taboo...

I do not mean to offend: I am an animal supporter and ASPCA member. I used to work at a Humane Society 4 years -- and that location was not a no-kill because the region just had too many animals coming in, and owners did not spay/neuter their pets. We did and still offer free-spay days, but the shelter still is not a no-kill.

Birthdays:

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY JOSH! I hope the celebrations! are what you anticipated for!

Yah, party time for Zain and Nour! :dance: Have fun celebrating today!

Have a great Saturday everyone! I'm off to get ready for a teacher organization meeting.

[Nagishkaw 510]

Sara, I knew about this shelter. Thank you for the link, though! I know how terribly underfunded the shelter is when priority is on people's day to day survival. If I was younger and healthier, I would go there myself and open up more....and take you with me!

A very special Happy Birthday to little Josh! It does not seem that a year has passed already.