Maadi - it really is an expat haven

We live in a neighborhood that to some extent depends on the service to the (comparatively) wealthy international expatriate community, and the special atmosphere this situation presents has an influence on life everywhere; in the store, in the streets, in people's homes. Everybody has a maid and a nanny, most people a driver, a cook and a gardener, and the western lifestyle most people maintain here in Maadi is somehow integrated into the Arabic muslim culture.

Taking the boys to preschool this morning, I noticed that there's a lot of people out around 8 am; there are at least 3 schools within the 4 blocks we have to walk, so in addition to the usual business, a lot of people are taking their children to school. The Cairo American College (CAC) in particular dominates the neighborhood. I saw a scrungie-ornamented woman in high-heel flip-flops showing off her pedicured feet - toenails painted bright red - in skimpy shorts carrying a huge coffee cup, business men in suits and ties, Asian, American, Scandinavian mothers and fathers; all herding their expatriate children to school. There were also delivery boys running groceries, garbage collectors and store owners, already busy with today's chores. Passing the CAC I turned around the corner and an 80 year old woman was sitting in her arabic dress on the ground outside a home that looks like a clay-shed, churning butter. She smiled so widely I could see she has exactly 3 teeth when I said Sabbah-il-xeer (good morning) to her. She probably lives off less than $50 a month but somehow she looked so much happier than the scrungie-lady.

It was a cool morning; a mere 78 degrees outside (or around 26 degrees Celcius), and heading home, I smiled at my new neighbors in my new neighborhood. Yet, I still feel like I'm just visiting.