Maadi certainly is deserted during the summer

I went shopping at Seoudi this morning before Courtney had to leave for work, and it was so deserted. A lot of people simply don’t spend the summer here, and for the moment it seems like almost everyone’s gone. I feel bad for the grocery store workers – especially the deliverymen – because they’re not getting any of the tips they usually rely on. As I’m approaching the check-out, several of them literally leap at me to help with my final selections, and then one of them will unload my cart, another will do the register, and a third will pack the groceries. Today, a fourth guy ran around getting the boxes of soda I asked for as well. I was almost embarrassed. I gave the two guys that delivered my groceries an extra generous tip, and they looked really happy, even adding in their very best English as they left “You have good day! Maaselema!”