Nine months since we started our new life here in Cairo, Egypt

This week marks the nine month anniversary of our life here in Cairo, Egypt. I still remember the days leading up to our leaving Belgium, and our arrival here. I wrote the story of our relocation "From rainy Belgium to sunny Egypt; the story of one family's relocation" for Oasis magazine published monthly by the CSA here in Maadi, and here is an excerpt from it:

"Making the decision was easy, and it wasn’t moving to Cairo that was difficult (most everything was taken care of by our employer), but leaving Belgium was to put it mildly, a great challenge. Not only did it require extensive physical labor – we had been living in Belgium for many years and had to empty out a house (without storage being an option) and untangle a lot of paperwork – but it was also psychologically strenuous. Apart from handling the move, keeping up work and everyday life, we also tried to spend extra time with friends. We came to Belgium as international students a long time ago, and our friends were the people we had gone through school and work with, celebrated holidays, marriages, births, sickness and health with. It was important to all of us that we said a proper good-bye. Hence our last few weeks in Belgium were very intense.

The hardships culminated on a Friday, a little over a week before our departure: I had taken the day off work so that my husband and I could go into town and finalize all administrative business and later finish our packing since the movers were coming the next morning. It was a cold, wet and windy autumn day, with dark heavy skies following us around as we biked through the rain. I brought the boys to a friend’s house in the morning, and for hours - soaked through, dripping and cold - my husband & I walked from office to office in town. Finally done; tired, cold and wet, I had just got home when my friend called and told me “there has been an accident.” Re-soaked and panting from the fast biking, I arrived at my friend’s house and found that my oldest son had fallen down a steep flight of stairs and landed on his teeth, literally. All his front teeth were bent back, twisted, and his lips and gums were swollen and bleeding. I immediately called our dentist who let us come right away. Back on the bike in the untiring rain, with the boys’ cart in tow, I went as fast as I could. It was then, on my way through this beautiful medieval European university town, that the stress, physical exhaustion and worries got the best of me, and a few tears mixed with the sweet wet rain that was running down my cheeks. It was too much. How were we possibly going to get through this? The dentist was waiting for us at the door, and I regained my determination. As badly as it looked, she assured us our son was going to be fine; his baby teeth would turn black and he might lose them early, but there was no damage to his permanent teeth. Everything was going to be fine."

A few days later our shipment was sent off, our suitcases packed, our paperwork was in order, tearful good-byes had been said, and we were on our way to start our new life in Cairo, Egypt.