Getting Around...

Each school morning, it is my routine to take all three of our boys to school. Mostly, we take our car to school, though taxis are always an option, too. School starts as 7:55 sharp and we always seem to be rushing out the door at the last minute. Some things never change, no matter what country we live in!

This morning, however, we were in for a surprise. Alex had gone down to the street from our fourth floor flat a few minutes early, deciding to wait there rather than watch me put on the other boy's shoes. When I descended the steps on the outside of the building, he ran up to me saying, "Dad, someone doubled parked behind us. I guess we are taking a taxi this morning."

In a city of 20 million people, you expect traffic. Cairo has it in spades. And, not unlike other places around the world, the number of cars on the roads has increased dramatically. Some of this has to do with better loans systems made available in recent years. But, most of it has to do with the normal consumptive spending patterns of Egyptian citizens. Just like in other parts of the world, everyone wants their own car. The result is difficult traffic and parking problems, even in neighborhoods such as mine.

With Liam's hand in mine, I made my way down to the end of the street to evaluate the situation personally. Indeed, we were doubled parked by a black sedan. It seemed at first that we were going no where. The sedan's windshield wipers were extended upward, indicating to me that this was a neighborhood car recently washed by a local boab (building guard). Obviously, the owner got home late last evening and no normal spots were parking were available.

However, living in Egypt for one and a half years has taught me a few things about this kind of situation. I walked over to the sedan to check the car. I was not surprised that the doors were locked. But as I suspected, the car's automatic transmission was in neutral! I could push it out of the way so that I could back my car out of my parking space.

"Dad, you are so strong!" were the words I heard next in unison from my three boys. A space was cleared for me to back the car out. When I had done so, I was joined to by two other men on the street to push the black sedan back into a safer position.
Most importantly, we got to school just in time.

At times, I am amazed that it all works sometimes, but many more times than not, it does. Expatriates living in Egypt just need some experience, a little flexibility, and an ample supply of resourcefulness. Thankfully, today, I had the answers. I will see what tomorrow brings.