There is always a certain tone to his voice. A little excited, a tad bit nervous even. “Guess what?” And I give him a long, penetrating look. And I know. And a shiver of anticipation runs up my own spine. “Where to this time and what’s the timeframe?” So much planning to do, starting with how and when to tell our daughters. It’s the WE-have-been-transferred conversation. Because when you are an expat family, it’s not just the worker that is being transferred, we are all moving on. As with most things in life, there is bad and there is good. Bad is leaving behind the home you know, the friends and family you love, the community you’ve become an integral part of, where people know you and love you and you can contribute. Good is a fresh start with new places to explore, sometimes just within yourself. Can I do this again? Can I make a new place home, find new friends, fit in again, have fun exploring and be happy?
When my husband found out about our second to last move, the talk came as a phone call. “Guess what?” And I could hear the tone. “Will I like it?” was my first question. “I think so,” he responded, “It’s Cairo!” And he was right. “I’ve always wanted to go to Cairo,” I responded, “but not as a tourist.” I just had the feeling that Egypt was the kind of place that wouldn’t let a mere tourist in. Sure, you could see the sights and sites, but to get the deep down feeling for the place and people, it wouldn’t do to scratch the surface with a tour guide.
Truth is, I’m not a very good tourist. I’m not crazy about tour guides and seeing all the hot spots. I want to go to the local market and buy new ingredients and cook the food. I want to sit in a corner café and watch the people go by and sip whatever the locals are drinking. I want to immerse myself and make friends from all over. I want to learn about the culture and the people. I want greet the folks at my nearby grocery store and get to know them. I want to become a familiar friendly face to them as well.
All of this is a very long way around telling you that Egypt became that home, despite our short time there. In a little less than a year, I made friends. I volunteered at the community center. I visited orphanages and charity clinics. In short, from my very first impressions, I fell in love with the people, Muslim and Christian alike, for their warm hearts and expansive giving natures. Everything is done in wide-open gestures. Normal conversations are often shouted, which I must admit I found alarming at first. But I soon realized that the raised voices were normal in that culture and didn’t mean animosity or even anger. Just enthusiasm. Such was the elated optimism before the first-ever democratic election that I almost cannot bear to watch the news right now. And all I can do is pray. For peace, for reconciliation, for wisdom, for the leaders of Egypt and the world to find a quick resolution to the strife. As lovely as Dubai is, a big part of me wishes I were still in Cairo, peacefully baking my muffins every Thursday, in readiness for the Muffin Monday post, and, as I always did, sending them home with my sweetheart housekeeper, Reda, and wishing her and her family a restful weekend.
If you haven’t met my fellow blogger and friend, Marilyn of Communicating Across Boundaries, she is in my blog roll of Favorite Blogs up there in the left column, but, since Egypt’s on my mind, I’d like to share her post from yesterday: Egypt – a Call to Prayer. Marilyn grew up as an expat child, lived in Cairo as an adult and also has a heart for Egypt. If you are the praying sort, they can use all the prayers they can get right now. Or you could just bake muffins for someone you love. Because this world could use more love in the form of muffins.
Ingredients
1 medium peach
3 oz or 1/2 cup or 85g blueberries
1 3/4 cups or 220g flour
3/4 cup or 170g sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 egg
1/2 cup or 120ml milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup or 60ml canola oil
Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 12-cup muffin tin by greasing it or lining it with muffin papers.
Cut the peach in half and remove the pit. Cut 12 thin slices out of one half, set them aside for garnish, and then chop the rest of the peach in small chunks. Set aside 12 blueberries as well for garnish.
In a large mixing bowl, combine your flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.
In another smaller bowl, whisk together your eggs, milk, vanilla and oil.
Pour your wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until they are just combined. There should be some dry flour still showing. Don't worry about how dry this looks. The juicy peaches will make up for that while baking.
Fold in the peach pieces and blueberries.
Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups.
Top each muffin with a peach slice and a blueberry.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until the muffins are golden and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.
Remove the muffins from the pan and cool further on a wire rack.
Enjoy!
