Arrival In Egypt and First Impressions of Nile Union Academy and (second impressions) of Egypt

Arriving at our new home, Nile Union Academy, in Gabal Asfar (a part of Cairo) was an amazing experience.  I still remember the drive from the airport to the school.  This was not my first time to Egypt (I had visited for a month after I graduated law school five years earlier), but it would be my first time working in Egypt, and I was very excited to be teaching.

We had spent three months in Europe on our way to Egypt.  I had previously served as a lay pastor in Queets, Washington (a small Quinalt tribe town on the coast) with my wife and daughter (who was five at the time).  After almost two years of ministry, we were lead to Egypt to work with Nile Union Academy.  It would be a life-changing experience.  During my time at NUA, I knew that I should write a book about my time at the school.  There was so much to write about and it was overwhelming at first, so I decided to keep a journal.  I have decided to post some of those entries here.  I will also post some of the excerpts from the book as well.

"Today was the day we arrived in Cairo. We flew from Kyiv at 10:30 am. Checking in our luggage was a bit of a hassle, especially with our huge orange suitcase, but we got it. We flew from Kyiv a little later than scheduled and arrived in Cairo around 1:05. After immigration and collecting our bags, which took a while, we met with two of the men here who drove us to the school.

The drive took about an hour, and it was very hot as expected. The area of the city looked much different than I expected, but in some ways, I like it more. It seems removed. There were backroads that lead here instead of a big highway, which I liked. There was a canal we drove along which was very polluted with garbage. As we got closer to the school, we saw more large buildings and shops. Then we turned into the school and drove in.

I was very impressed by the school. It is very pretty. There are many trees and lots of grass and bushes. I am even told there are foxes that live on the grounds. There are many buildings around campus and lots of farmland. One of the first things we saw was some children playing in a pool.

When we arrived, we immediately were checked into our room, which is just a temporary room we are staying in for a week. We took a tour of the campus and met a lot of people. It will be hard to learn all the names, but in time we will learn them. We went into some of the classrooms and the preschool area where Beverly will teach. There was a small playground there, which made Persephone very happy. The person who bakes bread in the morning gave us all some mango juice and Sephie drank her cup in seconds. We were all surprised. It was very good.

After going around the campus we went into the neighborhood outside of the campus. We met some people and bought some fruit at the market and then went to a grocery store to buy groceries and water. Later that night we met Mr. Damon and went out for koshary. I was so happy that there is a koshary place right by the campus. 

We think we are going to really like it here. It’s such a nice campus. I love being here and I am really excited for everything.

--Journal Entry - July 30, 2018

From Nile Union Academy: A Memoir --

“It’s going to be an amazing year!” the principal said.

Actually, he shouted it excitedly.

He was a loud man with a seemingly unquenchable fire roaring deep inside of him. He stood tall, with an athletic frame, having a shaved head that glistened under the lights above. He was in his thirties and in charge of operations of the school. There was power, power in his words. He was “the man” on campus: Principal Darren. His wife, Mrs. Daena, stood by his side. She was a petite woman, with flowing brown hair that extended past her shoulders. Like her husband, she was also athletic. Her eyes gazed at all of us volunteers and staff who were attentively sitting and listening. It could not be denied that she was pretty. And the students would love her. She was given the title of Head Teacher and although she was not officially the vice principal (the school did not have one this year), she acted the part. “An amazing year!”

It was already pretty amazing if you ask me. It was my second time in Egypt (I had visited as a tourist five years earlier) and this time I would be living there for one year! My position was the English Teacher at this boarding school in the outskirts of Cairo. Mr. Darren told us that the area around Nile Union Academy was once all farmland, but change came and now it was a part of one of the quickest growing cities on Earth. In the middle of red and brown urban sprawl, this campus looked like an oasis of green fields, date palms, and scattered buildings. Most of the campus was farmland, leased out and worked by outsiders. In the middle of the campus was a big lawn. A fountain stood at the center of it. “This is the only grass some of these kids ever get to see” I was told. I was told a lot in the beginning, but I was never once told exactly how this year would unfold.