We're moving to Cairo!

Who would have thought that we would ever live in Cairo, Egypt? But it's official; the Husband has accepted the offer from the American University there, and we're moving after the summer. My head is spinning.

By Lovain

Are we moving to Cairo? What do you think?

For as long as we have been together, the reason for our stay here in Belgium and our focus has been to finish the husband's doctorate so that he could get a good academic job in the U.S. We've never intended on staying in Belgium. The husband's career has been the director of our life, and along with it we have, all this time, been expecting and anticipating the final move and our settling down; buy a house, a car, enroll the boys in a school in a middle-sized town in America, and finally build our American life.

In a shockful state I now find myself trying to decide whether or not we really want to move; leave the safe Belgian social security system, leave my new fantastic and well-paid job, leave our nice rented house in the quiet suburd of Leuven, leave friends and familiar places, the children's school and our life as we know it, and move to Cairo, Egypt; not the U.S. but yes, to a muslim country in northern Africa.

The offer is nice, the community seems nice, and the experience would be nice; yet I keep thinking "what are we doing?!" Any ideas or reflections you might have in relation to an important decision like this are more than welcome!

By Lovain

Lots of beer to soothen the fear; when finishing a doctorate and a move to Cairo lies ahead

The husband went out for drinks last night with Mr. Speedo, and didn’t fall into bed until sometime after 4:30 this the morning. “Mr. Speedo was in full kebab-mode,” the husband said, excusing his own drunken state and the late hour. “Sounds like you had a good time,” I mumbled, and then told him to let me sleep a little more before the boys wake up.

I hope they had fun together, and managed, if only for a few minutes, to forget the stress that they are currently under, the pressure that is on them, and the hard and difficult times that lay ahead of us this year. Seeing that they are nearing the end of their doctorate studies, they’ve applied for jobs this spring; Mr. Speedo more actively than the husband, since he couldn’t rely on his wife for financial support (visa status implications) should there be a gap between doctorate graduation and a job offer. The husband initially decided it was too early to apply for jobs, especially in light of my starting a new job, however after pressure from a friend, he sent in an application to one university.

Mr. Speedo applied for 10 open positions in the U.S. and Canada, and got two interviews and one offer from a university in northeastern Canada, which he has accepted. The husband applied for one position at the American University of Cairo and got one offer, which he will accept later this week.

This drama in our lives implies several things: first of all it means that both our families will be leaving this country in one form or another this fall, going separate directions. Secondly, it means that both the husband and Mr. Speedo will need to have finished their doctorate dissertations by the end of the summer. Along with the knowledge that our lives are going to dramatically change over the next year, it’s the latter of the two implications that is causing the husband and Mr. Speedo stress. They have to finish their texts!

So if they both needed a few Rocheforts and kebabs to relax last night, then I grant them that; whatever it takes, as long as they finish.

By Lovain