One last hurdle

As with everything else in Cairo, getting Zeke's Egyptian visa was not as easy as it first appeared.

First I checked with the university office that helps us foreigners with local bureaucracy, asking specifically specifically what we needed to supply. The answer was 'just the passports' ie. mine, Dave's and Zeke's. I also double checked as to whether Dave would need to make and appearance at the government office, and was told 'no'. Dave took the passports in the very next day, and we also included his birth certificate and our marriage certificate, just for good measure. He was told it would take a week to 10 days.

A week goes by and I was wanting to book my tickets to Oz, but was concerned that we still didn't have the visa. Dave called the office and was told it wasn't ready because he needed to go to the government office!!!! Frustration level - about 5.

Dave does this on Tuesday, and they tell him it could be ready tomorrow. I call Thursday morning - not ready. Frustration level - 6, and rising. I stress that I'm wanting to get to Oz asap and I'm told to go ahead and book the ticket, and that proof of departure will speed up the process. Two hours later my tickets are booked for the following Monday and the proof of such is being faxed to wherever it needed to go. Knowing that the government office operates 6 days a week, it seemed a good bet it would be ready Saturday. Come Sunday morning and still no visa. Frustration level - 9 and I'm about ready to spit the dummy at someone.

A little while later Dave calls to tell me it will be ready after 2.30pm, but I have to go Downtown to pick it up, if I want it for our flight the next morning. So with less than 24 hours till our departure, Zeke and I are in Downtown Cairo, awaiting the all-important visa that will allow him to leave the country. Frustration level - 9.75. Finally the courier turns up. I do a quick check of the passport and see that AT LAST we have all that we need to depart as planned the next day.

Now all I had left to do was pack ........

What's in a name

Within the last year or so, 5 babies have been born to the expat faculty at American University in Cairo. The funny thing is that they are ALL boys. Even funnier still, we all chose Bible names, and mostly Old Testament names. We have Joseph, Abraham, Noah and of course, our boy Ezekiel. The fifth child is Andrew. And including some other, older faculty kids we have Elisha, Elijah and the lone female with a Bible name - Martha.

Passport

I was very happy yesterday to receive a phone call from the Australian consulate here in Cairo, telling me that Ezekiel's passport was ready. I was hoping and praying it would be, but hardly let myself believe it could actually happen. After all we only submitted the paperwork 10 calendar days previous, and there was a public holiday in the midst of that time.
At any rate, we rushed out the door. After all, it was already 1pm when they rang, the office closed at 4pm, and it would take us easily 1 - 1 1/2 hours to get there.

After encountering some typical horrid Egyptian traffic, we walked into the consulate office at 3.30pm. We walked out again, passport in hand, at 3.40pm, thankful that we were able to get it today.

Dave's job now is to deliver all our passports, and associated documents, to the business support office at the university. They will handle getting Zeke's Egyptian visa, to prove that he is legally in the country. Without this we aren't going anywhere. With this, we hope to still be able to head to Australia within a few weeks.

Ezekiel's Australian passport

Becoming an Aussie

This past week I began the process of establishing Ezekiel's Aussie citizenship and getting him a passport. As he was born overseas this meant I had to fill in a form proving he was eligible to be an Aussie (ie. because his mother is), get an official English translation of his Arabic birth certificate, have his identity 'verified' and, of course, pay a fee. None of this was especially difficult, just time consuming. In the end we received his Citizenship Certificate which meant we were then able to apply for a passport.

Ezekiel's Citizenship by Descent certificate

As I write this his passport is in processing, and then the next step will be to deal with the local authorities and get an Egyptian visa. As soon as possible after that, we will be on a plane to Australia to see the family.

The hardest part of this whole process was probably getting the photo. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get a photo of a baby's face where they are awake, looking at the camera, eyes open, no pacifier/dummy, and nobody holding their head straight and still????? Thank God for digital cameras. We took a gazillion photos and finally got one that fit all the criteria.

Ezekiel's passport photo - he has already changed so much since this was taken 2 weeks ago.

MCD & MCN

With the birth of Ezekiel I have become aware of, and "seduced by" the counter-cultural world of MCD. But don't worry - there is no need for an intervention. MCD simply stands for modern cloth diapers. In Australia it's MCN (modern cloth nappies), but it all means the same thing - an alternative to the gazillions of plastic, disposable baby buttwrappers that end up as land-fill.

The first company I came across, Eenee Designs (http://www.eenee.com/), make the Eenee Eco nappy which consists of a washable fabric cover and plastic liner, into which go a cloth or 100% biodegradeable nappy insert. I am proud to say this is an Australian company, from 'tree-hugger central', AKA Tasmania. Some years ago the company founders took their product to the ultimate land of consumerism, United States of America. In America these amazing nappies are called gDiapers, and they have some very dedicated followers, including me and Zeke. Users call themselves gMums and gDads, have a yahoo group to talk about the product and swap ideas, and post photos of their babies wearing the diapers. And this is just the tip of the MCD iceberg.

Ezekiel wearing his 'good vibe stripe' gDiaper

When you begin to delve into this 'world', you soon learn there is a whole other vocab going on here - liners, boosters, AIO's, AI2's, pockets, flats and prefolds - just to name a few. And then there are the company's - bumGenius (http://www.bumgenius.com/), Fuzzi Bunz (http://www.fuzzibunz.com/), Tots Bots (http://www.totsbots.com/), Happy Heiny's (http://www.happyheinys.com/), Monkey Doodlez (http://www.monkeydoodlez.com/), Pea Pods (http://www.peapods.com.au/), plus many, many, MANY more.

Recently I found out that some bumGenius diapers (which MCD-er's rave about) are made here in Egypt, so now I going to procure some of these direct from the factory and give them a try.

the gold standard in MCD's - bumGenius

Mena House Hotel

One issue you face when your child is born in a foreign country is establishing his/her citizenship and getting a passport. This is a multi-step process for either US or Australian citizenship - both of which Ezekiel qualifies for. As we are still in the midst of the paperwork, we were not able to travel to another country for the 5 day Eid break, celebrating the end of Ramadan.

Instead, we found a wonderful hotel deal and booked two nights at the 100+ year old, 5 star Mena House. This hotel has one feature no other hotel can claim - it backs right onto the pyramids at Giza. From the balcony of our room we looked onto the hotel's garden and pool, and the Great Pyramid. From the tranquility of the hotel, we could also see the poor sods on their organized tours getting on & off buses, and battling the heat & crowds.

The view from our balcony.

We enjoyed the chance to do very little, and spent time paddling in the pool, reading by the pool, having leisurely meals and we each booked a massage.

Dave and Ezekiel in the pool.

At times it all just got too much for Zeke.

Zeke crashed out by the pool.

While we were at Mena House Ezekiel had his 1 month birthday!! We celebrated on his behalf with a bottle of German sparkling wine, given to us by an AUC friend, Moshira.

Happy 1 month birthday Ezekiel.

A child is born

We returned from our vacation at the end of July, and proceeded to wait out the next few weeks until our little guy arrived. Dave went back to work and I 'nested' at home.

On Tuesday Aug. 18th we were at our scheduled dr's appointment when he asked us when we wanted to have the baby - on Thursday or Friday?!?! A few phone calls later, lining up the anesthesiologist, operating room, etc. and we were set for Thursday. Ah, the beauty of a planned C-section. The next two nights at home were interesting, realising it was probably the last time (for a long time anyway) that it would be just the two of us. Last minute packing was done, family and friends notified, our ride to the hospital organized, and we were as ready as we were ever going to be.

The morning of Thursday Aug. 20th we left home around 7.30am and were in our hospital room by about 8.15am. My doctor came by around 9am and then I was prepped and we 'got the show on the road'. I had a lovely female anesthesiologist who took her time finding the right spot for the epidural and made me feel at ease during the procedure. Once that was done and I was numb/ready, the fun began. This was my first ever experience on the operating table and it is a weird sensation, being awake and knowing what is going on, but not being able to feel anything. The time went by very fast and before I knew it I had my first look at, and hold of, my son - Ezekiel. While I was being stitched up, Zeke was taken to the nursery and his anxious father. Soon afterwards we all met up in my room.

First day of life. Ezekiel David Wlodarski - born August 20, 2009

The one thing I was unprepared for in this whole experience was the next morning and feeling like I had gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson - and lost! Thank God for pain meds. The hospital staff were good, but the problem with doing this in a foreign country is, of course, the language barrier. Some staff had a little English, but most had none. Somehow though we muddled through. I am very thankful that is was an uncomplicated birth. By Saturday we were more than ready to get home, so once my doctor gave us the all clear, we packed our bags, paid our bill and left.

Our doctor, Youssef Simaika, sharing a glass of wine with us after the birth.

It has now been almost 3 weeks and everyday I give thanks for our little boy who is happy and healthy and doing so well.

5 days old.