Cairo

An outsider who did not speak the language at first I saw only the surface of life in Cairo. I was thrilled to be in the land of the Pharaohs which had fascinated me since I was a teen-ager.</P>Gradually the dark side of Egyptian life began to reveal itself. Spied upon by neighbors my students my servant and possibly others as well as the secret police I began to watch my words as I taught my students in a way I had never done before. Still I felt that I was safe because I had nothing to hide.</P>Or so I thought. One day a journalist wrote that teachers were used as CIA agents in countries where the United States had no other representatives. As the Cairo mobs shouted anti-American slogans I realized just how vulnerable I was.</P>Later when war rumors began to spread my greatest fear was being trapped inside Egypt with my young son in the middle of a war. My thoughts and energy were focused on the delicate balance between fleeing too soon or unnecessarily and being considered a hysterical woman by my professional colleagues or waiting too long before leaving.