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I am new to this board and I have some questions. Has anyone out there married an Egytian man and brought their children from a previous marriage to Egypt to live?
If so, what was it like for them to adjust?
Did you feel guilty for uprooting them from their lives?
And what can be done to make the transition easier? I would appreciate any information you can give me.
Thank You, Martha
Posts: 58 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2006
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im about to take my kids to Egypt. im a single mum of 4. check out some of my other threads, ive had some good advice. you can PM me if you want.
dont feel guilty about what you are doing. the sheer fact that you are researching things shows me that you want the best for your kids, and keeping your kids with you, their mother, is always the best thing to do. i can vouch for that from both sides of that particular fence!
where in egypt dyo wanna go? how many kids? are you currently on your own? what about the dad? i see you dont earn, (unless im wrong, if i am sorry) do you know how expensive the schools are. have you spent any time there with the kids? we are renting an apartment in hadaba for 1 month to see what it feels like.. test the water as it were.
Posts: 5642 | From: hellonearth.myfastforum.org Forum Index | Registered: Feb 2006
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I am British and brought my 11 year old daughter out to Egypt 3 years ago. She has adjusted wonderfully and is bilingual but we did have a huge advantage that her father (sadly) dead was an Arab too. She attends a local private school where half her lessons are in English the other half in Arabic. There are 4 other British kids, 1 American and 2 German kids at he school as well.
I didn't feel guilty at all because I think it is good for children to travel and broaden their minds. Western children need to realise how lucky they are as well.
My daughter is a lot freer here than in the Uk and can go out by herself. She has taken up riding which she loves. She is very popular because she is so Arabic and so English at the same time. Because we run tourist apartments we do get regular 'treats' so she is still in touch with British music/clothes/teenager culture through gifts, magazines, children that visit and of course she chats on MSN to her friends.
The best thing for me is that she faces none of the temptations (sex/drugs/alcohol/smoking) she would have back in the UK, bringing up a girl in a Muslim society is so much easier.
she gets on really well with her stepfather and his family, In fact my mother in law loves her to bits and when she sleeps over at the family house they share a bed.
Of course every kid is different, my kid has a very outgoing personality so I was fairly sure she would get on fine. A shyer child might have found it more difficult.
-------------------- Jane Akshar UK Co-owner of www.flatsinluxor.co.uk Appartments and Tours in Luxor Posts: 2791 | From: www.flatsinluxor.co.uk, Luxor, Egypt | Registered: Jan 2003
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quote:Originally posted by akshar: The best thing for me is that she faces none of the temptations (sex/drugs/alcohol/smoking) she would have back in the UK, bringing up a girl in a Muslim society is so much easier.
This may be true were akshar lives, in Luxor, but is not necessarily true if you come to Cairo. Maybe the extent of involvement in the above temptations is not as extreme as it is in many western cities, it is still here in Cairo as in any capital city in the world.
I have an Egytpian Muslim friend who was living overseas and brought her kids back to Egypt thinking it would be a better place to raise them. The problems started as her two oldest were teenagers when they came and they had become used to western materialism and freedom, and tried to demand the same level of consumer goods as they had been used to over there. On an Egyptian salary, that was not always possible. Then the eldest started smoking banga and expected to be able to smoke it in the house!! I think that kids would find it easier to adapt if they come when they are younger, rather than as teenagers when they have become used to the other lifestyle.
Posts: 4576 | From: Cairo | Registered: Jun 2002
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That is a very good point newcomer, Luxor is almost a completely different country from Cairo. In fact luxor city is different from us at the West Bank. So it does depend on where you live.
Also my daughter was 11 when we came here. So preteenage.
She does demand much more than a native born Egyptian kid, but thankfully is still satisfied with what we can afford. I think our guests coming with gifts all the time helps tremendously as well.
Another point in Luxor the expectations a boy would have are different from a girl. Especially on issues like smoking/drugs etc.
-------------------- Jane Akshar UK Co-owner of www.flatsinluxor.co.uk Appartments and Tours in Luxor Posts: 2791 | From: www.flatsinluxor.co.uk, Luxor, Egypt | Registered: Jan 2003
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