Jill Dobbe

Kids, Camels & Cairo Jill Dobbe

My eyes popped open each morning at the amplified sound of the call to prayer. It was my morning wake-up call and the beginning of another week of disciplining rich, apathetic students. At 7:00 A. M., I walked out onto a rare quiet Cairo street and waited for the school van to pick me up. Climbing onto the van, I found a seat alongside the foreign and Muslim teachers, where I was one of only a few women not wearing hijab. Traveling across the globe to work in an international school in Cairo, Egypt, was not exactly the glamorous lifestyle I thought it would be. I cherished my travels to the Red Sea, delighted in visiting the Pyramids, and appreciated the natural wonders of the Nile River. However, I also spent days without electricity, was leered at by rude Egyptian men, breathed in Cairo's cancerous black smog, and coaxed school work from students. KIDS, CAMELS, & CAIRO is a lighthearted read about Jill Dobbe's personal experiences as an educator abroad. Whether you're an educator, a traveler, or just a curious reader you will be astounded at this honest and riveting account of learning to live in an Islamic society, while confronting the frustrating challenges of being a western educator in a Muslim school.