Quick Introduction

My name is Shannon Lee Elghandor. Formerly known as some random symbol.... just kidding, that's Prince. I'm also Shannon Lee Hayward (my maiden name.) I moved to Egypt in August 17, 2011. And well, life has changed! And so has my aspect ratio of life and love and the world at large. Believe it or not, I met my husband on facebook. There I was minding my own business in Rhode Island, USA. Just net surfing, when a charming Egyptian guy started messaging me. You know, I didn't even respond to him for like 2 months after I accepted his friend request. But after some time, I started talking to him. And my head started spinning. I kept thinking, "What am I doing, he's more than 5000 miles away, I'm broke, no job, no idea what's coming next in my life which is in shambles, and here I am talking away to this man. What am I crazy???" But did that stop me? Noooo... of course not. The heart wants what the heart wants. And though my brain refused to believe it, though my usual way of thinking was to automatically be a pessimist and strongly doubt the likelihood, I found myself on a plane, landing in Cairo, getting hustled by cab drivers for my American riches (heh, yeah right, I had 35 bucks to my name), and meeting my fiance (at the time) at the front counter of the overcharging cafe.

Of course I had dreamed up the scenario a bit differently. I imagined coming down the escalator and seeing him before he saw me, standing there waiting. And being all a flutter in my stomach with butterflies. I imagined us slowly approaching each other for that first hug. But as fate would have it, his car broke down about a mile outside the airport and he wound up arriving late. I paid some cab driver 10 POUNDS, oy vey, to use his cell phone for 30 seconds to call him and find out why he hadn't arrived yet. And he wasn't sure how long it would take him to get to me at the time. What's more, we road the 3 hours to his family home in that car, which was on a flat bed. The bumps in the Egyptian roads filled with speed bumps and holes nearly killed my stomach which was in soooo much pain, I can't describe from the bad airplane food, my condition of IBS, and of course, nerves. But toward the last stretch, he and his sister road with me in the front of the tow truck, and he put his arm around me, and it just felt like home. And despite the craziness of that night's circumstances, it was quite familiar to me. Because just about my entire life was just like this! Always a misadventure that made for the fondest of memories. And so my life in Egypt began... To be continued.