The things they tell you in the travel books ain't necessarily so. We came to Egypt from Mississippi expecting a life very different from the one we were accustomed to.

American culture and Egyptian culture, say the experts, are very different from each other. In Egypt, they tell us, clocks are seldom taken seriously. Being friendly and helpful (as when giving directions) is more important than being accurate. Friendship comes before business. Religion rules the culture. And it’s devilishly hot in the summer.

What we’ve discovered is that the folks who write those books never lived in Mississippi. We come from a place where meetings start at 7:00 “or there about.” Where you beg your guests to stay and have another cup of coffee while you’re really thinking, will these folks ever go home? Where a discussion of the weather, sports, or Aunt Laura Mae’s health is a mandatory prelude to any serious discussion of business. Where there’s a church on every corner, and where the simmering summer heat smothers you like a hot, wet blanket.

There is that small matter of speaking a different language, but since most people in the USA are convinced that Mississippians already speak a foreign language, I guess we’re halfway there.

At the bottom line, it’s easy for a Mississippian to feel right at home in Egypt. Cairo’s population of 20 million is a little larger than Jackson, Mississippi’s 500,000 (including all the suburbs), but we’re adapting to the difference. After all, you can only get to know people one at a time regardless of where you are.