Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in toosassy's LiveJournal:

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Monday, February 18th, 2008
6:46 pm	Nostalgic in Egypt It sucked working in Egypt, but it gave me the chance to tour n see everything I wanted to see. I couldn't believe how much time off I've had. I'm okay with leaving Egypt now. I'll miss a lot of things about it. The people can't help the way they are...it's their culture. I feel sorry for them because most of them can't get out of it. Everything here is about money. They try to swindle each other out of money, too. If an Egyptian asks another Egyptian for directions, the one giving the directions will ask for money first. Even the taxi drivers (who don't use meters) try to rip off the Egyptians. The Egyptians see foreigners and they automatically think we should pay more for everything. Okay, grant it, we do make A LOT more than the Egyptians, but when EVERYONE is demanding that we pay more, it becomes a drain financially and emotionally. Last night me n Patrick went to dinner. WE took a taxi but didn't know exactly where the place was. He drove us around pretending he knew where the place was. He finally found it and said "20" and he was talking in Arabic n Patrick heard him saying he wanted U.S. dollars. NO WAY! I gave him 10 pounds (the equivalent of $2.00) and the driver said, "What is this?" I told him the amount in Arabic and threw the money at him and me n Patrick jumped out of the cab. The driver got out of the car and started yelling "20! 20!" at us. He didn't follow us because he knew I paid enough money. He thought we were stupid foreigners who don't know Egypt. 10 pounds was the price an Egyptian would pay. I've lived here long enough and put up with the same crap as the Egyptians...I consider myself an Egyptian! The average wage of a doctor here is 350 pounds a month...about $63. Doctors visits are really cheap. I paid $5.00 when I went to the doctor and $2.00 for lab work. Medicine is cheap, too. American medicine like Advil n Tylenol is expensive, but the brands made in Egypt or imported from Germany and England are pretty cheap. The pharmacists act as doctors and can give you pretty much anything and everything over the counter. The know EVERYTHING! The only thing they don't do is examine you! Food is really cheap, too. The Egyptians eat SOOOOOO much bread! That's probably why the Egyptian women are so fat! They eat bread and don't do anything. Flat bread (like big pitas) and hoagie type sandwich bread is like 1 or 2 pounds for a LOT of bread. That's equivalent $.18. The catch is that this cheap bread is not sold in the grocery stores. Real grocery stores sell brown pita bread (which is like 2 pounds) and sliced bread, which is a little more expensive. Egyptians don't really eat sliced bread. So the saying "it's the best thing since sliced bread" doesn't really apply in Egypt. We say "it's the best thing since falafel." The cheap bread is sold on the street and people literally FLOCK to the places where the bread is sold. Imagine the flea market where there are a lot of stalls, except imagine the stalls facing the street. That's "local" Egypt...that's real Egypt. In those stalls are butchers and bread makers. The bread makers have the stalls FILLED with different types of bread and that's where the "locals" buy their bread. It is soooooo good, too. Some places only have a building with a window to buy bread. I have seen literally hourds of people standing around waiting to buy bread. This is so sad, but they literally fight and push and almost kill each other to get to this cheap bread before it runs out. If they don't get it then they can't eat because they can't afford to go to the grocery store. There are no lines in Egypt either...everyone huddles around and whoever shoves their money in the face of the seller and shouts what he wants, gets the goods. So you can imagine the scene at the bread window. That is so sad to me and makes me want to cry. Welcome in Egypt. Yesterday I was buying a shawerma (chopped chicken for $.60...it's soooo good!) and like 5 people (men and children..haha) came up n shoved their money in the cashiers face n said what they wanted. I was just standing there like a dummy. The cashier knows me now and ignores everyone else and calls me up. In Egypt it's not orderly and "wait your turn in line", it's more like "act impatient and as if you are more important than everyone else to get what you want first." Yep, that's exactly Egypt. Patrick doesn't get the royal princess treatment like I do because he's a guy. They let him fight for his falafel. They don't want me to have to fight because they don't want me exposed to the "real" Egypt. They are embarrassed by it. For example, me n Patrick went to the movies the other night (we saw a movie in Arabic). When you buy a movie ticket, they don't let people in right away. So if the movie time is 6:30, you have to wait outside the movie theater until 6:30...and of course there are no lines and people are everywhere waiting to get in. When the doors finally opened and they let us in people were shoving and pushing to get in first. I noticed about 5 young guys sneaking all the way around the outside and were shoving their way to the front, so I cut them off and shoved them back. I accidentally shoved two Egyptian women next to me and one woman said in English "that's not very nice." I said, "Hey, I'm just doing what the Egyptians do. It's rude and unruly but welcome in Egypt." She agreed and the boys let me in line in front of them. They know they are rude and unruly and I think they were embarrassed to know that a foreigner picked up on that. My favorite (and sometimes the most annoying) thing people say to me is "Egypt or America?" Ha! Like there's any contest! They KNOW that America is great. They act so proud that foreigners are in Egypt because, in their minds, if a foreigner leaves America and comes to Egypt, then Egypt MUST be better. I always burst their bubble and am open about telling them that I'm just in Egypt for work and that Egypt is "okay." When they ask me why it's only "okay" I tell them "because it's nothing like America. NOTHING in Egypt is like America." They usually just look at me. I know that sounds mean, but believe me, you can't rationalize with them. I can't explain to them about how hard it is to be a female foreigner and non-Muslim in Egypt. Their English is sooo low and they already have in their minds that it's GREAT for foreigners because we make a lot more money. I used to try to explain things to the Egyptians, but they don't understand the problems of the constant harrassment in the street and the inability to communicate on a deeper level with people. So I just stopped trying and kind of meanly turned to telling them exactly what I think of Egypt. Then they stop talking to me, which is great for me, because, as is so Arab, they're not saying anything anyway. Something, anything, all things, everything, nothing. Welcome in Egypt. A girl who works in the library at the school was asking me one day to describe the type of man I like. She kept asking me all kinds of questions and I finally said, "Do you want me to meet somebody?" She said "no, not yet. We are looking for a man for you." HUH? They don't understand how a woman can be 31 years old and in Egypt by herself concentrating on her career. Welcome in Egypt. A group of other Egyptian women joined the conversation. I told them I can't marry an Egyptian. Egyptian men (and Arabs in general) don't know how to be friends with a woman. They only know romantic love, which isn't the only thing that makes a marriage last for 50 years. Arab men handle their own problems and don't talk to the their wives. An American man (not all, but a lot) would tell his problems to his wife and let her help him sort it out...and vice versa. The Egyptian women here are not CEO's of corporations or business owners. They are teachers and doctors/nurses or don't work at all. They aren't given a lot of responsibility in their jobs so what kind of problems do they have and what would they know about the problems their husband is facing? The women are to make the home comfortable and raise the children and hold a meaningless, low stress job. No Egyptian man would EVER understand me and my Americanness. People here can't believe that I lived in America ALONE for so long and that I'm in Egypt ALONE! Some of them think me n Patrick are brother and sister because they don't understand the concept of a man a woman living together who aren't married or related. They don't understand that men and women CAN be friends (despite what they say in "When Harry Met Sally"). I can't be with a man who only wants a trophy woman and doesn't talk to her. Even if he has a lot of money, that's no kind of life. OH wait...that was Leon...maybe HE is part Arab! He stopped hanging out with me altogether to do whatever he wanted to do and totally neglected me. Welcome in America? I won't be doing that again. In a way, I'm not mad at the Egyptians. They can't help the way they are. I can't expect to change them because there is only one of me. The Egyptians that do leave HATE Egypt when they come back. They find it intolerable and wonder how they ever lived here. Then they leave again. They can't keep good people here and that's a big problem in Egypt. That's why it will never change and progress. It's all about money here and when someone sees a person with more money, he will do whatever he can to bring that person down. Welcome in Egypt. The only thing the Egyptians have going for them is a good sense of humor. They are renowned in the Arab world for their comedies and comedic actors. All Arab speaking nations know the Egyptian dialect. It's the most famous because of the movies. I love it when I speak to the Egyptians and they ask me "Intee Masraya?" Are you Egyptian? I like to say, "No. Are you?" They love it and always laugh. Egyptians are also TERRIBLE about being punctual...punctuality doesn't exist in Egypt. If someone says "khamsa di'ee'a" which means 5 minutes, I always say "5 Egyptian minutes?" because that means like 30. When I ask if it's Egyptian time ALL the people LOVE it and start chattering in Arabic and saying "heyya masraya" which means 'she is Egyptian.' They have a shitty life and they know it's shitty, yet they have a good sense of humor. That's what I'll miss about the Egyptians. Current Mood: nostalgic (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, January 14th, 2008
5:43 pm	Ding dong Cujo will be gone! You have nooooo idea what a relief it is for me to say that Cujo will be gone tomorrow! Happy Birthday to me! No really...only Nicole can empathize with me about crazy Cujo because of the situation with Psycho Candice. What made this 100 worse was that we lived together AND worked together AND we're in a freaking third world country. So, after the big explosion in Luxor we went our separate ways of course. I came back to Alex on the 1st and she didn't come back until about January 3rd I think. We didn't speak for 4 days and it was the most blissful 4 days I've had since she's been here. Patrick, too. Neither one of us can STAND her. So, one day she finally said "Hi" to me as we passed in the hallway. I obliged her & said hi in return. She only talks when she's ready and I would have been content to not talk to her ever again...really. So, when she DOES start talking all she does is complain again...and when I'm not around, she keeps asking Patrick questions about me and when I got back from vacation and what I did. Patrick doesn't tell her anything and I know he doesn't because we're pretty close and he can't stand her. She pissed off the headmaster/owner of the school because she continually keeps missing days. The director already didn't pay us until she saw the whites of our eyes (for work we already did) because she fears we will leave. So, with Kate pulling this crap & not going to work, the headmaster is taking it out on me & Patrick. She called us into her office and yelled at us for missing days. We haven't missed ANY days and then she started asking where Kate was. Me & Patrick said we didn't know. Cujo wanted us to tell the headmaster that she was in Cairo visiting her cousin. I didn't tell her that...I just said I didn't know where she was. Cujo found out that I didn't tell Inas (the headmaster) & she TRIED to yell at me and I told Cujo I wasn't lying for her and I'm not getting involved. Cujo then went home and told Patrick that she wasn't the one jeopardizing him in Egypt...I was. WHAT THE...? I really don't have the patience for this in Egypt. Patrick told me she said that and he just ignored her. So, when I came home we all sat down & had a talk. Me & Patrick told Cujo we would PAY her to leave the apartment. We would help her take all her stuff to a hotel in Alex and she could stay somewhere. That way if she didn't go to school we wouldn't have to lie for her...we don't want to be involved. Cujo was contemplating & said she might stay to the end of the month. We were crushed! Cujo was missing days because she was going to Cairo to get her work Visa for Korea. She thinks Inas is stupid...but Cujo is the stupid one. Then Cujo plans on telling Inas that she's leaving. That's REALLY messed up. Inas is completely irrational and will shout and yell, and she has every right. She paid for us to come here and live in Alex. She should shout and yell...if someone were dumb enough to tell her they were leaving. Anyway, I was sooo down in the dumps today I could barely stand it. Then Cujo came to me & said that tomorrow is her last day at school and she will come to school and tell Inas at the end of the day that she's not coming back. Then she said she will be moving out tomorrow night. wahooooooooooooooooooooo! oooooh my God my prayers have been answered! You have noooo idea what PITA (pain in the ass!) she has been. Me & Patrick have been sooo mad at her for screwing our lives up because Inas keeps yelling at us when WE are at work every day and doing a GREAT job. Cujo keeps trying to talk to me and be all nice like nothing happened, but I just blow her off. I was sooo nice to her for sooooo long. I let her follow me around (and into my room) while she yaps. That's all she does is yap with her horrible New Zealand accent. Remember "My Fair Lady" where the linguist tries to correct the British lady's horrible Cockney accent. That is this accent. No on at school understands her either. Anyway, on the bright side of things I can finally relax and for my birthday I am getting rid of Cujo. You all have nooo idea what a relief that is. I was going to leave Egypt before I was ready because of her. I was ready to quit my job tomorrow because it's awful to feel like a prisoner at home and at work. But, when she told me SHE was leaving I perked back up now and feel meya meya (100%) again. I WON and now I feel like I can make it the next 2 weeks without having a nervous breakdown! yeeeeeeeeah! Current Mood: giddy (Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 25th, 2007
5:24 pm	So I'm spending my first Christmas away from home in Luxor, Egypt. It is them most fantabulous place I can think of to spend Christmas or ANY time. I love it here so much that I can't even explain it. I felt this way the first time I set foot in Luxor. This is the hassle capital of Egypt and it is pretty annoying to have all the carriage drivers get off their horses and hassle tourists and the men in front of their shops hassling tourists to buy things. THANK GOD I've been living in Egypt for 3 months now and can handle the hassle. When I left Alexandria I knew that I knew some Arabic, but now that I'm here in a different place with different people I realize how much Arabic I've learned with no lessons, just listening & talking to people. When the men in Luxor hassle me, I hassle them back. It's awesome. The carriage drivers walk on the sidewalk and leave their horse & carriage to hassle people. When they would ask me to ride I would say, "Shoof! Fy wahed bi'iserah hosana!' which means "Look! Someone is stealing your horse!' The guys LOVE it and ask if I'm Egyptian. I tell them yes and that I live in Alexandria and they leave me alone! How cool is that? I'm just having fun with them, especially since I'm on vacation! Well, Kiwi roommate couldn't handle the pressure...she buckled. We were traveling together & the first 2 days were good. She was actually quite fun to be with and then...I think the tiredness set in and she had a bad interview with a school in Korea. We had to catch a ferry to the West Bank of the Nile (where ALL the history is) and see the Valley of the Kings where all the kings & queens tombs are. It was two grueling days of bike riding up & down hills literally in the middle of BFE. We passed villages with people who live in houses with palm trees for roofs & dirt floors. We did a lot in the first 2 days, not to mention the 12 hour bus ride to get to Luxor. So one night Krazy Kiwi just snapped. I told her that I wanted to spend more time in Luxor and she wanted to go to Aswan & all the other places. I told her that I LOVE Luxor so much and the people on the West Bank are so kind. She went ballistic on me and said that she didn't want to travel with me anyway. I said "Fine, then we're finished." Then I told her that I love Luxor like I've never loved any other city. There is just something about this place and I felt it when I got here. I told her she doesn't give a shit about Egypt or its people. She wouldn't give the tome minders any baksheesh (tip) for letting us take photos. Those guys could lose their jobs for letting us take photos and I would tip 10 pounds ($5) and she would tip 50 piastres (.10). Come on! I told her these people are sooooo sooooo kind and the least she could do is give them a little money. Then I told her to look at the way these people live. They don't even have running water or a concrete floor. Give them some freaking money! I told her that I LOVE the people in Egypt and especially Luxor and I told her she doesn't give a shit about the people and she needs to leave Egypt ASAP. Then I reminded her that she hated France, she hates Egypt, and she will hate Korea, too. She was soooo mad at me. She went off on me & tried to hit me! Can you freaking believe it? She is freaking crazy! Crazy I tell you! She came at me with a fist and she just tapped my arm. I went off on her and started egging her on and telling her to go ahead & hit me. I dared her to do it. She calmed WAY down. I think she scared the shit out of herself and she realized just how dangerous she was. Then she packed up her stuff & said she hated the U.S. and she hated me and...helas. That was the end of that! Good! Now I can actually enjoy my vacation! I did make it down to Aswan where there were sunsets like I've never seen before in my life. The moon was coming up in the horizon on one side and the sun was setting on the other side. The sky was a purple blue with a hint of pink and it was the cleanest sky...I really can't even describe the color and clarity of the sky that I saw. When I was there I went to a Nubian Village. I was with two people from the hotel and one was visiting friends in this village. I got to sit with the Bedouin men in their tent while they smoked hash and talked in Arabic. I don't smoke, but I sure as hell was stoned when I left there. Holy cow! hahahaha I didn't think about what the the second hand smoke would do to me! Then one of the guys told me to go with the women. So I met someone's wife and her daughter. Then the daughter (Yasmeen) took me to meet some other people. I wasn't ready for the sight I would see next. The little girl took me through a dirt street way and into a building with walls & no roof. There were a few doors but it was a place that looked like a bomb went off about 10 years ago and no on fixed anything up...this is just where people decided to habitate. Yasmeen opened a door and I couldn't believe my eyes. Eight people were sleeping in a room. This room had palm leaves for a roof, a dirt floor with mattresses on the floor. There were so many people under blankets & when I walked in some of them raised their heads and were soooo excited to see me. Then more people were popping up from under blankets. I was shocked & said "How many freaking people are in here?" It was sooo filthy & disgusting in there that I didn't want to sit down. They insisted that I sit. They room had one very small horrible flourescent light and a TV with cable (satellite) haha They live like animals but have satellite TV and watch American movies! There were roaches crawling on the walls and the walls looked like something from a prison. There were letters & numbers & grafitti like stuff etched into the walls. I really totally could not believe my eyes. When they saw me a bunch of them jumped out of bed and were sooo curious. They probably thought they were dreaming! hahaha It's a good thing I speak a little Arabic so I could tell them I'm a teacher & I live in Alexandria & I'm an American. They were so excited to talk to me & I actually learned a few Arabic words from them. They wanted me to take pics & they were playing with my camera taking photos of each other. Then the girls (between the ages of 8 - 15) took me to see their horse and donkey. They made me tea with milk and gave me bread. It was the best chai I've had in Egypt and I didn't want to eat the bread, but I did because that's there way of being hospitable...and I didn't want to waste it. These people have nothing & were giving me something. The girls were sooo funny and so excited to talk to me. There were 2 older women in the room with the kids (around 40 and 50 years old) and they were a riot. They were talking in Arabic with me & when the communications broke down they were soooo cool about it and laughed and were patient and so wonderful I can't even explain it. When I went back to my hotel I cried like a baby. I couldn't believe how HAPPY these people were with nothing. They have nothing, but they were giving me tea and bread and laughing and joking and being so kind to me. It made me ashamed that I have the things that I do. That's why I give lots of baksheesh(tips) to the nice men in the tombs who let me take pictures. They probably have families like the one I visited. This whole trip has been eye opening and life changing, but this experience with the Nubian village had the biggest impact on me. One last story for now. The first day I got to Luxor was the first day of their feast (KIND OF like Thanksgiving that lasts for 3 days). My hotel is on a side street & there are locals who live on the street. Well, during this feast, families kill a sheep, eat it, and give away the left over meat to the poor. Well, when I walked out my hotel one morning there was blood everywhere and sheep heads on the ground. Two guys were skinning the sheep they had just slaughtered. They killed them, skinned them, and filetted (or whatever) right there in the alleyway! I have video & pictures of it. Coooool! hehehe Can you believe the culture shock?! I'm telling you! Just when I think the culture shock is over it rears its head again. It's been really bad since I've left Alexandria because I'm down here in the south with the REAL Egyptians & the Bedouins. Current Mood: happy (Comment on this)
Thursday, December 13th, 2007
10:38 pm	Lots of random activity going on lately So, the past 2 days have been riddled with strange happenings. First of all, there has been no running water for the past week at the school. On Wednesday I told my 12th graders that a school like this in the states would be shut down by OSHA or the school board or something. There is no way a school can run with 300 students and 50 teachers with no water. Yesterday I didn't go to school because I didn't want to be there with no running water. So today, a few of my 12th graders went to Inas (the owner/director/"Queen") and were yelling at her and demanded that they either get water or get to go home. Good for them! So the students only had to be at school a 1/2 day and got to leave at noon. Guess what? The freaking teachers had to stay until the end of the school day. Then the last 15 minutes of the day, the Queen called a meeting and said that the next time there is no water the students won't be at school but the teachers will be expected to stay. WHAT THE BLOODY FREAKING HELL? How inhumane is that? I am going to DEMAND that she have one of her buses leave every hour to take teachers to a bathroom at a local business and not leave us at a school in the middle of the country with no running water or flushing toilets. What a bitch! Man she treats the Egyptians like animals. The Egyptians can't (and won't) say anything to her. They just sit there passively like sheep. They aren't allowed to talk back. Well I'm not Egyptian (thank GOD) and I'm not a sheep. As an American I do have some leverage. How crazy is that? Another crazy thing that happened is that I went into a clothing shop just a few doors down from my apartment building. I went inside and a guy came up to me who spoke really good English. He told me lived in New York for several years. Then his wife came in the door. She's from England and they lived in Germany and have been living in Egypt for like 5 years. The guy has German/Egytian citizenship and she is English/Egyptian. I'm not sure how they got back to Egypt or WHY but she told me she's miserable & can't make friends with Egyptian women because they don't think the same way as westerners do. So, I chatted with them for awhile while I was looking for a sweatshirt. The store didn't have what I wanted so I chatted with them & left. I gave the girl my phone number because she wanted to hang out with someone who wasn't Egyptian. mish mush killuh. Well, like an hour after I left them she called me & asked what color sweatshirt I was looking for. I told her anything EXCEPT pink. (yes Adam I've finally moved away from the pink!). Then she called me like 30 minutes after that & told me to come downstairs because she had something for me. So I went downstairs & she had a sweatshirt/jacket for me that they found at a local mall. I tried it on & it fit fine. Then, when I asked how much I owed them the couple just said "noooooooooo, consider this a gift." I was like "noooo way I want to give you money." The guy said they would be insulted if I gave them money. So, I ended up with this jacket given to me by random strangers. THEN they asked me if I had self defense like pepper spray or anything and I said no. Well, today the girl, Armena, called me & said they were looking at hot pepper spray for $200. I was like $200 US dollars? Isn't that A LOT? I told her I could get it in the states for like $35.00. She was shocked it was that cheap & said she would call me back. Thankfully I haven't heard back from her yet. Then she wanted to know if I would hang out with them tomorrow. I told her "insha'allah". (God willing) hahahaha That basically means NOOOOOOOOO! I'm hoping that she wasn't trying to BUY my friendship. We'll see if she gets all psycho on me. I don't mean to brag but lately my social calendar has been absolutely full! I've been hanging out with all kinds of people. I'm like the princess of Semouha. The guy who works at the ice cream shop downstairs asked me today when I planned on leaving. I told him in June. He asked me not to leave Egypt because he loves it when I walk past and wave and say "Hi". I love getting to know the people. It's what makes my life interesting. Once my Arabic gets better then I think life will be easier. Insha'allah! Then one of my really cool 11th grade students called me & wants me to go to Cairo to hang out with her & her family at the horse back riding competitions. Merna (my student) goes with her family all over Egypt because her brother and sister compete in dressage and jumping. How cool (and aristocratic) is THAT? She just called me and said that she will pick me up at the train station in Cairo and we will go watch the competitions and then hang out at the HUGE mall in Cairo. Merna is soooo cool. She is soooo not Egyptian. She is Egyptian by blood but her way of thinking is not Egyptian. She has an open mind and wants to study Pharmacy at the University of Toronto. I asked her how she got to be so liberal minded and she said that her mom and dad travel all over in Europe and take her and her brother & sister with them. She's been to Japan & China (whereas a lot of Egyptian women have never left Alexandria). Her mom told her to listen to me because I have a high degree from the states and I know a lot so she should listen and learn from me. I told Merna that I like her mom (who is 37 years old) even though I've never met her before and she said her mom said the same thing about me! LOL So, I think I will be meeting her mom tomorrow. (insha'allah) So, I'm feeling much better about Egypt now. Thank goodness I have a nice long break coming up. Next Tuesday I'll be doing the whole Egypt tour. Going to Luxor, Edfu, Esna, Kom Ombo, Aswan, Abu Simbel, Hurghada, Sharm El-Sheik, Dahab, Mt. Sinai & back to Alex. WHEW! It's the whirlwind tour, but my Kiwi roommate wants to see everything before she leaves. She's not sticking around after the break. I think she might stay for like 2 days after the break (long enough to make sure her paycheck was deposited) and then HOPEFULLY take off to Korea. She HAS to go! Me & Patrick decided we're going to MAKE her leave. She doesn't belong here and she's making us miserable. She snapped & totally yelled at me today because I told her she has a job in Korea to look forward to. hmmmmm yeah PSYCHO! I don't write about her much because it's not worth reliving and I'm too busy TRYING to make the best of Egypt. I don't want my life inside my house to be crappy so I let A LOT of things roll. She's psycho-crazy anyway & everyone around our apartment and at the school knows it. She has a PhD...need I say more? I just find it interesting that there has been a lot of people meeting & activities lately so we'll see how I feel about Egypt when I come back from my holiday. I've kind of gotten used to Egypt, it's the school that's crazy. I get sooo bored I can barely stand it. The only thing that keeps me going to school are my 12th graders. My 4th grader is good, but she's not enough to keep me going to school. I figure I should just chill and maybe just put my career and getting teaching experience on hold (since I was going CRAZY in Bama) and I should enjoy the down time & put my efforts into studying Arabic. I will never have a better opportunity than now! Current Mood: excited (Comment on this)
Saturday, November 24th, 2007
8:01 pm	Ahlan beek fy Masr (Welcome in Egypt) One of the reasons why I love being in Egypt is because I can be a tourist and work, too. Every weekend I make sure to play tourist, otherwise I would go insane. My roommate, Patrick, and I went to Cairo for the weekend. We met up with some other Americans there and stayed in an area of Cairo known as Zamalek. It's sooooo nice and the air is clean and the skies are blue and there are trees and the best part was...I wasn't harrassed walking down the street. It was like being in paradise in Egypt! I will definitely stay in that area again. I went for several walks alone and one guy was who was walking toward me even whispered "Welcome." WHISPERED! Egyptians don't whisper! That shows you what a nice place Zamalek is. I have a very different attitude towards Egypt after this weekend. Me, Patrick, & the other Americans went to the zoo in Cairo. It's the largest zoo in the Middle East. It was definitely big! I don't even know what really happened, but that's what I say about most of my time in Egypt. We entered the zoo (after paying 1 pound each, the equivalent of $.20) and immediately some guy came up to Matt and said "Do you want to see the lions." Matt was like "Sure." The next thing we knew we were being led into the snake room where they pulled out this 3 foot long crocodile and shoved it at Julia to hold and have her picture taken with it. Then they asked if we wanted to hold a cobra. We were all like, "NO WAY!" Matt said he wanted to see the lions. So, the guy took us to another place. The next thing we knew the guy lead us through a door and there in a cage was this HUGE lion just sitting there. We were all freaking out! It was sooo close! They didn't take him out of the cage, but we were able to pet him through the cage and I had my picture taken with my own camera of that. Then we went to the place with the baby lions and I was able to hold a baby lion without anyone else holding it. Holy wowsers we were all freaking out. Then we went to the cages with the teenager lions (not babies, not full grown) and it was all a big joke because they took us into this area and closed and locked the door behind us. We were the only foreigners there so we joked that they were going to feed the foreigners to the lions. hahahaha We had to laugh because the whole scene was so surreal! Of course we weren't doing all of this for free! We had to baksheesh (tip) EVERYONE involved, which was not a big deal considering we actually got up close and personal with some of the coolest animals on earth. It made me remember that I really AM in Africa! We got a taste of the true Cairo at the zoo. They were all Egyptians and we were the only foreigners. They were saying "Welcome in Egypt" and we were saying the same thing back to them in Arabic. It was great to mess with the people. Strangely enough, this is the weekend that I think I fell in love with Egypt and the Egyptian people. On the train ride to Cairo I was wide awake looking at the farm land the seeing people in the small villages through the window. I saw buildings that look like bombs went off inside, and I realized that no bombs have gone off. That is the way the buildings are built and that's normal for those people. They don't know any differenly and have no idea that things could be better. I saw the farmers plowing their land with their donkeys, picking sugar cane, and irrigating the fields. I saw barefooted little boys playing soccer in the dirt and all the while they had smiles on their faces. It made me realize that I was getting a taste of the real Egypt. The big cities are certainly real Egypt, but the people in the villages are a different side of Egypt that most foreigners don't care about, especially tourists. Tourists cannot say that they know anything about Egypt. They arrive at the front gate of the monuments in the comfort of their air conditioned bus, take tours with their pre-hired guides so they are safe from the hassle of the guides at the monuments, and then get back on the bus and are whisked away to the next tourist destination. All without ever having to talk to an Egyptian...except MAYBE their guide. That makes me happy and sad to be living in Egypt. It made me happy because the Egyptians, even though they drive me crazy, are human and have a great sense of humor. They are people working and trying to make a living the only way they know how...even if it means swindling money from each other. Their government is so corrupt here and it doesn't take care of its people. There is no social welfare system here at all and the poor people are literally dirt poor with no support from anyone, not even their own people. But I'm happy to be here to be able to understand the Egyptians and why they do the things they do. On the other hand, I'm sad about living in Egypt because I see all the poverty, disorderliness, and uncleanliness and think that there isn't anything I can do about it. Then I remember that the best thing that foreigners can do for Egypt is just be here and show an interest in the people. Patrick and I are planning to take a train to some of the smaller villages outside of Alexandria and visit with the people. I know that for them, just seeing foreigners is going to be the greatest thing that will ever happen to them. To some of you that might sound lame and egocentric, but people who KNOW Egypt will agree that it's something that the people will talk about for the rest of their lives because it's not often that foreigners care about getting to know the other side of real Egypt. (Comment on this)
Sunday, November 11th, 2007
8:09 pm	My Saving Grace It's difficult to make Egyptian friends in Egypt. Everyone lives with their family until they get married, men and women. The women are allowed to work, but they don't travel and have never experienced life outside of their families. The men can travel (and do) and can get out and experience life and have things to talk about. It's difficult to make friends because the women haven't traveled and we have nothing to talk about. They have no idea how good life is outside of Egypt and they don't realize how difficult it is for me to accept a lot of what happens in Egypt and keep quiet (which I don't). They are also very religious (whether they be Christian or Muslim) and I'm just NOT religious. Spiritual, yes, but religious, no, and therefore I feel like I have nothing to talk about with women. When I see something I don't like in Egypt or when someone tells me something I don't like (like at the school) the women tell me to just accept it. That's not me and accepting it is not what I was brought up to do. That's why Egypt is so far behind the times. They accept what people tell them because they don't know any better. They have no idea how much better life is outside of Egypt and how much easier their lives would be if they would just change. For women, their religion and culture teaches them not to question things and that they don't know what's best for them, other people (men) must tell them what's best for them. This problem is mild in Egypt, I can't imagine what it's like in Saudi Arabia on the most extreme end. The only way I will make female friends is if they have lived overseas, which is not going to happen, or if they just aren't Egyptian. I make friends with guys pretty easily in the states and my guy friends are just that...friends. Here in Egypt (and Islam), however, they don't understand the whole male/female friendship dynamics. If men and women are seen out, it's either because they are family or because they are married (or dating). That's why to the Egyptians, me and Patrick are brother and sister, and Kate is our cousin. That's the way it has to be in order for us all to be able to live together. I have made one friend, however, of the most unexpected sorts. Most people who know me know how I feel about kids. I don't really seek out the company of children or coo at little babies when I see them. That's just not me. I didn't want to teach anything except college because I'm just not good with kids. Well, who would have thought that my 9 year 4th grader would turn out to be my saving grace?! She is from Germany and has been Egypt for 2 years. Her mother is German and her father is Egyptian. Her parents are divorced and his mother re-married an Egyptian. In the beginning Jacklin (my student) hated English and it was very difficult to keep her occupied for 90 minutes to learn it. But, now that we're used to each other, it's her FAVORITE subject and we have so much fun talking about guinea pigs and New York City. I teach her slang words like "Get real" and "Don't act chicken" and "Awesome" and she remembers everything. She is sooo smart. She is a very caring girl and is always wanting to share her food with me. I have begun to bring things in for the both of us. We have a little joke going between us. I always have a huge 1.5 liter bottle of water and she has the smaller .75 oz bottle. I tell her that I have the teacher bottle and she has the student one. It's the same with food. I put 2 candy bars on the table and told her to pick the one she wanted. She told me that I should get the big one because I'm the big sister and she is the little sister. It was so sweet. I enjoy teaching her and she giggles and we have lots of little inside jokes. She makes me feel like the world outside isn't so bad because she is happy all the time and laughs at my corny jokes. What happened today tugged at my heart. She used one of the new phrases I taught her and said to me, "I love you to bits!" I never would have thought that a 9 year old German girl would help me keep my sanity in Egypt. Current Mood: loved (2 Comments |Comment on this)
7:46 pm	Ruthless! I was standing in the office of the school with Kate getting ready to go to class. A man walked up to Kate (not another teacher, but a parent) and asked if she was the American. She said no and pointed to me and told him I was. The guy proceeded to tell me that he spent 22 years in New Jersey and introduced me to his daughter, who was about 10 years old. Then he had his son (about 13 years old) come up and say hi. The man didn't say anything except brag about how he spent 22 years in Jersey. I was like "okay, that was pointless." A lot happened throughout the day and by the time I left the school I was really tired. When me, Patrick, & Kate were dropped off by taxi in front of our apartment and walking up to our building I felt this little tug on my shirt. I looked down and this little girl dressed in the school uniform was looking up at me. All she said was, "Can I have your phone number." I said, "Huh? Who are you? Oh wait, from the school, right?" Then I asked her why she wanted my phone number. Then she said, "My dad wants it." I was SHOCKED AND APPALLED! I asked her why and she just shrugged. Then, trying to turn the situation around to something else I said, "Well if your dad wants me to give you English lessons then he can call the school." She kind of understood and I told her again to tell him that. Then she said okay and left. Kate pointed out that the father was sitting in the car about 20 feet away! Oh man how BRAZEN! Who sends their DAUGHTER to pick up a woman! I keep telling myself, "This is Egypt!" (Comment on this)
7:11 pm	Bowab Bounce Well, as they say in Egypt, the bowab (doorman) in the apartment building is the one you don't want to piss off. You need him for so many different things. He can go and get coffee or water for you, groceries, and fix things for you. Well, we kind of pissed off the bowab last week, but not intentionally. Actually, we didn't even realize I did anything wrong. Okay, here's the story... Every month the electric bill is due at the beginning of the month. We don't receive it in the mail like normal people do in the west. The bowab receives a little printed slip of paper with Arabic writing and then tells the tenants how much the bill is. Well, the bowabs (we have 2 of them) kept telling Patrick that the bill was due and it was 120 pounds ($30.00). I didn't know this until like 5 days after it was due. Patrick told me about it and I don't know why but I just assumed he would pay it and we would all pay him back. Obviously I was wrong. A few days ago I noticed that one section in the apartment didn't have lights, even though I changed the bulbs. I knew a fuse had blown but I didn't know where the fuse box was. Patrick was out (he speaks REALLY good Arabic and has been studying it for 3 years) and Kate is hopeless trying to speak Arabic with her Kiwi accent! (that doesn't mean she isn't smart though) So, I went downstairs and in my broken, crazy Arabic I tried to explain to Ramadan (the bowab) that one section of the lights were out. He understood what I was saying and then I noticed that he was copping an attitude. I've gotten VERY good at reading people here because that's the ONLY thing in Arabic I can read or even remotely understand. His body language was saying something like "Tough shit westerner." I picked up on it and was like "Ramadan, mumkin shoof?" Which means, "Can you look at it?" He wouldn't even come up to the apartment to look at the problem. Then he said, "Mafeesh. Patrick feyn?" Which means "I don't know...where's Patrick" So I think he wanted Patrick to fix the problem, or me to get Patrick to communicate and tell him the problem. I think the former is the best guess. So, I told him Patrick wasn't there and he was just brushing me off. I was soooooooo pissed because I paid him TWICE what we were supposed to for the month because we are foreigners and being generous is expected (it was still only $10.00 for the month) AND he I knew that he kept asking Patrick for more money and Patrick kept procrastinating with it (as he does with everything). So a man that has helped me before and lives in our apartment building came down and asked if I needed help. I told him my problem and Ramadan was standing at attention at that point. The man asked if we all could go up and look at the problem. So we did and it turned out that it WAS a blown fuse. The man showed me where the fuse box was and HELAS (finished!) Later, after I was already in my room, Patrick came home and stopped up one of the toilets. He went downstairs to get Ramadan and when they came into the apartment I heard them speaking VERY loudly and I knew it wasn't good. So, when I came out Ramadan was standing outside the door and Patrick had a 20 pound bill in his hand. I said to Patrick "Don't you DARE pay him any more money." Patrick said that Ramadan wanted the money for the electric bill. So we all broke out our money right then and paid him. Helas (finished!) Kwayis (things were good then). Ramadan wouldn't fix the toilet because he said that everytime he goes up to fix something we don't tip him. I told Patrick that that is the reason why I paid him twice the salary, because we weren't tipping him. But I was pissed because he was asking for MORE money. Patrick said that Ramadan told him he didn't want any more money and everything is fine now. People are sooo funny about money here. We are expected to pay more because we are foreigners and when we do, they want even MORE! Ramadan and I communicate enough for him to know that I'm the boss of the apartment. When I walked up to the door I didn't even look at him. He kind of waved at me and I ignored him...he knew I was mad that I was disappointed that he wouldn't fix our problem and was being so weird about money. But after the electric bill was paid then everything was great again. Sort of...Ramadan left so fast and didn't fix the toilet so I wasn't sure if things were good or not. We NEED him to be on our side. So, the next day, I asked my students how to say "Next month give me the electric bill and I will pay it on time." Then I told that to Ramadan and he said, "Okay. Patrick schwaya (meaning so, so) , but Shereen good!" and he gave me the thumbs up. Okay, so the bowab is back on our side! Current Mood: anxious (Comment on this)
Monday, October 29th, 2007
6:57 pm	Addendum to the adventure last weekend Okay, so I know I make it sound like Egypt is really dangerous and I'm always running around grabbing Kate to get away from scarey people. Well, I want to say that it's not really as bad as it sounds. Don't get me wrong, though, it's scary at times, but only because I don't speak the language and I can't communicate and I HATE that! So, the guy chasing us down the street with the horse & buggy was only chasing us because he wanted us to ride in the carriage, he didn't pose any threat of harming us in any way...he was just annoying. Most of the comments that fly are ones where people are trying to guess where I'm from and welcoming me to (in) Egypt. I've overheard people guessing I'm from South America, Brazil, Germany, and France. I would say that out of the 1,000 comments I've actually heard and understood, only about 10 have been crude and uncalled for. That doesn't mean that loads of crude comments haven't been made about me in Arabic, but I'm not worried about that because if I don't understand it then I can't get pissed off at the stupidity of the men here and their way of thinking. Current Mood: bouncy (Comment on this)
Saturday, October 27th, 2007
3:50 pm	One day in the life of an Amerian tourist in Egypt! CRAZY! That's one GREAT thing about working in a foreign country; when I'm not working I'm playing tourist. Yesterday Kate & I decided to venture off to see some cool sights and try the public transportation. There is no subway system here (only in Cairo) and the only modes of transportation are taxis, buses, mini buses, service-taxis, painfully slow moving tram and...well...walking. Taxis are sketcy and really expensive and the drivers are mean, buses are okay but they are packed with people sitting down and standing up. The mini-buses are the same except they are like mini-vans packed with people. I haven't figured out the service-taxis yet and the tram is a rickety old train thing like in San Francisco that looks like it's chuggin along on it's last leg. I guess it's okay if you want to see the sights, but it's not exactly the touristy thing...I'd rather walk. We live down the street from a train station so Kate & I went there to see if we could catch a bus. It's utter chaos on the bus side and we had no idea which bus to take. One guy stopped and asked if we needed help. We asked him how to get to Kom-Al-Shuqqafa (the catacombs) He had no idea what we were saying because our accent is really bad! hahaha We showed him a map and he said it's really far away and that we had a couple of different options. He said that he would call his friend to take us there. We were like "Well, we want to get there on our own...how do we get there?" He told us that if we took a taxi it would cost 3-4 pounds. I laughed and said, "Yeah, for YOU! How much for a foreigner?" (Foreigners ALWAYS pay twice as much because drivers assume we don't know how much it should cost. There are no meters in taxis...prices must be negotiated before getting into the car, and hopefully the driver will keep his word). Anyway, the guy caught a taxi for us and worked out a deal of 7 pounds ($1.25) It was twice what he would pay, but still not bad. Oh and we found out that Kom-Al-Shuqqafa is pronounced (kom al shuwayfa) Who would have thought? There are two q's in it! I guess the two q's are realized as a w. I'll have to look that up. So we got dropped off safely at one place and we had to walk up a really busy, dirty, disgusting street to get to the catacombs. The street people had furniture (nice looking, too) set up on the side of the road next to a HUGE open garbage dump with the chickens & sheep standing on top of it and eating. The sheep were laying and eating out of trough down one of the side roads. Little kids were running around us saying "HI! What's your name?" It's cute because that's the only words they know. They say "What's your name?" and look shocked when we actually respond. The kids and adults were yelling after us "Welcome in Egypt!" That is actually quite a comfort. They LOVE Americans. I told so many people I was from America yesterday and they were all soooo happy. People would ask "Where are you from?" and I say "Ana min amreeka" (I'm from America) and Kate would say "New Zealand." People would ignore Kate and say to me, "Amreeka good. Amreeka very good." It's comforting to know that they love Americans. And they really do love us. They know that America gives loads of money to Egypt for tourism and Egypt would be nothing without tourism. Plus they watch American movies and know about American culture through movies, TV shows, and music. Through those mediums they see how important it is to know English. It's good to know English to be able to be like the people on TV, which they see as good. I digress! So we went to Kom-Al-Shuqqafa which was really really cool. It's an underground city of catacombs (Christian tombs) from about 1,000 B.C. up until like 400 B.C. They found this sight in 1900 and they only reason they found it is because a donkey was walking along and suddenly fell through the earth. Another archaeological sight was found that same way...hmmm...that's why I avoid walking on grates in the street. I'm totally paranoid now. Anyway, the catacombs were underground and showed the little spaces in the walls where the bodies were buried. It's was interesting because it showed a mix of Greek, Egyptian, and Roman funerary art mixed together. They were all such powerful civilazations during their times and the times that their civilizations existed overlap each other back in the day and it's funny to see how they thought that each one borrowed stuff from each other and thought higly of the other civilazatins. There were cool statues and paintings on the wall showing the different gods taking the organs out of the bodies and weighing them and then mummifying the bodies. The Egyptians were polytheistic (they worshipped many gods) but these paintings were found in Christian catacombs so I'm wondering why there are images of the gods mummifying people. There is also evidence that Jews were buried there and there was a Star of David painted on the ceiling of one of the chambers. A lot of the catacombs were flooded because they are all underground. It was creepy to think that there were hundreds of dead bodies in there at one time. We were down underground for about an hour and the air was definitely different. Needless to say when we got back to the surface it was nicer to breathe the polluted outside air! So after Kom-Al-Shuqqafa we ventured to the Graeco-Roman Amphitheater. We weren't sure how to get there and it was really hard to catch a taxi so we started walking. We walked down a street that was like a HUGE open market. It was like a flea market in the U.S. except it was only on one side of the road and there was nothing covering stuff for sale. We walked down this street and EVERYONE was shouting out "Welcome in Egypt!" and "HI! How are you?" It's only men that do that. The women just look. One man walked past as said, "Can we f$%&?" I said, "Im shee, hanwen!" (Get away animal!) I was really happy that I got to say it! yay! I felt so much better being able to say rude back to them. It's actually more frustrating telling someone to f-off in a language they don't understand. They guy just kept walking and didn't bother us anymore. They say those things just to be rude. One guy walked past and said something rude and I said, "it derem nafsack!" which means behave yourself and the a bunch of guys sarcastically said,"oooooooooooh". Yeah, so I guess that phrase isn't harsh enough. One of Patrick's guy friends is going to teach me how to cuss people (guys) out in Arabic. I really need that for defense. Once they know (think) I speak Arabic they pretty much back off. One guy came up and was walking beside me and kept asking "Inglaizi bass? Tekelem Inglaizi bass?" He was asking if I only spoke English. Then he said something about Arabic and English and he wasn't asking if I spoke English. I think he was asking if I would only have sex with someone who is English or with Arabs. He kept asking and saying the same thing and finally I just grabbed Kate and told him "Im shee hanwen" (get away animal). So, that was our experience walking down just one street in Egypt for like 5 minutes. People were selling little chickens, dogs, cats, birds, rabbits and stuff. It was funny because when me & Kate walked past people stopped shopping and looking at the animals to watch us walk past and say "Hi. Welcome in Egypt!" We heard 'welcome in Egypt' so many times yesterday we were kind of sick of it. So we got to the Roman amphitheater and of course, people everywhere in Egypt want to work and the tourist sights are no exception. Me & Kate bought our tickets and a guy who was at the counter said, "You need a separate ticket for the Mosaic of the Birds." So, okay, I bought another ticket and I asked him where the mosaics were? He said, "I'll show during our tour." I was thinking "hmmmmmm, I'm not letting this guy show me around." So I went inside and the guards who sign people in pointed for me to give my ticket to the guy who was playing guide (dressed in plain clothes.) I said "You're the people I give my ticket to and YOU'RE just the guide." He took my ticket anyway and ripped it and said, "Okay, let's go." I said, "No WAY I'm not paying you to show me around here so you can just forget about it." He said, "No it's okay, we can negotiate a deal now. However much you want to pay." Me & Kate both told him that we have a guide book and knew what we were looking at. The guy kept insisting and I told him that I wasn't paying him anything and I grabbed Kate and we walked away. Luckily there was a HUGE group of people not far from the entrance and the guy giving the tour was speaking English. So me & Kate joined the tour. It's a good thing because the wanna be money makin tour guide had followed us and I know was going to hassle us but I started talking to someone in the tour and the annoyer backed off. We got there at just the right time because the guy giving the tour turned out to be a professor of Egyptology from the American University in Cairo and he brought all of his students to Alexandria to see some sights that they had been studying. I started talking to one guy and he invited us to join the tour. I asked if it was okay and the guy said, "Yeah, the prof won't even know the difference anyway." Which is funny because that's pretty much how it is in college. The profs don't even know most of the students' names, much less faces because classes are so huge. So we followed them around and got a nice, monetarily and hassle free tour of the ruins. Plus, the guy I was talking to was able to tell me & Kate all the places he's been to in Egypt and Israel. He gave us some good ideas about places to go to and how much time to spend there. After that we went walking to try to find a way to get home. At this time it was already like 4 p.m. I was so exhausted and cranky, thirsty, hungry, and tired. We ate lunch, but it was so hot and I didn't have enough water with me. So we walked and decided to hit the library because it was on the way back...well...it was in the direction of the sea, which is our landmark and makes it easy to not get lost when we know where the sea is. Anyway, we went to the Alexandria Library which is one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) library in the world. Alexander the Great founded the city of Alexandria and he established the world's first library in Alex. Of course this isn't the same library but they certainly have a lot to boast about. We had to pay to get into the library and walk around ($2.00) and then we saw a museum inside with Greek and Roman statues and really well preserved mosaics and sarcophogi and mummies. I'm beginning to think that the Egyptians were really small people because I saw a mummified woman and she was only about 4'5" tall. I thought it might have been a child but the tag said it was a woman. I was extremely excited about all the Graeco-Roman art they had in there. There was a huge bust of Socrates and one of Alexander the Great. Egyptian art is interesting, but only the stuff in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo because they have King Tut's mask and other stuff like that. I didn't have a chance to see that museum while in Cairo but I might go back to Cairo next weekend to see the museum. It's a 2 1/2 hour train ride and I'm more familiar with the train now so it's not a big deal. I digress again! In the museum I was not feeling very well AT ALL! It was already like 7 p.m. and we had been running around all day long in the sun and wind and the heat. I felt like I was going to pass out and I told Kate that I needed water ASAP or else things were gonna get bad. She didn't understand and I was like, "No, you don't understand, I need water NOW!" We had already been in this little museum for like 1 1/2 hours...enough for me to look at a lot of things twice. It wasn't that big to begin with! So, I was really annoyed and cranky and tired and hungry and thirsty. I was not a happy camper and Kate kept wanting to see EVERYTHING around Alex as if we were leaving for another the next day and would never be back. I said, "Kate...we LIVE here. Get over it! We can come back!" I think she's wanting to get everything in because she's planning on leaving in January. The school doesn't know it, but she's not staying. I don't blame her. This place is not for her. I plan on making the best of it and using my experience to get a little niche here. The director listens to me and respects me as a professional. Mish mush killuh! :-) So, the story isn't over yet. The day before the adventure Patrick invited me & Kate to go to a Chinese restaurant in a really old, fancy, westernized hotel on the Corniche (sea side road). He wanted us to go at 8 p.m. and it was like 7 p.m. when we got out of the library. We only left because it was closing then (thank goodness!) So I called Patrick and he said that he and Sameh would meet us at the restaurant. I asked Patrick exactly where the Hotel Cecil was and he said near the library but he wasn't sure how far. So I was able to get some water when we left & me & Kate headed down the Corniche in the direction we thought the hotel was in. Well, we walked and walked and walked and I was like "Where the HELL is this place? I'm exhausted and can hardly take another step!" So I stopped at a little convenience store and asked the guy "Feyn Cecil Hotel?" (Where is Cecil Hotel?) The guy pointed in the direction we had just come from. I asked if it was past the library and he said yes. SHIT! We had walked the wrong way. At that point a guy who had been driving a horse and carriage walked up next to us and joined the conversation. He said he would take us to the hotel for 20 pounds ($4.00). I was like "no way! 20 pounds is too much!" The convenience store guy said, "Take a taxi for 5 pounds." So I hailed a taxi and asked if he could take us to the Cecil Hotel. Then I asked "Bi kam, khmamsa pounds?" How much, 5 pounds? He said "La'a" which means no and I grabbed Kate again and left all the guys standing there arguing over who was going to take us and how much they were going to charge. They were LOUD too and the horse guy was totally pissed at the taxi driver. I don't know why but I grabbed Kate & we got out of there. As we were walking a guy was standing on the corner waving emphatically at us and saying "Hi! Hi!" We were like "Hi" and smiled. The next thing we knew the horse & buggy guy came flying up beside us (going the WRONG direction of traffic) almost running over the poor waving man and the driver was shouting something in Arabic. Me & Kate started running and I grabbed Kate's arm and took her down the stairs to the underground to that takes people to the other side of the street. It's a good thing that was there or we would have been in trouble. We came up on the other side of the Corniche and we peeked around the corner before going up the stairs. The horse & carriage guy had turned his horse around and was walking back the correct way. WHEW! That was a close one. I don't even know how I had the energy to run and go up the stairs to the other side. When I got up the stairs my legs felt like lead! We stopped and Kate had a banana left in her bag so we shared it and guess what I found in my bag that I had forgotten? Yellow steaks! (cheese & peanut butter crakers!) Thanks Zack for introducing those to me & thanks mom for sending them to me! :-) They saved me! So we re-energized and got walking again. People sitting along the Corniche were going "pssss psssss" all over the place. That's how they call people around here when they want someone's attention. It was sooo annoying because we heard it ALL day and "Welcome" "Welcome in Egypt." We weren't in the mood, plus there were rats everywhere down by the sea where people were fishing. We were watching the rats running around and thinking "Where the HELL is this hotel?" So we kept walking and walking and walking (plus it was cold because it's fall here and we were by the water so I was freezing. Kate was okay)and I had like 2,000 year old dead people dust on me and I smelled sooo bad! We walked to the area where the nice hotels were and I saw the Windsor Palace Hotel which is the one I got confused with the Cecil Hotel. Therefore, I didn't know where the Cecil Hotel was. So I asked someone on the Corniche. This one woman just looked at me like I was crazy and then a young kid came up and asked if we needed help. We asked where the Hotel was and he pointed in the direction where we had just come from. "!@#$%^&*()_+@#$%^&*()_#$%^&*()_+" I was sooooooooooooo angry. Not angry at anybody, just angry that we coulnd't find it! So, who walks up behind us but a horse and buggy driver (not THE horse and buggy guy, but A horse and buggy guy) I asked him where the hotel was and he said 5 minutes the other way and he would take us there for 5 pounds. At that point I was exhausted and just wanted to be at the place. Somehow Kate wasn't exhausted then(she is today though, hehehe) and I said, "Fine, let's go." So we got into the buggy with this poor bony horse pulling it. I wanted to give him a 100 pounds of carrots and hay and feed. I felt so bad for him. I was a little skeptical of the guy to begin with and then he said, "I'll take you to Fort Qaiteby" and then back to Cecil Hotel. I was shouting, "La'a! Cecil Hotel dilwatee." That means, "No, Cecil Hotel NOW!" He didn't listen and I was PISSED! He took us like 10 minutes away by buggy to the fort and said, "I get out and I wait here. I and I get out and I wait here." I knew what he meant and I said, "La'a...we're not moving. Yella (let's go)" Me & Kate just sat there & wouldn't get out. Then the guy said okay and we started moving again. Then he said, "I go around for an hour and back to Cecil Hotel." I told him "Cecil Hotel dilwatee!" (now) Then he tried to stop at the mosque for us to look around and right then I got on the phone with Patrick who was waiting for us at the restaurant/hotel with Sameh. When I got on the phone the driver shaped up and didn't try to stop at the mosque. He booked it down the street with us to get to the hotel. I told Patrick we were whisked away by some freaking horse & buggy guy & Patrick was like " WHAT? Don't go with those guys, they're mean!" SHIT I wish I would have known that before! He kept asking where we were and my plan was to give the guy the 20 pounds once we passed the Windsor Palace Hotel and push Kate out and jump out of the moving buggy. That's the only way we would have gotten off if it weren't for my phone call to Patrick. So, Patrick was on the phone with me and said, "Wait, I think we see you!" I started shouting "Hena" in Arabic which means "here" and buggy guy pulled over. I gave him the 20 pounds and jumped out and ran up to Patrick and Sameh and was frantically telling them the story about what happened. They were like "Slow down it's okay, you're safe now." The buggy driver was lurking around and Sameh (who is Egyptian) gave the buggy guy a look like "Don't come near us" because the buggy driver was hanging around as if we wanted to try to talk to us or see if we really knew those guys. We finally went inside the hotel/restaurant and I felt safe. Oh by the way, Sameh is Patrick's American/Egyptian friend. He's got an American and Egyptian passports but came back to Egypt for about a year now to see his family and start grad school. He's really cool and really really hot. I met him once before and was glad to see him and Patrick standing on the street. I'm sure the buggy driver backed away because he saw us with an Egyptian. If it was just Patrick I don't think it would have been as easy. So we ate at a really nice Chinese restaurant in the hotel. Yes, Chinese. The hotel is a very westernized hotel and people from America & Europe stay there. I don't know why they don't have Egyptian food there. Egyptian food is really good! Oh well, the Chinese food was okay...it was Chinese food. I was starving and would usually not eat all the food on my plate, but since I've been here I've lost weight, I had been walking all day, and since I've seen how poor many people are here...I always eat everything on my plate now. We ate Chinese, had ice cream, and then headed back to the apartment. By the time we got back it was midnight. I was soooo exhausted I could barely even walk. Plus I had a back pack on my back ALL day and there is nooooo hot water in our apartment so I had to take a freaking cold shower. The heater should be fixed this week. Thank goodness because exploring Egypt requires a looooooong hot shower afterwards. Current Mood: content (Comment on this)
Thursday, October 25th, 2007
7:57 pm	Mudaresa and the Bowab One cool thing is that I'm teaching our bowab (the doorman) the alphabet. He gets so excited when he sees me and he wants to practice. Plus he gets excited when he sees me come with more work for him. It's kind of hard because he's working at the same time and I don't have a lot of time with him, maybe only 15 minutes, but he's trying really hard and wants to learn. He told me in Arabic that he wants to go to America. I know that because I've heard enough Arabic and have quite a large vocabulary and I put that together. Plus Patrick speaks pretty good Arabic and he told me that Ramadan (the bowab) told him the same thing. Can you see my bowab going to America like Crocodile Dundee? At least Dundee spoke English! I can't even imagine the scene! I could see Ramadan pitching his cot outside the hotel and sleeping in the street. He sleeps in a cot near the entranceway to our apartment and every morning when I trot off to school he's curled up in the corner! I think it's because there's no air conditioner and his little cave like 'hole in the wall living area' must get really hot, especially at night. His story is that he lives on a farm with his parents, 5 brothers, and 4 sisters. What the...? And he wants me to visit a bunch of people who don't speak English? I managed to communicate with him enough to find out that he's go sheep and horses and sort of a camel. I'm not sure what the sort of a camel thing is about because I don't speak Arabic! He's 27 and has been working at the apartment for 5 years! Can you imagine being a doorman for 5 years?! He rides a bus 90 minutes each way to get here to work. I suppose it's not different in the states where people drive into work in the city. It's cute that he wants to learn English, but I can't trust him either because he's single, 27, wants to learn English, wants to go to America, and he asked me when I'm going back to the states (all of this in Arabic). No matter what language a person speaks all of that translates into "A walking greencard." Helas (finished) Current Mood: hungry (Comment on this)
7:54 pm	Roomate situation Okay the roommate situation. Patrick is okay. He's 22, just out of college, from the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, never had a job, lived in Germany for 1 year and is totally totally a book worm and pretty clueless about how life. But, he's okay and I can tolerate him because he appreciates how cool it is to be an American in Egypt. Kate, my other roommate, is 28, has a PhD in Autism, is from New Zealand, never had a job in HER life, lived in France for 1 year, isn't a book worm but is still totally totally clueless about life and the real world. ALL Kate has done since she's been here in Egypt is complain. PLUS her accent is very close to a British one, she mumbles, and she's always laughing when she talks & half the time I can't understand a word she says. She's totally clueless about my psychological cues. Like when someone walks away during a break in a conversation (not in a rude way), that typically means that conversation is over. Well, I try to send her that signal but she follows me into my room. She'll stand outside the door and talk to me. Then I'll walk down the hallway to the kitchen and back to my bedroom and she follows me everywhere, mumbling, laughing, and complaining about school. It's really quite annoying. Plus she's caused a lot of problems at the school because she's very vocal about everything. Instead of going to the director and complaining about stuff today she marched into the office after school and started yelling at the director's daughter (who is the assistant), caused a huge scene, and then me & Patrick were called into the office so that the 3 of us could talk. It was good thing because the meeting was SORELY needed and the director is really cool and will make whatever changes we want to make the school more American like, but her daughter is the one who is a spoiled little bitch. She just graduated from college, the family is rich as all get out, she's never worked in education before, and she's going to study in Canada next year. I plan on going to the director from now on whenever I need anything. I called the director a few nights ago to ask her about laundry detergent because I didn't know which brand was for laundry or the dishwasher...everything is in Arabic! She was really cool and told me the brand and we talked for about 1/2 an hour about school and my students and how things were going. She told me she wants to talk to me about taking a supervisory position over Patrick and maybe another teacher because my specialty is ESL and they need help in that area. How cool is that? That's why I just keep my mouth shut and let Kate make the waves. I need the director on my side, especially is they plan on giving me a title. I just want it for the resume! Okay okay, so back to the roommate. Kate has done NOTHING but complain the WHOLE time she's been here. She mumbles and when I say something to her she says, "HMMMM" even when she heard what I said. She talks REALLY badly about the school while were AT the school and then when I go back to the apartment I try to duck into my room, take a nap, and get out as quickly as possible so I don't have to listen to her! It's awful that the only female in Egypt I can talk to is a hen! I can't stand people like that! Current Mood: cranky (Comment on this)
7:05 pm	Some ramblings about school and why I trust 'NO ONE' here! So life in Egypt is much easier now. I understand A LOT of spoken Arabic because I make that when I come home from school I go out and talk with the people. Whether it's eating out, getting ice cream, at the Internet cafe, at the grocery store, I am out everyday. I'm actually really skinny here because I don't have a car and I don't take taxis. Stuff isn't that far away. The only reason I would take a taxi is because there are always so many people out on the street. They stay up really late here in Egypt, which isn't that bad because I don't mind being out late. It's nice that things don't close down at 9 or 10 p.m. In fact, people start going out at those times. Today was my first full week of teaching at the school. It has been exhausting. My special ed kids gave me a hard time this week and the classes are soooo long. I teach three 1 1/2 hour classes every day. I have one 4th grader, 2 9th graders (special ed) and 5 regular awesome 11 & 12th graders who are normal and not ESL. It's difficult teaching to one student for an hour and half. Her attention span is almost nill and she HATES English. Her first langauge is German and she is learning Arabic now. She's like 9 years old and it's tough to be in there for so long with her. My special ed 9th graders gave me a hard time. Well, one of them did...the one with Down's Syndrome was a total ass this week. I got one of the assistant directors to come in and give him a piece of her mind and he was fine every day after that. I also threatened to call his mother and he is very afraid of his mother so I think that helped, too. It's tough to be in there with the special ed kids for 90 minutes every day. It's hard to plan a lot of stuff for that long and there is no way to do group activities. The 9th grader I have is mildly retarded and he's actually really sweet and tries hard, even though he's definitely not at the 9th grade level. My 11 & 12th graders are a blessing in disguise. If it weren't for them I would have left his place a long time ago. They are no ESL and have been learning English since they were about 5 years old or earlier. They work hard and they come to class everyday. I'm teaching them Literature, which is something new to me and I hated Lit in college, except the class I took on only Shakespeare. That was cool. This Lit is okay because the textbook gives a lot of ideas to the teachers so there isn't that much prep. Plus I'm preparing them for the SAT and that makes it not feel so much like I'm in a foreign country. So the weekend here is Friday and Saturday and my days are ALL mixed up. I keep thinking that I'll have a long weekend, but I don't! I still taught 5 days this week. Today is Thursday here so it's the start of the weekend, but then on Sunday when I start to work it's like a Monday. But what's cool is that I don't have to be all glum about Monday because it's like being Tuesday. Does that make sense? So tomorrow me and Kate are going to go to the ancient catacombs on the outskirts of the city. We started to go last week but we didn't make it to the catacombs in time. We got there at 4:30 & they were closing at 5. We did go see Pompey's Pillar, which was a big umimpressive pillar standing on a big dusty hill. We had to pay 15 pounds to get in ($3.00) which is no big deal, but then listen to this. The tourist police were situated on the ruins and one of them asked us to come over where he was. We should have known something was up. Me & Kate talked to him because I saw a Korean couple being escorted around by another tourist policeman and I thought everything was okay. So we went with this guy and he showed us some stuff that wasn't impresssive because I don't remember it. His English wasn't great, but he knew enough to explain some of the things. Well, the guy took us down to the library which was a hallway in the ground with a looooooong stairwell down. Me & Kate & the tourist police guy were standing there chatting when another police officer walked to where we were. He didn't come all the way up to us but turned a corner before he got to us. I couldn't believe what I saw next. The freaking tourist officer that went behind the corner was doing sign language and sending some kind of a message to the guy we were chatting with. I know this because there was a light shining in the corner and I could see his shadow perfectly! Plus our guide stopped talking and was looking at the corner. I FREAKED OUT! I grabbed Kate's arm and we started running out of the library. Poor Kate didn't know what was going on, she just knew I was dragging her along with me! As I was runnning and saying "Let's get out of here!" the officer who was with us was asking, "Kwayis mudaresa?" Which means is everything okay teacher? I didn't answer him we just hoofed it out of there. Then the a^&*())& had the nerve to ask Kate for a tip for showing us around. #$%^&*()_!@#$%^&*()_@#$%^&*()_+ WHATEVER! See what I mean that people can't be trusted?! These were tourist police officers. I don't know what they were signing about and I'm just glad I saw it. Now I watch EVERYTHING and everybody. It sounds like I'm being paranoid, but not really. I'm just being observant and making sure not to trust anyone too much because people here are VERY VERY different from Americans. The women are cool, but the ones me & Kate have been hanging out with are really pushy. They want us to spend our weekends with them. Like the whole weekend. This will be the first weekend that me & Kate will go to the catacombs and not spend the day with them. These women will get mad, but we don't care. Women here are really pushy and will try to be overbearing and want you to do whatever they tell you to do. I don't know if it's a cultural thing because that's what they do with their husbands & children or what, but it's annoying. They keep telling me & Kate to do everything together, not to go out alone, and not to travel in Alex by ourselves. Okay, so that means we need to be stuck in the house and depend on someone to take us everywhere? That is NOT the American way (or the New Zealand way!) These women have never traveled outside of the country and never will. Only one is a Muslim and she isn't covered and the other women are Christian, so it's not like they are trying to keep us at bay because they want to convert us to Islam or anything. I don't know what the deal is, but like I said, it's annoying! We'll see if they still call us friends after tomorrow when me & Kate dare to venture off by ourselves. Current Mood: content (Comment on this)
Friday, October 19th, 2007
2:05 pm	American girl in a care-less world So, I'm in Egypt and the people here hate their government. This dude Mubarek does what he wants & if he kicks the bucket while I'm here I think there will be some trouble. He is something like 80 years old & there is rumor that he's grooming one of his sons to take over his position. That's kind of unnerving, but I'll just have to hope that he doesn't die for at least the next 2 years! What's really creepy about this place is the prayers over the loud speaker ALL the time. Especially on Fridays because Friday is their holy day. I swear I keep hearing America mentioned, even though they are supposedly reading from the Qu'ran. As far as I know America didn't exist when the Qu'ran was written so what the hell? It could be my imagination, but since I've been immersed in this langauge and hear it ALL the time, I'm getting used to the sounds of the words and can understand some conversations in context, but I still think I'm hearing them say stuff about America over the loud speakers. It's definitely as if people are being brainwashed. You can't get away from the sound of the voice and the words. In a way I'm actually glad that I don't understand what they're saying because it would drive me crazy. Since I don't understand it's just a sound that I block out. The sound of a man speaking on the loud speaker makes me think of Nazi Germany when all the people were being told thousands of times that they were the supreme race. The Muslims hear over and over how devout they should be (and I KNOW they are saying something about America) and it's a really creepy sound. I walk through the streets and there are loud speakers everywhere with a man's voice speaking in Arabic. My bedroom has a balcony out onto a side street & I think the loud speaker speaker is VERY near my balcony and it's loud. The prayer calls begin at 5 a.m. and lately I've been so tired that I sleep right through them, but these creepy daily readings of the Qu'ran are difficult to ignore. I feel safe in my apartment and Inas (the owner/director of the school) is taking care of us and making sure that we don't have to pay when things need to be fixed in the apartment or delivered to us in the apartment. However, when I go outside I always have one in the back and one in the front because here there is no regard for human life. A woman can be holding a baby and try to cross the street and no one will slow down or stop for her. She has to cross the street just the same as everyone else. The only reason I can stop traffic is because I'm a foreigner and people want to look. There are no seat belts in cars here and the kids just jump in the cars like adults. They sit in the back seat, the front seat, wherever the way and they aren't strapped in. The cars here are sooooo small too. They are very cheap here so that means everyone has one. That's a BIG mush killuh (problem). People don't obey traffic rules here either. People don't drive in lanes or use turn signals and people are always whipping around other cars to get into the front...and that's acceptable here. In the movie 'GREASE' Crater Face said, "The rules are there ain't no rules" and that's EXACTLY how the Egyptians live. There are no traffic lights. I saw ONE in Cairo...and that's a city of 17 MILLION people! WHAT THE...? I get a little nervous, especially on the road in the car. Imagine driving through the pedestrian streets in St. Augustine where the people are walking & the cars are driving slowly because the pedestrians have the right of way. Okay, NOW imagine that scene with 10 lanes of traffic and the CARS have the right of way and there are people EVERYWHERE. That's Egypt in Alexandria & Cairo. As far as I know...that's the entire Arab driving world. They just don't care and people here don't understand that that's the reason why I'm nervous sometimes about situations...because I know people here don't care. It's every man, woman, & child for themselves...at least animals look out after their young. Current Mood: thirsty (Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 17th, 2007
12:05 pm	Linguistic Lessons I've realized that when I speak Arabic I must sound like Tarzan. "Me Tarzan, you Jane." I only know 1 verb & it's 'want'. Other than that I have a verbless language. I just speak in words & can't make sentences. I have my dictionary with me everywhere I go & I've been able to communicate with people by using words, but I want to form sentences & not feel so much like a child. These are linguistic stages I'm passing through now, too. Culture shock has stages & so does language learning. I'm diagnosing myself & telling myself what I need because that's what my master's degree is in. I know that I need to learn the verb 'to be' ASAP. So I can say 'I am, he is, they are' etc. I also need to learn the simple present verbs (i.e. I go, she goes, he wants, I read, I do, I have) and simple past verbs (I went, I did, I had, I wanted). These are the stages that a person learning English goes through & I realize that that's what I need in order to learn Arabic. It's kind of like being a doctor. I have this degree & I know what I need. It makes life sooooooooooo much simpler! Current Mood: tired (Comment on this)
11:59 am	Attack of the butt hose So, when I was at Ashraf's mom's house they had to explain the facilities to me. Ashraf said, "Hey Sharon, here we have a butt hose." I noticed that in my apartment there is a little pipe line thing sticking up out of the water in the toilet & I wondered what the hell it was for. It's a butt hose! How crude does that sound! hahaha So I was so excited that when I got back to my apartment I stood over the toilet and turned on the hose to see if it worked. This massive stream of water with fire hose pressure came blasting out at me and SOAKED me. Of course I had taken my hand off the nozzle so I was fighting my way back to turn the nozzle off. When I looked at my clothes they were green & so was my skin. EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW It was disgusting! I'm so glad I didn't use the butt hose before checking it out. EWWWWW GREEN! Current Mood: tired (Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 16th, 2007
7:44 pm	So, you THINK culture shock is over, eh? WOW...sooooo soooooo sooo much has happened since I last posted an entry. Remeber in the last my last words were that I felt strangely at peace? Well, all chaos broke loose after that. Immediately when I walked out of this Internet cafe (the one I'm in now) a man walked up to me and said in English, "Can I put? Can I put?" and I just ignored him & kept walking. Well he walked around and got in front of me and said in English, "Can we make love?" I was mortified! I started SCREAMING at him in English! I was calling him every bad name I could think of in English because I don't know how to say it in Arabic. Once I started yelling I saw some guys coming down the street and this guy ran away because he saw them, too. There are always a lot of people around here and I was told that yelling draws attention, even if it's not in Arabic. I was also told that Arabic men want to be chivalrous and everyone will come running to help (escpecially a foreigner) so I shouldn't worry. I can handle the words, but the next time someone touches me I'm gonna start swinging! I was sooooo upset after that. I was more frustrated because I can't tell people off in Arabic and they don't understand how disgusted I am when I yell in English! So that night I went back to the apartment and had a breakdown. That was the last straw. Me, Patrick, & Kate (my roommates) had a meeting & Patrick told me some Arabic phrases to say and we looked at a book and got some phrases. He told me to shout those in Arabic and if that doesn't work then just start yelling in English. Kate (from New Zealand) had only been there like 2 days when that happened and she was already thinking about leaving when she got there. She wasn't happy with the school and then this incident, and she was also with me when the guy threw the bottle at me. She was ready to leave and the thought definitely crossed my mind to leave, but I told myself that being sexually harrassed was not one of the reasons on my list to leave Egypt. The only way I will leave Egypt is if 1) there is a terrorist attack & I have to be rushed out of the country 2) I get bit by a rabid dog 3) I need a blood transfusion. Other than that...my ass is here through good and bad. So, I went through a really bad spell, but everything is much better now. About 2 days after "the incident" a Christian teacher from the school asked me if I wanted to go out with her & her friends the next night. Of course I said yes. I also thought, "yeah right, I'll never hear from her again." People always say that and don't understand AT ALL what it's like to be a foreigner. But, to my surprise Mariana called me that same night & said they were going out for coffee that night instead & she wanted me to meet her friends. So, I went with her and her friends & we hung out at Starbucks which is right on the Mediterranean Sea. It was beautiful & her friends were SUPER cool! Mary and Zahra were soooo cool and we had a really great time. Mary is a Christian & Zahra is a Muslim. It's hard to find Christians & Muslims who are friends, but they all respect each other and now I'm in the circle. The next night we all went out again. Last Friday night Mariana & her husband & daughter & Mary took me out to a seafood restaurant. It was quite the experience. It was on the Mediterranean & we had a great view. There are NO menus in this country. People always sit me down in a restaurant & say "What do you want?" and I always say, "What do you have?" So it was no different. We walked in and there was a HUGE iced display with dead fish and shrimp and eel. I was like, "What the hell is that?" Nobody knew what the names of the fish are in English and I didn't recognize anything except the shrimp. This guy (I'll call him the Captain) was running around looking all stressed out & yelling at the waiters in Arabic. He is the guy that takes our order & weighs the fish & stuff. I think he was mad because me & Kate had NO IDEA what was going on or how to order. Mariana & Mary kept saying "What do you want?" & me & Kate were just standing there with no idea what to say! hahaha Finally I said I want some shrimp & then I pointed to one of the fish. Then they asked me how much I wanted (in kilos) huh? I didn't even know how much this stuff costs and I had no idea what to do. So they said the seafood soup was really good so I got that and some fish and shrimp. When the fish came, they looked exactly like they did on the ice except they were battered. I didn't know whether to eat them or scream. Mary told me to pull the heads off & everyone was looking at me like they expected me to know what to do. They've never traveled before had no idea what it's like to be in a foreign country with a Captain dude shouting at everyone in Arabic & looking mad as hell and people telling me hurry up & choose my fish with no menu & no price list and then having then placing the whole fish in front of me & saying "bon appetit!" Yeah people, have a little compassion. Anyway the fish was excellent and it fell right off the...the...fish. The next day Mariana & her husband & daughter (who is 4) took me & Kate to Montazuh to go swimmming. It's a beautiful beach on the Mediterranean. We swam and had a really nice time. It was a really really really long day though. The beach & the sun & sand wear me out. Mariana invited a bunch of friends from Cairo to join us and just about all day they were chattering away in Arabic. It's sooooo frustrating not knowing the language! And Kate, well, Kate isn't exactly someone I want to have a deep intellectual conversation with. She has her PhD in Autism and sometimes I wonder if she isn't a little...ya know...out there herself. So back to the story, the beach was nice...saw Mubarak's Palace that he stole. It's a complicated situation with the government. Mubarek is the president, everyone hates him and hopes he dies soon. End of government talk. So the next day I went to Cairo. I got on the train and getting on the train was quite scary. NO ONE around speaks English and there were only 3 platforms to leave from. Well, of course when I get there EVERYONE is staring because I'm a foreigner. The ticket man pointed to the platform, but I wasn't sure if it was the closer one or the farther one away. I don't trust ANY men here AT ALL! I felt kind of like Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone when she asked the General if she was on the right bus and he lied to her & told her yes. That's what was running through my head so I found a foreign looking guy. He didn't speak English or Arabic (maybe Dutch) and all he knew was 'Cairo' so I figured I was safe. I was on my way to Cairo to see the pyramids and stuff and my friend Ashraf (who I know from Alabama) was there to meet me at the train station. He is a cook at a restaurant in Tuscaloosa and I told him I would be working in Alexandria. He said he was going back to Egypt for a few months & that's how I met him & was able to meet up with him in Cairo. He's married (his wife's name is Shamps), has a 5 year old son (named Karim) & his wife is pregnant again. His wife was really really sweet and took me in like a sister. They took such good care while I was there. The first place we went was a castle that has the mosque of Mohammed Ali. We also met up with Shamp's brother & his wife. Well, at the castle you would have thought that "I" was the main attraction. I was standing with Shamps & her sister in law waiting for the guys to park the car and EVERYONE walking past was staring at me. It was kind of embarrassing. People driving by, people walking by. Men, women, children were all STARING...not just looking. So we got inside the castle & went to this one room. While I was there one kid (like 16 years old) said hi to me and started to say something else. He was kind of reaching his hand out and I just kept walking. The next thing I knew there was shouting and Shamp's brother (Shereef) was slapping the kid that tried to talk to me on the neck. Then Ahsraf got involved & they were both slapping this kid around and then they got security and there was this HUGE scene. Shamps pulled me by the hand & we got out of there. The next thing I knew the kid, Ahsraf, Shareef, & security were all standing in front of me. Ashraf said, "Sharon come here. Do you accept his apology?" I was like WHAT THE? HUH? What the hell just happened? The kid looked absolutely terrified & I probably looked the same people Ashraf was yelling at the kid. So I said "I want to hear him apologize in English." The kid said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Ashraf said, "Are you sure you accept his apology? We can press charges and take him to jail." I was like WHAT? WHAT THE $%^&? I don't even know what was going on. I said that I accepted his apology & they let the kid go. I honestly had no idea what happened and & still have no idea what happened! We went into the mosque of Mohammed Ali which was absolutely beautiful. The ceiling was inlaid with gold and resembled the ceiling St. Peter's church in Rome. There was also a gold pulpit with a beautiful golden stair case. I had my picture taken in front of it & you would have thought I was Angelina Jolie doing a photo shoot. ALL KINDS of people were gathered around to see me say "cheese" and they were even taking pictures of me. What the hell? Like I said...it was sooo embarrassing. Ashraf told me that when he checked the kids I.D. that had been harrassing me he noticed he was from the countryside & not Cairo. It was a holiday & everyone was out so that would probably explain why everyone was staring. Kind of like people in the U.S. who've never seen anyone from another country in person. Well, unfortunately I had to go to the bathroom, but so did Shamps & her sister in law. So we walked up to the bathroom & Ashraf said, "Get ready to be shocked." I didn't know what he meant until Shamps pulled out a toilet seat cover & a bar of soap & gave it to me. I walked in & it was the most disgusting, putrid smell I've ever smelled. There were 3 stalls with nothing but holes in the ground and one toilet. This skinny black Nubian servant with a head scarf on looked at me & said "Toilet?" and I said "Yes" and she HISSED at me the word "MONEY" I thought, "You black Nubian %^&*(&*()_#$%^&*()%^&*()_%^&*()_#$%^&*()_! I was soooooooooooooooooooooooooo mad. Thankfully Shamps told her I was with her & the bitch settled down. She reminded me of a Jamaican witch who should live in New Orleans. She was sooooo nasty! Anyway, the toilet had feces on it in the back. I didn't even sit down. I HAD to use the bathroom and I had to go so badly. I even had to role up my pant legs because I think something overflowed...I didn't want to know what. Anyway, when I was finished & standing there waiting for Shamps this little girl stuck her camera phone in my face & tried to take a picture. I grabbed her arm & shoved the camera away & said some words to her in English. She just laughed with her little shit head friends. I was soo relieved to get out of there. Then that same night Ashraf & his crew took me on a Nile Cruise. Now THAT was cool. We also saw a wedding going on and Shamps took me inside & we got to see the people dancing. The bride & groom were sitting on a couch & Shamps asked if I could have my picture taken with them. They agreed so I can say that I crashed a wedding on the Nile! hahaha People were looking at me like "Who the hell is THAT?" It was great! The Nile Cruise was beautiful & I got to see all the 5 star hotels like the Four Seasons & Sheraton. Some little kids were talking to me & asking where I was from. They were harmless & were so excited that I was an American & that I spoke English. I could handle them just fine. That's what I find a lot of people are like. They are happy I'm here & want to speak English. Even today when I was walking with my back pack on coming back from the train a guy jumped out in front of me & said, "Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!" hahaha That's what most people are like & that's cool. The next day we set out for the pyramids early. A ticket for a foreigner usually costs 50 pounds ($10) but Ashraf bargained with the ticket guy & told him I was an Egyptian and I was his second wife! hahahahaha They all had a good laugh about that. A ticket for an Egyptian is 4 pounds (less than $1.00) so Ashraf bribed the guy and got me a ticket for 4 pounds, and the ticket guy took some money. I saw him put it inside his shirt. Hey, I'm just a tourist...I literally have no idea what's going on most of the time because everything is in Arabic. The pyramids were AMAZING! Of course the tears were flowing because I was so happy to be there. I rode a camel around the pyramids & down by the Sphinx, which was really cool. I could see the desert out behind the pyramids and there are no words to describe that scene. The camel ride was awesome & Ashraf told me later that the guy wanted 100 pounds ($20.00) but he talked him down to 35 pounds ($7.00) hahahahhaha The camel people try to rip everyone off...even Egyptians! I also climbed down into one of the pyramids. The climb down was really steep to get to the burial chamber. It was hot, humid, & musty in the chamber, but well worth seeing. The climb back up was steep & slippery but I'm glad I did it. I didn't go inside the BIG pyramid at Khafre. Ashraf said it's like 75 meters straight down (which is a long way) & you have walk like a duck to get around & it's hot & humid & there's nothing in there...it's empty. I agreed with him that the smaller pyramid was fine. We also saw a room full of hieroglyphics & on the wall was the story of how the pyramids were built. It showed the slaves, the boats, the architect (engineer) and the pharoah and the finished product. It was absolutely amazing. Apparently the slaves brought the stones from Upper Egypt (Southern Egypt) by boat and also by land and placed the stones into place one at a time. They sanded down the stones to make them completely smooth. They didn't use any grout, but the smoothness is what made the stones stick together. I also saw a fully intact wooden boat that they unearthed about 15 years ago. It's called Cheops Wooden Boat. It's a HUGE boat that they pharoah used to sail on the Nile. It was amazing to see how advanced the boat looked. Ashraf kept saying that there is no way that this civilization during the time of the pyramids were human. They were so advanced in every way that they must be celestial or something "other" than human. After seeing this boat, I kind of wonder myself. After the pyramids we went back to Ashraf's mom's house in old Cairo. It had narrow streets & was a close knit community. It's a place I wouldn't have seen unless I knew someone who could show me around. That night we went to Khan Al Khalili, which is a HUGE open air market selling lots of jewelry, rugs, clothes, and had plenty of restaurants. I bought a Cleopatra looking sparkly head thingy that I don't know the name for English or Arabic, but trust me...it's cute (for Halloween, which we WILL be celebrating at the school!) and I bought fresh green tea leaves...not in bag, but fresh and open. It makes really really good tea! I also got a henna tattoo. Some old black lady came by & wanted me to choose a pattern so I did. The tattoo is on my hand & is soooooo cool. At the time I didn't know it lasts like 2 weeks! I just thought it lasted for a few hours. So, I'm tattooed up for school tomorrow! :-) Oh and about the bed that I slept on at Ashraf's mom's house....the hard wood floor would have been softer. I could barely move the next day! The day of the pyramids & Khan Al Khalili was Ashraf & Shamps anniversary. I didn't know what to get them & I felt bad because Ashraf paid for EVERYTHING for me...I mean everything! The casle, pyramids, camel ride, food...everything. So I wanted to give him money go pay for everything, but I sneakily left him & Shamps a note with money saying it was for their anniversary. Well, this morning me & Ashraf stopped by the school to say bye to his son when he got a phone call. I didn't know what was going on (what else is new?) but Ashraf said, "I am so mad at you right now." I didn't know why. He said, "Now we have to go back to the apartment. I figured out what he was talking about & I said, "NO! I want you to have it as a gift." He said he didn't want to be paid for his hospitality & I tried to explain that I was giving it to them as a gift for their anniversary. He still wouldn't accept it. I knew he wouldn't, that's why I secretly left it in his son's room. I didn't know Shamps would find it so quickly! Anyway, he didn't want any money for anything. I feel so bad for him because he needs to go back to the U.S. to make more money. He has a wife, son, & a child on the way. He has a hard time finding work because he's back & forth between Egypt & the U.S. He has a green card & is in the process of trying to bring his family to the U.S. but it's a slow process. He said the biggest mistake he made was going the U.S. Everything is better there & he's Americanized, whereas Shamps isn't & she doesn't understand the process. She doesn't want him to go back to the U.S. to work, but he can't find a job in Egypt because no one wants someone who will only work for a few months...the same in the states. So, he's in a tough position. That's also why I wanted to give him the money...I don't want him spending his savings on me. I did tell him that I would go to Cairo on the weekends & help Shamps with stuff if he did have to go back to the U.S. because I understand how important it is for him to work the U.S. to make money. So, that was pretty much the last 4 days. My life SHOT forward and soooo much has happened! I really like Cairo a lot better than Alexandria. There are more foreigners and the people are different. I really liked the places Ashraf took me & we went places I can only go with an Egyptian who knows Cairo. I'm very greatful that he took his time to show me around. His wife was soooo sweet, too. Her English is limited but we communicated just fine. She told me she would miss me and I was really sad to leave their house today. I'll be back in Cairo...insh'allah! (god willing!) Current Mood: exhausted (Comment on this)
Monday, October 8th, 2007
8:47 pm	abookh abookh abookh abookh means blah blah blah in Arabic. That is my word of the day. The other teachers at the school think it's hilarious that I pick up the most random words. I was at the coffee shop paying my bill and one of the waiters standing at the register said something in Arabic & followed it up with abookh abookh. Of course like a little kid I repeated it and they about fell on the floor laughing. I say blah blah blah all the time in English anyway so it's only appropriate that I learn it straight away in Arabic! So, I guess I should post about the school since my mom mentioned that I haven't talked much about it yet. School has been my secondary care since trying to live everyday life has been such a challenge. I really don't think people understand what it's like here. Imagine the worst slums in New York or Chicago & then multiply it by 10. But, I guess you can't imagine that either unless you've actually walked the streets of the slums in those cities. It's like nothing I've ever known & even other people couldn't describe it to me before I got here and I can't describe it much better. There is garbage everywhere. A rule in Egypt is that if you see a trash bin, you must place your trash about 10 meters away from the it, but NEVER inside of it. That would not be the Egyptian way...and it shows in the streets. On the street with this internet cafe there is a lot (kind of like what you would see in the states where a trailer would sit) and it's piled about 15 feet high with garbage...and it's loose garbage, not in bags. It's quite discouraging. I keep thinking to myself that I'm so glad for the sanitation and laws in the U.S. I really can't believe that people live like this. When I put my trash out I open a door and throw it down a trash shoot. I hear the bottles tumbling into oblivion and I'm not really sure where it ends up. Actually, I'm pretty sure it just dumps out on the street so I might as well just throw it all out the window. It doesn't help that this is the desert and where there isn't concrete there is sand. It's quite filthy all the time and my hands are always dirty. Anyway, back to living in Alex. Everyday living is much easier now. When I first walked into the grocery store EVERYTHING was foreign...even the WAY to the grocery store is foreign with all the Arabic signs and guys everywhere traveling in packs with their arms threaded through each others and speaking Arabic. It's quite a shock...and it takes A LOT longer than a few days to get used to it. In the grocery store everything is foreign and written in Arabic. Once I figured out how the store was set up I could see that there are a lot of American brand foods here and they are VERY expensive. $9.00 for a of Honey Nut Cheerios! WHATEVER! They can keep their stupid cereal! Anyway, EVERYTHING is in Arabic. Another thing...when walking to the grocery store and on ANY street there is about 1 out of 100 women who are NOT covered which gave me a bit of a complex. I was quite proud though today I went to the grocery store by myself. I put on a hat and walked determinedly (is that a word? haha) (walked in a determined manner) and didn't care if the people were staring at me. I didn't have any problems walking down the street and when I went into the grocery store the guys at the cold cuts counter greeted me with a hearty "Shereeeeeen!" It was kind of comforting so I felt better. People are getting more used to me being around now so hopefully people will look out for me a little bit (if they're not the enemy...) I'm taking the X-Files approach to Egypt...TRUST NO ONE! and I think it's a good way to live while I'm here. I did see a man wearing a traditional thobe (long olive green gown) with a shriners looking hat on standing on the side walk with a huge goat! I turned a corner and literally almost ran into this man & his goat and I looked and looked and walked and looked back and the people around where kind of smiling at it because I must have looked like a total tourist! This goat was sooo huge, too. It literally was the size of a large pony and had curly horns...almost exactly like the zodiac sign of the Capricorn. I wonder if it was dinner?! ;-) Oh yeah, so I'm supposed to be talking about the school...see life in Alex keeps getting in the way. Anyway, the school is fine. I really like my 11th & 12th graders. They are in the same class & I teach them SAT prep and literature. It's not like teaching ESL in the states. These students are like teaching literature to American students. I'm not teachin grammar skills & stuff...I'm just teaching content which is a dream come true for me because it's SOOOO much easier than Bama! I have another class with 2 ninth graders. One has Down Syndrome & the other is mildly retarded. The Down Syndrome kid (Mohammed, go figure) was absent today so it was just me & Said (pronounced Saeed). Saeed is a GOOD student & tries really hard. He's not at the ninth grade level, but he tries hard. Today we talked about baseball and I spent the whole time introducing vocabulary to him and having him repea the words, spelling, and definitions. I drew a baseball diamond on the board and explained the rules and even took colored paper and wrote the vocabulary words & definitions on those to help him remember the words. I was told that he will probably fail the class no matter what. But as I was recycling the vocabulary over and over and over and having him spell stuff he was remembering it and doing well. We'll see how tomorrow goes, though. The one problem with Said is that he drools and he smells! Oh no...just like the FS's! The smell wouldn't be a problem except for the fact that EVERYTHING in Alex smells like garbage and there is no fresh air. I'm used to it now, but when I got here I hardly wanted to take any breaths for like the first 3 days. So, poor Said, he's a good student and works hard and I think we'll be fine together. Mohammed is another story. He acts out in class and doesn't always behave. It was nice without him there today. Right now I'm only teaching 2 classes that are 1 hour 20 minutes each. After the holy month is over they will be 1 hour 30 minutes each. Plus, I think I'll have a class added. I'll be social studies to one fourth grader. I've met here & she's really smart so it shouldn't be a problem. Mish mush killuh (not a problem) :-) Oh my goodness...again, just trying to live life and get to school & back is like nothing I can explain! Getting to school with the traffic & stuff isn't quite so bad, but me and 3 other teacher usually get picked up by a taxi driver a the same time every day and get picked up at school at the same time every day. Well, today I was standing out on the corner & no one came so I went to school by taxi with Patrick & Kate. When I got to school one of the teacher who I ride the taxi with said the driver was poisoned and was in the hospital! WHAT?! Was he cheating on his wife? hahaha Apparently he has food poisoning and they don't know when he will return. So, this morning there was a rush to get to school on time. Then in the afternoon trying to leave school grounds is a absolute and utter chaos until I finally get back to my apartment. Miriana's husband picked us up after school but they had to wait for me because Hasnaa needed a copy of my passport and this is Egypt which means NOTHING happens quickly around here! So, Miriana was getting impatient and yelling at Hasnaa in Arabic and people were all standing around and trying to talk to Hasnaa & everyone was yelling in Arabic I just wanted to scream because I had no idea what was going on. Then after Hasnaa got the copy I was rushed out of the office by Miriana where 5 of us, plus Miriana's daughter piled into her car with her husband driving. So there was her husband, Miriana & Kate in the front seat, and me, 2 other girls & Mirian's daughter in the back seat. Then driving and navigating the 15 minutes back to the apartment is like being on a thrill ride, except it's not all that thrilling...it's more like utterly terrifying. One of the rules of being a true Egyptian is to drive so that the lane lines are UNDER your car...you're not an Egyptian if you drive in a lane. Imagine that with 3 lanes of traffic and NO ONE is in a lane and there are HUGE buses and mini buses and taxis and private cars and horses and buggies all on the road at the same time and NO ONE is in a lane! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa After all of that, when I get out of the taxi people are blaring their horn behind us to move out of the way. I literally RUN to my apartment, which is on the main road, and I go upstairs and can't WAIT into get into my apartment so I can get away from the chaos. I never escape the noise but I can escape the people & crowds & at least breathe. WHEW! I get all worked up just thinking about it! So, as you can see, LIFE is why there has been very little posting about the school. The school is actually my safe haven where I know that there is a routine and there is at least a LITTLE bit of order. Although it takes an act of GOD to print anything from a computer. If I want to print something then I have to go down and sign out a few pieces of printer paper, take my USB stick to the computer lab where some lady gets really pissed off if I try to print anything on my own. She must be the one to push the print button. THEN I have to write down how many pieces of paper I used and what was printed on it. WTF? Today I got impatient with the printer lady. I pulled up on the computer what I wanted to print and was ready to hit PRINT and she told me to leave it and she would print it for me later. I was like, "Why? I'm standing right here, I have the paper, I can just hit print and it's done." She kept telling me to leave it. I finally told her that I didn't understand and she said to me, "It's my responsibility." How could I argue with that? So, I let her hit print but I was NOT coming back later for it! That's how Egypt is. There is so much bureaucratic B.S. in this country that it's no wonder it's considered third world. If people approached problems the way they do their driving I think this place would be alright. I also heard that is someone insults the government in any way the person gets beaten and then put on T.V. and beaten again...so I guess I'd better watch what I say. Oh and I had a case of Montezuma's Revenge 2 days ago...although I guess here it would be considered King Tut's revenge! hahaha I thought I was going to die! My stomach hurt from my navel all the way up to my heart. I was running a fever and had diarrhea. I took Imodium and an antiobiotic and now, 2 days later, I'm finally getting my strength back and can eat more than just bland foods. I'm afraid to eat anything now! Everything was well cooked and I've been drinking bottled water. I guess my stomach just needed to adjust to this place. I hope it's adjusted because I don't want to go through that again! So here I've been abookh abookh about my life in Egypt. It's absolutely crazy and I know I'm gonna miss the hell out of it when I leave. For some reason amongst all the chaos I feel strangely at peace. Current Mood: content (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, October 7th, 2007
3:54 pm	Mish mush killuh Things have kind of calmed down a bit for me here. People around my apartment in the businesses & at the internet cafe don't stare as much because they know I'm here for the long run. There are so many holidays & days off during this time of year so I'm enjoying having some time to get adjusted. I just had a 4 day weekend, I will teach for 4 days this week & then I have 5 days off next week. I will have 2 days the regular weekend & then 3 days off for Eid (pronounced eed) which is the ending of the Muslims fasting period. Every day gets easier & easier, but waiting for the easier to happend was so difficult. There was one day last week me & Kate (my other roommate from New Zealand) were walking home from the grocery store around 6:30 p.m. & some guy threw a bottle at us. I was so upset that I didn't know what to do. All we can do is run and I HATE feeling so vulnerable. I was so upset that night that I decided to buy a higab (head covering). I went to a clothing store where a girl works that has been very nice to me. She didn't understand what I was saying in English & there were a lot of people in there & one girl spoke VERY good English. She told me that her and her sister were on there way then to buy a higab & they would love to take me with them. One girl, Mirwa, is a lawyer and Deana (her sister) is an accountant. I don't know if they tell all foreigners their degree, but I've had a lot of people tell me straight away at meeting what kind of degree they have & what their profession is. They took me under their wing and we walked across the street (carefully) to a little strip mall. Well, on the way while we were walking some stupid fucking man practically stuck his hand up my ass when he grabbed it. Mirwa & Deana realized what happened & told me to walk faster to get away from him. THAT made me even more upset! I asked them if those things happen to them. They said that it doesn't happen often, but things like that do happen. I think men need to be put into cages & when the woman feels like she's ready to get married she should be able to go to the pound & pick out the one she wants. Even at the pound they have little try out areas where one can play with a dog before buying. That's how it should be with men & women. Women should rule the world while men (and their lack of self control) should be the ones "under cover." I digress...so I bought a beautiful purple head scarf for $6.00. Not bad, but I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY don't want to wear it. The next day I went to the same clothing store where I met Mirwa & Deana to look for some more long sleeved shirts. A guy was working in there (the husband of the girl I know who works at the shop) and I told him what happened with the bottle. He said he was very sorry that happened and that I shouldn't let it discourage me. I told him that I bought a higab and that I don't want to wear it. I only want to wear it when I go to visit a mosque and that's the only time I really need it. The man said he was sooo sorry that the incident happened and that sometimes people are unruly. He said it happens to women with higabs and without and to men also. He said men are unruly with other men and he told me NOT to wear the higab. He said keep it as a souvenir and not think anything more about it. What a nice man. I felt so much better after him telling me that. I often wonder what other Muslim women would think of a Christian covering her head. I'm not a Muslim & it's a Muslim tradition that the woman covers her head. Would that be blasphemy? I don't know, but I'm taking the guy's advice & not worrying about it anymore! My Arabic speaking is getting better. I have a little dictionary that I carry around with me so that I can communicate important words. People are surprised at how much I know. The only problem is I must sound very Tarzan-Jane-ish to them. I can't use any verbs. I pretty much just say words & put words together and point. It feels very primitive! hahaha I had to tell Ramadan (the bowab-doorman) that both our toilets were broken. I communicated that to him, somehow & then he just stood there looking at me. I said "dilwatee" (which means now) or bedeyn (later). Both times he said "yes." Oh nooooooo, then I said, "dilwatee okay"? and he said yes, but he wasn't moving. He just stood there. So I said "yella" (which means let's go) & he came up & fixed the toilets. That was actually quite an easy exchange between us, usually it's painful where I'm pointing and he's speakingin Arabic & neither of us knows what's going on! hahaha I taught him how to say "What's up? and How are you?" and a few cool "guy" handshakes. He's very smart & remembers what I tell him. Then he quizzes me in Arabic. He will say something & I say the correct response to it in Arabic. The spoken language is not very difficult, but the written langauge is atrocious. Letters are written differently depending on whether they fall at the beginning, middle, or end of a word & to me, they all look the same! I need a teacher to learn to be literate in Arabic because that's not something that can be self taught. I cooked last night for the first time in Egypt. I made chicken with roasted green peppers & onions. I ate it and it was great at the time, but I felt like SHIT later. I don't know if it's because of the chicken & veggies, but I didn't feel sick until after I ate that. Me & Kate went walking down to the Mediterranean Sea for the first time & I felt nauseated and weak. It wasn't too bad & we stopped at a coffee shop so I could use the bathroom. It was all over then! So, after I did my thing I looked around & there was NO toilet paper! Oh my GOOOOD I thought! I'm being punished as a godless person in a god fearing world! So I was looking around and low & behold what was there in the corner...a hose! Yes, a freaking hose that looks like the same kind of hose that you would find in a kitchen sink in the states. THANK GOD! Actually that was 1,000 times better than TP! hahahaha EVERY day that I'm here is an adventure! Luckily I was in a very upscale American coffee shop, otherwise I would have literally been shit out of luck! hehehe I was sick all night and my stomach was cramping so badly. I didn't sleep much at all. Me, Patrick, & Kate were supposed to meet the director of the school at the school at 10 a.m. & we were all up at around 9:00 feeling so bad. All of us had a bad night in some way. Then Patrick got a text from the director's assistant saying we didn't need to be at the school but we should go to the director's house for dinner tonight. Score! So we ALL went back to bed! I slept until 2 p.m. & Kate got up at the same time & Patrick was still sleeping. All of our bodies are trying to adjust to this craziness & it's so difficult because even the Egyptians are having a difficult time with this schedule because it's not their normal schedule. Thankfully Ashraf, my Egyptian friend from Tuscaloosa, sent me an e-mail and gave me a phone number to reach him at. I had his number before I didn't know the area code. He told me that if I want to go to Cairo next week during Eid and to see they pyramids that would be fine and I could stay in the house with him & his wife or I could stay with his mother (who doesn't speak English) & might actually be good for me! Ashraf asked what I thought of Alexandria. I told him it's unlike anything I've ever known. He said he didn't know how to describe it to me before I got here because it's something that cannot be described. He was right...it's something that has to be experienced. The ONE thing that has saved Alexandria, in my mind, is the fact that down by the sea it's absolutely amazing. Me & Kate found our way down to the sea last night (when I was only mildly sick) and it was such a relief. There were restaurants, shee sha bars, & all kinds of life in the streets. It was sooo different than the area of the city that I live in. I literally live on the other side of the tracks. The sea side of the tracks is a happening place but the other side where I live is kind of like the slums (although I live in a nicer part of the slums). The sea was about a 20 minute walk and it was well worth it...sick and all. Neither me nor Kate had our cameras because we weren't sure if we would find the sea. We almost didn't. We were on the wrong track when I stopped a woman & asked her for directions. She lead us to the entrance to the bus station (think Bin Laden cave entrance), we went underground, and emerged to a COMPLETELY different world! It was amazing and I'm so glad we were able to find it! There were upscale restaurants around & people out everywhere. There is a beautiful bridge there that looks like the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine, except this bridge is brand new with colored lights shining on the water. It was so mysterious & amazing to think that Alexander the Great landed there in 332 B.C.E.! Every day is a new adventure in this strange land & I haven't even ventured far from my apartment yet! During Christmas I want to plan a trip to Luxor to see the Valley of the Kings (King Tut's tomb is there) and there are a lot of monuments & mystery there. And hopefully next week I'll finally be able to see the pyramids. (inshallah, means God willing). Until my next post... Current Mood: thirsty (Comment on this)
Thursday, October 4th, 2007
12:04 am	Three's Company The bowabs (doormen) are TOTALLY confused about mine & Patrick's relationship. Men & women don't live together unless they're married here & a man isn't allowed to visit a woman's apartment if they aren't married (the bowab makes sure of it) and vice versa. So,our bowabs had to be told to let us both up to the apartment. hahaha Wait until Kate gets here. It'll be Patrick & and two women. Patrick is sitting next to me right now at the Internet Cafe & he said Ramadan (my ADORABLE bowab) keeps asking if I'm Patrick's sister or girlfriend? Patrick said I'm neither to him. Ramadan just can't understand the relationship because people of the opposite sex aren't roommates here. Soon it'll be a guy & two girls. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahaha Poor Ramadan...he should just give up! I'm gonna go talk to him now & straighten this whole thing out...even though I don't speak Arabic! hehehe :-) Current Mood: amused (Comment on this)