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Published: September 23rd 2008
Hi all!
Sorry its been so long since I've updated this...internet is still a bit unreliable. Wow, I can't even think where to begin! The last week and a half has mainly been more adjustments and figuring out how to live and function in a new place. For those of you who have moved, or who left home for college, its that sort of thing. Where are things located, where are places to hang out/study, where does one go shopping, get food, buy books, go to church ect. Meeting new people, and failing to remember their names, feels like my new hobby! I'm almost settled into a routine (class, studying--or not 😊--hunting down food, and hanging out with friends being the main activities) but that will soon change after Ramadan, when the whole routine of life in Egypt changes. It will be strange, since we were barely here before Ramadan started, but it will be nice to be able to do things during the day and not have everything closed!
Basically, the majority of the last weeks has been spent having what I like to call daily misadventures. I think its been a little different for me than my
Holly and I
Yummy ice cream from El Abd! :)fellow study abroad students for one main reason, I look like I should speak Arabic. You would be surprised how many people speak to me in Arabic, and don't seem to comprehend the fact that even though I look like I should speak it, I don't! I've lost track of the number of Egyptians (male, female, people trying to sell me something, and fellow students on campus) who have told me I have a "very Egyptian face." It gets a bit awkward trying to explain in a foreign language I don't speak that, yes, even though I don't look "American" (what is looking American anyway? being white? there are white Europeans as well!) I am in fact American and I do not speak or understand Arabic. Its also amusing when people just speak louder or more slowly, as if that will somehow make me understand...if only it were that easy! I do feel bad when people come up to me and are clearly trying to ask directions somewhere or the shuttle driver tries to ask me something, and I can't respond. I am, however, trying, and hopefully my Arabic will be better by December!
Moving on...People say that the
Holly
Doesn't she look so excited to be studying??? third day of something is the hardest (think when you try to start a new routine, like dieting or getting up earlier, that sort of thing. Didn't the 3rd day just suck?) and I think that here it translates into the third week (Egypt time, you know 😉). The third week of dealing with AUC has definitely been the most trying! Things still aren't functioning and the lack of response, or even acknowledgment, by the administration is now getting annoying. To say the internet is a bit reliable is an understatement...I swear my roomie and I almost cried tears of happiness when we got signal in our room the other day! As I am writing this post not in my room, that clearly didn't last long, but it was still huge progress! You really don't realize how much you use the internet and how frustrating and out of place you can feel with out it until you live daily life without any access. All of the little things just keep adding up to make what is a frustrating and trying experience just a little bit more frustrating.
That all being said, I really do love Cairo! The other night
Karl
I wonder how long being studious is going to last? Then again, we are stuck on campus for hours at a time with nothing else to do, so we may actually study this whole semester! we went to Islamic Cairo after Iftar (the breaking of the Muslim fast) and it was so much fun! We took a taxi to a main square in the area, and then walked around the old spice market nearby. We were 'adopted' by a tour guide as soon as we left the cab, and while we couldn't get rid of him, it actually turned out all right in the end. He spoke very good English, and didn't even insist of getting a tip at the end (I think he probably got commission from the shops he took us to if we bought anything, which we did...). Plus, he left us in this cultural center that the government has restored, where they had a free poetry reading (in Arabic, which I couldn't understand a word of, but the emotion definitely crossed the language barrier) and a traditional Sufi music show. It was really cool because it was late at night, but there were a ton of people there. One of the things I love about Ramadan is that you see whole families hanging out until like 2 in the morning, grocery shopping and getting ice cream. This is seriously one of
New Campus
I was wandering around a building and ended up looking out over a parking lot...I probably couldn't find this again if I tried, but its a cool view! the most 24 hr cities I've ever been in! It will probably change after Ramadan, when local schools start and people have normal business hours, but its been a blast to live in.
What else have we done? We've explored a lot of the city. We found one of the best sweet shops downtown called El Abd, which is always packed with Egyptians. You can get an ice cream cone (which has 2 scoops!) for just 2.5 Egyptian pounds (that's a little less than 50 cents American!). And the ice cream, as well as the pastries, is AMAZING!!! I'm pretty sure my sweet tooth has gotten that much worse out here! Another cool place we've found is called Felfela. Its actually a chain restaurant, but its fairly inexpensive and also extremely good. It serves Egyptian/Middle Eastern food, so its nice to find something thats not street vendors and also not Western. The taamia (what they call falafel here in Egypt) with eggs is really good, and they have excellent lentil soup. Last Friday we went out with a group of students for Iftar at the Nile Country Club (first country club I've been to in my life!) and it
Holly
Holding the menu at Felfela. I should take a picture of the inside of the restaurant, its really pretty! When we went to leave, two Sudanese men asked Holly where she got her jacket, and after talking for a few minutes gave us their contact info in case we every went to Sudan...something tells me we aren't going to make it there! also had delicious food.
Because of the issues here at the hotel, we end up spending a lot of time hanging out at the Western style mall that's close by called City Stars. Its HUGE! No really, its the biggest mall in the Middle East. I've never actually been to King of Prussia or Mall of the Americas, but I think it would give both a run for their money! There is this awesome store called Spinney's, which is I guess equatable to WalMart in the states. They have everything imaginable, from grocery's to electronics to clothing to toys to kid stuff. You name it, they probably have it. Its always packed because its where all the Egyptians go to do their shopping, but it is so worth waiting in line for an hour to get everything you need at reasonable prices. Our favorite hang out spot is Cafe del Doge, which is an Italian chain (I think, if I read their website right, they just opened a store in New York City) which we literally go to about 4-5 nights a week. There is free wi-fi, large tables with outlets and really good food/ coffee beverages (and coffee).
Ummm
So we discovered this menu item "Green Jew's Mallow"...I'm pretty sure its just a mistranslation, but we got a kick out of it! We still have no idea what it is... My favorite is the espresso chocolate shake...YUM! The only downfall is that the prices are American/European, so it gets a bit expensive, but seeing as we don't normally have working internet in our hotels, its our best option.
Wow, I feel like half of this post is about food! Maybe because there isn't really food on campus or anywhere in the neighborhood we live in, we have spent a lot of time looking for good places to eat. Though there is this place across the street from the hotel that serves pita filled with various things (like taamia or this really yummy potato thing) for only 1 Egyptian pound! Its only open after Iftar, and even though its just across the street its not safe to walk alone, but the food is really good. I'm hoping that after Ramadan it will be open more, because its just that good. I hate to make the comparison, but it really is an authentic Pita Pit! If only they knew how good I was at making pitas, they would totally let me work there 😊.
Actually, that's a good segue into my next point. They wouldn't hire me because the unemployment
Karl, Holly and I
Awkwardly standing with a shop owner inside the "factory" where they make those cool looking boxes/chess sets/random things out of wood and mother of pearl (or something that looks like it). rate here in Egypt is around 40% and that is very evident when you are walking around Cairo. Its amazing the disparity between the haves and the have-nots. Its something that people talk about all the time, and something that I think we all know (at least on some level) but actually seeing it in everyday life is something different entirely. Especially going from being on campus--the Egyptians who do go to AUC are wealthy--and then going to other parts of the city. There is a very stark contrast between our nice clean campus, the huge western style mall and the slums of Cairo or even just the downtown streets where average people live and try to get by.
I'm not sure how much you follow the news, but about 2 weeks ago (maybe not even that long ago, all the days are blurring together!) there was a rock slide in an area of Cairo where there was a shanty town. Without going into all the details, basically a lot of poor Egyptians died/were displaced and a lot of people are saying that it steamed in large part to lack of government response. Its incidents like that and just seeing
Cafe del Doge
The inside...its really nice, and normally not crowded so an ideal study/skype/hang out location. how many people are poor, how many children are begging on the street and how many people just look so run down by life that make you really understand how large the gap is. No matter how poor any of us students are back at home, it is nothing compared to being a poor Egyptian. I wish I could take more pictures, but I quite frankly feel rude whipping out my digital camera to take a picture of a slum as if it is just one more tourist attraction.
All in all, the last few weeks have been amazing, eye-opening and worth all the trouble that we've had to put up with with the University. I feel like even if I leave here tomorrow, I will leave having learned so much! As cliche as it sounds, doing something gives you a very different perspective then just talking about it, or learning in classrooms.
Ramadan ends at the end of the month with Eid, and we have some time off school, so a group of us are going to Mt. Sinai and then going camping. It should be fun, and I am totally excited to get a break from
Cafe del Doge
An advert (as Vicki would say) for eating Sohur and Iftar here. classes! (And the semester just barely started!) I will try to post again before then, but I can't make any promises. I hope everyone is well and safe and please keep in contact! I like hearing about everyone else's "daily misadventures" as well! I miss you all and hope to talk to you/hear from you soon!
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Bethany
non-member comment
I think my Polly should meet your Holly. I think they would like each other. :)