This is a series of emails I sent to friends and family while living in Cairo, Egypt from June through August of 2004. Enjoy!
My dance site
Trip photos
**Hello from Cairo---1 July 2004
**More from al Qahira---8 July 2004
**Update Number three...23 July 2004
Hello From Cairo---1 July 2004
***This is a slightly modified copy of an email I sent to friends and family after my first week in Cairo. Modified mailny to take out personal info.**
Hello all!!
Well, I hate to make one my first emails so impersonal, but I have limited time
on the computer, and too many people I want to say hi to!
So--I made it safe and sound to Egypt. It was a very long trip, but I was lucky
enough to be met at the airport by a woman named S., who is a friend of my Egyptian
friend in San Francisco, M.. It is a miracle that we found each other, as we
have never met before, and the airport was packed. But, we did!
S. and I hit it off right way, and were soon in the car driving to town, chatting
like old pals! She teaches English Literature at Cairo University, lived in the
States for a while (on a Fulbright studying in Vermont, and also in Colorado), and
is a translator and and professional opera singer among other things! A very cool
woman.
Side note: We had an adventure later that night getting a cell phone set up for
me. Seems Egyptians love their cell phones! ;-) At ten o'clock at night, dozens
of cell phone shops on one block were filled to the brim with people looking, buying,
ringing. It was amazing. I cannot imagine having to set up a phone alone, without
an Egyptian to negotiate! We ate fresh prickly pears by the dozen as we walked
along, stopping at every juice stand to have some o.j (the street food here is great,
though I say a little prayer not to get sick each time I accept something).
Back to the ride home from the airport: The whole family was home waiting for me
at the apartment I am living in, and they made me feel so welcome immediately.
I have a huge room (we are talking fifteen foot high ceilings, at least). We are
in the heart of downtown Cairo, an area that Cairenes call wast al balad. I am
on ******** Street, a pedestrian thoroughfare with lots of shops. I could not have
hoped for a better apartment location, or nicer, more down to earth people to stay
with!
I am staying with M.'s brother M., his wife A., and their two-year old
daughter M.. Another brother, M., is also visiting (he has lived in Baghdad
for 20 years--needless to say, it has been interesting hearing his tales---pretty
pro-American, fyi, or at least very anti-Saddam!). So far, I am keeping the family's
hours...this means staying up until at least three in the morning, and sleeping
into the day (and I am the first in the house to sleep, and the last to rise!).
As you all know, this schedule fits me a like a glove! However, I am a little nervous
that school starts next week, and it starts at 9 AM! I am not sure how that will
go...we eat dinner at midnight, and have mint tea with milk and sugar around 1:30
AM! I guess I will become a napper after class. ;-)
I cannot believe I have only been here a few days. This city has one of the biggest
personalities of any place I have ever known. There are sooooo many people here,
and it is a place that you feel has existed forever, and will be as it is forever.
And it just throws you in and takes you along for the ride, like it or not! Everything
takes about ten to fifty time longer than I am used to, but people seem to like
it that way! I am seriously getting into the groove!
Needless to say, living and hanging out with locals has shown me a side of Cairo
I did not know as well during previous visits. If I keep my mouth shut, people
tend to ignore me when I am alone. But being with the family and their friends,
I am not so much ignored as assumed to be one of them (again--until I open my mouth!).
It is pretty interesting...I have also noticed that things are a lot cheaper in
local Egyptian price than tourist price (which are still pretty cheap, compared
to at home)! ;-)
I went to the souq near Sayyida Zeinab with A. this afternoon to get dinner (the fish market was...interesting).
I felt like people thought I was the slow relative at first! We would be choosing
produce, etc., she would be negotiating, then would slowly point at different vegetables
and say their name in Arabic. I dutifily repeated the words, and several times
noticed the sellers looking like 'what is wrong with this chick?!'. It was pretty
funny, and I was always glad when it (quickly, I hope)became obvious I was just
a non-Arabic speaker, as opposed to a not-so-smart gal! ;-) A. does not speak
English, and I am learning lots of Egyptian Arabic just from our often painful attempts
to communicate!
I am learning and seeing so much, and it has only been a few days. I cannot wait
to see what tomorrow brings, if not the next few hours!
It is very hot here, some of the food is kind of strange, and my spoken Arabic is
pretty bad. BUT...I am learning to stay cool even without air conditioning, I have
found some dishes that I never would have tried are actually pretty good, and my
Arabic is slowly (shwaya, shwaya---little by little) improving.
One last thing: people ask me all the time how old I am, and think it is funny
that I am too busy to be married (this has been the most common interpretation of
why I am single and halfway across the world!). No one thinks it is bad, just kind
of amusing. It seems there are no questions too personal--how old are you, what
do you weigh (or they just guess, ack!!), what is your salary? Information is always
shared back though, never one sided. Anyway, it is kind of funny! I am getting
used to being so open about things, I think. I just answer honestly (or pretend
I do not understand the question!). I met one older woman (70's) who I am afraid
is going to parade some of her grandsons down ******** Street for me to check out
one day soon!!
Okay--more soon! Please keep in touch!!
Lots of love from Cairo,
Monica
More from al Qahira---8 July 2004
**Letter 2 home to friends and family, from July 8, 2004. Soeme personal info. removed!! Feel free to comment or write and say hello.***
Hello again, friends! Welcome to the latest installment of my life in Cairo (al
Qahira, or simply Masr--Egypt-- in Arabic).
On the home front: Things are still going well at the house. I have really bonded
with M. (the two-year old). She is very sweet, and has a strong little personality!
This girl will not grow up to be a wallflower! She thinks it is funny to hear me
speak English, and mimics me all the time...for example, she will see me and say
in a sing-song voice "he-lloo-oo". It is very cute! She calls me tantee
(auntie). M. and A. have taken me in as one of their family...and yes, that
brings the good and the bad. ;-) I am very conscientious about letting them know
when I will be late etc., especially as they will wait for me to eat lunch or dinner
if I am not very clear that I will not be there. Any sense of not being 100% independent
is made up for ten fold!
The other night we all went out to get dinner together (yes, at about 11:30 PM).
It was a lovely night, with a cool breeze, and the streets downtown were **packed**.
All the shops were open, families, couples and groups of friends were out in full
force. I mean..you could not walk easily down the sidewalks or in the streets!
(It is common here to walk in the street, toward the sides...some of the sidewalks
are very uneven, or there are stalls or carts selling goods or produce, and it is
faster to walk in the street.)
Anyway, we went to the fuul and Tamaya restaurant (tamaya is the Arabic word for
falafel, and fuul is beans, a staple of Egyptian cuisine). We ordered our sandwiches,
and decided to walk home to eat there. Of course we stopped at Al Bab, the bakery
(remember it mom?!), and bought dessert as well! We came home, flipped on the tube
to channel surfed between one of the myriad of old Egyptian films that are always
on and Arabic music videos (I am addicted to them now!), and ate. When I looked
at the clock, I could not believe it was 1:30 AM! I still had to shower before
sleeping, so I could get up for school...
Yes, school has started, and unfortunately for me it begins at 9 AM four days a
week. It is very difficult to maintain the Egyptian lifestyle my adopted household
maintains and be up for school on time. Often when I wake in the morning they
are just going to bed! I feel like a party-pooper being the first to go to sleep.
The family and I discovered a mutual love of both Uno and Crazy 8's (the latter
which they were convinced was only played in Egypt until I proved otherwise), and
stayed up until dawn playing three night in a row. (You can tell when dawn is around
the corner, as we live right next to a small mosque, and the first call to prayer
happens at about 4:30 in the morning...right at my bedroom window!). I had to put
an end to the late night card playing because of my schedule...
Before I talk more about school, let me talk about food...it is everywhere, and
there is a lot of it at meal time. When you go to an Egyptian's home, they will
immediately put out some sort of food, usually bread or breadsticks, fruit, helewat
(sweets), pickled vegetables...or all of the above. You may wonder why the woman
keeps leaving the room and the conversation, but it will become apparent what she
has been up to when plate after plate of food is put in front of you. I went for
a visit to A.'s sister in law's home last week (her name is L., and she has
two kids, S. and B....it was B.'s birthday party). Upon arrival, I had
some Pepsi (in Egypt they call it beeps, which is quite fun to say) and some grapes
and an apple and some bread with cheese. Then I was asked if I wanted lunch. Confirming
that everyone would be eating, not just me (which happened once!), I said 'sure'
(ay'wah!). Soon I had a plate of Kentucky Fried Chicken, spaggheti with red sauce,
aish baladi (yummy local kind of bread you buy in the street, kind of like a grainy
pita), fresh zucchini and tomatos, pickled carrots, olives and cucumbers, and an
item (the name escapes me) that consisted of fried meat, onions and garlic smothered
between bread.
I dug in, but was totally overwhelmed by the volume (as I am at almost every meal
at home or in someone's house here). I have had to learn to be complimentary to
the hostess without going over the top. If you go over the top on gushing about
the food, your plate will be filled up again before you even notice. It is extremely
hard to turn down food in someone's home, especially when they are excited to have
you try local dishes. If you do not finish your food, a big long discussion ensues..."are
you sick? Do you like it? Why don't you eat? What's wrong? She never eats!
Please eat!" So...I am learning to negotiate, but they all think I eat way
too little.
Oh yeah, re: the Kentucky Fried Chicken...at L.'s, several people took the time
to point out that it was American food. Yes, folks, this and McDonald's is our
exported cuisine.
The funny thing is, I am told all the time by Egyptian women I meet (literally--this
has come up over a dozen times) that if I eat Egyptian food I will become fat.
And it is true there are some big ladies here! This comment always makes everyone
around laugh and giggle good-naturedly, the bigger women especially. I like this
comment very much because it implies I am not fat now! ;-) To me this commentary
also reflects what is clearly a different view of bodies than we have in the States.
I have had a lot of thoughts about this in the past few weeks, many of which are
not formed well enough to write about. Suffice it to say for now: I would say
that you are judged on *many* things here, but your body type is not at the forefront
of the opinions. If you are fat, you are fat, everyone knows it, and will say it
matter of factly if called for. But it is not with rancor or implication that you
are lazy, and it does not make you less of a person!
Okay, blah, blah! School!! I have had four days of instruction so far, and so
far so good! My school, ILI, is very nice. It is between the Al Sahafayeen and
Mohandiseen sections of Cairo, across the Nile from where I live downtown (about
a 10 minute cab ride). The school is air-conditioned (yay!), three stories high,
and has many classrooms, a library, computers, a bookstore, and a cafeteria with
really good coffee. I am taking two different classes here. From 9 to 11 AM I
take colloquial Egyptian Arabic , which is the spoken Arabic of Egypt. My teacher
is named Hanaa (pronounced Han-ay). It feels very good to be speaking in a way
that actual people do (more on what I mean in a minute).
There is what is called Modern Standard Arabic, which is basically a written language.
MSA is what I have been studying for many years now; if you were to go take an Arabic
language course somewhere, chances are it would be MSA. It will teach you the alphabet,
grammar, speaking, etc...however, MSA is not a native language to *anyone*. Arabic
speakers all over the world also have to go to school to learn MSA! For a non-native
speaker, it can be very frustrating to go to school for years to learn a language,
and still not be able to converse naturally with people! MSA is the language of
the newspapers, official documents, the UN...not of any people in any day to day
life, anywhere. One of my teachers descried it as a language that is received (you
read it, you hear it), not given (spoken).
BUT...it is necessary for the foreign speaker to know MSA; indeed, I was placed
in a higher level Egyptian class (without ever having studied spoken Egyptian Arabic)
because of my MSA background (and I knew a few words from music and friends). And
I am continuing my MSA studies here: from 11:30 to 2:00 PM I have MSA. My teacher
is Hani, and so far I can confidently say he is the best Arabic teacher I have ever
had. He is an excellent instructor! In just three days he has explained concepts
I have been taught several times before, but never quit 'got', and they have clicked.
This is a personal thrill!
SO...that is what I am doing with my days..well, Monday through Thursday, anyway.
I am trying to get sleep at night so I am awake in the day, but so far it is a bit
of a challenge. I also want to go see more raqs sharqi (belly dance) shows, most
of which start between 11PM and 3 AM. This is tough to do during the week! I have
only gone to one so far...it was pretty good, I saw a local dancer called Hanadi.
Speaking of dance...as some of you know, there was a dance festival going on here
when I first arrived, the same festival I attended two years ago when I visited
Cairo with my mom. Unfortunately, they moved it way out of town (to Giza), to a
very beautiful (and very expensive) hotel called the Mena House. I kept receiving
invitations to local parties and homes while the festival was going on, and I did
not want to turn them down! So I only made it to the festival on the last day.
It was kind of strange, incredibly crowded (much more so that two years ago), and
after getting slightly used to downtown Egypt, I actually had a small but weird
bout of culture shock at the festival! It is hard to explain...I will share more
information with dance friends who want details! I think it is an amazing festival,
and I am glad I went in the past..however I am glad to be having a new view on Cairo
that does not take place around a hotel. I hope that makes sense?!
Okay, I have been typing this for way too long. Thanks to all who have written...I
will shamelessly say I love hearing from you!! Please keep letting me know what
is going on in your lives. If I have not written you back yet, I am sorry--I will!
I often have a very short time at the computer terminals.
Lots of love to you all!
Monica
Update Number three...23 July 2004
This is a long one! Again, altered slightly from the original email. sent to friends and family for privacy...M.
Hi all! Another update on highlights of a very busy week. Sorry...this is a bit
of a long one!
I'll start with school, as that is where I spend four days a week. I am really
enjoying language school here. It is nice to have some structure to such a long
trip, and I am learning a lot. It has also been interesting to meet people from
all over the world who are studying Arabic for a wide variety of reasons...from
the many, many 20-ish year old European students that travel in packs based on country
of origin; to the 60 year old Italian retired oil executive who knows how to speak
but not read (Arabic, that is!); to the woman who grew up in Assyut (upper Egypt)
in the 1940's with her missionary parents and has loved Cairo ever since (she also
lived in Iraq in the 1950's); to the Americans that get my jokes and references
and remind me of home; to the overworked graduate students who are researching obscure
Arabic texts from the past in their spare time; to the Egyptians who are studying
MSA for personal growth; it is an eclectic bunch! I like almost everyone I have
met, and the ones I don't like are not worth talking about (hint: why they came
to Egypt when all they want to do is drink and party is unclear to me! There are
way better and easier places to do that.).
There was a book fair in school last week. Usually in bookstores I am the only
Arabic language nerd looking at all the Arabic books, deciding what other dictionary
I might need to add to my bookshelves, etc. Well, I happily realized as I perused
the tables that I was surrounded by others with this same interest. It was a good
feeling!
To take my nerd-dom it even further...ILI (my school) has what they call 'summer
club'. For 45 minutes to an hour after class, there are four extra curricular activities
to choose from: tutoring (in Egyptian or MSA), reading poetry and texts (MSA),
conversation (MSA and Egyptian on different days), and (my favorite and the one
I attend every day!!) SONGS. Each afternoon we do a different song. We get a copy
of the lyrics in Arabic, then go through them together and translate them. We then
listen to the song on tape, reading along with the lyrics, and yes, singing along.
I know how cheesy it sounds. Even a majority of the students here are not into
it...I have heard disparaging comments ("oooh, summer club, woo-hoo").
Well, I admit--I LOVE IT! Especially since I am so into Egyptian dance personally
and professionally...well, the dance goes hand in hand with the music, and now I
am learning the words to so many songs I already know and love, and learning to
love many new ones! We have learned some classical Egyptian songs, but most are
generally very pop oriented...for example, we have done several Nancy Agram tunes
(she is a Lebanese pop singer who sings in Egyptian Arabic and whose songs are everywhere
in Cairo). It is lots of fun, and also helps with learning the language, especially
slang. Plus, as a bonus: I look around the the usually three to five other students
in the room as we all struggle to sing along, and know I have found an even smaller
subset of Arabic language geekdom!
----------------------------------
Alexandria:
So 'my' Egyptian family wanted to go on a day trip to Alexandria last Saturday.
We were going to leave early...at 6 AM! I thought that sounded a bit *too* early
given our usual schedule, but whatever. I go with the flow here! The plan was
to get up there early, find a spot on the beach, and have all day to hang out.
We would come back home around sunset.
Friday night we were invited over to M. and M.'s cousin's house, and we went
over about 10PM. We were just going for tea, and we brought hawalat (sweets) for
desert. The cousin lives in Zamalek, an upscale neighborhood of Cairo that is one
of my favorite places in town. It is an island, very green, very shady, lots of
winding streets, interesting shops, cafés, bookstores. I go walk around there on
afternoons when I need a mini-vacation from Cairo! This Friday evening when we
arrived at the apartment, lots of people were already there, and it was nice. I
was happy that there were lots of kids, who I like to talk to since I generally
cannot keep up with adult conversation! I am a bit of a novelty in their homes,
so the kids usually they like to talk to me, as well. Well...time kept passing...and
passing...and passing. Soon it was 2 AM, and I was so ready to go (thinking about
leaving for Alex in four hours). But everyone was talking and laughing and the
'ahwa (coffee) was flowing...we weren't going anywhere! At 3 AM the woman of the
house brought out...you guessed it! Dinner! I was admittedly starving since I
had not eaten since the afternoon, so I just dug in with everyone else. Finally,
at 4 (am), we got ready to go home. M. asked me if I was still up for Alexandria.
Um, not really, I had to admit. I was tired, and wanted more than a few hours of
sleep!
After a back and forth conversation with the whole party listening, laughing and
contributing as a very amused audience, it was agreed we would go Sunday instead.
I was happy that I was about to have uninterrupted sleep, no one else cared a bit
what day we went, so all was well. I swore I would go to bed early Saturday night,
but that is easier said than done. The following night, when I was about to say
goodnight at midnight (Saturday night), I was informed we were going to leave even
earlier the next morning...and told to be up by 4:30AM!
They stayed up all night, I slept about two hours, and by 5:00 am Sunday morning
we were in a taxi to Ramses Station to get a microbus to Alexandria. There are
three options to get out of Cairo (if you do not have your own car): train, bus,
or micro-bus. In the past I have taken the train to Alexandria, however for my
family here the cost of that was prohibitive. For much less money we were taking
the microbus, which is a small mini-van. It was very, very cramped (they hold 16
people, and we had that plus the baby). I sat next to Amani, we found semi-comfortable
ways to lean on each other, and we all passed out for the three hour ride. I am
glad I was so tired, because I was able to sleep and sort of ignore the fact that
my body was incredibly cramped and uncomfortable! Note: If you travel from Cairo
to another city and are a foreigner, I do not recommend this form of travel unless
you are on a local salary or are traveling with locals! I also found out later
from another Egyptian friend that the inter-city microbuses have a reputation for
being quite unsafe...'death traps', I believe was the phrase she used. Luckily
I did not know this at the time.
[Side note for those who have been to Cairo: Yes, I have been getting around town
on those inner-city mini-buses you see all over, but never alone. It would be quite
difficult to figure out where they were going, what you need to pay, when you need
to get off, etc. For those who do not know, along with the easy to take taxis (generally
between 4 to 8 pounds per ride), and the pretty easy to figure out if you have time
regular buses (about 50 piastres to 2 pounds per ride depending on if it is air-conditioned
or not), there are micro-buses going all over town. Small white vans will cruise
by with a young man yelling a destination out from the open side door. If you hear
your destination, you gesture, and the vans will slow down so you can hop on. Yes...slow
down. Rarely do they stop completely to let passengers on and off. I can safely
say, at least in my experience, they *never* stop completely for men, they occasionally
stop for women, and they will usually stop for women with babies, small children,
large bags or packages, or old folks. I have never seen another foreigner on one
of these, with good reason--as I said before, it would be extremely difficult to
figure it all out without being fluent in Egyptian Arabic and knowing the city very
well.
Okay, now back to the Alexandria trip...
I understood now why we were leaving so early, as we beat the heat in this unairconditioned
vehicle. We arrived in Alex after three hours, at about 8:30 or 9:00 am. It was
fantastic to be near the water after the heat of Cairo! The breeze felt great,
and we walked towards the sea to claim a spot on the beach with what seemed like
the rest of Egypt. Public beaches in Egypt are quite different than beaches in
the States. Alexandria in the summer is a very popular destination for Cairenes
and for people from villages and towns all over the area. There are chairs, small
tables and umbrellas set up in rows all along the beach. You pay a few pounds to
one of the young men working the beach, and rent the chairs and table for the day.
Everyone is just sort of lined up along the beach. I was glad we had a 'front row'
area, because people who showed up later were parked in chairs behind us...some
rows were four deep!
Needless to say, this was not the place to pull out the string bikini. With help
on the details from A., I wore long cotton pants and a long- sleeved tee shirt
to swim in. Even so, I can safely say I was one of the most underdressed post-pubescent
women on the beach that day. A majority of women wore their hegab (head scarf)
in the water, and most wore long sleeves. M. did inform me that most of the
people were from villages, not from Cairo, though I could not tell how he ascertained
this information. Basically I stood out like a sore thumb in my bathing attire.
I was also one of the only women who went all the way out to the buoy which limited
how far swimmers were allowed to go. Don't worry, M. and M. were out there
faithfully floating with me to protect me from the other (male) swimmers, several
of whom floated around subtly (not!) staring at me. The waves were quite big out
there, and I did lots of body surfing. It was a blast! I had spent close to a
month trying my best to fit in and lay low in public, and while I was in the water
I felt like playing a bit! I knew once I was back on the beach I could wrap myself
up in a towel and disappear.
I have to set the scene in one other way...as I said above, it was packed on the
beach. It was also packed in the sea. I mean packed. There was no moment of gazing
out to sea and feeling like maybe you were at the end of the world, no sense of
quiet or calm. Floating, splashing, laughing (clothed) bodies were everywhere.
It was very fun, and very different. Apparently there are private beaches farther
down the foreigners can go to, where you can wear bating suits and have more privacy.
This was a locals (Egyptian) only kind of place. As far as I could tell, I was
the only foreigner there (an experience that happens a lot here when I hang with
the family!). Unfortunately, there was also a *lot* of trash in the water, and
who knows what else. Along with feeling a bit underdressed (though I was completely
covered...it is hard to explain *why* I stood out, I just knew I really, really
did), I also tried not to think about where the sewage from Alexandria might be
dumped...
Anyway, it was a bit strange to swim in clothes, but not bad or anything. And it
felt so great to swim at all! As I said, I floated in the water for hours, finally
dragging myself back to the beach and passing out in my chair for a several hour
long nap. I was exhausted.
At about 5 PM we decided to get dressed and walk around a bit, then grab dinner.
We went to a fish place that was out of this world. If you are going to Alexandria,
I will give you the name of this place. Really some of the best fish I have ever
had, and the appetizers alone were among the best food I have eaten in Egypt.
After dinner I pretty much felt like I was going to die. I was stuffed full of
great food, I had basically had no sleep, and what sleep I did get was in a small
van with no room to move. We had been on the beach and in the water for about seven
hours, and I was starting to realize that I was quite sunburnt. Plus I was already
dreading getting up the next morning for school!
First, we decided to get tea at a cafe. It was lovely sitting in the square, watching
the sunset, but I admit I was happy when it was announced it was time to go home!
Going home meant grabbing a taxi to the Alexandrian train station, then the ritual
of listening to the many yelling men from the microbuses, waiting for one to say
Misr (which means Egypt, but also meant Cairo in this case). We found one, and
luckily were the first ones on it so we could get window seats (which I have learned
to love--much better leaning ability there!). The car filled up, everyone passed
out (except the driver, alhamdulillah!), and we hit the road. We all were exhausted,
we all were burnt (the men on their backs and shoulders, us women only on our faces
as that is all that saw the sun...a bit of a blessing in disguise for being so modest
at the sea!). Three hours later, we were back in Cairo. First, a stop at the local
juice bar for a glass of fresh Mango juice (1.5 pounds--about 20 cents), which I
am addicted to, then home!
All last week my face was bright red and peeling. It was pretty bad, but all is
healed and well now.
---------------------------------------------
Politics. Lots of y'all have written to ask what it is like here in regards to
politics, being an American, etc. I'll try to keep my own views out of it, so read
on if you are interested in what I have heard from Egyptians I know...
Yes, people do love to talk about politics here, and internationally speaking, America
is on people's minds. I have had some very interesting discussions, most civil,
never started by me, but always with respectful interest in what I have to say (I
am very low key, although with a few friends I have felt comfortable expressing
myself a bit more. However I am not hear to educate, I am here to learn, and that
means I mostly listen and ask questions). Conversations are usually in English,
because i would never be able to participate otherwise. My spoken Arabic is getting
better, but I cannot express myself well at all about anything that truly matters
(maybe one day!). There are lots of newspapers here (more on that below), Al Jazeera
is the main televised international news source, although there are others (mainly
also from the Gulf), and many, many people are online and therefore have access
to news from all over the world. I would say most people here are engaged in, interested
in, and pretty up to speed with what is going on. I have encountered some pretty
fantastic and whip-smart critical thinking. But like everywhere, there are biases
and assumptions made.
Here is the most interesting point I have noticed: Egyptians hate Hosni Mubarak
(their prez). Across classes, across the board, I have yet to hear one good thing
about him. The papers are positive...but of course many of those are state run.
People do not like this man. And he has been in power since 1981, since Sadat was
assassinated.
Anyway...what makes this interesting for me as an American is that people here also
hate George Bush. But because they hate Mubarak as well, in a weird way they sympathize
with Americans. Regardless of what your own politics are, it is nice to be told
as a visitor "we love the American people, but we do not like the American
president". I have heard that exact quote a number of times. And as no one
(no one that I have met well enough for it to come up, anyway) is a fan of their
own government, it is natural here not to define a people by those in power.
I recognize the sad quality of this, and that it does not fit America's ideal of
representation to be seen in this way. For those who feel represented by the current
administration, I imagine this observation does not come with any sense of relief.
But as a traveler, albeit one not supportive of the actions at home and abroad of
our current administration, I am glad for this sense of separation between me and
my country's foreign policy!
Example: I had an Egyptian friend intervene when an acquaintance was going off
on Americans...he said: "And you love Mubarak?". It diffused the situation,
and put it in a new perspective. So it can be a good defense mechanism. I personally
have not had to use it, and would frankly be shocked if I did as Egyptians are so
nice and have really sharp senses of humor (sometimes non-stop, even when I want
to be serious!).
On a similar note, I have talked to people about the upcoming November presidential
election in the US (most people don't know exactly how our system works, and are
interested to find out. Most do know there is a presidential election coming up,
though. As fits my experience traveling to other places, the world often knows
more about the US then we tend to about it...) More than once people have said
something to the effect of "At least you have your November...here we have
no November". In other words, they are stuck with Mubarak.
Several people have said they felt Egypt needed to have new leadership more often,
like America, in order to keep things moving, and to keep things better for the
people. At risk of sounding Pollyana-ish, this has made me appreciate getting to
vote...and has also made me think very hard about what happened in the last election,
and how important it is to make sure every vote counts.
I am assuming most of you do not keep up with Egyptian national politics, but interestingly
a majority of the cabinet members "resigned" a few weeks ago, and were
replaced by new faces. No one here seems impressed. I have heard the comments
'same gang', 'same group', etc. they are all still Mubarak appointees.
Final note on my political observations: most people speak quietly about this.
It is not the first thing out of their mouths, but something that comes up after
getting to know them, or if I am vouched for by being friends of a friend. There
is not a free press here, free speech, anything like that. And if anyone out there
asks me who has told me they hate Mubarak...well, I am really bad at remembering
names. Yes...it is like that.
Egypt has many resources, obviously is a major tourist destination, and people here
are **poor**. In part it is due to the transition from a socialist economy to a
capitalist one back in the 70's and 80's (goods were subsidized after the revolution
in 1952, and wages were set to match prices. When goods (including basics like
food) became privatized and priced 'by the market', prices went up...and wages have
not gone up since. Not to imply things were great back then, but like in the rest
of the world, the gap between the rich and the poor was certainly not so large.).
I have asked about wages here, and been frankly shocked by the answers. A teacher
in a public school averages about 40 pounds a month. That is less than US$7.00.
Private school teachers make more (the public school system is quite bad here...more
on that if you are interested). The average white collar worker wage here is about
300 to 400 pounds per month (about US$50 to $70). As even a poor or working class
American it is possible to live very well here. For middle and working class Egyptians,
however, it is very difficult to live well here. People are struggling financially.
----------------------------------------------
I will have to share some of the conversations I have had about religion with y'all
some other time. They have not been as much fun (for me, anyway). Religious discussions
take on a whole new dimension when you are living in a place that has an official
religion which 90% of the population follows, and where religion is so integrated
into civic and political life. I am coming from *such* a different base point (um,
separation of church and state being a basic tenet i was raised on in US public
schools!). More on that some other time...it makes me tired! Oh, and ask me about
my visit to the mosque when you see me as well...waaay to long to type, and too
crazy to explain without the benefit of face to face communication. That was a
tough (but memorable!) night, though it started with the best of intentions (and
ended in Coptic Church).
----------------------------------------------
Still a great trip overall...I still am amazed at what I am learning everyday.
I am a city girl, and Cairo is one of the great cities of the world. Locally it
is called Masr (Egypt), Al Qahira (the conquerer), and Om al Dunyah (mother of the
world).
Cairo definitely got under my skin the first time I was here, enough so that I made
this trip (my third time here) so long. Learning so much about how it works is
deepening the experience a bit; certainly any pre-conceived romantic views are rapidly
falling away. But what is surprising is that they are being replaced by new ones!
It is hard to explain, and I certainly do not mean to get esoteric, but this city
can feel like a living entity. And just like in a relationship with a person you
love, it captures your attention, it pisses you off, it confuses you, it seduces
you, it treats you like a queen, it makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it bores
you...sometimes all in one afternoon. ;-)
Cairenes know exactly why outsiders love their city, and they can tell when someone
has been taken under it's spell. If given the chance to connect with visitors,
locals will often lay out all the negatives of living here (and there are many).
But often they say they would not and could not stay anywhere else for too long.
I have met people here who lived in London, New York, all over the US...and sometimes
they cannot express what brought them back to Cairo. I say this knowing there are
millions of people here who will never have a chance to leave, and also having met
doctors and engineers who are driving taxis for extra money, and who want to get
to America to have a good life with opportunities they know are somewhere, for someone,
doing meaningful work. And I worry it will sounds a bit over the top. But...I
also know that it's true! Or is is at least one of the many truths a great city
can have.
On that note...until we meet again!
Lots of love from Cairo,
Monica
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