An Unexpected End

I guess in my heart I knew it would happen, but the shock is still settling in. After being evacuated from my trip to Beirut following the escalation of events in Egypt, I settled into a temporary guest room provided by my university and began to attend classes in Baltimore. I departed Beirut on February 1st, flew through London Heathrow to DFW and arrived in Texas on the 2nd. I spent the night in my own bed then was rushed off to Hopkins on the 3rd and arrived that evening. I won't lie, I cried from Beirut to Baltimore- I couldn't escape the feeling, no, the very certain knowledge, that I should have been in Egypt, not a sophomore dorm in Baltimore. But so it is. Revolution happens, and it's never really convenient.

 Following a brunch with the Dean and other evacuees the following Sunday, I reluctantly began attending classes while awaiting the University's decision on whether or not to allow students to continue studying in Egypt. In anticipation of my return, I even started a new blog to document the accounts of my friends on the ground in hopes that I would continue writing in a more academic manner about the post-revolutionary Egypt I would soon be a part of. On February 10th I tracked down the Hopkins director of study abroad to hear the University's conclusion (I wasn't in the mood to wait for emails). I really shouldn't have been too surprised, but the council's decision was something of a resounding 'hell no'. My words, not theirs. Damaging nonetheless.

I spent about 12 hours fiddling with the 5 stages of the grieving processes. I switched a few of them around and finally settled on bargaining as the stage of choice. Typical I know... Over the weekend the stage manifested itself in the form of a request to meet with one of the members of the deciding council. After a meeting on Monday morning I wrote a formal letter to this particular Vice Dean (at his request, might I add) which was then forwarded to the other members of the council. After an agonizingly long wait (about 2 days) I was informed of the University's compromise, which was as follows: I was to be allowed a return to Egypt only if I were to take a leave of absence i.e. sever all ties with the University while in Egypt. Well I could have taken a leave regardless of the whole letter writing business. The compromise involved the University offering to actually consider accepting up to 15 credits upon my return to Hopkins the following semester, as opposed to the normal amount of 6 credits. In the end this could have been a pretty ok arrangement, but the cost of carrying out such a plan (losing financial aid, government aid, and paying AUC directly) was just a bit too high, so I descended into the fifth stage and hung my head.

But there's always a plan B.

So I cashed in on the acceptance to the American University in Beirut I'd received earlier in the week. Since AUB classes didn't start till the 16th I was in something of an ok position to rush over there and attend for the semester. Pending concrete plans regarding living arrangements, I'll be leaving this evening at 7 to Beirut via London. All my things are still in Cairo of course so I'll return next weekend to move out all my things and say bye to the room mates (and the boyfriend). But then Beirut it is. Paris of the Middle East. Hezbollah hotbed. Ah beautiful, cosmopolitan, closet-French Beirut, here I come...

I'm sad to leave this blog behind, we've had some good times together, but please make the move with me and follow my upcoming Lebanese adventures on my newest blog, Plan B(eirut) at http://beirutblonde.blogspot.com/

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When Beirut is safer than Cairo...

Although I’m currently in Lebanon, I think it would be most prudent to talk about everyone's main interest at the moment: Egypt. Pictures are not loading successfully, but I will attempt a different internet location later in the day.

In order to fully understand the current situation in Cairo it is best to place it in the context of recent movements in the region, most notably the overthrow in January of Tunisian president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. Not longer after the success of the Tunisian revolutionaries, a Facebook event was created in Egypt scheduling a protest against crime and corruption in the Egyptian government. The event was scheduled for Tuesday January 25^th , Police Day in Egypt, clearly inspired by the successful regime overthrow in Tunisia as evidenced by the picture of the Facebook group- a Tunisian and Egyptian flag intertwined. As mentioned in the news, this movement was largely started by the Egyptian youth who are eager for change.  Though, considering that according to the UN Population Division there are over 17 million youth aged 15-24 in the country, is this surprising?

Though Egyptian protests have certainly take on their own character, there is still a highly evident emotional connection with the recent events of Tunisia

A precursor to the dramatic events that unfolded in Tunisia was the action of Mohammad El Bouazizi,  a Tunisian citizen who set himself on fire on front of a government building in protest of Tunisian policies. Likely in mimicry of this event, last week a number of Egyptians set themselves on fire in various locations around Egypt, including in front of the parliament building in Tahrir. One of these men has gained notoriety because of the emotional story behind his decision to burn himself. Though I question the accuracy of this story, especially since the English and Arabic versions differ significantly from one another, it is as follows: Abdou Abdel Monaim Gaafar was a participant in a government program that provides the impoverished with a modest monthly stipend and rations of bread at the beginning of each month. When he turned up to receive his stipend and ration he was refused because officials in charge were not able to locate his name among the list of those to receive assistance. After re-registering and applying for his bread, and despite having received official leave, Monaim was informed by the official in charge of distributing rations that it was only out of the goodness of her own heart, and because she pitied him, that he was receiving anything at all. So distraught by the constantly patronizing and disrespectful manner in which people of his station were regularly treated, Monaim displayed in action what his words couldn’t communicate and set himself on fire in front of the Parliament building in Tahrir.

Anger, not only with the government, but with their stooges, the Egyptian Police force, stems not only from their regularly invasive and pushy behavior, but from such horror stories as that of a conservative Muslim youth employed by a popular store owned by the Muslim Brotherhood (Tawhid al-Noor in Midan Ramses). When churches in Alexandria were bombed over new years, he was pulled off the street and taken in for questioning, seemingly for no apparent reason. After being beaten and tortured by the police, he was dropped outside a local hospital where he died. This is only one of many stories in a long line of evidence of corrupt and violent police behavior. This is certainly not the first unprecedented arrest and by no means the first violent death caused by the corrupt Egyptian Police.

Being no stranger to Facebook, the Egyptian government required the increased presence of police officers at all major sites around Cairo, though particularly in Tahrir Square, where the event was supposed to take place. Whether deterred by the police presence or by the failure of a similarly planned event in April of 2008, a small crowd of only 200-300 people showed up. Lack of confidence in the veracity of the Facebook event was not peculiar since Mubarak’s regime has a long history not only of quashing protests in action, but of making sure they don’t happen in the first place. And so it is no surprise that not much happened on Tuesday, January 25^th. On my way to the airport through Tahrir and other parts of Cairo, other than an increased police presence there was no sign of protest or disruption. By the time I arrived in Beirut there was little news other than that a minor group of protesters had taken a stand in the centrally located Tahrir Square. The focus of news specials was in fact the unrest in my current location, Beirut, where anti-Hezbollah Lebanese flooded the streets to protest the election of a Hezbollah candidate.

 Thanks to the efforts of the government, citizens were hard pressed to voice their opinions any more successfully on Wednesday or Thursday than they were on Tuesday. As it happened, in order to circumvent official efforts to thwart large groups from gathering to protest, a new Facebook event called for people to use the Friday prayers as a way to first gather and then form as a group to protest. When the government subsequently ordered that Cairo’s largest mosques refrain from holding Friday prayers, the religious leaders of the venerable Al- Azhar Mosque refused. The success of the Friday prayer protests prompted the government’s closure of Facebook and subsequent disruption of cell phone and internet services. Note however that land-lines are still in working order, and it is in this way that we’ve been able to receive information from family and friends on the ground in Cairo.

On Friday, as the effects of what has obviously become a full scale protest, and perhaps a revolution, began to ripple across the region and the marketplace, oil prices increased, leaders of Eypt’s ally countries began discussing the situation publicly, and Egyptians waited impatiently for their disgraced President of 30 years to speak to his country. Mubarak’s nighttime speech, meant to address the concerns of the protesters, only spurred them to greater action after he subtly refused to take responsibility for any of their concerns and laid the blame on the current government, which he promptly dismissed from duty. Note that Mubarak hardly considers himself a member of the government, current or no, because he is simply above such things. I suppose when you’ve been in office for nearly 30 years it’s much easier to settle into such a mindset.

The curfew, which began on Friday, was extended on Saturday from 4pm-8am. The establishment of a curfew only seems, again, to have encouraged protestors to disobey government orders. Thanks to the actions of the increasingly violent police force, the death toll currently stands at approximately  100. At the time of writing the death toll in Egypt’s major cities stands at: Cairo-25, Suez- 38, Alexandria- 36. Videos of Tahrir Sqare today showed the crowd supporting the lifeless body of a fallen protestor on a stretcher. 3 protestors were killed attempting to enter the Interior Ministry. Later footage showed scores of wailing Egyptians brandishing the National ID’s of their loved ones outside the entrance of the morgue at Salam Hospital, the best public hospital in the area. Later footage revealed a number of bodies inside the morgue, which the coroner identified as having been subject to live ammunition.

Amidst all of this, today National Democratic Party leader Ahmed Ezz resigned from his post and was revealed to have later attempted to leave the country, only to be  denied an exit pass by Egyptian Authorities. The Eyptian Cabinet formally submitted resignations, and Hosni Mubarak appointed and swore in Omar Soliman as Vice President, the first in 15 years.

Police forces attacking the 'violent masses' at prayer

As Friday wore on, the decreased presence of Police forces was clearly evident, as was a rise in reports of looting and violence. While it would be correct to positively correlate the two, it is not necessarily for the reasons one would think.

For example, although the Army arrived too late on Friday to stop significant looting of the Cairo museum there is a strong likelihood that the Police themselves are responsible for most of the looting and violence that is causing the movement to look bad. Further evidence in support of this theory is that no artifacts were in fact missing, they were only destroyed. Were the perpetrators to have been impoverished people looking to sell something of value, it follows that they would have actually taken artifacts.  A similar pattern is evident throughout Cairo where, in another incident, people attempting to protect their own homes from looters successfully captured a band of thugs and found Central Security ID’s on them.  Though they do not comprise the entirety of looters, as shown by a recent large capture in Alexandria, it is clear that many members of the police force have retreated from the streets only to change into plainclothes and begin terrorizing the city. Thus we have the Egyptian Army emerging as the true policing force in Cairo at the moment.

It is important to consider that for the Police forces, an end of the Mubarak regime is rightly an end of a very particular way of life. Having ‘worked hard’ to become part of the rigidly corrupt bureaucracy that characterizes the Police Forces, most officers do not anticipate being reduced to simple civil servants without a fight. On the other hand, the army, being an enclosed institution in itself (and an underpaid one), has no incentive to clash with protesters or oppose the ushering in of a new regime. The army has no reason to expect that their way of life will change. In addition, protesters are treating the army with the greatest respect, handing them flowers, spray painting tanks with anti-Mubarak slogans, and buying them food. A recent shot showed an officer waving while being happily carried on the shoulders of a group of protesters. The army is composed of Egyptians who live much more similarly to the average protester than anyone in the police forces ever has or will.  This is not surprising since service in the military is mandatory for almost all Egyptian males and so many people have intimate connections within the military, whether it be family or friends. Note especially among the protesters that no evidence of flags or words in support of any faction or sectarian group have emerged. All we have are Egyptian flags and the Egyptian national anthem being sung- all nationalist feelings and words. While some question the role of the Muslim Brotherhood in all of this I find they have made it very clear they do not wish to fill the power void that is emerging. They do not support anything different than the masses of protesters themselves and wish only to see the requests of thousands of Egyptians filled. Regardless of their stance, the Brotherhood would never find the support it needs from the Egyptian population at large. The only reason they ever participated in government, and were in fact elected in any capacity in the first place was simply to provide something that wasn’t the National Democractic Party.

I am currently in Beirut, Lebanon with my friend Mido and a number of other students from the German University in Cairo. Though cell phone service has now been mostly restored, we have been communicating most securely with those using land lines. After receiving such a call from Mido’s friend, Bassem, in Egypt, we know that as of Friday night even in the Shoubra Corniche residents of apartment buildings were coming to stand on the street with sticks and knives and anything they could think of to defend themselves from potential robberies. Nearby buildings have reported such actions, though these particular buildings have yet to actually fend anyone off. A nearby mall, one of the first casualties of the mob was looted and continues to burn. For many of Cairo’s poorest this is, unfortunately, the opportunity of a lifetime - perhaps one more thing to blame on Mubarak’s regime. The latest news from Shoubra terms the area a ‘war zone’ with thugs using guns to further threaten locals and their homes. It is nearly clear at this point that the Egyptian police, who have slowly been disappearing from sight are behind some of these attacks.

Mido’s Mother and sisters are currently in Mansoura, Egypt’s third largest city. While they report large crowds and a military presence, the city is calmer than Cairo or Alexandria.  News does not bode so well for Mido’s old car though (it was just handed down to his sister). A policeman attempting to hide from objects being thrown at him by protestors instead caused the objects to be thrown at Mido’s car, which now bears evidence of the assault. There are also concerns that Mido’s brand new Jeep which has only been driven twice will be harmed seeing as how it's sitting all alone in the wealthy Nasser City, without license plates.

Because all cell phone and internet lines have been cut in Egypt, internet discussion and activity, especially Facebook, has been limited to current Egyptian expatriates. This doesn’t mean they don’t have plenty to say though, and everything from passionate pleas that others pass along the voices of those stuck in Egypt via Facebook Status, to humorous political cartoons and Facebook events, like the “Mubarak Farewell Party” can be found gracing the daily news feed.

Egyptians encourage Mubarak to join his Tunisian counterpart in Saudi Arabia

My future in Egypt is entirely uncertain at this point. I have received notice from Johns Hopkins not only to register with ISOS, but that there is a very real possibility that the three of us currently enrolled at the American University in Cairo will be require to evacuate. AUC itself has canceled the first week of classes, which were to have begun today. I will be in touch with the State Department and the American Embassy in Beirut to ensure that things procede as smoothly as possibly. Though I am grateful for the safety, security, and wireless afforded by my current location, I part of me can’t help but wish I were in Egypt witnessing history, and supporting the brave people of a country I have come to love in their fight for a justice and independence that it is three decades overdue. 

For an more specific concerns or questions, please post in the comments section. If there is anything you’d like to here from those currently in Cairo I’ll make sure they get asked, next time we hear from them.

Prelude to Insanity

Well I’ve really done it now. A little over a year ago my greatest challenge was softly breaking it to my parents that I was dead set on coming to Egypt to study for a semester. Either they’ve gained confidence in me or I have a talent for breaking wills considering that I ended up back here, without a fight, to finish the year out. The fact that I’m writing from a hotel in Beirut, Lebanon is only further proof of this point, but more on that later.

Thankfully there is little to say about my return trip to Cairo. It was the polar opposite of my maiden voyage- no broken skin, no broken luggage, it took me less than 45 minutes to get from the plane to a car bound for home, and this time around, I actually knew where I was going.

I’ve had a few internal debates about what to do with the blog this semester. I’d like to turn to something with a slightly more serious tone that addresses topics other than my daily activities, which to tend to put all but the most dedicated readers to sleep. I’ve find myself lacking proper imagination for such an exploit however, so suggestions regarding format or topics are more than welcome.

Here’s to a fantastic Spring semester!

The Home Stretch Part III: Khalas

My last week here was spent in something of a finals/Christmas fervor.  It’s mostly all a blur but I remember that, among other things, I went to see the Cairo Choral Society’s performance of Handel’s Messiah in its entirety. The Soprano soloist was phenomenal (and the only one other than the concertmaster to get a bio in the program haha).

They had three child soloists do “And Suddenly..” and it was... cute.. but they cracked and I would have preferred to hear it on the Soprano, which is, to the best of my knowledge, who it was originally written for.

The kids

 Later in the week (or earlier?) I was presented with the singular opportunity to buy... a Christmas tree!!!

 

The snazzy establishment

It’s so amazing and I love it. To date its decorations include: A Charlie Brown Star made from yellow paper off my legal pad..

Making the Charlie Brown star

... an Easter bunny angel, a long broken necklace (trim!), a short unbroken necklace (more trim), beautiful pink and silver ornaments that I bought with the tree (the lone legitimate decorations) aaand my red scarf as the tree skirt thing (complements of Rohit and Anisha).

 

It feels so Christmas-y in the apartment now!! 

Thank you Mido for your excellent bargaining skills and for telling everyone I’m Egyptian.

Success! 

 Poor timing though it was, last Monday I was blessed with the presence of two of my very own Hopkins colleagues, Dylan Cowart and Christine Fiedler. Unfortunately I’m super lame and was desperately trying to write one of those last minute papers of mine so I couldn’t exactly devote my full attention to them. We were able to share a few beverages together though and all in all it was just lovely to see some familiar faces again.

And finals came, and finals went.

In celebration of them going, on Saturday evening I ended up at the German bakery in Zamalek (we're regular customer there for the purchase of German pretzels) which was decked out for Christmas.

I then continued on to relaxing at khan al-khalili with some tea, shisha and friends. Which provides a pretty appropriate segue into the truly final leg of my Cairo adventures: Christmas shopping in the Khan al-Khalili. It inadvertently began that night. I just meant to be looking around and before I knew it I was in a scary back room full of merchandise (reminiscent of that one time on Canal street....) I can’t actually spill too much because then you all will know what I got you for Christmas, but just know that most of the shopping involved me being a quiet Egyptian girl pointing at what I wanted while I let (a) real Egyptian(s) do all the heavy bargaining on my behalf.  You can buy A LOT with $200 using this method. I went back the next day to get whatever I hadn’t already got, and khalas.

On Monday I took my last final, made a few last Christmas stops on my way home from University, showered and packed my stuff and was chauffeured in style to the Airport. Predictably it was something of a hellish experience and, even more predictably, I was the only standby denied entry to the flight. Well second trys the charm when it comes to this trip, so tonight I should finally be headed home. Expect a full run down in my epilogue, to be written upon my arrival in 76137.

Home Stretch Part II: Lauren and Marlene’s Sandy Adventure

As luck would have it, a couple Thursdays ago I was refused entry onto the bus because I was partaking of an ice cream sundae. So while I was finishing it up, my long lost friend Jacob, from the Luxor-Aswan days, showed up out of nowhere. After a bit of conversation I learned that he and a few others were heading to the Black and White desert over the weekend for a camping trip. Whether out of politeness or genuine friendly interest, he invited me along. Just so I’d have something to blog about of course, I readily assented. While the trip wasn’t exactly as planned as I would have liked (no bus tickets, no desert guide, no nothing) we all had smiles on our faces and extra pairs of underwear. We could have conquered anything. Of course things started going wrong almost immediately. To begin with, our plans to show up at the bus station and buy our tickets in the morning were hastily scrapped when we found out all the tickets had been sold. We rushed to another station about 15 minutes away to see if their portion of the tickets were sold as well, but by the time we arrived the bus had left. Lucky for us, this bus station number two is also a general rallying point for the microbuses of Cairo and we tried our luck at securing a mini bus to Bahariyya oasis, the departure point for trips into the desert.

Waiting to get a mini-bus

Thanks to the excellent Arabic skills of a certain Mido (being Egyptian helps with that..) we/he eventually worked through a number of unforgiving drivers till about two hours later we nearly secured passage on a private minibus for Le450. Unfortunately at around the same time Jacob had utilized his fallback and called a tour operator who arrived on the scene and got us a Le500 minibus and a arranged for two guides with 4x4’s to meet us when we arrived in Bahariyya. I can’t really complain. So a few hours, some snacks and an unsuccessful nap later we roll into the ‘oasis’ and are met by a couple of really beat up Jeeps which hastily whisked us away into the black and white deserts. 

Getting Whisked

As handy as I like to think I am with the English language I think this short clip will give you the most accurate idea of what our desert romp was really like. These guys are wayy too handy with their 4x4's.

Brief intro to the whole black and white desert thing. Both desert areas are part of Egypt's Western desert. The Black desert is so called because of the layers of black debris left by previous volcanic activity. You know you're in the Black desert because the entire place appears to be covered with crumbled oreos. The white desert is the pristine opposite of the black. The sand is so ridiculously fine and soft and large white cusps of chalk rise up out of the ground all over the place. Some of the more giant ones have been shaped by wind and sand over the years creating some pretty sick rock formations- the major appeal of the place.

I think this one was called the chicken? 

After watching the sunset from the top of the hill featured in the above video we scurried off to a nice flat space to make camp...

 

Sunset in the desert. Jealous?

In no time at all our bedouin guides had erected what at least amounts to a 4 star establishment using only their cars, some tapestries and a few blankets. While this was going on I wasted no time in plopping myself down on the sand and basically just staring at the sky. I was feeling a little Lion King-esque, but no seriously guys I have never seen this many stars in my entire life. There a like 12 dippers of varying sizes out there. I even saw the milky way, for the first time ever. Oh, and Orion’s bow? Yeah, I saw it, no big deal (=REALLY FRICKIN HUGE DEAL) On the one hand I wish I could have captured this on film, on the other hand, you punks are just gonna have to see it for yourselves one day.

Around this time the desert, as it is wont to do, started to turn deathly cold. We did our best to huddle around the campfire and entertain eachother while our Bedouins cooked some delicious foods. I remember sharing a lot of entertaining stories, I just don’t remember what they were.

Campire and accommodations in background

Badi shwaya Our delicious meal was ready and we eagerly sat down to consume our chicken, rice, and tomato-potato soupy delicious stuff. Maybe we were just starving... but that was one of the best meals ever. I think there were potato chips involved too. There usually are.

After the meal we migrated back toward the fire where the guides made some tea to pass around that was so sweet it actually made my teeth hurt. I had three cups. Our time around the fire was most memorably marked by song time, complete with tabla and balady tunes. Once our Bedouins got tired of us not knowing any songs we all slowly began to pitch in our own cultural musical contributions. Which is how I ended up in a desert in the middle of Egypt singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer with a couple Christians, four Muslims, a Hindu, and a Jew. Add Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire and I’ll be Home for Christmas and it was certainly an experience I won’t be forgetting soon. Eventually it was time to head bed-wards and I walked across the icy sand, cringing, to finish putting on every single item of clothing I’d brought with me, and some of Mido’s too. All in all I had on about 5 layers up top, I think 4 on bottom, a scarf, and a pair of socks (thanks, big guy!) Of course as was bound to happen eventually, nature called, and while I try to refrain from sharing my defecation stories with you, I just want everyone to know that not only did I walk about 10 minutes to get to a spot that felt private enough to dig a hole and ‘go’ in, but that I’ve had to pee in a lot, and I mean A LOT of strange places since my arrival in Egypt, and this was by far the most magical of them all. If I hadn’t had tp with me though it would have sucked. Because not even billions of divinely beautiful stars can make up for the need to air dry in below freezing weather.  TMI mumkin? Sorry.

Back at the campsite, we were each issued one camel hair blanket and one fluffy sleeping bag. While some of us could have fit ourselves in them twice (Nitasha), and others just plain didn’t fit at all (Mido), most of us managed to cover most ourselves with some ounce of cloth and in the freezing cold, under the stars, we attempted to sleep. Attempted. I woke up what felt like every 30 minutes wishing for either the morning or a quick death. Mostly the quick death.  When I was not being suicidal however I’m told I was busy kicking off all my blankets, thankfully a special someone was there to throw my blankets back on. Thanks you. Eventually I opened my eyes for the millionth time and was a little jolted because everything was red. Ahh said I, and removed the red blanket from over my face. Sun! At last! I was the second one up guys, can you believe it? Mostly because I was too cold to stay supine any longer, I spent a few minutes trying, unsuccessfully, to regain feeling in my extremities then just gave up and went off to find Jacob, the first one up. He was, predictably, off taking pictures, so I joined him and we opted for a rather long Bollywood style photo shoot, not returning from our adventures till breakfast had been lain on the table. Whether from the cold or some unsatisfactorily prepared chicken the night before my stomach was in major revolt mode and I just sat by waiting to depart (I took a piece of bread though, just in case. Oh and some cheese, because its not cool to waste that stuff).  We wended our way back from where we came from with a few variations and quite a few more stops which took us to some terribly photographable places...

...including one hike up a semi treacherous hill-mountain thing. It was awesome. There were those little piles of stones from all the people who’d made it to the top.

Made it!

            Eventually we made it back to the town proper, but not without getting stuck in the sand first...

... And right outside what I think was a guard tower that we weren't supposed to be driving around...

We paid the drivers, bought some snacks, and headed back to Cairo. The next morning marked the beginning of the end of my semester at AUC and was fun filled with rehearsals and quizzes. I’ll save the remaining events for my last post, which will come before I actually depart Cairo Inshallah.  

Home Stretch Part I: Fancy Duds

It’s a shame that only now, on the eve of my departure from this great nation of subsidized goods, have I realized the true function of my blog all along: not merely to document those activities worth documenting, but to ensure that I am actually regularly engaging in such activities. As will shortly become shockingly evident, to the latter point’s end, the blog has failed me. I fear that I have, in fact, wasted some of my time here in Egypt. The shortage in my list of noteworthy activities can, however, be attributed to two things: A well nurtured fear of the notorious Bedouin Kursi i.e. Bedouin chair a la aforementioned train ride from Luxor (Have I become a comfort first traveler?!), and secondly, my arrival at the adjustment phase of the culture shock process; I think I might feel so at home here now that sometimes I forget I’m supposed to be exploring.  All of that being said, allow me to delve into some of the more photographable events of the last month or so.

Shortly following my last post of just over a month ago was the start of the Eid al Adha, or, the feast of the sacrifice. This is a Muslim holiday celebrating the decision of Abraham to obey God by sacrificing his only son. In commemoration of the fact that God said jk at the last minute and had Abraham sacrifice a lamb instead, everyone sacrifices and feasts on lamb during the Eid. Blood runs in the streets of Cairo, amusing cartoons depicting terrified sheep are printed in the local papers, and everyone gets a week off from work and classes. No one does much of anything except for the butchers and felluca captains.

Rather than do the smart thing and plan an exotic trip to some nearby country, or a different city even, I sat back on my haunches and observed the transformation of Cairo during the Eid. Large families of ghetto Egyptians pile into microbuses and flood into the city to treat themselves to a night on the town, some ice cream for the wife, toys for the kids. Intimidating groups of gangly youths with their hair slicked back stand on the corniche gently harassing out of towners and passers by. Its like regular Cairo with the population and cars multiplied. All the rich people leave the city, all the poor ones enter, and traffic is abominable (except on Kobry October, which Mido drove over multiple times during the Eid just to feel the wind on his head).

My rhythm during the week resembled finals period, but without the stress. I stayed up all night smoking and talking with friends then slept all day, woke up around 5 or 6, spent some time with my pals Sean T. and P90X, then did it all over again. To break up the rhythm were a few things, including a visit to Cairo tower, and seeing The Social Network and Arry Botter with Arabic subtitles. At Cairo tower, rather than pay the extremely high price charged to foreigners as opposed to Egyptians, I successfully imitated an Egyptian and entered for about Le30 (well really I entered for free since I was accompanied my an Egyptian male and they never let you pay for anything yourself). We arrived at the perfect time and got to see the city just as the sun was going down, intensely cool. 

 

The tower from the bottom, complete with proud Egyptian eagle. Do they even have Eagles here?

Look carefully, those are the pyramids in the background!

Al Ahly practicing! Just a bit too cool.

To complete the near perfect evening, I went to Chili’s, yes, Chili’s (there was Texas stuff errywhere), ordered a Cobb salad, and consumed my fried chicken and beef bacon in ecstasy. 

At some point during the week one of my shisha expeditions took me to an empty alleyway of the Khan al Khalili where I stole a few choice night shots of some of the oldest mosques in Cairo and what remains of the wall that surrounded the old city. 

Bab al Futuh, built in 1087 AD

Empty street along the northern edge of the khan

masgid?

Immediately following the Eid I had to complete a couple papers for class. I turned them both in on time (it was like high school all over again!) and then slumped back into the boring cycle of things. As invigorating as some of the coursework here is, it’s no Hopkins. I’ll admit that I’m pretty bored most of the time (so I better get all A’s right?). Just know, Johnny Hopkins, if you’d actually get your act together and invest in a real Arabic program, and a real Middle Eastern studies professor (let alone a department or program), I’d come back to you in a heartbeat. Till then I’ll gamble on this place.

Speaking of this place, I got a new place. Discouraged by the lack of suitable apartments in Cairo, we slowly gave up on moving, until one day a magical email came through on the CairoScholars Listserv advertising a beautifully renovated apartment of the same architectural background as our own, in a more convenient location and for a reasonable price. We immediately went to see it. Same high ceilings and wooden floors, with fresh tiling and paint, a working elevator, attentive bowab, and a mosque only 1/16^th the size of the old one next door. Friends, it was love at first sight. As if all this wasn’t enough, we soon discovered that the landlady was in fact a cousin of Alison’s boyfriend (Armenians are not unlike Mexicans in this regard), and therefore much more favorably inclined toward us than the replacements the previous tenant had handpicked. A few minor squabbles and an incredible amount of cash later, the apartment was ours.

A brief tour:

When you walk in the front door..

 ..Then turn right..

..Then turn around..

..then keep turning..

..then walk forward and turn around again..

hamam

Küche

More to follow. 

This is only an account of a few weeks from the last month. I'm gonna go all wikileaks and carefully time the release of my material so as to do my adventures justice. That and I have no internet in the new apartment yet so I'm posting all this from the bus that transports me between downtown and my desert school. The next post is mostly written though so check back in a couple days for events even better than these! Plus I'm leaving in about a week so I have alot of material to cram into a small period of time...

Vignettes and recollections

On clothing:

My conscientious objection to fashion in general is severely under-appreciated here. I actually have to wear real clothes on a regular basis, and its really starting to hurt my soul. I miss my sweatpants and t-shirts. I never liked to think of myself as frumpy per se.. I'm  just.. comfortable at heart. Real clothes are for real occasions, and I'm just not one to think of every day as a real occasion. That and I'm running out of new outfits. Everyone has already seen all the clothing I have to offer. Even if I wanted to switch things up, I really couldn't. I have some initial thoughts as to why the pressure is on here and not at home, but I don't really consider them particularly pc so I'll just leave them in my head for now.

On food:

• Well, the bread diet ended. Not really sure what it was supposed to accomplish anyway, but I don't think it worked. Not that I was so strict about it anyway (Friday night shwarma and the brownie incident?).

• I've always had a healthy appetite for tea, and it has only increased since I arrived here. I'm still not sure why that is exactly, but I think its something to do with the fact that at least the tea isn't water (eh almost).  Now, as result of this increased tea consumption, my tastes have become ( I hope) somewhat more refined and I've started to notice that tea here just hasn't been tasting good. I'm not sure if this is because I've gotten pickier or because the water here just tastes horrible, but I'm leaning toward the latter. I've also finally invested in some Twinings instead of the usual Lipton, which i've heard actually tastes like dirt to those who know any better.

• I made basboussa last night! (bread based.....) I didn't keep it in the oven long enough, so it wasn't all pretty and brown on top like its supposed to be, but I thought it was pretty ok (for having come from a box..) 

- Some culinary truisms:

• If the recipe starts out with you whipping butter and sugar together, you have to be an idiot to not produce something delicious.
• Add lemon to anything, anything, and it will taste better.
• Pending further experimentation, the same miiiight be true of plain yogurt.

On society and entertainment:

I have been blessed thus far with the company of particularly pleasing set of individuals. They are friendly, helpful, attractive, and fantastic dancers, diners, and bowlers. May things always be so easy, because God knows I'm not one to put forth the effort usually required to make lasting friends. I have that whole foreign advantage thing here, but it's something that I still have yet to see as more of a blessing than a curse.

-This week:

• More bowling!

Its all about the shoes. We got mad style. Furthermore, I got velcro. 

Probably my best bowling score ever. Nothing like a little competition to improve accuracy.(Click to enlarge) 

• I had to evaluate a 'traditional Arab music' performance for class, so I attended a performance by the Sharara Sextet, which was taking place as part of the 19th Annual Conference and Festival of Arab Music at the Cairo Opera House. I was accompanied by my spectacularly attired partner in crime, Mido, and we took the place by storm. No pictures of how good we looked, unfortunately, but you can use your imagination.

I have the utmost respect for soloists who direct, while soloing, as effectively as this guy.

• I went to a fashion show tonight, but didn't take any pictures because I was a little.. distracted..

On my sanity:

I had a dream Sunday night that I was washing some Egyptian's car in the street under my building (it looked eerily similar to the car I dropped a broom on) and that a bunch of interns were jeering me from the top of the next building, asking me why I was here. But I couldn't answer them. Just mumbled something about applying for an internship next summer and they all stood around and shook their heads like mhmm sure you did. (All the interns were Asian by the way, not sure if thats relevant)

~

Continuity aside, the thought processes presented here should give you a pretty good idea of how my weeks in general are going nowadays. Mix in a few house parties, laundry, some Egyptian drama, fresh juice and authentic German pretzels, and you're all caught up with the life of Lauren.