My Allah and My Country: Iraqi Scout Leaders Unite!

In the span of two days I have been to two of Cairo's most famous institutions. The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities and the Khan el Khalili Bazaar. You are probably familiar with the former as the home of many ancient Egyptian artifacts that Britain didn't keep, as well as the site of King Tut! (I was convinced he was on tour, but I was thankfully mistaken) The latter is also now unfortunately familiar to those of you who have been keeping track of the bombings. Before you join my mom and ask me why on earth I went to a site where a bomb exploded, you must know it is impossible to be in Egypt and not go to one of the greatest cultural and economic centers in the city. I promise I felt completely safe in all areas, and that I saw many, many policemen, including one who made Jayanthi and I pay more for our taxi.
The Museum was quite wonderful as well; my cousin Ashley's comments about the layout were certainly noticed. My friend Annie could tell us more about the different understandings of the word 'museum' in other places, everything from what should go into a museum to how the narratives should reflect upon history, etc. As Ashley warned me, there was a haphazard approach to displaying the artifacts and how they were maintained. Statues would be very nicely laid out with little cards bearing information, and then right behind them you could find crates and chairs and large pieces of stone with hieroglyphics lying on their side. One mummy case had a visible humidy gauge, yet most parts of the museum had windows open or varying temperatures, to say the least. I did find one "don't touch" sign, but found plenty more people touching to their hearts content. It worries me that statues or artefacts from King Tut's tomb could last for centuries, only to fall apart in an institution meant to preserve them. (King Tut and his gold and jewelry seem to be very carefully watched) It really was quite a spectacular museum, and these observations were clearly secondary to the immensity and magnitude of this great civilization. Very stunning and a humbling reminder that our own civilization isn't so secure. Wandering in the Khan and seeing multitudes of cheap plastic things or ugly and of poor quality clothes made me question how much the generations of the future will be interested in our junk.
One of my favorite things that I saw at the museum had nothing to do with artifacts, but everything to do with a large group of people with Iraqi Council badges on and cards indicating they were from the Council/League of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Jayanthi and I were really excited and really wanted to talk to them, but were too nervous and then had second thoughts. I don't like lying about where I am from, but looking at these normal, almost Egyptian looking men and women... and thinking about one of the reasons we were so excited to see something like Iraqi Boy and Girl Scouts... I just don't think it would be very easy for me to tell them that I'm American. Uh, and moving on from that note...
I registered for classes yesterday, which was initially an extremely upsetting and difficult process, but looking back on it, I hope that things worked out like they should. The Arabic level into which I placed is right between the levels that are available to take at an intensive speed, so my carefully drawn out plans to take an Intensive Arabic course were thwarted. However, now I will be taking an Egyptian colloquial class in addition to my regular Arabic class, which may result in the far better result of me being able to speak with people. Al hamdu lillah. Tonight I will be looking for an apartment (please please please let this one work out!) and getting a cell phone, in sha Allah. My other courses are Middle Eastern Comparative Politics, Intro to Development, and Modern Arab Literature in Translation. I'll let you know how I like them when I start next Monday at 8 am. Starting tomorrow I'll be in study abroad orientation on campus and then at the Red Sea from Friday until Sunday.

Faux- guesting and bootie shorts

From time to time I think it will be nice to have some 'guest' bloggers, or at least share some thoughts I have gathered from other students or Egyptians. My colloquial teacher has included a lot of cultural advice in all of her lectures ( most times responding to our limitless questions about proper behavior), and I thought it was very interesting. Though she does not wear a hijaab (the head scarf - but no veil in front of the face) she is a 54- year old Professor who describes herself as religious and old-fashioned. I still don't know quite how to read that; I haven't talked with enough Egyptians to make any kind of judgements on to what extent her opinions are widely shared (though I expect many are).

Some of her quotes in class:

" I don't lift my eyes to my husband's friend in the street unless he addresses me first... and you want to address women with your blond hair and blue eyes? Never."

Her response to a fellow classmate's questions on whether or not it was appropriate for him to say hello or ask women questions in the street.

" AUC? The people you see on the way out are not Egyptian. I'm speaking for the 99 percent of Egyptians."

I can't really comment on this one- though University education in Egypt is free, so students who come to AUC tend to be wealthy.

"Egyptians have the highest phone bills in the world."

(In response to the question "Do women vote?" ) "Yes, but they remember to cook breakfast first. The husband is more important than any election."

In response to international pressure (i.e. the US) and probably other factors, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt announced earlier this year that an election will be held for his office on September 7th, 2005. I don't think anyone has doubts about him commencing his 22nd year in office, but there are opposition candidates, though I have seen no evidence of them.

"Islam is all about treatment: how you treat other people. What you see all over the news is not Islam."

We also talked at length about many other cultural norms that will no doubt come up in future posts. Two days ago I taxed her because in a discussion about marriage and qualifications for women ( among other things virginity is essential- in Shari'a ,Islamic Law, it is legal for a man to kill his wife if he finds she is not a virgin after marriage) I was asking about expectations for male virginity (there are none), and many other students were chiming in as well about the discrepancies. Perhaps as payback, or, more seriously, a reminder of how so many American standards seem as horrifying to Egyptians, we discussed homes for the elderly. In Egypt, though she reports the waiting lists for these kinds of institutions are becoming longer, it is still considered shameful for the elderly to be apart from their children. She explained that it made the children look like they were ungrateful for being cared for when they were children and had no patience or generosity to return the favor for their parents.


That is all for now. I went to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities today, which will merit another post, but I cannot resist posting that I saw two women wearing shorts that were clearly designed to reveal what most shorts are designed to conceal. I felt awkard. I was pleased to note that most of the museum's visitors were conservatively attired.

P.S. I heard a rumor that Shakira is coming to Cairo! ( I.e. "Extremely beautiful Colombian singer with an incredible body and moves like you have never seen might be igniting the hearts of Egyptian men, and lets face it, women too, in Cairo soon." )
P.P.S. I had my first falafel!!!!! A sandwich was essentially 25 cents. I think Egypt has America beat now for cheap, unhealthy food.

Sincerely,

Girl waiting for her stomach to realize it is now in Egypt.

The restaurant moved back to Lebanon

Oh. There is so much to say! Once I have a bed and computer access I will share more, but my friend Jayanthi and I are taking a short visit to the internet cafe to relieve the exhaustion of trying to find somewhere to eat. My Rough Guide to Egypt, which in general is pretty great, gave us the name of a Lebanese restaurant in the area of Heliopolis, which is "close" to where I am staying, in Nasser City. After I came home from my colloquial class, I had told Jayanthi that I really wanted to go eat in a restaurant, since I hadn't yet and I was restless to eat something other than peanut butter and banana sandwiches and take out koshri. Hence, we hop in a cab and give general directions to the cab driver. 45 minutes later we are continually stopping and asking people for help= unfortunately all Egyptians tell you where to go even if they have no idea- not a good thing for lost people or restaurants : ) 2 more taxi cabs and 2 hours later, we are back. Hmm. Something was definately just lost in translation. That paragraph did nothing to communicate the frustrations of arguing for a fair taxi rate in Arabic, the small victories of making a joke about the restaurant going back in Lebanon, the bumper to bumper traffic and exhaust coming in through the window, and the beautiful fruit stands and people milling about. As Jayanthi just told me as she walked up - "I'm definately going to need Gilmore Girls tonight."

Me too. : )

Such is Egypt!

Blog like an Egyptian?

I'm here! Though the beautiful sights of Munchen from my airplane made me want to stay in Germany, I have officially arrived in the heart of the Middle East. The view from the airplane surprised me in its overwhelming smoginess and juxtaposition of tall apartment buildings and then huge sand pits. No question Cairo is in the desert. I know that probably sounds dumb, but even if you know not to expect topsoil and trees, it still comes as a shock.
A few hours into my stay in Cairo I have already stared at a map looking for appropriate apartment-search zones with a friend of Jayanthi's in the apartment in which we will stay for one or two nights until we have our own place. (Jayanthi is a fellow UGA student who was here over the summer and is my wonderful tour guide). Like my first time in NYC, the neighborhood names are strange but quick to come- I already know that Zamalek is full of ipods and ambassadors, that Maadi is way too expensive for us, and Mohandesseen is on the western side of the Nile, whereas Garden City and Heliopolis are on the eastern side. And that is just the beginning! I wonder how long it will take me to develop that confidence that only comes from foreigners or outsiders that in reality still have no idea what is going on, but can at least pretend they do to newcomers.
Of course I have no idea what is in store for tomorrow, outside of plans to look for an apartment in an area known as Dokki across the Nile from the American University in Cairo. I'll elaborate on that process after I have actually gone through it- but I think it's kind of a door to door type bargaining thing.

I'm off to go to sleep- comments suggesting a good name would be much appreciated. The suggested names are Long Sleeves, Blog Like an Egyptian, and e-Papyrus.

Sincerely,

Uncreative titler.