Evaluation time!

Today I went to a evaluation session organized to get feedback on how to recruit to Universities that don't/haven't sent many people and about study abroad in general. It elicited some reflection on AUC and my study abroad experience, so I thought I should do some of my initial evaluation, particularly if anyone is reading or will read this blog for more information on AUC.

I'm not sure what order to go in and I know I won't cover everything, but the highlights are as follows! : )

1) Choosing to study abroad in the Middle East: A wonderful decision, and as the President of AUC mentioned in his opening address, something like only 2,000 students from the US study in the Middle East every year, about 1400 of them in Israel. There don't appear to be many year long or semester long options- someone (maybe Middle Eastern Studies Association) needs to do a better job at having these compiled and evaluated. The American University in Beirut and in Cairo are the most known and most popular, but the travel warning on Lebanon is probably a hindrance (though we felt completely safe). It is a fantastic, yet greatly misunderstood region, and I highly support studying here.

2) AUC in particular: As far as my Cairo experience goes, I have nothing but extreme praise. AUC, on the other hand, like any University, has its ups and downs. As a teacher friend puts it American students studying abroad from the US are coming from 1st rate universities, but they find a 2nd or 3rd rate university. The AUC does have many first rate programs and teachers and research opportunities, but it also has a student body that, with exceptions, of course, seems more concerned with style than substance. The environment here is often more akin to high school than college, which appears to be one of the results of the Egyptian educational system and, to be honest, it is often the first time boys and girls are educated together. It is also hard to make friends with people on campus, but if you are active in pursuing them it can definitely happen. From informal discussions with my friends the Arabic program is always praised, Political Science almost universally considered weak (outside of seminars and grad classes), and any class at the 200 level also dismissed. If you want to come to learn Arabic, either do it through another school in Cairo or through the Arabic Language Institute. The other classes just take too much time to completely focus on Arabic. Getting involved with clubs and volunteering can be difficult, but not impossible. Things like teaching English are facilitated easily and I've also had friends do service with orphans. Many of the clubs are focused on fundraising or active primarily in the Ramadan season.

3) Housing

It depends on what you are looking for. The dorm offers a very safe and easy option; students in the dorm become close friends and are more connected to International Student Life. The ISSO office also doesn't actively help you find alternate housing, but there are always signs up at the University and at some of the other expat cultural places in town like the British Council or the Goethe Institute. Living in an apartment is far, far cheaper than the dorms and integrates you more into Egyptian life, but can be troublesome to find in the beginning, especially if you don't speak Arabic. Most students who stay at AUC for a year spend half of the time in the dorm and the other half in an apartment. All apartments are furnished, though, so aside from buying additional cooking and cleaning supplies, you don't have to worry about finding furniture.

4) Economics

Cairo is an extremely cheap place to live if you are in a modest apartment and don't eat out at expensive restaurants all of the time. The AUC estimate of semester costs center around $15,000, which I think is very inflated. Tuition at AUC is almost $7,000, which meant that it was more expensive than an entire semester, all expenses included, at UGA, not an easy amount to swallow. However, after tuition and airfare, you can get by on $ 2,000 - $ 2,500 for the semester easily. I can get about 6 lbs of vegetables for less than a dollar fifty, falafel sandwiches for 15 cents, and my apartment, shared with two other girls, is about $ 125 a month for me. Most apartments per person run from this to about $ 300. Of course there are other expenses that are greater, but things are generally very cheap.

I've only really brushed the surface, and so many things are up to personal preference and different encounters, but this is how I see it! When AUC moves out to the middle of nowhere in two years it could turn into quite another experience, especially because being in the middle of downtown is perfect, but I think there will still be quite a lot going on.

I've been trying to upload pictures of mommy for days and days but the internet keeps being mean. In Sha Allah it will happen soon!

For sale

This has bothered me for some time, but yesterday it was taken to a new level, or at least, a Helen-begins-to-rant level.

Adidas. Vodafone. Mobinil. Sony Ericsson. Mango. Panasonic. Espirit. United Colors of Benetton. Several other computer/phone oriented corporations. Nestle.

What do all of these have in common? They have assaulted my school with gigantic banners, booths set up in the middle of walkways, people walking around giving out things, and fliers. I come from public school America, so I'm used to the corporate advertising in stadiums, the plethora of Coke machines, the tables selling the Atlanta Journal Constitution or trying to get me to sign up for Visa. But never have I encountered quite the spectacle of marketing that is AUC. Of course the advertisers are genius- the AUC is home to the richest and most western students in all of Egypt. But does AUC really have to put up with this? This is an institution for education, not commercialism. When there are more vendors than student groups, more banners for Adidas than the school play, there is a huge problem.

rrrg. End of righteous indignation.

I wanna know...

After a late night of studying Arabic, I woke up early to take a shower, and nearly immediately screwed up my face in disgust when bringing in my towel from the line. We don't know why, but about once a week something is sprayed or released or who knows what in our neighborhood in the early hours of the morning and a thick fog of disgusting-smelling something fills the air and attacks our noses and clothes, which are just politely minding their business and drying themselves, but become brutally assaulted by the smell. Add that one to the list of things I doubt I'll ever understand.

After this disappointing beginning to the day, we walked out and after customary morning greetings to the boab, felt a few drops of moisture, but chalking it off to either the fog of doom or dripping air conditioners (the only time "rain" falls on your head in Cairo...) we kept walking to get a taxi. A few steps later, though, and we realized that we were experiencing quite another phenomenon. Real rain! The word on the street is that it rains a few days every year in Cairo, causing many otherwise clean clothes, people, and buildings to experience the joy of acid deposition/rain, and creating hazardous mud situations once the water dares to challenge the desert. I didn't get more than a few drops today, but I am proud to say that I have almost slipped several times, and that I can now attest that it does (albeit rarely) rain in Cairo.

I was thinking about writing more about the wonders of the Arabic language, especially because we read an article in our Arabic class about the differences between the colloquials and fusha, and what should be done about the increasingly diverging colloquials, etc. In Sha Allah, I'll talk about that later. For now, I'm just going to make a mental list of all of the songs about rain.

May I present.... THE CEDARS OF LEBANON

I love trees. Even remembering the too-brief 30 minutes among the Cedars while it was alternating between rain/sleet/hail and snow brings some giggles up to the surface. We went north to Becharee in Lebanon on our last day, traveling on a minibus to Tripoli and then catching an additional bus to Becharee. We were all initially very disheartened because this was the day of the north! the mountains! the cedars! and all we saw when looking out the window was rain and fog. Though a change in weather was appreciated from the dryness of Cairo, we wanted to see the north in all of its glory. After the bus dropped us off it was pouring down rain, I desperately needed to find a bathroom, and I remember exclaiming that I could already tell I loved this town and wanted time to point out all of its small, mountain town glory, but could only concentrate on another need. We found a patisserie and burst in, hurriedly asking if I could use the restroom, and while I did the moms and Jayanthi sat down in the quiet shop and ordered coffee. There were icons and crosses everywhere, both in the Patisserie and all over Becharee, quite a different view from what I have become used to, in addition to looking remarkably different from Southern Lebanon. So these were the Maronites! Though about 20 % of the population, they have traditionally held the most power, notably reflected in Lebanon's confessional system of government, ensuring that a Maronite is president.

Though cold and wet, we had gathered enough strength by the space heater in the Patisserie to voyage onward, intent on going to Gibran Khalil Gibran's museum and final resting place. He is the Lebanese author of The Prophet, who spent most of his life in America and Europe, but was born and buried in Becharee. We had a fascinating introduction to the north and to Gibran from one of the museum employees, who was very intent on explaining that the Maronites do not come from Arab descent and therefore don't see themselves as Arabs, despite sharing the Arabic language. He also spoke of the relationship of Syria and Lebanon and how Lebanon was a country of 4 million people bearing a debt to Syria of 40 (million? I believe). Regardless of the actual statistics, it just goes to show one of the many complicated factors in the relationship between these two countries. The museum itself was very nice, I particularly enjoyed his paintings and how he used them to wrestle with the spiritual and the humane, combining an often classical approach with modern interpretation.

A peek out of the window in the museum led us to speed through the rest because miraculously the wind had blown out all of the rain and fog from the mountains and had given us the opportunity to see the absolutely beautiful and striking mountains and valley below. The red-roofed steeples and clusters of houses made the old adage of Lebanon being the "Switzerland of the Middle East" all the more true. We could even see the snow-peaked mountains framed by a clear blue sky and wispy clouds. The clarity was short-lived, by the time we exited the cedars it had become rainy and foggy once more, but we felt as if Gibran himself had thrown out his hand and cleared it just for us.

Do you want an Egyptian husband?

Yesterday after church, Jayanthi and I went to the Cairo University metro stop to meet up with our Egyptian friend Kholood. I'm not sure if I ever explained our connection to the Egyptian girls we know, so I'll briefly summarize it now. Thanks to our German roommate, Lise, we met a girl named Aie (A-ya) in the beginning of the year who was hoping to do an Arabic-German exchange with Lise, but because Lise was too busy Jayanthi and I agreed to meet Aie about once or twice a week to practice Arabic and English. Aie studies German and in the Schoolfor Tourism and Hotels, so all of our new Egyptian friends either speak German or study tourism (mostly both : ) ). Though I am surrounded by Egyptians at AUC, it is pretty hard to get to know them and I have been too shy to speak Arabic with them. Kholood is extremely smart and funny; she wants to travel all around the world but complains that her family won't let her (pretty common with all of these girls) and is always very interested in what we are doing. She even had her older brother, Kareem, call me once when she found out I had a test about refugees because he is in law school and she thought he might be able to help me!


We met her and her younger brother Mohammed at the metro stop and then traveled to their house in Giza (yes, where the pyramids are) which is one of the most recent suburbs to develop and be absorbed into Cairo. Wearrived around 2:00 and didn't leave until about 9:00! What I experienced several times in Moroccoand here in Cairo is the long-winded but very nice socializing patterns that often differ so much.We sat downin their small but very nice sitting room with couches and chairs and talked to Kholood's family forabout an hour before we had lunch. Kholood's father is a lawyer and speaks very clear and wonderfulArabic, her mother I think is/was a lawyer,too, and is extremely kind. We really loved their entirefamily, from the oldest Kareem, to Kholood, Mohammed, and the youngest Ahmed, who is in 4th grade, and was so much fun. Jayanthi and I were excited to practice our Arabic, getting made fun of and encouraged at just the right frequencies.

Lunch was tons of mahshi (stuffed peppers/cabbage/eggplant), a veggie stew, another rice dish, cut up veggies, and coke. As always Jayanthi and I were forced to eat until bursting for threat of "You don't like the mahshi?" and as a result of dad continuously putting more food
before us. I was pleased to use a new vocabulary word that means "big belly "to describe what would happen to me if I ate like this everyday : )

For the rest of the afternoon we sat and talked and watched TV; there is no pressure to constantly entertain guests, they just become part of life. A woman and her children stopped in and sat to talk, and it was natural when the youngest fell asleep and was put on a bed in another room. Some of my friends back in Athens were debating an article in which bratty and loud children were annoying patrons in coffee shops and what kinds of measures should be taken. Though the Moroccan/Egyptian/Middle Eastern cafe is off-limits to kids (and women) , children go everywhere else without any problems. I've rarely seen mis-behaving kids, and I really enjoy how they just go along with the flow.

With these last guests Jayanthi and I struggled to answer questions like "What is Hinduism," "Do you want an Egyptian or American husband," "How much does your apartment cost per month," "What kind of shampoo do you use," "What kind of character do you think I have (the woman asking me)" and "Why don't you eat meat?" It was a workout : ) As I've read in the Culture Shock: Egypt book, there are plenty of questions I can't ask, but not too many limits on questions people will ask me : )

I still don't know the name of my favorite shape

I should have known that the words "Helen" and "Party" when even approaching the same sentence would bring comments from my dad. I believe references to "Fraternity/Animal House party" and "What does Lars think of all your comments about dancing Egyptian men" were not-so-discreetly inserted into last night's conversation, but I'm getting him back now : ) As if I could even dignify those charges with a particularized response! : )

I keep trying to post pictures from Lebanon and my mom's visit, but the best ones are on Jayanthi's camera and the internet has been pretty shady. So instead, I'll start off with a mini-ode to variations of my favorite shape in the world. Morocco was much better for favorite-shape sightings, but Egypt does o.k. Yesterday Lise, Judith and I went to a museum that was a British man's house that he restored to it's old, old glory and left behind with his own extensive art and relic collection inside. Afterwards we headed next door to the Ibn Touloud mosque, which I believe is the oldest in Cairo, and is my favorite so far. We were nearly the only ones there in this huge expanse of yellowed stone. I fell to singing and Lise to dancing, Judith to pondering how much she looks like a Russian grandmother wearing the hijab. There is something so special and indescribable about being in a mosque, wearing the hijab, and feeling so cut off from the rest of the world and led to silence, praying, singing, or dancing. The only 'mountains' to be found in Cairo.

Rama lama ding dong

It´s two in the afternooon on Friday. I have just woken up. Lise is in the kitchen washing dishes, having been up for longer, but she attests to her need to go back to sleep, for she too was up with me until 4:30, laughing and talking about our wonderful evening, which had only ended a short while ago. I apologize for the next part of this post, which will probably only make sense to a few Athens people, but it´s the only way I can really share the whole night.

Lise had two friends who were having a party in their flat that she had met through some Goethe Institute design thing between Germans and Egyptians (I think) and was told the more the merrier, so she invited a few others from the Goethe Institute and Jayanthi and I. I was almost left behind because I was late returning from a "practice English" date with an English student. I walk in and they are all about to run out the door, but they thoughtfully wait long enough to fix me some eggs and allow me to put on Lise´s clothes to feel cuter : ). We all go downtown, find the flat, walk in....

Le Tigre is playing. There is a (Norwegian!!) girl wandering around wearing converse shoes, a cut up loose t-shirt, a slightly flouncy skirt that hits her teeny, tiny knees, and has a toussled "indie-rock haircut". There are other such characters sprawled around the apartment, which is nice and spacious, and has blown-up Victorian cutouts of little faces with wings and girls in dresses scattered along the walls. There is also an old Soviet/Egyptian poster on the right wall and the hallway has a row of Coptic icons spread down its side. There aren´t too many people there yet, and we certainly don´t know anyone, so we sit and chat and I try to wrap my head around the fact that they are playing The Rapture, The Hives, Interpol, Stone Roses, The Cure(which prompts me to begin dancing through the rooms, alone, in front of really chill people) and all sorts of music that though I don´t particularly always enjoy, was very familiar to me. I would like to say I helped kick the evening off when Annie "Chewing Gum" came on and I made Lise start dancing with me and another Converse-wearing, indie-styled Egyptian guy started along.

How had I ended up in this place that was, in a sort, the most ´familiar´place in Cairo that I had been? Jayanthi and the Goethe Institute kids were pretty tired and left after maybe an hour, when the novelty of familiar music had slightly worn out and we were now just sitting around, still without knowing anyone, even though I had had a brief conversation with a guy named Alaa (Alaa Eddeen sound familiar to anyone? Aladin! The name means raising up religion. I think that´s cool) about the current music ´scene´in Cairo. I think I horrified him because he asked me what music I liked in Cairo and I said "pop music." But it´s true! I quickly scared or bored Alaa, and then Jayanthi and co. left, but Lise still wanted to stay and I decided to stay with her, curious about what would happen in this magical place warp.

To make a long and wonderful story shorter, after "Chewing gum" got some people dancing the music selection started to change. There were now a lot more people at the party, and it was a multicultural mix, a few Italians and Germans and many Egyptians, and quite a few other Africans and, because I had answered "South" confusedly when asked about America, there was now a sortof Latin American in the house. All of these Egyptian and other "alternative" folks had grooved along to the sounds of dirty, gritty New York, but when the oriental music came on, there was no question about what everyone wanted. We all started dancing, mostly men, but a few of us non-Egyptian ladies thrown in, and I started to practice the moves I´m learning in my bellydancing class. Though I contest this, Lise claims that they "adored me" and were surprised and laughing and eager to dance with me, trying to help smoothen some of my "moves" out : ) It was so much fun to be dancing to the oriental music in a group, and later to Latin salsa music, and get to watch these men who, as I have posted about before, are consumate dancers. I briefly freaked out when a girl came out wearing practically nothing and proved herself to be a real bellydancer, but then she left the scene and I felt more ok about my pretty weak skills. Slowly but surely, even though we hadn´t known anyone there, Lise and I became part of that strange and amorphous party atmosphere, where you are accepted as a part of it and feel welcome. It was interesting that though I had walked into a very familiar atmosphere, I was much more comfortable when the oriental music started coming on and everyone was getting into it. Around 2:30 they played a huge hit by the hugely popular Nancy Agram, after which I grabbed Lise and told her it wouldn´t get any better than that and so we had to leave. I was both radiant and a little sad, knowing I won´t find hordes of well-dancing Egyptian men back in the U.S. and that the music which often projects "cool" far more than "fun" will once again become my soundtrack at parties, but getting to experience that great mix here was quite wonderful. Lise was even a little watery-eyed, reminded of her multi-cultural study abroad in Spain as part of the European ERASMUS program, which allows European students from all over to participate in study abroad (made famous in the movie L´auberge espagnole).

Such a wonderful night. I never expected to write about parties in my blog, or even that there would be any like this to go to in Egypt, but I just had to share.

Needle through the camel's eye

It's been a pretty busy week as everyone tries to get back into the swing of things. Ramadan ended with a bang- Eid of Fitr is the three-day celebration at the end of Ramadan where people exchange gifts, make up for all the lost eating time, and do lots of celebrating in general. The second to last night the moms and the daughters were looking for a felucca (boat) to ride on the Nile in what seemed to us like a great idea for relaxing and seeing the city from a different (and quieter) perspective. We of course forgot that eid meant tons and tons of people milling around, including a disproportionate amount of young and brazen males who stepped up their cheeky comments and provided many frustrating and eye-rolling moments. Teenage boys everywhere are obnoxious, but I think Egyptian teenage boys during Eid may have been the height of obnoxiousness.
I was worried after that because the next, and final, day we had planned to go to the Pyramids and I didn't want their trip to have more hasseling. My last experience with the Pyramids was fairly disapointing, as it seems to be the case that the most hyped-up experiences and most touristic experiences can bring out the worst in everyone and make what should be great just semi-great. I was lucky to go with Egyptian girls and walk around in the late afternoon when noone was around and the breeze was perfect, but the hassle of getting there and the experience of a crazy wanna-be guide opening our taxi drivers' door and standing on the side as our driver drove up to the ticket-entrance made the approach to the Pyramids much less exciting. This time we took what may have seemed like a more touristy approach, but it felt a lot more real. Pictures will be posted that will demonstrate this fact. You will note that all four ladies are on two camels and are riding up through the desert to view the pyramids and the Sphinx, surrounded by groups of Egyptian boys and men racing their horses. There is no documentation of the aches and pains and inability to cross ones legs that followed the camel ride, nor of the frequent yells made my yours truly when thrown into the post that I was holding on to (Gentlemen, always ride one to a camel, or sit in the back). My mom's suggestion that the camel ride might reveal an "inner Arab" in me was almost immediately disproven, though I did note that the natural rhythm of riding on a camel was very similar to the moves I'm learning in my bellydancing class. There is a sociological study waiting to happen on that one...

My friend Brian was just telling me about his time in Israel over the break. I don't know when I'll be able to go, particularly because if you have been to Israel, Egypt and Jordan are the only two Middle Eastern countries that will let you in, but his experiences sounded fascinating- tales of walls and checkpoints and separate settler highways and religious life. Jayanthi and I spent about 45 minutes yesterday at the Travel Guide section in the AUC library. So many places we want to go and spend time. Traveling is such a disease!!!

My mom has left, my mid-term is due in a few hours, it is Jayanthi´s 21st birthday, and Annie, what is happening in Paris?!?! A few days away and things get crazy.

Culture Shock and then Culture Shock

I echo Helen's impressions of Lebanon....had just gotten become more familiar with the ways of Cairo only to be hurled into a different country. Yesterday's return was another culture shock and the worst day for being jerked around....first at the airport, then by the boat drivers on the Nile (we walked away from that one without the boat ride) and then a taxi driver who wouldn't take no for an answer when he asked for twice as much as the ride should have been....I think we all wished we were back in Lebanon.

We did have a great time and covered a lot of ground. We had a couple of glitches but survived the bed bugs the first night and moved to a different hotel. Also survived the ride in the unauthorized taxi ride that had me wondering when I should jump out of the car. The buses there have a driver and a person who yells out where the bus is going and rounds up folks to take the bus. One of those with a particularly outgoing ´"hawker" proposed to Helen...Jayanthi thought it was a lame green card attempt, but I am sure he could see Helen's great qualities and was serious.

A 10 or 11year old boy said to me..."Egyptian men....kissy kissy." Last night one said something worse...they learn early.

Off to pyramids....maybe more later.....

From Beirut to Cairo (Thomas Friedman thinks I´m lame)

This week has been such a whirlwind that I probably won´t be able to post about it until after mom has left and midterms are all handed in, but just wanted to let those who were worried that we are back from Lebanon all in one piece. I don´t think even my ambitious history-explaining personality can properly handle the Lebanese civil war and brevity in the same context : ) but it was incredible how the country has developed since then. It is one of the most beautiful countries I have been in and one of the first that I really felt like I have to go back for longer. Wow. From the real! live! Cedars of Lebanon in the north and Jesus and Mary things in every store to the Hezbollah shirts for sale and huge posters of matyrs in the south to the glitzy, ritzy downtown area of Beirut, Lebanon is a fascinating and diverse and complex place. We felt completely safe the entire time, marveling at what I believe to be the most attractive army in the world, and feeling much more relaxed than the intensity of Cairo. 1.5 million (Beirut) seems so manegeable and wonderful compared to estimates between 12 and 22 million in Cairo. Especially after we were used as part of a police/corruption dealie at the airport on the way back. : ) Cairo is still home, and I prefer it´s street vendors and broken sidewalks and familiarity to Beirut, but I was attracted alot by Beirut´s ease and freedom, and certainly by the countryside. Of course I knew I missed fall, but I had no idea how much I needed fall until I got deciduous trees and rain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and cool weather and mountains. It was such a blessing. More later, and hopefully my mom will concede to writing a bit more before she leaves early, early Monday morning. I´m skipping more class tomorrow and we are heading out to the pyramids and last-minute shopping- the time with her has absolutely flown by but it has all been great. I like her getting to see how I live here (though several times today I was yelling and being mean at policemen and taxi drivers... maybe not the best "look mom!" moments.) I was proud of myself though because the Lebanese arabic is, again, very different, and many times I couldn´t be understood... but I promise you I was understood today, especially when I used my final, parting line of " This is Egypt... money!" A mental Bam! note was taken, though the officer just smiled that look of "kid, you have no idea."And it´s true.