Monday, December 29, 2008

Randoms in and around Alexandria

Alexandria is pretty easy to get to and makes a decent day or weekend trip. Below are some random photos from two trips to the area.Chrissie and I went up with a friend for the day and dropped Chrissie off at the airport on her way to Dubai for Christmas. Alex was sort of chilly and always pretty at night. Way to much seafood was eaten, as often happens when you go to restaurant where you buy it by the kilo. No one really needs to eat or even share a kilo of calamari, but you might need a kilo of shrimp. Just a thought.

On the way to Alexandria there is a weird African Safari Zoo which I visited and posted pictures of. Well, it turns out there is a different one of the way back from Alexandria!

Visitors to the African Motel and Safari sit in their cars and drive through each exhibit, sort of like Jurassic Park. I got to feed a hippo, a monkeys climbed on the car and wiped their monkey butts on the window, a hyena attacked (briefly and without conviction), and a Zebra nibbled apples of the windshield. Only in Egypt.

Christmas Eve


We spent Christmas Eve with dinner at our house and then drinks at the British Club. Pretty relaxed and good fun. Katie, Paul and I were joined by Hend, her friend (and our new one) Dikra, Hany and Magdi. Good times and relatively cheap drinks!

Fun Day II

While Fun Day II was a total waste of time and not fun at all, there were some good photo ops. Fun Day's at school can sort of be compared to those fundraiser carnivals that most American elementary school students have experienced. I cannot remember the date of Fun Day, but it was a while ago. The pictures are just late :)

Me and Katie with random kids and creepy super skinny Whinnie the Poo.

Obviously kids should be able to buy toy guns at school sponsored events.

Obviously they should be able to play with their guns on bouncy toys advertising Mexican beers. Katie and Paul agree!

Marina, a teacher at the National School, and I check out the goods for sale.

No party is complete without a mustache. Even school parties need them.


3 days of bombing

With the recent violence between Israel and Palestine playing out in the news and me feeling completely cut off from TV, print and radio news I am at the stupid mall reading articles online. Thank god for the internet!!

www.huffingtonpost.com, one of my favorite political blogs has a good collection of articles on the subject. I am on vacation from school and have not seen much action or talk in the streets, but rest assured whatever anti-Israeli views the average Egyptian held they are more extreme now. I am spending the afternoon reading up on the subject so many of the thoughts and ideas presented are recently gleamed from international news articles.

“Israeli leaders said they would press ahead with the Gaza campaign, despite enraged protests across the Arab world and Syria's decision to break off indirect peace talks with the Jewish state. Israel's foreign minister said the goal was to halt Gaza rocket fire on Israel for good, but not to reoccupy the territory.”
IBRAHIM BARZAK and KARIN LAUB | December 28, 2008 10:07 PM EST |
AP Article

The idea that bombing a country into oblivion will halt anything forever is just silly. When in history has this ever worked, ever changed minds, ever put an end to violence and not only created more violence? When?

Map taken from the New York Times website, I always forget the geography of this region.

After reading a few articles it seems that Egypt is more involved than I knew. They have been brokering a peace/cease-fire between Israel and Palestine and agreed to close their border with Gaza to show their condemnation of Hamas. From what I know one of the biggest problems in Gaza is the lack of imports into the region, this means little economic activity, hospital or basic infrastructure supplies. One of the reasons Hamas was elected and is strongly supported is because they have been successful in smuggling/importing goods into the country so that people can live. Israel just bombed the system of tunnels between the Rafah, Gaza and Egyptian border. From what I am reading most hospitals are without basic medications and not functioning and homes are without gas.

Violence between Israel and Palestine inevitably stirs up talk of a united “Arab” front against “America and Zionists.” But who are the Arabs? I think it is sort of like referring to black people in America, as if you can lump all black people together and say they feel the same way about an issue. You cannot with either group.

From my first days in Egypt what has struck me is how Egyptians are Egyptians. Not Arabs. Arabs, in the eyes of many I have had conversations with, are Iranians, Saudis, Iraqi’s etc. Egyptians speak a different Arabic, live in Africa, and are mainly Sunni. From this point of view it makes sense then that Egyptian politics would not mirror “Arab politics,” this is also supported historically with many past Egyptians PMs. However, Egyptians do not like Mubarek, Zionists, America’s unabashed support of Israel, or Israel. So, it is safe to say that many Egyptians politics do not mirror those of their government. I am anxious to see what happens and hear what my friends here have to say about Egypt’s closed border with Gaza and the government’s action.

Israel stands to lose face or gain back fear they had before the 2006 Lebanon bombings/war. I just learned that the Defense Minister and chairman of the Labor Party Ehud Barak, who is also running a distant third in polls for Israel’s February elections, is the mastermind behind the air strikes and the public face. Win a war; win an election! Lose a war; well maybe you were not going to win anyways. Meanwhile Hams is launching rockets further than even into Israel and Israel is preparing ground troops.

Also I guess oil prices just went up, what a scam. If Obama cannot get us off of foreign oil and oil all together and figure out a way to be a little less-biased about Israel 2009 will not be that much better than 2000-2008.

The politics between Israel/Palestine are almost beyond my comprehension. I just don’t understand bombing prisons and refugee camps. WTF?


5 months in, still disconnected

The largest force keeping Cairo and I apart is language. The universal language of love, which I sometimes feel for Cairo, does not keep me from getting lost in a cab, or over charged for snacks. Love keeps me happy while I silently wander the streets or sip a cup of coffee, but those are just shorts dates and a long-term relationship requires much more communication. So, I am making an effort to communicate with Cairo in its native tongue. My efforts are quite possible the slowest relationship of my life and we are not even up to bat yet. Oh well, good things come to those who wait?

This language disconnect between Cairo and I is increased when I realize how different I look from most of the people on the street. I did not realize how diverse America was until I moved to a city where almost everyone looks alike and wears just about the same things. Looking alike is one thing, but the men and women dress in about three styles and everything reeks of the mid 1990s. Of course this is a generalization, but men wear suits, galabeyias and jeans with t-shirts. Veiled women tend to come in two types. Women who wear the veil along with standard American teenage trends like skinny jeans, heels, tight shirts, tunic tops and bright colors. Most of these women are younger. Then there are women who wear the veil with either a female galabeyia or with looser tops and long loose skirts. Most of these women are older, look married, and probably have kids. Either way if you wear a veil you also cover your arms, neck, and legs. Some women let a little hair peak out. Showing a little hair in Cairo is not quite the revolutionary stance it is in Iran or a more conservative country. Unveiled women have more variety, but bright colors, over curled hair and clashing patterns rule the roost.

I try not to be bothered by veiled women but sometimes I just want to see some skin. I am also bothered by my own reaction, why is it that I automatically associate liberation with skin and clothing? I try to get over the Western idea that a dominating male force makes all the women wear the veil because I know the opposite is true. Many older and younger women choose when and why they want to wear a veil. I have yet to come into contact with someone whose parents forced them to wear the veil. Even if they did how different is that than my parents not letting me wear certain tops out of the house or skirts to a dance. I suppose the difference is once you put on the veil you do not stop, such a final choice.

When viewed religiously I can handle the veil as a sign of modesty and devotion. Mormons dress conservatively, many Jewish men and women wear conservative clothes, and I am guessing that most devout Christians would not wear half the things going down the average New York runway. I think what really bothers me is without a religious lens having to cover up your hair, arms, legs, and on some cases hands and face is oppressive. Your non-religious reality as a veiled woman is different and less open than the reality of men and unveiled women. Temperatures are warmer, movement is restricted, styles have closed parameters, beaches are pointless, and part of you is hidden from almost everyone you see on a daily basis. Saving tan lines and lingerie for a lover is one thing, but are family and spouse really the only people who deserve to see all of you? If I was a guy I would be offended by the assumption I would turn into a sex-crazed maniac with just the sight of arms or hair. God forbid I see legs!

I feel oppressed because I get the feeling that I am somehow breaking rules I do not even know about and never agreed to follow. In someways I agreed to the rules the minute I bought a plane ticket to Egypt. I wonder if travelers in America feel the same way or if because it is such a diverse country you can ignore rules on style, dress, etiquette, and behavior.

Mine is an outsider’s point of view and not totally informed about the customs and rules laid out in the Koran. But, all countries are viewed through the eyes of outsiders and what you do reflects your country, this I am learning too.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Eid Al-Adha, the festival of slaughtering animals in the street

I awoke on the first day of Eid-Al Adha and decided to take a walk in the streets to see if there really were dead animals everywhere, there were! Luckily I missed the early morning slaughtering. A few odd facts about my walk.

A) I was the only white person in the neighborhood, probably.
B) I was the only woman in the streets between the ages of 18 and 30.
C) There were actually animals getting killed, but I only saw one.

To help define this glorious holiday I have copied the wikipedia entry for you, stare at the pictures of bloody pools in the streets first though. I stupidly wore flip flops on this walk, stupid, stupid, and stupid.




"Festival of Sacrifice" is a religious festival celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God. However, God provided a ram in place once Ibrahim demonstrated his willingness to follow God's commands.

Eid al-Adha is the latter of two Eid festivals celebrated by Muslims, whose basis comes from the Quran. Like Eid-al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha begins with a short prayer followed by a sermon.

Thank you Wikipedia.com

Mainly the streets were empty and I felt very alone. The streets are never empty and you never feel alone in Cairo, so that was cool. I could even cross the streets without having to dodge mini-buses, cars and donkey carts. Amazing. My whole neighborhood smelled like ground beef and there were bits of sheep and cow in the gutters. I witnessed one animal getting its throat slit, but from across the street. People were killing animals in front of their apartments! I hear in Turkey you have to kill them off the street, but Egypt is hardcore.

For the rest of my week off I went on a blood-free dive trip, where the only dead animals I saw were food. All the fish were alive. Nour, Mousaad and I traveled to Hurghada and left aboard the Storm II with about 10 of Nour's friends. We sailed down to Safaga, diving along the way. All of the passengers are are amazing divers and cheerful friendly types. I was able to do a night dive, so cool, a wreck dive and one day of three dives. Doing three dives in one day is exhausting, but worth it for sure. The water was much colder and I did not get a killer tan, so sad.

Faye and Mousaad at a beach watching the volleyball tournament.

The Storm II, captained by some of Hurghada's best divers.


Mahmeya Island, our last stop.

The islands is about 20 minutes away from Hurghada. We spent three nights on the boat, waking up early to dive, eating, napping and I went to bed really early every night. Teaching is wearing me out and I was ready to nap all day and sleep all night. The aquatic highlights of the trip were the over three meter Moray Eel I saw while it was swimming, normally you just see the head poking out of the coral. Also a sea turtle, going 30 meters, a night dive, and a wreck dive. The wreck, Saalam Express, crashed on its way back from Mecca in 1996, most of the passengers died in the crash. Very sad, it was full of people on their way back from Haaj and it happened at night so the rescue response was very slow. There were still suitcases and one very old-school boom box underwater. Super weird.

Not to bad for one week.

T-day



Ice Cream cake because there is no canned pumpkin pie filling in Africa.

What is in the pots?

Oh my! Carrots, gravy, lentils and mashed potatoes!

Turkey was really expensive so I opted to stuff five chickens and cook them up. Very delicious and sort of cramped.

The meal.


Our Thanksgiving took place on Saturday the 29th because we had school on Thursday and then forced "Fun Day II" on Friday. Despite the timing we pulled off a pretty good dinner even though we only have three forks and the oven has no temperature gauge. Dinner guest included the roommates and Paul, the other male interns Tom and Saleh, fellow teacher Marina and her boyfriend who brought over a bottle of champagne and made my night, and several friends.

The largest obstacle of the night was running out of propane for the oven and stove about one hour into cooking the chickens. I opened the oven door to find it oddly cold and then realized the stove burners no longer turned on. The problem was solved with an awkward half Arabic, half sign-language conversation with the door man. Then the propane man came up and after finishing wanted to take a picture of me with his young son. Very odd, I asked him to leave.

We were left with enough food for a few meals and tons of dishes!