As I pack and get ready to leave for my oh-so-exciting vacation to the West Coast I have to admit that the America I see in the headlines is horribly pathetic.
Let's take a sampling of the headlines from right now...
-Idiots protesting the "Three Blocks Away From Ground Zero and Within Walking Distance of Strip Club Mosque" are making the entire USA look like bigots and hate filled Islamaphobic uneducated twits. What a surprise the whole debate and is actually fueling Jihadist rhetoric and during Ramadan when everyone with a minaret has a particularly captive audience.
-An even bigger idiot in Florida is attempting to turn 9/11 into "International Burn A Koran Day," wow Nazi!
-Politicians from New Hampshire are denying Global Climate Change. Really, in New Hampshire?
-Sarah Palin is still getting press, if you ignore her she will go away!
-Idiot Republicans are actually trying to get rid of the 14th Amendment, Anchor Babies? Democrats-you are horrible at thinking up witty phrases, get a new copy writer!
-People actually believe Obama is a Muslim. Really? Didn't he write a book about his faith? Can these people read?
Not so good. This depresses me. Two years later people still hate George Bush Jr, they still like Clinton (ha!), and they are beginning to see Obama as a fraud and no better than the rest. When you live abroad you get a lot of crap still for being an American and I have to respond. I used to be able to say things were changing, the mood of the country seemed to be happier and more intelligent. Now, I am scared I was dead wrong. I am scared that we are ignoring everything that is really important and focusing on stupid anchor baby inspired debates on the Right and on the Left the every present battle of who is the most liberal without actually supporting liberal policies because somehow they allowed the Right to call everything Socialist. On the other hand my Canada jokes now have a twinge of sadness behind them because not so secretly I am jealous of my old Northern neighbor and I think the sadness adds another layer to the humor.
On this trip back I know I will see friends, attend a wedding of a best friend, and stare at mountains. I hope I find something else, something that will make me want to be in America.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Ramadan! Let's Go!
This is my third Ramadan in Cairo, only my second in a real workplace. Although, in the spirit of the season and honesty let's not call the school a real workplace, so this is really my first in a real workplace. What does Ramadan mean for me? People get sleepy and slow. My working hours shift from 10-6pm to 10-4pm. Daylight life hours are few and far between. Anyone who can swing shifts their work to night and sleeps all day. Anyone who is not into fasting, hates the vibe and can afford it leaves the country. Tons and tons of dates are consumed. Families have large meals and spend time together. The local networks compete for ratings with hours of movies. Finally, Ramadan like most religious festivals does not resonate deeply with me, but it does affect my daily life and if I had family close by it would be the perfect reason to sit around and do nothing with them.
The most exciting thing about this Ramadan? I am leaving for part of it! That's right, headed back to Seattle and the glorious West Coast for the first time in two years. Who knows how much I miss it. I have no idea so you have no idea. I leave Cairo on the 25th and stick around Seattle until September 15th. During that time I will attend the wedding of Maya Newman, the first one of my Seattle Ladies to get married, celebrate mom's b-day and celebrate dad's b-day (if a few days early). Otherwise I plan on walking up and down hills, maybe riding my bike around, drinking coffee, eating Paseo, staring at mountains, taking note of how many buildings have been torn down and replaced with condos, losing my tan, chilling in the rain, renewing my driver's license, hugging people I have not seen for two years, if I am lucky eating some Pacific Salmon and watching sun sets over the Olympics.
At this very moment the thought of packing and spending a horrendous amount of time on a plane makes me feel queasy, but in a few days I will be very excited. Cell phone is the same and if you are around Seattle let's hang out.
The most exciting thing about this Ramadan? I am leaving for part of it! That's right, headed back to Seattle and the glorious West Coast for the first time in two years. Who knows how much I miss it. I have no idea so you have no idea. I leave Cairo on the 25th and stick around Seattle until September 15th. During that time I will attend the wedding of Maya Newman, the first one of my Seattle Ladies to get married, celebrate mom's b-day and celebrate dad's b-day (if a few days early). Otherwise I plan on walking up and down hills, maybe riding my bike around, drinking coffee, eating Paseo, staring at mountains, taking note of how many buildings have been torn down and replaced with condos, losing my tan, chilling in the rain, renewing my driver's license, hugging people I have not seen for two years, if I am lucky eating some Pacific Salmon and watching sun sets over the Olympics.
At this very moment the thought of packing and spending a horrendous amount of time on a plane makes me feel queasy, but in a few days I will be very excited. Cell phone is the same and if you are around Seattle let's hang out.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
May through June = CRAZY
My oh my the fun times I have had recently. Sorry for no posts since forever, but this is how life goes.
First we should start with Suzie's crazy, whirlwind, non-stop three day visit to Cairo. She is crazy and I love her for it. What an honor to have someone come all the way here for only three days! She was picked up from the airport in the most amazing fashion ever with new friends and old. From then on it was non-stop. Highlights include a one day trip to Alexandria, delicious quail dinner/lunch at Andrea's (new to me), riding a camel for the first time by the Pyramids, plenty of girl chat, dominating Khan el Khalili and Suzie being her fantastic sunny self!
First we should start with Suzie's crazy, whirlwind, non-stop three day visit to Cairo. She is crazy and I love her for it. What an honor to have someone come all the way here for only three days! She was picked up from the airport in the most amazing fashion ever with new friends and old. From then on it was non-stop. Highlights include a one day trip to Alexandria, delicious quail dinner/lunch at Andrea's (new to me), riding a camel for the first time by the Pyramids, plenty of girl chat, dominating Khan el Khalili and Suzie being her fantastic sunny self!
Our camels
After Suzie's departure I had about a week to prepare for my first trip back to America in nearly two years. The entire Ehrich family gathered in New York for the wedding of Nate and Vicky on Saturday June 12th in Bryant Park. They hosted a truly beautiful, thoughtfully planned, and delicious weekend. Outings included the most outrageous burger I have ever eaten, jazz, William's graduation luncheon, a trip up the Empire State Building, a very tasteful rehearsal dinner with drinks after and plenty of walking around. The wedding was gorgeous, bride and groom were impeccable, my champagne glass was never empty, the steak was perfectly pink, everyone danced all night, and they had a Polaroid photo booth. Please everyone who is getting married copy the photo booth idea.
Stepping foot on American soil was not quite the shock I thought it would be. Still, chilling in Brooklyn with Ana and mom, plus friends was a good break. I also got some much needed daddy daughter time, mommy daughter time, sister time, a haircut, and over all family time.The weather was rainy (nice break really), I could wear shorts in the streets, caught a football match with Dad, had the option of an alcoholic drink at every meal, quality window shopping, phone to calls to the girls around the country (it has been years since I have talked on the phone with some of these ladies) and pork products!
Can't complain about the trip at all. Then back to Cairo where I was immediately taken to the beach for an amazing weekend. Then back to work and the beach every weekend since. Think I am sticking around Cairo this weekend, but who really knows. In the meantime I am planning a trip back in the fall to Seattle and life will move forward from there. What the past almost two months have taught me is that just when you really think you can't stand a place someone or something will flip it on its head and make you love it all over again if you are open to this action. Being open and receptive to new opportunities and people is the biggest lesson I learned while away from America. I have finely tuned my douche bag radar, which aids in knowing who and what to be open with. So, while I could see happily going back to the states anytime, I can't really see leaving Cairo just yet. Conundrum I know. Cairo has a momentum I like right now, I feel like jumping and and saying hello to all of it.
We went to the Empire State Building, such a touristy activity, but actually pretty cool.
Note the shorts in a very public place, so awesome.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Here are some facts about Cairo and Egypt
Egypt has 81,527,172 people as of 2008.Cairo has over 20,000,000 residents, I would say it is safe to add on another 2-5 million to that number.
Donkey carts have been outlawed in downtown Cairo in an effort to improve traffic.
The new "Ring Road" is 100 kilometers (62 miles) and as the name implies goes around the Cairo/Giza metropolis.Cairo is considered a "Mega City," joining the likes of Mumbai, Mexico City, New York, Tokyo, and others.
One half of all hospital beds are found in Cairo
One half of all university desks are found in Cairo
If Cairo were a sovereign nation it would be the 5th largest Arab country
Alexandria, the second largest city in Egypt, in only 30 percent the size of Cairo.
There are over 2,000,000 cars in the streets of Cairo, 60 percent of which are over ten years old.
The Great Pyramids of Giza, sort of Cairo, are the only remaining monument of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
An estimated 9,351 under-age marriages take place in Egypt, with the vast majority of them taking place in Cairo.
A Greek papyrus from 163 B.C. mentions girls in Egypt undergoing female circumcision and the practice is widely accepted to have originated in Egypt and the Nile valley at the time of the Pharaohs. Although both Al Azhar religious officials and Coptic Pope state it has no basis in religious scripture, practice, or law and it should be not practiced.
Mohsen Reda, an Egyptian Member of Parliament, was asked about the prevalence of sexual harassment against women in Egypt and was quoted as as saying that women should be dressed more modestly as “a lot of our youth can’t afford marriage so it is only normal for some harassment to take place.”
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Other people's blogs, which may or may not be about Egypt.
One of the most useful and annoying tools I have found in Cairo is a list serve called Cairo Scholars. With over 2,000 members who can email the entire group at any time you can imagine the absolute stupidity and absolute usefulness of the group.
I asked for a collection of blogs because when I was traveling here I found it very hard to find up to date information about living in modern Cairo. The guide books are for tourists and most Google searches turn up information about all the old stone stuff.
Here are the blogs if you are interested in what some other ex-pat type people living in Cairo get up to. I don't know these people and the blogs were not vetted. Many of them are more political, have way better photos, and not nearly as snarky as mine.
I asked for a collection of blogs because when I was traveling here I found it very hard to find up to date information about living in modern Cairo. The guide books are for tourists and most Google searches turn up information about all the old stone stuff.
Here are the blogs if you are interested in what some other ex-pat type people living in Cairo get up to. I don't know these people and the blogs were not vetted. Many of them are more political, have way better photos, and not nearly as snarky as mine.
www.omraneya.net
Aggregation of blogs on Egypt/by Egyptians in English and Arabic.
http://equivocus.livejournal.com
Written in Armenian or Russian.
Have you ever seen Armenian written? It looks so cool. There are also English posts.
www.ericincairo.blogspot.com
Chronicles adventures both in and outside of Egypt.
http://transhumancity.wordpress.com/
http://whazzupegypt.blogspot.com
www.theshepherdsguild.blogspot.com
PS. I'm starting a new blog, in the near future. Stay tuned.
PPS This article is funny, click here.
Apartment peek
This is my balcony.
If you keep walking forward the balcony wraps around the side of the building.
Looking out from the living room.
We are not responsible for the curtains or furniture. If either Jasmin or I were planning on being here more than 1-2 years we might change something, but this is not the case.
We are not responsible for the curtains or furniture. If either Jasmin or I were planning on being here more than 1-2 years we might change something, but this is not the case.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
The Egyptian version of The Onion
Let is be said that the vast majority of Egyptians have truly wonderful sense of humor. The proof, if you doubt, can be found in the website El Koshary.
The actual dish Koshary is the delicious carbohydrate filled street food made out two types of pasta, brown lentils, rice, chickpeas, fried onions, tomato sauce, garlic sauce, and a really hot sauce. Koshary is incredibly cheap and comes in massive servings.
I once got in a friendly argument about the root of the name Koshary. My friend held that it was derived from the Jewish/Hebrew tradition/word "Kosher." I claimed it was derived from the Arabic word meaning "random" or something similar to "grab bag." Like most people do these days we Googled it and my claim had the greater number of Google hits. If we had been betting money I would have walked away richer. We were not betting money and no one in Egypt I have met can give me a 100 percent translation. The recipe is said to have been created by ancient followers of the Coptic faith (Egyptian Orthodox Christians) to eat during their fasts, when they do not eat dairy, meat, or animal products.I don't think Koshary is Kosher. Not many Rabbi's on the street corners selling food in Cairo.
The actual food is not the point, but knowing Koshary means roughly "a jumble" and that it is dirt cheap street food gives the website's title a little more depth. Read and laugh.
The actual dish Koshary is the delicious carbohydrate filled street food made out two types of pasta, brown lentils, rice, chickpeas, fried onions, tomato sauce, garlic sauce, and a really hot sauce. Koshary is incredibly cheap and comes in massive servings.
I once got in a friendly argument about the root of the name Koshary. My friend held that it was derived from the Jewish/Hebrew tradition/word "Kosher." I claimed it was derived from the Arabic word meaning "random" or something similar to "grab bag." Like most people do these days we Googled it and my claim had the greater number of Google hits. If we had been betting money I would have walked away richer. We were not betting money and no one in Egypt I have met can give me a 100 percent translation. The recipe is said to have been created by ancient followers of the Coptic faith (Egyptian Orthodox Christians) to eat during their fasts, when they do not eat dairy, meat, or animal products.I don't think Koshary is Kosher. Not many Rabbi's on the street corners selling food in Cairo.
The actual food is not the point, but knowing Koshary means roughly "a jumble" and that it is dirt cheap street food gives the website's title a little more depth. Read and laugh.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)