A mundane update

It's been awhile since I've updated this blog.  Cairo is cooling down and there's nice breeze now.  In a nutshell: I'm enjoying Egypt, so you could stop reading if you were just concerned about my health and safety, stop reading here.  Read on for more details...

Here is some of what I do every day:

Four days a week I walk to the bus and take an hour ride to "New Cairo", where the university's new campus is located in the desert.  I have three classes: an intensive FusHa (Modern Standard) Arabic, Ammayah (Egyptian Colloquial) Arabic, and Islamic Art and Architecture of Cairo.  The art class is really great- it entails a couple lectures per week, plus one field trip per weekend to various Islamic monuments and mosques.  Strangely enough, the majority of the class is Egyptian, but many of them have only seen the most famous buildings, so we're all learning a lot about Cairo. When I get visitors here, I'll be a great tour guide!  

In other news, I am playing rugby with the American University in Cairo's women's team.  It's been great and has given me the opportunity to meet more Egyptians.  Also, next week I will begin an internship with an NGO called Makan (which means "place") in Arabic.  Makan is an organization that promotes and preserves traditional Egyptian music.  I will be working as a grant writer and working with employees to improve their English skills.

On a typical day in Cairo, I might see or do the following:

- Dozens of Military Police and soldiers.

-Pet a stray dog who I've named "Mango".    

-Get lost in the city.  What usually transpires is that I'll ask a someone for directions.  If I ask a man, a crowd will gather around and debate which way I should go before often giving me bad directions.  I think that this is a symptom of culture, as it's viewed as rude to say "I don't know".  On the other hand, if I happen to ask a woman, she'll either give me the correct directions or offer to drive me in her car.  

(People are so kind here, and there is a small-town mentality that pervades people's interactions with each other.  It's hard to walk down the street without saying hello to a familiar face or stop to chat.  There's an elderly man who works as the night guard for a school close to my dorm who is especially nice.  Every time I walk by, he stands up from his chair to say "As-salamu alaykum" or peace be with you, and makes general inquires about my health, family, etc.

-Some of my most frequently used Arabic is: "mumkin" (maybe), insh'Allah (God willing) and yAnni  a filler word similar to "like" in English).

- The banks don't dispense any bills smaller than a 50 LE , and shop sellers won't accept anything larger than a 20 LE note (about 4 USD).

- The cars careen down the streets at high speeds, narrowly avoiding people by inches.  By now, this has stopped phasing me.

-The security guards yell "man on the floor" whenever a plumber or janitor is on a dorm floor inhabited by women.  What we're supposed to do is to run away and head for cover in the bathroom or in a dorm room.  This hasn't happened yet!

-Some prices in Egypt:

*1.5 liter of water: 35 U.S. cents

*Tammaya (Falafel), kushari or fool which is an entire meal: 25 U.S. cents

*camel: a great camel is 300 U.S. dollars

*average, but nice scarf: 3 USD

*cheap cell: 40 USD

*nice polo: 8 USD

*knock-off sneakers: 5 USD

*burned C.D.- everything from Umm Kulthum to Amr Diab to Algerian jazz: 2 USD

-It's no longer out of the ordinary to hear friends talk about detention at countries' borders.

-Shopping can be done at midnight, because many stores and stands stay open late into the night.  

-People listen to the music of the late Umm Kulthum, who is Egypt's equivalent to France's Edith Piaf.

-I can show up at a train or bus station two minutes before departure, buy a ticket without worrying about arriving on time.  (Mostly because I already know beforehand that it's likely that I won't arrive to my destination on time.) 

-the metro in Cairo is wonderful, takes me anywhere in the city or suburbs for about 15 US cents.

-Khan al-Khalili, the huge open-air market is amazing- just not the tourist section.  Best line from a shop keeper:  "For your eyes I would kill.  How can I take your money?"

-Many taxi drivers are under the impression that Barack Obama is already President.  I've been disabusing people of this idea since my arrival in August.  

On a related note, I've already cast my absentee ballot.  I'm happy that I haven't been disenfranchised!   Go out and VOTE- six days until the elections!

Until next time,

Julia

Dahab and Sinai

I have just returned from a trip to Dahab and Sinai.  It was a trip of a lifetime and a welcome break from the constant hustle and bustle of Cairo.  I went with several friends and we got there by public bus.  We left Cairo at midnight and arrived in the morning.  I heard somewhere that 97% of Egypt is desert or uninhabitable, and now I have an idea of what that looks like.  

Above: Rachel and Catherine with our pre-departure meal of tea and cookies.

Above: our taxi from the bus station to our hotel was a pick up truck.  We liked it a lot and paid less that $1.50 USD.

The first day we went snorkeling Blue Hole, which is apparently the world's most dangerous dive site.  Dahab's ambiance is laid back and during the winter tourist months, very popular with Europeans and divers.  Our car broke down on the way back, which attracted the attention of some Bedouin children who climbed onto the back, ostensibly to help push.  

The next day we left the hotel early to hike two canyons, Coloured Canyon and White Canyon.  We hiked for several hours before heading to an oasis, where we tucked in some lunch run by Bedouins.  We then walked to White Canyon and hiked from one side to the other.  As it is now Ramadan, our guide did not eat or drink the whole day, which is difficult to imagine, because it was well over 100 degrees F.  

Rachel and me on a mountain peak overlooking the city of Dahab.

Above: Coloured Canyon.

Above: A Bedouin woman herding goats near Coloured Canyon.

Her dog followed us for awhile.  I think he's Taffy's Egyptian cousin.

The truck broke down again, this time near the shade of a date tree.

Our lunch at the oasis in Sinai.

Later that evening we went on a camel trek into the foothills.  The boys who owned the camels were wonderful.  Here are a few pictures.  The little boy's name was "Friday" in Arabic.  His brother put a glass teacup on his forehead and Friday laid on the ground and had to rise to his feet without disturbing the glass on his forehead.  

Yesterday we went south into Sinai by bus and arrived at Mount Sinai and the Monastery of Saint Katherine at 2 am.  We began our hike up the mountain, scrambling up the steep camel path for several hours until we finally arrived at the summit just before 5 am.  Shortly thereafter, the sun began to rise.  The sunrise was one of the most spectacular sights I have ever witnessed.  We could finally see the foothills where we began our trek and appreciate the incredible topography.  

 

At first light, looking out from Mount Sinai where Moses received the Ten Commandments.  

After seeing the sunrise, we climbed down to Saint Catherine's monastery.  Below: A bush that is supposedly a descendant of the Burning Bush.  We also saw what is believed to be a relic of St. Catherine.

Now I'm back to the Cairo and I'm already missing the blue skies and Red Sea, but excited about the prospect of classes starting and continuing to explore the city!

Ahlan (hello)!

Hey All,

I've arrived in Cairo.  I got here four days ago and have been busy orienting myself and discovering various parts of Cairo.  I love Cairo already; there are about 17 millions people in the city, so it's teeming with life at all hours of the day and night.  Outside the hostel where I stayed, rush hour never seemed to stop.  The first two days I spent downtown.  The hostel was crammed between two mosques, so we heard the call to prayer VERY frequently.  I moved into the dorms yesterday; they are very nice and I have a roommate from NJ.  The neighborhood is called Zamalek, it's very suburban compared with the rest of the city, but still bustling.

It's extremely warm here, but it hasn't deterred me from exploring Cairo.  There are lots of old black and white taxis around the city.  Egyptians seem to have a single-minded disregard for the traffic laws and pedestrians, and my taxi rides have been crazy.  I've been to the Citadel, an impressive fortress built by Salah al-Din, who built it to protect it from Richard III and the Crusaders.  I've also seen Khan al-Khalili, a huge market.  I went with friends to an area of the market that isn't frequented by tourists and sat in a cafe with locals who were drinking tea and smoking shisha.  We also went to Al Azhar mosque, which is home to the world's oldest

 surviving university.

Two guards at al Azhar mosque. 

 

Claire and me at the Citadel.  In the background is Cairo's infamous smog.

Last night at sunset, a lot of the study abroad kids went out  on the Nile on felucca (large sail boat).  The people here are nice and very friendly, always willing to give directions or help, but I've learned to avoid eye contact with men, as it's viewed as an invitation.  My Arabic is improving by leaps and bounds as only the most educated people speak English fluently.  I've also found Arabic indispensable to bargaining, which is a part of everyday life here.  Everyone bargains for taxi rides, water, food, etc.

A bunch of us went horseback riding at the Giza pyramids.  These other study abroads and I (far left) were the first to reach the camp where we rested before returning the stables.  We hurdled through the desert at a breakneck pace and my saddle came undone, sending my flying into the soft sand.  Two other people were bucked from their horses!

Today we went to the University campus for the first time and filled out forms for several hours.  Classes don't start for about a week, so more adventures to come!

Departing tomorrow (Tuesday)!

I'm leaving Minnesota on Tuesday for Egypt!  It still doesn't seem quite real that I'll be spending the coming academic year at the American University in Cairo.  Perhaps when I finally get there after a 19-hour flight, the reality will sink in.  The Arabic Immersion program starts on the 24th, so Claire and I will have a couple days to get settled before moving into the dorms in Zamalek (an island in the middle of the Nile in Cairo).  Once I get oriented, I'll start posting photos, etc!