Anyways, this is how it is going to work, at least for now. I will blog when I can and when you don’t hear from me in a while, just know that I am having the time of my life… or terribly dehydrated and starving because Egyptian food is less than appetizing, but I will get to that story in a few paragraphs.
With that said, I will do what I can to recap my first full week in Egypt for you.
Our intensive Arabic classes are drawing to a close tomorrow. Three hours of class a day, six days a week, proved immensely draining, and my mind is boycotting any attempt to be subjected to any more vocabulary. Although it has only been ten days, I can definitely sense an improvement in my confidence on the streets. No, I am not yet having profound existential conversations with Egyptians, but hey, I can order food and direct a taxi…. Baby steps, shwaya shwaya (slowly, slowly). My teacher, Mariam, is absolutely wonderful especially when it comes to teaching me to be patient with the process of learning Egyptian Arabic. Every day, at least twice, she emphatically insists that I slow down to let my brain absorb the pronunciations and vocabulary. Once again, I am just to fast for my own good, but I guess most of you already knew that I am hard to keep up with.
Outside of class and reviewing the day’s hundreds of new words, we have been doing everything possible to stay fed and hydrated. And unfortunately, those tasks are not the easiest to accomplish. Mid last week, I got a little sick. I am definitely going through withdrawal from being separated so abruptly from Dad’s cooking and warm chocolate chip cookies with Jayme and Amy. With an empty stomach and not enough water, one is likely to feel rather fatigued. Add smog and polluted air, on par with smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, I was doomed. Just like with learning Arabic, though, time and patience, mixed with a little creativity when searching for edible food, eventually I adjusted.
My new rule, avoid Egyptian food to stay healthy. It is not that the food necessarily makes us sick, it’s just not that substantial or nutritious. We have found a few appetizing restaurants in downtown and across the Nile in Zamalek. Even better, one night a few of us found sangria. During Ramadan, alcohol is even less acceptable than normal (which is still like finding alcohol in a dry country and having no car for a run). Thankfully, we happened upon a watering hole Sunday and it was just what we were craving. The pub was filled with non-Egyptians, and for about two hours I forgot I was even in Egypt. Most of the time, I try not to indulge Western cravings because that defeats my purposed of being immersed in Egypt. Sometimes, though, this American girl just needs some comfort…. I have already had two dates with McDonalds ice cream. Don’t judge me.
Last week a few of us went to an Egyptian movie, Black Honey, which was in Arabic--and no English subtitles. While you should be impressed with the initiative, I cannot pretend I understood more than 5-10% of the dialogue. Just wait, by the end of the year I might be up to 25%… hahaha, actually I hope to be comprehending more, but remember the magic word for me right now is PATIENCE.The holy day of the Muslim World is Friday, and that means Thursday is the big night out. This past Thursday, ten-strong we went to Al-Azhar Gardens on the east side of Cairo. It sits up on a hill overlooking the city and the view was beautiful. I think Cairo is like Vegas in a way; no, there are not show girls (unless you include belly dancers), but it is a dusty, dirty city during the day that transforms into a mesmerizing city at night. The lights here reflect off the mosques and Nile, and the breeze is quite refreshing from the scorching sun. The Gardens brought a overwhelming sense of peace and a much needed rest from the crowds, honking taxis, street vendors, and unwanted stares. I very much enjoyed the company that surrounded me; each day we learn new things about each other--both about our academic and professional interests, and also personal passions, family and home life, and future goals. Yes, we spend a lot of time together and there are many of times when we need our space, but this group is bound by sincere friendships that I pray last much longer than our month in Cairo or year in Egypt.
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| The whirling dervish performance; wikipedia Sufis for more info. |
Two days ago, our teachers at the university took us down to the Al-Azhar mosque complex and Khan el-Khalili bazaar for a night out. The area was the most crowded we encountered yet. First we went to a whirling dervish performance. I have seen a fair number of these, mostly when I was in Turkey, but this show was a little more oriented towards an audience. Instead of the traditional white ensembles (okay, they wear huge skirts but I didn’t want to be emasculating), these men adorned extremely colorful skirts so that when they spun around an aesthetically pleasing pattern danced around the stage. The show lasted a little longer (40 minutes too long to be exact) than I would have preferred, but then we went to this café to smoke sheesha (hooka, nagile, ect… Chill out, Grandad, its just tobacco!). It was the best we encountered thus far! After, Grace, Megan and I went on a shopping mission for scarves. Sadly, we returned empty handed but that is simply because we refused to let the shop keepers to treat us like stupid tourists who don’t understand Arabic number or the Egyptian currency.
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| Me, Megan, Grace and their teacher Rehim |
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| Alex being Alex and Eric attempting photography |
Hopefully, this post contained all the information you felt like you were missing out on this week. For other, more sarcastic and therefore more true to my form, information about things I am encountering and experiencing, check out my Rules for Misr page (look to the right of this post, near the top of the blog).
Until later….
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