In the spirit of the season, as everyone is making their top 10-100 lists to sum up 2010, I have decided to make a list of my own: My Top 10 Big Little Things about Egypt, or little things that are nice and fun and make a difference in my day and experience.
1. Microbus Door Closing Techniques:
The minibuses that I ride everyday are vans and have sliding doors. It is usually the responsibility of the person sitting next to the door to slide it closed. But in that person's absence, the drivers have figured out that if they start driving really fast and then slam on the brake, the door will close on its own. Simple. Genius.
2. The Cat Convention:
Cats here wander around the city all the time. But at the tunnel I use to cross the Cornische, there is a convention of them every day. All different kinds of cats and lots and lots of little baby kittens. They stick together and get food together and cuddle. All the time. Little babies cuddling. And sometimes, the guards of these tunnels give up their seats for these cats and you can stare at their cute little kitten faces cuddling and huddling together for warmth.
3. The 5 am Call to Prayer:
The muezin outside of my window who does the call to prayer at 5 am has the voice of an angel. Sometimes I wake up to it and my room is flooded with his voice, which is often harmonizing with the other 5 am calls to prayer, and in my disoriented, sleeping state, I feel like I've landed myself in heaven.
4. Greetings:
In any formal situation- thanking, welcoming, etc, there are very specific phrases that people should use to greet each other. The whole process is amazing to watch. Two people will lock hands and eyes and for five minutes straight, they will talk at the exact same time, over each others voices, using and repeating phrases such as, "allah khaleek" (God keep you) and hundreds of other phrases meaning something along those lines. They don't stop to breath and they just keep coming up with new phrases. I have successfully done this once with another person, but I only used the phrase "allah khaleek." So I won't count it all the way. But its a skill I'm dying to master.
5. English Pronunciation:
There is no "P" in Arabic. So any English word with a "P" in it because a "B." Examples: Combuter, Barty, Bennslyvania.
6. Literal Translations:
My friend, Charlie, discovered that Arabic is a hilarious language to translate literally into English. For instance, to say good morning in Arabic, you say, "Sabah el-Kheir," and the other person will then respond, "Sabah el-nur" or "Sabah el-ful" or "Sabah el ward" or "Sabah el gamal." You see, "sabah" means morning and the literal translations of all of these phrases are, "morning of goodness" "morning of light" "morning of jasmine" "morning of flowers" "morning of camels." You can basically insert anything good in the place of "nur" and you've got yourself a "good morning." Another example, here is a google translated version of a teachers email:
Peace to you my students wonderfulYou and the wonderful activists in a row today, I thank you for your participation and I hope players can reach the exceptional level soon - God willingAttached to this message Unit Plan III
Hilarious.
7. High Fives:
When Egyptians make jokes, they tend to high five each other in recognition of the good humor. It's not a giant high five, but it's a little one, a low five, if you will. They just slap the tips of each others fingers and smile at each other. It's really nice. And it makes you feel really Egyptian when you tell your friend a joke and then slap their hand.
8. Songs of Store Owners:
As you can imagine, I tend to have hilarious interactions with people. They can't seem to figure me out and there is a whole range of ways that they respond to me. More than once have I walked into a store, said something simple like, "bekam?" (how much) or "aywa" (yes), and the store owners have responded in song. "Aywa? aywa aywa ayyywwwaaa! aywa aywa ayyyyywa!" Or "2 pounds. 1 2. 1 2. 1 2 1 2 1 2!" Or "ful. falafel. ful wa falafel! ful wa falafel!" They usually add a little dance, too.
9. Graffiti on the Cornische:
Along the Cornische, there are giant rocks that people tend to graffiti on. Some of them are stupid, like their names or their girlfriend's name, something like that. But sometimes, someone will graffiti a question or comment and people will respond to that question on the other rocks. They talk about love, democracy, God, lots of things. And when you go for a walk or a run, you get to read a whole conversation between people.
10. Little Surprises Every Day:
Yesterday, I took a long walk along the Cornische and when I looked to my right, away from the ocean, I saw that on the grassy divider between the lanes, there was a gymnastics team practicing and doing flips. Another day, I got in a cab and the cab driver was singing German pop music at the top of his lungs. When we were in Sinai, there were a pack of dogs and one of them stole a tourist's flip flop. Every day there is a new little something that just helps me smile and keeps the days interesting.
I want to wish you all a very very happy new year and I can't wait to see all of you in Philly tomorrow!!
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Thursday, December 23, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
فشل (fashal) of the year
There are certain words in Arabic that have become part of even our English conversations. Among them:
1. ممكن- mumken- maybe, perhaps
2. معلش- maalesh- oh well.
3. ماشي- mashi- ok, alrightand
4. فشل:
according to google translate:
failure, fiasco, defeat, dud, flop, washout, frustration.
fashal.
It happens a lot here in Egypt.
"I tried explaining to the cab driver that I live here and I know it only costs 3 pounds to get from my apartment to school, but he did not seem to understand my accent or my Arabic so wouldn't leave me alone until I gave him another 2 pounds." Boom. Fashal.
"The underground tunnel was closed due to flooding and I couldn't cross the Cornische without getting hit by several cars and buses, so I had to walk all the way down to Mohatet al Raml where the Cornische gets narrower so I could cross and I ended up being a half hour late for my Amiya test." Boom. Fashal.
"I'm sitting around with a bunch of ladies trying to explain why i'm studying Arabic here and they respond by telling me my Arabic's as good as a chimpanzee." Boom. Fashal.
Yes, studying a new language and living in Egypt, failure is something you grow accustomed to on a daily basis. I don't know how to explain to the doctor this oddly shape rash on my arm that makes me itch every time I have cinnamon. And sometimes explaining that I'm a vegetarian lands me a giant wad of meat stuffed meat on my plate. Fashal. Fashal.
So when I find myself in situations with Egyptian women, and the first thing they want me to do is dance (Belly Dance/ Egyptian Dance), a task that requires you to move every part of your body at once and gracefully, you shouldn't be surprised that the first word that comes to my head is "fashal."
Yes, yes, I know what you are all saying.
"Monica, there is no way that you could be that awful. I've seen you bust out some sick moves on the dance floor and I am constantly blown away by your skill, grace, and ease of which you move your body so fluidly and naturally."
And yes, while I agree and am flattered by your honesty and skill by which you measure dancing talent, you would be shocked to hear that I am a terrible terrible belly dancer.
Plagued with the memory of living in the dorms last summer where I would be asked to dance, then work up the nerve, dance, then be ridiculed endlessly for the rest of the summer about how I move my body like an old man, and to put the icing on the cake, and then be video taped so that that laughter could reemerge at any moment without notice, when I am asked to dance, I always feel a large pit in my stomach and start sweating immediately. I do my signature move, flail my arms a bit, and sit back down to endure the inevitable pity filled looks and jeering smiles.
So I decided to take a class. Jordan (girl)'s (we have 2 Jordans, a boy and a girl) language partner offered to show us a few moves to help us become a bit more natural when we try and dance. You see, Egyptian girls learn this sort of dancing pretty early on. Many of them learn from watching tv and movies or from their friends, mothers or sisters. Some, when trying to lose weight, go on a dancing diet and take long dancing classes at the gym to lose the weight. The main rule: no dancing in front of men who aren't your husband. Baladi dancing (as it is referred to in Egypt) is for your husbands eyes only and a special treat for him when you get married. The dancing here is a little different than other parts of the Arab word. The way they move their bellies are a little different, there is more emphasis on moving the legs than the arms.
When we asked how we were supposed to move our bellies, she told us to pretend that we were rolling a ball in there and we were supposed to move our hips in all four directions at the same time. We also practiced arm movements. She told us to flail are arms backwards and yell "la!" or "no" as if we are tempting the men folk but then refusing them. Its all very pretty when done right.
When done right. Thats the key phrase here. But as we all know, despite my class and my practice, the whole thing turned into one big ol' fashal.
Maalesh.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Snow Day
Well it pretty much seemed like it.
All year long, we were waiting and waiting for winter to come. Summer seemed to last well into October and it felt like I was never going to stop sweating. Then fall came and we had glorious weather, GLORIOUS weather- 70s, sunny, a slight breeze, few clouds. Until yesterday. Yesterday, the rain came. And rain in Egypt means winter. And it poured. And it was cold and gross and windy. And there was thunder and lightning and our electricity cut out and it was terrible.
The storm lasted through today. And this morning I woke up to go to school, not really wanting to leave the apartment because, honestly, who likes to leave in this weather anyway? But I went, like the good student I am.
My trip was frustrating, to say the least. Because of the rain, my cab driver wanted 2 more pounds out of me and then dropped me off in a puddle far from school. Grr. Then, we found out the tunnels that go under the Cornische were completely flooded. Double grr. So we had to cross the Cornische, all the while fighting the wind and the rain and my feet were so cold. It was the first time I had been in rain for 3 months, after all! I forgot how terrible it was!
But all through this trip, I started to notice that the city was unusually quiet for a Sunday morning. Few cars on the roads. No people. Really eerie. Then we got to school, walk through the gates and do not see a single Egyptian student. No cars. No lines to get in. The campus was empty.
So we walk to our markez al ta3leem al lugha al3rabiya lelaganeb (The Center for the Study of the Arabic Language for Foreigners where we have our Flagship classes) only for our professor to arrive an hour and 15 minutes late. Because of the rain. Then I was supposed to have my 2 university lectures and after braving the strong winds and walking to my classroom, I see that it is empty, save 10 or 15 students. We then find out the professor canceled classes. Yes, folks, because of the rain.
On my way back to my apartment (where I then proceeded to get under my covers and indulge myself in the season finale of Mad Men, a little Glee and Bored to Death), I noticed that most of the stores in my neighborhood were closed. No one came to work today.
All because of the rain.
Lessons learned: Alexandria handles the rain just about as well as Maryland handles the snow.
All year long, we were waiting and waiting for winter to come. Summer seemed to last well into October and it felt like I was never going to stop sweating. Then fall came and we had glorious weather, GLORIOUS weather- 70s, sunny, a slight breeze, few clouds. Until yesterday. Yesterday, the rain came. And rain in Egypt means winter. And it poured. And it was cold and gross and windy. And there was thunder and lightning and our electricity cut out and it was terrible.
The storm lasted through today. And this morning I woke up to go to school, not really wanting to leave the apartment because, honestly, who likes to leave in this weather anyway? But I went, like the good student I am.
My trip was frustrating, to say the least. Because of the rain, my cab driver wanted 2 more pounds out of me and then dropped me off in a puddle far from school. Grr. Then, we found out the tunnels that go under the Cornische were completely flooded. Double grr. So we had to cross the Cornische, all the while fighting the wind and the rain and my feet were so cold. It was the first time I had been in rain for 3 months, after all! I forgot how terrible it was!
But all through this trip, I started to notice that the city was unusually quiet for a Sunday morning. Few cars on the roads. No people. Really eerie. Then we got to school, walk through the gates and do not see a single Egyptian student. No cars. No lines to get in. The campus was empty.
So we walk to our markez al ta3leem al lugha al3rabiya lelaganeb (The Center for the Study of the Arabic Language for Foreigners where we have our Flagship classes) only for our professor to arrive an hour and 15 minutes late. Because of the rain. Then I was supposed to have my 2 university lectures and after braving the strong winds and walking to my classroom, I see that it is empty, save 10 or 15 students. We then find out the professor canceled classes. Yes, folks, because of the rain.
On my way back to my apartment (where I then proceeded to get under my covers and indulge myself in the season finale of Mad Men, a little Glee and Bored to Death), I noticed that most of the stores in my neighborhood were closed. No one came to work today.
All because of the rain.
Lessons learned: Alexandria handles the rain just about as well as Maryland handles the snow.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Activities and new discoveries
Dear friends and family-
These past few weeks have been pretty unexciting. We've had lots of big papers and books to read, so most of my time has been spent behind a book or trying to do some research on Ghasan Kanafani- the Palestinian author or about the Palestinian education system. Luckily, there have been a few perks and exciting events to get me through my dreary homework.
Events:
1. Soccer Game!
Last week, the group went to the stadium in Alexandria to watch a soccer match. The Egyptian soccer league is made up of teams from Egypt's sporting clubs- just like the one I am interning at. They are basically the Egyptian equivalent of American country clubs and have a tremendous amount of sports facilities- soccer, basketball, squash, ping pong, track and field, swimming, gymnastics, polo, horse back riding... you name it- they have it. They hold seminars from love classes, cooking classes, women's issues, politics, anything and are even well equipped with restaurants, cafes, sports gear stores, and kindergardens. They are often a huge social hub where both kids and adults go to hang out, but usually the clientele are among the upper classes of Egyptian society.
But back to soccer. The biggest soccer rivalry in Egypt is between two teams from Cairo- Ahly and Zemalek. From what I've seen, the country is torn between these two teams- we're talking Michigan and Ohio State, Eagles and Dallas, LA and Boston, but bigger. Because generally, Egyptians LOVE soccer. They live it. Breathe it. Wake up and think about it and go to sleep to dream about it. So when I say rivalry- I mean RIVALRY. I mean, we were told not to wear certain colors to the game because it could get ugly. I mean my professor saw a little kid get beaten up on a subway in Cairo for wearing Zemalek colors amongst Ahly fans. Soccer is big. For some reason, and I'm not sure why, most Alexandrians cheer for Ahly, not Zemalek, and also not any Alexandrian teams. I've been told that soccer teams from Alex are not that good, and only a few- like Itihad and Smouha- are in the professional league.
So we were fortunate enough to get tickets to an Ahly vs. Smouha game. Smouha is a neighborhood in Alex (were the zoo and the boys dorms are) and has yet to win a game this season (it's their first season in the professional league) and Ahly is supposed to be among the best. The game turned out to be pretty boring. Neither team played particularly well and it ended in a tie 1-1. But it was still very exciting to hear the chants, see how excited my favorite teacher- Ustath Mohamed Abdu Salam- got whenever Ahly played well, and it was just a nice way to spend an afternoon.
Factoid: Soccer teams here have a fan group called the Ultras. Like the Crew at Maryland sports games, the Ultras are avid fans who make sure that someone is cheering for their teams at the game. They meet during the week, practice and write cheers, and make sure the crowd is always pumped.
2. Concert:
The following night, we were told that there was a free concert and the Alexandria Center for the Arts. The name of the band was "Storm" and they are a new up and coming band on the kind of Indy scene in Egyptian music. They had a really cool style- kind of a mix of classic Egyptian sounds, rock, and jazz. I really enjoyed the concert. And we were also fortunate to go with a man named Iyman- a big personality in the Indy Egyptian music scene. He is currently making a data base of sort of underground, no so pop, Egyptian music that tries to make a successful fusion of western and Egyptian sounds without selling out and going to poppy. He's trying to help them develop their sound and make it in the music world. He has his own band as well and plays the viola (the Arabic word for viola is "kamanga." Awesome). He is also in a movie that just premiered at the Cairo International Film Festival called "Microphone," a movie that explores the underground music scene in Alexandria and its connection to political resistance and societal issues. I'm really looking forward to seeing it.
3. Awareness Walk
My roommate, Nada, has an internship at the Association for Women and Development and told us that they were having an awareness walk to combat violence against women and family violence in general. Cosponsered by USAID and the National Council for Women, November 25 started a 16 day international awareness campaign combatting violence against women, commemorating a day when a group of women, fighting for equal pay at the factory in which they were working, were set on fire and killed by their boss, a day that was later made the international day for combatting violence against women. 1700 organizations in more than 135 countries participated. The campaign ends today, the anniversary of the international declaration of human rights- an attempt to link the inherent connection between women's rights and human rights. So today, we gathered on the Cornische and walked for about an hour, wearing t-shirts and holding posters that said, "No to violence," "Yes to peaceful families," and my slogan said, "Our slogan: Hand in hand to combat family violence." There were at least 50 people, men women and children, in attendance, including a famous Egyptian movie star/ singer- Simone. I even got interviewed for tv! (It was terrifying). But all in all, it was really great to learn about the organization and all of their campaigns and various activities, and I'm hoping to get involved with a similar organization next semester for my internship.
Discoveries:
1. A new ahwa downtown that still serves shisha!
2. Our roof. What a view. I can't believe we never went up before.
These past few weeks have been pretty unexciting. We've had lots of big papers and books to read, so most of my time has been spent behind a book or trying to do some research on Ghasan Kanafani- the Palestinian author or about the Palestinian education system. Luckily, there have been a few perks and exciting events to get me through my dreary homework.
Events:
1. Soccer Game!
Last week, the group went to the stadium in Alexandria to watch a soccer match. The Egyptian soccer league is made up of teams from Egypt's sporting clubs- just like the one I am interning at. They are basically the Egyptian equivalent of American country clubs and have a tremendous amount of sports facilities- soccer, basketball, squash, ping pong, track and field, swimming, gymnastics, polo, horse back riding... you name it- they have it. They hold seminars from love classes, cooking classes, women's issues, politics, anything and are even well equipped with restaurants, cafes, sports gear stores, and kindergardens. They are often a huge social hub where both kids and adults go to hang out, but usually the clientele are among the upper classes of Egyptian society.
But back to soccer. The biggest soccer rivalry in Egypt is between two teams from Cairo- Ahly and Zemalek. From what I've seen, the country is torn between these two teams- we're talking Michigan and Ohio State, Eagles and Dallas, LA and Boston, but bigger. Because generally, Egyptians LOVE soccer. They live it. Breathe it. Wake up and think about it and go to sleep to dream about it. So when I say rivalry- I mean RIVALRY. I mean, we were told not to wear certain colors to the game because it could get ugly. I mean my professor saw a little kid get beaten up on a subway in Cairo for wearing Zemalek colors amongst Ahly fans. Soccer is big. For some reason, and I'm not sure why, most Alexandrians cheer for Ahly, not Zemalek, and also not any Alexandrian teams. I've been told that soccer teams from Alex are not that good, and only a few- like Itihad and Smouha- are in the professional league.
So we were fortunate enough to get tickets to an Ahly vs. Smouha game. Smouha is a neighborhood in Alex (were the zoo and the boys dorms are) and has yet to win a game this season (it's their first season in the professional league) and Ahly is supposed to be among the best. The game turned out to be pretty boring. Neither team played particularly well and it ended in a tie 1-1. But it was still very exciting to hear the chants, see how excited my favorite teacher- Ustath Mohamed Abdu Salam- got whenever Ahly played well, and it was just a nice way to spend an afternoon.
Factoid: Soccer teams here have a fan group called the Ultras. Like the Crew at Maryland sports games, the Ultras are avid fans who make sure that someone is cheering for their teams at the game. They meet during the week, practice and write cheers, and make sure the crowd is always pumped.
2. Concert:
The following night, we were told that there was a free concert and the Alexandria Center for the Arts. The name of the band was "Storm" and they are a new up and coming band on the kind of Indy scene in Egyptian music. They had a really cool style- kind of a mix of classic Egyptian sounds, rock, and jazz. I really enjoyed the concert. And we were also fortunate to go with a man named Iyman- a big personality in the Indy Egyptian music scene. He is currently making a data base of sort of underground, no so pop, Egyptian music that tries to make a successful fusion of western and Egyptian sounds without selling out and going to poppy. He's trying to help them develop their sound and make it in the music world. He has his own band as well and plays the viola (the Arabic word for viola is "kamanga." Awesome). He is also in a movie that just premiered at the Cairo International Film Festival called "Microphone," a movie that explores the underground music scene in Alexandria and its connection to political resistance and societal issues. I'm really looking forward to seeing it.
3. Awareness Walk
My roommate, Nada, has an internship at the Association for Women and Development and told us that they were having an awareness walk to combat violence against women and family violence in general. Cosponsered by USAID and the National Council for Women, November 25 started a 16 day international awareness campaign combatting violence against women, commemorating a day when a group of women, fighting for equal pay at the factory in which they were working, were set on fire and killed by their boss, a day that was later made the international day for combatting violence against women. 1700 organizations in more than 135 countries participated. The campaign ends today, the anniversary of the international declaration of human rights- an attempt to link the inherent connection between women's rights and human rights. So today, we gathered on the Cornische and walked for about an hour, wearing t-shirts and holding posters that said, "No to violence," "Yes to peaceful families," and my slogan said, "Our slogan: Hand in hand to combat family violence." There were at least 50 people, men women and children, in attendance, including a famous Egyptian movie star/ singer- Simone. I even got interviewed for tv! (It was terrifying). But all in all, it was really great to learn about the organization and all of their campaigns and various activities, and I'm hoping to get involved with a similar organization next semester for my internship.
Discoveries:
1. A new ahwa downtown that still serves shisha!
2. Our roof. What a view. I can't believe we never went up before.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Breaking News! Election Update!
Election day has arrived, and I can tell you the air is tense and exciting. I am in the fortunate position of having a voting station on my street and being able to witness firsthand what is going on on the ground and talk to the people who have just casted their votes.
Firstly, according to Masri El Yom:
1. "In Alexandria, the court accepted 34 lawsuits filed by attorneys of Brotherhood, independent, and other candidates excluded by various parties, against holding elections, reports Al-Shorouk. The court canceled elections in all Alexandria’s districts except Ghirbal, due to the large number of electoral transgressions."
I do not know if the court when through with the cancelation, but if it did, that would place me in the only open voting district in all of Alexandria.
2. There have been reports of at least 1 death due to elections (the son of a candidate running in Cairo was stabbed to death for putting up campaign posters for his father).
3. All Muslim Brotherhood websites were shut down 1 hour after voting started
4. (Not confirmed) A witness in Cairo claims to have seen a truck yesterday driving to a polling station with boxes filled with filled in ballots
5. There have been reports of scattered violence and clashes all across the country.
When I went down to talk to the people at the polling station downstairs, I can say that the air was tense. Katelyn was carrying her camera and was immediately asked if she was from the press, because pictures are not allowed. There had been people standing around the polling station all day, and when we went down, one man was particularly vexed about something and had been screaming, with men trying to calm him down. We asked what he was yelling about and were told that he was upset because the candidate running from the National Democratic Party had way more money to campaign with than the other candidates, that the Muslim Brotherhood was not allowed to hang any campaign posters, and that generally the elections had been rigged. We asked others if they had voted and they held up their hands, showing us their fingers whose tips were marked with pink ink.
Firstly, according to Masri El Yom:
1. "In Alexandria, the court accepted 34 lawsuits filed by attorneys of Brotherhood, independent, and other candidates excluded by various parties, against holding elections, reports Al-Shorouk. The court canceled elections in all Alexandria’s districts except Ghirbal, due to the large number of electoral transgressions."
I do not know if the court when through with the cancelation, but if it did, that would place me in the only open voting district in all of Alexandria.
2. There have been reports of at least 1 death due to elections (the son of a candidate running in Cairo was stabbed to death for putting up campaign posters for his father).
3. All Muslim Brotherhood websites were shut down 1 hour after voting started
4. (Not confirmed) A witness in Cairo claims to have seen a truck yesterday driving to a polling station with boxes filled with filled in ballots
5. There have been reports of scattered violence and clashes all across the country.
When I went down to talk to the people at the polling station downstairs, I can say that the air was tense. Katelyn was carrying her camera and was immediately asked if she was from the press, because pictures are not allowed. There had been people standing around the polling station all day, and when we went down, one man was particularly vexed about something and had been screaming, with men trying to calm him down. We asked what he was yelling about and were told that he was upset because the candidate running from the National Democratic Party had way more money to campaign with than the other candidates, that the Muslim Brotherhood was not allowed to hang any campaign posters, and that generally the elections had been rigged. We asked others if they had voted and they held up their hands, showing us their fingers whose tips were marked with pink ink.
Earlier today, while she was touring the city, bouncing from poll place to poll place, Katelyn met a man and accompanied him to vote. She asked him why he decided to vote, even though it was seemingly pointless. He expressed that even though he knows who is going to win, it is still his democratic right and he has a duty to vote.
It was really interesting to see the excitement around the polling station. Supporters of the Wafd party had stationed themselves outside the polling station, brought loud speakers and tablas and changed all of the traditional soccer cheers to cheer for Hosni Hafez, their candidate from the Wafd party.
The polls just closed and from our balcony, we saw a caravan of men and soldiers carrying the big brown ballot boxes out of the school and take them to an unknown location.
Last but not least- my balcony: The best spot in our apartment!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Election Time
Can you feel it, folks? Elections are in the air.
Everywhere you look around Egypt, there are banners waving, posters declaring the campaign promises of the various candidates they promote, candidates and their supporters driving around in pick up trucks with loud speakers- sharing their hopes for a reformed and stable Egypt with hopeful voters. Yes, friends, Egyptian parliamentary elections are tomorrow.
Now, what does this mean for Egypt?
There are several ways to look at this question- so let's start from the bottom up. According to Monica-Polling, when asked "do you plan on voting on Sunday?" 100% of respondents have said "no." Most respondents say that there is no point in voting. Only one person has said that they have actually voted in prior elections. Mostly, they say that they all know it's rigged, they know who is going to win, so why bother? Why take the chance? The "Hezb al Watani al Democrati" (The National Democratic Party) will surely win and Gamal Mubarek, whose campaign posters are already floating around Egypt although the presidential elections are a year away and he has not officially declared his candidacy, will also certainly be Egypt's next president.
When asked specifically about the Muslim Brotherhood, probably Egypt's largest opposition group who has been vying for power since the 1970s and who currently has about 88 seats in parliament, respondents have expressed a wide variety of feelings. Some say they do not like the Brotherhood because they do not want religion to rule politics. They find the prospect dangerous and scary, although they do fully support the Brotherhood's right to run in free and fair elections. Other respondents are not so wary of the Brotherhood, believing that they might do a better job at responding to Egypt's plethora of problems as they so far demonstrate considerable political prowess through their massive organization efforts and their ability to recruit and energize Egypt's youth. For instance- a personal anecdote- often, in my university class, my professors arrive 45 minutes to an hour late. More than once, student representatives of the Brotherhood have come in to our classroom and spoken with the students before the professor arrives. The first time, they typed up a survey asking what the students of Alexandria University want to see changed and reformed in the school- anything from improving the facilities, cleaner bathrooms, higher quality teachers etc. Another time, they made a little game- quizzing the students of the class about Egyptian history, Islamic history, the history of the Brotherhood, and Egyptian soccer. They had bought cakes and candies and gave them out as prizes for those who answer correctly. Another time, they came and led the students in prayer. Personal opinions aside, the Brotherhood is a skillful political entity that has been able to energize those who are generally a very politically apathetic group (and I say generally because there are obviously many many exceptions).
Another way to answer this question, "what do the elections mean for Egypt?" is to look at what happens on the ground. I have been told three times not to leave the apartment tomorrow because there will definitely be protests, clashes, and violence (don't worry, Mom, I promise I'll be fine! If it was actually dangerous the program would tell us not to leave!!) So far, in Alexandria alone, specifically areas of the city that are known Muslim Brotherhood strongholds, there have already been protests several times a week and arrests of more than 100 Brotherhood supporters. It is clear that although the elections won't necessarily affect the actual politics and policies of the country, there is wide felt feeling of urgency to reform the political system and make for more democratic practices amongst the citizens. At the same time, it is also very clear that the government does not necessarily feel this same urgency and is in fact quite resistant to it.
In terms of politics, as I've said, the actually elections will probably have very little impact. The ruling party probably already knows the outcome of the elections and it seems that voter participation will be very low. It seems that the government will not be letting in many international election monitors and that Monday morning, not much will have changed in the country. Leading up to the elections, many of the smaller opposition parties toyed with the idea of boycotting the elections, just to emphasize their disapproval of the electoral system and the corruption of the government. However, in the end, most opposition parties will be running their candidates, but it seems that the Brotherhood, who, as I said have 88 seats in parliament, will probably lose more than half of these seats to the NDP.
Here are a few good articles if you are interested in learning more:
Al Masri Al Yom: Elections in Alexandria: 'Ministers aren't allowed to lose'
Foreign Policy Magazine: Free media under siege on eve of Egypt’s elections
And generally, Al Masri Al Yom has an entire election section on their online newspaper.
Al Masri El Yom Election Section
Also:
Remember all those American commercials encouraging us to vote? Here's an Egyptian one:
Egyptian Voting Commercial
The man standing there is saying,
"I've grown weary. Seriously, weary. Life in Egypt has become impossible. There is no security in anything.
There is no apartments. There are no jobs. There's no marriage. There is no freedom of expression. There is no respect for (something I didn't understand, sorry). There is no love between people. There's no education. There is no medical treatment. There is no dignity. There is no dignity. There is no point!"
After the minister gets a computer dropped on him- the voice says, "No! There is [a point]. Care about changing your life and choosing your future. You have a voice!"
(in Arabic voice and vote are the same word- sot, so this could be saying you have a voice or you have a vote).
Although many of us are disappointed in the way our midterm elections turned out, let's all take a moment and be grateful for the country we live in and the freedoms that we do have.
Everywhere you look around Egypt, there are banners waving, posters declaring the campaign promises of the various candidates they promote, candidates and their supporters driving around in pick up trucks with loud speakers- sharing their hopes for a reformed and stable Egypt with hopeful voters. Yes, friends, Egyptian parliamentary elections are tomorrow.
Now, what does this mean for Egypt?
There are several ways to look at this question- so let's start from the bottom up. According to Monica-Polling, when asked "do you plan on voting on Sunday?" 100% of respondents have said "no." Most respondents say that there is no point in voting. Only one person has said that they have actually voted in prior elections. Mostly, they say that they all know it's rigged, they know who is going to win, so why bother? Why take the chance? The "Hezb al Watani al Democrati" (The National Democratic Party) will surely win and Gamal Mubarek, whose campaign posters are already floating around Egypt although the presidential elections are a year away and he has not officially declared his candidacy, will also certainly be Egypt's next president.
When asked specifically about the Muslim Brotherhood, probably Egypt's largest opposition group who has been vying for power since the 1970s and who currently has about 88 seats in parliament, respondents have expressed a wide variety of feelings. Some say they do not like the Brotherhood because they do not want religion to rule politics. They find the prospect dangerous and scary, although they do fully support the Brotherhood's right to run in free and fair elections. Other respondents are not so wary of the Brotherhood, believing that they might do a better job at responding to Egypt's plethora of problems as they so far demonstrate considerable political prowess through their massive organization efforts and their ability to recruit and energize Egypt's youth. For instance- a personal anecdote- often, in my university class, my professors arrive 45 minutes to an hour late. More than once, student representatives of the Brotherhood have come in to our classroom and spoken with the students before the professor arrives. The first time, they typed up a survey asking what the students of Alexandria University want to see changed and reformed in the school- anything from improving the facilities, cleaner bathrooms, higher quality teachers etc. Another time, they made a little game- quizzing the students of the class about Egyptian history, Islamic history, the history of the Brotherhood, and Egyptian soccer. They had bought cakes and candies and gave them out as prizes for those who answer correctly. Another time, they came and led the students in prayer. Personal opinions aside, the Brotherhood is a skillful political entity that has been able to energize those who are generally a very politically apathetic group (and I say generally because there are obviously many many exceptions).
Another way to answer this question, "what do the elections mean for Egypt?" is to look at what happens on the ground. I have been told three times not to leave the apartment tomorrow because there will definitely be protests, clashes, and violence (don't worry, Mom, I promise I'll be fine! If it was actually dangerous the program would tell us not to leave!!) So far, in Alexandria alone, specifically areas of the city that are known Muslim Brotherhood strongholds, there have already been protests several times a week and arrests of more than 100 Brotherhood supporters. It is clear that although the elections won't necessarily affect the actual politics and policies of the country, there is wide felt feeling of urgency to reform the political system and make for more democratic practices amongst the citizens. At the same time, it is also very clear that the government does not necessarily feel this same urgency and is in fact quite resistant to it.
In terms of politics, as I've said, the actually elections will probably have very little impact. The ruling party probably already knows the outcome of the elections and it seems that voter participation will be very low. It seems that the government will not be letting in many international election monitors and that Monday morning, not much will have changed in the country. Leading up to the elections, many of the smaller opposition parties toyed with the idea of boycotting the elections, just to emphasize their disapproval of the electoral system and the corruption of the government. However, in the end, most opposition parties will be running their candidates, but it seems that the Brotherhood, who, as I said have 88 seats in parliament, will probably lose more than half of these seats to the NDP.
Here are a few good articles if you are interested in learning more:
Al Masri Al Yom: Elections in Alexandria: 'Ministers aren't allowed to lose'
Foreign Policy Magazine: Free media under siege on eve of Egypt’s elections
And generally, Al Masri Al Yom has an entire election section on their online newspaper.
Al Masri El Yom Election Section
Also:
Remember all those American commercials encouraging us to vote? Here's an Egyptian one:
Egyptian Voting Commercial
The man standing there is saying,
"I've grown weary. Seriously, weary. Life in Egypt has become impossible. There is no security in anything.
There is no apartments. There are no jobs. There's no marriage. There is no freedom of expression. There is no respect for (something I didn't understand, sorry). There is no love between people. There's no education. There is no medical treatment. There is no dignity. There is no dignity. There is no point!"
After the minister gets a computer dropped on him- the voice says, "No! There is [a point]. Care about changing your life and choosing your future. You have a voice!"
(in Arabic voice and vote are the same word- sot, so this could be saying you have a voice or you have a vote).
Although many of us are disappointed in the way our midterm elections turned out, let's all take a moment and be grateful for the country we live in and the freedoms that we do have.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
A trip to Upper Egypt- Luxor and Aswan
Factoid: the south of Egypt is called Upper Egypt (much to the confusion of us westerners) because the Nile flows from south to north. Upper Egypt was the religious and spiritual center of Ancient Egypt and most of the temples and monuments are located in this part of the country, and it is therefore an ideal tourist attraction for most visitors
So we packed our bags and after 12 hours on a freezing cold air conditioned train, we made it to Luxor!
Luxor:
Day 1:
First stop- Karnak Temple. Karnak was built over 1300 hundred years and about 70 or 80 kings contributed to its building. According to my Rough Guide, it can hold about 10-12 cathedrals and is just enormous and awesome.
Roommate picture! (Plus our honorary roomy, Katelyn)
Luxor Temple: Ramses II built this temple supposedly to a god, but if you ask me, he was just way into himself and built it so that people could worship him. There are enormous statues of him everywhere! (we get it, guy, you conquered lots of territory). But it was also huge and awesome and we loved wandering around and refreshing our knowledge about Isis and Amun and Osiris and all of the other gods and their mythologies.(another factoid- Naomi Campbell plans on having her wedding here).
Then we all passed out in our hotels. We awoke in the night to do a little real Egypt exploration and we found the sha3bi market, made some friends, sat in an ahwa and chatted with the people who actually live here, trying to get a sense of what most of the residents of Luxor do, the major problems they face, and of course, reveling in their gracious hospitality.
Day 2:
Valley of the kings. My fav. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take any pictures, but take my word for it. It was awesome. The group visited 3 tombs- Thutmas III, Ramses IX, and Ramses IV. We explored their burial chambers, tried our best to read the hieroglyphics and figure out the stories (who are these monkeys! and what do the crocodiles do! and why are there so many stars on the ceiling!) And then, a group of us paid a little extra and got to visit King Tut's tomb. It was the only tomb in the Valley of the Kings that was found completely in tact and his mummy was still there! So we paid our respects to one of the youngest kings of Egypt.
Hatchepsut's Temple: Hatchepsut, the first queen of Egypt, had a lover. And he decided to build her a temple for her to be buried in. But she was like, "forget it, guy, I'm a king! I wear a kingly beard like all the rest of them! I'm getting buried in the Valley of the Kings, yo!" So she left this not-so-wimpy and not-so-small and no-so-ugly temple to be buried with the rest of the kings of Egypt. Way to go, Hatchepsut- sticking it to the man thousands of years ago!
Collosi of Memnon: 2 giant statues (literally that's all I know)
Then after a bit of rest, those friends that we made the night before invited us to their cousin's wedding. We learned that a wedding in Upper Egypt takes place over three days (we arrived for day 1). The first day is a celebration in the street with the men of the community. The bride and groom watch from their balconies as the community gives them gifts and sings and dances, most of the time, all night. The next day, the women have a henna party while the men drive around the city announcing the wedding all over town. The 3rd day is the actually wedding, when the bride goes down into the street in her white dress and the couple is considered man and wife. Our group, getting a little agitated at the tourist game, was thrilled to be able to see a piece of real Luxor. So we were led out of the touristy area and down an alley. As we turn in, we see the entire street decorated with lights, chairs filled with the men in the neighborhood, children wandering around, and a band set up at the front. After seating us and serving us tea and shisha, we got to watch the band greet every guest of the wedding (including a special shout out to the Americans present). We watched the dancing, the singing and just tried to take in everything around us. But us American women quickly noticed that there really weren't any Egyptian women seated at the wedding. It was really all men. Although we are fairly used to this (men usually gather in public while women gather privately inside their own homes), and we are used to being somewhat culturally inappropriate by glimpsing a bit of a man's world in Egypt- sitting in ahwa's, smoking shisha- activities women rarely take part in, we all felt a desperate need to get to know more women. Fortunately for us, as we looked up and glanced the balconies around us, we found the women. They motioned to us, "come upstairs!" and we obeyed. What ensued is difficult to describe. For the next several hours we jumped from apartment to apartment, meeting the women in the community, chatting with them, dancing, smoking shisha, drinking tea, greeting the bride, playing with children. It was the first time that we felt we got to really get to know the women and felt like we were culturally in the right place. As always, their graciousness was astounding. After a minute of chatting, we are best friends. We hug, we kiss, we dance, we act as if we've been friends for decades and as if this encounter is nothing unusual. They are touched by our Arabic skills, by our eagerness to learn about them and learn about their lives and their culture. And we are equally moved by their hospitality and their openness.
I will share a bit of what I wrote in my journal the following morning, just to give you a sense of my sensory over-load and feelings:
All of our senses are stimulated at once- you have the ear droning music that makes you deaf- the guy's voice, the tablas, the horns, the speakers. Then you have the flashing lights, colors and colors of lights and you have the people to stare at who are staring back- the men on the stage, the kids dancing, the galabiya men, the western men, the women on the balconies, the women in black smoking down below, the decorations of the buildings- the blood hand-prints from the eid, the graffiti, the pictures, the windows, the balconies, the campaign posters. And then the smell, the smell of the reef, the garbage, the manure, the animals, the people, the puffs of shisha smoke, the cigarettes, the hashish, the tea. so many senses get overloaded. and then the language, you try and hear what they are saying, how they are saying it, what they mean by it, how its different than what they say up north, what you should say, how you should respond, what facial expression do you use, what hand gestures. what questions can you ask, how should you answer their questions. so many things go into the experience. and then there's the experience itself. the women motioning to you, looking around their house as you go up the stairs, the greeting, the kissing, the juice, the tea, the tying the scarf around you and telling you to dance, the trying to move, the embarrassment when you really just can't belly dance like they can, the shock when they bump chests with you, take your hand, hug and kiss you, kiss you on the mouth. the shock when women are smoking, breast feeding in front of you, insisting that you drink more, sleep over, come again, take my phone number, have my phone number, whats your phone number, play with my baby, talk to me about your world, listen to me about mine. don't laugh at our modest kitchens. we know your life is better in america. know that this tea i'm giving you isn't cheap for me. we are ordinary people, but this is our life and we are happy. and we say, no, please, ma'am, thank you for sharing this with us. we want to know you. this is why we came- to get to know you, to get to know the real people of egypt. and sometimes they don't understand. and sometimes we don't understand. but then we hug, and kiss, and look each other in the eye and thank each other from the bottom of our hearts and recognize how amazing it is that we can come from so far apart and sit here together.
So that was the wedding.
Day 3:
A free morning for Alberto and I to explore the museums. First stop- Mummification Museum. Ancient Egyptians- thank you. It is so so so cool that I got to see a mummified crocodile, monkey, cat, ram, ibex, and person! It is so cool that the tools that you used were so teeny teeny tiny! Really? You used tweezers to pull out entrails? Teeny tiny little tweezers that I use to pluck my eyebrows!? And a teeny miniature little blade to pull out kidneys and livers? Ancients- hats off to you. Your brilliance astounds me.
Next- Luxor museum. More statues and pictures and bows and arrows and learning about my favorite ancients.
Then, we boarded the bus and headed to Aswan.
We spent the night in the giant tourist market buying Christmas presents and cool tapestries that we hope to hang up when we move out of our parents homes and get our own apartments!
Day 4:
The High Dam: In the 1970s, the Egyptian government decided to build a dam in the south of Egypt and make one of the world's largest man-made lakes- Lake Nassar. The dam, though it has helped Egypt develop in so many ways- bringing electricity and agriculture all over the country, it also has its downsides. For instance, the dam building displaced around 50,000 Nubians as their homes got flooded with Nile water. In addition to Nubian displacement, the dam flooded several thousand Ancient Egyptian temples and monuments- the most famous of which are the Philae Temple and Abu Simbal. But, with the help of an enormous project funded by UNESCO, most of the remains were preserved and moved, stone by stone, to higher ground and didn't suffer tremendous water damage. So most of the remains that we saw were not in their original locations.
Philae Temple: A temple built for the goddess Isis. This temple also was the only Pagan temple left open after the Christians came and conquered Egypt, but it was eventually changed into a Church.
Generally- awesome.
Unfinished Obelisk: Exactly what it sounds like. For 4 years, these builders toiled to build the world's largest obelisk, but unfortunately, a blemish in the stone at the top spoiled their plans.
Botanical Gardens: Beautiful!!! And great views of my next big purchase- a falluca.
Day 5:
While most of the group went to a Nubian village, Alberto, Katelyn, Fatima, and I were going to try and go to Abu Simbal, but the plan didn't work out, so we decided to hit the Nubian museum- learning about Nubian history from prehistoric times until the present. Then, we rode on a falluca. A falluca is basically a sailboat, but really, there is nothing like riding on the Nile with the wind in your face and not a care in the world.
But after our joy ride, it was time to get back on the freezing cold train and ride 17 hours back to Alex- back to homework, back to cheap food, and back to real life.
Friday, November 12, 2010
On meat, slaughter, and sacrifice
Yesterday, I saw a lamb being slaughtered. It was the first animal that I had ever seen being killed live. The experience had a surprising impact on me and got me thinking about life, death, and food.
Context:
This upcoming week, Muslims all over the world celebrate one of their biggest holidays, Eid al Adha, meaning literally "The holiday of the sacrifice." This holiday commemorates a very special story in the Koran. From my understanding, Allah called upon the Prophet Ibrahim and told him to take his son, Ishmael, and bring him to a mountain and sacrifice him to Allah. Ibrahim told Ishmael about the plan and Ishmael agreed, saying that it is best to trust in Allah. So the two went up to the mountain, tied Ishmael down, and as the Prophet Ibrahim was about to sacrifice his son, Allah sent a lamb and told the two that because they proved their loyalty and faith, Allah will be gracious unto them, and rather than sacrifice Ishmael, they should sacrifice the lamb.
The story should sound very familiar to all of us. But unlike Judaism and Christianity, Muslims make a holiday to celebrate both the graciousness of Allah and the faith of Ibrahim. The holiday is based all around sacrifice and meat. Most families will buy a lamb and slaughter the lamb and then eat and eat and eat. Every time I ask someone what they do to celebrate Eid al Adha, they answer, "eat meat!" They eat lamb and a special dish called Phatah which is basically bread, rice, and meat.
This week leading up to Eid al-Adha, the city has exploded with lambs and carcasses. On every corner you can see lambs, marked by red or black pant, waiting for the holiday in their pens, butcher shops are hanging up their meat, (more animal carcasses than I have ever seen in my whole life) and, in many cases, butcher shops slaughtering their animals in the street in plain sight of everyone around.
So, how did I, a vegetarian of around 14 years, come to see a lamb being slaughtered? Well, my friend, Jordan, chose to do his internship at a very "sha3bi (popular/ of the Egyptian people) coffee shop and has since befriended every shop owner and costumer in a 2 block vicinity. He invited the group yesterday to sit at his ahwa, meet the owners and the customers, the fruit sellers, the vegetable sellers, the bakers, and the butchers who have become his Egyptian family, and also share in the unique experience of watching a lamb being slaughtered. Being a squeemish vegetarian, I was hesitant to watch, but decided that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and that I shouldn't shy away from it.
So we all lined up in front of the butcher shop. And they took the lamb, laid him on the ground, and a little boy, probably around 3 or 4 years old, held the knife, while the butcher made the cut. It wasn't a clean cut, as it should have been, and the lamb struggled for several minutes after the incision was made. And we watched how nonchalantly the neighborhood walked by the slaughter, cleaned up the blood, and how proud the little boy was of himself for making the cut (he approached Mae afterwards saying excitedly, "did you see me do it! Did you see me kill the lamb! Have you ever killed a lamb! I did it! I did it!"). Although I was squeezing Katelyn's arm the entire time, I was shocked at myself. I wasn't disgusted. I was intrigued! I couldn't tare my eyes away. I even took a peek after the fact as they inflated the abdomen with air and starting skinning the animal. I was fixated! Entranced! And my head was swimming with questions!
Firstly, I asked myself, "why was this disgusting? Why was this inhumane? Is it actually inhumane?" In America, we pride ourselves on our clean meat, on the distance that we have made between ourselves and our food. It's great to eat meat in America because we don't have to watch it being slaughtered. Hamburgers are basically the same as carrots, right? They just taste better. But here, there was something amazing about the experience and about this holiday, a feeling that is entirely absent from our food discourse in the states. Personal responsibility. Here, everyone knows exactly where there meat comes from and on this holiday, they recognize their role in the killing process. They acknowledge that the food they eat did not magically appear in their markets and butcher shops, but it is a sacrifice. An animal is giving up it's life so that they can eat, so that they can praise God in the way that they chose, so that they can run their businesses and build their nation's cuisine and character and businesses around this animal's sacrifice. It is not hidden, it is not shameful. It is a gift. If you are going to eat meat, acknowledge that you are doing so and take part in it.
In every way, the meat industry here is infinitely more humane than it is in the states. As we drive through the countryside, we see cows grazing eating grass, not corn, not being injected with hormones and anti biotics that make the fatty parts fatter and the meatier parts meatier. We see how they are shipped from short distances to the butcher shop where they are actual slaughtered by a man, not a machine, not on a conveyor belt, not by electric shock or strangulation. We see how the butcher cuts the meat, skins it, slices it, and what he does with every body part. How he cleans up the blood. How he cleans his knife and the sidewalk. And then we see how it's prepared. Everyone here knows and it is just a part of life. And this is one of the amazing things about Egypt in general. I walk out my door and I am surrounded by fruits and vegetables and meats, shipped from no more than a few hours away. And yes, my tomatoes are a little dirtier than they are in the states. And sometimes I find maggots in my pomegranates. And sometimes, the batch of onions today aren't looking their brightest and their best. But I'm eating Egyptian food. Not Ecuadorian or Brazilian. And when I take a trip to the countryside, I pass the banana trees and see where my peanut butter banana sandwich actually comes from. And I see that the cows do live a nice life. They get to feel the breeze in their ears as they fly down the highway to Alexandria.
So I made a big decision based off of this experience. I decided to eat meat to celebrate Eid al Adha. To celebrate the idea of being part of the food process and part of the culture. Today, Katelyn and I made a trip out to Fua in Kofr el-Sheikh, the countryside province a little over an hour from Alexandria, and we visited my friend Eman and her family. Her sister cooked chicken and beef soup. And I ate every bite. Although I am still going to be a vegetarian, and I still really don't want to eat meat, I decided that because I so respect the food culture here, I am no longer refusing or eating around the meat when I visit a family. I want to show them that I respect their culture and their hospitality. And with a meat industry this ethically clean, I want to show them that I'm not a picky American and that I do prefer their meat over the meat in the states. And that I won't eat meat that I know was treated inhumanely. But when they offer me some chicken that was probably slaughtered down the street the day before, I'll say yes, please. And thank you.
Context:
This upcoming week, Muslims all over the world celebrate one of their biggest holidays, Eid al Adha, meaning literally "The holiday of the sacrifice." This holiday commemorates a very special story in the Koran. From my understanding, Allah called upon the Prophet Ibrahim and told him to take his son, Ishmael, and bring him to a mountain and sacrifice him to Allah. Ibrahim told Ishmael about the plan and Ishmael agreed, saying that it is best to trust in Allah. So the two went up to the mountain, tied Ishmael down, and as the Prophet Ibrahim was about to sacrifice his son, Allah sent a lamb and told the two that because they proved their loyalty and faith, Allah will be gracious unto them, and rather than sacrifice Ishmael, they should sacrifice the lamb.
The story should sound very familiar to all of us. But unlike Judaism and Christianity, Muslims make a holiday to celebrate both the graciousness of Allah and the faith of Ibrahim. The holiday is based all around sacrifice and meat. Most families will buy a lamb and slaughter the lamb and then eat and eat and eat. Every time I ask someone what they do to celebrate Eid al Adha, they answer, "eat meat!" They eat lamb and a special dish called Phatah which is basically bread, rice, and meat.
This week leading up to Eid al-Adha, the city has exploded with lambs and carcasses. On every corner you can see lambs, marked by red or black pant, waiting for the holiday in their pens, butcher shops are hanging up their meat, (more animal carcasses than I have ever seen in my whole life) and, in many cases, butcher shops slaughtering their animals in the street in plain sight of everyone around.
So, how did I, a vegetarian of around 14 years, come to see a lamb being slaughtered? Well, my friend, Jordan, chose to do his internship at a very "sha3bi (popular/ of the Egyptian people) coffee shop and has since befriended every shop owner and costumer in a 2 block vicinity. He invited the group yesterday to sit at his ahwa, meet the owners and the customers, the fruit sellers, the vegetable sellers, the bakers, and the butchers who have become his Egyptian family, and also share in the unique experience of watching a lamb being slaughtered. Being a squeemish vegetarian, I was hesitant to watch, but decided that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and that I shouldn't shy away from it.
So we all lined up in front of the butcher shop. And they took the lamb, laid him on the ground, and a little boy, probably around 3 or 4 years old, held the knife, while the butcher made the cut. It wasn't a clean cut, as it should have been, and the lamb struggled for several minutes after the incision was made. And we watched how nonchalantly the neighborhood walked by the slaughter, cleaned up the blood, and how proud the little boy was of himself for making the cut (he approached Mae afterwards saying excitedly, "did you see me do it! Did you see me kill the lamb! Have you ever killed a lamb! I did it! I did it!"). Although I was squeezing Katelyn's arm the entire time, I was shocked at myself. I wasn't disgusted. I was intrigued! I couldn't tare my eyes away. I even took a peek after the fact as they inflated the abdomen with air and starting skinning the animal. I was fixated! Entranced! And my head was swimming with questions!
Firstly, I asked myself, "why was this disgusting? Why was this inhumane? Is it actually inhumane?" In America, we pride ourselves on our clean meat, on the distance that we have made between ourselves and our food. It's great to eat meat in America because we don't have to watch it being slaughtered. Hamburgers are basically the same as carrots, right? They just taste better. But here, there was something amazing about the experience and about this holiday, a feeling that is entirely absent from our food discourse in the states. Personal responsibility. Here, everyone knows exactly where there meat comes from and on this holiday, they recognize their role in the killing process. They acknowledge that the food they eat did not magically appear in their markets and butcher shops, but it is a sacrifice. An animal is giving up it's life so that they can eat, so that they can praise God in the way that they chose, so that they can run their businesses and build their nation's cuisine and character and businesses around this animal's sacrifice. It is not hidden, it is not shameful. It is a gift. If you are going to eat meat, acknowledge that you are doing so and take part in it.
In every way, the meat industry here is infinitely more humane than it is in the states. As we drive through the countryside, we see cows grazing eating grass, not corn, not being injected with hormones and anti biotics that make the fatty parts fatter and the meatier parts meatier. We see how they are shipped from short distances to the butcher shop where they are actual slaughtered by a man, not a machine, not on a conveyor belt, not by electric shock or strangulation. We see how the butcher cuts the meat, skins it, slices it, and what he does with every body part. How he cleans up the blood. How he cleans his knife and the sidewalk. And then we see how it's prepared. Everyone here knows and it is just a part of life. And this is one of the amazing things about Egypt in general. I walk out my door and I am surrounded by fruits and vegetables and meats, shipped from no more than a few hours away. And yes, my tomatoes are a little dirtier than they are in the states. And sometimes I find maggots in my pomegranates. And sometimes, the batch of onions today aren't looking their brightest and their best. But I'm eating Egyptian food. Not Ecuadorian or Brazilian. And when I take a trip to the countryside, I pass the banana trees and see where my peanut butter banana sandwich actually comes from. And I see that the cows do live a nice life. They get to feel the breeze in their ears as they fly down the highway to Alexandria.
So I made a big decision based off of this experience. I decided to eat meat to celebrate Eid al Adha. To celebrate the idea of being part of the food process and part of the culture. Today, Katelyn and I made a trip out to Fua in Kofr el-Sheikh, the countryside province a little over an hour from Alexandria, and we visited my friend Eman and her family. Her sister cooked chicken and beef soup. And I ate every bite. Although I am still going to be a vegetarian, and I still really don't want to eat meat, I decided that because I so respect the food culture here, I am no longer refusing or eating around the meat when I visit a family. I want to show them that I respect their culture and their hospitality. And with a meat industry this ethically clean, I want to show them that I'm not a picky American and that I do prefer their meat over the meat in the states. And that I won't eat meat that I know was treated inhumanely. But when they offer me some chicken that was probably slaughtered down the street the day before, I'll say yes, please. And thank you.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Apologies and Daily Life
Dear all readers,
I apologize for being a big slacker and not updating my blog for quite some time. If it means anything, my computer charger broke, and I was without a computer for about a week. But finally (thanks to the best parents in the world!) my computer is up and running again!
So, in the past few weeks nothing terribly exciting has happened. We had a Halloween party (I was dressed as a red m and m, and other costumes included Egyptian men from upper Egypt (galabiya, mustache and all), a cat, a ninja, 2 more m and ms, a 20's flapper, the Morton Salt Girl, etc.). I made banana bread, others made chili, caramel apples, and it was quite a night! We even watched a scary movie and I couldn't sleep for 2 nights because of it! Other celebrations included a Shabbat dinner where I baked my first challot and showed my fellow Flagshippers Shabbat.
So, because of my uneventful few weeks, I will take this time to give you a little picture about daily life in the Flagship program.
My day starts around 7:45 am. I eat a bowl of cereal and some nescafe and take a mashrua to school. We are currently taking 3 courses with just the other American students. Sundays and Tuesdays is Egyptian Colloquial Arabic with Ustatha Radwa. Mondays and Wednesdays is Modern Standard Arabic with Ustath Nour, and in the beginning of the year, we chose between Arabic literature and political issues in the Arab world, so Tuesdays is my lit class, also with Ustatha Radwa. Class ends around 1:30.
My afternoons are divided between a few different activities. On Sundays, I go to my direct enrollment class at the University of Alexandria. My professors arrive about 45 minutes late each class, so I get to spend some time with my academic partner, Sarah, and her friends. We play charades and talk a lot about the differences between Egypt and America.
Other days I go to my internship. I am currently interning at Nadi Sporting, playing sports with kids and young adults with special needs. Nadi Sporting is basically the Egyptian equivalent of a country club. The grounds are huge and they have a ton of different sports facilities including a pool, polo, golf course, track, full gym, karate and horseback riding. The club also has activities for children and adults and is a center for socializing among the upper class of Egyptian society. The club trains the Egyptian special olympics team in swimming, basketball, track and field, gymnastics, and table tennis. The teams are amazing! They have won gold and silver is several international competitions, including beating the US in the Beijing Olympics. The participants are extremely talented and it's just amazing to be able to watch the coaches interact with them and how the interact with each other. I'm really enjoying my time there, although I have just started this week!
Other days, I meet for 2 with my language partner. Her name is Chereen (Cherry), and she and Rwan, Katelyn's language partner, are best friends. The four of us go out together, go shopping, eat together, and have a great time!
Then, my evenings are filled with wageb (homework) and lots of it. Lots of reading, listening, writing, and conversation activities. Mae, Nada, and I sit around our dining room table drinking tea and learning new vocab. We have also become master chefs in our apartment, coming up with creative ways to use Egyptian ingredients. Our specialties: vegetable fried rice, pasta sauce (made from scratch from tomato paste and any vegetables we find lying around), chili, eggs, and pradas. Our future roommates: consider yourselves lucky because we will know how to make delicious food cheaply!
Our weekends go from Thursdays-Saturdays, although Thursday is usually spent at our internships. Fridays and Saturdays, we take advantage of being able to relax a little bit, explore the city, meet each others families and friends, and also spend a lot of time on our balcony listening to music, drinking some wine, and having fun with each other!
I apologize for being a big slacker and not updating my blog for quite some time. If it means anything, my computer charger broke, and I was without a computer for about a week. But finally (thanks to the best parents in the world!) my computer is up and running again!
So, in the past few weeks nothing terribly exciting has happened. We had a Halloween party (I was dressed as a red m and m, and other costumes included Egyptian men from upper Egypt (galabiya, mustache and all), a cat, a ninja, 2 more m and ms, a 20's flapper, the Morton Salt Girl, etc.). I made banana bread, others made chili, caramel apples, and it was quite a night! We even watched a scary movie and I couldn't sleep for 2 nights because of it! Other celebrations included a Shabbat dinner where I baked my first challot and showed my fellow Flagshippers Shabbat.
So, because of my uneventful few weeks, I will take this time to give you a little picture about daily life in the Flagship program.
My day starts around 7:45 am. I eat a bowl of cereal and some nescafe and take a mashrua to school. We are currently taking 3 courses with just the other American students. Sundays and Tuesdays is Egyptian Colloquial Arabic with Ustatha Radwa. Mondays and Wednesdays is Modern Standard Arabic with Ustath Nour, and in the beginning of the year, we chose between Arabic literature and political issues in the Arab world, so Tuesdays is my lit class, also with Ustatha Radwa. Class ends around 1:30.
My afternoons are divided between a few different activities. On Sundays, I go to my direct enrollment class at the University of Alexandria. My professors arrive about 45 minutes late each class, so I get to spend some time with my academic partner, Sarah, and her friends. We play charades and talk a lot about the differences between Egypt and America.
Other days I go to my internship. I am currently interning at Nadi Sporting, playing sports with kids and young adults with special needs. Nadi Sporting is basically the Egyptian equivalent of a country club. The grounds are huge and they have a ton of different sports facilities including a pool, polo, golf course, track, full gym, karate and horseback riding. The club also has activities for children and adults and is a center for socializing among the upper class of Egyptian society. The club trains the Egyptian special olympics team in swimming, basketball, track and field, gymnastics, and table tennis. The teams are amazing! They have won gold and silver is several international competitions, including beating the US in the Beijing Olympics. The participants are extremely talented and it's just amazing to be able to watch the coaches interact with them and how the interact with each other. I'm really enjoying my time there, although I have just started this week!
Other days, I meet for 2 with my language partner. Her name is Chereen (Cherry), and she and Rwan, Katelyn's language partner, are best friends. The four of us go out together, go shopping, eat together, and have a great time!
Then, my evenings are filled with wageb (homework) and lots of it. Lots of reading, listening, writing, and conversation activities. Mae, Nada, and I sit around our dining room table drinking tea and learning new vocab. We have also become master chefs in our apartment, coming up with creative ways to use Egyptian ingredients. Our specialties: vegetable fried rice, pasta sauce (made from scratch from tomato paste and any vegetables we find lying around), chili, eggs, and pradas. Our future roommates: consider yourselves lucky because we will know how to make delicious food cheaply!
Our weekends go from Thursdays-Saturdays, although Thursday is usually spent at our internships. Fridays and Saturdays, we take advantage of being able to relax a little bit, explore the city, meet each others families and friends, and also spend a lot of time on our balcony listening to music, drinking some wine, and having fun with each other!
Friday, October 29, 2010
The Mawled. The night of all nights.
I'm not sure how it happened. How we got there. Where we even were. The whole night is like a hazy blur in my memory. Were we really there? What did we see? What were we watching? And why!
The night began much like any other Thursday night- a little shisha and stellas on the balcony, listening to the mixes that we were preparing for the next big Mermaid night out. All was normal until Nada said to us, "hey, guys, I don't know if you heard but there's this Mawled that starts at midnight in Bahari. I don't really know what it is, something with Sufis- some sort of festival. You can buy lots of things and its supposed to be really cool."
Sweet. We'll meet you there, kiddo.
So Mae, Katelyn, Jordan, and I hop in the cab heading to Bahari, a neighborhood pretty close by that we're fairly familiar with. We ask the cab driver to take us to the Mawled, and he seems fairly confident that he knows where he is going. "Oh yeah," he says, "the Abu Abas mosque. Mesh mushkela (no problem)."
We arrived at the Abu Abas mosque at around 12:30 to what appeared to be a deserted carnival scene. It really was straight out of a horror movie- old amusement park rides with clowns painted on them rocking back and forth, crazy old men waddling over and staring, little children swinging on the old rides, and donkeys walking through the carnival pulling squeeky carts. We quickly realized that we were not at the right place and decided to get into a cab before this really turned into "Saw 4: Carny Carnage- Egyptian Style."
After getting the name of the real place from Nada, the cab starts driving. And driving. And driving. And driving. And the scene gets more and more Shaabi (authentically Egyptian, I guess. The word Shaab means people, and "shaabi" can mean popular or just referring to anything about real Egyptian people). The roads are less paved, buildings worn down, more men are walking around in very traditional clothing, the coffee shops are packed with men playing dominoes and smoking shisha, we see fewer and fewer women and we keep driving further and further. After about 20 minutes, we drive over a bridge with a river, and we all start to look at each other and wonder, "where is he taking us? could this possibly be right? where in the heck are we going!! when do we start getting concerned!!"
But finally, after about a half hour, the cab pulls up to a giant tent and we can hear music playing. As we get out of the cab, the driver tells us at least three times, "Watch out for yourselves. Be careful."
So at this point, I'm pretty nervous. I look up at the tent and ask my friends, "guys, should we go back?"
They all ignore me.
So we move on. And as we approach the tent, all I can hear is music blaring and all I see are men's heads, all turning to look at us. And we move closer and closer in until we finally walk through. And to our left is a stage with a man singing and in front of him is a crowd of 50 men, several of them twirling and turning and singing and dancing, all in a trance. And we move further and further in and we see crowds and crowds of people, all swaying their arms up in the air, twirling in circles. Some people are wearing festive party hats, like the kind you see on New Years Eve. But most people are wearing traditional galabiyas. Everyone turns and stares at us.
So we move our way through, push our way through the crowd and immediately spot our group of friends, and I sigh with relief. There are 8 of us Americans and 3 Sufi guides with them. They take us to a large tent adjacent to the one with the music and we all remove our shoes and separate boys and girls. A man brings us over tea, and we all start chatting.
We learn that a Mawled is a Sufi tradition (Sufi is a sect of Islam, different from Sunni and Shiite and are famous for practicing mysticism. I am not sure how many Sufis there are in Egypt, but I do know that many of their practices are not accepted by Sunni Muslims who make up the largest percentage of Egypt's population). The Mawled celebrates the lives of saints that have passed away. This particular Mawled was celebrating a Sheikh that was a very respected man in the community and who passed away in 1979. They have these celebrations fairly regularly with the largest one taking place in a town called Desuk in Kofr El-Sheikh (this happens to be the town that my former roommate Eman grew up in, and I cannot wait to ask her all about this!)
So we sit in the tent for about an hour, chatting with the people around us, trying to glean as much information as we can about this festival. In the meantime, children have taken to approaching us, shaking our hands, asking us our names, and men are whipping out their camera phones, photographing the Aganeb (foreigners). When the music started again, we left this little tent and moved onto the larger one.
This was really the incredible thing to watch.
First- the music: At the front of the tent on this same stage, this same man was singing. He had been singing for hours at this point and you could not hear a change in his voice. This music was meant to help the participants get into a trance. I don't know exactly how to describe this sound, but imagine one long, 4 hour song that sounds exactly the same throughout. But about every 20 minutes or so, there is a slight change in the beat, in the rhythm, and it seems like that little change helps build the momentum up more and more. So after an hour of listening, you feel your heart beating a little faster, and your nerves going a little stronger. And you could really feel that if you closed your eyes and concentrated on the music and on the rhythm, it would be so easy to slip into a trance like the rest of the people there.
Second- the dancing. Standing behind the singer was a man dressed in all green. He wore a green turban and a green outfit that was shaped something like the outfits in Aladdin. He even had his face and body painted green. And he stood behind the singer, and he blew a whistle to the beat of the music, and he twirled around and around and around. And all through the audience, people were lifting their arms are twirling and dancing. And at one point, I looked at a stern looking husband move to the center of the crowd, lift up his arms, smile, and twirl.
Third- the people. Or one man in particular. Sitting in front of us was a man with a white beard wearing a white turban and a gray galabeya. He sat with his legs crossed and alternated between shisha smoke and his prayer beads. One minute, his mouth was attached to his shisha, and it was just puff and blow and puff and blow for minutes straight without a break. And then he would pass the shisha to his friend and move onto his prayer beads. And he would push the prayer beads through his fingers, muttering prayers, and the amazing part was that he did this in perfect rhythm with the music. And as the music got faster, the beads would start flying. And at certain points, he would turn around and look at us and we saw that he wore dark black eye liner around his eyes. He was a figure straight out of folklore.
So we stood watching this scene for an hour, in awe at where we were, at what were we watching. We were struck with how little we actually understand about Egypt, about this culture. How, in reality, we will never understand this culture and these people and this place. We could live here for a year or 3 or 7 or 30 and still have no clue. And it dawned on us how difficult it would be to explain this event to ourselves and to our family, and how difficult it is in general to relate Egypt to those at home. We want to show you what we are doing here, what we are thinking about, how we see things. But at the same time, all of our blog posts and emails and facebook pictures tell more about us than the do about Egypt. And it is scary to think that people at home can read our writing and think both that we have a great understanding of this culture, and now too, just by reading Monica and Mae's blog, they understand Egypt. We don't get it and I don't think we will never get it. And the challenge of living here is diplomatically and fairly accurately depicting America to Egyptians and at the same time diplomatically and accurately reflecting Egypt to our friends and family back home. And how can you possibly represent these countries that are so diverse and whose interactions are so complex? And Egypt is one of the most complicated places I've ever encountered. I don't think I will ever have a handle on it.
Anyway, after standing and watching the dancing and singing for an hour, we went and walked around a bit and then sat further away from the speakers. Someone brought us sodas to drink and we again chatted with the people around us. One man started talking to Nada, Fatima, and I about Islam. It was basically a sermon about how our souls are the electricity of our bodies. Lamps cannot run without electricity, and our souls are our electricity, powered by God to help us get through our days. He asked us our impressions of Egypt, talked about Islam and Christianity, and explained that without this Mawled, we never would have met each other, so some things are obviously predestined by God to happen. This Mawled happened for a reason- to bring us all together to talk and exchange our world views.
After this chat, we realized how late it had actually gotten and that it was probably time to head home, considering that this Mawled was going to go until morning. So we said our goodbyes and thank yous, got in a cab and went home. And over a pizza at 4:30 am, we digested the evening's events, trying to piece together what we had seen and learned.
The night began much like any other Thursday night- a little shisha and stellas on the balcony, listening to the mixes that we were preparing for the next big Mermaid night out. All was normal until Nada said to us, "hey, guys, I don't know if you heard but there's this Mawled that starts at midnight in Bahari. I don't really know what it is, something with Sufis- some sort of festival. You can buy lots of things and its supposed to be really cool."
Sweet. We'll meet you there, kiddo.
So Mae, Katelyn, Jordan, and I hop in the cab heading to Bahari, a neighborhood pretty close by that we're fairly familiar with. We ask the cab driver to take us to the Mawled, and he seems fairly confident that he knows where he is going. "Oh yeah," he says, "the Abu Abas mosque. Mesh mushkela (no problem)."
We arrived at the Abu Abas mosque at around 12:30 to what appeared to be a deserted carnival scene. It really was straight out of a horror movie- old amusement park rides with clowns painted on them rocking back and forth, crazy old men waddling over and staring, little children swinging on the old rides, and donkeys walking through the carnival pulling squeeky carts. We quickly realized that we were not at the right place and decided to get into a cab before this really turned into "Saw 4: Carny Carnage- Egyptian Style."
After getting the name of the real place from Nada, the cab starts driving. And driving. And driving. And driving. And the scene gets more and more Shaabi (authentically Egyptian, I guess. The word Shaab means people, and "shaabi" can mean popular or just referring to anything about real Egyptian people). The roads are less paved, buildings worn down, more men are walking around in very traditional clothing, the coffee shops are packed with men playing dominoes and smoking shisha, we see fewer and fewer women and we keep driving further and further. After about 20 minutes, we drive over a bridge with a river, and we all start to look at each other and wonder, "where is he taking us? could this possibly be right? where in the heck are we going!! when do we start getting concerned!!"
But finally, after about a half hour, the cab pulls up to a giant tent and we can hear music playing. As we get out of the cab, the driver tells us at least three times, "Watch out for yourselves. Be careful."
So at this point, I'm pretty nervous. I look up at the tent and ask my friends, "guys, should we go back?"
They all ignore me.
So we move on. And as we approach the tent, all I can hear is music blaring and all I see are men's heads, all turning to look at us. And we move closer and closer in until we finally walk through. And to our left is a stage with a man singing and in front of him is a crowd of 50 men, several of them twirling and turning and singing and dancing, all in a trance. And we move further and further in and we see crowds and crowds of people, all swaying their arms up in the air, twirling in circles. Some people are wearing festive party hats, like the kind you see on New Years Eve. But most people are wearing traditional galabiyas. Everyone turns and stares at us.
So we move our way through, push our way through the crowd and immediately spot our group of friends, and I sigh with relief. There are 8 of us Americans and 3 Sufi guides with them. They take us to a large tent adjacent to the one with the music and we all remove our shoes and separate boys and girls. A man brings us over tea, and we all start chatting.
We learn that a Mawled is a Sufi tradition (Sufi is a sect of Islam, different from Sunni and Shiite and are famous for practicing mysticism. I am not sure how many Sufis there are in Egypt, but I do know that many of their practices are not accepted by Sunni Muslims who make up the largest percentage of Egypt's population). The Mawled celebrates the lives of saints that have passed away. This particular Mawled was celebrating a Sheikh that was a very respected man in the community and who passed away in 1979. They have these celebrations fairly regularly with the largest one taking place in a town called Desuk in Kofr El-Sheikh (this happens to be the town that my former roommate Eman grew up in, and I cannot wait to ask her all about this!)
So we sit in the tent for about an hour, chatting with the people around us, trying to glean as much information as we can about this festival. In the meantime, children have taken to approaching us, shaking our hands, asking us our names, and men are whipping out their camera phones, photographing the Aganeb (foreigners). When the music started again, we left this little tent and moved onto the larger one.
This was really the incredible thing to watch.
First- the music: At the front of the tent on this same stage, this same man was singing. He had been singing for hours at this point and you could not hear a change in his voice. This music was meant to help the participants get into a trance. I don't know exactly how to describe this sound, but imagine one long, 4 hour song that sounds exactly the same throughout. But about every 20 minutes or so, there is a slight change in the beat, in the rhythm, and it seems like that little change helps build the momentum up more and more. So after an hour of listening, you feel your heart beating a little faster, and your nerves going a little stronger. And you could really feel that if you closed your eyes and concentrated on the music and on the rhythm, it would be so easy to slip into a trance like the rest of the people there.
Second- the dancing. Standing behind the singer was a man dressed in all green. He wore a green turban and a green outfit that was shaped something like the outfits in Aladdin. He even had his face and body painted green. And he stood behind the singer, and he blew a whistle to the beat of the music, and he twirled around and around and around. And all through the audience, people were lifting their arms are twirling and dancing. And at one point, I looked at a stern looking husband move to the center of the crowd, lift up his arms, smile, and twirl.
Third- the people. Or one man in particular. Sitting in front of us was a man with a white beard wearing a white turban and a gray galabeya. He sat with his legs crossed and alternated between shisha smoke and his prayer beads. One minute, his mouth was attached to his shisha, and it was just puff and blow and puff and blow for minutes straight without a break. And then he would pass the shisha to his friend and move onto his prayer beads. And he would push the prayer beads through his fingers, muttering prayers, and the amazing part was that he did this in perfect rhythm with the music. And as the music got faster, the beads would start flying. And at certain points, he would turn around and look at us and we saw that he wore dark black eye liner around his eyes. He was a figure straight out of folklore.
So we stood watching this scene for an hour, in awe at where we were, at what were we watching. We were struck with how little we actually understand about Egypt, about this culture. How, in reality, we will never understand this culture and these people and this place. We could live here for a year or 3 or 7 or 30 and still have no clue. And it dawned on us how difficult it would be to explain this event to ourselves and to our family, and how difficult it is in general to relate Egypt to those at home. We want to show you what we are doing here, what we are thinking about, how we see things. But at the same time, all of our blog posts and emails and facebook pictures tell more about us than the do about Egypt. And it is scary to think that people at home can read our writing and think both that we have a great understanding of this culture, and now too, just by reading Monica and Mae's blog, they understand Egypt. We don't get it and I don't think we will never get it. And the challenge of living here is diplomatically and fairly accurately depicting America to Egyptians and at the same time diplomatically and accurately reflecting Egypt to our friends and family back home. And how can you possibly represent these countries that are so diverse and whose interactions are so complex? And Egypt is one of the most complicated places I've ever encountered. I don't think I will ever have a handle on it.
Anyway, after standing and watching the dancing and singing for an hour, we went and walked around a bit and then sat further away from the speakers. Someone brought us sodas to drink and we again chatted with the people around us. One man started talking to Nada, Fatima, and I about Islam. It was basically a sermon about how our souls are the electricity of our bodies. Lamps cannot run without electricity, and our souls are our electricity, powered by God to help us get through our days. He asked us our impressions of Egypt, talked about Islam and Christianity, and explained that without this Mawled, we never would have met each other, so some things are obviously predestined by God to happen. This Mawled happened for a reason- to bring us all together to talk and exchange our world views.
After this chat, we realized how late it had actually gotten and that it was probably time to head home, considering that this Mawled was going to go until morning. So we said our goodbyes and thank yous, got in a cab and went home. And over a pizza at 4:30 am, we digested the evening's events, trying to piece together what we had seen and learned.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Family Breakfast
I know that I'm supposed to write about the Egyptian elections next, but I wanted to write a brief note about a neat Egyptian institution. (And I promise, all you political junkies, election news will be here shortly)
After a lovely little slumber party, Katelyn, Mae and I awoke on Friday morning itching for an Egyptian breakfast. Usually, this breakfast consists of some sort of combination of ful, falafel, bread, salads, and eggs, and although it would be easy to buy any of these ingredients from a restaurant, we decided we wanted to do it ourselves.
So, we leave the apartment and head to our favorite bakery (the one where they sell Balah el-Sham (a dessert called "dates of Lebanon/ Syria (referred to commonly as Belad Al Sham, or the nations of the Sham). The dessert is fried doughy goodness and when you take a bite, like a gusher, it bursts with a sweet syrupy liquid. They are just fabulous). But anyway, we went to this bakery to look for bread- specifically Egyptian bread- Eish Baladi. But, they only had Eish Shami- bread Shami style (Lebanon and Syria). This was not good enough for us. So we asked him to point us to the direction of the nearest Forn.
Now here's the crux of the blog post:
The Forn:
An Arabic word for oven, the forn is a bakery which serves government subsidized bread to the community. You might have heard about some protests a few years ago when the government wanted to stop subsidizing this bread, and the whole country erupted out of fury. The government caved, and the subsidized bread continues to exist- although there is a huge controversy surrounding this whole issue. To the best of my knowledge and understanding, although I'm certainly no economist, government subsidized food causes a whole slew of not so ideal consequences, and for these reasons, the UN tries to discourage government subsidized food. For instance, the system is really susceptible to corruption- bakers bribe their inspectors, bakers sell the cheap flour for higher prices etc, the subsidies make people reliant on the cheap bread which makes things more difficult in the long run, as the whole bread economy is reliant on the government to function. So, if the government wants to stop subsidizing and spend the money on other projects, and currently (according to a NYtimes article, the Egyptian government is spending more on bread subsidies than housing and education) they run into a ton of popular protest, as seen in 2008 (and 1977). There are also plenty of environmental consequences when farmers are given incentives to only grow wheat leading to the mass production of one product. On the other hand, with most Egyptian families surviving on $2 a day, 20 loaves of bread for 1 pound couldn't be more ideal. And, ala fikra (by the way), the word for bread in Egyptian Arabic, eish (as opposed to Khubz in Modern Standard) means "life" in Arabic- kind of giving you a sense of how important and central bread is to lives of Egyptians.
Bread from the forn is 5 piasteres (basically 5 pennies) and you can buy 10 loaves of bread for half a pound. Pretty great deal.
Anyway...
we arrive at the forn to see that it is basically a hole in the wall.
Luckily it was a Friday so everyone was at prayer and it wasn't too crowded, but usually you see lines and lines of people waiting for their bread.
When we reached the counter, we see that the bread is rolling straight from the oven onto the counter. You are supposed to bring your own bag in addition to something to lay the bread on to allow it time to cool. We had neither of these things, so we ran around a little bit looking for something. Finally, we buy a newspaper.
Ok, take 2.
We reach the counter again, give them half a pound and they give us 10 pita loaves.
They are smoking hot and difficult to touch, especially considering the only thing separating us from them is a measly copy of Al-Ahram!
So following the example of everyone else there, we lay our newspaper down on the sidewalk, put our bread on top, and allow it to cool for a minute (and also we got laughed at for taking pictures of this whole situation!)
Anyway, after picking up our bread and a few miscommunications with the falafel and ful guy (we asked for a carton of falafel and he gave us a carton of falafel mix), it was time to put our breakfast together.
Mae was in charge of the ful- we ordered ful with tahina, and she mashed and mixed it all up, added salt, pepper, cumin, and lemon juice, just like her grandfather taught her, Katelyn made cucumber, tomato, and onion salad, and I was in charge of coffee, tea, juice, and setting the table.
Tada! A perfect Egyptian breakfast.
P.S Only 3 people have responded to my poll. Now this may merely be a true reflection of my readership, in which case, thank you to my 3 loyal readers. But if not, if I do have more readers than just my parents, please respond! If only to make me feel good about figuring out how to put a poll a my blog!
After a lovely little slumber party, Katelyn, Mae and I awoke on Friday morning itching for an Egyptian breakfast. Usually, this breakfast consists of some sort of combination of ful, falafel, bread, salads, and eggs, and although it would be easy to buy any of these ingredients from a restaurant, we decided we wanted to do it ourselves.
So, we leave the apartment and head to our favorite bakery (the one where they sell Balah el-Sham (a dessert called "dates of Lebanon/ Syria (referred to commonly as Belad Al Sham, or the nations of the Sham). The dessert is fried doughy goodness and when you take a bite, like a gusher, it bursts with a sweet syrupy liquid. They are just fabulous). But anyway, we went to this bakery to look for bread- specifically Egyptian bread- Eish Baladi. But, they only had Eish Shami- bread Shami style (Lebanon and Syria). This was not good enough for us. So we asked him to point us to the direction of the nearest Forn.
Now here's the crux of the blog post:
The Forn:
An Arabic word for oven, the forn is a bakery which serves government subsidized bread to the community. You might have heard about some protests a few years ago when the government wanted to stop subsidizing this bread, and the whole country erupted out of fury. The government caved, and the subsidized bread continues to exist- although there is a huge controversy surrounding this whole issue. To the best of my knowledge and understanding, although I'm certainly no economist, government subsidized food causes a whole slew of not so ideal consequences, and for these reasons, the UN tries to discourage government subsidized food. For instance, the system is really susceptible to corruption- bakers bribe their inspectors, bakers sell the cheap flour for higher prices etc, the subsidies make people reliant on the cheap bread which makes things more difficult in the long run, as the whole bread economy is reliant on the government to function. So, if the government wants to stop subsidizing and spend the money on other projects, and currently (according to a NYtimes article, the Egyptian government is spending more on bread subsidies than housing and education) they run into a ton of popular protest, as seen in 2008 (and 1977). There are also plenty of environmental consequences when farmers are given incentives to only grow wheat leading to the mass production of one product. On the other hand, with most Egyptian families surviving on $2 a day, 20 loaves of bread for 1 pound couldn't be more ideal. And, ala fikra (by the way), the word for bread in Egyptian Arabic, eish (as opposed to Khubz in Modern Standard) means "life" in Arabic- kind of giving you a sense of how important and central bread is to lives of Egyptians.
Bread from the forn is 5 piasteres (basically 5 pennies) and you can buy 10 loaves of bread for half a pound. Pretty great deal.
Anyway...
we arrive at the forn to see that it is basically a hole in the wall.
Luckily it was a Friday so everyone was at prayer and it wasn't too crowded, but usually you see lines and lines of people waiting for their bread.
When we reached the counter, we see that the bread is rolling straight from the oven onto the counter. You are supposed to bring your own bag in addition to something to lay the bread on to allow it time to cool. We had neither of these things, so we ran around a little bit looking for something. Finally, we buy a newspaper.
Ok, take 2.
We reach the counter again, give them half a pound and they give us 10 pita loaves.
They are smoking hot and difficult to touch, especially considering the only thing separating us from them is a measly copy of Al-Ahram!
So following the example of everyone else there, we lay our newspaper down on the sidewalk, put our bread on top, and allow it to cool for a minute (and also we got laughed at for taking pictures of this whole situation!)
Anyway, after picking up our bread and a few miscommunications with the falafel and ful guy (we asked for a carton of falafel and he gave us a carton of falafel mix), it was time to put our breakfast together.
Mae was in charge of the ful- we ordered ful with tahina, and she mashed and mixed it all up, added salt, pepper, cumin, and lemon juice, just like her grandfather taught her, Katelyn made cucumber, tomato, and onion salad, and I was in charge of coffee, tea, juice, and setting the table.
Tada! A perfect Egyptian breakfast.
P.S Only 3 people have responded to my poll. Now this may merely be a true reflection of my readership, in which case, thank you to my 3 loyal readers. But if not, if I do have more readers than just my parents, please respond! If only to make me feel good about figuring out how to put a poll a my blog!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
My New Apartment!
Probably the biggest change that has taken place in the past 5 weeks has been my big move from my old apartment in Moharem Bek to my new one in Sporting!
My old apartment was a little too far from school and my friends, Mae and Nada, also had complicated living situations. So when they found this gorgeous three bedroom in Sporting, I decided to it was best to make the move with them! Mae is a good friend of mine from the program last summer and also from Maryland (we used to play guitar hero all the time and make tortellini, and she happened to be the one who showed me how to carve my first pumpkin for Halloween!). And Nada is my new friend from Michigan!
So, while we're on the subject of locations in Alex, I'll give you a little visual and show you where everything is here.
Here's a map of the western districts of Alex:
To the very left, you see the bay. That's where the citadel is (Fort Qaitbey) and a really great ice cream place. Now, follow the curve in the coast in the area of the bay, and about half way down the circle is Mohatet al-Raml- Alex's downtown (marked where it says, "Unknown soldier"). This is where are bars are (Mermaid and Spitfire), Mohamed Ahmed, lots of shopping, Halaweyat Masr (our dessert place), and just generally a fun area to hang out, walk around, and people watch. (This is also the area where the synagogue is).
Now keep following the coast until you see a place called Chatby (marked on the map by a little building with a dome). This is the area with the Library of Alexandria, Alexandria University, and the girls dorms (where I lived last summer). Now keep moving down the coast until you hit Ibrahimiya. This is where my gym is and Imbrahimiya is also a great food shopping area with lots of restaurants, street markets, and also good clothes shopping. And finally, follow the coast a little further until you hit Sporting and Cleopatra. That's where I live! Easy access to the tram, the Cornische and it's all within 10 minutes from school! Perfect.
While we have the map in front of us, if you look at the map for "Main Station" and "Roman Theater" (directly south of Mohatet Al-Raml) and then look south of that, close to the blue line- that's Moharem Bek, where my old apartment was.
Everything in this city pretty much takes place along that strip of coastline- on the Cornische, on Port Said Street, Abu Eer, and the street with the tram.
Another little factoid about my apartment: between Mae, Nada, and I, we represent the 3 major monotheistic religions. Mae is Catholic, Nada Muslim, and I am Jewish. Pluralism in action! And it's going great. Lot's of great discussions about feminism, religious identity, and generally how we each incorporate our different backgrounds into our every day lives. Also, Nada and Mae are both Egyptian- Mae's mother is Egyptian as are both of Nada's parents. So we have lots to talk about (and for me, lots of other peoples families to get to know and their food to eat!!)
P.S I pimped up my blog a little and now I'm going to be posted polls so I can get some feedback from you guys. Let me know what you like- what you don't like, what you want to learn more about or hear about. Maybe I'll even make a little trivia game for you all to enjoy!
My old apartment was a little too far from school and my friends, Mae and Nada, also had complicated living situations. So when they found this gorgeous three bedroom in Sporting, I decided to it was best to make the move with them! Mae is a good friend of mine from the program last summer and also from Maryland (we used to play guitar hero all the time and make tortellini, and she happened to be the one who showed me how to carve my first pumpkin for Halloween!). And Nada is my new friend from Michigan!
So, while we're on the subject of locations in Alex, I'll give you a little visual and show you where everything is here.
Here's a map of the western districts of Alex:
To the very left, you see the bay. That's where the citadel is (Fort Qaitbey) and a really great ice cream place. Now, follow the curve in the coast in the area of the bay, and about half way down the circle is Mohatet al-Raml- Alex's downtown (marked where it says, "Unknown soldier"). This is where are bars are (Mermaid and Spitfire), Mohamed Ahmed, lots of shopping, Halaweyat Masr (our dessert place), and just generally a fun area to hang out, walk around, and people watch. (This is also the area where the synagogue is).
Now keep following the coast until you see a place called Chatby (marked on the map by a little building with a dome). This is the area with the Library of Alexandria, Alexandria University, and the girls dorms (where I lived last summer). Now keep moving down the coast until you hit Ibrahimiya. This is where my gym is and Imbrahimiya is also a great food shopping area with lots of restaurants, street markets, and also good clothes shopping. And finally, follow the coast a little further until you hit Sporting and Cleopatra. That's where I live! Easy access to the tram, the Cornische and it's all within 10 minutes from school! Perfect.
While we have the map in front of us, if you look at the map for "Main Station" and "Roman Theater" (directly south of Mohatet Al-Raml) and then look south of that, close to the blue line- that's Moharem Bek, where my old apartment was.
Everything in this city pretty much takes place along that strip of coastline- on the Cornische, on Port Said Street, Abu Eer, and the street with the tram.
Another little factoid about my apartment: between Mae, Nada, and I, we represent the 3 major monotheistic religions. Mae is Catholic, Nada Muslim, and I am Jewish. Pluralism in action! And it's going great. Lot's of great discussions about feminism, religious identity, and generally how we each incorporate our different backgrounds into our every day lives. Also, Nada and Mae are both Egyptian- Mae's mother is Egyptian as are both of Nada's parents. So we have lots to talk about (and for me, lots of other peoples families to get to know and their food to eat!!)
P.S I pimped up my blog a little and now I'm going to be posted polls so I can get some feedback from you guys. Let me know what you like- what you don't like, what you want to learn more about or hear about. Maybe I'll even make a little trivia game for you all to enjoy!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Monica learns to cook and eat like an Egyptian (sort of)
As many of you can probably guess, being a vegetarian in Egypt is not easy. In fact, Al Masri El Yom, a leading Egyptian newspaper, published an article about being a vegetarian in Egypt.
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/news/world-vegetarian-day-eat-healthy
If you're not eating meat, you're eating bread and bread and rice and bread and pizza and bread and candy and bread and carb after carb after carb. Little to no protein sources. No big yummy salads. Needless to say, if you're not trying to gain 3000 pounds, it's a little tricky.
So, here's what I've learned.
1. Mohamed Ahmed.
A little restaurant in Mohatet al Raml (downtown) whose shakshuka makes me purr and my belly jump for joy! So far, it's the only shakshuka I've found in Alex (although I'm sure there's more) and it's a terrific break from bean/bread based dishes (although I tend to eat it with ful and hummous).
This time, we also tried ful besalsa (ful with kind of a spicy tomato sauce) and had some gebna maaliya (fried white cheese). It had kind of a grilled taste, very tasty.
2. Juice. Ahh, juice. Pomegranate juice, pomegranate and banana juice, pomegranate and orange (my favorite) juice. I was lucky enough to move into an apartment right next to this jewel of a juice stand: Aseer Meka (aseer means juice). Famous for it's boreo shakes, an Egyptian version of the oreo which is apparently packed with 600 calories per 6 cookies. Aseer Meka is known all around Alex for the place to go for juice. And that's saying a lot since there's a juice stand at every corner in this city. It has 2 locations, 1 next door to my apartment and one 2 blocks away. They make every kind of juice, smoothies with yogurt, and wear these awesome tshirts- I'm hoping by the end of the year to be good enough friends with them to get one for free. But with my 2 juices a day habit, I'm sure it won't be hard. Best part: pomegranate and orange juice is 2 and a half genay (around 45 cents)
3. Cooking. Last week, my (new) roommates Nada and Mae (more on our apartment in the next post) threw a potluck dinner party (note the spelling all of my friends back home) known as a "dish party" in Arabic. Katelyn and I took on the task of making Mahshi Warah Einab which are basically stuffed graped leaves. You can make Mahshi in grape leaves, peppers, or cabbage, with meat or without. We got the recipe from Nada and embarked upon what turned out to be a bumpy ride.
First, a bite of koshari at ana misho to work up our energy (and some chocolate fateer for dessert) (see what i mean about the carbs!! oh boy.)
Next, a trip to Fathalla super market to buy all of our ingredients (it took us about 15 minutes to find the salt).
Finally, we were ready to cook.
First, we cooked the rice (which apparently we were supposed to wash first) (and apparently was the wrong kind of rice).
Then, we start chopping some veggies, washing some grape leaves, making some sauce out of tomato paste. Everything's going fine until Mae's mom and our friend Aya came in, saw us cooking in horror and said "what are you doing!? You can't put the sauce on the rice! You can't put the Mahshi in the oven! You have to use chicken fat on the rice so that it will stick together! You needed to let them soak overnight! gaaaaaa!!!" (see, everything has chicken fat! even things I thought I could eat). So, we worked through all of our issues together. We put butter on the rice instead of chicken fat and mixed the rice with the veggies and some spices
stuffed the grape leaves and rolled them kind of like egg rolls (but it was cool because they are shaped like oak leaves and so you fold in all the different pieces. It was fun)
Then we put them in a pan, put them on the oven, and then threw the tomato sauce on top and let the grape leaves stew and cook.
In the end, they weren't the greatest grape leaves ever made, but our friends were very encouraging and we are looking forward to another try soon.
Also present at the dish party: Muluchia (a VERY Egyptian green veggie soupish thing, originally thought to be vegetarian but it contains chicken fat), Macaroni Bashamel (kind of like a hamburger helper mac and cheese), sambosas (both cheese and meat), a Lebanese yogurt dish, chicken and rice, filo dough and beef, koshari, boreo mud pie, boreo shakes, and delicious marble cake.
Also this week, in our Egyptian Colloquial class, our teacher, Ustatha Radwa, gave us a cooking class to help us learn all the words for cooking. We made Turli, a stew like dish with sausage, eggplant, zucchini, potatoes, peas, carrots, onions, peppers, cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and rice. Rawda was very sweet and made me some without sausage :). We also make Gulash, a dessert very much like baklava with peanuts, coconut, raisons, filo dough, lots of butter, and a syrup/ sauce with water, half a cup of sugar, a little lemon juice, and some vanilla.
So though it's tricky, and I miss American food terribly, I'm getting through it!
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/news/world-vegetarian-day-eat-healthy
If you're not eating meat, you're eating bread and bread and rice and bread and pizza and bread and candy and bread and carb after carb after carb. Little to no protein sources. No big yummy salads. Needless to say, if you're not trying to gain 3000 pounds, it's a little tricky.
So, here's what I've learned.
1. Mohamed Ahmed.
A little restaurant in Mohatet al Raml (downtown) whose shakshuka makes me purr and my belly jump for joy! So far, it's the only shakshuka I've found in Alex (although I'm sure there's more) and it's a terrific break from bean/bread based dishes (although I tend to eat it with ful and hummous).
This time, we also tried ful besalsa (ful with kind of a spicy tomato sauce) and had some gebna maaliya (fried white cheese). It had kind of a grilled taste, very tasty.
2. Juice. Ahh, juice. Pomegranate juice, pomegranate and banana juice, pomegranate and orange (my favorite) juice. I was lucky enough to move into an apartment right next to this jewel of a juice stand: Aseer Meka (aseer means juice). Famous for it's boreo shakes, an Egyptian version of the oreo which is apparently packed with 600 calories per 6 cookies. Aseer Meka is known all around Alex for the place to go for juice. And that's saying a lot since there's a juice stand at every corner in this city. It has 2 locations, 1 next door to my apartment and one 2 blocks away. They make every kind of juice, smoothies with yogurt, and wear these awesome tshirts- I'm hoping by the end of the year to be good enough friends with them to get one for free. But with my 2 juices a day habit, I'm sure it won't be hard. Best part: pomegranate and orange juice is 2 and a half genay (around 45 cents)
3. Cooking. Last week, my (new) roommates Nada and Mae (more on our apartment in the next post) threw a potluck dinner party (note the spelling all of my friends back home) known as a "dish party" in Arabic. Katelyn and I took on the task of making Mahshi Warah Einab which are basically stuffed graped leaves. You can make Mahshi in grape leaves, peppers, or cabbage, with meat or without. We got the recipe from Nada and embarked upon what turned out to be a bumpy ride.
First, a bite of koshari at ana misho to work up our energy (and some chocolate fateer for dessert) (see what i mean about the carbs!! oh boy.)
Next, a trip to Fathalla super market to buy all of our ingredients (it took us about 15 minutes to find the salt).
Finally, we were ready to cook.
First, we cooked the rice (which apparently we were supposed to wash first) (and apparently was the wrong kind of rice).
Then, we start chopping some veggies, washing some grape leaves, making some sauce out of tomato paste. Everything's going fine until Mae's mom and our friend Aya came in, saw us cooking in horror and said "what are you doing!? You can't put the sauce on the rice! You can't put the Mahshi in the oven! You have to use chicken fat on the rice so that it will stick together! You needed to let them soak overnight! gaaaaaa!!!" (see, everything has chicken fat! even things I thought I could eat). So, we worked through all of our issues together. We put butter on the rice instead of chicken fat and mixed the rice with the veggies and some spices
stuffed the grape leaves and rolled them kind of like egg rolls (but it was cool because they are shaped like oak leaves and so you fold in all the different pieces. It was fun)
Then we put them in a pan, put them on the oven, and then threw the tomato sauce on top and let the grape leaves stew and cook.
In the end, they weren't the greatest grape leaves ever made, but our friends were very encouraging and we are looking forward to another try soon.
Also present at the dish party: Muluchia (a VERY Egyptian green veggie soupish thing, originally thought to be vegetarian but it contains chicken fat), Macaroni Bashamel (kind of like a hamburger helper mac and cheese), sambosas (both cheese and meat), a Lebanese yogurt dish, chicken and rice, filo dough and beef, koshari, boreo mud pie, boreo shakes, and delicious marble cake.
Also this week, in our Egyptian Colloquial class, our teacher, Ustatha Radwa, gave us a cooking class to help us learn all the words for cooking. We made Turli, a stew like dish with sausage, eggplant, zucchini, potatoes, peas, carrots, onions, peppers, cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and rice. Rawda was very sweet and made me some without sausage :). We also make Gulash, a dessert very much like baklava with peanuts, coconut, raisons, filo dough, lots of butter, and a syrup/ sauce with water, half a cup of sugar, a little lemon juice, and some vanilla.
So though it's tricky, and I miss American food terribly, I'm getting through it!
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