Top 10 Big Little Things

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!! 

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, alright
and
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.

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.

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.