One month later…
As I left my apartment building this morning shuffling through my Arabic flashcards in some last minute, midterm cramming, I hardly noticed our doorman on the floor next to his desk in amidst his early morning prayers. It was another hot day with temperatures in the mid-90’s, yet my long sleeve-shirt and pants didn’t seem near as unbearable as they did when I first arrived. I walked quickly through my Cairo neighborhood, careful to avoid speeding Mercedes weaving thru vegetable carts pulled by donkeys. I barely heard the young boys shouting, “A’ESH”, as they rode their bikes around selling government stipend Egyptian bread for a mere few cents. Unlike when I first arrived, cucumbers and tomatoes did not seem to be a strange breakfast, and I have almost perfected how to make Nescafe somewhat drink-able. Later in the day, I took a taxi to a coffee shop with free Internet using my, oh so elementary Arabic, and I hardly flinched when the call to prayer blared throughout the city five different times throughout the day. Needless to say, I am slowly learning what it means to be Egyptian in the most basic, superficial sense of the word.
That is certainly not all that I have been learning though. I am also beginning to discover the harder lessons that Egypt had in store for me. Lessons like…what it means to be a female in a society that is not afraid to blatantly make aware that woman are second class. Or what it means to be an American in the 21st century and the responsibility that goes along with that. Or how about when you realize just how ignorant you are about the world and the embarrassment that then follows for not only yourself, but also your country with regards to this ignorance. Or how to even begin to grapple with the “Christian God” while amidst devote Muslims of a completely different ideology. ...These are just some of the multitude of questions that I was not entirely expecting and am only now beginning to comprehend how to even ask them. With questions like these, learning enough Arabic to say good morning and order my coffee all of the sudden does not seem too difficult…
My time here has been divided between cultural experiences, in which I learn solely through being here, and also the ideological revelations, which are revealed through living in a place that holds the values of society in a completely different light than anything I have experienced. Put another way... There are moments when I am only learning the cultural standards and norms through simply being in Egypt. Then there are other times when I am discovering the deep-seeded beliefs and ideologies of the Middle East. And THEN there are times of insight and new understanding when I can put the two together and gain, “personal revelations” shall we call it, into this extremely complex area of the world. While it was my intention to gain understanding while I was here, I am becoming more and more convinced that I will instead leave with only more questions. And yet, I am ok with this. I am at peace because I have come to the conclusion that I will finally be asking the “right” questions. So much of what it means to be a member of my generation involves questioning EVERYTHING. I have decided that I am over that. I am finally alright with letting some things just be as they are, allowing more time and energy going towards the questions that matter…. Little did I know nor expect when I came to this place, but Egypt is teaching me far more about myself and how alike human beings all are.
Unlike some students within my class who have the uncanny ability to remain in the philosophical, question/answer-seeking mode all the time, I, as anyone who knows me can attest to, can not do this. Fortunately, I can “leave” it be for a while and have discovered that Cairo is a really fantastic city to explore and offers amply opportunities of immense FUN. I am going to legitimately challenge Cairo against NYC as the city that “never sleeps”. Much in Cairo does not even open until night time, and then remains open all night. Tonight as I walked back to my apartment, I could not help but notice how many children were out playing in the streets well past 11PM…and yes, it is a school night. Other surprising facts I am discovering… Despite contrary belief, it is extremely safe! (This is partly due to the life in prison sentence that stealing rewards you or the death penalty sentence that drug dealing offers.) Alcohol is near impossible to find partly because it is against Islamic law to consume but also because it is simply not part of the culture. I went to a professional football (soccer) match and chuckled when the man who would be screaming “COLD BEER” was in fact selling none other than mango juice-boxes. Grown men, furiously crushing an empty juice box container when the other team scored… one of those times when you just smile to yourself and shake your head. All this to say, that for many different reasons mentioned and not, Cairo is safe. The general rule as far as food goes it that is you first cover it in sugar, then fry it, it can be considered Egyptian. Our school cook is absolutely fantastic though in her preparation of Middle Eastern cuisine and everyday I find myself declaring that, yes! THIS meal is in fact my favorite! I know what you all are thinking and YES I will be bringing home a cook book, which I will be happy to share…. Overall, I could not feel more welcomed by Egyptians and am at overtimes overwhelmed by their generosity.
And now for this weeks adventures…. (every week needs some adventure!) We headed to the desert for 4 days. We traveled by bus through the Sahara with our final destination being Siwa. It is a ‘desert oasis’ offering hot springs, cold springs, sand-boarding, remains dating back as far as 500 B.C., even the opportunity to sleep out in the middle of the desert for a night… better believe I did and saw it all! Alexander the Great is said to have made special trips to this destination for its vast beauty. I can understand why. It was certainly a much needed break from Cairo and Alexandria (where we traveled last weekend) and a chance to relax a bit and catch our breathe. What an experience!
As I left my apartment building this morning shuffling through my Arabic flashcards in some last minute, midterm cramming, I hardly noticed our doorman on the floor next to his desk in amidst his early morning prayers. It was another hot day with temperatures in the mid-90’s, yet my long sleeve-shirt and pants didn’t seem near as unbearable as they did when I first arrived. I walked quickly through my Cairo neighborhood, careful to avoid speeding Mercedes weaving thru vegetable carts pulled by donkeys. I barely heard the young boys shouting, “A’ESH”, as they rode their bikes around selling government stipend Egyptian bread for a mere few cents. Unlike when I first arrived, cucumbers and tomatoes did not seem to be a strange breakfast, and I have almost perfected how to make Nescafe somewhat drink-able. Later in the day, I took a taxi to a coffee shop with free Internet using my, oh so elementary Arabic, and I hardly flinched when the call to prayer blared throughout the city five different times throughout the day. Needless to say, I am slowly learning what it means to be Egyptian in the most basic, superficial sense of the word.
That is certainly not all that I have been learning though. I am also beginning to discover the harder lessons that Egypt had in store for me. Lessons like…what it means to be a female in a society that is not afraid to blatantly make aware that woman are second class. Or what it means to be an American in the 21st century and the responsibility that goes along with that. Or how about when you realize just how ignorant you are about the world and the embarrassment that then follows for not only yourself, but also your country with regards to this ignorance. Or how to even begin to grapple with the “Christian God” while amidst devote Muslims of a completely different ideology. ...These are just some of the multitude of questions that I was not entirely expecting and am only now beginning to comprehend how to even ask them. With questions like these, learning enough Arabic to say good morning and order my coffee all of the sudden does not seem too difficult…
My time here has been divided between cultural experiences, in which I learn solely through being here, and also the ideological revelations, which are revealed through living in a place that holds the values of society in a completely different light than anything I have experienced. Put another way... There are moments when I am only learning the cultural standards and norms through simply being in Egypt. Then there are other times when I am discovering the deep-seeded beliefs and ideologies of the Middle East. And THEN there are times of insight and new understanding when I can put the two together and gain, “personal revelations” shall we call it, into this extremely complex area of the world. While it was my intention to gain understanding while I was here, I am becoming more and more convinced that I will instead leave with only more questions. And yet, I am ok with this. I am at peace because I have come to the conclusion that I will finally be asking the “right” questions. So much of what it means to be a member of my generation involves questioning EVERYTHING. I have decided that I am over that. I am finally alright with letting some things just be as they are, allowing more time and energy going towards the questions that matter…. Little did I know nor expect when I came to this place, but Egypt is teaching me far more about myself and how alike human beings all are.
Unlike some students within my class who have the uncanny ability to remain in the philosophical, question/answer-seeking mode all the time, I, as anyone who knows me can attest to, can not do this. Fortunately, I can “leave” it be for a while and have discovered that Cairo is a really fantastic city to explore and offers amply opportunities of immense FUN. I am going to legitimately challenge Cairo against NYC as the city that “never sleeps”. Much in Cairo does not even open until night time, and then remains open all night. Tonight as I walked back to my apartment, I could not help but notice how many children were out playing in the streets well past 11PM…and yes, it is a school night. Other surprising facts I am discovering… Despite contrary belief, it is extremely safe! (This is partly due to the life in prison sentence that stealing rewards you or the death penalty sentence that drug dealing offers.) Alcohol is near impossible to find partly because it is against Islamic law to consume but also because it is simply not part of the culture. I went to a professional football (soccer) match and chuckled when the man who would be screaming “COLD BEER” was in fact selling none other than mango juice-boxes. Grown men, furiously crushing an empty juice box container when the other team scored… one of those times when you just smile to yourself and shake your head. All this to say, that for many different reasons mentioned and not, Cairo is safe. The general rule as far as food goes it that is you first cover it in sugar, then fry it, it can be considered Egyptian. Our school cook is absolutely fantastic though in her preparation of Middle Eastern cuisine and everyday I find myself declaring that, yes! THIS meal is in fact my favorite! I know what you all are thinking and YES I will be bringing home a cook book, which I will be happy to share…. Overall, I could not feel more welcomed by Egyptians and am at overtimes overwhelmed by their generosity.
And now for this weeks adventures…. (every week needs some adventure!) We headed to the desert for 4 days. We traveled by bus through the Sahara with our final destination being Siwa. It is a ‘desert oasis’ offering hot springs, cold springs, sand-boarding, remains dating back as far as 500 B.C., even the opportunity to sleep out in the middle of the desert for a night… better believe I did and saw it all! Alexander the Great is said to have made special trips to this destination for its vast beauty. I can understand why. It was certainly a much needed break from Cairo and Alexandria (where we traveled last weekend) and a chance to relax a bit and catch our breathe. What an experience!
After the desert excursion, I will have the privilege of living with an Egyptian Muslim family for a week and TRULY being engrossed in the culture in every way possible. In fact, as soon as I post this blog, I am headed to my flat to pack up just the necessities as then I'm off to my "house". I will update my blog after this experience as I am sure I will walk away with many, many exciting, wonderfully enriching stories...
3 comments:
Im thinking you should publish into a book form!
Awesome stuff Abbie. . .thanks for posting.
love your vivid depictions...keep 'em coming.
love you so dearly.
ML
Hi Abbie...I'm a friend of Lindsey Smyth who passed along your blog. I also did MESP (spring 2002) and am now living in Amman. I'm sure you are wrapping up your amazing semester, but if you have time I would love to connect with you. Here's my email: whitneyfry@mac.com. Blessings on your heart and mind!
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