Cairo 6

One of our favorite games to play in Cairo is, "remember in America when..." The truth is, for all that I complain about Cairo and Egypt and the different standards of living here, I really do like it. I don't know if I can pin-point exactly what it is that I like, but this country is growing on me.

I've started walking home from school. It is a straight shot across the Nile, past a park and the Opera House. The weather here has been beautiful making my walk all the more pleasant. I'm starting to get the hang of school. There are a few simple rules to follow: don't forget your AUC ID (they actually won't let you into the library without it), don't be intimidated by the incredibly attractive and well dressed Egyptians (they'll cause no harm and you are probably smarter than they are), don't take the wrong staircase (you can't get there from here) and be in class when class is supposed to start (they will start on time). Everywhere aside from AUC classes, being somewhere at 7:00 means being somewhere at 7:20. (Example, my Arabic tutor, whom I’ve really enjoyed working with, showed up at 10:45 when we were scheduled to meet at 10…zachma awi fi wust ilbalad.)

I won’t go through my whole week, as it was not particularly exciting. Rather, I’ll highlight the exciting points. Tuesday I went with some friends to a church called St. Andrews where Sudanese refugee children go to school. The point was to tutor them, but when I walked into the classroom (a nice name for a one room trailer with a white-board, no books and a few long tables), the teacher (who had zero control over the class) handed me the marker and told me to teach a group of maybe 25 five or six year olds to read English. A little bit shocked (last week’s Arabic vocab word – sadma), I had to think quickly. I couldn’t teach a class without first knowing my students’ names. So I came up with a solution. Each kid would stand up, tell me his or her name and give me the first letter of the name. I would write each letter they gave me on the board, and when everyone had given me their name, the challenge was to come up with a word beginning with that particular letter, then spell the word. It was then time for math. Fortunately, though my math skills are very poor, I am able to add say, 4 + 5 and even draw pictures to go along with the numbers. After a two-hour class, two little girls in the front row started asking me questions in Arabic. When they realized I didn’t understand, they turned to each other and said, “hi’a mish fahma…she doesn’t understand.” I’m not sure whether it was cute or sad, but I was glad that the girls were at least trying to communicate with me. I have every intention of going back but it will have to be at a different time than last week seeing as I now have Arabic tutoring at that time.

Last weekend was spent in a town on the Red Sea called Hurgada. It is about a six-hour bus ride from Cairo, but worth it. There isn’t a whole lot to do in the town, but the beach resorts are, by American standards, unbelievably cheap. Before leaving for Cairo, I got very jealous of my brother’s turtle. The turtle has a basking lamp. He sits on a rock and basks. No one seemed interested in getting me a basking lamp. Thankfully, I found the sun in Hurgada in place of the lamp. Six of us went in total (me, Naamah, Emily, Micah, Jordan and Elias who is visiting Egypt right now). Saturday night, half the crew went back to Cairo while half us stayed on an extra night. Saturday night, we (Jordan, Elias and I) walked around the town and found a great café with sheesha and backgammon. I cannot imagine any Americans ever going to a cafe just to play a board game. I don’t really see why not, though. It is a good way to spend time with friends while still being able to socialize, but not sitting around doing nothing. The following day, we went out on a glass-bottom boat and went snorkeling. I wouldn’t say there were great things to see, but it was a lot of fun and definitely cool.

Coming back to Cairo, I never thought I’d say I felt like I was coming home. But it was nice to be back in a city that I at least semi-understand and that I at least semi-recognize. I was taken to a great dinner by a fellow Seed of Peace at a Lebanese restaurant last night. It may have been the first time since arriving in this city that I can truly say I was really happy with the food I was eating (it may have just been the garlic, but whatever it was, it was great). I have pictures from Hurgada (OK, Jordan has pictures from Hurgada that I have every intention of stealing and then posting on my website) that I will put up as soon as I get them onto my computer.

The aspect of religion is more of an issue than I would have thought. To find Mein Kamf and the Protocols, all you have to do is walk down the street downtown. Hearing people’s ideas of Hitler and the Holocaust and even Egyptian politics is, for lack of a better word, interesting. People will generally tell you that Hitler was a war hero but they don’t really support him (though no one is ever sure why they don’t support him). If you ask, cab drivers will tell you whether they do or don’t like Mubarak or any other leader, but have a hard time explaining why. (And in case you’re wondering, I don’t ask them myself; I just enjoy listening while other people muster up the guts to do the talking.) People will ask, “what are you?” I am an American. “No, but what ARE you? Where are your parents from? What is your asl…your origin?” I am American. They give up on me after a while of not giving a satisfying answer.

I have been here a month and survived it pretty well (I think at least). I have three and a half months left of class. I am dying for meat and home cooked food (especially my mom’s) and I miss my friends from home and my family a lot. But I am adjusting, and meeting people and getting into the swing of things. I’m not sure if my Arabic speaking is any better, but my understanding and confidence in Arabic are rising. By the time I leave, I will at least be able to formulate a sentence…I promise.