Protests and the Muslim Brotherhood

Thought I live in Cairo, I am going to bet that some of you are more up on breaking Egyptian news than I am given that I don't have a TV and my internet connection is unreliable. However, the journalist in me can't help but post about the anti-government protests that have been happening here over the past two days. Before I begin, though, let me again assure you that I am safe and not in harms' way. Cairo is a huge city and most of the images you see on the news are just as new to you as they are to me (since we have been directed to stay away from any sort of protests and our neighborhood is completely peaceful).

The following thoughts come from both my experiences in Cairo, the "word on the street" that may not bet getting much press attention, and from a lecture by an Islamic history professor at the American University of Cairo who has lived in Cairo for the past 13 years. I will refer to her as Rachel.

Discovery #34: The Muslim Brotherhood is NOT behind these protests.

Here in Egypt there are two political parties, the National Democratic Party and the Muslim Brotherhood. As I mentioned in a previous post, the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) have been "allowed" to run in elections, however, all candidates are usually arrested a week or so prior to elections. Basically, the MB is the only political opposition. And American isn't too fond of that.

In light of this, it commonly known that the U.S. spends a hefty amount each year to keep current President Mubarak in power: Egypt is the second largest receiver of U.S. aid next to Israel. In exchange for this, Mubarak stays in power and the MB does not get elected.

So, yesterday, when thousands of Egyptian citizens rallied on the streets of Cairo to protest the economic and human rights issues in Egypt as well as to demand that Mubarak step down, the government claimed it was the MB. Why? So that U.S. would be more likely to come out in favor of the government rather than the people calling for democracy. Also, this was a government effort to minimize perceptions of a revolution and to skew the reality that many Egyptians are not happy with the current government.

Egyptians are also now - and have been for a while - in a crisis of "the devil we know is better than the devil we don't know," this is to say, "While life isn't the greatest under Mubarak, we don't know what life would be like under the MB." And, to be honest, even analysts are not sure. The MB is know for sending out contradictory information and the organization is comprised of both liberals/progressives (who would establish a completely democratic state) and conservatives. Despite the unknowns, however, some Egyptians are willing to take the risk.

According to Rachel, "Egypt is stalled politically until the MB is allowed to rule."

She doesn't think this will happen anytime soon though. Given her research and observations, she says it is "Naieve to think that we could go from Mubarak into a democratic society. Democracy means you have a personal voice and people here wouldn't know what to do with this."

So what can we expect as a result of these protest? Probably not much of a change, she says. If Mubarak is ousted, he will probably be succeed by his son or another military ruler similar to himself. Rachel does hope, though, that these protest could discourage the coming to power of Mubarak's son.

While she doubts that there are enough people who will participate in the current protest - given that Egypt's illiteracy rate is 50% and it is mostly the educated who oppose Mubarak - to oust Mubarak, she IS hopeful that it could mean that his son would not run for "election." According to her, almost ALL Egyptians - even the uneducated - oppose this as they see it as a move backwards towards monarchy.

I know this has been a rather long rant but I hope it helps you understand a bit about what is going on here right now. If you have any questions or thoughts, I would love to hear what you think!!

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Side note: My program is headed to Luxor tonight to see some historical sights and spend a few days in the sun. I am very excited for a long weekend and some much needed time to STUDY Arabic and history :) We will be back Saturday night and I probably won't have access to internet while I'm here. There are no riots in Luxor, however, so you can rest assured that we'll have a peaceful and safe trip!

Facebook (NOT) blocked

Correction: Early reports by TechCrunch.com and Twitter users that the Egyptian government had blocked Facebook have turned out to be false. Though it is unclear if Facebook could be blocked over the next few days, it is not currently blocked.

Facebook (possibly) blocked

In light of recent protest, the Egyptian government has begun taking steps to stop anti-government movements. They blocked twitter yesterday and appear to have just blocked Facebook as well. In light of this, I have put my blog on the public domain so please let anyone know that they can get in touch with me through here or through email!

Please know though, that I am completely safe and in no means in harm's way. Cairo is a huge city and most of the images you see on the news are just as foreign to you as they are to me (since we have been directed to stay away from any sort of protests).

Police Day

Discovery #33: National holidays can be turned into days of protests.

Today was Police Day here in Egypt. It's a day to "celebrate" the police, however, most citizens dislike the police and see the holiday as a joke.

Inspired by the uprising in Tunisia and a day off of work, there were several anti-government protests in Cairo today. Though I didn't see any first-hand, I did notice a stronger police presence in the streets today and some friends of mine passed a metro station that was being tear gassed. 

Please don't worry about me. I'm completely safe and not in any danger. Egypt takes very good care of their "tourists," of which I am one.

Goodnight all!

Walls with Ears

Discovery #32: Apparently, walls have ears in Egypt.

Last night while we were out to dinner, one of the guys told a joke about the fact that if President Mubarak died the whole country being happy about it. So, I proceeded to mention to the table that I had noticed that no one in Egypt likes Mubarak, who's in his late 70s and has been ruling for several decades. Everyone kind of quieted down a little bit and Wael told me, "Well, we're in public right now. We all love Mubarak....they have a saying here, 'The walls have ears.'"

Later on the metro, he expressed the same concern to Christine when she asked about the church bombing in Alexandria that happened on Christmas Eve. 

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For those of you who are wondering, I believe that Egypt is considered a "democratic" state; however, Mubarak never loses elections and members of the opposing party, The Islamic Brotherhood, all end up somehow getting arrested before an election takes place. From discussions I've had with a couple of Egyptians, it seems people do not like him because of his corruption and his inability to create jobs to employ Egypt's educated population (EVERYONE here goes to college.).

Friends

Discovery #31: Friendship is a wonderful thing.

Last night MESP held a cultural exchange night during which they invited 28 Egyptians over to the Villa and paired each one with a MESP student. These were, as they call them, our "Egyptian friends." Unfortunately, my friend, Meram's mother was sick last night so she was unable to make it, but I met her fiancée, Wael. Wael was very friendly and he and I had a nice conversation last night.

This afternoon I received a call from Wael informing me that he was having a surprise birthday party for Meram today at Fudruckers (yes...they have a Fudruckers in CAIRO!). So after finishing up a MESP commitment this evening, Christine and I headed over to Maadi to meet Wael and Meram. 

Christine and I were very proud of ourselves and pretty excited because this was our first real outing in Cairo without the supervision or accompaniment of the group. After asking some other people in our program for directions, we made it do the Metro station and took the metro out to an area called Maadi. From there, we used our broken Arabic and the help of a few people to catch a taxi to Fudruckers. Meram and Wael were there with Wael's twin brother and his fiancée, Carolyn, and another one of their friends. 

It was so wonderful to meet Meram, who has such a kind and gentle spirit, as well as Carolyn who was quite funny and talkative. Christine and I also loved seeing Meram and Carolyn's interactions with their fiancées! After being told that it was culturally unacceptable for us to interact extensively (i.e., beyond a simple greeting) with Egyptian men we met randomly, it was so refreshing to legitimately meet some great Egyptian men and see them treat their fiancées like princesses! 

It was a wonderful evening and Christine and I made it home by 10:30 or so. Wael called me a half an hour later to make sure I made it home alright. So today, I'm thankful for wonderful people who are willing to share their lives with me after only meeting me once. Thank you Wael, Meram, Carolyn and others for a beautiful night. 

Classes

Since I'm procrastinating doing homework, I figured I should blog. It's the next best productive thing I could do, right? ;)

Discovery #29: The MESP staff isn't joking when they say this is going to be a busy semester!

We started classes last Wednesday with an hour and a half Arabic class and an hour and a half lecture from Dr. Holt. My Arabic class is taught by Madeha and though she's sweet and wonderful, boy does she power through her lessons! I've had 3 Arabic classes so far and every night we either have homework or studying to do.

Today we went over the Arabic script. I was so incredibly lost! Each of the 28 Arabic letters has at least 2 different written forms, which vary depending on that letter's placement in the word. Reading and writing the script is truly an art. It's incredibly beautiful and anything but easy.

We have a few tests and quizzes in our Arabic classes, but other than that our grades for the semester depend on papers we write. We have 7 papers this semester, all 6-10 pages long! The program is sort of set up like grad school, with assigned books and papers and intermittent lectures AND tons of self-motivation!

Though it seems like a lot of work, I'm feeling pretty confident that I'll get through it alive :)

Discovery #30: I fall asleep waaay too easily!

Wednesday night we were summoned back to the Villa at 6 pm to watch The Message, a film about the life of Mohammed. Since Muslims believe you should not make an image of Mohammed, the film never showed Mohammed but instead used interesting camera angles to acknowledge his presence.

The film was quite interesting but, unfortunately, was about 3 hours long. And since it was the end of a long day, I promptly fell asleep about halfway through...

Loving

Discovery #24: Loving others does the soul much good.

Last Tuesday (yes, I AM that far behind on blogging!) was the first day of our service projects here in Cairo. Service projects are an integral part of the program here and all students volunteer at an organization in or around the city for the next  8 weeks - until we leave for the travel component of our semester. My placement is teaching English to adult learners on Tuesday evenings from 5 - 10 pm. I will be co-teaching the class with Jordon Hufford, another student in my program. Neither of us have TESOL (teaching English as a second language) experience so teaching a five hour class should be interesting!

Since Jordon and I will be teaching at an organization called St. Paul's, which also runs an orphanage, we spent Tuesday with a group of  13 wonderful young women. The sisters wanted us to do this as an introduction/orientation to the organization as a whole. So, Tuesday morning we headed to the outskirts of Cairo with a group of other MESPers who will be working in different branches of St. Paul's. 

After taking a taxi to the metro station, riding the metro 10 stops outside of the center of Cairo, and a ten minute walk, we made it to the St. Paul's office. We were met by Nancy, a very sweet Egyptian lady who volunteers at St. Paul's. After giving us a brief tour of the office and classroom facilities she told us she would go get the van driver and have him take us all to the orphanage. Though everyone in the group came into the day without any idea of what would happened, none of us expected an hour long bus ride to New Cairo! 

Unfortunately, I was definitely not anticipating a long bus ride and I got incredibly car sick on the way to the orphanage because I was trying to play with and speak to the three young girls who were sitting in the back with me. They were so sweet and I pulled out my phrasebook and tried to communicate with them as much as I could. One of the girls was only about three though and didn't really understand the whole language concept. So she would look me in the eye and go on and on in Arabic. Much to my dismay, I had no idea what she was saying!  

Once we reached the orphanage, my group met all the other girls. Nancy told us that most of them were orphans but some of them were brought by their parents because they were unable to care for them at home. The girls were so sweet though and came through one by one to introduce themselves. After introductions, some of the girls came and sat with me on the couch. Some took turns sitting on my lap. We all had a little conversation in ArLish (Arabic-English...yes, I did just make that up).

I feel I would be amiss if I said this was just a time for me to love them because, honestly, I feel it was a very mutual time of loving on each other. For those of you who don't know, I'm a pretty hug-y person and -- given that I've only know the other MESPers for about 2 weeks now --  I haven't had the opportunity to give many of them lately. So, when these girls came up and gave me hugs and sat on my lap and just thought I was the coolest person in the world, it brought me so much joy and peace. I hope it brought them the same. 

Discovery #25: (almost) anything you do in pants you can do in a long, flowing skirt

After spending some time with the girls at the orphanage we got in the bus again and headed to the sports "Club." This time we all had to squish in the car so I was surrounded by little ones. We reached the club in about a half an hour and as soon as the girls walked through the gate, the started running at full speed! They were headed for the playground. 

The club had basketball and tennis courts, two swimming pools, a high dive, two play grounds, a grassy area, and some nice gym facilities. Here in Egypt, sports clubs are a very social thing, much like a yacht club in the U.S. minus the sail boats and golf course. For these girls, it was a wonderful time to just run and play!

Nobody seemed to be bothered by the fact that I was wearing a long skirt and sandals and a few of them grabbed my hands when they started running. The next few hours were a mix of slide riding, swinging, duck duck goos-ing (which we changed to cat and dog and played in Arabic!), and blowing bubbles -- and the girls wanted me to be involved in everything! Thankfully, my skirt was long enough and loose enough that my poor wardrobe choice didn't seem to affect me too much!

Discovery #26: Whining is detectable across language barriers.

Though the girls were wonderful and brought me so much joy and peace, as the got hungry for lunch they got quite whiny to me and mean to each other. Though I couldn't understand 98% of what they were saying when they whined to me, I could definitely tell they were whining. At one point, of the girls looked at me with her big brown eyes and went on a whining rant for about 30 seconds. I had no idea what she said but my best guess was that it was something about me not letting her hold the tube of bubbles. And, since I am NO fan of whining, I looked her right back in the eyes and said, "Bababa wawaaawaawa mamamama" in a very whiny voice. I caught her off guard and she looked at me pretty funny. She stopped whining though :)

Discovery #27: Cairo traffic can be ridiculous!

After going to the club, we drove back to the metro station with all of the girls. I took a little nap in the van so I'm not sure exactly how long it took...but it was at LEAST an hour and a half, probably more like two. We were basically in stand-still traffic for forty-five minutes. Not very fun. The bus driver did notice that all of us MESPers did start singing along when the song Jingle Bells came on and so he replayed that a few times for us ;)

We got dropped at the metro station and said goodbye to the girls. Unfortunately, I won't see most of them again since I will be teaching the adult language classes. They were so precious though and I'll remember them for a good long while.

Discovery #28: Food delivery in Cairo is awesome!

I finally got home around 6:30 pm and was exhausted! Since the program was not providing dinner that night, my flatmates had decided to order-in. Chris explained to us on our first night here that nearly ALL restaurants in Cairo deliver for a very reasonable price....she wasn't kidding! My flatmates ordered from Pizza Hut and I used the dining guide to find a restaurant that had my favorite Egyptian dish - koshary. 

Much to my roommates dismay, my order arrived at my door before theirs did....even though I ordered it afterwards. Once everyone's food arrived, it was great though! We sat down for a nice "family" meal and even had desert delivered a little later. it was called Ghost: rice pudding, ice cream, peanuts, fruit, caramel and chocolate. Yummm yummm.  So convenient and so yummy. Quite cheap too. I could definitely get used to this :)

Committments

Discovery #22: Recycling can make lots of beauty.

In Garbage City, there is an NGO that works with at risk women from the area to teach them a skill and educate them. Some of the women work with paper and some work with cloth.

The organization gets fabric scraps from clothing factories and they weave them into all sorts of wonderful things such as bathmats, purses, and wallets. They also use the scraps to make quilts and quilted items such as Christmas stockings and advent calendars. I bought two beautiful stockings :) Some other ladies work with recycled paper to make note cards, bookmarks, and things like that.

Discovery #23: Chunga! 

Monday night we had our Spring 2011 Commitment Service, which Jordan, Emily, Kyleen, Libby, Isaac, Carolyn and I planned together. They have this service every year to celebrate the commitment the group has made to live by the MESP covenant (which includes rules about not drinking or smoking, not dating anyone in the program, and putting others needs before our own, etc...) and as an intentional community. 

Our service began with dinner. The table was set with name cards in Arabic made by Libby, Kyleen and I. The students and staff took turns serving each other dinner as a symbol of our service to one another. After dinner, we went to the rooftop, where we normally have devotions, and played an icebreaker game: chunga. It's a bit complicated to explain, but, basically,  it's a dancing game. We all got to see each other in RARE form...and our Egyptian neighbors enjoyed watching us from their fourth story windows as well ;) It was also a great opportunity to see the staff - Dr. Diia, Dr. Holt, his wife Suzanne, Chris, Brian, and Dena - get silly and competitive.

Following that, we worshiped and read scripture together and then had a time of group sharing. We went around in a circle and each complete the sentence: "Rejoice with me when ____ ; weep with me when ____." I asked the group to rejoice with me when I get to travel and see all sorts of cool things and to weep with me when I get impatient and am unintentionally hurtful to others. This was a very moving time with the group as each individual shared a piece of themselves with the group. We then broke up into apartment groups and prayed with each other. The girls in my flat also share with each other about some concerns and excitements for the semester. They were all so supportive and I can't wait to get to know them better as the semester goes on.

To close out the night, we each wrote a fear or something that we needed to give to God on a strip of paper and tied it to a make-shift wooden cross symbolizing the fact that we need to cast our cares at the cross this semester. We then partook of communion together as a community. 

After the service, Suzanne came up to me and thanked me and the others for planning a wonderful service. I'm really happy about the way it turned out and hope others took away from it what I did -- that, though it's not going to be easy, this semester is going to be about loving and serving one another unconditionally.

Garbage

Yesterday, we went to a place called Garbage City. It's on the outskirts of Cairo and it is where most of the city's Coptic Christians live. Much like the slums you imagine in third world countries, this area was a mix of dilapidated buildings, narrow, muddy roads and smiling faces. Many of the people who live in Garbage City are garbage collectors and sorters. From what I've been told 80% of garbage in Cairo is recycled because of the residents of this neighborhood who are paid to sort through Cairo's trash by hand. 

Discovery #19: Most (if not all) the garbage collectors in Cairo are Christian since it is contrary to Islam for Muslims to do so.

Our first stop in Garbage City was at a Sisters of Charity orphanage. Our group got to hold toddlers and spend some time with the elderly. Personally, I spent time with the babies, who were all playing on a small fenced and carpeted area of the building. There were a few other foreign volunteers there from YWAM and some Egyptians as well.

When I walked into the play area I sat down. Almost immediately, one young girl came and plopped herself down on my lap. She was absolutely adorable and had brown curly hair. She just snuggled up against me and I loved on her. It was so sweet, and within minute she was asleep.

Discovery #20: Many Coptic Christians meet in cave churches!

After spending time at the Sisters of Charity, our group moved up the hill to one of the Coptic cave churches. Garbage City is built at the edge of a stone quarry and the hill we were climbing up bordered tall walls of rock. Carved in the walls were huge, beautiful pieces of artwork made by a Polish artist named Mario (according to Dr. Holt). Most pieces were of Jesus and had scripture verses in Arabic and English carved below them.

At the top of the hill was the cave church. I was shocked at its size and structure. The 5,000+ seats were in amphitheater style in this church that was literally carved in the side of a mountain. The rock wall of the quarry served as a roof over about half the seats. After Dr. Holt explained some of the icons at the altar of the church, we headed to another, smaller cave church to give way to a funeral that was to take place in the larger church.

Our Egyptian guide led us down a small hill and into a cave. Literally. Seats had been carved in the rock and the floor was carpeted but it was fully a cave. Our guide explained to us that this cave was one of many miracles the Copts had witnessed in recent history. He said that when they were originally building this church compound that they found this cave. At some point, there was a fire in the church so the roof of the cave was black. He went on to explain that this helped them gain a permit for the church -- something that is very hard for a new church to get in Egypt.

When the inspectors came to look at the cave church, they saw the black ceiling and told the proprietors that they would grant the permit because this was obviously an old church not a new church. The black ceiling, the inspectors said, was from services involving candles being held year after year :)

Discovery #21: "Some words are the same in every language."

This is what our Egyptian guide told us in the cave church. Though he spoke to us through a translator he said, "This is a very beautiful thing. Repeat after me. Amen."

"Amen," we said.

"Halleljuah."

"Hallelujah," we said.

"Coca-cola."

We all laughed.

Women and Tourists

Discovery #14: The metro in Cairo has both men's and women's cars

On Sunday (which is a weekday here), we were sent on a "metro experience" with the assignment to get four stops away from the center of town, eat lunch, find a bakery, and talk to people about soccer. 

The metro here is really cheap (about 20 cents for each ride) and actually quite nice. On each train, there are mens and womens cars. While the women are allowed on the mens cars, there are two womens cars in the middle of each train that are reserved solely for women (or young boys traveling with a guardian). Libby and I decided to ride on the women's car since we had heard it was much more comfortable and you didn't have to worry about being harassed or groped (unfortunately, both are huge problems in Cairo). 

After being in Cairo for 4 days, I was already feeling the strain of being in a male-dominated culture and having to keep my guard up whenever I'm on the street. As I may have mentioned before, touching between men and women is very inappropriate here. Women who are seen touching men (other than family members, fiancees or husbands) are seen as unrepresentable and promiscuous. In the Muslim faith (and also in this culture as a whole), it is the woman's job to make sure that she is respectable and marriageable. 

Some of the girls in my program were originally upset by the fact that there was a woman's car on the metro. It seemed to them that it was only furthering the patriarchical society. However, after several long discussion, I have come to realize that I see the woman's car on the metro as a move of respect for the women of Cairo and for their purity. In an overcrowded metro, unwanted touching is bound to occur. So, to preserve the well-kept purity of women (and also the men, who might find it sinful or nonreligious to touch a woman) there are separate cars. And honestly, I kind of see this move as a one-up for the women of Cairo since they have the option of riding in either car. 

Discovery #15: The women's car on the metro is my favorite place in Cairo so far.

In spite of all my philosophizing, I really enjoyed riding on the women's car. It was so nice to be able to let my guard down and not have to worry about averting the eyes of men or "compromising my purity" by accidentally bumping in to or making eye contact with a man. As I mentioned before, sexual harassment is a big problem in Cairo, so it was also nice to get away from all the cat calls and heckling.

And just as I was more relaxed in the women's car, so were the Egyptian women riding with me. They seemed more free to  come up and talk or at least giggle, wave or smile. On our train ride back, a girl about my age came up to Libby and I and asked us where were were from. She spoke a little bit of English and we had a short conversation about what she was studying and where she grew up. She asked us the same questions. Upon finding out that this was one of our first days in Egypt, she looked me in the eye and said "Welcome to Cairo, welcome to Egypt." 

I know I'm going to sound like a baby, but, at that moment, I probably could've cried. This young girl was so sincere and sweet...and she was the first person to sincerely welcome me Egypt. Others had shouted it on the street, but nobody (who didn't work for our program) had taken the time to honestly welcome me. And, after being here for four days, it was nice to be welcomed. 

Discovery #16: I hate feeling like a tourist.

So, I guess this isn't really a "new" discovery per say because I've known this for a while, but I definitely re-learned it yesterday. 

My group too the metro to the Cairo University stop and walked around. We actually never found the university, but we walked around a few blocks of the neighborhood. It definitely seemed poorer than the neighborhood where I live, Agouza. However, it was so quite and peaceful. School children waved and said hi but hardly anyone made cat calls at me or rude noises. We passed several bakeries and finally stopped at one for some delicious cookies and pastries. To be honest, I loved this neighborhood. I loved being in just a quite, residential area and walking around -- seeing what real life is like for people.

The down side of the area was that we didn't really find any sit-down restaurants. So, we headed back to Tahrir, the center of town. And man what a difference! There were many tourists and the streets and sidewalks were crowded. Though we found a DELICIOUS place to eat (koshary is my new favorite!! Noodles, lentils, rice, beef shwarma, chick peas, and a tomato sauce = heaven!), I really didn't like the area. After being there for about an hour, my whole group agreed. Everyone thought we were tourists (which, to be fair, we sortof are) and we didn't like it ;) I think what put us all over the edge was what happened about halfway through our trip.

Discovery #17: Egyptian shopkeepers and quite clever. 

When Seth, a guy in my group, threw away a soda can in an elevated trash can with no bottom, an English-speaking Egyptian man shared a good laugh with us on the sidewalk. He asked if we were looking for something in particular and we told him we wanted to find a tea shop where both men and women could sit (most tea shops here have an unspoken rule of "men only"). He told us he knew of a place and that he'd point us in the right direction. He assured us he'd take no money. 

Through some crafty wording and turns of the street corners, he led us to his perfume shop and insisted on showing us Egyptian hospitality. He took us to the upstairs room of his shop and brought us tea. His two sons also came up and began talking with us and explaining the different perfume essences they carried. Libby was interested in buying some so she brought samples for her. Before the tea even arrived, Libby was being careful coaxed into buying huge, expensive bottles of essence (which is what perfume is before they add alcohol). We began to haggle but it was one of the most interesting experiences of my life: as we haggled with one son, the other kept looking at me and mouthing "It's too much, don't give him that much money."  So we'd barter some more. 

I think we eventually got a good price but the experience was very bizarre. We later saw some of our colleagues on the street corner and found out that they had been suckered into the same perfume shop and were downstairs while we were up. Strangely enough, in the next 15 minutes we spent in Tahrir, 3 people offered to take us to a shop where we could buy perfume...this shopkeeper had some good salesmen on the street!

Discovery #18: MESPers are awesome :)

Last night, each staff member took a small group of students out to dinner. Brian Cassles led my group and over dinner we took turns telling each other about our families, studies, and why we came to the Middle East. There are some awesome people in this program, let me tell you! Dinner was great; we ate at a place called Spectra, which kind of like a TGIF or Chilis. 

After dinner, Julie (my roommate) and I went to the internet cafe to catch up with friends and send emails and such. All in all: great day. 

Unfortunately, I've already fallen behind in my blogging. So, Monday's stories will have to come at a later date.

Conversations

Discovery #13: Waiting in lines can be a pleasant experience.

Today we had to go to the Egyptian immigration offices to get our tourist visas extended. Even though we had already filled out the forms, each student needed to go to the office so that they could see our faces and make sure we were who we said we were. 

As with most governments, the immigration department here is a huge bureaucracy (from what I've been told), so our group had to wait in the hallway for over an hour. It was quite crowded and narrow so we were cautioned not to take up too much space. I chose one of the last available seats and ended up in between two women. One woman spoke English and she told me she was from Lebanon but married to an Egyptian man she met while she was visiting Cairo. She also helped me with the pronunciation of the Arabic numbers I was learning. 

I know this may seem insignificant but this was honestly the first conversation I had with someone here. Being a woman, it is not appropriate for me to have conversations with random men that I meet. However, most people on the streets and in public are men...and most everyone only speaks Arabic. So, being able to meet just one woman in a line while waiting for my visa was a real treat :)

Mosques and the Nile

Discovery #8: Friday is considered the weekend in Egypt – and many other Muslim countries

Since today is Friday, we went to a mosque to observe and study Muslim's practice of their religion. So, this morning, after breakfast and devotions, we had a "mosque etiquette" discussion. We were going to meet on of the program's contacts, Nissima, at the mosque for 12 o'clock prayers. It was decided beforehand that we would not really "participate" in the prayer service but would rather just sit and observe. Dena, one of the program assistants, explained that this was because Nissima and some other Muslims, felt that it was not good for us to participate in their prayer service (i.e., bow in prayer with them but pray to Jesus) because it was not genuine and Islam is a religion of genuineness. 
Regardless of our status as observers, all the women had to cover their heads before going to the mosque. In Egypt, the common head covering is called a "Hiijab," which covers a woman's hair and any skin between her chin and the top of her shirt. You also see some women also wearing "niqabs," which are full-face coverings, but they are not the norm and certainly not required.esterday, MESP bought each woman a hiijab and Dena and Chris showed us how to pin them this morning. The most important thing when wrapping a hiijab is that no hair is showing. (Side note: it is also unacceptable for women to wear nail polish to prayers).

 After properly covering our heads, our whole group headed to the mosque. Being out in public with a head covering on was actually not as demeaning as I had thought it would be. Most women in Cairo wear a hiijab and they have become somewhat of a fashion statement of accessory to a woman's outfit. As you can see from the photos above, most of us tried to match our hiijabs with our outfits and they come in every color and design imaginable.
It is a commonly known fact that non-veiled women in Cairo get harassed much more than women without head coverings, so I honestly didn't mind much having to cover up, especially since it has been rather cold here! A hiijab definitely helps keep you warm!
Nissima was a little late for prayers, so we went into the mosque without her. As a woman, I could not go to the main part of the mosque but rather to an upstairs room reserved only for women. 


Discovery #9: Carry a pair of socks in your purse!
In mosques, you are not allowed to step on prayer rugs with your shoes. Since the entire women's room was carpeted for prayer, we had to remove our shoes before stepping on the carpet. Though I was confident the carpet was clean, my tosies were a bit cold ;)
Our group tried to sit discretely in the back corner of the room so as to not disturb the women who had come to worship. We were about a half an hour early but there were already a few women there when we arrived. 
Most were engaged in a time of private (but prostrated) prayer while others read the Koran and other holy 
books kept in the room. Most women were covered from head to ankle and nearly all were wearing skirts. Some women entered the room in pants and a long shirt that covered their bottom, however, most of them put on a skirt or robe before they started praying.
At one point, a woman entered the room crying and greeted several of the other women with kisses and tears. She was accompanied by several other women. It appeared to me as if someone in her family had just died.

Many women greeted each other when they entered the room, though Dr. Holt explained to us later that Muslims do not necessarily attend one mosque regularly, as Christians attend a single church every week. Mosque attendance is mostly based on location, he told us. Some women came with children. The young girls were not really expected to cover up but they did imitate their mothers as they prostrated and prayed. 
I was struck by the apparent reverence and intimacy these women had with Allah. As I sat there, I prayed and asked God to help teach me that sort of reverence for Him. 
Once the main service started, it was videocasted on a TV screen in the room and was entirely in Arabic. The call to prayer lasted many minutes and was followed by approximately a 20 minute sermon and corporate prayer, after which they had a prayer for two people who had died. (According to the men who were in the main part of the mosque, the coffins were downstairs.) 
The women's room was packed with women and, according to the men, there was space for much fewer women than for men. Dr. Holt later pointed out that this was symbolic of the attitude that "this is a man's world and women should stay home with the children." He said that some Muslims believe that it is not necessary for women to attend weekly prayers while others believe it is beneficial. Regardless, the room upstairs was considered quite "full" since Muslim prayers take a good amount of space. Most women sat on the floor so that they were able to prostrate in the course of the service. However, there were several plastic chairs and a wooden bench against the wall for older women who could not do so. 
Unfortunately, towards the end of the service, the room was so full that Nissima felt that some women may have been upset that we were taking up room but not participating in prayers. Dr. Diia, MESP's Egyptian program administrator (Discovery 9.5: Dr. Diia is AMAZIN!), later told us that it is extremely uncommon here for people of one religion to attend a service for that of another religion. You're either one of the other, he said. Because of this, Nissima made a quick, last-minute decision to ask us to participate in the closing corporate prayer. Though we had not been prepared for this, the group did very well adjusting and simply imitated the movements of the women around us. In Nissima's eyes, this prevented us from any angry accusations about why we were taking up space if we were not participating. However, she asked us to leave quickly after prayers and not speak to anyone because she was afraid people might ask us questions about our religion. When we answered that we were Christians, they would be confused, she explained.

I felt quite bad for having but Nissima in such an awkward situation: she seemed nervous the entire service. Deena said this was rare for her and probably just because the room was overcrowded that day.


Discovery #10: It only rains about once a year in Cairo…
….that day was today.
As prayers ended, it started to rain lightly. According to Dr. Holt, it's been about a year since it last rained. So crazy to think about, huh? 
An interesting point to note here is that, since it rains so infrequently, many Egyptians use their roofs as storages spaces. 


Discovery #11: Most grocery shopping can be done within walking distance
After lunch, Chris took a group of people for a walking tour of our neighborhood, Agouza. There are several corner stores, produce vendors, bakeries and pharmacies in the area. To be honest, it reminded me a lot of Ghana (J). I can't wait to go shopping now!
Walking around the neighborhood with Chris was also quite helpful in knowing how to walk around Cairo as a woman. Chris as confident and not intimidated by the Egyptian men. Gender issues is something I'm sure I'll continue to sort through this semester…something I really don't yet grasp…though my wonderful flatmates Erin, Kaylin and Julie and I were up till 1 am yesterday discussing the issue.



Discovery #12: Though MESP has a no dancing rule, you are allowed to dance on a boat in the middle of the Nile River.


Tonight, we ate dinner on a felucca, a small boat, on the Nile River. The NILE RIVER! It's so crazy how so many world-renowned things I have experienced in the past few days. The trip was right at sunset and very beautiful! Our boat driver also played us some Arabic music and some of us tried our dancing skills. Not the world's biggest success but still very fun ;)

Following the boat ride, we went to Old Cairo, which is a rather touristy area of town, and had tea and coffee as a group. After that Brian led a group to see several old mosques. We were allowed to climb stairs that led to the roof of one of the mosques and the view was wonderful. 
Walking through the market almost put me on sensory overload between all the colors and wares to the Arabic being spoken to me to the whistles and rudeness of some men. My conversational Arabic is coming along though and I can now say sorry, thank you, no, and how are you?

Though I'm sure there are many more things I discovered today, we have an extremely full day tomorrow and my poor, slightly jet-lagged body needs plenty of time to sleep.

In Cairo!!!

Discovery #5: I can't stay awake on moving vehicles

The flights over were great but I was EXHAUSTED the whole time! I left Baltimore around noon on Tuesday and arrived in Cairo at 6:30 pm on Wednesday night. By the time we got settled into our apartments, it was 1:15. Needless to say, we had breakfast the next morning at 8 pm, and a driving tour of Cairo later that day (YES, I did see the pyramids from afar!)....I fell asleep again ;) A minor fender bender between our bus and a car woke me up. Don't worry, we're all fine. Just a broken mirror.

Discovery #6: Don't trust Brian for directions.

Brian is one of the program assistants here and he stopped to help me buy credit for my Egyptian phone.  My group went on ahead while we did so and  after we were done, he pointed me in the right direction and went back to his place.

Yes, you guessed it. I got very lost! I couldn't get the credit to load onto my phone so I had no way of calling him and, since we got here late at night and things here look very similar, I had no idea where to go!

After walking up and down the street Brian told me my apartment was on, I finally stopped for help. A kind man loaded my phone for me and I called Brian. He gave me directions back to my apartment. Turns out he missed a step when he was giving me directions before. I was supposed to turn about 1 block from the store where we stopped. Ooops!

Discovery #7: Being a woman here is going to be very difficult.

Though we haven't had our gender lecture yet, we've been instructed that, as women, speaking with men on the street or looking them in they eye is not advisable. It has also been interesting to not that most of the people on the street are MEN. If there are women on the street, they are usually on a mission of some sort -- out shopping or such. You  hardly see them just hanging around. The men, on the other hand, hang out there all the time and there are many more of them.

So, not being able to look them in the eye means looking down or up most of the time I'm walking. It's really quite awkward and not natural, since I've always been taught to look and smile when I encounter people.

This is going to be such a learning experience I can tell. Dr. Holt and the program staff here seem amazing and all of the MESP students are wonderful!

Dinner in 20 minutes so it's time to scoot!

Pre-departure lists.

My Schedule

For those of you interested in keeping in touch, Cairo is 7 hours ahead of EST. Here is how much I know about my schedule :)
Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday:
8:00 am - Breakfast
8:45 am - Devotions (required)
9:30 - 11 - Arabic
11:00 - 11:15 - Break
11:15 - 1 pm - Course lectures or guest speakers
1 pm - Lunch
2 pm - Cultural Activities (optional), occasional course lecture or guest speaker
Evening - Occasional course lecture or guest speaker

Tuesday: Service Project day

Classes begin the 19th. Until then, it's orientation week. February 13-19 is homestay week. March 16 - April 12 is the travel component.

Night before!

Discovery #3: It would've been beneficial for me to check prior to 24 hours before I leave and make sure all the textbooks I ordered actually arrived.

Unfortunately, I didn't. Good job me :)

Packing is coming along quite well and I'm pretty much ready to leave tomorrow...except for that one book ;) Hopefully the snow will stay at bay long enough tomorrow so my mom can get to and from Dulles safely.

Spending one last night with my family, watching the Oregon Ducks vs. Auburn Tigers BCS Championship. Go Ducks!

Difficulties

Discovery #1: Arabic is difficult.

Before I leave for Egypt I am supposed to memorize the Arabic alphabet. But let me tell you, it's not exactly the easiest language out there! I've been trying for days to memorize the 28 letters of the alphabet and their sounds. I sure hope it gets easier once I get to Cairo.

Discovery #2: Preparing to leave the country for four moths = stressful

Be warned:  no matter how easy Messiah College may make it for its students to study abroad, a lot of responsibility still lies on the student shoulders. For example, making sure you have access to money while overseas. Or making sure you have enough appropriate clothes to last you. Or taking countless trips to WalMart and spending far too much money on shampoo and conditioner for the next four months.

Don't be fooled though. While I'm just slightly overwhelmed at the moment, I am incredibly excited for my Middle East adventure. Just four more days!