Random Thoughts 2, AKA Angry Blog

Being a conscientious American born in this era is not an easy position. Many of us are more aware of our country's history than past generations have been. This coupled with the rise of peace studies and the idea of international cooperation I think make us better equipped to improve the world. However, now we have to work through the mistakes of the past two or three generations. I feel like the world in 1945 was on the cusp of something that could have made for a more promising future, only that step wasn't taken. So since then, as a country we retreated from what could have been. Now we can halt that recession and work towards a better future, but we are so far behind the possibilities that could have been reached if the American government had been working for good the past decades.

I think people are wrong when they tell me that I'm looking at it wrong, that American security is what the government has cared about, and that sometimes other countries have to suffer if our own is to be safe. I'm gonna go ahead and call shenanigans on that...those people are wrong. Has the war in Iraq really improved our safety? I doubt it in the long run; we just make people more upset with us (who's heard the quote "George W. Bush is the best recruiting sergeant for Al-Qaeda"?). Also, take a close look at Pakistan. Supporting a dictator really hasn't turned out in our best interests, and I'd put money on things blowing up there within the next 20 years.

If you don't want to believe me, think about it first in economic terms. The ebb and flow of money all over the world (in global trade) affects all of us, through the stock market, through gas prices, and in the rising prices of staple foods. I don't think money is the only thing that ties the world together. If people are discontented because they suffer under oppressive regimes, this will eventually come back and affect America someday- especially if we support these regimes.

I guess what it comes down to is that I resent the fact that the Americans of my generation are going to reap enmity from all across the globe, even though the seeds for this hatred were sown long before we were even born. Being here in the Middle East has made me want to work here after I graduate. My Arabic still needs alot of work, but I'd rather it be me working in Iraq or Pakistan and actually giving a damn about the people and the reality there than a Bush crony. If you voted for him, it essentially means that myself or people like me will have to risk our own lives and futures to make it better there- and simultaneously improve American security. This is a good day to write this blog, as Obama's going to get the Democratic nomination. I can't say he's the best that America has to offer, but he'll be a damn sight better than the idiot we've had the past eight years. What we've been doing since WWII hasn't worked out well for us, and it's time for a new approach.

Dale's Questions

In an email last week, Dale asked me some awesome questions about the lives of typical Egyptians. I realized that for all my other ramblings, I don't touch on any of the following things. So below, Dale's questions are bolded, with my answers in regular font. Enjoy!

Well what's new in Pa? Now you can compare what I am doing as to what a middle class Egyptian would be doing. First, I am mulching, fertilizing and mowing grass. Do middle class Egyptians own property and if they do, do they have yards?
In the sections that we've seen, more people seem to own their own apartments in buildings, without owning yards. But, As doing much physical labor is sort of looked down upon ("mish chic", which means not chic), I would say that those who might live in the suburbs and have a lawn would not take care of it themselves. For instance, my Arabic teacher does not iron her family's clothes; she sends it out to be done. This doesn't mean that she's better off than a middle class American, though (on the contrary, her family wants to visit America and it will be a challenge just to pay $600 alone for the visas!); it just means that manual labor here is much cheaper than in the States.

Next, we went out to eat tonight and had some sirloin steaks. Can Egyptians buy steaks in their local markets or restaurants? What is the favorite food for a dinner out at a restaurant?
Egyptians could buy it, but I think it's be expensive ( I don't eat at many places here that serve steak, if that tells you anything). Favorite foods would be T'aamiyya, which is like falafel (and delicious)- you can get a sandwich with this and veggies on it for $0.20 American. There is also something called fiteer, which I have yet to try (I hear it's something like pizza). And finally, shawerma is very popular- you can get it on pretty much any street corner.

Also, had to take the car to the garage to have oil change etc. Does a middle class Egyptian own a car and are there service stations through out Cairo?
There are two gas stations alone on the small island of Zamalek, both on our main street. Even lower class Egyptians own cars (this was somewhat surprising to me as well, I didn't expect to see nearly as many cars even out in the poverty-stricken outskirts that we've seen). That being said, I've also seen people driving donkey carts through the streets of Cairo...and somehow it all co-exists peacefully. Maybe one reason that many Egyptians can afford cars is thanks to the LOW gas prices- we're talking not quite a dollar a gallon...!!!

I thought if you can go to the capital of Egypt, I can go to the capital of USA. So yesterday I was in Washington, DC. How many Egyptians from the countryside come to Cairo as tourists to visit the historic sites?
That's a good question, and I'm not a hundred percent of the answer, but I'm pretty sure that not nearly as many Egyptians visit their capital as Americans visit D.C. However, we do run into a good deal of tourists from other Middle Eastern countries, doing the exact same tourist route as ourselves. One thing I must say, though- because tourism is a big part of the economy here (I believe the number 2 contributor after agriculture)- lots of people go to school to learn about Egyptian history, with the ultimate dream of being a tour guide, so in some respects, there are a good deal of average Egyptian citizens who are better versed in their country's history than average Americans are about theirs.

Finally, since I viewed the Constitution and Bill of Rights yesterday, does Egypt have a constitution or what type of document dictates the rule of law? What document rules Egypt?
The consitution is the ruling document here also, but (unfortunately, somewhat like our country is becoming), this document seems to be taken with a grain of salt. It seems that corruption is pretty endemic in the system- baksheesh (which roughly translates to "tip") is an important word to know. Egyptian politics, alas, are the weak part of my knowledge here, so I can't tell you too much more. One interesting fact about the constitution though- Sadat changed it to say that all Presidents must be Muslim. So I can tell you that separation of church and state isn't such a popular phenomenon here!

Weekend Update

These past few days have been both busy and tremendously enjoyable. Thursday night is the big weekend night here, and we were able to go out and have a great time with some Egyptian guys we met at the dialogue. We originally intended to go to the Cairo Jazz Club, but we weren't able to get in because the two Egyptians with us at the time were not 21 (this might be one of the other only countries in the world where 21 is the drinking age). This experience showed us the dichotomy of treatment in this country: Americans under 21 were able to get in, whereas the Egyptians were not. Screw the jazz club, we decided. So instead, we went to a little cafe near the Midan Tahrir downtown. Definitely authentic, as there were only maybe 3 other non-Egyptians there. But we must have sat there for three hours, just talking about random stuff. Some of the big things that we touched on were the American vs. Egyptian styles of dating, as well as the idea of polygamy within Islam. Best quote of the night: "I'm a socialist when it comes to women." All in all, though, the guys gave us pretty thoughtful answers on the subject, like saying that it's really a circumstantial thing, as well as advocating the idea that the women must be treated fairly.

Friday and Saturday we spent in Alexandria. Friday we did the tourist circuit, checking out the Citadel of Qait-Bey (the picture is a view from inside the Citadel looking towards Alexandria), the catacombs, and the Alexandria Library (not the ancient, famous one; that was burned down centuries ago, but this library is still one of the sweetest places I've ever been). That night, Lily and I decided to go see a movie. This was an interesting experience on so many levels that I barely know where to start. The movie that we wanted to see was called "Baby Doll Night", and we were going to see it because our friend Mostafa recommended it. So we find our way to the theatre. Exciting moment for me; I was able to make the entire transaction in Arabic. As we go to enter the theatre, one of the employees says to us, " Wait! This movie in Arabic!". We nodded and said yes, and he asked us if we spoke Arabic before we were able to progress.

Before I talk about the movie, the setting for our experience: a LOUD theatre. You know that ad in American theatres that politely asks viewers to turn off their cell phones? Ha. Ha. Hahahaha. That's not a cultural phenomenon here; people have no compunctions about letting their ringtones go on for a bit before proceeding to answer the phone and have loud, lengthy conversations. Also, screaming kids add an interesting note to this symphony.

So against this backdrop, Lily and I were struggling to understand this movie which was almost completely in Arabic, with no subtitles. I have to say, I was disappointed with how little I was able to understand. One part that I got went along the lines of this:

Guy 1- Not every American is like George Bush or Dick Cheney.

Guy 2- Not every Arab is a Muslim or a terrorist.

Speaking of George Bush, the audience booed/hissed every time his name was mentioned. And as the only Americans in a theatre so full that chairs were lined against the walls, we did get some very interesting stares throughout the course of the night. Oh, and did I mention the topic of the movie? While I wasn't able to fully get the gist of things, I do know that the following ideas were involved: 9/11, the American invasion of Iraq, and the conflict between Palestine and Israel. So, saying the movie was politically charged is a bit of an understatement. Luckily, I know how to say "George Bush is stupid" in Arabic, in case anyone ever asks my political views. Anyway, the whole movie was very interesting, albeit violent, and I'm definitely going to find a version with subtitles once we get back to the States.

Saturday we spent on Montazah Beach, which was gorgeous. I got the most real exercise, besides walking, that I've had the whole trip; Molly, Lily, and I went for a nice swim down the length of the beach and back. I forgot how much I used to love swimming...

Yesterday was a service day, aka it was pointless and I'm not writing more about it. Today after class, Nermine, our Arabic teacher, overheard a few of us talking about making a trip to the mall, and offered to escort us on our first trip on the subway (she was going to the same stop). First of all, unlike some people have claimed, the Egyptian subway was not sketchy at all. Yes, it was crowded, but I've seen the orange line just as bad at rush hour anyway. The cars might not have been the newest, but they were still in decent condition and, from what I saw, weren't any dirtier than subways in the U.S. (and possibly cleaner than those in New York). Finally, it's way cheaper, to the tune of $0.20 American/ride. Excellent. We were on the subway for 15-20 minutes, and as the cars emerged above the ground, it reminded me once again how large the city of Cairo really is.

Speaking of Nermine, I think it's time for a little section on some of the Cairenes that have done their utmost to make this city feel like home for us Americans. A thank you and shout out to these people:

Nermine- One of the most kind-hearted and invested teachers I've ever had. She'd tiny, I'm guessing 115 pounds soaking wet, but I've seen her haggle in the market and tell off policemen, she's oweeya al-araada, or strong-willed. I definitely wouldn't want to cross her. Though we have never taken her up on various offers, because we don't want to impose on her life, she's offered every kind of hospitality to us, from telling us she'll do our laundry to inviting us to stay at her house on future visits to Egypt.

Tamir- One of the two hosts at the Lebanese restaurant next to our hotel, Tamir is always ready with a smile and some Celine Dion or Britney Spears music to brighten our day. He knows Katharine and I so well that he can guess our orders when we come in to pick up food. He has made us appreciate the two above-named singers a little bit more; Katharine asked him why he liked to play their music so much, and he said "Because it is soft", which definitely gave me a new perspective. He was very sadden to hear about how crazy Britney's become. We are going to make him a new CD before we leave!

Yassir- The most friendly receptionist/concierge I've ever met, Yassir is the main desk man at our hotel. Always ready with a smile and always willing to practice Arabic with us, Yassir has made Longchamps feel more like home.

Finally, to bring this blog up to date, last night was probably one of the best moments of

the entire trip. About 20 or so of us, Americans and Egyptians, went to a club over in Mohandiseen to play soccer. After having to wait till the little kids were done playing, we were able to be on the field from about 11 PM- 1:30 AM. It was a really great time, because it didn't matter how good anyone was- everyone just had fun playing around. Tonight we might be going to a surprise birthday party for Basem, who just turned 20, so it looks like another night with little sleep. Hooray!

Dialogues and Dervishes

Monday we experienced our second dialogue at the Fulbright Commission. I have to say, I enjoyed it much more this time. We were grouped with the same people as last week, and I can only guess that the dynamic in our room changed because the conference table was taken away- it’s amazing how much better the conversation flowed once that symbol of formality was gone. We ranged from religion (again) to drugs in both societies, but spending the majority of time comparing the school systems in both countries…it honestly sounds like the Egyptian system might be better. Tuition here is only 300 pounds a year...this translates to $60 American. Insane. After our dialogue session, everyone had dinner together. Then the majority of us, both Americans and Egyptians, headed down to the Nile for a nighttime felucca ride. I definitely lucked out on boat choice; we were on the party boat. The Egyptian guys had brought a tabla, a type of drum, and we were all singing and dancing out on the Nile. It was such a relaxed setting and it made it easy to get to know people. One of the girls is a dancer, and she does a lot of Latin-Arabic fusion stuff, so Rebecca and I are excited about going out with her some weekend here.

The excitement didn’t end there. A few of us went with the guys to ride horsese to the pyramids at midnight. The few glimpses that we saw of the pyramids indicated that it would have been a beautiful sight…if we weren’t riding the craziest horses in the world. Less than 5 minutes into our ride, Katharine’s horse attacked mine, and they were both bucking around for a while. (Note- Don’t wear flip-slops (shibshib, in Arabic) to ride horses…). Our guide said our horses didn’t like each other. So when we calmed down, we tried to continue. Only a few seconds later, a bunch of the horses started going crazy and biting each other, bucking around, and generally scaring the shit out of me. A few of us lost our nerve at that point, and we ended up walking back to the stables in defeat. Still worth the experience, and I was glad that the guys with us were so understanding about everything.

I’ve been in classes since then, and tonight we spiced it up by going to see a performance by the Whirling Dervishes. The Dervishes are a sect of Sufi Muslims, and the whole idea is that their dancing brings them closer to Allah. Gotta say, I’m a fan of any religion that involves dancing to experience union with the divine, and I don’t mean that sarcastically. It was an incredible show that we saw tonight, and I would recommend it to anyone. The musical accompaniment was equally as stunning as the dancing itself. Since it’s now going on 1:30 AM, I’ll leave you with this video to enjoy!

Weekend of Adventures

Thursday night was chock-full of diplomatic missions, beginning with our time at the American Embassy. Immediately, we had to surrender any electronic devices before going through a metal detector. We were then escorted in to a library. For the next hour and a half, we met with three employees, who gave us what felt like the typical line- “represent America abroad, pride in serving your nation”, etc. I’m not opposed to the Foreign Services, but I think that the jobs these people had were very ironic- all of their positions revolved around the fostering of cultural understanding. For me, serving this administration (or many American administrations of the past) would basically be a sell-out of many values that I hold important. Also due to the fact that the people with whom we met were employed in the Cultural Affairs section, we didn’t have a whole lot of luck engaging them in political discussions of substance. Most of us were much more interested in getting some dinner before heading to our second engagement.

The Arab was much more interesting, if this picture of me at the Iraqi ambassador's desk tells you anything. Although our partner in discussion, the Cabinet Chief for the Secretary-General of the Arab League, got off to a slow start, the insightful questions from our group quickly brought fire and passion to his speech. His thoughtful and detailed answers really helped give us context to each situation that he described. The best part is that unlike other places (hmm), he didn’t try to evade questions. On most issues, he seemed very reasonable. For instance, when discussing Israel and Palestine, he said that the Arab League does not support Hamas’ terrorist actions, but that at the same time Israel must desist from aggressive actions. At the same time, I felt that the Arab League’s position on conditions for a successful two state settlement was not quite realistic: specifically, one of the three conditions was that Israel would give back the land won during the War of 1967 (?). At this point, Israel has enjoyed the backing of the United States on everything, and they’ve settled those areas, and there’s not much incentive to give back the land. On the other hand, perhaps if peace and an undisturbed existence could be guaranteed in exchange for this, it might be a pragmatic decision to make. I can’t say that I know enough about the history in the region to pass judgment on it, but it was definitely a beneficial experience to hear the Arab perspective on the issue.

Friday also proved to be quite full of adventure. Instead of having Arabic class, our awesome professor Nermine took us on a field trip from end to end of Cairo, literally and figuratively. From a church to a garbage village to a traditional bazaar to a ridiculous mall…well, it was a whirlwind through Cairo past and present, and left me with many thoughts, to be worked out in a subsequent blog. In order to get to our first site of the day, which is a Coptic church set into the mountain, we first had to drive through a slum called Muqattam. It is a garbage village, meaning that trash from all over Cairo is brought to this place. Its inhabitants work to separate out the garbage between recyclable materials, other valuables that can be used/sold, and rubbish of no value. We could feel the heat of the sun through the van’s windows as our van wound its way higher and higher up the mountain through narrow streets lined with enormous trash bags.

Although our windows were shut tight to keep in the precious air conditioning, the unmistakable scent of garbage permeated the van and all the surrounding areas; once inside the compound of the church, we were not entirely free from this phenomenon.


The church, however, was beautiful enough to distract our attentions. Basically, this enormous stadium for 2000 people was set into the mountainside, and down in the front and center was
the altar and the icons. The surrounding mountainsides also had gorgeous and elaborate scences cut into its walls. Also, the whole area was supposedly formed thanks to a miracle of God (he lifted up and set back down the mountain). My favorite part about the church at Muqattam, though, had nothing to do with the actual church or the beautiful surroundings. It was the sense of community that was very obvious, all around us. For instance, children were allowed to run around inside the church, they didn’t have to be hushed and silent. It wasn’t as cold as the churches that I’ve been to seem; thanks to the kids as well as conversations between adults within the church it seemed so much more like a place to live and enjoy and celebrate life. Also, out on the street in front of the church, but still very much inside the religious compound, some adult men were playing soccer with younger boys. It struck me as so important that this area wasn’t meant for people just to be untouched by others and unlinked to their community.

Our next stop was the biggest and oldest bazaar here in Cairo, the Khan Al-Khalili. We didn’t have a lot of time to shop around, but I’m pretty sure we didn’t even see a tenth of the shops there. Although I hated being part of a large group of Americans constantly blocking the path, I was fascinated by all the people and everything they were selling. Nermine helped us to get great bargains on our purchases, and I’m definitely looking forward to going back to the Khan before we’re done in Cairo.

Needless to say, going from this extremely traditional setting to the ultra-modern City Stars mall was a shock. I pretty much couldn’t afford anything there, but it was nice to walk around in the air conditioning and pick Mary’s brain about Egypt. It’s a little overwhelming thinking about the great gap between the rich and the poor and how closely they co-exist all in this one city.

Saturday, we spent a day at the beach, called Ein Sokhna. Although the fish restaurant had no fish (or any other food), it was great to relax and get out of Cairo for the day. The best part of the day was definitely watching dolphins out in the water; unfortunately this was followed by some of the rankest bathrooms I’ve ever seen.

Finally, Sunday was sort of a lazy day spent around Zamalek, although Katharine and I did check out two bookstores. I’m gearing up for another full week; it’s our second-to-last in Cairo already :(, so in addition to planned group activities like another dialogue tonight and a trip to Alexandria over the weekend, I definitely want to do some more exploring in the downtown area.