I’m sure this is the title of some cheesy pop song and I know it’s an overused cliché, but it sure applies to the situation. It doesn’t normally rain in Cairo but it has rained several times since we’ve been here and it rained really hard two evenings ago/yesterday morning and it was not fun. Cairo does not know how to deal with water at all so when it rains they pretty much have to manually sweep the water into the drains. Walking around in such weather is interesting to say the least.
We went to the pryamids on Friday. We're only about 20 or so minutes away but Friday was our first free chance to see them. They keep us incredibly busy so it was nice to just mull around! It was a bit foggy (which is the norm in Egypt with all of the pollution) but still very nice. The sphynx was really cool. We also went to see the Cairo Symphony orchestra yesterday at the Opera House. We had to get dressed up (ties were required) it was a really good cultural experience. Afterwards some of us went to the 40th floor of the Grand Hyatt Hotel for dessert. Once we got up their we found out they had an $94 pound minimum. (with everything my total came to about 22 dollars) Some of my peers left but I was part of the group that decided to stay. They give us 100 pounds per week for food and I've been good about not spending too much money. We had an amazing view of Cairo from the top floor so it was really nice. I got this plate of french cheeses and it came with a lot of food (they brought rolls and two bowls--one with Kiwi's and one with Strawberry's)
When we we're finished me and two others got into a cab to go back to our neighborhood. Usually on shorter trips you don't really have to barter with the taxi driver before--it's obviously no more than 5 pounds and no less than 3. The general rule is to get older drivers because the younger ones try to scam you. We got in and this young guy who was full of himself asks us in english how much we are going to pay him. We start with 3 pounds and he says that's too little. Finally I said that the highest we would pay him was 7 pounds which was still too much. He told us his minimum was 20 pounds so we got out of the cab! He dropped us off in the huge puddle which was annoying but there was no way we'd pay 20 pounds. We were able to get into a cab not long after that and paid 10 which is still a little too high but not that bad.
Today's my 21st birthday and it was a bit sad not to spend it with family/friends back in the states. The program does a good job of making you feel loved on your birthday. We had cake after lunch and my flatmates and I went out for Kosheri.
Well, I think that's it for now. I hope everyone is doing well!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Today marked the first day of service projects. At around 10:40 I walked to the villa to meet the 3 other students who would be doing the same project as I and Dr. Diaa (the assistant director of MESP who is an Egyptian) who would be bringing us to our location. We went about 45 minutes or so away to Nasr City (Nasr is Arabic for victory) to a geriatrics center. Since we were not familiar with the general area, Diaa drove us; unfortunately this was a one time deal. From now on we have to take a taxi there and back. It takes around 45 or so minutes and should cost no more (or less) than 20 pounds (a little under $4).With no meters in the taxis, the price needs to be negotiated first. We know that it should cost around 20 LE (pounds) but we still start by asking how much it will cost to go to Nasr (or if we’re coming back, Agouza). After looking at us and seeing we’re Americans the driver will usually say anywhere from 25-35 pounds. We respond with thanks, but how about 15 (well our group said 17 because it’s much easier to say!) If things go right, the driver should say no and then we come back with our final offer which is 20 pounds. This of course is all in theory. A few of us had a cab driver start out with 30 pounds (we were going a much shorter distance and it should only have cost 5 or so pounds) and refuse to go any lower than 25. We were already in the cab but he said we could leave if we weren’t willing to pay that much; we did! It worked out pretty well coming back today. At first the driver acted as if he would not go any lower than 25 after we started to walk away he told us to get in for 20 pounds. The drive was actually nice (well, not the traffic) but the driver spoke a little English (substantially more than our Arabic though) and we had as best a conversation as we could. He told us how much he liked Jimmy Carter and asked if we liked him too. He also said how much he liked Americans but didn’t like Bush. He asked us all if we liked Bush and we all responded negatively. I’m not sure if one of my peers was telling the truth but it was the best response!
To begin our service project we talked a bit with the director of the program. He had us come into his office and write down our names, e-mail addresses and majors. He’s been at the center as the director for a few years and is also a physician. We spent a while in his office drinking tea/juice and meeting the head nurse. Both of them spoke English rather well and told us what we would be doing during normal hours. Next Tuesday (and the subsequent Tuesday’s) we will get to the center at 8:30 and hang around with the residents for 2 hours, take a break a half hour break, and then either do “manual labor” (a little cleaning, food preparation, whatever else) or hang around with the residents again. At 2 we’ll get lunch and then head back.
We didn’t have the normal schedule today so we pretty much just visited with some of the residents for an hour and a half. I went with the other Kyle (I’m pretty sure that’s why we were put together, it’s easier to introduce us!) to the second floor, Hannah went to the women’s only floor (the other two floors are mixed gender) and Alex, the last student, went to the fourth floor. Most of the residents speak English pretty well—I’m not sure, but I have a feeling that they are pretty well educated. We came today as they were eating lunch. On our floor only one woman spoke English well and we spoke to her for a little while. Since they were eating lunch it wasn’t the most ideal time to engage in conversation so we mostly spoke with the doctor that is in charge of the medical aspect of the center. Like the director she is an internist and is pretty much fluent in English. She told us a little bit about her family (I think all three of her daughters are either doctors or still training to be doctors) and asked us what we would be doing and where we would be traveling to. After talking to her Kyle and I went to the floor above us to see what Alex was up to. He was talking with a pretty lively woman who seemed to much enjoy talking. She told us several stories (which were the same ones that she had told Alex earlier) about her life (she described herself as “naughty” and “bold” though she did specify that she never did anything “fundamentally” wrong, whatever that meant) She seemed to be pretty well educated (or at least she told us she skipped several grades in school) and wealthy (she was pretty stylish and was wearing her cell phone on her belt) I guess it’s impossible to know how much of what she told us was true. I can’t remember what her name was but it meant wisdom in Arabic. She was quick to point out that she wasn’t very wise though. We also talked to another woman who was not as lively but did talk. There was a man there that asked Kyle “Where’s the music? No music today?” He was much harder to understand and had some apparent problems grasping reality. The lively woman looked at him like he was crazy and asked me what he was talking about. She finally spoke with him in Arabic and told us what he was saying, but I think that it didn’t even make sense in Arabic. He continued talking and kept on repeating something about Jesus coming and how we were supposed to help people as far and far as we could see. He asked Kyle his name and thought he said “fire” to which he responded, with a laugh, “fire! Fire! I’m scared!”
Tonight me and most of my flatmates went to get some kosheri (an Egyptian dish sort of like spaghetti with noodles, lentils, and rice topped with chickpeas and fried onions with tomato sauce. It cost 3 pounds (around 40 cents) and is really good. We're in charge of getting all of our dinners on our own (though they give us 100 pounds) so me and my flatmates will be eating a lot of kosheri!
Tomorrow is the first day of classes. I'm nervous for arabic but excited to begin!
To begin our service project we talked a bit with the director of the program. He had us come into his office and write down our names, e-mail addresses and majors. He’s been at the center as the director for a few years and is also a physician. We spent a while in his office drinking tea/juice and meeting the head nurse. Both of them spoke English rather well and told us what we would be doing during normal hours. Next Tuesday (and the subsequent Tuesday’s) we will get to the center at 8:30 and hang around with the residents for 2 hours, take a break a half hour break, and then either do “manual labor” (a little cleaning, food preparation, whatever else) or hang around with the residents again. At 2 we’ll get lunch and then head back.
We didn’t have the normal schedule today so we pretty much just visited with some of the residents for an hour and a half. I went with the other Kyle (I’m pretty sure that’s why we were put together, it’s easier to introduce us!) to the second floor, Hannah went to the women’s only floor (the other two floors are mixed gender) and Alex, the last student, went to the fourth floor. Most of the residents speak English pretty well—I’m not sure, but I have a feeling that they are pretty well educated. We came today as they were eating lunch. On our floor only one woman spoke English well and we spoke to her for a little while. Since they were eating lunch it wasn’t the most ideal time to engage in conversation so we mostly spoke with the doctor that is in charge of the medical aspect of the center. Like the director she is an internist and is pretty much fluent in English. She told us a little bit about her family (I think all three of her daughters are either doctors or still training to be doctors) and asked us what we would be doing and where we would be traveling to. After talking to her Kyle and I went to the floor above us to see what Alex was up to. He was talking with a pretty lively woman who seemed to much enjoy talking. She told us several stories (which were the same ones that she had told Alex earlier) about her life (she described herself as “naughty” and “bold” though she did specify that she never did anything “fundamentally” wrong, whatever that meant) She seemed to be pretty well educated (or at least she told us she skipped several grades in school) and wealthy (she was pretty stylish and was wearing her cell phone on her belt) I guess it’s impossible to know how much of what she told us was true. I can’t remember what her name was but it meant wisdom in Arabic. She was quick to point out that she wasn’t very wise though. We also talked to another woman who was not as lively but did talk. There was a man there that asked Kyle “Where’s the music? No music today?” He was much harder to understand and had some apparent problems grasping reality. The lively woman looked at him like he was crazy and asked me what he was talking about. She finally spoke with him in Arabic and told us what he was saying, but I think that it didn’t even make sense in Arabic. He continued talking and kept on repeating something about Jesus coming and how we were supposed to help people as far and far as we could see. He asked Kyle his name and thought he said “fire” to which he responded, with a laugh, “fire! Fire! I’m scared!”
Tonight me and most of my flatmates went to get some kosheri (an Egyptian dish sort of like spaghetti with noodles, lentils, and rice topped with chickpeas and fried onions with tomato sauce. It cost 3 pounds (around 40 cents) and is really good. We're in charge of getting all of our dinners on our own (though they give us 100 pounds) so me and my flatmates will be eating a lot of kosheri!
Tomorrow is the first day of classes. I'm nervous for arabic but excited to begin!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
egypt so far
I've been in egypt since wednesday. It's hard to believe that i'm here and I have to constantly remind myself of that fact. I'm sitting in a nice internet cafe outside of our neighborhood in Cairo. I took a taxi with four of my flatmates so that we could get a better connection to the internet. Today we went in pairs around to get better aquainted with our neighborhood. We had to take a taxi (an interesting experience) get food for ourselves, and buy several other things. It was an interesting experience but I'm not sure quite how confident I am in going around the area yet.
Yesterday we went to a mosque for 12:00 service (this is comprable to sunday church) Prior to going I was quite excited--worshiping alongside Muslims in Cairo seemed like an awesome experience. I'm glad that I went but i'm not sure if I would go back. Throughout the service I felt quite uncomfortable--it was as if we were watching fishes in their tanks. I personally saw no issue with compromising my own faith (which was something that a few students shared) but felt that it was a little disrespectful to the muslim faith. The prayer service for them is not something to "visit" or watch; if you're not worshipping Allah then you shouldn't be there. One person came up to the group of guys and shared that opinion pretty strongly. He was nice, and could speak english very well, but firmly told us that we did not belong there. After sitting through the service I agreed with him. None of us could understand any of what was going on and it seemed like we shouldn't have been there. I'm still processing through the whole event and i'm sure I'll post more later.
In the evening we went on a really cool boat tour of the nile. It was amazing to actually be on the nile! I never thought i'd get to be doing this. After the tour, we went to two of the touristy markets and roamed around. I went with Dr. Dave (the program director) and a few other students through a more local market. We were able to go into a part of the city which has been around for centuries. We were also able to visit a mosque and go to the top of the roof. The sight from the roof was amazing. We had a great view of all of cairo and it was especially nice being lit up!
the tempature these past few days have been very nice. The first two days we were here it rained (which is apparently very rare) and so some of the streets are still semi "flooded"
well we have to leave really soon because we have to be back at the villa (the place that MESP owns and where are classes/common meals are held) for dinner.
inshaallah (this is not typed correctly, but bear with me--it means God Willing)I will write soon!
Yesterday we went to a mosque for 12:00 service (this is comprable to sunday church) Prior to going I was quite excited--worshiping alongside Muslims in Cairo seemed like an awesome experience. I'm glad that I went but i'm not sure if I would go back. Throughout the service I felt quite uncomfortable--it was as if we were watching fishes in their tanks. I personally saw no issue with compromising my own faith (which was something that a few students shared) but felt that it was a little disrespectful to the muslim faith. The prayer service for them is not something to "visit" or watch; if you're not worshipping Allah then you shouldn't be there. One person came up to the group of guys and shared that opinion pretty strongly. He was nice, and could speak english very well, but firmly told us that we did not belong there. After sitting through the service I agreed with him. None of us could understand any of what was going on and it seemed like we shouldn't have been there. I'm still processing through the whole event and i'm sure I'll post more later.
In the evening we went on a really cool boat tour of the nile. It was amazing to actually be on the nile! I never thought i'd get to be doing this. After the tour, we went to two of the touristy markets and roamed around. I went with Dr. Dave (the program director) and a few other students through a more local market. We were able to go into a part of the city which has been around for centuries. We were also able to visit a mosque and go to the top of the roof. The sight from the roof was amazing. We had a great view of all of cairo and it was especially nice being lit up!
the tempature these past few days have been very nice. The first two days we were here it rained (which is apparently very rare) and so some of the streets are still semi "flooded"
well we have to leave really soon because we have to be back at the villa (the place that MESP owns and where are classes/common meals are held) for dinner.
inshaallah (this is not typed correctly, but bear with me--it means God Willing)I will write soon!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
I'm in Egypt writing from a little internet cafe. Both of the flights went well. We've been doing basic orientaion stuff. Today we went to a local market where the girls got a higab for our mosque visit tomorrow. We got a pretty nice view of the pyramids and tomorrow we will go to a few other "touristy" places in the evening. Everything is going well so far. I live in a pretty nice flat with 7 of the other guys. There are three rooms and I live with one other person, Matt, who goes to Cedarville University. The flat is affectionately known as "Paisely Palace" because all of the furnishings in the living room are pink. Well I really can't write much more because i'm sharing my time with one of my flat mates. Thanks for all of your thoughts and well wishes. I'll try to keep this up as much as I can.
Monday, January 7, 2008
tomorrow?
Apparently I leave tommorow. At least that's what my flight information tells me. A lot of people have been asking me about classes, schedules, where i'll be living, travelling and the sort so I figured it might be nice to give a little rundown.
Tomorrow I'll meet up with the other 20 plus students and we'll begin our egyptian adventure. During the first week we will have an intense orientation where we will, according to the packet they provide us with, "be oriented to the thrills and spills of survival in Cairo." We will get to know our peers and the surronding area which we will learn to call home. We will also start right up with Arabic by learning the most important things we'll need to know to get around cairo.
Here's a copy of our daily schedule (which means sunday, monday, wed. and thursday)
8:00 Breakfast (those who know me well know that I hate getting up early so this will be interesting)
8:45 Group Devotions (Where we are asked to share things we're struggling with/learned/excited about etc with the group)
9:30-11:00 Arabic (scary, I know)
11:15-1:00 Course Lectures or guest speakers
1:00 Lunch
2:00 Cultural activities
7:00 Occasional guest speakers
On tuesdays we will have our required service trips. We won't find out what we're doing until we get to cairo but i'm excited about this.
Classes other than arabic will be held in consecutive block seminars. They are as follows:
Islamic Thought and Practice
Peoples and Cultures
Conflict and Change
The latter two courses will take place as we travel throughout the Middle East. While we are based in cairo, we will be visiting several Middle Eastern countries. A good portion of our conflict and change class will take place while we are in Israel/Palestine. In addition to Israel/Palestine, we will travel to Turkey, Syria and Jordan. This however, does depend on the political climate.
we will be living in "comfortable, spacious flats" with other students. Usually the female students outnumber the males, but the spring marks the first time where there will be more males than females. Aside from breakfast and lunch on days we have classes, we are responsible for all of our other meals. Apparently, the markets surronding our flats are cheap and have good food; vegerarians can be "easily accomadated" lets hope this is true!
in addition to our flat and the travelling we will spend a week with a muslim family in cairo. several weekends (which translate into friday and saturday) are reserved for travel to different sites in egypt. we have to pay our own way (though the prices are good) we will be going to the pyramids, alexandria, Luxor, Mt Sinai and other places.
well, i think that's all for now. i'm extremely excited but i will miss you all and appreciate your prayers!
Tomorrow I'll meet up with the other 20 plus students and we'll begin our egyptian adventure. During the first week we will have an intense orientation where we will, according to the packet they provide us with, "be oriented to the thrills and spills of survival in Cairo." We will get to know our peers and the surronding area which we will learn to call home. We will also start right up with Arabic by learning the most important things we'll need to know to get around cairo.
Here's a copy of our daily schedule (which means sunday, monday, wed. and thursday)
8:00 Breakfast (those who know me well know that I hate getting up early so this will be interesting)
8:45 Group Devotions (Where we are asked to share things we're struggling with/learned/excited about etc with the group)
9:30-11:00 Arabic (scary, I know)
11:15-1:00 Course Lectures or guest speakers
1:00 Lunch
2:00 Cultural activities
7:00 Occasional guest speakers
On tuesdays we will have our required service trips. We won't find out what we're doing until we get to cairo but i'm excited about this.
Classes other than arabic will be held in consecutive block seminars. They are as follows:
Islamic Thought and Practice
Peoples and Cultures
Conflict and Change
The latter two courses will take place as we travel throughout the Middle East. While we are based in cairo, we will be visiting several Middle Eastern countries. A good portion of our conflict and change class will take place while we are in Israel/Palestine. In addition to Israel/Palestine, we will travel to Turkey, Syria and Jordan. This however, does depend on the political climate.
we will be living in "comfortable, spacious flats" with other students. Usually the female students outnumber the males, but the spring marks the first time where there will be more males than females. Aside from breakfast and lunch on days we have classes, we are responsible for all of our other meals. Apparently, the markets surronding our flats are cheap and have good food; vegerarians can be "easily accomadated" lets hope this is true!
in addition to our flat and the travelling we will spend a week with a muslim family in cairo. several weekends (which translate into friday and saturday) are reserved for travel to different sites in egypt. we have to pay our own way (though the prices are good) we will be going to the pyramids, alexandria, Luxor, Mt Sinai and other places.
well, i think that's all for now. i'm extremely excited but i will miss you all and appreciate your prayers!
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