I received a phone call at noon on Thursday from Diana telling me our train left at 2:00 not 4:00. I was still at the center at this time so I had to make my way home, pack and pick up something to eat. It was a bit rushed but I made it to the train station with time to spare, especially considering our train was an hour late. Once Diana, Josh and I got on the train it was a bit of a relief. We had 2nd class tickets (only 40 pounds, ~$8) which meant there was to be A/C but alas it did not work in our car so it was a bit of a hot trip. The scenery was beautiful. Farmland mostly with families in the fields, some animals, even a few tractors. A nice change from cars, concrete and brick.
Beni Suef is smaller than Cairo, which was wonderful. The streets less busy, cheap taxi rides (2 pounds) and not as much honking and crazy driving. It is also not as safe for foreigners. From what I understand safety for foreigners are not as safe in Upper Egypt. There is not as much security and most of the areas are more conservative. It is not very common to see a foreigner in Beni Suef or surrounding areas. It is also better to say you are Canadian and not American. We had to be careful with security, because there is a great chance if they know you are in the town, they will follow you where ever you go and you end up having to pay them. We were only followed by security at the train station on the way home. We were just happy they did not follow us on the train.
The whole reason I was in Beni Suef was so that Diana and Josh could see their MCC friends Keith and Sofia and their kids. They are leaving in July so I was invited to come along with them. It was great. Sofia and Keith are great people and their kids Isabel and Pickle/DuDu (Dominic) are very cute.
We slept, read, watched movies, and ate yummy, very sweet bogeshi one evening (pastry with whipped cream), and visited most of the weekend. I did get out to the market with Keith which was nice because I got to see a bit of Beni Suef and we went to what is called English Table. This is a time for Keith and Sofia's classes to come and meet to speak English with each other. We sat in a club right down by the Nile and chatted. It was really nice and fun to talk to more Egyptians. I told them I work mostly with Sudanese and the 2 girls I was talking to, with slightly shocked faces, asked "Are they nice people?". I think they were quite astounded that I work with refugees...very interesting to see their reactions.
On Saturday, Diana, Josh and I went to Darel Bayad, which is a monestary I think...We bought some pop and relaxed down by the Nile. It was beautiful. There were kids there and they were just a chattering about us and starring. Josh said something to them in Arabic and they immediately went silent. It was hilarious. I love peoples reactions when they think that us foreigners don't know Arabic, then we speak it and they can't believe it.
We left Beni Suef on our hourish late train around 11:45am. I went with Diana to her house because I was going to go to work with her at the orphanage tonight. Fowler seems like a great place. We got there at 6 and played with the kids until 9. I was feeling pretty worn out by the end of it. The kids were excited that I was there. It was really nice to see where Diana works and meet the girls she works with. There are 75 girls at this orphanage from toddler to teenagers. It was fun. I bought some fruit and tomatoes in the market on the way home. 20 cents for a kilo of tomatoes. Oh man and I saw grapes, I am so excited to buy some....
So this was my first experience out of Cairo and it was wonderful. No crazy stories to tell but that is just fine. Relaxation is good for a person. I can see why Beni Suef is a place Diana goes to get away from Cairo.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Day 26
The kids were so hyper today and I did not have the energy for it. Faten was a bit late so I had to try and control the kids until she showed up. It was only around 10 minutes but imagine being in a small room with 21 kids, with minimal English, screaming, running around on the desks and a non-Arabic speaking person trying to control them...it does not work too well. I had one of the other teachers come and try to get them to sit and be quiet but him coming into the room only made things worse because the kids thought he was there for art class. Faten saved the day by coming in. The kids almost immediately calmed down a bit, thank goodness. I taught the Science lessson today which was a bit of a failure. I am not sure the kids really learned much of what I was trying to teach them. I gave it my best try :)
Tomorrow I am taking a train, with Diana and Josh, to Beni Suef for the weekend. I am excited to see more of Egypt and to take a break from Cairo. Beni Suef is an agricultural city and according to Wikipedia, 115 km south of Cairo. It should be a fun and new adventure. Hopefully I have some good stories to tell when I return.
Tomorrow I am taking a train, with Diana and Josh, to Beni Suef for the weekend. I am excited to see more of Egypt and to take a break from Cairo. Beni Suef is an agricultural city and according to Wikipedia, 115 km south of Cairo. It should be a fun and new adventure. Hopefully I have some good stories to tell when I return.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Day 25 - Stories
Today was another normal, uneventful day.
My morning at the center was great. I taught the kids for a while and I talked with 2 of the teachers about where they are from and how they came to Cairo. The majority of St. Andrew's staff are refugee's which is great and it makes sense to employ the people you are trying to help. I can not even imagine all of the stories the people at St. Andrew's have to tell. I was talking to one of the teachers, Albino, he is from Southern Sudan and has been in Egypt for 8 years. He came with he brother and sister in-law to escape from the conflicts going on. In our talk he said to me "It is not the place but the people who make a place a heaven or hell." Obviously this is true but I had never heard it put in these words before and thought it was an interesting way of putting it. I would have loved to continue talking with him but it was time for class. Joseph one of the other teachers I was talking to while the kids had sport, his sister has been in Cairo since 2002 and still has not received and official refugee status. Seven years have gone by and the UNHCR, no one, has been able to help his sister. That is just ridiculous. I am sure that because of this she can not find a decent job, or any job at all.
I am really beginning to feel comfortable at the center, teachers are starting to know who I am and the kids are getting used to me and listening to me (for the most part). I am excited about this because it means that I am going to start learning more from the people there.
On a different note. I ate something that I never eat at home and actually enjoyed it....can you guess what it is?.....If you guessed peppers, You are correct! Orange and yellow peppers are actually quite tasty. Red ones not so much but they all tasted delicious in my stir fry. I am sad that I only bought one orange pepper and 2 yellow and the rest red because red are not the greatest. I don't know if it is just Cairo veggies but I might start eating peppers now :) Buying them was very interesting. I thought I knew my numbers but I had no clue what the men were saying so I just handed them money and waited for change. haha. It all worked out in the end. I only spent a $1 on 6 peppers and 1/4 kilo of green beans. Now that is what I am talking about.
My morning at the center was great. I taught the kids for a while and I talked with 2 of the teachers about where they are from and how they came to Cairo. The majority of St. Andrew's staff are refugee's which is great and it makes sense to employ the people you are trying to help. I can not even imagine all of the stories the people at St. Andrew's have to tell. I was talking to one of the teachers, Albino, he is from Southern Sudan and has been in Egypt for 8 years. He came with he brother and sister in-law to escape from the conflicts going on. In our talk he said to me "It is not the place but the people who make a place a heaven or hell." Obviously this is true but I had never heard it put in these words before and thought it was an interesting way of putting it. I would have loved to continue talking with him but it was time for class. Joseph one of the other teachers I was talking to while the kids had sport, his sister has been in Cairo since 2002 and still has not received and official refugee status. Seven years have gone by and the UNHCR, no one, has been able to help his sister. That is just ridiculous. I am sure that because of this she can not find a decent job, or any job at all.
I am really beginning to feel comfortable at the center, teachers are starting to know who I am and the kids are getting used to me and listening to me (for the most part). I am excited about this because it means that I am going to start learning more from the people there.
On a different note. I ate something that I never eat at home and actually enjoyed it....can you guess what it is?.....If you guessed peppers, You are correct! Orange and yellow peppers are actually quite tasty. Red ones not so much but they all tasted delicious in my stir fry. I am sad that I only bought one orange pepper and 2 yellow and the rest red because red are not the greatest. I don't know if it is just Cairo veggies but I might start eating peppers now :) Buying them was very interesting. I thought I knew my numbers but I had no clue what the men were saying so I just handed them money and waited for change. haha. It all worked out in the end. I only spent a $1 on 6 peppers and 1/4 kilo of green beans. Now that is what I am talking about.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Day 24 - A cold, seriously?
So I think I may be getting a cold. How does one get a cold when it is 35 degrees outside is my question. So strange. Hopefully it goes away...
I really do not have anything to say about today. It was just a normal day in Cairo. Nothing exciting today, which was kind of nice after the full weekend I had. I did watch a truck drive past billowing smoke. I couldn't see a thing. Obviously it needed some work done on it. You could hear it for miles and the smoke was so thick! I am surprised it was still running.
The kids are learning a new dance to the new song. It was not as entertaining as last dance class but still funny. It is starting to stay hot at night and not cool down. Summer is going to be fun :)
Thank you to all who have put up pictures of Lisa and Tyson's wedding. I was very excited to see pictures. It looks like it was a gorgeous and very happy day.
Here is a very interesting and frustrating article that was in the New York Times today. It sure gives a person a whole lot of issues to think about. The latest on the swine flu issue here in Cairo and how it is affecting the Christian community.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/25/world/middleeast/25oink.html?ref=africa
I really do not have anything to say about today. It was just a normal day in Cairo. Nothing exciting today, which was kind of nice after the full weekend I had. I did watch a truck drive past billowing smoke. I couldn't see a thing. Obviously it needed some work done on it. You could hear it for miles and the smoke was so thick! I am surprised it was still running.
The kids are learning a new dance to the new song. It was not as entertaining as last dance class but still funny. It is starting to stay hot at night and not cool down. Summer is going to be fun :)
Thank you to all who have put up pictures of Lisa and Tyson's wedding. I was very excited to see pictures. It looks like it was a gorgeous and very happy day.
Here is a very interesting and frustrating article that was in the New York Times today. It sure gives a person a whole lot of issues to think about. The latest on the swine flu issue here in Cairo and how it is affecting the Christian community.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/25/world/middleeast/25oink.html?ref=africa
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Day 23 - Pyramids
Today was quite eventful. I woke up at 8am and thought to myself....I am going to see the pyramids today....awesome!
Kathy(the director of St.Andrew's) arranged a taxi to takes us to the Giza pyramids and a few other places. The drive there was maybe a half hour. The whole time I was waiting for us to leave the city but then in the distance I see this pyramid. The pyramids are basically right beside the city, it was surprising and strange. I had thought that they were out in the desert not right outside the city. We took a carriage around because Kathy is afraid of camels and horses. It was a nice bumpy ride and our driver was hilarious, a charming smooth talker, but very entertaining. His name was Sam, his Arabic name being Ghali (sp?). At the Giza Plateau there are the 3 big pyramids and the Sphinx and other tombs and small pyramids. A major tourist area but really amazing to see. The pyramids were not as big as I had imagined but still incredible to think how they were made and how long ago. I did not go down into the big pyramid but I went in the small pyramid. I was really interesting. There was nothing down there but it was really cool to see what it looked like and just awesome to be under a pyramid. I went into a tomb after that. Apparently this just opened so that was cool I came at the time where you can go in it. It was really interesting to see the engravings and all of the symbols on the walls. Next we saw the Sphinx. So I saw all the famous things that we see pictures of all the time. Exciting!
The only bad thing was all the people. So many tourists were there...everywhere...I was one of them but still...kind of takes away from the incredibleness of the pyramids.
After the Gize Pyramids we went to Memphis, which was the capital city of Egypt during the Olds Kingdom and Pharaonic period. It is in the village of Mit Rahina. There was a sphinx and the major piece there was the huge limestone statue of Ramses II. Not much to see at this place but it was still really interesting.
Our next and last stop was Saqqara, one of the richest archaeological sites in Egypt, and not as many tourists :) There are many monuments that are still buried in the sand and have not yet been discovered. The Step Pyramid of Djoser is there along with other pyramids and tombs. We went into 2 tombs here and they were amazing. The colors on the wall were still preserved and the carving so detail it is incredible. The meaning behind all of the carvings on the walls are so fascinating. This is where I rode a camel. I was just going to sit on it but the man insisted I go for a ride. It was actually pretty awesome, and comfortable, however, I almost took a nose-drive as the camel was sitting down to let me off. It was funny. One the one side of me were the pyramids and on the other, endless desert. It was overwhelming to think of endless and huge the desert is. It was sand as far as the eye could see. Breathtaking.
One of the camel men must have been talking with Kathy because after I got back from my little camel ride she asked me if I could exchange 3.25CAN for this man. He had been carrying it around for a year apparently. Thanx for me he finally got rid of it today.
I think I found my favorite area of Cairo on our drive today. The Giza area, or at least the part we drove through today. It was less industrial and without huge tall buildings, and did not have tonnes of people on the streets. It was more "small town" with kids running around, kids and men on donkey carts and some farm lands interspersed here and there. I wish I could have just walked around that area for hours.
Kathy(the director of St.Andrew's) arranged a taxi to takes us to the Giza pyramids and a few other places. The drive there was maybe a half hour. The whole time I was waiting for us to leave the city but then in the distance I see this pyramid. The pyramids are basically right beside the city, it was surprising and strange. I had thought that they were out in the desert not right outside the city. We took a carriage around because Kathy is afraid of camels and horses. It was a nice bumpy ride and our driver was hilarious, a charming smooth talker, but very entertaining. His name was Sam, his Arabic name being Ghali (sp?). At the Giza Plateau there are the 3 big pyramids and the Sphinx and other tombs and small pyramids. A major tourist area but really amazing to see. The pyramids were not as big as I had imagined but still incredible to think how they were made and how long ago. I did not go down into the big pyramid but I went in the small pyramid. I was really interesting. There was nothing down there but it was really cool to see what it looked like and just awesome to be under a pyramid. I went into a tomb after that. Apparently this just opened so that was cool I came at the time where you can go in it. It was really interesting to see the engravings and all of the symbols on the walls. Next we saw the Sphinx. So I saw all the famous things that we see pictures of all the time. Exciting!
The only bad thing was all the people. So many tourists were there...everywhere...I was one of them but still...kind of takes away from the incredibleness of the pyramids.
After the Gize Pyramids we went to Memphis, which was the capital city of Egypt during the Olds Kingdom and Pharaonic period. It is in the village of Mit Rahina. There was a sphinx and the major piece there was the huge limestone statue of Ramses II. Not much to see at this place but it was still really interesting.
Our next and last stop was Saqqara, one of the richest archaeological sites in Egypt, and not as many tourists :) There are many monuments that are still buried in the sand and have not yet been discovered. The Step Pyramid of Djoser is there along with other pyramids and tombs. We went into 2 tombs here and they were amazing. The colors on the wall were still preserved and the carving so detail it is incredible. The meaning behind all of the carvings on the walls are so fascinating. This is where I rode a camel. I was just going to sit on it but the man insisted I go for a ride. It was actually pretty awesome, and comfortable, however, I almost took a nose-drive as the camel was sitting down to let me off. It was funny. One the one side of me were the pyramids and on the other, endless desert. It was overwhelming to think of endless and huge the desert is. It was sand as far as the eye could see. Breathtaking.
One of the camel men must have been talking with Kathy because after I got back from my little camel ride she asked me if I could exchange 3.25CAN for this man. He had been carrying it around for a year apparently. Thanx for me he finally got rid of it today.
I think I found my favorite area of Cairo on our drive today. The Giza area, or at least the part we drove through today. It was less industrial and without huge tall buildings, and did not have tonnes of people on the streets. It was more "small town" with kids running around, kids and men on donkey carts and some farm lands interspersed here and there. I wish I could have just walked around that area for hours.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Day 22 - Whirling Dervishes
You know you are dehydrated when you are painfully awakened in the middle of the night by a charlie horse in your calf. I think that is definitely one of the worst ways to be woke up. So not fun. Lots of water for me today to make up for the water I didn't drink yesterday :)
I went to Carrefour Mall this afternoon. It was a much better experience than last time was. My taxi there was a very nice taxi. It was much newer than most of the taxi's I have been in and he did not ask me how much I would pay. That is the key to not getting stuck with over paying. The mall was not too busy so I could actually walk around this time in the hypermarket. I got some food, 2 shirts and some under shirts. It was funny when I bought the undershirts, a man who worked there helped me and was like what size, like me or bigger. I sized him up and figured I was probably about the same, said yes like you and it ended up to be the perfect size. Now I have shirts to soak up my sweat :) You would like that layering in this weather would make it unbearable but I think it helps, especially because you are sweating so much (or at least I am). My taxi ride home I had to pay more but that is ok. I got him down 20LE so that was good. It was one of the brand new taxi's. The city is apparently replacing all of the old taxi's with nice white new ones. By replacing I mean creating a system so that taxi drivers can buy the new cars. The only problem with getting nice taxi's today was that they do not drive as fast so it takes longer to get from places. It was odd to be in a car that was driving more normal (not speeding, weaving and honking down the middle of the road).
I met Kathy (the director of St. Andrew's) and 2 of her friends and we went to the Al-Ghouri complex to see the Whirling Dervishes. It was so incredible. The music. The dancing. The colors. All just amazing. The dancers are members of the Mawliayya sect of Sufis, who are followers of a semi-mystical
branch of Islam. These dance rituals are one way Sufis attain union with God.
I went to Carrefour Mall this afternoon. It was a much better experience than last time was. My taxi there was a very nice taxi. It was much newer than most of the taxi's I have been in and he did not ask me how much I would pay. That is the key to not getting stuck with over paying. The mall was not too busy so I could actually walk around this time in the hypermarket. I got some food, 2 shirts and some under shirts. It was funny when I bought the undershirts, a man who worked there helped me and was like what size, like me or bigger. I sized him up and figured I was probably about the same, said yes like you and it ended up to be the perfect size. Now I have shirts to soak up my sweat :) You would like that layering in this weather would make it unbearable but I think it helps, especially because you are sweating so much (or at least I am). My taxi ride home I had to pay more but that is ok. I got him down 20LE so that was good. It was one of the brand new taxi's. The city is apparently replacing all of the old taxi's with nice white new ones. By replacing I mean creating a system so that taxi drivers can buy the new cars. The only problem with getting nice taxi's today was that they do not drive as fast so it takes longer to get from places. It was odd to be in a car that was driving more normal (not speeding, weaving and honking down the middle of the road).
I met Kathy (the director of St. Andrew's) and 2 of her friends and we went to the Al-Ghouri complex to see the Whirling Dervishes. It was so incredible. The music. The dancing. The colors. All just amazing. The dancers are members of the Mawliayya sect of Sufis, who are followers of a semi-mystical
branch of Islam. These dance rituals are one way Sufis attain union with God.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Day 20 &21 - New Friends
Two days in one post...this should be fun :)Thursday - Class was good and then I did some filing for Kathy which was not so exciting. It was interesting to see some of the documents and the different organizations that St. Andrew's is working with. Filing is quite a boring and annoying job, but someone has to do it and that someone happens to be me. It is something that really needs to be done because everyone else in the office is to busy to re-organize the filing cabinets.
I spent the evening at Diana's. I took the metro and the tram. Diana met me at the tram so we could go and get supper, which was koshari. I finally had it. It is a carb filled bowl of goodness. Josh was waiting back at the apartment for us. We sat and relaxed for most of the evening, it was really nice. After a while we made some delicious chocolate chip cookies with oatmeal and peanuts in them. I was so excited to bake. I spent the night again so that I could go right to the park with Diana in the morning.
Friday - Today has been a great but tiring day. I was up at 8:30 to get ready to meet people at the Cathedral where Diana works. We were going to spend the day at Al-Ahzar Park with her students. 
(Diana teaches English to students around my age give or take a few years). There ended up being 12 of us at the park, 9 students. It was great to meet more Egyptians and spend time with them. They were a great group of people. Our first mission when we got to the park was to find some shade to sit in. The park was absolutely beautiful, with grass and trees, flowers and fountians. It was definitely like an oasis in the middle of Cairo. We found a gazebo to sit in which was great. We played games there for a few hours. Now these games had to be non-action games for the most part.
The park has strict rules: No balls in a park? No alcholics? Now that is specific. You can also not run or anything like that. People are allowed on the grass though, which is good. Anyways, we played some gues what I am thinking games, a winking game (I can't wink so that was a failed attempt at the game for me) and then charades which was a lot of fun. We moved to a different area of the park later in the afternoon. We found a great place with trees and a great view of the city. Here we played a game with a scarf. One person holds the scarf and then there are two teams that number each other off. The scarf holder calls a number and the people with the matching numbers on the opposite teams have to get the scarf without being touched by the other person. It was actually really fun. Oh and then we played this slapping game, where someone closes their eyes, someone slaps their hand and the person has to guess who slapped them. Veryn entertaining. We spent the last hour or so just chatting and asking each other questions, moving as the sun moved so we could stay in the shade. It was a lot of fun to meet Diana's students and spend a day with them. I am hoping to sit in on one of their classes which will be fun because now I know most of them.Funny thing....they all though that Diana and I were sisters or related some how. We told them no we not related in any way, just friends, but I do not think that they were convinced.
I got home around 5 and got ready to go to a Fundraiser Benefit Cruise on a boat on the Nile. This was for my roommates Youth program at St. Andrew's. I did not know any one there, except Kathy my director, so I had to mingle and try to invade people's circles so I was not alone the whole time. I actually met quite a few people, who's names I all forget, but some of them work at St. Andrew's or at another organization working with refugees. It was really interesting to talk with some of them about what they are doing. There was great music playing and great Sudanese food served. Great meaning new, different and I had absolutely no clue what I was putting into my mouth. We were on the Nile for about 2 hours, dancing and visiting. It was fun, nice and cool, quite windy but that was ok. It felt much better than the heat.Strangely I never really thought about the fact that I was on the Nile. I was just floating down another body of water in Cairo. It doesn't look any different...well it is quite filthy but it is still water. I feel like it should be such an amazing experience because there is so much history with the Nile. Like I was on the river the Moses floated down....Crazy!
This was pretty much my last two days. I thought it was Saturday today because I have done so much it feels like it is well in to the weekend, but not yet.
Lisa and Tyson are getting married in less than 24 hours. I am so excited :)
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Day 19
It was not as hot as it has been today. Only 35 degrees this afternoon I think, which was lovely compared to 42 degrees.
While running to catch the metro this morning, I smoked a girl with my bag. Opps. It only had a water bottle in it so I am sure it did not hurt her but still not very nice of me. I made it through the doors just as they were closing so it was worth it. Haha.
I taught in class today all by myself for about 40 minutes. It was a little disorderly and disorganized but I think I did an alright job. The kids kind of listened to me. It was more overwhelming to be in charge than just helping out Faten. She has great patience to work with these kids. I am sure speaking Arabic helps in getting their attention though. They only understand so much English I can not make them fully understand what I am saying.
Apparently the dance class I was talking about is a practice for a performance, or that is what I am thinking because Faten said we need a new song because Barbie Girl has been used before. I am bringing my computer to the center tomorrow to show her some songs but I only found 4 out of my music selection that would be appropriate for the kids and that would be good to dance to. We will see what she thinks of them tomorrow.
Going through my itunes library I realized I did not do a very good job of picking out great music to move from my external hard drive to my computer for my time here. It is a sad representation of my music...I will survive though. I have the internet if I am desperate to listen to something I do not have.
I saw and killed my first big spider today (big being the size of my pinky nail, but that is big enough). For those of you who do not know, I have a little case of archniphobia so I do not cope well with spiders gracing me with their presence. It took a little while to kill it. I finally got the nerve to move close and kill it but then I thought what if it is a jumping spider! So that put me back to square one. I sucked it up and whacked it with my shoe, leaving a nice shoe print on my wall. I had to take a breather after this just to calm myself down...I wish someone could have seen me while this was taking place. I am sure I looked and sounded ridiculous.
While running to catch the metro this morning, I smoked a girl with my bag. Opps. It only had a water bottle in it so I am sure it did not hurt her but still not very nice of me. I made it through the doors just as they were closing so it was worth it. Haha.
I taught in class today all by myself for about 40 minutes. It was a little disorderly and disorganized but I think I did an alright job. The kids kind of listened to me. It was more overwhelming to be in charge than just helping out Faten. She has great patience to work with these kids. I am sure speaking Arabic helps in getting their attention though. They only understand so much English I can not make them fully understand what I am saying.
Apparently the dance class I was talking about is a practice for a performance, or that is what I am thinking because Faten said we need a new song because Barbie Girl has been used before. I am bringing my computer to the center tomorrow to show her some songs but I only found 4 out of my music selection that would be appropriate for the kids and that would be good to dance to. We will see what she thinks of them tomorrow.
Going through my itunes library I realized I did not do a very good job of picking out great music to move from my external hard drive to my computer for my time here. It is a sad representation of my music...I will survive though. I have the internet if I am desperate to listen to something I do not have.
I saw and killed my first big spider today (big being the size of my pinky nail, but that is big enough). For those of you who do not know, I have a little case of archniphobia so I do not cope well with spiders gracing me with their presence. It took a little while to kill it. I finally got the nerve to move close and kill it but then I thought what if it is a jumping spider! So that put me back to square one. I sucked it up and whacked it with my shoe, leaving a nice shoe print on my wall. I had to take a breather after this just to calm myself down...I wish someone could have seen me while this was taking place. I am sure I looked and sounded ridiculous.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Day 18 - I had a sleep over
I stayed over at Diana's last night because it was too late to go home. I did not feel like being stranded if the metro stopped running. I am so grateful that Diana is here and that we are friends. She has helped me so much and taught me things, I love hanging out with her.
In the morning Diana got up and went with me to the Metro station. I have only gone once before from her house and still did not feel totally comfortable getting to the metro by myself. I think after this morning I will be able to do it alone next time I stay there, which will be nice.
The metro from Helmiet el Zaitoun to Nasser, the station where I get off to go to work, is so much busier than my ride from Sadat to Nasser which is what I normally take.
Imagine cattle waiting to be let out of a corral. You know how they are, moving against each other, bumping in to each other, not much space to move around. They are all just waiting for the gate to open and be free in the open field..... That is what I imagine the metro looks like and that is how it feels. We are all just waiting for the doors to open and for more people to get off so that we can actually breathe and have some room so we are not standing on top of each other. It can get kind of hectic when people at the back need to get off. Not speaking Arabic is also a problem because these ladies are trying to talk to me and probably are asking me if I am getting off so I just say no and hope that is an appropriate answer. My first time riding that metro was kind of fun and interesting, but this time it was not so enjoyable. It was hot and sweat was pouring down my face and back. It was a struggle to not get squished by the surrounding woman. I made it off at my stop so that was all that really mattered. It was an adventure in itself, just like everything else I do.
Class was just like any other day, but there were 5 kids missing so it was a little bit more controlled. The last hour of class I had no clue what was going on. Fatem, the teacher, had left earlier and told me the kids had art. So there I was waiting in the class with the kids for the art teacher who never came. It was actually time for sports so it all was sorted out in the end but I was feeling quite helpless for a while there. I talked to the teacher I am helping about what I am doing and how I can be more of a help but she told me I was doing great and with time I would get better at teaching the kids. It was good to hear that I was being helpful from the teacher.
I had a meeting with Kathy the director and my supervisor for my practicum today. She gave me a reading to go through. It is about a protest against the United Nations High Commission for Refugees ongoing suspension of refugee status procedures which was held by Sudanese refugees here in Cairo in 2005 and ended with forced removals and demands unmet. I am half done the reading and it is very interesting. It gives a lot of background about the refugee situation here. It is good to be learning more about it.
I talked with my sisters, Cassandra and Cherilyn this evening. The connection was terrible but it was great to be able to see them and talk to them. The bad connection did make for some funny faces being captured on the screen. I can't believe it is snowing at home!! So unfortunate. I would send some of the heat here home if I could. AND I even talked with my Mom on facebook! A great way to end my day :)
In the morning Diana got up and went with me to the Metro station. I have only gone once before from her house and still did not feel totally comfortable getting to the metro by myself. I think after this morning I will be able to do it alone next time I stay there, which will be nice.
The metro from Helmiet el Zaitoun to Nasser, the station where I get off to go to work, is so much busier than my ride from Sadat to Nasser which is what I normally take.
Imagine cattle waiting to be let out of a corral. You know how they are, moving against each other, bumping in to each other, not much space to move around. They are all just waiting for the gate to open and be free in the open field..... That is what I imagine the metro looks like and that is how it feels. We are all just waiting for the doors to open and for more people to get off so that we can actually breathe and have some room so we are not standing on top of each other. It can get kind of hectic when people at the back need to get off. Not speaking Arabic is also a problem because these ladies are trying to talk to me and probably are asking me if I am getting off so I just say no and hope that is an appropriate answer. My first time riding that metro was kind of fun and interesting, but this time it was not so enjoyable. It was hot and sweat was pouring down my face and back. It was a struggle to not get squished by the surrounding woman. I made it off at my stop so that was all that really mattered. It was an adventure in itself, just like everything else I do.
Class was just like any other day, but there were 5 kids missing so it was a little bit more controlled. The last hour of class I had no clue what was going on. Fatem, the teacher, had left earlier and told me the kids had art. So there I was waiting in the class with the kids for the art teacher who never came. It was actually time for sports so it all was sorted out in the end but I was feeling quite helpless for a while there. I talked to the teacher I am helping about what I am doing and how I can be more of a help but she told me I was doing great and with time I would get better at teaching the kids. It was good to hear that I was being helpful from the teacher.
I had a meeting with Kathy the director and my supervisor for my practicum today. She gave me a reading to go through. It is about a protest against the United Nations High Commission for Refugees ongoing suspension of refugee status procedures which was held by Sudanese refugees here in Cairo in 2005 and ended with forced removals and demands unmet. I am half done the reading and it is very interesting. It gives a lot of background about the refugee situation here. It is good to be learning more about it.
I talked with my sisters, Cassandra and Cherilyn this evening. The connection was terrible but it was great to be able to see them and talk to them. The bad connection did make for some funny faces being captured on the screen. I can't believe it is snowing at home!! So unfortunate. I would send some of the heat here home if I could. AND I even talked with my Mom on facebook! A great way to end my day :)
Monday, May 18, 2009
Day 17 - Dance Class
Today was a good day, very hot, but good. I think it got up to 41 degrees again. That is some intense heat if you ask me. You cannot do anything without having sweat pour down your back...sounds awesome eh?
The kids were their usual selves today, all rowdy and such. We had dance in our last hour of class and of my goodness it was hilarious. First of all, the teacher telling the kids what to do was awesome. He was so into teaching them how to do the dance. Cross, cross, shake, cross, cross, shake, now back up like this, clap your hands in front, and now behind, now with your partner and repeat. Ha, and he sure let the kids know if they were doing good or bad, mostly they were doing pretty bad. It was so funny to watch. I think the best part was they were dancing to the song Barbie Girl by Aqua. That sure brought back some memories. All the kids know the words to it. It was a very entertaining hour of the day that is for sure.
I went to the 2nd biggest mall in the Middle East, City Stars Mall, this evening with Diana and Josh. This place made West Ed not seem so huge, but I am not sure how it actually compares in size. This is a place where you can go and feel like you are not in Cairo anymore. People are not really staring at you like they do everywhere else. People of all classes come here. Locals tend to dress up when they come here because no one knows who they are or how much money they have or where they come from, so they can appear to be well off. D
iana said many women who normally would 
wear a head scarf sometimes do not wear one here. Diana also said possibly one of the reason we do not get stared at too much is because we are "supposed" to be there. You know, we are white, so therefore higher class. We were going to see a movie but it was not playing so we opted for ice cream and went to Spinneys, which is a huge supermarket that has many things that you can not get in a regular Egyptian store. It closed at midnight and that is when we left to head home.
The kids were their usual selves today, all rowdy and such. We had dance in our last hour of class and of my goodness it was hilarious. First of all, the teacher telling the kids what to do was awesome. He was so into teaching them how to do the dance. Cross, cross, shake, cross, cross, shake, now back up like this, clap your hands in front, and now behind, now with your partner and repeat. Ha, and he sure let the kids know if they were doing good or bad, mostly they were doing pretty bad. It was so funny to watch. I think the best part was they were dancing to the song Barbie Girl by Aqua. That sure brought back some memories. All the kids know the words to it. It was a very entertaining hour of the day that is for sure.
I went to the 2nd biggest mall in the Middle East, City Stars Mall, this evening with Diana and Josh. This place made West Ed not seem so huge, but I am not sure how it actually compares in size. This is a place where you can go and feel like you are not in Cairo anymore. People are not really staring at you like they do everywhere else. People of all classes come here. Locals tend to dress up when they come here because no one knows who they are or how much money they have or where they come from, so they can appear to be well off. D
iana said many women who normally would 
wear a head scarf sometimes do not wear one here. Diana also said possibly one of the reason we do not get stared at too much is because we are "supposed" to be there. You know, we are white, so therefore higher class. We were going to see a movie but it was not playing so we opted for ice cream and went to Spinneys, which is a huge supermarket that has many things that you can not get in a regular Egyptian store. It closed at midnight and that is when we left to head home.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Day 16 - 41 Degrees
It was a scorcher here today, 41 degrees this afternoon and still a nice 34 degrees here after 9pm. Hello summer. Unfortunately I hear snow is in the forecast for home, that is so sad. Due to the heat, and because I didn't really know where to go, I stayed inside for the day. I did get out on the balcony to hang some laundry, which seriously dried in an hour and I had jeans out there, crazy. I am excited to sleep in clean bed sheets. Thankfully my flat does not get affected by the heat too much or so it seems so far. It really does not get any direct sunlight so I am thinking that will be a blessing when the summer heat comes to stay.
I had the apartment to myself this weekend. I really enjoyed it but I am definitely grateful that I have a roommate because I would be way too lonely if I lived alone here.
I took 105 pictures on my walk yesterday. Here's 5 of them....
I had the apartment to myself this weekend. I really enjoyed it but I am definitely grateful that I have a roommate because I would be way too lonely if I lived alone here.
I took 105 pictures on my walk yesterday. Here's 5 of them....
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Day 15 - The Walk
I just want to point out that at 8:00 pm it was still 32 degrees outside. Hello to the next 2 months of my life!
I slept until noon today. I just couldn't get myself out of bed any earlier.
Around 2:00 I decided I would venture out and go for a walk. It started out great, even though it was hot outside. I was walking beside the Nile, very nice, lots of people. Many men, of course. I saw a lot and took many pictures, but around 5:30 I was ready to be home. I turned around and walked for a bit then caught a cab because I didn't want to walk anymore. Afternoon walks are not as enjoyable here, which is unfortunate.
Cairo is a very different from any place I have been. It has it's own atmosphere, architecture, and feel. I haven't had a moment where I think to myself this reminds me of ______. Everything is new. It is a very crowded city, with something going on no matter where you look or go. I am wondering where poor area is in Cairo or "the slums" in some cases. I am sure they are there, I just have not seen any area that would merit being called that. I guess there were some possible squater areas by the Nile, but I am not sure exactly what they were, so they could have been anything. But for instance, in South Africa, you couldn't go to far without see a township, or slum areas where people were living in little shacks constructed out of any random scrap that was large enough to make a wall. Rich would be overlooking the poor areas, there was no distinction in some places. It is not like that here. All I see here are huge buildings, some more delapitated than others, but that is all.
With the summer weather coming, doing anything in the afternoon will be interesting.
I do not really have any stories from today.
I made popcorn and watched a movie this evening. I managed not to burn the popcorn, I had never made it on the stove. It was delicious.
I slept until noon today. I just couldn't get myself out of bed any earlier.
Around 2:00 I decided I would venture out and go for a walk. It started out great, even though it was hot outside. I was walking beside the Nile, very nice, lots of people. Many men, of course. I saw a lot and took many pictures, but around 5:30 I was ready to be home. I turned around and walked for a bit then caught a cab because I didn't want to walk anymore. Afternoon walks are not as enjoyable here, which is unfortunate.
Cairo is a very different from any place I have been. It has it's own atmosphere, architecture, and feel. I haven't had a moment where I think to myself this reminds me of ______. Everything is new. It is a very crowded city, with something going on no matter where you look or go. I am wondering where poor area is in Cairo or "the slums" in some cases. I am sure they are there, I just have not seen any area that would merit being called that. I guess there were some possible squater areas by the Nile, but I am not sure exactly what they were, so they could have been anything. But for instance, in South Africa, you couldn't go to far without see a township, or slum areas where people were living in little shacks constructed out of any random scrap that was large enough to make a wall. Rich would be overlooking the poor areas, there was no distinction in some places. It is not like that here. All I see here are huge buildings, some more delapitated than others, but that is all.
With the summer weather coming, doing anything in the afternoon will be interesting.
I do not really have any stories from today.
I made popcorn and watched a movie this evening. I managed not to burn the popcorn, I had never made it on the stove. It was delicious.
Day 14 - Documentation
Here are some pictures from my day. Diana is wearing the brown shirt, Josh is the only guy, and Rachel is wear the blue shirt.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Day 14 - Holy Day
I started my day off talking with Mom, Dad and Cherilyn. Getting my web cam to work took a while but once I realized all I had to do was use the headset provided, all was well. It was really great to talk to them and see them. Technology is so wonderful.
I went to church today at St. Andrew's Church. It was pretty good, lots of reader, response stuff. I am not the biggest fan of that but worshiping in different ways is good. It is a small congregation so the people were very welcoming. There was time for coffee after the service where I met almost all of the people who were at the service. They were all very nice and were adamant on me coming next Friday. I better not disappoint. I met a girl named Yoshi who works with a Japanese International Non-Governmental Organization. Very cool. I am happy to be networking and meeting people who are also working with International Development or who are studying it.
It is Islam's holy day today, so there were prayers and a sermon (maybe) that went on for over and hour. I live right by a Mosque so I saw all the men lined up in front of it praying.
I went to Khan el Khalili, which is one of the biggest bazaars in the Middle East. It was cool, a lot of things to see and stores to go to. Many, many people and carts and cars filling the streets. I made some purchases that I am quite excited about. Especially the Egyptian silver earrings which I got at an incredible price. They are lovely. We had drinks at the famous El Fishawy, Ciaro's oldest coffee house, open for 200 years. It was very crowded but interesting to be there. I like markets even though they are super busy and people are hasseling you to buy. Oh and I had some sugar cane juice at the juice store. So delicious. It was a really good. It was great to see Diana again. Josh and Rachel also came. It was so weird, yet normal seeing Rachel. I went to school with her last year, so that was cool to see her. It was really nice to get out and see some friends :) I also enjoy my little history lessons from Diana or trying to learn new arabic words. I always come back home after seeing Diana with a little more knowledge about Cairo. She is kinda like my own private tour guide when I am with her :)
Oh and Mom, I had my first fabric shop sighting. There were like 6 fabrics shops all in a row but that was when we were in the taxi. I just thought you would be excited about that :)
I went to church today at St. Andrew's Church. It was pretty good, lots of reader, response stuff. I am not the biggest fan of that but worshiping in different ways is good. It is a small congregation so the people were very welcoming. There was time for coffee after the service where I met almost all of the people who were at the service. They were all very nice and were adamant on me coming next Friday. I better not disappoint. I met a girl named Yoshi who works with a Japanese International Non-Governmental Organization. Very cool. I am happy to be networking and meeting people who are also working with International Development or who are studying it.
It is Islam's holy day today, so there were prayers and a sermon (maybe) that went on for over and hour. I live right by a Mosque so I saw all the men lined up in front of it praying.
I went to Khan el Khalili, which is one of the biggest bazaars in the Middle East. It was cool, a lot of things to see and stores to go to. Many, many people and carts and cars filling the streets. I made some purchases that I am quite excited about. Especially the Egyptian silver earrings which I got at an incredible price. They are lovely. We had drinks at the famous El Fishawy, Ciaro's oldest coffee house, open for 200 years. It was very crowded but interesting to be there. I like markets even though they are super busy and people are hasseling you to buy. Oh and I had some sugar cane juice at the juice store. So delicious. It was a really good. It was great to see Diana again. Josh and Rachel also came. It was so weird, yet normal seeing Rachel. I went to school with her last year, so that was cool to see her. It was really nice to get out and see some friends :) I also enjoy my little history lessons from Diana or trying to learn new arabic words. I always come back home after seeing Diana with a little more knowledge about Cairo. She is kinda like my own private tour guide when I am with her :)
Oh and Mom, I had my first fabric shop sighting. There were like 6 fabrics shops all in a row but that was when we were in the taxi. I just thought you would be excited about that :)
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Day 13 - No School
Today I slept till 7, yay. I got ready to go to the center, walked to the metro and took the metro to the next stop like I usually do. I come up the stairs and one of my students and her sisters were walking towards me, "Miss, no school today, you can go home". I was quite confused by this statement. It turns out there was no water so school had to be canceled. Apparently this happens often. So I had the day off. I figured that I was there already so I may as well do some wandering. I have no clue where I was or what street I was walking down but I walked past where the newpapers are published (or at least I think that is what the building was) and a beautiful mosque. I saw a place selling lawn mowers. As I walked past this store I wondered to myself what the market for lawn mowers is here. There really isn't much grass...anywhere. I wonder if they get much business. I also saw a girl with make up on that made her look white. That is the second time I have seen girls with make-up like that. I am assuming they do it to make themselves look more attractive, but in my eyes it looks pretty strange. It is interesting what different cultures see as attractive and what is not.
I have a funny story to tell. I was proposed to today by a random young man who decided to befriend me while I was wandering around. His name was Mahmood, or at least that is how I heard it. He walked with me for 3 blocks, maybe 4 and insisted that I hold his arm, obviously so we looked proper together, but I am sure he just wanted me to hold his arm. This whole encounter was unexpected, slightly uncomfortable, but I just went with the flow because in all reality it was quite hilarious. I also could have easily taken him down if the need had arose, so I was not too worried. I got rid of him by saying I was taking the metro. I said goodbye, waited down in the metro for a few minutes, and re-surfaced when I figured it was safe and that he was probably on his way to where ever he was going. This is a prime example of what can possibly happen when any form of eye contact is made with a man here...
After this I wandered in the other direction I had gone which actually ended up being my way home. I was walking along and saw in the distant the Egyptian Museum and the Nile Hotel which are at the square where I get on the metro for work. I was quite excited that I had found my way home without even realizing where I was going.
Mom (and all you 'clean freaks' out there) you could not live here. There is always a layer of dirt on everything no matter how much you clean. I think you would have to wipe everything down a couple times a day to keep it dirt free. Maybe in a better sealed home it would be better but I don't expect there would be a huge difference.
I am beginning to get to know my way around a bit better and I am even starting to recognize faces when I walk to and from work and around my building. I like the feeling that gives me. Makes me feel more comfortable with my surrounding and like this is becoming more like where I am living and not where I am visiting....unlike these people....haha....yes I know I am a creeper but I couldn't resist taking the photo. Yay for travellers!
I have a funny story to tell. I was proposed to today by a random young man who decided to befriend me while I was wandering around. His name was Mahmood, or at least that is how I heard it. He walked with me for 3 blocks, maybe 4 and insisted that I hold his arm, obviously so we looked proper together, but I am sure he just wanted me to hold his arm. This whole encounter was unexpected, slightly uncomfortable, but I just went with the flow because in all reality it was quite hilarious. I also could have easily taken him down if the need had arose, so I was not too worried. I got rid of him by saying I was taking the metro. I said goodbye, waited down in the metro for a few minutes, and re-surfaced when I figured it was safe and that he was probably on his way to where ever he was going. This is a prime example of what can possibly happen when any form of eye contact is made with a man here...
After this I wandered in the other direction I had gone which actually ended up being my way home. I was walking along and saw in the distant the Egyptian Museum and the Nile Hotel which are at the square where I get on the metro for work. I was quite excited that I had found my way home without even realizing where I was going.
Mom (and all you 'clean freaks' out there) you could not live here. There is always a layer of dirt on everything no matter how much you clean. I think you would have to wipe everything down a couple times a day to keep it dirt free. Maybe in a better sealed home it would be better but I don't expect there would be a huge difference.
I am beginning to get to know my way around a bit better and I am even starting to recognize faces when I walk to and from work and around my building. I like the feeling that gives me. Makes me feel more comfortable with my surrounding and like this is becoming more like where I am living and not where I am visiting....unlike these people....haha....yes I know I am a creeper but I couldn't resist taking the photo. Yay for travellers!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Day 12 - Two Weeks
I like Cairo at 6 in the morning, aside from the fact that it is 6 am and I am awake, it is much quieter and peaceful. The air is cool, there are very few people out on the streets, not many cars driving past and there are nice birds chirping away. The calm and quiet only lasted for about a half hour but I surely enjoyed it while it lasted. A very nice change from inescapable noise that lasts all day and well into the night.Class was crazy today. The kids were absolutely nuts and would not listen or sit down for more than 5 seconds. Very overwhelming and slightly frustrating but really I should not expect much more from kids so young. I am sure there will be many more days just like this to come. I tried my hand at teaching today...it did not go over so well, partly because I did not exactly get a very good explanation of what to do and also because the kids would not listen. Haha. Hopefully next time will be better. It was at least a decent attempt I guess.
I read out on the balcony for a while this afternoon. It was quite distracting just because there was so much to look at and so much going on but I got a few chapters read so that is good. An old man stared at me for a while from his balcony across the street and I also watched a boy throw things at the people walking below. He did not hit any of them but sure came close. What a punk. It reminded me of the scene in Little Women when the kids spit the olives out of their mouths from upstairs, down in to the party...quite entertaining.
I went for a walk down Noubar street just a little while ago. I was quite restless so I figured I would wander for a little bit. I found a shop where I can buy a notebook, which I recently decided I want to get. There were so many men out on the streets and sitting at coffee shops.
I wonder how so many men can just sit in coffee shops all day, or just sit around. Like are they out of a job? Taking a break? This is definitely something I will have to ask about because it is a very normal thing to see. I know that Egypt's unemployment rate is high so that could very well be a contributing factor.
I got 3 wrong number calls on my phone this evening, all from the same lady, looking for the same person. You wold think after the second time you would know you were dialing the wrong number. I guess 3rd time's the charm...but not in this woman's case. Hopefully she figured out the actual number she was trying to call.
According to my posts, I have been here for two weeks...two weeks! I have survived :) I have actually been gone for 14 days but that is only a technicality.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Day 11 - Instant Coffee Is No Good
Well I woke up at 6:30 today and the sun was shining bright. I saw a guy walking down the street and he was wearing shorts, had a backpack on and had a mineral water in hand. All of these things scream foreigner. I thought it was funny, but for all I know he has been in Cairo longer than I have.
Sun rise sure is early here. I was curious so I looked it up and found that sun rise is around 6 am. Then I looked up when sun rise is at home and found that it is at 5:30 am, a whole hour earlier. Also the sun starts setting here 2 hours earlier than at home. Interesting eh?
Class was good today. The kids had English, Arabic and Sports. I learned a, l, and m with the kids today... alif, lam and mim. Pretty good eh? Haha.
I talked with Kathy today, the Director of St. Andrew's and my supervisor for my practicum. We discussed what my role is at the center and what I hope to gain from my experience here. I am also going to help Kathy with her organization, and do a whole bunch of filing for her. I may also join in on some classes the teachers are attending at the American University here...should be interesting. I will also be meeting with her every other week just to talk. That will be good. I am really looking forward to getting to know people at the center better and hear their stories.
Oh yes, the closest you can get to American coffee is if you go to a coffee shop, which I have not yet been to. Instant coffee just does not cut it. Lots of cream and sugar is the only way to make it taste half decent, but caffeine is caffeine right?
I will probably go to bed early again. What a change from going to bed no earlier than 12 to being in bed before 10:30. It is probably just the jet lag....
Sun rise sure is early here. I was curious so I looked it up and found that sun rise is around 6 am. Then I looked up when sun rise is at home and found that it is at 5:30 am, a whole hour earlier. Also the sun starts setting here 2 hours earlier than at home. Interesting eh?
Class was good today. The kids had English, Arabic and Sports. I learned a, l, and m with the kids today... alif, lam and mim. Pretty good eh? Haha.
I talked with Kathy today, the Director of St. Andrew's and my supervisor for my practicum. We discussed what my role is at the center and what I hope to gain from my experience here. I am also going to help Kathy with her organization, and do a whole bunch of filing for her. I may also join in on some classes the teachers are attending at the American University here...should be interesting. I will also be meeting with her every other week just to talk. That will be good. I am really looking forward to getting to know people at the center better and hear their stories.
Oh yes, the closest you can get to American coffee is if you go to a coffee shop, which I have not yet been to. Instant coffee just does not cut it. Lots of cream and sugar is the only way to make it taste half decent, but caffeine is caffeine right?
I will probably go to bed early again. What a change from going to bed no earlier than 12 to being in bed before 10:30. It is probably just the jet lag....
Monday, May 11, 2009
Day 10 - A Normal Day
Since arriving in Egypt I have been dreaming the strangest and real dreams. You know the kind of dreams where you wake up and have to ask yourself if that actually happened or not. They are so disorienting and confusing.
This morning I woke up at 7. I decided I probably would not get back to sleep so I just got up. It was nice having so much time before I had to be at work to wake up and get ready for the day. I had cornflakes for breakfast and oh man did that bring me back to South Africa. The same funky tasting milk, at least it was cold, and not so flavorful cornflakes, it tasted exactly how I remember cereal in SA tasting.
Cairo was different this morning. It was chilly out, and super smoggy, like I just wonder what exactly am I breathing in. I am sure it is so not good for me, but I guess the air here can replace the paint fumes I otherwise would have been inhaling at home :) There were so many more people out on the streets than last week today. It confused me, I thought maybe it actually was not Monday or something. It was a bit of a disorienting morning.
Time at the center went by super quickly. Before I knew it, it was noon and the kids were heading out the door. I am trying to remember all of the kids names which is quite a task because there are 21 of them and I don't even know how to say some of them :) I am working on the twins in the class right now, Hans and Henry. The only way I can tell them apart is that Henry always falls asleep during class, other than that, they look identical. One of the girls, Ajac, was playing with my arm hair today. It was so funny. She thought it was so weird.
I was going to do laundry when I got home but I still haven't had Natalie show me how to use the washer (everything is in Arabic, therefore I do not know what it says) and also there was no water at the time, so that idea went out the window.
I asked my roommate if she ever had her laundry out in a sand storm or anything like that, and she has. As well as in the rain, which apparently is super dirty from the air and smog so it ruins clothes if it gets on them and she has lost a pair of pants to the wind. She was living on the 9th floor of this building and they got blown away in to someones balcony. She tried to track them down but never found them. I am sure I do not have to worry about rain falling while I am here, but I sure hope that I do not lose any clothes. I don't have many so that would suck. I can just see myself dropping them and then having to run down find them. Oh goodness...
I cooked some rice and vegetables for supper and in the process I almost broke the stove. It is gas and kind of sketchy. I turned one of the burners on and it was up as high as it could go and I could not get it to turn down or off. I was just imaging having to call Natalie or wait for her to come home and have the burner still flaming, haha, but I managed to get it turned off thank goodness. Disaster averted.
I bought toilet paper today. This may be super stupid but I got to wondering if Cairenes use toilet paper. I have never seen anyone buying any, or walking with any like I did today. It is also on the very top shelf where no one can reach. I am sure they use it...but I still wonder...
This morning I woke up at 7. I decided I probably would not get back to sleep so I just got up. It was nice having so much time before I had to be at work to wake up and get ready for the day. I had cornflakes for breakfast and oh man did that bring me back to South Africa. The same funky tasting milk, at least it was cold, and not so flavorful cornflakes, it tasted exactly how I remember cereal in SA tasting.
Cairo was different this morning. It was chilly out, and super smoggy, like I just wonder what exactly am I breathing in. I am sure it is so not good for me, but I guess the air here can replace the paint fumes I otherwise would have been inhaling at home :) There were so many more people out on the streets than last week today. It confused me, I thought maybe it actually was not Monday or something. It was a bit of a disorienting morning.
Time at the center went by super quickly. Before I knew it, it was noon and the kids were heading out the door. I am trying to remember all of the kids names which is quite a task because there are 21 of them and I don't even know how to say some of them :) I am working on the twins in the class right now, Hans and Henry. The only way I can tell them apart is that Henry always falls asleep during class, other than that, they look identical. One of the girls, Ajac, was playing with my arm hair today. It was so funny. She thought it was so weird.
I was going to do laundry when I got home but I still haven't had Natalie show me how to use the washer (everything is in Arabic, therefore I do not know what it says) and also there was no water at the time, so that idea went out the window.
I asked my roommate if she ever had her laundry out in a sand storm or anything like that, and she has. As well as in the rain, which apparently is super dirty from the air and smog so it ruins clothes if it gets on them and she has lost a pair of pants to the wind. She was living on the 9th floor of this building and they got blown away in to someones balcony. She tried to track them down but never found them. I am sure I do not have to worry about rain falling while I am here, but I sure hope that I do not lose any clothes. I don't have many so that would suck. I can just see myself dropping them and then having to run down find them. Oh goodness...
I cooked some rice and vegetables for supper and in the process I almost broke the stove. It is gas and kind of sketchy. I turned one of the burners on and it was up as high as it could go and I could not get it to turn down or off. I was just imaging having to call Natalie or wait for her to come home and have the burner still flaming, haha, but I managed to get it turned off thank goodness. Disaster averted.
I bought toilet paper today. This may be super stupid but I got to wondering if Cairenes use toilet paper. I have never seen anyone buying any, or walking with any like I did today. It is also on the very top shelf where no one can reach. I am sure they use it...but I still wonder...
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Day 9 - Day of Rest
Happy Mother's Day! I love you Mom!Mother's Day is celebrated here but it is in February.
Well I did not do much today. I slept until 9. Made some breakfast consisting of oatmeal with peaches in it, so yummy. Mom you will be happy to know that coming to Egypt I still maintain my clumsiness. I broke a glass this morning because I set it on the floor, forgot about it and kicked it over...opps. At home at least we have carpet to break the fall, here tile floors are not so forgiving.
I was out on my balcony this morning and I just had my tank top on and pants of course and my neighbor just happened to be out on hers. Oh man did she give me an awful glare. I decided I would go back in to my room to escape her not so approving look on her face.
I had my own little church in my room, at my computer, thanx to the lovely internet and my home church posting old sermons on their website. My pastor is preaching about facing life with courage and going through the book of Joshua. Very good. Listening to Pastor Brent kind of made me miss home, but he is such a great speaker it is worth it. I am happy to still get to hear him preach even though I am half way across the world.
I broke down today and gave in to my McDonald's craving. It was even delivered. How terrible is that, but it was good :)
Basically everything delivers here, even McDonald's. My roommate say it is the best thing but it can create very bad habits, which makes sense. I will definitely not make ordering in a habit, that is for sure.So I found out that when the weather gets hotter it brings the ants and they are not the tiny little ants we have in Canada. They are in the walls and they crawl in through the cracks. Hopefully not many get through. I am happy I was warned that this happens because now I am prepared for them :)
So this was my day. Very normal and uneventful. It is the start to a new week. I am looking forward to what it brings.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Day 8 - The Egyptian Museum
I slept last night, woohoo! A whole 8 hours and I only woke up twice. I guess going to be early and getting a decent pillow helped.I went to the Egyptian Museum today. I was not exactly sure how to get there so I just wandered a bit and eventually found my way there. It was definitely closer to Midan Tahrir (main center) than I thought. The way I took was definitely the long way around. I got a tour guide because I thought it was actually cheaper than it was. Oh well it was interesting to have him tell me everything and he most definitely knew his information. There was a lot to see in the museum, tonnes of artifacts and statues. This museum is Egypt's first national museum of Pharaonic antiquities. It was not extremely busy so that was good. Egyptian history is so interesting and it is incredible the great condition some of the pieces are in. I am sure you could spend a day in there if you went around and read every litle write-up about each piece but that would get a bit boring possibly.
Afterthought: I went to the animal mummy section. So cool. There were seriously full sized, huge crocodiles that had been mummified. So awesome. They also mummified a cow and horse but they did not preserve as well. They really were not intact anymore.It was really funny to people watch outside the museum. There was a dude and his shorts were definitely getting close to the length of Daisy Dukes. That is so wrong. Men should never wear shorts that short. And there was this other chick that had her butt hanging out of her shorts. Goodness gracious put on some clothes when you leave the house. She obviously had not been out on the streets because I was wearing capri's and felt like I was showing too much.
I wandered around Tahrir after the museum and ended up meeting some perfume shop owner. He was like "No worries I am not a taxi driver or trying to harass you. I am nice." He invited me in to his shop and gave me a drink (this is a normal thing apparently). He went on talking about his family, how he had been to Canada and how he has friends there. It was rather entertaining.
When I got home I sat at my desk and proceeded to dump the full glass of water I had just poured absolutely everywhere, including on my computer. A few things got wet but nothing was damaged thank goodness.
There are these birds that fly around that sound like bats. If it was dark out I would totally think that is what they are. Eww. I also killed a spider today. Only the second one I have seen since I got here but I do not hope to see many more. Eww. Eww.
The floors were cleaned today in the building. I came down just in time to walk through all of the water on the floor. The floors basically get flooded with water and then it is squeegeed out the door. Very interesting way of washing floors.
Another fun fact. Diana told me that worn out money is hard to get rid of, so it is kind of like playing Old Maid when you pay for things. It is your goal to get rid of the old, ratty and torn money or your big bills first. People actually refuse to take them or they ask for a smaller bill. Quite interesting and I really like Diana's analogy for it. Very fitting.
*This is the Nile and the tower in the distance is the Cairo Tower
**The Egyptian Museum
***The picture my guide took for me
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