Mohamed and Ahmed on the "mountain". They made my life so much easier in Cairo...and drive me around everywhere:)

 

Mohamed and I. He's my speaking partner...his English is improving so much! and lol my Arabic is getting there:)

"The Mountain"

Here are some pictures of the "mountain" in Egypt. Its extremely tall and very difficult to reach the top. hahah just kidding but I love the view. Mohamed (the one in the picture with me) and Ahamed took me. I've been there twice and really like it. These guys are also the ones that made my life more bearable in Egypt and they told Eslam to leave me alone:) I originally met Mohammed through a program to practice our languages (He practices his English...and I my Arabic...(sort of) lol). Now we hang out a lot and he helps me with his homework and I make fun of him for having so many friends named Mohamed:)

Always know your directions!!

Yesterday (Oct 30) I met a friend, Reham, to hang out. She practices her English and I'm supposed to practice my Arabic... but lol I mostly speak English. Anyway, I took the metro to go meet her at the McDonald's in the area known as El Malek El Saleh. I've met her at the McDonald's before and was planning on walking there from the metro stop. Getting off the metro was horrible...I had so many people make comments about me and one person called me a donkey!! I'm hoping thats the only English word he knows. Anyway, I left the station and had no idea where I was. The last time I was at McDonald's, it was dark. Obviously, everything would look different but I was surprised to notice how different. I decided to keep on walking and hoped it was correct street because I was tired of having people making comments about me and saying Hi and blah blah blah. well the road I was walking on turned into a dirt road, and there were several donkeys. I knew I wasn't in the right area. I called Reham for help but I ran out of credit on my phone! In Egypt, you buy phone cards to add credit to your mobile. Its nice because you get what your paid for. You don't have to worry about not calling enough and wasting your money or paying ridiculous going-over charges. Unfortunately its not fun when your in a situation like mine! I get the courage to ask some girls for help (In Arabic:)) but I misunderstood their directions and remained lost. Then I got the courage to ask a man selling fruit and it turns out that I was on the wrong side of the metro station. I had to go to the bridge and walk on the other side. Then I remembered that the first time I went to McDonalds, I came from a different direction! And then it made sense why everything looked different! Needless to say, I escaped the taunting children (never thought I would be so afraid of 8 year olds:)) and made it safely to McDonalds...and I even managed to buy some more credit:) And I learned a very important lesson about remembering directions...and miss my western mountains even more:)

Corny Men

If you are a girl and feel really depressed and believe that no guy has ever said anything mushy-gushy to you, you must go to Egypt. Some of the guys like to send you corny text messages....and there is one guy I don't even know! lol He doesn't know me either, just heard me from a wrong call and realized I was a foreigner.

Here are some examples:

this is from the unknown person:

1) There is no special reason for this message. I just want to steal a single moment out of your busy day and hope to make you smile wen I say,

"miss you":)

2)** this one doesn't make perfect sense but its ok**
There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick him from your dreams and say 2 him for real!

Miss you
So much

3)Remember M
Remember E
Put them together and remember ME

4) Cotton Candy? Nope!
Chocolate Syrup? Nah!
Lemme C.....
How about Sugar? hmmm...
Nope! Darn!
Still can't find anything as sweet as you!


And then he had the guts to write: By the way i am don't know ur name also. If u interest my name is Aymn.

hahah I'm glad the world is full of people that make me laugh:)

Then another guy, Eslam (he was a friend of a friend and turned out to be a really creepy bad person ...long story ...but he's in Italy right now and my friends (the Mohameds) set him straight so he left me alone...in short he was the one who proposed to me)

He sent me text messages in Arabic and I couldn't understand all of it, so I asked one of my teachers to translate them. I was so embarrassed when I learned how corny they were!

In short, the topics were: If we never find time to meet again, I will always remember you. And, if the eyes never see will the heart ever forget?

these are just paraphrased. I didn't want to make you gag with the full translation:)

Life is better

Hi! So I decided I was tired of being homesick and in order to improve my conditions I would have to live like and Egyptian. So, instead of taking the metro to school I ride a camel, just like everyone else. Everyone here owns a camel, but I don't know enough to buy one myself. Luckily, people have extra ones and I rent a camel from the men in the picture. I pay a pound a day (about 17 cents) so its a really good deal!! I eat all the same food...mainly chicken, bread, rice, and cucumbers:) and I drink a lot of tea. Although Egyptian tea is much different than boxed tea. Its thicker and more bitter, and has grains on the bottom. I keep forgetting about the grains and drink it (imagine drinking coffee grounds!) its disgusting. oh well:) I do live in an apartment though:( If my landlord doesn't get his act together, then I'll move into a tent. It would be much more practical because I can be closer to my school and cleaning would be awesome. I just pick up my tent and move to a different location.


haha I'm just joking!!

Egyptians don't ride camels,,,in fact I haven't seen one this year. Also, many Egyptians haven't ridden one! But its a funny stereotype that most westerners have of Egypt. They also don't live in the middle of the desert in tents (but the information about the tea is true!). Cairo is a very modern city with a metro system, bus system, a huge amount of taxis, and minivans(they act like buses but are much smaller). There aren't skyscrapers but many of the buildings are fairly tall. The only difference is that they can drive without traffic lights, and they don't have a recycling program...I'm not too positive on the trash program in some parts either:( But don't feel stupid if you believed this stereotype because Egyptians of course have funny stories about us. For example, some were told that during Christmas the men exchange wives! I about fell out of my chair laughing. Oh the joys of traveling:) I'll let you know if I hear anymore stereotypes:)

But an update on my apartment,,,

The phone does work! And the maid actually showed up (of course the day after I spent 350 pounds on cleaning supplies and 6 hours of my weekend cleaning:)) oh well...and hopefully she understands when she is supposed to come. You can't blame it on the language barrier because one of my roommates (Hanan) speaks fluent Arabic. We're still waiting on the internet though...but the company says to give them three more days. This is the time when I wish I was in America so I could threaten to sue:) My air conditioner leaks water but luckily it still works because my landlord hasn't been rushing to fix it. Its annoying, but I'll live because I don't really want to talk to him. haha he always comes when I'm home alone and because of that thinks I have no friends and that I stay at home all the time. (yeah thats why I'm able to get 12 hours of sleep every night...I wish!) and he's getting kinda creepy. oh well. My roommates and I owe him 200 pounds for the phone bill,...but we don't feel like rushing to pay him back. hahah I love being stubborn:) Its also nice, because its acceptable in Egypt:) lol there's one thing I can do right!:)

I'm going crazy

London and France were wonderful. Everything there worked, the people said Hi to you, and it was ok to have eye contact! When I returned home, the apartment telephone still didn't work and we are still waiting for internet. The phone doesn't work because we didn't pay our bill, but we never recieved a bill in the first place. My roommate's uncle went to pay the phone bill, but the company wouldn't let him pay for it because it was already paid for. However, the phone doesn't work and the operator keeps telling us that we need to pay the bill. The internet company continues to communicate with us through email. But we don't have internet so how do thy expect us to reply? (**I can get internet at a cafe 20 min from my apt or at school, but thats kinda complicated to do when your only free time is around 11 pm...and I'm just being bitter:)) Well the internet company emailed us saying that they finally tried to install the internet (it only took them 2 months) but they can't because our phone bill hasn't been paid. I'm going crazy because we tried paying the phone bill but they won't let us!! oh and the maid didn't show up when she was supposed to. It was really frustrating to return to a dusty and dirty apartment. The hotels really spoiled me:) We would call the maid to see where she was but we can't because our phone doesn't work and you can't use your mobile to call landlines unless you want to spend a ridiculous amount of money. Also, the maid doesn't have a phone so we have to call her neighbour. I really don't mean to be an ingnorant American snob, but maybe if she showed up and actually worked she could afford a phone? On top of that the fridge works half the time. Sometimes its warm, sometimes its perfect, and then other times it freezes. I had to throw away half my groceries this week because they were either frozen or moldy. Nothing is consistent in Egypt...not even the Americanized grocery stores. They don't have the same produce and products everyweek. They don't even have Hummos!! lol in America all I can find is hummos...even different flavors! I even asked the people who worked at the grocery stores for help with one of my roommates(Hania)...so its not that I couldn't find it. But you should be proud of me...I asked in Arabic. However, they woudn't talk to me. They talked to Hania in Arabic instead because she is veiled and has a middle eastern look...but she doesn't know any Arabic and is from Ecuador. So I would translate for her, and reply to the clerk in Arabic who still insisted on speaking Arabic to Hania even though she had a scared look on her face and I told them that she doesn't know Arabic. oh well. Speaking of Arabic, I am improving in it a lot and am having fun learning it in school. I can't wait until I learn how to say "Yes I am a foreigner, no I do not veil because I am not a Muslim, no I'm not a tourist. I am living here, that is why I'm taking the metro and being smooshed with people just like you, and I didn't do anything to you and don't plan on it...so would you please stop staring at me!! And I know you are talking about me...even if your whole face is covered." lol that will be the day. I expected to be stared at...granite I do stare at people to, but this is just unbearable. There was one day people in the metro station, on the metro, and on the streets were staring at me so much! It was if my eyes were popping out and my head was about to fall off. I have no idea why though. I was dressed appropriatly and my zipper wasn't down...I looked in the mirror for 10 minutes once I got home...but couldn't find anything abnormal. Maybe I had a ghost hovering above me lol! I'm sorry that this entry is very negative because I had to vent somewhere and I had to tell the truth. Its totally not adventuresome like in the movies, and everything is not normal. I do have fun in Egypt though...I actually made friends with an Egyptian girl. Imagine that! The soccer games are awesome and I have some Egyptian friends who drive me everyhwere. They picked me up from the airport, took me to the so called Egyptian mountains (more like driveways for some Boulder people:)) let me speak or try to speak in Egyptian (colloquial Arabic), take me to cafes, make sure I'm safe....and so on. So life isn't miserable...its just that the only thing consistent here is that nothing is consistent (and my Dad would remind me that thats consistent...har har) and I haven't quite gotten used to it. I like to be able to predict some aspects of my life and have a set schedule But it could be worse so I'm going to stop complaining and try to keep a positive attitude:)

Bonjour!

Over the Eid weekend (a break to celebrate the end of Ramadan) I met my parents in London and then we took the Chunnel to Paris. It was a wonderful vacation and I really really needed it!!! I don't like the life in Egypt...its way too different for me so it was nice to see my parents again and be in a somewhat familiar setting. I even remembered some of my French. The funny thing was though when I went to speak all I could think of was Arabic...then when I returned to Egypt my brain was thinking in French! oh well that ok:) We stayed in the Marriot hotel and took the metro all around Paris. We saw all the touristy sites such as the Eiffel tower, Arc de Triomphe and Arc de la defense, Notre Dame Cathedral, Bastille, and the list goes on. The weather was perfect in Paris. The smell of autumn with the changing leaves, clear blue sky, and chilly (a nice change from the never ending heat of Cairo:)). Also, the Rugby championships were going on at the same time. The cafes were full of people watching the games and the streets were full of people walking to the games. It was crazy but a lot of fun. I just wish I knew the rules of the game. But it was still fun to watch them and be amazed by the size of their muscles!! All in all, Paris is a wonderful place and everyone must go there!! Hopefully I can improve my French and then return:)

Paris

soccer!

I went to another soccer game last night and had a blast! Al Ahly (one of the main clubs in Egypt) played agains a club team from Libya in the semi finals for the African cup. I went with 2 people from my colloquial class, 2 people that went to El Gouna with me, 3 people that went to the other soccer game with me, and my language partner (I practice my Arabic and he practices his English). In all, there were 5 Americans and 6 Egyptians (and 5 of who's names were all Muhammed!!) Ahly won and then finals will probably take place in a month...and I will be going!

The game was a lot different experience this team....but also a good thing. There were A LOT more girls and leaving the stadium wasn't as scary as last time. haha although there were some funny instances. Erik found a cute little Egyptian boy and kept taking pictures of him ( you'll see in the album), the streets were full of crazy drivers and fans (as usual...oh on a side note, a car spun out in front of us on our way to the stadium. Our van/bus stopped immediately and all the guys (American and Egyptian) ran out to help straighten out the car. I was very impressed) and after the game I was organizing all the money that the Americans owed with my Egyptian friends as we were trying to find a car...and this guy came up to me and was like "where are you going?" "I can help you" I thought I knew him at first and realized I didn't and all of a sudden had a really scared look on my face. My Egyptian friends (the Muhammeds) realized what was going on and made a circle around me and totally shut the guy down. Its nice to be protected. lol but after that we realized that there were a lot of random individuals standing around us so we had to move. Anyways, the game was a blast and you should check out the following pictures. If you click on the words under the picture, it will take you to an online album....

Soccer in Egypt!

pictures

I have a website of all my pictures, and they're updated!! Hope you enjoy...and you can use this link to look at future pictures.

Cairo

So I totally lost it with homesickness. I almost had a panic attack and made myself sick, causing me to miss some school. Oops. That wasn't a good idea;) Living abroad is a lot harder than I thought, especially without family. I should be adjusted by now but the culture is so different and the crowdedness is draining. I was bumbed at first because I feel like I'm living in my own foreign bubble. Its hard to make Egyptian friends because they are so involved with the families. The friends that I do make are mainly guys and in most cases (but not all) they "fall" in love with me and want to marry me. Hmm...they can't get a green card that easily. I'm also not used to the fact that women are supposed to keep silent and if someone talks to them its perfectly normal to ignore them and be extremely rude. lol If you know me well I'll talk to anyone who talks to me...even sales people. So I need to work on that becuase I don't want people to have a bad opinion of me. People here are extremely judgmental. Also, no one wants to work here. LIke I said earlier we've been trying to get internet for over a month and it took our Landlord 3 weeks to fix my roomate's airconditioner. He still hasn't brought us the tv and one day the kitchen sink almost fell on me when I was washing dishes. Do you know how he fixed it? He just culked it back to the wall!

I don't mean to be negative but living in a different place really makes you appreciate home and I know it will make me a better person. Just noticing the differences between countries and people is an adventure itself. And all the Egyptians are very impressive. There are no rules or regulations and the country hasn't blown up yet. For example, there are less accidents in Egypt than in the US and they have no street lights or signs. People just put on their flashers or honk their horns to get people's attention and somehow they manage to drive from point A to point B. The city buses are always over crowded and people are always hanging out the door but they never manage to fall. Could you imagine how many people would fall and get run over by the bus?? Could you imagine all the lawsuits!!lol Also, most of the elevators don't have doors, but people still manage to stay inside the elevator. I can't imagine how many kids or even adults would fall out and sue the building. So there are defenitely positives, and everyone is laid back. They don't get stressed out so easily. I have also learned how materialistic Americans are. I haven't figured out how to effectively clean without a vaccum cleaner or a swiffer:) haha. And I cannot cook without a microwave!! I know how to use a stove, but for some reason, I can't use really old ones and burn everything. My roomates are always like...is something burning?? hahah oops. So now they cook for me and I have resigned to cleaning the dishes...without a dishwasher...you should be proud of me!!

I'm still a little homesick but I'm doing much better. I'm going to another soccer game on Monday:) and I have learned that it is impossible to keep a schedule. My classes aren't even in the same room or at the same time everyday! I've also learned that its really impossible to accomplish more than one thing in a day. Time really flies here!! I seriously don't know where the day goes. I wake up early for my 8 am classes then the next thing I know is its dinner time. oh well. I'll do a better job on updating everything and keep tabs of my new experiences of strange encounters and cultural differences.

Old Cairo --Coptic Section

This weekend I went on a tour that was sponsored by my school to Old Cairo and visited the Coptic section. We visited the first and one of the only synagogues in Cairo (Ben Ezra). It was small but really gorgeous. It was supposedly built from a compilation of traces and trails that Moses left behind when he was in Egypt. It was also a hiding place for almost 1600 ancient scrolls. A couple years ago, someone raided the synagogue and tried to steal the manuscripts but failed. The Egyptian government decided to take the manuscripts to a better place, but right now no one knows where they are. I wasn't allowed to take pictures due to preservation, so you'll have to visit the Synagogue to see what its like.

We also visited a Coptic museum that contained all the Coptic art. The Copts are known for their textiles because they are interwoven with linen and wool. The cloths don't look very nice but once you examine them carefully they are an amazing piece of work. The Copts also took their carving and sculpting seriously. Their images weren't as precise or beautiful as the Greek's but they were able to create their own identity with the differences. Some of the differences include the incorrect foreshortening (the arms were too long or heads were too big) but the purpose of the carvings were to portray Biblical stories. The majority of the population was illiterate so the people had to rely on pictures. The pictures were very specific, and I could recognize all the stories being portrayed. Once again I wasn't allowed to take pictures but I was at least able to take pictures of the Hanging Church.

The Hanging Church is not actually hanging and its not huge. lol I was a day-dreamer and thought they could actually have a huge building hanging by chains. But it does have a cool story to it though (which is portrayed in the pictured mosaic above). One day a man came to the priest of the Church and stated "if your religion is the religion of miracles then prove to me that it is and lift these limestone pillars that are holding up the church" The priest was worried because it was an impossible task. He asked the Copt community to fast and pray in hopes that a miracle would occur. A few nights later, Jesus came to the priest in a dream and told him to find the one eyed cobbler down the street. He would be the one to perform the miracle. The next morning the priest found the cobbler and explained the dream. The cobbler said he would try to help, not really thinking that he could do anything. As the everyone was walking up the hill to the Church to see the miracle, an earthquake occurred and separated the church from its foundations. There is still a gap today and hence it is a hanging church. They insides are done beautifully with carvings, tapestry, and paintings. I'm making a different website just for pictures and soon they will be available.

Here is some more information on the Church:
Saint Virgin Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church also known as the Hanging Church (El Muallaqa) is one of the oldest churches in Egypt and the history of a church on this site dates to the 3rd century A.D.[1]

The Hanging (The Suspended) Church is named for its location above a gatehouse of Babylon Fortress the Roman fortress in Coptic Cairo (Old Cairo); its nave is suspended over a passage. The church is approached by 29 steps; early travelers to Cairo dubbed it "the Staircase Church."[2] The land surface has risen by some 6 metres since the Roman period so that the Roman tower is mostly buried below ground, reducing the visual impact of the church's elevated position. The entrance from the street is through iron gates under a pointed stone arch. The nineteenth century fascade with twin bell towers is then seen beyond a narrow courtyard decorated with modern art biblical designs. Up the steps and through the entrance is a further small courtyard leading to the eleventh century outer porch.

The Hanging Church is the most famous Coptic Christian church in Cairo, as well as possibly the first built in Basilican style. It was probably built during the patriarchate of Isaac (690-92), though an earlier church building may have existed elsewhere dating as early as the 3rd or 4th century. However, the earliest mention of the church was a statement in the biography of the patriarch Joseph I (831-49), when the governor of Egypt visited the establishment. The church was largely rebuilt by the Pope Abraham (975-78) and has seen many other restorations including one very recently, after which objects of historical interest that were no longer of service went to the Coptic Museum.


Interior of church


By the 11th century AD the church served as the Seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria, which is historically based in Alexandria, Egypt but as ruling powers moved away from Alexandria to Cairo after the Arab invasion of Egypt during Pope Christodolos 's tenure Cairo became the fixed and official residence of the Coptic Pope at the Hanging Church in Cairo in 1047.

Infighting between the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus and the El Muallaqa Church broke out due to the wishes of that patriarch's desire to be consecrated in the Hanging Church, a ceremony that traditionally took place at Saints Sergius and Bacchus

soccer!!

Wow...if I decide to live in Egypt in the future the main reason will be the soccer games. I went with my friends to a professional match between Al-Ahly and Zamalek. They are the two rival teams in Cairo. I had a blast!! The game started at 9:30 but we arrived there at 6 pm! You have to get there early in order to find a seat. When I got there I was amazed as to how many riot police there were! lol my friend and I was like....umm are we going to die here after the game? lol Way before the game started people were cheering as loud as they could, beating their drums and bad mouthing the other team (I was rooting for Zamalek). The funny thing is that during the game, everyone sat down and it had to be extremely quiet. Everyone wanted to watch the game. I'm used to going to football games as a social event and we watch the plays but not always that closely. Here in Egypt, soccer is their life! lol I swear some people were going to committ suicide...they were sooo distressed when something bad happened. Unfortunately Zamalek lost but it was totally worth going to the game. I never knew it would last so long of be so serious but I loved it and hope to go again in the future:)

sorry

Hi!! I'm soo sorry I haven't updated my blog in forever but I've been having a lot of problems with internet. My roomates and I have been trying to get internet for a month...and companies just don't seem to understand the rush. And then our phone was shut off because we supposedly didn't pay the bill...but we never received the bill in the first place, causing me to have almost zero mode of communication. I have my cell phone...but I can only call cell phones with it. Oh well. I'm def. learning that patience is a virtue!!!