It is extremely easy to make friends with Egyptians. They are very friendly and helpful, although they sometimes give you bad directions:) Anyway, I always have fun with the man who owns the corner-store next to my building. He is patient with me and my Arabic...sometimes he gets the whole street to help me. Fun times. We also tease each other about Zamalek and Ahly. I'm a fan of the Zamalek team and he's a fan of the Ahly team. So one day after I returned from the soccer stadium I was showing off my Zamalek flag...and as you can see in the picture above, he didn't like it:) Then he said that we should watch the next game together. I said ok, but knew that I wasn't going to actually sit with him in the corner-store all night long. But when the game came I was really bored and decided to watch the game with him. I was late but no big deal...he was just surprised to see me. But when I looked at the cafe next to the store (where he was watching the game)...there were only guys! And then I knew that I wasn't supposed to be there and tried to leave but the store owner wouldn't have it. But I sat next to him and he made sure no one bothered me. When he had to leave to attend his store...he had a delivery boy sit in his seat to further ensure I wasn't bothered. Wow! That was really nice of him. Of course Ahly won and the second goal was beautiful! But it was fun to watch the game with my new friend....the corner-store owner:)
As you know the food shortage in Egypt and North Africa has been rapidly increasing. There are also water shortages because Egypt is located in the desert. There is a New York times article that explains the problems Egypt is facing and what some people hope to do about the situation. Its really long but interesting.
My roommates and I took a weekend vacation to the north coast and it was amazing! The waves in the Mediterranean Sea are huge and powerful. There is no pollution, people are all relaxed, the weather is amazing (no air conditioners are needed) and there are girls;) My roommates and I stayed at the beach most of the time to challenge the waves. The waves would knock us over and we would start laughing...then struggle to stand back up to prepare for the next wave (because we were laughing so hard and the undercurrent was dragging us back into the water). It was just an amazing experience and a really nice change from the chaotic life in Cairo. Below are some pictures that were taken at the beach. There are also pictures of 4th of July. We went to Maadi (where most of the ex pats live) and had a bbq. It was so nice to see so many Americans and to have American food and listen to American music....but one day was enough for me:)
In this story, a young American girl met a man online through myspace and decided to leave home to meet him. Its another creepy story of another girl being seduced by an older man on the internet and believing she is in love. Nothing new, we have seen it so many times. The problem here is that this man is an Arab from Palestine. Through Dr. Phil's program, the Middle East is depicted as a backward and mysterious land where they kidnap and brainwash women. Hmm, well I have lived in Egypt for almost a year and I have not been kidnapped or brainwashed. There are still discriminations toward women but the Middle East has dramatically improved and continues to improve. It is also actually safer for me to live in Egypt because the crime and rape rate is lower than America. I just have to deal with neighbors who love gossip and men who whistle and try to talk to me on the street. I also visited the area where the girl traveled to and it is actually a safe part of Palestine and it is not routinely being bombed. As long as she stays away from Gaza she will be fine and if the man's father bought her a plane ticket without hesitation or insurance, then the family has plenty of money to protect her. The second half of the movie clip is in Arabic so you won't be able to understand it but I found an article that summarizes the situation. The Arab women actually chewed out the man for not defending his reputation and making people believe that all Arabs are dangerous people and for hitting the girl (yes I totally agree with Dr. Phil that hitting and violence should not be tolerated...but this happens ALL over the world, NOT just in the Middle East!) the women also asked the man why he didn't date a Palestinian woman....it would have saved him a lot of trouble. Hmmm.
I'm glad that the girl returned home. I don't believe that you can fall in love over the internet and that you shouldn't put that much trust into strangers. However, I am really upset because of the way Dr. Phil portrayed the Middle East. He has no right, and his stereotypes are wrong. And then to make his last comment saying that he was happy the girl met a good American guy!?!?! First of all, people have the right to love whomever they want. Nationality should not be important. It is true that some Arab men are creepy, but there are also so many creepy American men. I run away from both! haha , but the comment about the 34 phone messages make sense. My friends constantly call me and they freak out when I turn off my phone. :)
So watch the movie and read the article. You know my opinion. The girl was acting foolishly and she should have never traveled. But Dr. Phil had no right to treat the Middle East the way he did. This is really frustrating because I feel a lot of Westerners have the same problem as him. They are too quick to judge and end up destroying images of people and insulting them. People need to be open minded and in this case consider that fact that she was dating online, not the fact that the guy she happened to "fall in love with" was from the Middle East.
If you disagree or have other comments please let me know! I'm always curious to know people's opinions.
My friend sent me a brochure containing the plan for another awesome building in Dubai. My first thought was msh mumkin (which means not possible in Arabic). It is truly amazing and I find it fascinating how quickly Dubai is able to develop....
There was an article in the New York Times titled : "Uncovering Evidence of a Workday World Along the Nile." http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/science/01egyp.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Archaeologists finally found evidence that the ancient pharaohs ruled a civilization of cities. Previously they didn't know how exactly the ordinary Egyptians lived.
Its an interesting article if you are into history....
