Cows and Sheep!

The cows and sheep (and other similar animals) are back in the street! In fact, I just spotted a cow and a goat in the entry way of an apartment building. This is not because of the random craziness in Egypt but in preparation of Eid el Adha (where they commemorate the struggle that Abraham went through when he was tested to sacrifice his son Ismael) (same story in Christianity but Christians believe it was Isaac). Anyway, I will write more about the holiday later but it will begin this Friday which is also the last day of the Hajj (this holiday follows the lunar calendar and always happens on the last day of the Hajj). This holiday will also be interesting because it is my second time experiencing it so I know what to expect...and maybe I will have a different experience. Last time I didnt know the ritual of slaughtering ( but my friend who was visiting me stayed up all night to witness the slaughtering of a cow) and I woke up to sheep being slaughtered in the apartment buildings but then I ate with a family. I dont know what will happen this year. I dont know if I am even celebrating Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving by the way to all the Americans! Anyway, I will write more this weekend.

I will also give a full report (or try) on what has been going on between Algeria and Egypt. In short, sad and angry people over soccer + Algerians attacking Egyptians + rioting fans + the politicians stirred up more anger for political gain = lots of fun and excitement in Cairo!!

shisha ban? ha!

Shisha or water pipe or hookah is a popular tradition in Egypt....I even got caught up into it. The government has tried to reduce the amount of public smoking because of health concerns but no one has paid attention to the bans...even with the warnings of the spread of swine flu. I read this article in the NYtimes and thought it was interesting. Hope you like it...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/world/middleeast/16egypt.html?ref=middleeast

new adventure

Well I did it again. I managed to make new friends...this time with children! I talk to an Egyptian guy every morning on the AUC shuttle (which is good for my Arabic practice) and after several months he convinced me to visit his family and help his children with their English. I was hesitant at first because I didnt know the man, and what if he didnt have a family? Luckily his wife called me and invited me and they also live near me. I was also nervous because I dont know how to teach English and I didnt want to become one of "those foreigners" who stay and tutor English for several years.
So one night I went and had a great time. I met the family for tea, met all the kids in the street and even got to play a little soccer. And yes I pulled an "Amy" and tripped on the un-even street as I was trying to shoot a penalty kick! oh well. The kids still like me and they walk me home every time I visit them. It is also fun teaching the alphabet! However there is one sad thing, I forgot how to explain English grammar!! In order to help me out, one of the fathers is going to bring me his grammar book. oh dear. But it is good practice for me because I have to explain everything in Arabic and children generally have problems understanding different accents and when I make small mistakes.

Hopefully I will have more funny stories and pictures...but right now I'm happy because it is another part of Egyptian society that I am a part of ;)

Al Azhar Park

Last weekend my friend Rebecca convinced me to go to Al Azhar Park. We were both frustrated with our large amounts of homework and we needed to go somewhere else besides our apartments and the library. Once I got there my mouth dropped! It's an absolutely beautiful place and I cant believe that was my first time there. The weather was perfect, there were water fountains, flowers, and nice green grass. We we able to lay down some blankets and read under the grass all day. It was the perfect Sunday afternoon. And it got even better when I found out this area used to be a landfill! Apparently the Aga Khan Development Network was able to develop the desolate area into a beautiful private garden. We had to pay to get in but it was only 5 le. I would pay 20 le to get in. I was so relaxed there! We also had fun spying on all the couples walking in the area. When we found a spot to lay down, one couple gave us a dirty look because they wanted their privacy. Whatever, we are just reading, nothing serious. Then, about 20 minutes later, a guard came and asked for their tickets and made them leave the area! Apparently they were busted for making out. lol not what I expected at all! It is a nice idea to keep the park morally clean but I feel sorry for the Egyptians because they have no privacy inside their homes and outside! Oh well. I will definitely return to the garden and next time I will bring my camera. In the meantime you can look at this website:
http://www.alazharpark.com/historical.htm

School is finally back to normal

Let me say this year has definitely been interesting mostly thanks to the swine flu. In the summer school was stopped for a week because some study abroad students were infected and then school was stopped for another week during Eid (the holiday after Ramadan). The Egypt government was afraid of the spread of swine flu during Eid because a lot of people travel to and from Egypt during this time. A lot of students were happy that school was canceled for a week but none of the CASA students were happy because we came here to learn Arabic and there are no opportunities to make-up the missed classes. During the breaks the teachers were very helpful and would email us homework assignments. We even met some outside of the school and called them "swine flu parties." So during that week I slept a lot and did homework via email (we learned early on the skype classes are a major failure), played soccer and even watched a soccer game. The U-20 Soccer World Cup games were in Egypt and I was able to go watch the Egypt vs Italy game in the stadium. Pictures of this event are below. The pictures before the stadium pictures are of when I went to a restaurant to celebrate Iftar (breaking of the fast in Ramadan) with my friends. And they were all meeting because they were Egyptians were grew up in Kuwait. Its really interesting because it was the first time for most of them to meet each other but were all part of the same facebook group...and they had no problem that I was there even though I have nothing to do with Kuwait. In the stadium I went with another large group of people (you'll see some familiar faces between both groups) and they are part of a rotaract club (rotary international club). All the people I met are amazing and I had a lot of fun. I just wish I had time to hang out with all of them all the time. (Yes I'm still having problems organizing my time but I'm doing much better. Unfortunately life gets in the way:))

Hope you enjoy the pictures.
PS Egypt did beat Italy! But they didnt make it to the finals. Ghana ended up beating Brazil by penalty kicks. I'm glad someone finally beat Brazil, even if they were U-20 :)

Egypt Fall 2009