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

I'm here

Hi!

Just want to let you all know that I'm actually alive and well. I haven't written in a while! My life and school haven't been going as I expected, which is frustrating me but all the kinks should smooth out soon...and then I will explain what happened.

In the meantime, this is what is going on in Egypt:

the Imam of Al Azhar is calling for a ban on the niqab in Egypt and some public higher education institutions are prohibiting women who wear the niqab from entering. Thought this was interesting especially since the issues in France regarding the niqab.

Here are some links:

http://islami-news.blogspot.com/2009/10/egypt-students-decry-niqab-restrictions.html

http://islami-news.blogspot.com/2009/10/azhar-imam-orders-niqab-off-wants-ban.html

interactive website

For those interested,
below is a link to an interactive website to know what life is like for some young people in the middle east.

http://www.amideast.org/flash/main.html

I thought it was cool. And yes I have a lot of free time now, but I start school September 7th and then I will be crazy busy again:)

oh and I managed to play soccer yesterday!

http://cairo.usembassy.gov/pa/tr081809.htm

Above is a link to a brief description and picture of recent Egyptian graduates of sign language. I hope the partnership of the NGO's and the US embassy can help improve the status of disabled people in Egypt. I also just went to the KFC where the employees are all deaf...and they still remember who I am!:)

Below is a link to an article from the Boston Globe and it contains pictures of people celebrating Ramadan around the world. Some of the pictures are absolutely amazing and it is worth a look because it helps to give an inside glimpse as to how they celebrate Ramadan....by praying on mosques, reading the Quran, breaking the fast with meals, and eating lots of sweets (like every holiday around the world:) ). The pictures are also from several different countries. However, I was disappointed in how they portrayed Egypt. There are several better situations than that one (pic #27)...even ones where there aren't standing next to Chinese made crafts. But I am also biased towards Egypt. I was also annoyed that they didn't included America,(I'm also biased towards America but not too much) because there are actually a lot of Muslims in America. I know it is harder to fast during Ramadan in American because all the restaurants are open and only a small minority of people fast versus a large majority in a Muslim country. It would have been interesting to compare the Ramadan pictures in America to other places in the world. They did include a picture from Germany, but it didn't really show people celebrating (in my option).

Nevertheless, the pictures are beautiful and worth seeing. And if you see a Muslims try to be respectful because this is a Holy month for them. There are a lot of different greetings...but an easy one to remember would be "Ramadan Kareem"

Ramadan 2009 - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Ramadan 2009 - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Posted using ShareThis

Article

Someone emailed me this article and thought it was interesting. But lately I feel like the same speeches are being spoken over and over again. Unfortunately there will always be religious fanaticism and terrorism in the world. But then again, you can't say they aren't trying to make things more peaceful. Check out the article at this link. This website is actually decent and many expats and study abroad students in Cairo contribute articles...

http://bikyamasr.wordpress.com/2009/08/22/bm-news-muslims-declare-jihad-on-terror/



Also, today is the first day of Ramadan. The first day is usually the big family time and then later on in the month people celebrate with friends....or that seems to be the trend at least. I've already gotten several invites ...so this year should be much better!

Ramadan 2009

Ramadan is starting soon (most likely Saturday August 22), it just depends on the moon. Ramadan is a holy month that all Muslims observe, and it is based on the 9th month of the lunar calendar. This way it isn't always during the same time period, unlike other holidays.

During Ramadan Muslims must fast during the day, meaning between sunrise and sunset they must abstain from drinking, eating, smoking, and sex. Once the sun sets, they break the fast with a date (because that's how their prophet broke his fast) and eat a large meal called iftar (breakfast). The night is then filled with more food and celebration, and the gathering of friends and family.

Ramadan is important because it was during this month that the words of the Quran were revealed to Islam's prophet Muhammad. The fasting and celebration will last for about a month.

I hope that I have a better experience this year with Ramadan. I know I wont get the spiritual experience because I'm not a Muslim, but last time I was here it was a frustrating time. I didnt really know anyone so I just associated it with things closing early and a different and annoying schedule. But this time I know a lot of Egyptians and I wont have school in the beginning. Hopefully I will be able to eat at someone's house and have a different experience:)

Dahab

Summer 2009

This web album is updated with some summer pictures and with the few pics of Dahab that I have. My friend took most of the pictures...so once she sends them to me, I will post them.


My trip to Dahab (resort on the Red Sea) was amazing even though it had a little rough start thanks to my lack of knowledge of the Sinai area. Originally we (Mae, Soo, and I) had planned to hike up the mountain where the “burning bush” was (although I have heard that the particular bush is actually the descendant of the original bush that Moses saw) and sleep near the St. Katherine Monastery…and then the next day hang out at the beach at Dahab. This is a very common trip and most of the study abroad students completed that trip…except me. That being said I thought that Dahab and St. Katherine were right next to each other and so I bought the bus tickets to Dahab. I didn’t know that there was a separate bus station and they are about 1 hour- 1.5 hours drive apart, until we were at the bus station and Mae said we shouldn’t be going to Dahab. Oops! Guess I shouldn’t be in charge of helping to plan trips anymore! But luckily everything worked out ok. Mae’s friend was able to get us a room for one night at a hostel in Dahab. We were then going to take a one day trip to St. Katherine (and just re-arrange the order of our trip) but then Mae and Soo got sick. I don’t know what they had but a lot of traveling, random sleep cycles, and not a regular diet doesn’t do anyone any good. Instead we slept a lot, read, went tanning, and snorkeling! (My idea of a good vacation). The snorkeling was amazing and the nice thing was that all you had to do was walk through the water and jump into the deep end. This was much easier than renting a boat to take you somewhere near a coral reef, although that is still a lot of fun.
Dahab is mainly known for its peacefulness. It is very calm and there is nothing to do at night unlike other resorts such as Sharm el Sheikh where there are a lot of clubs. Instead people shop for tourist gifts and lounge in the restaurants. The seats were large pillows on the ground…so it was very relaxing and comfortable! Oh and another cool thing is that you can see Saudi Arabia from across the water. I didn’t realize how close I was! And then Soo had to make the smart remark… “I have experience in foreign relations because I can see Saudi Arabia from my hotel!” haha oh dear.

Dahab is a beautiful place because of its surroundings. Dahab means “gold” in Arabic and its name is fitting because of its golden beaches. The mountains also have a sandy-golden color during the day. The main attraction for diving is the Blue Hole (I didn’t have a chance to go) because it is surrounded by coral reefs and drops to a depth of 260 ft just a few meters off shore. The Egyptians who live in Dahab are mostly nomads who have lived in the mountains for many decades. There are also a lot of people from Southern Egypt (we call it upper Egypt because of the direction of the Nile River) who travel all the way to Dahab for work. It is important to note who they are because they speak with a slightly different dialect and accent. Luckily my friends and I were able to understand most of them! A great self esteem booster 

Anyway, snorkeling was my favorite part about the trip, mostly because of all the beautiful fish. I also don’t have certification in diving…and to be honest I’m a little too scared to try lol. The first time we went snorkeling we met a random Egyptian guy who went swimming with us. At first I was a little hesitant (Its now a habit to not trust random people) but luckily he ended up being really nice. He even caught a blow fish!! I know this is probably inhumane and bad for the environment but it was really cool. I liked watching it slowly deflate and swim away when it was let go. Other than that, the Dahab trip was really relaxing because I mostly slept and worked on my tan. Some areas got burned pretty bad but thanks to Aloe I am ok and am now tanner

Egypt and America

Its now President Mubarak's turn to visit America. Below is a link that briefly describes the situation. I didnt know until I saw this article, so it is not as important for Egyptians I guess?? Who knows.

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=3104

Also, I just returned from Dahab (resort on the Red Sea) and the North Coast (Mediterranean Sea). Updates and pictures are to follow.... :)

Garbage people of Cairo

There is a new independent film being released about the Zabaleen or people who sort and organize the trash in Cairo. The people comprise a whole community, hence the name Garbage City. I highly recommend trying to see the film, and you can find more information at www.garbagedreams.com The movie will show you another side of Egypt and in my opinion it will be really interesting because the people are facing new problems. After the outbreak of the Swine Flu, the Egyptian government culled all the pigs in Egypt. Some people weren't upset because Egypt is predominately Muslim and pork is forbidden in Islam. However, the slaughter of all the pigs caused lots of problems for the Zabaleen because they use the pigs to eat up all the excess trash, and now without the pigs, trash is quickly accumulating. I dont know much about the Zabaleen community because they are on the outskirts of Cairo, but there is a man who worked at an NGO that installed solar water heaters for the residents in Garbage City. Apparently he is guiding tours to show the newly installed heaters and give people a chance to witness life inside Garbage City. I am hoping to be able to take that tour in a couple weeks. Then I will know more information and will be able to show you pictures.

In the mean time check out this link:
http://bikyamasr.wordpress.com/2009/08/08/bm-news-egypts-garbage-city-in-photos/

It contains some photos and a brief summary of the city.

My Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow another birthday in Egypt! I still can't believe I was in Egypt a year ago. It seems much longer than that. Anyway, I had another great birthday with great friends, and I celebrated my birthday in 3 different locations! The first place was at a restaurant called Crepaway. We stayed there for a couple hours and I was supposed to bring my own cake but my roommate and I had problems keeping the cake together. We made a 2 layer cake but when we were taking it out of the oven, part of the cake broke. We started gluing the cake together with frosting but the frosting kept melting because of the heat and there is no AC in the kitchen. After several failed attempts we decided to abandon the cake in the freezer, which was probably a good idea because it would have been tricky to cross a busy street with a cake and then find a taxi. Hahaha this year I'm trying to stay away from too many stupid adventures. Instead of the cake, the restaurant gave me a brownie and ice cream and then sang to me. 3 songs!!!!!! It was crazy but fun. After that I met some friends at the Cairo Jazz club...and they were playing classic rock songs. It was nice! I'm getting tired of Arabic and hip hop music :) Then...my roommate and I met another friend and we rode a faluka on the Nile River. I finally made it home around 4 am and then called people in America....and then passed out on my bed from exhaustion. It was a great birthday and I had loads of fun!!!

Hope you enjoy the pictures. I'm enjoying my lazy summer. I have been sleeping a lot, going to the gym, and meeting people in cafes....but I need the rest, because fall semester will be MUCH harder than summer semester. Oh dear. But I've been improving a lot so its totally worth it!!!

birthday

The Arab world: Waking from its sleep | The Economist

The Arab world: Waking from its sleep | The Economist

Shared via AddThis

Apparently I have exceeded my image upload quota. The problem is that I created this blog and google pictures with my yahoo id....so I had a limit. But now I have a gmail account so I wont be as limited, but I'm having problems converting everything to the gmail account. I'll play around with it, but if any of you are experts let me know!

The washer

I lost part of the battle with the washer. The biggest problem I had was that I had to pay for the repair even though I specifically wrote that my landlady would pay for the maintenance in the apartment. And then (after two weeks of waiting) the repair man finally replaced the timer in the washer and a bunch of other parts (which I never know about, nor would have agreed too)...and so I had to pay more money. And then the washer didn't work! I completely lost it. I was trying to study for finals and take care of one of my roommates. It was too much to handle. But my dad had a great idea...after I finished my well deserved cry, I went down to my landlady and explained the problem. The washer was finally fixed the next day and I had no more problems with her. I did have to pay money, but I did split it with my roommates. It was frustrating, but I good lesson. I have decent negotiating skills but it is really hard to be stern, nice, and respectful to an old lady even though she is clearly ripping you off. ...another skill I will have to perfect. Also, while the repair man was "looking" for a new timer the landlady gave us an non-automatic washer. I didn't think it would be that bad, but it was hard! Filling it up with water by yourself and draining the water a couple times and then ringing everything out by hand. I now truly appreciate automatic washers!!

And now I have clean clothes:)

Hi,

I actually wrote this a while ago but didn't have time to post it!

kfc and university

Once again I’m not sorry for writing a lot. The Arabic program that I’m in is hard and it takes up a lot of my time, but I absolutely love it. However, I still manage to meet new people and undergo new experiences.
I met an Egyptian girl, we’re supposed to be language partners, but I’ve been busy. During our first visit we met at KFC. Yes I know, fast food restaurants and not healthy meeting places…but this KFC is a special KFC and she was the first person who was willing to go with me This KFC is special because all the workers are deaf. It is a community shares restaurant and its goal is to help people with disabilities find work. Its truly a great concept and the workers are really really nice. They taught me some words to say in sign language and they are really funny. I went there to watch the US vs Brazil soccer game and they were all making fun of me the whole time. I really like hanging out there and trying to talking to the workers (if I can’t understand, then the manager explains it to me) but going to KFC every week will be a really bad habit!! Hahaha. If you are interested in learning more about this restaurant, you can read this article:

http://www.egypttoday.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=7783

Hopefully I will go there again. I miss my friends.

I also met some people (friend of a friend and brother of a friend) who are learning American English at Cairo University. So I met them there and they gave me a tour of the campus. It’s big and nice. Haha I thought it was crowded, but apparently it wasn’t that crowded. Oh dear. Anyway, I was able to see the building that President Obama held his speech. Unfortunately I couldn’t go inside, but I could take a picture outside the building.

Those are my two main adventures so far. I will write next about my washer and my fun time with the Landlady who manipulates the writing in the contract. But my bowab and my friends helped me….lol but I have NO clean clothes. Gross.

small update

Hi!

Here are some pictures of the Nile river and my roommates. The CASA program took us out one night on a faluka. I really love this program. The teachers actually make us learn and they can clearly explain certain Arabic grammar rules and Arabic phrases without having to resort to speaking English. The program also takes care of the students. We don't have classes on Sundays but there are programs we have to attend. For example, an Egyptian judge gave a lecture (in Arabic:)) about Egyptian law and then we had a faluka ride afterward. This Sunday we will all watch an Arabic movie together and then discuss the movie. The program also paid for all of our books and occasionally buy us lunch. I absolutely love it:)

Well enjoy the pictures, and hopefully I will have more stories later!

oh by the way....I was the only American in the cafe when America beat Egypt 3-0 in a soccer game. Talk about awkward silence!! hehehe. What can I say?

Summer 2009

Hi! Sorry I haven't written anything in a long time. I've been busy with school (the work load is really heavy) and its still taking me time to adjust to Cairo. Gotta love the "Tut's Torture" or "Pharoanic curse"....but in general I am doing great and am soooo happy to be here:)

stupid Americans :)

tsk tsk...someone from America came to Egypt with the swine flu. Hopefully they didn't know that they were infected while they were in America. Anyway, two Americans who lived in the AUC dorms in Zamalek, began showing signs of the swine flu. They were immediately hospitalized along with their roommates. The dorms are also under quarantine for a whole week...no one can go in and out (and I've head that they have run out of toilet paper?). As of now there are 5 more cases of students from the AUC dorms and supposedly some Americans who work in a petroleum company are also sick and quarantined.

AUC is also closed for a week. We were sitting in class (and I was so excited because it was my first day of class!) and all of a sudden people started passing around masks. lol it was funny because the Americans on campus just played with their masks while the Egyptians actually wore theirs. We were all then sent home early. I don't have school on Sundays (the weekends here are Friday and Saturday)and so I won't be able to go back to school until Monday. At first I was really upset and was afraid that I would become really bored. But then I got sick (either from the heat or bad street food), so I was able to sleep for a couple days straight. I was also going to make plans to go to the beach for a weekend (but I realized I didn't really know the people I was going to go with) and also we were assigned homework. We have to finish the homework that was previously assigned and also read a novel. Which isn't that much, but when everything is in Arabic...it takes me a lot longer. I also got a gym membership and there are plenty of things to do in Cairo so I should be fine. Maybe I'll take a day trip to Alexandria. Who knows.

I just hope that the Swine flu issue gets fixed quickly. A lot of Egyptians are getting nervous too, especially since they are still battling the bird flu. Remember how they killed all the pigs? Imagine what will happen if Egyptians get sick...Cairo is so crowded and it will spread quickly. I hope that they contain the flu so I can go back to school!

The new AUC campus

I went to the new campus today. It is really far away but also very beautiful! My roommates and I went to the campus for the CASA orientation. We took a bus from the old campus to the new campus, which actually didn't take very long (around 30-40 minutes). But the on the way back it took FOREVER. Next time I'll need to remember to bring a pillow and my ipod:)

Orientation was fun but also very confusing. At times people didn't know where they were supposed to be, who they were supposed to talk to, and how to get past security without an appropriate id. The CASA program is also smaller than I thought; there are only 5 people doing the summer program and about 20 people doing the year long program, and there is also a wide variety of students ranging from 20-30 years old and from undergrad to PHD programs. The people I met seem really nice, and I'm really excited for classes to finally begin. My classes will be from 9:30am-2:30pm Monday-Thursday. (after the first week there will be conversation groups twice a week 2:30-3:30). This will give us plenty of time to be able to finish our massive homework load and not lose a lot of time due to the long commute. I will be taking 4 classes total; 2 colloquial and 2 modern standard. I'm really really excited and it will be a great program. When I signed the release stating that I would not speak anymore English, I got the goosebumps.

well that is all I know so for, I will keep you updated on my classes in the future.
If you would like to see a virtual tour of the new campus, go to
http://www.aucegypt.edu/Pages/default.aspx

Obama came and went

As you all know Obama came to Egypt for an important political speech. I'm also really happy that he came because the streets were finally clean and empty! My roommate and I took advantage of the empty streets and walked around for 2 hours. It was an amazing site. You rarely see empty streets like the picture above during the middle of the day. There were a lot more soldiers on the streets also. One our way home, the soldiers blocked off an entire bridge and prohibited both cars and pedestrians from walking on the bridge for a long time...meaning that we had to find a detour home. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

As for Obama's speech, I really like it. If you didn't watch it, you can read the text at http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gkyWk2MK7xeDw2b1jPhFS6KsvPegD98JS4IO0

In general, the Egyptians were pleased with what Obama said and hoped that his words will come true. However the biggest complaint that I overheard was that they don't want any more words, but more action. I agree with them, but what are they doing? Writing comments about obliterating Israel on facebook will not help reduce the tension between Israel and Palestine, and it will not help them shed their violent stereotype.

We shall see. It was a fun event, but its over with and everything is back to normal. I'm just grateful that Obama didn't say anything offensive, otherwise it would have been difficult to walk in the streets!

Obama is coming....

....And Egypt is faking its cleanliness. This is the first time that I have seen clean streets in Cairo! It was a nice change too. In order to prepare for Obama, the Egyptian government is cleaning the streets (ie: finally picking up the trash, and using the street cleaner trucks), repainting roads, adding gardens to the Cairo University, and replacing old gates. This is all really great but its also funny because they are only cleaning and painting the areas that Obama will see. Meaning: only some sections of streets are repainted and only the front of the University is remodeled. We (Egyptians and Americans) are joking that once Obama leaves the government will dump all the trash back onto the streets, take away the paint, and undo all the gardens lol. We shall see.

I'm also curious as to how crowded Cairo will be since a lot of streets will be blocked off and a lot of people (microbus drivers and Ahwa owners (the cheap coffeehouses with plastic chairs that are located on the streets) aren't allowed to go to work today).

Someone sent an email and stated:

Hi,

Thought of sharing this cute link http://www.america.gov/sms.html This is to register to get txt msgs about speech form the state Dept.

I'm just frustrated, one person can come and just block the whole city(Capital has 20Mil), I'm travelling to Alex tonight just to run from Cairo!
Frustrating things: Lanes are painted until a certain point and they don't finish the whole street!! :s He is going to visit all around! Streets are blocked (i.e. airport road from 8am-10am) and so on (read http://www.masrawy.com/News/Egypt/Politics/2009/june/3/traffic.aspx use google translator or google webpage translator, it talks when will be streets blocked. I just hope he wont decide to come visit korba!
To be honest the same happened (BUT no street were cleaned or painted because they are already clean and painted and have lanes!) in Dubai, UAE, for Bush's visit, streets were blocked as well and it was for the first time in the Dubai raining that heavily for 3 days! and the country is not ready for rains at all.

Anyway, lets (Us Arabs and the Muslim world) wait and see what he has to tell us.



Despite all the jokes and negative connotations, I'm really excited that Obama is coming. Today, I will be closer to him than I would be in America! Too bad I'm just a lowly student with no pull,....it would have been awesome to see his speech in person! But no such luck, so my roommates and I will just go somewhere with a tv and watch him. Hope he does a good job...I need to be able to walk home! lol

Dokki Aparment

Here are the pictures of my apartment

2nd full day in Egypt....

June 2, 2009.

Well today is my second full day in Egypt and so far so good. One of my roommates arrived last night and the other will come sometime today. I also really like my apartment. It’s much bigger than my other ones and its in a good location. My apartment has 1.5 bathrooms, 3 bedrooms, 3 balconies (2 large and one small), 3 sitting areas, dining room, kitchen, washer, and AC in the bedrooms. The furniture is a little old but actually really comfortable…and also I have learned not to expect too much. The area is also quiet (for Cairo at least) and surrounded by trees making it cooler. The bowab (doorman/security guard/ sherpa, etc) is really nice too. My favorite thing so far about the apartment is that the apartment building is small and there are only 3 families living in it. The landlady and her family live in one apartment and a Sudanese family lives in the other apartment. There is no elevator, but I live on the third floor so it’s not too bad and there is only one apartment per floor. Meaning: I won’t have to run into any creepy neighbors. Last time when I lived in Agouza it seemed like every young guy who lived in the apartment building made sure I knew who he was. There was one guy who caused me a lot of problems too. He would always want to hang out and tell me how much he loved me (heheh I always said that I was American and didn’t fall in love). But then he turned creepy and I would always see him…and then he would insult me! It got even better when I met his older brother in the elevator. I seriously thought he was going to kill me in the elevator because he kept yelling at me. He was mad because a guy slept over in the apartment and apparently it was my fault (even though I was in Syria at the time…hmmm I still don’t understand his logic) But anyway it caused some drama and then I had to make it even worse when I moved apartments for the third time. I ended up moving right across the hall from him, making it even harder to ignore him. Oh well that is done and over with and people are really nice so far.

That’s it for me right now. I’m just settling in, trying to remember my way around, and getting ready for school. And I have managed two days without drama….but that doesn’t mean my life is boring. Last night I was able to ride on my friend’s motorcycle….which was a lot of fun but a totally different experience in Cairo because of the traffic. There is no set system in the streets so my friend was driving in between cars, and dodging cars and people. Some parts were a little scary but it was worth it! Unfortunately I won’t be able to get to ride it again because he is leaving for California on Saturday. But not to worry….the other forms of transportation can also be adventurous


Below is a photo album of my apartment. I will try to take more pictures of Dokki later and of course if you have any comments/questions let me know!

---Amy

The orientation is now June 7th because Obama is coming on the 4th. He will be speaking at the Cairo University. Unfortunately it is not open to the public...so I won't be able to see him

I'm back!

May 31, 2009

Well, I’m back in Cairo! At first I didn’t think that I could actually make it back but I did and I’m so happy. The reason why I’m back is because I received a fellowship to study Arabic at the CASA program at the American University in Cairo. Meaning: I will be studying more Arabic in a program that is more advanced than the program I studied at last time in 2007-2008 (that program was the Arabic Language Institute). Also, everything is paid for…which is even better! My airline tickets and my tuition are paid for and I will receive a stipend every month. The stipend doesn’t seem like a lot of money but it is a lot in Egypt. It is enough money for my apartment rent, expenses, food and hopefully some fun money. Either way I’m so happy to be back. I will be able to take more Arabic classes (I wasn’t able to back at UW because I tested out of all the available levels. I did take a translation class, but it was mostly old Arabic so it doesn’t count), and I will be able to see my friends again! I enjoyed Egypt last time I was there and I hope that I have an even better time this year since I already have some experience dealing with the culture and I know a lot more Arabic.
Right now I have 3 goals this trip: 1) Be smarter about my surroundings and get into less drama. 2) Stay in one apartment this year (I have moved way too many times!). 3) Enjoy myself and become fluent in Arabic (or at least really really close).

It will be interesting to see what happens!

PS. If you would like to know more about the CASA program, you can visit its website at: http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/casa/
--Orientation is June 4th
--First classes start June 7th

PPS. I almost forgot! The American University moved to a new location. It is now about 45min-hour away from downtown Cairo. I will still be living downtown (in Dokki) and I will take a shuttle to the university. The commute will be long, but there aren’t very many places to live near the University because it is out in the middle of the desert (or at least far enough away that it seems that it is).
Oh well. Another adventure!!!