Friday, September 14, 2007

Photos

Here's the link to my photo album on Facebook...I still haven't managed to get photos on here.

I also haven't been able to upload the photos from my new digital SLR camera to either the blog or Facebook because the file size is so large...but I'll keep working on it.

http://tufts.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055809&l=d06f0&id=1707686

Ramadan Kareem!

Yesterday was the first day of Ramadan, a month-long holiday where Muslims fast from sunup to sundown. The fast is broken at sundown with a meal called iftaar. Last night I had my first iftaar - the highlight of which was the sweets. I had kamar adeen, which is a drink made from apricots, very thick, absolutely delicious! I also had kunaafa, yum! People tend to go out after iftaar, so the streets around me were loud and busy last night. The streets are also decorated beautifully - with shiny streamers and lights. I've decided to try out fasting for a little bit - although I'm still drinking water because I think I would have some serious problems otherwise. As my host father explained it, the purpose of fasting is to empathize with the poor and those who feel hunger all of the time. So I figured I'd give it a try, really try to immerse myself in the culture. I've gotta say though, I'm pretty hungry right now, and I'm sitting in a cafe where they have wireless...so we'll see how long this lasts.

One other amusing point to share...

Rugby exists in Egypt!…well, sort of. Wissam, the roommate of one of my classmates, told me a few days ago that he knew of a club where there was rugby. So I went with Lauren and met Wissam and Norman at this naadee (kind of like a gym plus sports club, with playing fields and a swimming pool - hard to explain, truly a Middle Eastern thing), where there was a rugby practice going on! It was actually pretty hilarious…thanks to language differences, they at first thought I was going to play with them, but I was wearing street clothes and flip flops, so I said I didn't think that would be a good idea. So we just decided to watch. When we first got there, they were running fitness drills…and it seems some Egyptians don’t understand the notion of hustle. Their coach was an Australian named Mark – he was hilarious, this huge, beefy man who apparently doesn’t speak Arabic, and was booming out instructions in his great accent, even though most of the players didn’t understand him. Oh, and he was wearing nice short little shorts, and a tight tank top…which would be odd in the U.S., but is absolutely absurd in Egypt. So that was great. After a while, they moved on to touch sevens. Some of them were pretty good, but overall, they definitely didn’t look all that great. But hey, I found rugby in Egypt, it doesn’t have to be great rugby. At the end of the practice, the captain came over and introduced himself to us, and told me and Lauren that they were trying to start a girl’s side, and that they just needed seven people. Meaning they have none right now. So me and Lauren make 2 (if I can convince Lauren to play…), and apparently there’s some German girl who wants to play. Only four more…haha. Oh Egypt. Anyway, I was told I should go practice with the men on Wednesday, but I don’t know how I feel about that. It would be great to get some rugby playing in, but I really don’t know a. if I could play with the men, and b. (and more importantly) if it would be culturally acceptable for me to play with the men…I think not, even though Wissam’s friend on the team told me I could. We’ll see, maybe we could actually get a girl’s team together. Apparently there’s one in Cairo, but not Alex. The one thing my grandmother told me not to do in Egypt: start women’s rugby…haha.

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Back to school...

Classes start today! I'm at the unveristy right now, savoring some internet time before my classes start at noon. I'm excited to start classes...hopefully once I start learning 'amiyya masriyya (Egyptian colloquial), I'll actually be able to understand what people are saying to me. It's really amazing how different the Arabic I learned at home (fusha) is from the Arabic spoken on the street. OK, time to go...more later!

Friday, September 7, 2007

Day 5...

It seems like month 5! I've done so much, and have seen so much. I'm working on uploading photos from our trips to the Citadel and Montazah palace and beach, but the blog upload thing doesn't seem to like my computer. I might try to put them on Facebook, so check that out.

OK, so not enough time for all of my stories, but here are a few, that are indicative of my time here so far.

First of all, traffic and driving here is absolutely insane. There are very few stop lights, and although there are lane lines on the larger roads, no one seems to pay any attention to them. Cars weave in and out of the lanes, and horns and hand signals replace blinkers. I think my favorite cab ride so far was when I was returning to my apartment one night with a girl in the program who lives near me. Our cab driver had the Arabic music blasting, and we were careening through the streets. You learn to put your trust in these cab drivers - I think it's well-placed, nothing bad has happened yet! Anyway, we looked up, and there was a car coming in the other direction headed right for us. Our cabbie flashed his lights, and we swerved out of the way before we hit. A ride like no other - better than Disney World, as the director of the program told us.

The prettiest place I've been in Alex so far is definitely Montazah. Montazah used to be King Farouk's palace and compound, before he escaped to Italy to live in exile after the revolution. Anyway, beautiful gardens, huuge palace, and most importantly, amazing beaches. Now, Montazah is open to the public (for the price of 5 Egptian pounds, or $1), and there are a couple of hotels, and private beaches. We all wanted to go swimming, but Nehad (the director of the program) told us we couldn't wear bathing suits except on private beaches (welcome to Egypt). Luckily, a couple of the Egyptian girls we know who are hosting people knew someone with a place on a private beach. So, we got to wear our bathing suits and swim on this gorgeous beach. We stayed for a couple of hours, and ordered dinner there are watched the sunset - it was absolutely beautiful.

Finally, the trip to the beach brings up the cultural issue of being a woman in Egypt. Most of the women here wear some form of hijab (hijab meaning both modest dress, and the scarf used to cover women's heads). In many ways, however, the hijab is more of a fashion statement than a part of the religion. It seems more cultural than religious, in other words. And some of these women dress so well - matching their hijab to their outfit, and carrying designer purses and wearing designer sunglasses. But for me, it means that I'm very identifiable as a foreigner, and that I have to think carefully each morning about what I wear. Right now, I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and while some Egyptian women wear similar clothes, I still feel like I'm showing a lot of skin on my arms. But I haven't faced any serious harrassment yet - just a few comments, and a LOT of stares.

OK, well that's it for now... salaamu aleykum min masr!

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

ahlan wa sahlan!

greetings from al-iskandariyya! I arrived here two days ago, although it seems like weeks ago. Alex is amazing, indescribable, and so different from the US (obviously). Right now I'm sitting in al-markaz al-amrikiyya in Alex (the American Center), and they have reliable internet..hooray! We're all leaving now to go to dinner, but inshallah I will write more soon.