Mish mush killuh
Things have kind of calmed down a bit for me here. People around my apartment in the businesses & at the internet cafe don't stare as much because they know I'm here for the long run.
There are so many holidays & days off during this time of year so I'm enjoying having some time to get adjusted. I just had a 4 day weekend, I will teach for 4 days this week & then I have 5 days off next week. I will have 2 days the regular weekend & then 3 days off for Eid (pronounced eed) which is the ending of the Muslims fasting period.
Every day gets easier & easier, but waiting for the easier to happend was so difficult. There was one day last week me & Kate (my other roommate from New Zealand) were walking home from the grocery store around 6:30 p.m. & some guy threw a bottle at us. I was so upset that I didn't know what to do. All we can do is run and I HATE feeling so vulnerable. I was so upset that night that I decided to buy a higab (head covering). I went to a clothing store where a girl works that has been very nice to me. She didn't understand what I was saying in English & there were a lot of people in there & one girl spoke VERY good English. She told me that her and her sister were on there way then to buy a higab & they would love to take me with them. One girl, Mirwa, is a lawyer and Deana (her sister) is an accountant. I don't know if they tell all foreigners their degree, but I've had a lot of people tell me straight away at meeting what kind of degree they have & what their profession is. They took me under their wing and we walked across the street (carefully) to a little strip mall. Well, on the way while we were walking some stupid fucking man practically stuck his hand up my ass when he grabbed it. Mirwa & Deana realized what happened & told me to walk faster to get away from him. THAT made me even more upset! I asked them if those things happen to them. They said that it doesn't happen often, but things like that do happen. I think men need to be put into cages & when the woman feels like she's ready to get married she should be able to go to the pound & pick out the one she wants. Even at the pound they have little try out areas where one can play with a dog before buying. That's how it should be with men & women. Women should rule the world while men (and their lack of self control) should be the ones "under cover." I digress...so I bought a beautiful purple head scarf for $6.00. Not bad, but I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY don't want to wear it.
The next day I went to the same clothing store where I met Mirwa & Deana to look for some more long sleeved shirts. A guy was working in there (the husband of the girl I know who works at the shop) and I told him what happened with the bottle. He said he was very sorry that happened and that I shouldn't let it discourage me. I told him that I bought a higab and that I don't want to wear it. I only want to wear it when I go to visit a mosque and that's the only time I really need it. The man said he was sooo sorry that the incident happened and that sometimes people are unruly. He said it happens to women with higabs and without and to men also. He said men are unruly with other men and he told me NOT to wear the higab. He said keep it as a souvenir and not think anything more about it. What a nice man. I felt so much better after him telling me that. I often wonder what other Muslim women would think of a Christian covering her head. I'm not a Muslim & it's a Muslim tradition that the woman covers her head. Would that be blasphemy? I don't know, but I'm taking the guy's advice & not worrying about it anymore!
My Arabic speaking is getting better. I have a little dictionary that I carry around with me so that I can communicate important words. People are surprised at how much I know. The only problem is I must sound very Tarzan-Jane-ish to them. I can't use any verbs. I pretty much just say words & put words together and point. It feels very primitive! hahaha I had to tell Ramadan (the bowab-doorman) that both our toilets were broken. I communicated that to him, somehow & then he just stood there looking at me. I said "dilwatee" (which means now) or bedeyn (later). Both times he said "yes." Oh nooooooo, then I said, "dilwatee okay"? and he said yes, but he wasn't moving. He just stood there. So I said "yella" (which means let's go) & he came up & fixed the toilets. That was actually quite an easy exchange between us, usually it's painful where I'm pointing and he's speakingin Arabic & neither of us knows what's going on! hahaha I taught him how to say "What's up? and How are you?" and a few cool "guy" handshakes. He's very smart & remembers what I tell him. Then he quizzes me in Arabic. He will say something & I say the correct response to it in Arabic. The spoken language is not very difficult, but the written langauge is atrocious. Letters are written differently depending on whether they fall at the beginning, middle, or end of a word & to me, they all look the same! I need a teacher to learn to be literate in Arabic because that's not something that can be self taught.
I cooked last night for the first time in Egypt. I made chicken with roasted green peppers & onions. I ate it and it was great at the time, but I felt like SHIT later. I don't know if it's because of the chicken & veggies, but I didn't feel sick until after I ate that. Me & Kate went walking down to the Mediterranean Sea for the first time & I felt nauseated and weak. It wasn't too bad & we stopped at a coffee shop so I could use the bathroom. It was all over then! So, after I did my thing I looked around & there was NO toilet paper! Oh my GOOOOD I thought! I'm being punished as a godless person in a god fearing world! So I was looking around and low & behold what was there in the corner...a hose! Yes, a freaking hose that looks like the same kind of hose that you would find in a kitchen sink in the states. THANK GOD! Actually that was 1,000 times better than TP! hahahaha EVERY day that I'm here is an adventure! Luckily I was in a very upscale American coffee shop, otherwise I would have literally been shit out of luck! hehehe
I was sick all night and my stomach was cramping so badly. I didn't sleep much at all. Me, Patrick, & Kate were supposed to meet the director of the school at the school at 10 a.m. & we were all up at around 9:00 feeling so bad. All of us had a bad night in some way. Then Patrick got a text from the director's assistant saying we didn't need to be at the school but we should go to the director's house for dinner tonight. Score! So we ALL went back to bed! I slept until 2 p.m. & Kate got up at the same time & Patrick was still sleeping. All of our bodies are trying to adjust to this craziness & it's so difficult because even the Egyptians are having a difficult time with this schedule because it's not their normal schedule.
Thankfully Ashraf, my Egyptian friend from Tuscaloosa, sent me an e-mail and gave me a phone number to reach him at. I had his number before I didn't know the area code. He told me that if I want to go to Cairo next week during Eid and to see they pyramids that would be fine and I could stay in the house with him & his wife or I could stay with his mother (who doesn't speak English) & might actually be good for me! Ashraf asked what I thought of Alexandria. I told him it's unlike anything I've ever known. He said he didn't know how to describe it to me before I got here because it's something that cannot be described. He was right...it's something that has to be experienced.
The ONE thing that has saved Alexandria, in my mind, is the fact that down by the sea it's absolutely amazing. Me & Kate found our way down to the sea last night (when I was only mildly sick) and it was such a relief. There were restaurants, shee sha bars, & all kinds of life in the streets. It was sooo different than the area of the city that I live in. I literally live on the other side of the tracks. The sea side of the tracks is a happening place but the other side where I live is kind of like the slums (although I live in a nicer part of the slums). The sea was about a 20 minute walk and it was well worth it...sick and all. Neither me nor Kate had our cameras because we weren't sure if we would find the sea. We almost didn't. We were on the wrong track when I stopped a woman & asked her for directions. She lead us to the entrance to the bus station (think Bin Laden cave entrance), we went underground, and emerged to a COMPLETELY different world! It was amazing and I'm so glad we were able to find it! There were upscale restaurants around & people out everywhere. There is a beautiful bridge there that looks like the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine, except this bridge is brand new with colored lights shining on the water. It was so mysterious & amazing to think that Alexander the Great landed there in 332 B.C.E.!
Every day is a new adventure in this strange land & I haven't even ventured far from my apartment yet! During Christmas I want to plan a trip to Luxor to see the Valley of the Kings (King Tut's tomb is there) and there are a lot of monuments & mystery there. And hopefully next week I'll finally be able to see the pyramids. (inshallah, means God willing).
Until my next post...
There are so many holidays & days off during this time of year so I'm enjoying having some time to get adjusted. I just had a 4 day weekend, I will teach for 4 days this week & then I have 5 days off next week. I will have 2 days the regular weekend & then 3 days off for Eid (pronounced eed) which is the ending of the Muslims fasting period.
Every day gets easier & easier, but waiting for the easier to happend was so difficult. There was one day last week me & Kate (my other roommate from New Zealand) were walking home from the grocery store around 6:30 p.m. & some guy threw a bottle at us. I was so upset that I didn't know what to do. All we can do is run and I HATE feeling so vulnerable. I was so upset that night that I decided to buy a higab (head covering). I went to a clothing store where a girl works that has been very nice to me. She didn't understand what I was saying in English & there were a lot of people in there & one girl spoke VERY good English. She told me that her and her sister were on there way then to buy a higab & they would love to take me with them. One girl, Mirwa, is a lawyer and Deana (her sister) is an accountant. I don't know if they tell all foreigners their degree, but I've had a lot of people tell me straight away at meeting what kind of degree they have & what their profession is. They took me under their wing and we walked across the street (carefully) to a little strip mall. Well, on the way while we were walking some stupid fucking man practically stuck his hand up my ass when he grabbed it. Mirwa & Deana realized what happened & told me to walk faster to get away from him. THAT made me even more upset! I asked them if those things happen to them. They said that it doesn't happen often, but things like that do happen. I think men need to be put into cages & when the woman feels like she's ready to get married she should be able to go to the pound & pick out the one she wants. Even at the pound they have little try out areas where one can play with a dog before buying. That's how it should be with men & women. Women should rule the world while men (and their lack of self control) should be the ones "under cover." I digress...so I bought a beautiful purple head scarf for $6.00. Not bad, but I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY don't want to wear it.
The next day I went to the same clothing store where I met Mirwa & Deana to look for some more long sleeved shirts. A guy was working in there (the husband of the girl I know who works at the shop) and I told him what happened with the bottle. He said he was very sorry that happened and that I shouldn't let it discourage me. I told him that I bought a higab and that I don't want to wear it. I only want to wear it when I go to visit a mosque and that's the only time I really need it. The man said he was sooo sorry that the incident happened and that sometimes people are unruly. He said it happens to women with higabs and without and to men also. He said men are unruly with other men and he told me NOT to wear the higab. He said keep it as a souvenir and not think anything more about it. What a nice man. I felt so much better after him telling me that. I often wonder what other Muslim women would think of a Christian covering her head. I'm not a Muslim & it's a Muslim tradition that the woman covers her head. Would that be blasphemy? I don't know, but I'm taking the guy's advice & not worrying about it anymore!
My Arabic speaking is getting better. I have a little dictionary that I carry around with me so that I can communicate important words. People are surprised at how much I know. The only problem is I must sound very Tarzan-Jane-ish to them. I can't use any verbs. I pretty much just say words & put words together and point. It feels very primitive! hahaha I had to tell Ramadan (the bowab-doorman) that both our toilets were broken. I communicated that to him, somehow & then he just stood there looking at me. I said "dilwatee" (which means now) or bedeyn (later). Both times he said "yes." Oh nooooooo, then I said, "dilwatee okay"? and he said yes, but he wasn't moving. He just stood there. So I said "yella" (which means let's go) & he came up & fixed the toilets. That was actually quite an easy exchange between us, usually it's painful where I'm pointing and he's speakingin Arabic & neither of us knows what's going on! hahaha I taught him how to say "What's up? and How are you?" and a few cool "guy" handshakes. He's very smart & remembers what I tell him. Then he quizzes me in Arabic. He will say something & I say the correct response to it in Arabic. The spoken language is not very difficult, but the written langauge is atrocious. Letters are written differently depending on whether they fall at the beginning, middle, or end of a word & to me, they all look the same! I need a teacher to learn to be literate in Arabic because that's not something that can be self taught.
I cooked last night for the first time in Egypt. I made chicken with roasted green peppers & onions. I ate it and it was great at the time, but I felt like SHIT later. I don't know if it's because of the chicken & veggies, but I didn't feel sick until after I ate that. Me & Kate went walking down to the Mediterranean Sea for the first time & I felt nauseated and weak. It wasn't too bad & we stopped at a coffee shop so I could use the bathroom. It was all over then! So, after I did my thing I looked around & there was NO toilet paper! Oh my GOOOOD I thought! I'm being punished as a godless person in a god fearing world! So I was looking around and low & behold what was there in the corner...a hose! Yes, a freaking hose that looks like the same kind of hose that you would find in a kitchen sink in the states. THANK GOD! Actually that was 1,000 times better than TP! hahahaha EVERY day that I'm here is an adventure! Luckily I was in a very upscale American coffee shop, otherwise I would have literally been shit out of luck! hehehe
I was sick all night and my stomach was cramping so badly. I didn't sleep much at all. Me, Patrick, & Kate were supposed to meet the director of the school at the school at 10 a.m. & we were all up at around 9:00 feeling so bad. All of us had a bad night in some way. Then Patrick got a text from the director's assistant saying we didn't need to be at the school but we should go to the director's house for dinner tonight. Score! So we ALL went back to bed! I slept until 2 p.m. & Kate got up at the same time & Patrick was still sleeping. All of our bodies are trying to adjust to this craziness & it's so difficult because even the Egyptians are having a difficult time with this schedule because it's not their normal schedule.
Thankfully Ashraf, my Egyptian friend from Tuscaloosa, sent me an e-mail and gave me a phone number to reach him at. I had his number before I didn't know the area code. He told me that if I want to go to Cairo next week during Eid and to see they pyramids that would be fine and I could stay in the house with him & his wife or I could stay with his mother (who doesn't speak English) & might actually be good for me! Ashraf asked what I thought of Alexandria. I told him it's unlike anything I've ever known. He said he didn't know how to describe it to me before I got here because it's something that cannot be described. He was right...it's something that has to be experienced.
The ONE thing that has saved Alexandria, in my mind, is the fact that down by the sea it's absolutely amazing. Me & Kate found our way down to the sea last night (when I was only mildly sick) and it was such a relief. There were restaurants, shee sha bars, & all kinds of life in the streets. It was sooo different than the area of the city that I live in. I literally live on the other side of the tracks. The sea side of the tracks is a happening place but the other side where I live is kind of like the slums (although I live in a nicer part of the slums). The sea was about a 20 minute walk and it was well worth it...sick and all. Neither me nor Kate had our cameras because we weren't sure if we would find the sea. We almost didn't. We were on the wrong track when I stopped a woman & asked her for directions. She lead us to the entrance to the bus station (think Bin Laden cave entrance), we went underground, and emerged to a COMPLETELY different world! It was amazing and I'm so glad we were able to find it! There were upscale restaurants around & people out everywhere. There is a beautiful bridge there that looks like the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine, except this bridge is brand new with colored lights shining on the water. It was so mysterious & amazing to think that Alexander the Great landed there in 332 B.C.E.!
Every day is a new adventure in this strange land & I haven't even ventured far from my apartment yet! During Christmas I want to plan a trip to Luxor to see the Valley of the Kings (King Tut's tomb is there) and there are a lot of monuments & mystery there. And hopefully next week I'll finally be able to see the pyramids. (inshallah, means God willing).
Until my next post...