So, you THINK culture shock is over, eh?
WOW...sooooo soooooo sooo much has happened since I last posted an entry. Remeber in the last my last words were that I felt strangely at peace? Well, all chaos broke loose after that. Immediately when I walked out of this Internet cafe (the one I'm in now) a man walked up to me and said in English, "Can I put? Can I put?" and I just ignored him & kept walking. Well he walked around and got in front of me and said in English, "Can we make love?" I was mortified! I started SCREAMING at him in English! I was calling him every bad name I could think of in English because I don't know how to say it in Arabic. Once I started yelling I saw some guys coming down the street and this guy ran away because he saw them, too. There are always a lot of people around here and I was told that yelling draws attention, even if it's not in Arabic. I was also told that Arabic men want to be chivalrous and everyone will come running to help (escpecially a foreigner) so I shouldn't worry. I can handle the words, but the next time someone touches me I'm gonna start swinging! I was sooooo upset after that. I was more frustrated because I can't tell people off in Arabic and they don't understand how disgusted I am when I yell in English! So that night I went back to the apartment and had a breakdown. That was the last straw. Me, Patrick, & Kate (my roommates) had a meeting & Patrick told me some Arabic phrases to say and we looked at a book and got some phrases. He told me to shout those in Arabic and if that doesn't work then just start yelling in English. Kate (from New Zealand) had only been there like 2 days when that happened and she was already thinking about leaving when she got there. She wasn't happy with the school and then this incident, and she was also with me when the guy threw the bottle at me. She was ready to leave and the thought definitely crossed my mind to leave, but I told myself that being sexually harrassed was not one of the reasons on my list to leave Egypt. The only way I will leave Egypt is if 1) there is a terrorist attack & I have to be rushed out of the country 2) I get bit by a rabid dog 3) I need a blood transfusion. Other than that...my ass is here through good and bad. So, I went through a really bad spell, but everything is much better now.
About 2 days after "the incident" a Christian teacher from the school asked me if I wanted to go out with her & her friends the next night. Of course I said yes. I also thought, "yeah right, I'll never hear from her again." People always say that and don't understand AT ALL what it's like to be a foreigner. But, to my surprise Mariana called me that same night & said they were going out for coffee that night instead & she wanted me to meet her friends. So, I went with her and her friends & we hung out at Starbucks which is right on the Mediterranean Sea. It was beautiful & her friends were SUPER cool! Mary and Zahra were soooo cool and we had a really great time. Mary is a Christian & Zahra is a Muslim. It's hard to find Christians & Muslims who are friends, but they all respect each other and now I'm in the circle. The next night we all went out again. Last Friday night Mariana & her husband & daughter & Mary took me out to a seafood restaurant. It was quite the experience. It was on the Mediterranean & we had a great view. There are NO menus in this country. People always sit me down in a restaurant & say "What do you want?" and I always say, "What do you have?" So it was no different. We walked in and there was a HUGE iced display with dead fish and shrimp and eel. I was like, "What the hell is that?" Nobody knew what the names of the fish are in English and I didn't recognize anything except the shrimp. This guy (I'll call him the Captain) was running around looking all stressed out & yelling at the waiters in Arabic. He is the guy that takes our order & weighs the fish & stuff. I think he was mad because me & Kate had NO IDEA what was going on or how to order. Mariana & Mary kept saying "What do you want?" & me & Kate were just standing there with no idea what to say! hahaha Finally I said I want some shrimp & then I pointed to one of the fish. Then they asked me how much I wanted (in kilos) huh? I didn't even know how much this stuff costs and I had no idea what to do. So they said the seafood soup was really good so I got that and some fish and shrimp. When the fish came, they looked exactly like they did on the ice except they were battered. I didn't know whether to eat them or scream. Mary told me to pull the heads off & everyone was looking at me like they expected me to know what to do. They've never traveled before had no idea what it's like to be in a foreign country with a Captain dude shouting at everyone in Arabic & looking mad as hell and people telling me hurry up & choose my fish with no menu & no price list and then having then placing the whole fish in front of me & saying "bon appetit!" Yeah people, have a little compassion. Anyway the fish was excellent and it fell right off the...the...fish.
The next day Mariana & her husband & daughter (who is 4) took me & Kate to Montazuh to go swimmming. It's a beautiful beach on the Mediterranean. We swam and had a really nice time. It was a really really really long day though. The beach & the sun & sand wear me out. Mariana invited a bunch of friends from Cairo to join us and just about all day they were chattering away in Arabic. It's sooooo frustrating not knowing the language! And Kate, well, Kate isn't exactly someone I want to have a deep intellectual conversation with. She has her PhD in Autism and sometimes I wonder if she isn't a little...ya know...out there herself. So back to the story, the beach was nice...saw Mubarak's Palace that he stole. It's a complicated situation with the government. Mubarek is the president, everyone hates him and hopes he dies soon. End of government talk.
So the next day I went to Cairo. I got on the train and getting on the train was quite scary. NO ONE around speaks English and there were only 3 platforms to leave from. Well, of course when I get there EVERYONE is staring because I'm a foreigner. The ticket man pointed to the platform, but I wasn't sure if it was the closer one or the farther one away. I don't trust ANY men here AT ALL! I felt kind of like Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone when she asked the General if she was on the right bus and he lied to her & told her yes. That's what was running through my head so I found a foreign looking guy. He didn't speak English or Arabic (maybe Dutch) and all he knew was 'Cairo' so I figured I was safe.
I was on my way to Cairo to see the pyramids and stuff and my friend Ashraf (who I know from Alabama) was there to meet me at the train station. He is a cook at a restaurant in Tuscaloosa and I told him I would be working in Alexandria. He said he was going back to Egypt for a few months & that's how I met him & was able to meet up with him in Cairo. He's married (his wife's name is Shamps), has a 5 year old son (named Karim) & his wife is pregnant again. His wife was really really sweet and took me in like a sister. They took such good care while I was there. The first place we went was a castle that has the mosque of Mohammed Ali. We also met up with Shamp's brother & his wife. Well, at the castle you would have thought that "I" was the main attraction. I was standing with Shamps & her sister in law waiting for the guys to park the car and EVERYONE walking past was staring at me. It was kind of embarrassing. People driving by, people walking by. Men, women, children were all STARING...not just looking. So we got inside the castle & went to this one room. While I was there one kid (like 16 years old) said hi to me and started to say something else. He was kind of reaching his hand out and I just kept walking. The next thing I knew there was shouting and Shamp's brother (Shereef) was slapping the kid that tried to talk to me on the neck. Then Ahsraf got involved & they were both slapping this kid around and then they got security and there was this HUGE scene. Shamps pulled me by the hand & we got out of there. The next thing I knew the kid, Ahsraf, Shareef, & security were all standing in front of me. Ashraf said, "Sharon come here. Do you accept his apology?" I was like WHAT THE? HUH? What the hell just happened? The kid looked absolutely terrified & I probably looked the same people Ashraf was yelling at the kid. So I said "I want to hear him apologize in English." The kid said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Ashraf said, "Are you sure you accept his apology? We can press charges and take him to jail." I was like WHAT? WHAT THE $%^&? I don't even know what was going on. I said that I accepted his apology & they let the kid go. I honestly had no idea what happened and & still have no idea what happened!
We went into the mosque of Mohammed Ali which was absolutely beautiful. The ceiling was inlaid with gold and resembled the ceiling St. Peter's church in Rome. There was also a gold pulpit with a beautiful golden stair case. I had my picture taken in front of it & you would have thought I was Angelina Jolie doing a photo shoot. ALL KINDS of people were gathered around to see me say "cheese" and they were even taking pictures of me. What the hell? Like I said...it was sooo embarrassing. Ashraf told me that when he checked the kids I.D. that had been harrassing me he noticed he was from the countryside & not Cairo. It was a holiday & everyone was out so that would probably explain why everyone was staring. Kind of like people in the U.S. who've never seen anyone from another country in person.
Well, unfortunately I had to go to the bathroom, but so did Shamps & her sister in law. So we walked up to the bathroom & Ashraf said, "Get ready to be shocked." I didn't know what he meant until Shamps pulled out a toilet seat cover & a bar of soap & gave it to me. I walked in & it was the most disgusting, putrid smell I've ever smelled. There were 3 stalls with nothing but holes in the ground and one toilet. This skinny black Nubian servant with a head scarf on looked at me & said "Toilet?" and I said "Yes" and she HISSED at me the word "MONEY" I thought, "You black Nubian %^&*(&*()_#$%^&*()%^&*()_%^&*()_#$%^&*()_! I was soooooooooooooooooooooooooo mad. Thankfully Shamps told her I was with her & the bitch settled down. She reminded me of a Jamaican witch who should live in New Orleans. She was sooooo nasty! Anyway, the toilet had feces on it in the back. I didn't even sit down. I HAD to use the bathroom and I had to go so badly. I even had to role up my pant legs because I think something overflowed...I didn't want to know what. Anyway, when I was finished & standing there waiting for Shamps this little girl stuck her camera phone in my face & tried to take a picture. I grabbed her arm & shoved the camera away & said some words to her in English. She just laughed with her little shit head friends. I was soo relieved to get out of there.
Then that same night Ashraf & his crew took me on a Nile Cruise. Now THAT was cool. We also saw a wedding going on and Shamps took me inside & we got to see the people dancing. The bride & groom were sitting on a couch & Shamps asked if I could have my picture taken with them. They agreed so I can say that I crashed a wedding on the Nile! hahaha People were looking at me like "Who the hell is THAT?" It was great!
The Nile Cruise was beautiful & I got to see all the 5 star hotels like the Four Seasons & Sheraton. Some little kids were talking to me & asking where I was from. They were harmless & were so excited that I was an American & that I spoke English. I could handle them just fine. That's what I find a lot of people are like. They are happy I'm here & want to speak English. Even today when I was walking with my back pack on coming back from the train a guy jumped out in front of me & said, "Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!" hahaha That's what most people are like & that's cool.
The next day we set out for the pyramids early. A ticket for a foreigner usually costs 50 pounds ($10) but Ashraf bargained with the ticket guy & told him I was an Egyptian and I was his second wife! hahahahaha They all had a good laugh about that. A ticket for an Egyptian is 4 pounds (less than $1.00) so Ashraf bribed the guy and got me a ticket for 4 pounds, and the ticket guy took some money. I saw him put it inside his shirt. Hey, I'm just a tourist...I literally have no idea what's going on most of the time because everything is in Arabic. The pyramids were AMAZING! Of course the tears were flowing because I was so happy to be there. I rode a camel around the pyramids & down by the Sphinx, which was really cool. I could see the desert out behind the pyramids and there are no words to describe that scene. The camel ride was awesome & Ashraf told me later that the guy wanted 100 pounds ($20.00) but he talked him down to 35 pounds ($7.00) hahahahhaha The camel people try to rip everyone off...even Egyptians! I also climbed down into one of the pyramids. The climb down was really steep to get to the burial chamber. It was hot, humid, & musty in the chamber, but well worth seeing. The climb back up was steep & slippery but I'm glad I did it. I didn't go inside the BIG pyramid at Khafre. Ashraf said it's like 75 meters straight down (which is a long way) & you have walk like a duck to get around & it's hot & humid & there's nothing in there...it's empty. I agreed with him that the smaller pyramid was fine. We also saw a room full of hieroglyphics & on the wall was the story of how the pyramids were built. It showed the slaves, the boats, the architect (engineer) and the pharoah and the finished product. It was absolutely amazing. Apparently the slaves brought the stones from Upper Egypt (Southern Egypt) by boat and also by land and placed the stones into place one at a time. They sanded down the stones to make them completely smooth. They didn't use any grout, but the smoothness is what made the stones stick together. I also saw a fully intact wooden boat that they unearthed about 15 years ago. It's called Cheops Wooden Boat. It's a HUGE boat that they pharoah used to sail on the Nile. It was amazing to see how advanced the boat looked. Ashraf kept saying that there is no way that this civilization during the time of the pyramids were human. They were so advanced in every way that they must be celestial or something "other" than human. After seeing this boat, I kind of wonder myself.
After the pyramids we went back to Ashraf's mom's house in old Cairo. It had narrow streets & was a close knit community. It's a place I wouldn't have seen unless I knew someone who could show me around. That night we went to Khan Al Khalili, which is a HUGE open air market selling lots of jewelry, rugs, clothes, and had plenty of restaurants. I bought a Cleopatra looking sparkly head thingy that I don't know the name for English or Arabic, but trust me...it's cute (for Halloween, which we WILL be celebrating at the school!) and I bought fresh green tea leaves...not in bag, but fresh and open. It makes really really good tea! I also got a henna tattoo. Some old black lady came by & wanted me to choose a pattern so I did. The tattoo is on my hand & is soooooo cool. At the time I didn't know it lasts like 2 weeks! I just thought it lasted for a few hours. So, I'm tattooed up for school tomorrow! :-)
Oh and about the bed that I slept on at Ashraf's mom's house....the hard wood floor would have been softer. I could barely move the next day!
The day of the pyramids & Khan Al Khalili was Ashraf & Shamps anniversary. I didn't know what to get them & I felt bad because Ashraf paid for EVERYTHING for me...I mean everything! The casle, pyramids, camel ride, food...everything. So I wanted to give him money go pay for everything, but I sneakily left him & Shamps a note with money saying it was for their anniversary. Well, this morning me & Ashraf stopped by the school to say bye to his son when he got a phone call. I didn't know what was going on (what else is new?) but Ashraf said, "I am so mad at you right now." I didn't know why. He said, "Now we have to go back to the apartment. I figured out what he was talking about & I said, "NO! I want you to have it as a gift." He said he didn't want to be paid for his hospitality & I tried to explain that I was giving it to them as a gift for their anniversary. He still wouldn't accept it. I knew he wouldn't, that's why I secretly left it in his son's room. I didn't know Shamps would find it so quickly! Anyway, he didn't want any money for anything. I feel so bad for him because he needs to go back to the U.S. to make more money. He has a wife, son, & a child on the way. He has a hard time finding work because he's back & forth between Egypt & the U.S. He has a green card & is in the process of trying to bring his family to the U.S. but it's a slow process. He said the biggest mistake he made was going the U.S. Everything is better there & he's Americanized, whereas Shamps isn't & she doesn't understand the process. She doesn't want him to go back to the U.S. to work, but he can't find a job in Egypt because no one wants someone who will only work for a few months...the same in the states. So, he's in a tough position. That's also why I wanted to give him the money...I don't want him spending his savings on me. I did tell him that I would go to Cairo on the weekends & help Shamps with stuff if he did have to go back to the U.S. because I understand how important it is for him to work the U.S. to make money.
So, that was pretty much the last 4 days. My life SHOT forward and soooo much has happened! I really like Cairo a lot better than Alexandria. There are more foreigners and the people are different. I really liked the places Ashraf took me & we went places I can only go with an Egyptian who knows Cairo. I'm very greatful that he took his time to show me around. His wife was soooo sweet, too. Her English is limited but we communicated just fine. She told me she would miss me and I was really sad to leave their house today. I'll be back in Cairo...insh'allah! (god willing!)
About 2 days after "the incident" a Christian teacher from the school asked me if I wanted to go out with her & her friends the next night. Of course I said yes. I also thought, "yeah right, I'll never hear from her again." People always say that and don't understand AT ALL what it's like to be a foreigner. But, to my surprise Mariana called me that same night & said they were going out for coffee that night instead & she wanted me to meet her friends. So, I went with her and her friends & we hung out at Starbucks which is right on the Mediterranean Sea. It was beautiful & her friends were SUPER cool! Mary and Zahra were soooo cool and we had a really great time. Mary is a Christian & Zahra is a Muslim. It's hard to find Christians & Muslims who are friends, but they all respect each other and now I'm in the circle. The next night we all went out again. Last Friday night Mariana & her husband & daughter & Mary took me out to a seafood restaurant. It was quite the experience. It was on the Mediterranean & we had a great view. There are NO menus in this country. People always sit me down in a restaurant & say "What do you want?" and I always say, "What do you have?" So it was no different. We walked in and there was a HUGE iced display with dead fish and shrimp and eel. I was like, "What the hell is that?" Nobody knew what the names of the fish are in English and I didn't recognize anything except the shrimp. This guy (I'll call him the Captain) was running around looking all stressed out & yelling at the waiters in Arabic. He is the guy that takes our order & weighs the fish & stuff. I think he was mad because me & Kate had NO IDEA what was going on or how to order. Mariana & Mary kept saying "What do you want?" & me & Kate were just standing there with no idea what to say! hahaha Finally I said I want some shrimp & then I pointed to one of the fish. Then they asked me how much I wanted (in kilos) huh? I didn't even know how much this stuff costs and I had no idea what to do. So they said the seafood soup was really good so I got that and some fish and shrimp. When the fish came, they looked exactly like they did on the ice except they were battered. I didn't know whether to eat them or scream. Mary told me to pull the heads off & everyone was looking at me like they expected me to know what to do. They've never traveled before had no idea what it's like to be in a foreign country with a Captain dude shouting at everyone in Arabic & looking mad as hell and people telling me hurry up & choose my fish with no menu & no price list and then having then placing the whole fish in front of me & saying "bon appetit!" Yeah people, have a little compassion. Anyway the fish was excellent and it fell right off the...the...fish.
The next day Mariana & her husband & daughter (who is 4) took me & Kate to Montazuh to go swimmming. It's a beautiful beach on the Mediterranean. We swam and had a really nice time. It was a really really really long day though. The beach & the sun & sand wear me out. Mariana invited a bunch of friends from Cairo to join us and just about all day they were chattering away in Arabic. It's sooooo frustrating not knowing the language! And Kate, well, Kate isn't exactly someone I want to have a deep intellectual conversation with. She has her PhD in Autism and sometimes I wonder if she isn't a little...ya know...out there herself. So back to the story, the beach was nice...saw Mubarak's Palace that he stole. It's a complicated situation with the government. Mubarek is the president, everyone hates him and hopes he dies soon. End of government talk.
So the next day I went to Cairo. I got on the train and getting on the train was quite scary. NO ONE around speaks English and there were only 3 platforms to leave from. Well, of course when I get there EVERYONE is staring because I'm a foreigner. The ticket man pointed to the platform, but I wasn't sure if it was the closer one or the farther one away. I don't trust ANY men here AT ALL! I felt kind of like Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone when she asked the General if she was on the right bus and he lied to her & told her yes. That's what was running through my head so I found a foreign looking guy. He didn't speak English or Arabic (maybe Dutch) and all he knew was 'Cairo' so I figured I was safe.
I was on my way to Cairo to see the pyramids and stuff and my friend Ashraf (who I know from Alabama) was there to meet me at the train station. He is a cook at a restaurant in Tuscaloosa and I told him I would be working in Alexandria. He said he was going back to Egypt for a few months & that's how I met him & was able to meet up with him in Cairo. He's married (his wife's name is Shamps), has a 5 year old son (named Karim) & his wife is pregnant again. His wife was really really sweet and took me in like a sister. They took such good care while I was there. The first place we went was a castle that has the mosque of Mohammed Ali. We also met up with Shamp's brother & his wife. Well, at the castle you would have thought that "I" was the main attraction. I was standing with Shamps & her sister in law waiting for the guys to park the car and EVERYONE walking past was staring at me. It was kind of embarrassing. People driving by, people walking by. Men, women, children were all STARING...not just looking. So we got inside the castle & went to this one room. While I was there one kid (like 16 years old) said hi to me and started to say something else. He was kind of reaching his hand out and I just kept walking. The next thing I knew there was shouting and Shamp's brother (Shereef) was slapping the kid that tried to talk to me on the neck. Then Ahsraf got involved & they were both slapping this kid around and then they got security and there was this HUGE scene. Shamps pulled me by the hand & we got out of there. The next thing I knew the kid, Ahsraf, Shareef, & security were all standing in front of me. Ashraf said, "Sharon come here. Do you accept his apology?" I was like WHAT THE? HUH? What the hell just happened? The kid looked absolutely terrified & I probably looked the same people Ashraf was yelling at the kid. So I said "I want to hear him apologize in English." The kid said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Ashraf said, "Are you sure you accept his apology? We can press charges and take him to jail." I was like WHAT? WHAT THE $%^&? I don't even know what was going on. I said that I accepted his apology & they let the kid go. I honestly had no idea what happened and & still have no idea what happened!
We went into the mosque of Mohammed Ali which was absolutely beautiful. The ceiling was inlaid with gold and resembled the ceiling St. Peter's church in Rome. There was also a gold pulpit with a beautiful golden stair case. I had my picture taken in front of it & you would have thought I was Angelina Jolie doing a photo shoot. ALL KINDS of people were gathered around to see me say "cheese" and they were even taking pictures of me. What the hell? Like I said...it was sooo embarrassing. Ashraf told me that when he checked the kids I.D. that had been harrassing me he noticed he was from the countryside & not Cairo. It was a holiday & everyone was out so that would probably explain why everyone was staring. Kind of like people in the U.S. who've never seen anyone from another country in person.
Well, unfortunately I had to go to the bathroom, but so did Shamps & her sister in law. So we walked up to the bathroom & Ashraf said, "Get ready to be shocked." I didn't know what he meant until Shamps pulled out a toilet seat cover & a bar of soap & gave it to me. I walked in & it was the most disgusting, putrid smell I've ever smelled. There were 3 stalls with nothing but holes in the ground and one toilet. This skinny black Nubian servant with a head scarf on looked at me & said "Toilet?" and I said "Yes" and she HISSED at me the word "MONEY" I thought, "You black Nubian %^&*(&*()_#$%^&*()%^&*()_%^&*()_#$%^&*()_! I was soooooooooooooooooooooooooo mad. Thankfully Shamps told her I was with her & the bitch settled down. She reminded me of a Jamaican witch who should live in New Orleans. She was sooooo nasty! Anyway, the toilet had feces on it in the back. I didn't even sit down. I HAD to use the bathroom and I had to go so badly. I even had to role up my pant legs because I think something overflowed...I didn't want to know what. Anyway, when I was finished & standing there waiting for Shamps this little girl stuck her camera phone in my face & tried to take a picture. I grabbed her arm & shoved the camera away & said some words to her in English. She just laughed with her little shit head friends. I was soo relieved to get out of there.
Then that same night Ashraf & his crew took me on a Nile Cruise. Now THAT was cool. We also saw a wedding going on and Shamps took me inside & we got to see the people dancing. The bride & groom were sitting on a couch & Shamps asked if I could have my picture taken with them. They agreed so I can say that I crashed a wedding on the Nile! hahaha People were looking at me like "Who the hell is THAT?" It was great!
The Nile Cruise was beautiful & I got to see all the 5 star hotels like the Four Seasons & Sheraton. Some little kids were talking to me & asking where I was from. They were harmless & were so excited that I was an American & that I spoke English. I could handle them just fine. That's what I find a lot of people are like. They are happy I'm here & want to speak English. Even today when I was walking with my back pack on coming back from the train a guy jumped out in front of me & said, "Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!" hahaha That's what most people are like & that's cool.
The next day we set out for the pyramids early. A ticket for a foreigner usually costs 50 pounds ($10) but Ashraf bargained with the ticket guy & told him I was an Egyptian and I was his second wife! hahahahaha They all had a good laugh about that. A ticket for an Egyptian is 4 pounds (less than $1.00) so Ashraf bribed the guy and got me a ticket for 4 pounds, and the ticket guy took some money. I saw him put it inside his shirt. Hey, I'm just a tourist...I literally have no idea what's going on most of the time because everything is in Arabic. The pyramids were AMAZING! Of course the tears were flowing because I was so happy to be there. I rode a camel around the pyramids & down by the Sphinx, which was really cool. I could see the desert out behind the pyramids and there are no words to describe that scene. The camel ride was awesome & Ashraf told me later that the guy wanted 100 pounds ($20.00) but he talked him down to 35 pounds ($7.00) hahahahhaha The camel people try to rip everyone off...even Egyptians! I also climbed down into one of the pyramids. The climb down was really steep to get to the burial chamber. It was hot, humid, & musty in the chamber, but well worth seeing. The climb back up was steep & slippery but I'm glad I did it. I didn't go inside the BIG pyramid at Khafre. Ashraf said it's like 75 meters straight down (which is a long way) & you have walk like a duck to get around & it's hot & humid & there's nothing in there...it's empty. I agreed with him that the smaller pyramid was fine. We also saw a room full of hieroglyphics & on the wall was the story of how the pyramids were built. It showed the slaves, the boats, the architect (engineer) and the pharoah and the finished product. It was absolutely amazing. Apparently the slaves brought the stones from Upper Egypt (Southern Egypt) by boat and also by land and placed the stones into place one at a time. They sanded down the stones to make them completely smooth. They didn't use any grout, but the smoothness is what made the stones stick together. I also saw a fully intact wooden boat that they unearthed about 15 years ago. It's called Cheops Wooden Boat. It's a HUGE boat that they pharoah used to sail on the Nile. It was amazing to see how advanced the boat looked. Ashraf kept saying that there is no way that this civilization during the time of the pyramids were human. They were so advanced in every way that they must be celestial or something "other" than human. After seeing this boat, I kind of wonder myself.
After the pyramids we went back to Ashraf's mom's house in old Cairo. It had narrow streets & was a close knit community. It's a place I wouldn't have seen unless I knew someone who could show me around. That night we went to Khan Al Khalili, which is a HUGE open air market selling lots of jewelry, rugs, clothes, and had plenty of restaurants. I bought a Cleopatra looking sparkly head thingy that I don't know the name for English or Arabic, but trust me...it's cute (for Halloween, which we WILL be celebrating at the school!) and I bought fresh green tea leaves...not in bag, but fresh and open. It makes really really good tea! I also got a henna tattoo. Some old black lady came by & wanted me to choose a pattern so I did. The tattoo is on my hand & is soooooo cool. At the time I didn't know it lasts like 2 weeks! I just thought it lasted for a few hours. So, I'm tattooed up for school tomorrow! :-)
Oh and about the bed that I slept on at Ashraf's mom's house....the hard wood floor would have been softer. I could barely move the next day!
The day of the pyramids & Khan Al Khalili was Ashraf & Shamps anniversary. I didn't know what to get them & I felt bad because Ashraf paid for EVERYTHING for me...I mean everything! The casle, pyramids, camel ride, food...everything. So I wanted to give him money go pay for everything, but I sneakily left him & Shamps a note with money saying it was for their anniversary. Well, this morning me & Ashraf stopped by the school to say bye to his son when he got a phone call. I didn't know what was going on (what else is new?) but Ashraf said, "I am so mad at you right now." I didn't know why. He said, "Now we have to go back to the apartment. I figured out what he was talking about & I said, "NO! I want you to have it as a gift." He said he didn't want to be paid for his hospitality & I tried to explain that I was giving it to them as a gift for their anniversary. He still wouldn't accept it. I knew he wouldn't, that's why I secretly left it in his son's room. I didn't know Shamps would find it so quickly! Anyway, he didn't want any money for anything. I feel so bad for him because he needs to go back to the U.S. to make more money. He has a wife, son, & a child on the way. He has a hard time finding work because he's back & forth between Egypt & the U.S. He has a green card & is in the process of trying to bring his family to the U.S. but it's a slow process. He said the biggest mistake he made was going the U.S. Everything is better there & he's Americanized, whereas Shamps isn't & she doesn't understand the process. She doesn't want him to go back to the U.S. to work, but he can't find a job in Egypt because no one wants someone who will only work for a few months...the same in the states. So, he's in a tough position. That's also why I wanted to give him the money...I don't want him spending his savings on me. I did tell him that I would go to Cairo on the weekends & help Shamps with stuff if he did have to go back to the U.S. because I understand how important it is for him to work the U.S. to make money.
So, that was pretty much the last 4 days. My life SHOT forward and soooo much has happened! I really like Cairo a lot better than Alexandria. There are more foreigners and the people are different. I really liked the places Ashraf took me & we went places I can only go with an Egyptian who knows Cairo. I'm very greatful that he took his time to show me around. His wife was soooo sweet, too. Her English is limited but we communicated just fine. She told me she would miss me and I was really sad to leave their house today. I'll be back in Cairo...insh'allah! (god willing!)