Another Day in Egypt

We are getting into more of a routine, if that is what you can call it! Many are still sick, but we are beginning to become healthy once again… it has cooled off, so the smog has not been as bad…

On Thursday night we went to Aida, at the Cairo Opera house. It was beautiful and romantic, a dream come true. Three of us girls walked there, and it was quite ironic to be walking through some of the poor streets of our neighborhood, to the finery of the upper class and foreigners. It seems this irony is present in our lives every day here. Though many of us have worked hard to get here… our meager moneys are much more than the average citizen of Cairo. It really is quite staggering. For one person you can get a decent meal for 2 LE (5.5 LE = 1 $). Taking the taxi across town usually costs 5 LE, and that means 5 of us crammed into the car, each paying a total of .25$ for the ride. These examples are just factual evidence. Seeing the people every day while walking about town, whether in Agouza or other parts of the city, the poverty is overwhelming, and in such huge numbers. However, most people, especially those in Garbage City, do not see themselves as worse off than other people. They are thankful for what they have and thankful for the chance of a steady income. Jobs are difficult to come by, marriage crisis is on the rise, human rights are ignored, and etc.
As I was saying, the opera was absolutely beautiful and absolutely romantic (yes, it’s true!). Seeing it with new friends and on the other side of the world did not diminish this fact but seemed to enhance it. This does not mean that we could understand everything that was going on… of course it was sung in Italian… and the subtitles were in Arabic. The first oboe player played straight into my heart! Once Aaron made it known that I happen to play oboe, of course it is brought up at the most inopportune times, so now they know!!

Another interesting note, is to be so close to the myriad of situations in the Middle East, but to still feel so far away from them. In the first couple weeks here it was very easy to be swept away by the newness and adventure of our time here in Cairo. Throughout our time here though, little things and big things have reminded us/me all that there is to mourn for. There is so much that it is overwhelming, so much so that it almost feels hopeless. There is so much injustice, so much corruption in the social and political system that it is infuriating. From the people we see every day, to the situation in Gaza, to the people stuck in prison, the people on the streets, the families without an income, and on and on.

Last Friday a handful of us went to Giza to see the pyramids and such. We were fairly confident that we could handle the camel and horse vendors that run rampant throughout the tourist trap. We entered together, and before long we were split up by being thrown on camels… without even being asked! I didn’t mind to much… it was a long walk to the Sphinx… but a fairly short time by riding on a jogging camel. It was a lot of fun, of course, riding with Cait through the desert high up on a camel. Until we finally dismounted and the camel driver demanded 100 LE each! I said NO WAY… and told him I only had 20 LE, which of course I had more. They use these tricks every day to scam foreigners and I was not about to let him get away with it with me. Other people paid 100 LE each but I just set my 20 LE on the ground and walked away as he got more and more mad. Thankfully there were other foreigners around the area, even though the camel drivers try to drop you off in a secluded area in order to get more money out of you. So that’s the camel story… vendors (i.e. cute little boys) are trying to sell stuff everywhere… and try to get you to take pictures on camels… where I happened to acquire another short, free camel ride… to the admonishment of the teen boy who threw me up on the camel!
While at the pyramids, a J-term group from Bethel happened to be visiting at the same time! Unfortunately I did not run in to them… but later heard from Aaron Storsved that they saw me as they were driving by on their way to the Sphinx. However, Natalie did run in to them… Bethel reunited in Giza! So, of course we had to create a true Bethel reunion. On Monday night Aaron/Nat/I went to a local Coptic church with some others and met the Bethel group there. How great and odd it was to meet up with Aaron Storsved, Tom (Yes, Liz, Your man is still alive!! And wearing 500-thread count Egyptian Cotton!!), Stephen Soft Hands, & Adam Banfield (& others) in Cairo!! We left the service early with them and rode in their luxury bus (with their own body guard) to hang out at their hotel for a little bit. It was great to see them and hear their version of Cairo… which was quite different than mine/Aaron’s/Nat’s. However, they did have raving reviews of Amman, Jordan, where they had previously spent 10 days. So, we are very excited to travel there during travel component.
On Friday night we had a party mixer at the Villa. This was an opportunity for all of us to meet some Egyptian friends our age. It went wonderfully! Our interns set up the party and all of their hard work paid off. I got to meet Fanhai & Hodan Ahmed, sisters who are two years apart (just like us, Beth!! I told them all about you!). They are just wonderful young women and I am so excited to get to know them better and to see Cairo with them.

*** Another note: Did I mention how awesome our group of 29 students is? They are just ridiculously awesome. And ridiculously diverse and funny and motivating and frustrating at the same time! I could not have imagined a better bunch of people to get to know and love while living and learning through this together! The girls, of course, are wonderful and intriguing, easy to connect with and dig deep with! The guys are just as great, with such a great mixture of respect/fun/ intellect/big hearts for God… it’s inspiring and optimistic. God is so faithful and I cannot even say how thankful and amazed I am!!

Our class week starts on Sunday here. After Arabic class in the morning we usually have another speaker or some sort of debriefing. This past Sunday a professor from a local university came and spoke to us in Dr. Holt’s apartment. She will remain unnamed for many reasons… and she will remain fascinating and passionate! What an amazing woman, working for an amazing cause.
On Monday we went to visit 3 (of thousands?) larger mosques of Cairo. Shahinda, our Islam professor, came with us and we had our first opportunity to hear from her. She is one of the most brilliantly acclaimed women of Islam and architecture in Egypt. She is a devout Muslim and has taught us much already about Islam, through her lecture and through her personal faith story, which is very moving and makes it difficult to process.
Also, did I mention Dr. Holt is newly married (maybe for 1 ½ years now) and his wife lives with him here in Cairo. Her name is Suzanne and she is just the sweetest woman ever. She is so nice to all of us, and with them together around all of us they seem to be almost a pair of surrogate parents. Suzanne is also taking Arabic class, with my class and it is a lot of fun…
AND ARABIC… is amazingggggg!! We learned how to read words this week! Yes, I know, it sounds elementary. This may be true, but it is also inspirational for us beginners. To be able to pronounce this new alphabet, have a vocabulary in Arabic, and now to actually read Arabic script makes us feel much less hopeless than two weeks ago!!
Last night a Carolyn, Krista, and I went out with Adham, one of Sarah’s friends from here in Cairo, and his friend. He is very enthusiastic about showing us around Cairo and about the Egyptian life… It will be fun to learn and experience both the world of these two and of our girlfriends that we have met… not only with the difference in lifestyles, but also in experiencing the difference between the freedom of the young men and the lesser freedom of our female friends.
I cannot even begin to explain how many things we are learning… about literally everything! It is so exciting and exhausting, but just plain exhilarating except through the really difficult topics. It is almost like being on a roller coaster, learning about on aspect of the culture/region that is amazing and something that applies to life for us too, and then learning about something that is completely infuriating and depressing, some things we just have not control but now hold so much knowledge of. What do you do with this knowledge? What can we do to make a difference? What can you do to show empathy? How will this affect future decisions and how do you make it apparent that you are thinking about these things, processing them, feeling them in your heart through daily life? What is the purpose of some of it? I think many of us are asking these questions, and I think that situations in the Middle East not going to be quieting down for quite some time. As globalization becomes a more recurrent theme… and as the conflict between Israel and Palestine continues… and Islam continues its growth… and Mubarak continues his transition of power… something has to change, the world has to be ready.

I think this is all for now. Tonight we have a speaker coming to talk to us about radical Islamic groups and differing views around the world. Tomorrow we have class again… and then many of us are going to a concert of a popular group. I don’t recall the name, but our tabla (the drum) teacher is very well known (aka famous) and plays with this group (along with many others). So, I’m pumped for that! Then on Friday morning we are traveling to Alexandria for the weekend. It is about a 1 ½ hour train ride… out of the city… we are verrrrrrry excited!! To see Alex, to get out of the smog of Cairo, and to be near water and all of the beauty we keep hearing about!
One more note… did I mention we have devotions every morning after breakfast, up on the beautiful roof of the Villa? Well, we do. They have been so good and so powerful. Us students take turns preparing something to share with the group… which will prove to be very interesting and thought provoking with this group of ours! They really are a great connection time with God and even for everyone to sit in rectangle and connect together for a short amount of time. I enjoy this time very much.
Ma Salaama!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009 3 PM

I am typing this as I sit on the balcony of our flat. We live in a neighborhood, Agouza, right on the Nile. My view from the 6^th floor consists of the rooftops of the hundreds of apartment buildings around the city. Most of these rooftops appear to be unfinished apartment buildings but really the apartment is finished but ready for another level to be added if needed. It is quite incredible when thinking of how many people occupy this city, Cairo. About 20 million. We have begun to get our bearings as to how the city lays out… which doesn’t mean we don’t get lost about once a day…

It is difficult deciding how to explain everything we have experienced so far and how much to include, especially this first week or so when experiencing all of the different sides of Cairo. It is my desire to do this in a thoughtful and descriptive way. Perhaps I will begin with today and work backwards…

Tuesday, 20^th : Prison

Today was the first day of our service projects. Classes will be S, M, W, Th; with service projects on T. F & Sat will be the weekend. Kendrick, Sam, Ashley, Laurie, Dr. Holt, and I will be going to the local prison every week throughout the semester. The day began with meeting Nuvene at the All Saints Church nearby in downtown Cairo. Her husband was a pastor at the church but died of a heart attack in his 40s. Nuvene is a free spirited and loving woman, every where we went people greeted her with huge smiles and hugs. We took a station-wagon taxi (perfect for getting large groups of us around!!) 30 min out of town (where they began to drive even more similar to Indians!) and stopped in a village to pick up more food and materials the men at the prison had requested. Nuvene was met with great enthusiasm here also, many of the vendors just so excited to see her. Then we drove on to the prison. However, with the speed at which we were going it took a little longer… because Dr. Holt was with and requested the cabby drive at a more normal speed (SLOWER)… or else we would have made it there in a jiffy!!

It took about 2 hours to get into the prison… getting through security over and over again, and then waiting in a larger outdoor room for the men to be allowed in. In this room were about 10 other families, speaking with or waiting to see their loved ones. Children, babies, wives, mothers, and fathers. Upon arriving a young inmate was allowed into the room, where his young wife & son, mother, father, and 3 brothers were waiting. To see their excitement and joy upon seeing this man, to see their sorrow at the same time, to see what separation for many months or many years can do to a person.. brought such sorrow to my heart. It was embarrassing trying to hide tears, especially in a situation/country where all men’s eyes are already on us.

This prison is a lower security prison, most men are finishing out their sentences here. They are from all over the area: Cambodia, Cameroon, Sri Lanka, Nigeria. Many of the men are sub-Saharin and are there just for immigration difficulties. One example of how human rights in Egypt is tucked under the table.

Our group’s job is to just talk with the men, who Nuvene meets with almost every week, and be a listening ear. These men are all Coptic Christians and have come to Christ sometime throughout their prison stay. I had the amazing opportunity to meet Daniel, a middle-aged man from Nigeria, who has been there for 17 years. I can’t even begin to describe how Daniel’s words spoke straight to my heart and I really believe God was speaking through him, crisp and clear. Daniel’s faith is something that is difficult for me to grasp, so real and unwavering. He was very obviously gifted with the power of words and expression through them. I cannot say much more if I am to put this in a blog, but I will learn much more as we meet throughout the semester.

While we were waiting through the whole process of checking-in and for the men, I met another small family who was visiting with their father. Hannin, a spritely 6 year old came over and grabbed my hand, then just stood there shyly. How easy and straightforwardly children give their love!! Her plan was to give me many kisses (as they greet some places here) her mother, Rania, later explained. Hannin’s brother, Joseph, is 5 years old and was just excited to be running around and to see his papa.

Monday 19^th : Garbage City

Yesterday was absolutely amazing!! The whole group went to Garbage City. It is very difficult to describe all of the characteristics and even emotions from the day. GC is an entirely different and fairly separate part of Cairo. The government does not want outsiders, let alone tourists, to know about GC. However, this is difficult for them to conceal because of vast size and because everyone must drive through GC to get to Church of the Caves.

Most of the people of Garbage City are not Muslim, though there is a separate Muslim section. Many are Coptic Christians, and there abouts. As the name pertains, a majority of the citizens of Garbage City make a living off of garbage. The city pays very, very little to some of the citizens to collect garbage (from other parts of the city), and others just collect garbage on their own. We are talking about a very large amount of garbage, a city looking as if it were built in a garbage dump. Garbage is everywhere, many of the bottom apartments/stalls were just people sorting garbage, sitting beside huge piles of bags of garbage. At most of the places their children were sitting right in or near the garbage, to be near their parents. It was a holiday, so children were not in school, but there are a few public schools (no private schools, which are of higher quality) for the children to attend.

The garbage is sorted through and organized into piles of what can be recycled, plastics, metals which can be re-fashioned and then sold to stores. The recyclable materials are then sold to recycling stations. This is how a majority of the people make their living. GC did smell a bit, but not too much in the 60 degree weather.

The people here just seemed to be a bit more lively, maybe due to many not being Muslim and the children not in school. There seemed to be a different kind of hope alive in GC. It was amazing driving and walking through the streets.

We went to the Sisters of Charity Orphanage when we arrived. First off, I cannot even fathom how these women have such love and commitment to love these children & elderly they are caring for. It was very obviously exhausting and life-consuming. Stepping of the street into the courtyard of the orphanage was like stepping into another world, a cleaner, quieter, more serene world. The elderly live on the bottom floor of the large and complicated complex. There were about 15 elderly women we met. Most were very excited to shake our hands, though none spoke English. It appeared that most were not mentally there, some were very disfigured, and one was just a token of the heart. She was smiling and laughing, and kept making a very active swimming turtle with her hands and sound effects to go with it. Then she would make an elephant’s trunk with her hands to her nose, with the appropriate sound effects also. It was heart-warming and she certainly laughed more when we laughed.

The second floor had, oh man, maybe 14-18 toddlers and babies. They were so precious, as may be expected, and so quiet also, maybe not so expected. Some people went back with the elderly, some stayed here, and some went on to the handicapped/infant floor. Arriving here was heartbreaking, it was obvious that love and appropriate materials are direly needed. There were 4 handicapped girls, ages 5-7 sprawled in baby carriers on the floor. The infants were laying around on bed mattresses. One very tiny girl was Miriam, such a beautiful name to a beautiful smile and eyes. Matina was across the room from her, and she had such a difficult time even laying there. She loved to be held by warm arms. Heidi was next to Matina, we pulled her out of her carrier so she could be in my lap. They fear she is blind so it was best to sing to her and to cause sensations on her limbs with a bumpy ball. She would smile at this and her big brown eyes opened even more widely at the touch.

Sunday 18^th : Roaming Cairo on the Metro

Sunday morning we went to the embassy here to finish our visas and then we spent the day roaming Cairo on the metro (subway). It was an adventure, an exhausting but good one. There are men’s cars and ladies’ cars. The women rode some on both. It was very uncomfortable riding in the men’s car when it was busy, worrying about men brushing up against you in appropriately and the eyes are everywhere. But we explored the city, from the universities (which we spent much time trying to get into and met 2 Lebanese chemical engineers) to the outer poorer suburbs, to the wealthy suburbs. So many people everywhere!!