Making Dinner

Yesterday I made dinner for my host family. The menu was spaghetti with garlic bread. Everything started with shopping. Most things were easy to find, but I didn't know the Arabic word for basil (I do now!). Once we figured it out, I realized I had to order by the kilo, and if not by the kilo, then by the gram. I only needed a little bit! I spent one pound, and bought enough basil to last a year!

I got home and realized I'm very much my mother's daughter. I spent about an hour cleaning the kitchen before I felt I could start working. If there was a dishwasher, it would not have taken quite so long!

I started cooking, and my host sister was helping. She kept suggesting all these weird things, like adding pepper to the ground beef to take away the raw meat taste. I told her that the raw meat taste will go away once it's not raw anymore. After a while, I gave in and let her add pepper, as I would add it anyway. She also tried to insist that the water was boiling when it was still at all the little bubbles stage. I didn't let her put the pasta in! Finally, the oven is gas, so it doesn't have any heat directed from the top. The bread was toasty, but not from the top, like I'm used to. Overall, however, it was quite tasty. The sauce I bought was pretty sweet, which I don't prefer, but I think it was good anyway.

We also bought a box of brownie mix for dessert. This is a treat, because the imported foods are quite expensive. Unfortunately, someone had turned off the oven, so when I went to check them they weren't cooked. I started the oven, and everyone forgot about them. They were quite burned! We ate the middle part anyway :-)

The Metro Mall

Every day on the Metro, I have an opportunity to buy something. This morning it was socks, and this evening it was sheets of stickers and Koranic tracts. It’s quite interesting. Peddlers get on the car, and sell their things in one of two ways.

The women usually have bags of stuff and shout out what they are selling as they slowly make their way down the car. I’ve seen socks, hair thingys and other accessories, make-up, galibeyas (kind of like mumus), and plastic table covers.

The other vendors are boys or teenagers, who walk down the train and put something in everyone’s (or almost everyone’s) hand or lap. They sometimes skip people who are sleeping or reading, but sometimes not. They sell things like sheets of stickers, religious tracts, or other random little things. Usually they skip me, and I felt quite blended in the first time they gave me something. It was a bracelet-type thing made from hematite (that black, shiny stone). I think it was a prayer rope, like a rosary, because I saw the girl across from me counting the beads.

What strikes me as strange, is that people buy things! The woman this morning must have sold about 30 or more pairs of socks while we were standing there. I think they were 5 pairs for 10 pounds, or 2 ½ pounds each.

I have yet to buy anything, but if something strikes my fancy, I’m not hesitating!

Adjusting

I’ve been in Cairo over a month now. (Only 82 days left till Winter Break, for those counting!).

I keep wondering when I’m going to adjust to life here. When will I get used to the Sunday – Thursday work week? In my mind, Monday is still the dreaded work day, except now I say Monday when I should say Sunday. Church is on Friday, and I still say, “In church on Sunday…” I know I shouldn’t be too hard on myself and that four weeks won’t blot out 27 years of culturalization, but still. I’ve managed to tune out all the noise, unless it is impossible (like the blaring horn just outside the classroom today). And I find myself trying not to stare at foreigners. They stick out so much! I wonder if I stick out like that.

I feel like I’ve been here forever! I think such a huge change has brought that feeling on. This week I’ve felt like I’m in a daze, just floating through my classes and not really being there. I’ve been forgetting random things (meetings, class photo, etc) and I’m lucky to catch them without being completely unreliable.

I’m already tired of the daily commute. I’m tired of being sweaty all the time. Even though Fall is well under way, it is much like summer at home. Afternoons in the low 90’s, and at night it doesn’t drop below 70°.

Okay. Enough complaining!

Reminiscing Pink Martini

The other night I was self-indulgent. I usually end up staying up way too late, grading papers, reading, or just listening to my own thoughts about everything that needs to be done. Instead of doing that, I played computer games and listened to all three Pink Martini albums.

As I was listening, I started remembering everything associated with this band over the last few years. The first time I heard them, I was late to work. I stopped to give some guy a jump and ended up driving him to a gas station. While I was waiting, Pink Martini was in the KINK live performance lounge (www.kink.fm, my favorite radio station). After hearing a live version of Hang on Little Tomato, I was hooked.

I went out and bought the album. Christine and I started watching them on PBS whenever possible. She bought me their first album. I raved about them to all my friends.

Michelle, knowing how much I love this group, invited me to a company event at the zoo last October where Pink Martini was supposed to perform. We had a lot of fun, eating and drinking the free stuff, and waiting on the lawn for the show to start. It never did. The main guy disappeared and the show was cancelled.

The make-up concert was December 23 at the Schnitz. Michelle was out of town, so she gave me the tickets. Christine and I had so much fun!! We are such geeks, we went home, turned on PBS, and guess who was on J

Then Jeff, before we were dating, knew how much I liked them and bought tickets for the new album debut. By the time the show came, we were able to make a date out of it. Dinner before was wonderful; I had lamb at Red Star. The concert was fun, as expected. Jeff bought me the new album, and we danced in the seats along with everyone else.

Finally, Jeff, being the wonderful man that he is, bought tickets for a July concert at the zoo but was unable to attend. I took Amanda with me, and we got the VIP treatment. The concert was sold out by the time Jeff bought the tickets, and all that was left was VIP. It was wonderful! Reserved parking, a reserved blanket, dinner and dessert served, and souvenirs! Amanda and I had fun watching everyone dance in front of the stage. There were some humorous, some creepy, and many tipsy couples.

Last week I was at a coffee shop in Cairo, and I heard a Pink Martini song. No kidding. One of my classmates knows the band.

Ahhh. The memories. If you haven’t heard Pink Martini, I suggest you go right now, and buy all the albums!

Explosions, Bruises, and Other Strange Happenings

The weekend was quite eventful! After playing Dominoes for 3 hours on Thursday night, we went out for ice cream. On the way home, "dad" let me drive! It was quite exciting, and felt weird after a month of not driving. However, I did great and we made it home safely.

On Saturday morning the shower exploded. Let me explain. The hot water heater is right next to the bathtub and when the water is turned on, the pilot light ignites the flame that heats the water as you shower. When the water is turned off, the flames are supposed to go out, leaving the pilot light again. Well, I turned off the water, and the flames didn't go out. I was looking at it, and noticed a strange smell and odd noises. As I was reaching over to turn off the gas, it exploded. All kinds of vapor came out (turns out it was just water). I screamed, and once I realized I wasn't hurt, I jumped out of the bathtub (bruising my shin in the process). Dad came running in (I had the presence of mind to grab a towel!). Most of you know, I am NOT a screamer. I don't think I've ever screamed so loud in my life - my throat was sore, and I was pretty shaky. I guess this happened once before, a couple months ago. I have no idea why it exploded, but it was pretty scary.

Last night I was in my room, and managed to stab myself in the heel of my foot with a sewing needle. I have no idea why it was on the ground, but I ended up backing my heel onto it. I couldn't walk for a few minutes. Today it's a little sore!

Finally, I was walking home today, and almost got hit by a motorcycle. The driver was stupid. We were heading toward each other, but I had a parked car on my left and a moving care on my right. I had no where to go! The motorcycle squeezed by me and the car, almost taking me out in the process.

So that's been my life for the last couple days... will it ever settle down?

A Difficult Day

Today was rough. I knew it would be, at 1:30 this morning as I was falling asleep and planning to get up at 8 am. Wednesdays are long for me, as I'm in class (teaching and taking) from 11:45 to 3:00 without a break. I went to bed earlier than 1:30, I just couldn't sleep. I woke up at 2:15 to apply cream to my 9 mosquito bites. I woke up at 3:15 with the call to prayer. I woke up at 6:00 to a strange sound in my room. I looked around, couldn't figure out what the sound was, and went back to sleep. I woke up at 7 am and found out what the sound was.


Here's a picture of my room:

That is not dark blue paint. It's water. The following two pictures were taken at 7:15 and 7:45:

Apparently a pipe burst or something, right above my bedroom. The water was even leaking out of the building. I came home around 4, and this is my bedroom from the inside and out:

So my brilliant plan to get up early and finish the readings for class today didn't work. I had a meeting from 10-11, during which I found out I shouldn't do what I had planned for my class that day (at 11:45), so I had to scramble to get tomorrow's lesson ready for today. Of course, the computer I used had network printer problems, and the photocopy machine kept jamming.

I'm off to take a nap. Maybe then I'll feel like reading a bit. One more day till the weekend!

Iftaar

Tonight I had dinner (or breakfast, if you're Muslim) with some of the other fellows from school. It was really fun! I see them everyday at school, but it was nice to do something social with them. We went to dinner, and then to Second Cup, the Canadian version of Starbucks.

From left to right: Alice, Tasneen, Neveen, and Heba. It was fun.

At the resturaunt:

Strange signs and other oddities

I think I'm taking this teacher thing a little too far...Here's a fun little quiz for all my readers:

There's a sign I walk by every day. The sign reads, "The Top Of Performance it is not just a slogan but a commitment to our costumer". Which company is it for?
A. National Theatre Company
B. National Cement Company
C. The Metro System
D. National Sewing Company

Egyptians put the following on their pizza:
A. Faheta chicken
B. Hot dogs
C. Ketchup
D. Frish tomatoes
E. All of the above

If a student has a mobile in class (against school policy), what should I do?
A. Take away the phone for the class
B. Take away the phone for a day (until I see them the next day)
C. Make them give me 5 pounds
D. Other

So please, let me know what you think! Post your answer to at least number 3 as a comment. I'd be interested to see what you all say. Today I got 1.25 from students because they were talking in Arabic, which they aren't supposed to do. I think I'll be stocked with small change for a good while.

Tonight there's a big soccer match. I asked my students if they want homework tonight or tomorrow night, and they all said tomorrow because they want to watch the game. The men hanging out downstairs aren't playing Backgammon tonight - their chairs are all lined in a row watching TV.

The answers to 1 and 2 are B and E, respectively.

Random Pictures

More pictures by popular demand...

First, this is the view from where I'm sitting right now. I'm at a Coptic Monastary (supposedly where Jesus was when he came to Egypt) that has free WiFi.

I've left the church now. It was noisy and I felt a little odd being the only person not in a group. I'm at a "coffee shop" now, but it's more like a restuarant. I have to say, Egypt makes good lattes. This is the second one I've had (the other was at school), and they are way better than anything at home. Maybe because the milk they use is whole milk+ and I always order nonfat. The first Starbucks is coming soon to New Maadi. Hopefully my gift card will work, and I can get something better than NesCafe!

Anyway, the following picture is of men outside my window, five stories down. I hear them at night and smell the sheesha smoke.

Last night I bought a new pair of shoes. I've become tired of wearing sandals/flip flops all the time, and the only shoes I brought don't work with skirts (which is mostly what I wear). How much did dad win for saying I'd buy shoes within a month? But hey, for LE 60, they could last 2 weeks and I'd be happy.

Now I'm just having fun with the camera:

Pictures!

I took these today at school:

View from the Fellows' Room, a place where all the fellows in the ELI can work. We have a little balcony.

Just to the left of this hedge/fence, is the Metro access that I use everyday.

Here are pictures from the roof.

Here's my classroom. This is where I teach everyday, have one class, and usually meetings are held here. It's a "smart room", meaning it has a projector, document camera, computer, and audio equipment.

And here's a Ramadan lamp, in the ELI reception area. This one is pretty small and simple, compared to others I've seen.

Welcome to Ramadan

Ramadan began this evening. There are special store displays, television shows, and Ramadan music everywhere. There are also giant lanterns. I'll take a picture of some at school tomorrow, but for now, here's the night view from my window. The bright colored lights are Ramadan decorations.

Student Thanks

I just received a kind email (using some text message shorthand!) from a student thanking me for changing the homework. I think I actually remember the face that goes with the name!

Back to School!

I have successfully completed an entire week of school! Classes started on Wednesday, and now it is Tuesday night.

I found that my grad classes will be time-consuming, but not necessarily difficult. All of the instructors are quite well-respected in thier fields, so it is very interesting learning from them. Coming from a small university, it is a little strange to be at such a prestigious institution. The director of the Enlish Language Institute (the part of the school where I teach), said that TEFL/TESL conferences and seminars are almost like AUC alumni gatherings, where it is common for half of the people there (presenting papers, attending, etc) to be AUC graduates.

The class I teach is... interesting. When I ask the students why they came to AUC, it is because of the presitige. A lot of them want to be Petroleum Engineers, which is a new term for me. Apparently it's the people who work in the extraction of fossil fuels. One girl said the Minister of Petroleum Engineering is her hero because he recently said women can be Petro Engineers.

I've also noticed that in Egypt they call a lot of people engineers who we might call technicians in the States. The guy who comes to fix the copy machine, for instance. They also use some other strange terms, like a computer projector is called a 'data show'.

Back to my class: They all seem very eager to learn. So far they have been well-behaved, not talking a lot or using too much of thier first language. I like them! I've already identified at least 2 overachievers and 1 socialite. Today after assigning the homework, one of the students came back in the room and told me that he and all his friends think the homework is too much. I told him I would think about it, and send out an email. I reduced it because I was already concerned about it being too long, but I'm afraid they will still be stressed out. We'll see!

Eating

I find that I'm not eating much. First of all, it's too hot! Also, I discovered how much I rely on a microwave, and without one, it's a lot of effort. This evening I had cold leftovers from last night because it's easier than reheating them on the stove. My host mom made Maahshi (means "stuffed") with bell peppers, zucchinni, eggplant and cabbage (stuffed with rice). It's one of my favorite Egyptian dishes.

Anyway, I had dinner alone the other night, and took pictures. This is a very common Egyptian meal (not usually the main meal, but a snack or breakfast). The beans are fava beans... kind of like refried beans. It's called fuul (pronounced 'fool'), and is eaten with bread by hand.

Here's the stove, with fuul on the right.

Here's up close.

And here's my dinner. From left to right: White cheese (a soft, salty cheese from buffalo milk); chopped up cucumber, tomato and onion; fuul (with the beans mashed up); Egyptian bread.

Walk Like an Egyptian

Okay, you knew that title was coming :-)

Many times we think that "Walk like and Egyptian" means putting your arms at funny angles and suddenly becoming two-dimensional. Perhaps it's because of the song...

But the real way to walk like an Egyptian is without fear.

Crossing the street in Cairo is very interesting, and at times, terrifying. The traffic rules are usually mentioned only when joking. Lanes are suggestions, and other vehicles are viewed as obstacles to get around that happen to be moving. It is not uncommon for drivers to make turns across traffic. If there is a traffic light, no one pays attention to it, including the policeman that may or may not be directing traffic through a busy intersection. At night, many drivers only use the lights as flashers, similar to the way they use thier horns (see Terrifying Taxis below). You can imagine that walking across such mayhem can be intimidating! But, of course, everyone does it. At school we were warned that during Ramadan (starting Setp. 13), traffic accidents increase dramatically, as 16+ million people all rush home at the same time.

Also being a woman and walking around has it's own hassles. I typically don't get harrassed at all, but I think it is because I've learned to walk in such a way that people don't bother me. It reminds me of when I was in high school. I was a good student, never getting into trouble, and I learned that if I look confident and avoid eye contact, I could go anywhere in the building when I was supposed to be in class. It's the same way here. If I look confused, or like I need directions, some overly helpful person (usually a man), will hound my steps until I either arrive at my destination or am rude enough to get rid of him. So, even if I don't have any idea of where I am or where I should go, I fake it! Never show weakness on the street!

Tomorrow I'm bringing my camera to school and hope to post pictures.

Made in Egypt

Today I went to the store with my host dad. He was telling me that this is the biggest store in all of Cairo. I expected something like the Lamb’s Thriftway on Scholls back home. The place is huge. It’s like a Mega Super Wal-Mart, with more stuff.

It was fun wandering around. They are starting to get ready for Ramadan which begins September 13, so there were sparkly stars, moons and lamps hanging up. Pril, a popular brand of dish soap, was being sold in lantern-style squeeze bottles. Plus, school starts next week, so all the back to school stuff was out. The cheese counter was heaven. They have every kind of cheese from every country you can imagine. The cheese section was about the size of a regular meat area, with about 4 guys behind the counter helping customers. And that’s not counting the pre-packaged cheese. We had to take a number.

This is also the place where all the foreigners shop. I saw Asians, Europeans, Americans, and of course, Egyptians. In addition to the store, they have attached a mall. So the wall where the registers are (more than I’ve ever seen in one store) opens up to the mall corridor. There are the regular mall stores – Levis, Claire’s, and of course, a food court. They are in the process of adding 42 more stores, including a Starbucks. Yippee!

I was reminded today that other countries don’t abide by the same copyright rules the U.S. does. For example, we were in the cleaning supplies aisle. There was Clorox, but right next to the Clorox, for much less, were CloroMax, Clorotel, and Clorita. They all had remarkably similar blue and white packaging.

In unrelated news, apparently I look like I was made in Egypt. Almost every day, someone comes up to me, yakking away in Arabic. I tell them, mabakelemish araby (I don’t speak Arabic). It doesn’t seem to faze them, as they continue on with whatever they were saying. I try to look clueless (not too difficult), until they get the point that I really don’t speak Arabic. Once they realize that I’m not joking, they get a little embarrassed. One lady went on to tell me that I look Egyptian.

Tomorrow my schedule gets crazy. No more 3 hour trips to the store!

Terrifying Taxis

I originally wrote this on August 28, but forgot to post it.

I’ve mentioned taxis a few times. It’s time for a post about them.

Traffic in Cairo is unique. I’ve heard stories about India, I’ve been to Mexico, and I suspect each city has its quirks.

In general, Cairo is overcrowded and there are way too many cars for the streets. Drivers make turns across traffic, have custom horns (e.g., linking the wiper wand to their horn for easier access), and make very tight turns and passes. Additionally, there always seems to be a car stopped on the side of the street, backing up traffic. I counted around 4 of them on my way from the airport. Sometimes it’s a taxi, with the passengers standing on the sidewalk, sometimes it’s some guy driving a truck, and other times it’s just regular cars. One interesting sight was a Suzuki truck (the kind with the flat front) pushing a little blue hatchback. I couldn’t tell if the driver was being helpful or mean. The horns also have meaning. One honk means “I’m here, don’t run into me” or if at a pedestrian, “I’m here, get out of the street”. Two honks means “Get out of my way”, and three means, “Really, you had better get out of my way.” I think the single, long honk has a universal meaning, “I’m not stopping, so move or I’ll hit you.”

This afternoon I took a taxi ride from Zamalek to Maadi, which my host mom said should be about LE20.

After having the hotel guy help me out the door with my luggage, he went down the street to find me a taxi. I told the guy I would pay LE20-25. He comes back with a driver who said he will do it for LE30 and knows the area of Maadi where I am going. I agreed (I wasn’t about to argue over $.88). So they throw my suitcases on the luggage rack on top of the car. I asked if they were okay, and I got an “of course!” I got in the car and began my adventure.

First off, the driver kept saying “Mary” instead of “Maadi”. I kept correcting him, but it didn’t seem to work. He had no idea where he was taking me. After explaining which Metro stop I take, he seemed to have a general idea of where to go. After fighting traffic on the road that borders the Nile (Corniche il Nil), we got on the road to Maadi. The first part of the drive I was following along on my map, confirming with the driver where we were. He kept complimenting me and saying things in Arabic that I didn’t understand. The Corniche seems to be a popular place for young couples. I saw a lot of holding hands and talking along the walkway. It is quite pleasant with trees and the cool breeze off the river. Of course, there was the usual melee of bicycles, pedestrians, and large trucks hauling tires going way too fast.

Once we were past the main downtown traffic, we picked up speed. The driver lit up, which I hate. It is sad when I actually try to catch the traffic fumes rather than role up the window. The driver pulled over after finishing his cigarette. I was somewhat concerned, as we were not near any particular building. He wanted a drink of water. (He can smoke, honk, and talk to me while driving but can’t drink?). We went on a little ways.

Soon he stopped on the side of the road where people were waiting (Waiting for what? you might ask. Who knows; maybe for a bus, a mini bus, or just to cross the street). They didn’t know where Hotel Mary is. (My landmark, of course, is Hotel Maadi). We continued on.

Then the driver rolled down his window and shouted out to the taxi passing us on the left. The other taxi slowed down and they shouted to each other (with traffic whizzing by). He told us to take the next left. He pulled ahead, and as he came to the street, gestured with his hand where we should turn. That was kind of him.

Going down the street, the driver again asked people standing on the side of the road where Hotel Mary is. No one knew. He rolled ahead and shouted to some guy sitting on the side of a building. They guy came over, and I again said, “Fondo Maadi” (Hotel Maadi). As soon as I said “Maadi”, the guy knew exactly where to direct us, which was about 100 meters ahead. Once there, I was easily able to provide directions to drive to my host family’s home.

He stopped, and boys rushed up to help me with my luggage. I paid the driver (I gave him a few extra pounds; it was worth it!) and let the boys take my luggage to the elevator. I didn’t want them coming up with me, but they were insistent so doorman had to tell them “no”. I heard one boy protest to the doorman, “Baksheesh!” I was ready and gave the boy a tip before the doors closed.

Jeff calls the straps inside the car doors “Oh no” straps. I don’t consider myself a crazy driver. The main road we took is fairly straight, but I had to hang on the entire time.

My luggage made it safely, as did I.