Video from Alex

Here's a video from last weekend in Alexandria. My connection is finally strong enough to post it. We took a mid-morning break for coffee and tea. Mariam got tea, I got Turkish coffee, and Bob got cappuccino. The yelling in the background is the Friday sermon from a nearby mosque.

I was just watching the video, and I think I got some people at prayers. About 12 seconds into the video, pause it. There're men sitting on the sidewalk listening to the sermon (I think - it's a little blurry). If I'd realized that, I would have paused and zoomed in!

A Wedding

Thursday night I went to a wedding with my hosts. Two coworkers were married (to each other). It was a Coptic ceremony, which is quite different from anything I've seen before. We were a little late, the ceremony had begun when we entered the church at 8:34 pm. By 9:12 we had finished fighting traffic and were on our way home.

The church was hazy, filled with incense. People were talking and greeting us, women would break out in ululations at random moments, and pretty much anyone who wanted to could go up to the stage and take a picture. You'll notice people doing that on the video - take notice of the small boys who just want to be where the action is. I saw them cover their ears at one point; the women can be quite loud!

After the ceremony, we had to go outside where the bride and groom were standing in a receiving line. I use the word "line" loosely; since people could exit two sides of the church, it was more like a receiving mob. Complete with some guy moving a giant flower arrangement behind the newlyweds. I was almost taken out by sword-like grasses.

I asked if I had to greet them, and was told yes. So I shook hands, said mabrouk (congratulations) and smiled. Fortunately the receiving mob didn't leave much time for questions!

Muslim weddings are quite different. I've never been, but I've been told about them. The actual ceremony is quite short, a business agreement between the groom and the bride's father. The party is where all the action is. My building is near several big hotels. Every weekend, without exception, I hear wedding parties. Even as I type the music and ululations can be heard from my room on the 10th floor. The building is also near the Corniche el Nil, or the road along the Nile River, which wedding parties like to parade down with a particular honking pattern. It's quite exciting.

For an interesting article about marriage in Egypt, check out this link.

Metro Observations

This afternoon when I got on the Metro to go home, it was quite empty. It was around noon, and on Thursdays I get to go home early because all I have to do is teach my one class in the morning.

Sometime back in December, there was an accident on the Metro and I guess some people died. Because of the accident, the women's cars were moved from the front of the train to the middle of the train. And incidentally, I noticed stickers in all the cars with instructions on how to use a fire extinguisher. Anyway, some of the men still haven't got the switch. The cars that used to be the women's cars are typically quite emptier than the rest of the cars, and in the women's cars we get men who jump on and look disoriented. Today was one of the latter.

I was sitting on the bench (they were all blissfully empty), and an old man got on the car. He was tall and slender, with thick glasses and a head of white hair. His shuffling step revealed his age, but he stood straight, with only slightly bent shoulders. He was walking toward the benches when he realized he might be on the women's car. The ladies nearby confirmed it for him. He turned around to leave, and the women were saying "No, it's okay!" "Wait for the next stop!" He didn't make it to the doors in time anyway; they closed.

So he shuffled by me to the doors at the end of the car. When they opened, he got off and scooted over to the next car. There are doors with glass windows between the cars, and I watched to make sure he made it; I think it was a close call. I saw him get on, and then he must have stumbled once he was out of my line of vision, as people nearby all jumped at the same time as if to help him.

I continued enjoying Kink Live Ten on my iPod. And by the way Dad, that case you got me with the clip is perfect. Last week I was on the Metro, and a woman next to me asked me something in Arabic. I told her I don't understand Arabic, and she asked (in French) if I speak French. Several minutes later, after I thought she was done trying to communicate, she spoke to me in English. She pulled her iPod Nano out of her purse and confirmed that we have the same thing. My little case impressed her and she wanted to know where I got it.

Oh... The Metro. I don't think I'll miss it next year when the school moves to the new campus!

Alexandria

Alexandria was great. Fresh air. The sea. Wide sidewalks that people use. Here are some pictures, in no particular order:

The Citadel, the place from where Alexandria has been defended through the centuries.

The new Library of Alexandria. The place is huge - 8 floors all in one big reading area.

A colorful street on the way to the catacombs.

A statue of Saad Zaghoul, an Egyptian nationalist from the turn of the 20th century. I know you can't see him, but I like the picture.

A cafe where we had tea and coffee while reading the newspapers and listening to the Friday sermon. Mariam is on the right and Bob on the left.

Pompei's Pillar. A Roman ruin that I don't know anything about, but it was fun to photograph.

Mariam and Bob on the left. How tall is the pillar? I had flashbacks to high school trigonometry.

The beach.

A minibus from the backseat.

The harbor.

A Quick Getaway

This weekend I'm going to Alexandria. Or Iskandraya. Or in common usage, Alex. As in "I'm going to Alex," or "When we were in Alex..." But you know, I never here anyone refer to it as Iskan or some such shortening of the Arabic name.

My friend and classmate, Miriam, has invited me to visit. Another classmate, Bob, is coming too. Bob has to get a hotel, but Miriam said I can stay with her family. Oh the benefits of being a woman!

We're only going for a day/one night, but it will be nice to leave Cairo. Alexandria is a coastal city, so I get to spend some time gazing at the Mediterranean. Life's tough.

LOST Junkie

I love LOST. Yes, the TV show.

Last year Christine and I watched seasons 1 and 2 on DVD. I found out I can download the entire season 3 on iTunes, so I did. Well, it's in process. The uber fast connection I get is on average 5.5 mbps. Yep, those downloads are cruisin!

But I got the first two episodes done. I just finished the first episode, and I'm remembering how much I enjoy the show. It's like being reacquainted with old friends, and the new characters are great. You may think I'm exaggerating, but the extent of my TV watching last semester was CSI and Desperate Housewives reruns - I don't particularly like either show.

It's nice to space out and relax. I get to use LOST as a way to reward myself after finishing homework. It's great!

A New Class Load

Tomorrow marks my second week of classes, and the first full week of teaching. Classes are interesting this semester. I'm taking the following:

Second Language Acquisition - all about the theories of learning a language that is not one's mother tongue. This is my first course with an Egyptian professor, and so far it's okay. The class is huge! There are over 15 students, which doesn't sound so bad, but last semester none of my classes had more than 10.

Grammar - all about, you guessed it, grammar! So far it's confusing and the reading puts me to sleep, but I like the professor. This class is also quite large, so a second section was opened up which I joined. There should only be about 9 in that class, which is good.

Gender, Space and Power in the EFL Classroom - a fascinating class with one of my favorite professors. She is challenging us to examine a problem or problematic issue in our classroom and experiment. How do the males and females interact? How does the arrangement of desks impact the students? How does one wield authority while still encouraging self-directed learning? It's pretty neat.

Study Skills - I'm teaching the same topic I taught last semester, upon my request. I'm looking forward to having a second shot at the class and hopefully feel better about the experience at the end of the semester.

Oh the Humanity!

Okay, so that title is a little cheesy. I couldn't help it.

At the Metro stop there is a beggar family. It's one woman, and at least 4 kids - two that walk and some babies (gender is impossible to tell). They sell little tissue packets. The woman sits and the little walkers approach people while holding out the tissue. Or they just hold out thier hand for donations. Sometimes I don't see the mother anywhere; a friend of mine thinks she might be a prostitute.

Anyway, I was coming out of the Metro the other day, and the little kid got right in front of me, holding the tissue. I kept my pace and ignored him/her. As I walked away, I felt a sort of guilt that quickly turned to sadness. I hate that I have to treat people as if they don't exist. I do it everyday with the beggars on the street, but plowing over this child made me incredibly sad that this little person will grow up thinking s/he's not worth anything. What are my choices? If I give them something, they will continually follow me about. I can't support them! Yet treating them as if they don't exist feels terrible. Perhaps I'll start carrying small change and give them a 1/2 pound every day.

A classmate and I were talking about the Egyptian's government and the policies they make. Egypt treats it's population like a liability. Granted, it's difficult to know what to do with 22+ million people. But what would happen if the government started viewing the people as an asset? I don't know what that would look like, but it has to be better than what is going on now.

The more I live here the more I realize what a paradox Egypt is.

American: 100%

I've really enjoyed my iPod so far. It's great to have a little isolation device that blocks out all the sounds of the Metro and the street. Well, if not all the sounds, then most of them. I've been listening to Colossians and Hebrews, which has been neat. I can almost finish Colossians 3 times on my way home.

This morning I took a break from the New Testament. I found myself inordinately pleased by listening to Garth Brooks while crammed on the train. Looking around at all the veiled women and listening to Garth sing "Ain't goin' down til the sun comes up" was just great. Country music is about as American as music gets, and I found myself reveling in my different-ness.

New View

Here's the view from my new bedroom window:

Let me zoom in:

Pretty cool, huh?

Weekly Organizer Fun

The night before I left home, I made an impulse purchase of a weekly organizer. Okay, it wasn't really an impulse purchase, but I had tuned out school and everything associated with it, until I saw the store display and remembered how out-of-control I felt without Microsoft Outlook.

Today I decided to start getting organized and write my class schedule in the new planner. Immediately, I recognized a problem. The planner is created for a Monday - Friday workweek, with a Saturday/Sunday weekend. My workweek in Cairo is Sunday - Thursday, with a Friday/Saturday weekend. So I promptly went through the calendar, crossing out the days of the week and rewriting the days I need. I finished the semester and went back to the regular week on June 9, after I come home.

The good thing about doing that is I realized how quickly the semester will pass. I intend to live in the present, but at the moment I just miss home!

Hopefully this planner will help me not miss any meetings or classes.

Frankfurt Again

I’m sitting in the Frankfurt airport, typing this to be posted later. So far, the flights have been turbulent, but otherwise unremarkable. I was seated in the very back of the plane from Dulles to Frankfurt, but it was surprisingly quiet. The plane was huge; one of those with 5 seats in the middle and 3 on each side. Toward the back, there was only 2 on each side, and the man sitting next to me slept most of the time after some polite chitchat.

I had 3 hours in Dulles, which I passed by eating (found a cheap sandwich shop), playing solitaire on my computer, and buying a book. About an hour before the flight left, I packed up my stuff and decided to get some exercise by walking up and down the concourse. I stopped at a Borders to buy a book, and couldn’t find my wallet. I went back to where I was sitting, and the people sitting around directed me to the podium. My wallet has 3 pieces of photo ID in the front window, but I still had to show my passport to prove my identity. Weird. Anyway, I wasn’t at all nervous, which felt strange. Maybe I was just too tired, and I only had $40 in cash.

I have to say, Lufthansa has the best airplane meals I’ve ever had. Except for the breakfasts (scary egg brick and… sausage?), I’ve yet to be grossed out by anything they serve. Especially the desserts. Today it was a great chocolate mousse, and in the past they even served little individual ice cream cartons (organic strawberry from England). The trail mix I bought in Dulles was a good investment.

About an hour until my flight leaves. Perhaps I’ll play Spider Solitaire.