Midnight Adventures

Here in Egypt the weekend begins on Thursday night, not because we are huge partiers but because everyone is off on Friday. So while sitting on my balcony around 11 pm we were planning what we would do for the evening. We had two options: 1. go to a wedding (which started at midnight) 2. go to a Mawlid, which is the equivalent of a Sufi All Saints Day Celebration (which also started at midnight). These Mawlids happen once a year on the last Thursday in October. It seemed like it would be an interesting and new experience so we decided to go the Mawlid.

We didn't know where this place was. We got in the cab and asked if he knew where the Mawlid in Bahry was and he was certain he knew what we were talking about. So he took us to this carnival which looked like it was from a horror movie. Almost empty for the exception of the people running it who couldn't stop starring at us. Granted it was very strange that four foriegners would show up to this carnival for children around 1 in the morning. So we left almost immediately. Luckily we got directions to the right place.

The Mawlid was in a place we had never been before, nor have any of us heard of it so we didn't know where the cab driver was taking us. All we knew was that the further the cab drove the more Sha3bee (more local, poorer area) it got. You would have thought it was 8 pm because everything was open and the streets were full of people eating and sitting at coffee shops playing dominions or backgammon. This isn't an uncommon scene in Egypt at all but we could tell these aren't areas where you would find a foreigner. After a good amount of driving through these neighborhoods we were not quite sure if we made the right choice. We didn't know where we were but we finally arrived. So the cab driver asked us where exactly we wanted to go and we told him we were looking for the Mawlid. He then proceeded to warn us three times, "Take care of yourselves! really! Take care of yourselves in there!" This was a little unsettling but our other friends were already there so we decided to check it out.

It was a little overwhelming when we first walked into the tent. There was a stage with music playing and a man singing. In front of the stage there was a large group of people dancing and going into trances. Around the group of people dancing and going into trances, people were eating, smoking shisha, children were running around everywhere, there were food vendors and people drinking tea and turkish coffee. I didn't know how we were going to find our other friends in this huge gathering of people, but it was actually quite easy. Foreigners in Egypt usually stick out but in this instance I think we were the only foreigners there so it wasn't a challenge at all. After the musicians took a break we proceeded into another tent where we sat on rugs and drank tea. Everyone was lined along the walls of the tent just chatting. It was really nice. I got to practice my Arabic on the people there. The men sitting next to us looked at me and said "she looks Egyptian, are you Egyptian?" Being that my father isn't Egyptian people here don't really consider me that Egyptian. So then it becomes my responsibility to convince them of my Egyptian-ness by telling them " Oh Egypt is the mother of the world and Egyptians are the best people." This is a crowd pleaser. And then the men tell me how Egyptian I am.

After drinking tea we went back out to see the musical performance, or prayer, I actually don't know if it was a way of praying. But people were dancing and going into trances again. Then the most awesome guy walked up to the stage. I think the best way to describe him is Jaafar from Alladin, except his turban was way bigger. He was wearing all green, even his huge staff was green. So he was rocking out on stage dancing and occasionally playing the whistle. The whistle didn't match the music at all but I don't think anyone was going to question this guy. We stood there for a while and then got curious and began to walk around to see the rest of the place. The tent turned into a street which consisted of different places to smoke shisha and drink tea or coffee. We didn't go to those places. They took us to the road and brought chairs so I guess we created our own coffee shop. We drank tea and talked with the Egyptians there.

At around 3:30 we were all pretty tired and decided to go home. Our midnight adventure came to an end with some pizza and  fateer from the shop down the street. It was definitely an experience I will remember. It was so different while still being extremely authentic. It was also the first time I saw Sufis. For those of you who don't know what sufism is it is a sect of Islam that is often characterized as having mystical elements. Based off the conversation we had with the cab driver on the way home I don't think Sufis are that accepted among other sects of Islam. The cab driver kept telling us they were a problem.

Other News:

- Halloween! We had our Halloween party yesterday and I was a blue m&m.

- The program is taking us to Luxor and Aswan in two weeks :) I will be sure to take a lot of great photos.

-I started my university class. It is intense. I am taking economic development in Arabic. I missed 5 lectures because I started late and my academic partner, basically my tutor, is so worried about me passing. She doesn't understand I am not really taking this class to pass. I just want the language practice. She is really sweet though. She wants to meet up with me whenever I have free time. I told her that Ill stick with meeting her once a week because I don't care about my grade. The class is suppose to last 3 hours but never goes more than 2 hours. It isn't overcrowded as I thought it was going to be which is really good. My professor also got his masters and PhD from London School of Economics which is awesome.

FOOD!

One of the things that always excites me about Egypt is the food. Not only is the food delicious, it's also cheap! Take for example my dinner last night at Mohamed Ahmed where seven of us were able to eat dinner for only 55 egyptian pounds which is a grand total of a little less than 10 dollars! But before we even knew the price of everything we were loving the food.

We got foul with garlic, foul Eskandrani (this is foul with tehina and salad on top of it), moussaka (eggplant cooked with tomato sauce), falafel, french fries, salads, shakshouka (eggs cooked with cheese and tomato sause), and grilled white cheese. The restaurant gives unlimited bread to eat these delicious dishes which makes silverware optional :) Another thing about this dinner was that we ordered 7 dishes off the menu, and the dishes are small, but it was still so filling. We couldn't even finish everything. But it makes a lot of sense that Egyptian food is so heavy and still so cheap. It is a third world country so in a way it has to find the most efficient way of feeding everyone. This means a lot of bread and beans and they do it so well.

In Arabic class last week we did a unit on cooking! Yay! More food! So my teacher had the awesome idea of having us cook dinner together. I forget what the name of the dish we made was but it was good, it reminded me of a stew of some sort. For dessert we made baklava!

We were split up into groups, I was peeling potatoes on the balcony, Katelyn was cutting up sausage. It was a lot of fun trying to figure out how to prepare everything with the limited cooking supplies we had. So in this stew we had potatoes, zucchini, sausage, eggplant, a frozen bag of mixed vegetables, onions, and I am sure there was more but I really don't remember. Anyway we put all of that into a pan, added the tomato paste, covered it, and put it in the oven. While it was cooking our teacher made the baklava. All in all it was a delicious dinner and a lot of fun. Although we were all really tired and stressed because we had to get back to do homework everyone had a good time.

Other news:
- Cinema club had its first meeting yesterday and I don't think we could have had more problems. Right so what could be so hard about watching a movie, I mean we had a television available with a DVD player and several copies of the same movie? Okay but when none of the copies of the movie work and then none of the other movies in the movie cabinet right next to the television work there is a problem.  So we were going to watch the movie on my computer, not the greatest but at least we will be able to watch the movie. Oh wait we couldn't do that because the lounge was closing and our director didn't know where his key was to close it when we were done. UGH! But we didn't give up, we borrowed speakers from the university and walked to Jordan's apartment to watch the movie. I was very proud of us for not giving up and going through with the movie night even though we started an hour and a half late. Also I was very happy people stuck around through the whole fiasco. In the end everyone enjoyed the movie, we watched Bolt by the way and it was fantastic!

- Its almost the end of October! I can't believe it! Part of the reason it has been so hard to believe is because it has been 100 degrees here! But hopefully it will start to cool down now. I think it should be in the 80s for the next few days.

- It's AlexFest for the next week or so which means a lot of cool events are taking place throughout Alexandria. I haven't attended any of the events yet but hopefully this week I will get around to it.

That is all for now!

Bye!

Welcome to Egypt!

This past week I had a very important visitor, my mom :), I spent the weekend with her in Cairo and then she came to visit me in Alexandria.

My mother arrived last Friday in Cairo, so I went to Cairo to go meet her. My trip to Cairo wasn't well planned because going to Cairo doesn't require much planning at all, but I will never again not plan my trip ahead of time. Because I was so late in trying to buy a train ticket they were all sold out. This isn't a big deal because there are buses so I asked an old man who was also trying to go to Cairo where the micro buses were. He sent me with his son to buy a ticket for a legitimate bus instead. So the old man, his son, and I get to the bus and we are sitting together because we bought the tickets together. The old man insisted I sit with his son who is a 30 or 40 year old man and I really don't want to but hi insisited. SO the son didn't stop talking to me the entire ride. I think this guy had to be the most annoying and obnoxious person I had ever met. I couldn't believe the way he was acting.

For the first hour, of course, he wants to fix my arabic. Fine, thanks I know I am not perfect at Arabic but really I am in class all week and in my free time I am doing homework, I don't feel like doing this now. So I told him that because it was getting to be too much. And he was like "oh okay" and I am hoping he will stop talking to me at this point and to ensure he does I tell him I am going to listen to music and I want to relax and look out the window. And his response " Oh can I listen to one ear phone while you listen to another??" And I straight up told him "No!" So at this point I really think he is going to get the hint that I don't want to talk to him. Anyway his response to this was  to start playing is own music outloud from his phone. Okay, great fine as long as he isn't bothering me. Oh but he insists that I take my head phones out to listen. I listen for a few seconds and put my headphones back in and really at this point he should know I don't want to talk to him.

So after about 5 minutes, he starts saying my name. I pretend I don't hear him. So then he starts waving his hand in front of my face until I look at him. Ugh! So what did he want? He wanted me to buy him tea. Really?? So I say okay while looking so utterly confused and annoyed. There is no way this guy couldn't tell I was annoyed I didn't hold back my facial expressions at this point. So I put my headphones back in hoping he will just leave me alone for the rest of the time.

No. He didn't. He wouldn't. It was amazing. Every five minutes he would tell me something that I don't care about. One time it was about his family troubles, other times he would just repeat random words in the most exaggerated manner over and over again. This was his attempt to teach me Arabic. Tap on shoulder, I look over, he says "River. River. River. Now repeat. River. River." I try not to be super annoyed at his attempts to teach me Arabic but I really had to hold back and I don't think I did a very good job. I quickly would say it and assure him that I knew the word river and put my headphones back in.

This just continued and continued. It was just so unbelievable. I am not exaggerating when I say  5 minutes didn't pass on the 4 hour bus ride without him trying to talk to me.

Besides the bus ride my weekend in Cairo was uneventful but still nice. I got to see my mother and we sat with her  family in a number of different locations, my grandfather's house, my mother's uncle's house, and a cafe.

I returned to Alexandria on Monday (I made sure to take the train) because I had class and homework and a dish part to plan! In honor of my mother's visit and to show off the new apartment I thought a dish party would be appropriate! It was great, we had all sorts of delicious food (thank you to all the Egyptian mothers who cooked)

You are looking at macarona beshamel, chicken and rice, two plates of stuffed grape leaves or mashy, there was meat pies, koshery, molkhia, and more rice. Then later on more food came but sorry I don't have a picture of that. Its safe to say I won't be going hungry for a while.

There was music, shisha, and food. I think my favorite part was having my mom meet everyone in the program. Of course everyone loved her :) Other than that it was really  nice having everyone come and hang out together outside of class. The people in the program are really great. I learned what happens to your coffee when you are rude to your barista, I heard different perspectives on different world leaders and everyone talked about some of their experiences in Egypt.

I was going to go to Cairo with my mom on Thursday but she had meetings and such so she decided to spend the day with me in Alexandria and that she would just go back alone. So the day after the dish party my mother and I hung out in my apartment, went to the hair dresser, sat in a cafe, and then returned to my apartment, ate and sat on the balcony :) It was nice and I wish she could have stayed longer!

On another note, I have now been in Egypt for a month and I am loving it! I have my new apartment which is a only a block away from the sea, I have great friends, and I am apart of an awesome program! I finally feel settled and am totally excited to continue with the rest of the year.

There are several new developments:

-I bought my ticket to Morocco! I will be going to Morocco for Christmas and then spending New Year's in Spain! So excited!

-Also Cinema Club should be starting this week. Our first movie: Bolt!

Tea and Biscuits

Life in Egypt can be hectic at times and my studies don't make things any easier. I have recently moved into an apartment with one other girl in the program. It is a nice place to come home to and a haven from the outside world. Now I don't want you to get the wrong idea, Egypt is exciting. I am constantly surprised or shocked by the things I come across. An average day in Egypt and an average day in the US don't come close to being similar in my opinion. When crossing the street has become an adrenaline rush, how could it be similar to the US?  The fact that life is so exciting and different is what I like about Egypt. However there are times when I need a break from these surprises (at least once a day) and that is when I turn to my tea and biscuits :)

This has become my snack time favorite and I guess you could say comfort food. Its not too sweet but just enough sugar and caffeine to wake me up when all I want to is sleep for days. I know that sounds extreme but for some reason I get mentally exhausted quickly here. There is a slight danger with delectable duo though. It seems I can go through a whole pack of biscuits with one cup of tea! "OH NO!" you might be thinking. But really, its well worth the weight gain. It is the best way to relax my mind. It is my escape to a world where I don't need to think. All I need to do is enjoy my tea and biscuits.

Quick Updates

1. There are female taxi drivers in Cairo!!! What??? That is awesome!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11406383

2. I have a new apartment!!! YAY! Will upload pictures soon!

Okay I have homework. BYE

Everyday Life

 I have now been here a couple weeks and should be pretty much adjusted by this point. There are still a few things that need to change but besides that Alexandria is treating me well. I wake up every morning at 7 am to catch the mashrouha (mini bus) to the university. At a cost of only 1.25 egyptian pounds it makes it worth it to wake up early. I am more of a morning person anyway so I really don't mind. After my long ride along the corniche ( the road that runs along the coast of the Mediterranean) I arrive at the University around 8 am. I usually have an hour before classes start which is good because I don't have internet at home so I fully take advantage of the internet at the dar. The dar is our lounge where everyone hangs out to do work and hang out. There are couches, a pull out bed, a massive high def televisioin, computers, tables, and even Kareema who makes awesome tea and coffee! I am literally there all day, before it opens until it closes. But really its awesome so its totally understandable as to why I would spend most of my time there.

Classes are good. I have the best teachers in the program (well I haven't had the other teachers but I don't see how they could be any better). We have a lot of homework but I am learning a lot. I am really excited to be here for the year.

Flagship requires us to have an internship for 10 hours a week. Before coming to Egypt I requested an internship with a micro credit firm or NGO but they didn't really have any luck finding one. So the program got me an internship with The Center for the Blind at the university. There I work with a masters student who is doing research on the Cold War and its effect on US policy in the Middle East. It is really cool and I really love being there.

Besides my classes and internship, I am usually in a cafe. More specifically, Clay Cafe which is where I am sitting as I write this post. I come and sit on the couches here to use the internet and do homework. It is quite nice. But the main reason I come here is because I am addicted to their Oreo Shake! It is so good. It isn't really cold at all. It is creamy though and there are little Oreo chuncks with chocolate syrup and I think ice cream but I am not sure. Anyway just believe me that it is good.

New Developments: Cinema Club

Flagship requires us to take a class within Alexandria University, so I am taking economic development within the faculty of commerce. That should start on sunday but there is one little problem; it is only 3 hours a week and we are required to take 4 hours a week of a university course. AHHH! But don't worry, my friend Jordan and I came up with a plan so that we don't have to change our beloved econ course. Instead we are starting a Cinema club :) I know, its genius. Now instead of taking a different class we get to chill twice a month with our Egyptian friends and watch movies. I'll let you guys know how all of that goes as it develops. Just pray it works because I really don't feel like spending an extra hour in an over crowded classroom with no air conditioning in 90 degree weather. 

So that is basically my life for now and probably the rest of the semester. It is looking like its going to be a good year! :)

P.S. I will try to upload pictures as soon as possible! Sorry about that!