Off to Upper Egypt!

I am going to get on my bus to the airport at 3am my time (9pm East Coast time) and my plane is at 6:45am to Aswan. Then head to a ship in Aswan to see the High Dam, the Temple of Philea, and a felluca ride around Kitchener's Island, and the Aga Khan Mausoleum. The second day we are going to a temple shared by two Gods Sobek and Haroeris of Kom Ombo. Then we will sail to Edfu and see the Horus Temple. That night we will sail to Luxor and on day three we will see; the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, and the Colossi of Memnon. Finally we will go see the Karnak Temple and the Luxor Temple. Then back to Aswan. Hop on a plane and back to Cairo in time for dinner on Tuesday!

I will have lots of stories and pictures up hopefully by Tuesday evening! Much Love! And Happy Rosh Hashanah (on Saturday) and Happy Eid el Fitr (on Sunday) !!

xoxo
~S

P.S. Check out my videos on YouTube!  http://www.youtube.com/user/Sarah8104

We need to chat

Things work a lot differently here in Cairo. To put it eloquently...time here is not something that you see on a clock. It cannot be measured. It is in the sky. Especially with it being Ramadan right now everyone looks up at the sky to see when the sun will rise to stop eating, and when the sun will set to start their feasts. Ramadan is never a Grecian calendar month; it is a lunar month. It begins with the moon disappears and ends when it fades away again.

So yeah I know this sounds pretty and cool and all but what I am trying to get at is a minute...in no way means an American minute. Here 1 minute=15 minutes and tomorrow means 3 days from now. It was annoying at first. Then I thought it was kinda adorable. (In the cliche oh look at how relaxed their culture is compared to the GO GO GO type of lifestyle they have in the United States.) But it has become annoying again.

WARNING here comes the part where I vent so if you don't want to here me complain then stop reading!

So I got here and my door didn't close. It took them 4 days to make that happen.

Then when my door closed I couldn't open it with my ID. It took them 3 days to make that happen.

Today I forgot my phone in a classroom. I asked 6 security guards to open the door for me so I could go in and get it. NONE OF THEM HAD KEYS and the guy with keys wasn't coming back until after Iftar (8:30). But I did eventually get it back.

Okay thats my time rant. On to other subjects.

Also they suggested that the international students bring travelers checks with them....but there is no place to cash them on campus (the bank wont do it) and so I don't know what to do.

The fire alarm keeps going off EVERYDAY (a few times it went off in the middle of the night....the night before classes started it went off at 2 am). But they have people come and fix it every day with no avail.

Until two days ago the fire alarms all chirped in our rooms. Then after the alarm went off at 2 am the other day they started again. (They just stopped chirping today at 4 o'clock! YAY)

Then the school sent out two different and conflicting Ramadan schedules (we need a different schedule to accommodate Iftar). Which left both students and PROFESSORS confused about when classes even started. Today I waited for 30 min before my professor came because he had the wrong time for that class.

I went to add Intro to Political Science today because I need it to graduate and I figured why not take it here since their Poli Sci department is awesome. But the women who helped me was (pardon my language) but she was a bitch. She told me that I could not take the course because it was a 100 level course and I was a Junior and only Freshman could take them. (and she wouldn't even listen to me when I said that I needed the class and my school would accept it for credit.) Then asked me what my major was and suggested a class. I asked what it was about and she THREW the course catalogue at me and told me, "Look it up yourself! AND MAKE IT QUICK!". I just said yes to the class. But I got back to my room and e-mailed my school and they said it wouldn't count as the poli sci class that I need to take to graduate. So the wonderful women at SMCM who takes care of credit transfers wrote a letter for me to show AUC saying that I need this class. I really hope they let me in!!!!

(All I know is that I can be REALLY grateful that I don't ride a bus...or this list would be MUCH longer!!!)

I really love St. Mary's so much right now! This place is beautiful and looks amazing. But it can't function! (I mean even the professors didn't know what was going on!!!!!!) A few problems are excusable. Everyone makes mistakes. But really look at this list! How can this many things go wrong when I have only been here for ten days. I really hope things get better. I have faith that they will when classes get started. But if this continues I don't know if I can take it.

~S

Internet in the Desert is not Reliable

Hi Everyone! Sorry that it has been a few days since I last posted. Things got busy on campus and my internet was down for a few days. But everything is fine now! Inshallah things will be fine for the rest of the semester.

I have had 4 days of my Survival Arabic class and have learned A LOT! I often find myself wanting to speak in Spanish. I have no clue why. I rarely try to speak English. But I keep thinking and wanting to respond in Spanish. On the positive side of things; I can sound out words and say them when I see them written in Arabic. I can count to 10...100 if I am awake and alert. I can say, "Hi" and "Good Bye", as well as have a few simple conversations about things like food, and prices of food/taxi fair. I am really happy that I took this class because it gave me something to do during the day and made me get my body on Egypt time. ( I still know people who are staying up until 6 am and then sleeping until 2 pm.)

Monday was pretty uneventful except for a trip into town...which became a trip to City Stars. We got into town on the AUC bus. Then found out that the next bus back to the school wasn't until Midnight. (and if you know me I am totally not an evening person.) So my friend Alison and I got a cab and went to City Stars. The cab ride was CRAZY! Picture rush hour DC traffic....with no lines on the road....and a cab driver who is young and willing to take risks. We were weaving all over the place. Making lanes (well there are no lanes....but if there were, we would have been making new ones). I am positive that riding in a cab in NYC after this trip will be a piece of cake! (There were a few times where we were so close to the car next to us that I could touch them IN THE CAR without any effort...it was an interesting experience) But none the less these guys seem like they know what they are doing.

Then we got to City Stars. (City Stars is a HUGH 7 story mall in Cairo. Name a store and they have it!) I had arranged to be taken back to school by Sarah (who totally saved me that night! THANK YOU SO MUCH!) and so while she was eating dinner we wandered around and checked out the stores. I was shocked to find quite a few Lingerie stores. What was defiantly the weirdest part of the experience was during Iftar the whole mall was empty. All the stores closed and everyone headed to the food court. WHICH WAS PACKED!! There were no seats so people were sitting on the stairs and on the floor. Also what I thought was pretty wild is that there is a place to pray in the mall itself. So maybe Monday was more interesting then I thought! :-)

On Tuesday I went to Khan el Kahlily Bazaar and it was AMAZING. (the bus driver got lost on the way there...which is not uncommon...and so we only got to spend and hour there but it was worth it!) I got a scarf which is so pretty. (I love bargaining for things!) They had lamps everywhere that reminded me of Aladdin. Tons and Tons of trinkets, scarfs, rugs, ornate boxes, and lamps. (This is totally where I am going to get souvenirs!) In order to keep track of everyone in the bazaar people looked for blonde heads. If you got separated from the group you just needed to spot a yellow head and head that direction! At the end of the evening we chilled at the coffee/Shesha bar until to bus came. I had fresh Mango juice. Words cannot describe how good it was! The tea was also wonderful and so different from the states. When we were getting ready to leave we attracted a lot of attention. Nothing bad, just a lot of waving and people saying "Welcome!". (The kids seemed the most amused by all of us!)

Wednesday was fun. After class the school provided us with Iftar and entertainment. The food was AMAZING!!! Mostly because I got to eat veggies!!! I MISS VEGGIES SO MUCH! The food here is very meat heavy, very good...but lots of meat. They set up a stage by the library and tons of tables for all of the international students and first year students. We had greenbeans, carrots, and peas. As well as chicken, beef sausage, and rice. I had water, pepsi and apricot juice to drink (IT WAS YUMMY). For desert we had pudding with nuts in it. I was full and happy!

After we ate a club on campus played a movie they made. It was supposed to show arab history through time and be a comedy. But everyone at my table got distracted when in the first 5 minutes of the show they had characters appear in black face. I was sitting at a table with 7 students (2 were African American) and 3 profs. All of the students were staring with their mouths open. The profs didn't react. So an interesting conversation got started about how, yes minstrel shows are not part of Arab history. Therefore, they probably don't realize how offensive black face is. But still, it really hit a nerve, and we all had a MAJOR case of culture shock. (Not being able to flush toilet paper was odd but you get over it. Seeing people in black face and no one reacting but the Americans. Was really weird because that ideas is so ingrained into out culture. But it is in no way present here.) Afterwards they had a DJ come and play music. It was fun to watch people dance because they don't touch each other. (They kind of hop) I found it amusing.

Yesterday I had a Bedouin night....but this post has gotten LONG so it will just have to be by itself!

MUCH LOVE!

~S

P.S. Hopefully I will be able to figure out how to post pictures with my blog soon!

What's on the Agenda

Here is what I will be up to for the next few days!

I had my first day of Survival Arabic today! I can now say hi 3 different ways and goodbye 3 different ways. I can say where I am from and how to say my name. I also learned numbers and letters...kinda (we went through it REALLY quickly so I am not sure how much of it will stick. I know I will have it after the first semester though!) I think that the class will be very helpful and the people who aren't taking the class are pretty much hating life right now because they are running out of things to do.

I also have a few trips planned for the next few days.

Tonight I am going to Khan El Khalily. Khan El Khalily is a market in downtown Cairo. We are going at 9:00 pm I know it sounds late but that is early for most people here. I have been at a grocery store at midnight and there were whole families there and I mean everyone! (little babies is strollers, toddlers...) I think that Cairo is really the city that never sleeps!

Tomorrow I am hopefully going on the Nile River Cruise. But the bus leaves at 5 from Zamaleck and I have class until 5:30 tomorrow....so I might be going I might not be. It all depends on the bus system which can be pretty chaotic around here and if I can get out of class early. I really want to go though! I have heard only amazing things about them. I would be going for Iftar, and while we are there there would be tons of entertainment!

Then Thursday I am going to do a Bedouin Night out in the desert! We go and eat dinner then ride horses....I'm not really sure of all the details I have just heard that it is absolutely amazing.

Sadly I can't do the pyramids on Friday because of my class :-( I am really sad about that. I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to go. But it is at the same time my class is. I think a group of people that I have met are going to go to the pyramids on a weekend later in the semester when it is cooler so I will defiantly jump on that!

Lastly I am on the waiting list (2nd in line!! I REALLY hope that I get to go on this trip!!) to go to Luxor and Aswan. It is a 4 day 3 night trip to so many places further south in Egypt.

I guess that is all for now. I am also planning to go up to Alexandria one day with some friends in the future as well. I hope that everyone is having fun back at home!

Much Love,

~S

Ramadan: Outsider Looking In

Ramadan (the abbreviated version)

Ramadan marks the ninth month of the lunar calendar. It was in this month in the year 610 that Muhammad began to receive the Qur'an. So it is during this month each year that Muslims fast from food, drink, and sex from sun up to sun down. This practice is written in the second book of the Qur'an entitled The Cow (Al-Baqara). By fasting one is supposed to feel more connected with God by realizing human dependence on God's blessings. Fasting is also one of the five pillars of Islam and is required for all Muslims to follow unless you are sick, old, or menstruating.

What does this pose for me going into a Muslim country in the middle of Ramadan?

I am going to try my very best not to eat or drink around people who are fasting. (I used to fast with my friend Fatima during Ramadan so it wouldn't suck so much not eating with everyone else at lunch. So I think I can still do it!! Crosses fingers!) Plus I think that fasting in general is a very good way to get in touch with your body and realize how much we are dependent on many other things. I am also excited to experience Ramadan in Egypt because I have heard that Egypt does Ramadan unlike any other country.

I also think that it is so wild that the school completely changes their class schedule to accommodate Ramadan. Classes in the morning start earlier in order to accommodate the large evening meal to break the fast at the end of the day. (Plus I guess everyone else is up from eating their big morning breakfast...)

I am excited to see what I think about everything after a few weeks in Egypt! I will be sure to update!

xoxo

~S

Happy Ramadan Everyone!