Homecoming

I arrived home late Sunday and have been quickly reacquainting myself with things American. Today's activities seem to have solidified my re-entry: I spent several hours in the DMV becoming a Virginia resident (lapsed DC registration, blah, blah, blah); and I got a pedicure. Yep, those are my feet in the picture... just be thankful I didn't post the "before" shot! It is a losing battle to try to keep the feet clean in Cairo.

It feels weird to be back, but mostly it's good... After three months of wearing the same things--which were chosen for function, not form--I am especially enjoying opening my closet in the morning. Other things I'm happy about: quiet; green grass; my electric toothbrush; Jon Stewart; coffee and bagels; running outside; Dino (if you don't know who this is, you really don't want to); and family and friends... I missed you so.

My life will be decidedly less exotic (or entropic) in the coming months, so I expect to be posting less. To save you from having to check in, I believe it's possible to have blogspot send an email when I update. Drop me a line if you're interested. Oh, but do stay tuned for pics from the various upcoming weddings...

Juxtapositions

I'm sitting in the Cairo Airport with about an hour to go before take-off so I thought I'd whip out the ol' laptop and see if, per chance, there was an open wireless connection... and, like so many places here, not only is there internet, but it's free! I find this amazing on both counts: absolutely nothing is free in this country; if it's possible to affix a price to something, the Egyptians have figured out how to do it (the cost is never much, mind you, but something is always expected). Moreover, the fact that there is ubiquitous internet access in a place where materials are often transported by donkey surprises me... I think what this really speaks to is the dichotomy that exists between rich and poor.

As a foreigner here, I'm outside of the class system and have few opportunities to see it in action. Every now and again though, I get a glimpse... mostly this happens at in the locker room of my gym: there are always a couple of attendants who, based on some relationship I am unable to sort out, assist certain women before and after their work out. This form of "assistance" involves just about anything... they will unpack your bag and hang up your clothes, turn on the shower for you and make sure the water is the right temperature, prepare snacks and tea for you, and so on. I have a viscerally negative response to watching this go on--partly because I am perfectly capable of getting a towel for myself, thank you; partly because of the way in which the women at my gym order around those who are serving them.

While surprising to me, I think this sort of interaction is fairly common in countries that are "developing," in which human labor is still cheap. In the same vein, I believe every single business in Cairo delivers... this includes McDonald's, the dry-cleaner, the milkman, and the corner store. Once your order arrives, either the doorman will bring it up to you, or you can lower down a bucket off the balcony and have the goods sent up that way. Incredible.

What I Will Miss...

I leave here in a few days and have been thinking a lot about being home lately... in fact, I think I'm mentally somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic right now. Still, there's much about Cairo/Egypt that I have just begun to experience and so I will be sad to say goodbye. Some of what I will miss most:

• Fresh juice, available in every conceivable variety and on nearly every street corner for mere pennies.
• The view of the Nile at night. During the day, the river looks polluted and gross, but at night when everything is dark, save for the lights of the boats and the bridges, it's really beautiful.
• Horseback riding... in the desert... with the pyramids as a backdrop. Hard to beat.
• Koshari and the guy who makes it for me. This is typical Egyptian fare and excellent vegetarian fodder; it's made from rice, pasta, lentils, chickpeas, fried onions, and tomato sauce. The man who prepares it at my neighborhood shop has this amazing toothless smile that always puts me in a good mood.
• Conversations with Egyptians (neither interested in my money nor my hand in marriage, but) who are friendly, kind, and curious.
• My Arabic teacher. She has shown me a lot about the language, about herself, and about Egypt.

And a few of the things I won't miss:

• Traffic (and the pollution that accompanies it). By now, I'm accustomed to the way Cairines drive--and there really is a system to it, albeit not one governed by traffic signals or lane divides. Rather, it is the sheer volume of cars (and assorted farm animals) on the road that is incredible. [Sidenote: also incredible is the way in which people/animals are transported. It's not uncommon for an entire family--mom, dad, two kids--to ride on a single moped. I'm also amazed by the Egyptian version of a horse trailer--this requires only a flatbed truck and some rope. The horse then stands in the back and is secured to the sides of the truck.]
• Stray cats. They are mangy, pitiful, and everywhere. (Bob Barker, have you considered taking your show to Egypt?)
• Weird cheese. The variety of bad-tasting, soft, white cheese in the grocery confounds me.
• Having all-eyes-on-me whenever I walk down the street.

Interrupted Dreams

While I have inherited my father's champion sleeping abilities, they seem to be failing me as of late. After three months of relatively peaceful sleep, I am now waking up every morning for the pre-sunrise call to prayer. (Salah 101: faithful Muslims pray 5 times throughout the day; prayer time is announced by a guy going up to the minaret and, well, announcing.) The call to prayer can be quite beautiful; however, in these modern times, the announcer is typically aided by a loudspeaker, which distorts his voice and makes the whole thing somewhat unpleasant. It can be rather funny as well... like when you hear the muezzin (announcer) clearing his throat into the microphone or talking to someone in the background.

Now consider this ritual in a city with several thousand mosques, each with a muezzin starting at a slightly different time. Egad. Now try it about 4:30 in the morning... you see the problem?

However, if President Mubarak has his way, the cacophony would be reduced to single, centralized call to prayer. This plan has been in the works for several years, but has not been well-received by all. Read a recent Washington Post story here.

Armageddon?

No, folks, the world isn't ending... this is just a sandstorm in Cairo. It's a bit late in the season, but this week the Sahara winds were certainly blowing, covering everything in a layer of sand and dust. Pretty gross. This was the view out the window of my flat.

Nothing much else to report, unless you're interested to hear about the Arabic verbs I'm learning...

I'll be stateside two weeks from tomorrow--I'm excited to see you all, but a little sad to be leaving Egypt.

Darfur is Dying

This post has little to do with life in Egypt, but seeing as this is my blog, I figure it's a platform to discuss whatever is on my mind... and today that is Darfur. The ongoing (state-sponsored) violence in the Darfur region of Sudan has killed 400,000 people in the past 3 years. While I'm significantly distanced from my old life in DC (which involved work on the refugee crisis resulting from this genocide), I now find myself in Africa, living in the country directly north of Sudan. Egypt has received a massive outpouring of refugees from its neighbor. Many have come as a result of the civil war, fought in the southern part of Sudan over the past decade. However, in more recent years, 2.5 million people have fled Darfur, looking for security elsewhere in Sudan, as well as in Egypt and Chad.

Unfortunately, refugees face a fair number of problems arriving in either of these countries. (Remember back to the December 2005 demonstrations taking place outside of the UNHCR office in Cairo... Sudanese were rounded up and jailed for their actions and at least 20 are known to have died. Read an old BBC article here.) The situation in Chad is more dire, where the country faces its own political instability and food/water shortages.

I'm certain that this information is not new for most of you... the real issue is over how we have become so emotionally hardened to it. Jews, and indeed many others post-Holocaust, cry "Never Again" but the fact is that genocide continues to happen. (If you haven't read Samantha Power's A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, I really recommend it.) Okay, I'm finally getting to my point... NPR recently did a story on an interactive computer game created to simulate life in a refugee camp in Darfur. While it can't truly make real the horrors of life in such a place, I found it an interesting and creative tool to try to reach our dulled senses. Check it out for yourself: Darfur is Dying.

If you're compelled to act, the game offers a few links to write to the President and your Members of Congress. (Believe me, this does make a difference!) There are also numerous NGOs working both in Darfur and with refugees outside of the country, any of which would benefit from a little more money. Among them are my old organization, HIAS, which provides trauma services to Darfurians in Chad; International Rescue Committee; and, here in Cairo, AMERA-Egypt, which provides legal aid to refugees and asylum seekers. Also, a coalition called SaveDarfur has a good deal of information online about the siutation as well as ways to become involved.