a nomad, in search of sabeel: 2013

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Getting married in Egypt - Part 2.5

In the past week, while preparing for our last step towards getting legally married, we learned that it's possible to have someone from the Ministry of Justice come and perform our marriage at home. It's not yet 100% confirmed, but it opened up the opportunity to throw a party and make a celebration of it. Now our families have been really excited about arranging something for us, and I've been really excited to have an excuse to make another dress.

I hurried over to my tailor and fabric shop and got everything I wanted, including a commitment to finish the dress in a week. I chose to go for something a bit bridal this time, champagne and white. Up until recently, I struggled with the idea of being a bride and having to plan a wedding. I've always loved to host events and cater to people, but I've learned that when I'm the center of attention and the party is about me, I'm super uncomfortable with that. I also don't want to annoy people with chatter about my wedding. I don't think that anyone really cares what my centerpieces will look like, or how I will wear my hair, what my dress looks like, so I try to keep it to a minimum. But one thing I've really realized is that people do care. In fact, my coworkers and friends are offended if I don't share.

So lately, I'm finding myself more and more excited about it all. I learned that when I do talk about my wedding plans, people get excited and involved. So I try not to hold back as much. We finally met with our wedding planner, I know- finally, we have 5 months to go!, but they said we have plenty of time. I felt really comfortable discussing my ideas with them. They seem to get our theme and colors, and we all seemed to get along great, seeing that we spent 2 and a half hours at the meeting!

I'm feeling more and more excited about planning this wedding now, especially when I get email confirmations from friends from home and abroad. So far we'll have almost 20 friends from 4 continents attending, in addition to all our friends and family here.

Anyway, for this weekend's party, we've been running around looking at balloons, chocolates, cakes, flower arrangements, jars, ribbons, paper, you name it. It's going to be a fun little celebration!

Off to my first dress fitting!

Fashion Designer

While I was growing up, I developed a lot faster than other girls my age. When my mom and I went shopping at the mall, it was always pretty depressing, because I was too big for Limited Too, but I was too immature for The Limited-- I could never find anything. I was always stuck in this awkward limbo of not being able to buy cute clothes that fit. Out of that, I turned to making my own clothes, a trait that runs in both my father's and mother's blood line. My grandmother and my mother's aunt were both seamstresses, and my paternal grandmother was always making dresses, or at least having them made, and that gene was passed right down to me. Since adolescence, I was always sketching ideas for dresses and skirts, spent weekends browsing through patterns at the craft stores, and hovered over the sewing machine, as I created my very own clothes. Whenever I was bored, I'd beg my mother to take me to fabric stores, in search of the next skirt or dress I was set to make. I made dresses for the sweet 16s I attended, parties, graduations, etc. But eventually, that stopped when I went on to college.

Egypt is the land of customization, where you can pretty much design anything you want, and have it made specially for you. It is completely normal to have things like dresses, suits, jewelry, etc., custom made. And this has turned Egypt into one giant dreamland for me, where every idea, sketch, and dream I've ever had, can now become reality. It began with my engagement rings, which were completely designed and custom made by/for us. Then it was a birthday gift with my cousin's name made out of brass, and attached to a clutch. Then it was some furniture and slip covers for my couch. And now it has naturally evolved into dress making.

Women normally and regularly have dresses made for special occassions. The selection in stores is limited, and very expensive. So everyone has their tailor that their family goes to, and makes dresses. In need of a dress for my cousin's upcoming wedding, I had to have something special made. I found this amazing tailor, thanks to my coworker, who's work should seriously cost much more than it does. Every dress I've seen come out of that atelier is beautiful, and mine was no exception. I was initially very skeptical because of all the horror stories I'd been told: tailors don't finish well, tailors don't tailor well, you never get what you actually want, etc. I went with my sketches (at the time, my book had 18 sketches of dresses), and he got exactly what I wanted right away and was even able to show me pictures of similar dresses he had done. I was sold.

Then I went over to the wekala, the fabric market, where my eyes were opened up to a whole new world. My fiance very patiently bared with me, as I spent 2 hours gushing over all the fabrics and hunting for the right fabrics for this particular dress I was designing. It was overwhelming in a great way! All the beautiful fabrics, all the beautiful colors, all the beautiful potential dresses!! I was looking for that particular dress, but I was creating so many more in my head with all the selections in front of me.

After 2 weeks and 3 fittings, I left with a dress that was stunning. When I came out of the dressing room during one of my fittings, all the girls in the atelier stopped and gasped at the dress. In fairness, the stunning color has a lot to do with it, but the dress was gorgeous, he did such a great job. I couldn't wait to wear it! I took it a step further and had a brass belt custom made by a nearby craft shop to complete the look. The first time my fiance saw me in the dress at the wedding, he was stunned speechless.

So now I'm working with this tailor to bring all my sketches and ideas to life. The more I go to the fabric shop, the more I want to make. It's one of my favorite creative hobbies since childhood, and now that I'm teamed with a fantastic tailor, the possibilities are limitless.

Onto the next dress!

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Getting married in Egypt, Part 2

The next step in the marriage process here, involved us going to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get the notarized Affidavit certified. What that exactly means, I have no idea, but it's necessary nonetheless.

Early Saturday morning, we went to the office in Mohandisin to work on Part 2 of getting married in Egypt. The office was churning out certifications, and although there were 30 people of ahead of us when we arrived, we only stayed for all of 15 minutes. We gave the government worker our treasured Affidavit, and without even reviewing it, he stamped it, we paid 11 LE, and done. Totally anti-climatic.

So in preparation for Step #3, which is the actual marriage part at the Ministry of Justice, we got copies of our IDs and my resident visa made to head over to the government doctor for the dreaded medical exam. When I first read the words government doctor and medical exam, all I could think was, OMG, I don't want to get hepatitis! Government hospitals aren't necessarily the cleanest places, and I kept imagining all sorts of crazy scenarios of being given a blood test with a pre-used needle, cleaned with a cotton swab soaked in rubbing alcohol. I was freaking out. When we walked into the Family Medicine center, my heart was racing so fast, you could see it in my neck. Run by women, my fiance wouldn't even be able to talk his way out of us getting an exam.

So we had to suck it up and deal with whatever was to come. We waited for about 10 minutes until we were asked to pay 86 LE, and gave them all the copies of our IDs and photos. The admin filled out a few forms for us that we had to sign and finger print. First time I ever had to finger print a document! I made the mistake of nervously asking what we would actually have to do as part of the exam, but my fiancé elbowed me to keep quiet, because apparently paying for the paperwork was the extent of it. Then I realized, why on earth would they go further than necessary and actually examine us, when they could just take some money and fill out a piece of paper instead? Duh, TIE. And thank God! Because it spared me of having to deal with any refusals of a blood test!

The admin then handed the paperwork to whom I assume is the head doctor of that facility, and she sat us in an office where she asked us a bunch of questions about each of our medical histories. She was very sweet, and the whole process took no more than 10 minutes. She told us about how she lived in Canada, and was happy that we would be getting out of Egypt during these crazy times. When all was said and done, she gave us each a certificate with our photo stapled to it, and congratulated us on our way. 25 minutes in and out. Part 2 took 1/6 the amount of time that we spent at the US Embassy in Part 1!!

Next and last step, the Ministry of Justice. I have one week left as a bachelorette!

Getting married in Egypt, Part 1

My fiancé and I are planning our February wedding here in Cairo. It's been a bit challenging because it's completely normal to start planning a wedding just a few months before the big day. In New York, the average is about one year in advance that people book their venues and start their planning, but here, no one seems to have any such urgency. This makes it really difficult to give my friends and family abroad as much notice as possible,to plan their trips. When we first tried to plan, we had 8 months to go, and hotels and venues weren't ready to start booking that far ahead. We were actually turned away from the Mena House for that reason!

Side note: Mena House has a whole list of issues, beginning with the fact that as of January 2013, they have no longer been under Oberoi management, and there has been a serious lapse in the quality of service there. The worst management decision being made, is the plan to turn the outdoor garden/lake area into a food court. The only hotel in the world with a view of the ancient pyramids via a beautiful garden, is replacing its major alluring feature (and the only reason I wanted to have a wedding there), with a food court!! So from January 2014 on, no one can have an outdoor wedding, cocktail hour, reception, etc. there. So stupid! Their reason for doing this is to attract tourism. But in a country where tourism is currently dead, there is zero point in doing this! At least cater to the clientele you do have, local weddings, and grab that massive business potential. Idiots!!! Once I saw a glimpse of the inept service, I crossed them off our list.

In the end, we chose a better venue, which is a gorgeous villa right on the Nile River. Once we visited this villa, we knew it would be the place. We stood by the river, arm in arm, overlooking the property, planning and imagining our entire wedding there. Luckily, that is how most of the planning is going for us. We both have similar taste, we want to have a non-traditional, atypical, non-Egyptian type wedding, and we pretty much know exactly what we want. My fiancé is so involved and excited to help with the planning, and I couldn't imagine doing this without him, especially since I don't have my mother here to help. (What bride ever wants to plan a wedding without her mom??) I am no bridezilla by any means, and I've never put any importance on having a wedding-- ever, I actually think they are silly and suchhhh a waste of money, so I've had a very easy-going attitude about it all. This is only made easier by having such a great partner to plan with!

Anyway, the really exciting part is that we have just recently begun the process of getting married legally here in Egypt. Like for reals, married. On paper. Le-gal. Since we are planning to go back to New York, (let's face it, I'm a New Yorker and I just have to go back!), it's imperative that we start working on that notorious visa and all the associated paperwork.

If I were an Egyptian citizen, getting married would be as simple as having a religious ceremony, which would also include a contract and all legal documents to certify our marriage. But since I am a foreigner, getting married in Egypt is a three step process that involves a lot of paper, a lot of photos, a lot of stamps, and a lot of patience.

Step #1 had us at the American Embassy. We were so lucky that the Embassy was open on the day of our appointment. I had made it 2 weeks in advance, and it seems that lately, the Embassy closes every other day, when clashes erupt. It was abnormally crowded that morning because many appointments had to get rescheduled for that day. After waiting an hour, we were given the Affidavit and another form to fill out in both English and Arabic. The Affidavit is what we'd take to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice. We were instructed to write carefully, and if we'd made any mistakes, to come back for a new form to fill out. Apparently the Egyptian government does not authenticate any document with mistakes on it. We made mistakes. And then I yelled at my fiancé for using purple pen, because-- who signs in purple pen? We filled out the form twice, then gave it back to the "teller" behind the counter at the Embassy. Paid the $50 fee, and sat there waiting another hour to have the Affidavit notarized by the Consul.

He was so friendly and happy for us, that it was the first time the process felt exciting. We all signed, happily thanked everyone, and head out. Halfway out the door, I noticed that one of the "tellers" spelt my name wrong. The name that is written clearly in my passport, which they used to fill out their portion of the Affidavit. AHHH! We had to go, get another form, return it to the "teller," wait for them to fill it out, and then face the Consul again. Another hour later, my patience running thin, we were called. I reviewed everything, pulled out my favorite pen to sign, and halfway through my signature, my pen.runs.dry. Dead. Won't sign my signature. Everyone, including the Consul and his assistant gasped. I couldn't believe that with all the stresses and the wait, yet another thing could go wrong! So I jokingly had to say, "Well maybe this is a sign that we just shouldn't go through with this! It isn't mean to be!" I went over the signature ever so slowly with another pen, to complete it. Relieved, we all cheered, and the two of us left with the treasured document.

Next up, step #2.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Cairo's Curfew

This is real. The city has a curfew.

7pm.

In a city where the average person doesn't leave the house until 6pm, you can imagine how paralyzing a 7pm curfew can be.

Since the fatal attacks and exchanges began last week, this curfew was issued, and I, along with the rest of the country, had to adjust my routine based on the limited time I now have to get things done. Work was generous enough to let us out an hour early now, and I hope you can sense the sarcasm in this bit. Because getting out at 4pm and getting home around 5pm, just about the time that all stores and shops close because their employees need to get home before curfew too, is useless. Especially when your biggest client is in Qatar, and you don't want to give the illusion that the news headlines may actually affect business. We stay until 5 most days to make our deadlines just to give the rich Qataris the illusion that Egypt is fine. Don't worry, we are not going to have any delays in designing your multi million dollar mansion. We understand how vital it is to your wellbeing.

So everyday is a bust. I haven't been the gym in nearly 2 weeks, I barely have time to run errands, and I don't have my (one) luxury of calling the supermarket or restaurants for delivery at night, because guess what, they're closed. I have used up every grocery that was either canned or frozen. I can't even spend time with my fiancé, because he is also working, and then needs to make a 2 hour traffic-ridden journey home before curfew. Then add to all of this, the fact that I don't have internet or TV in my apartment. I am going out of my mind. I watched every movie ever downloaded onto my hard drive. I am too bored to even find something creative to do.

I just turned 30 years old and I couldn't wait for my birthday. I couldn't wait to be 30. But my birthday and pretty much every day since have been a huge let down. Is this what it feels like to be 30?

The last time I had a curfew, I was a teenager.

I am 30 years old and I am not allowed out after dark.

Friday, August 16, 2013

A year has passed...

It has been one year and 3 days since I arrived in Cairo.

I can't believe how much has changed. Everything about Cairo that made me want to stay last summer, has disappeared. Everything that I thought was great about Cairo, has gone away.

In the year that I've been here, the economy has tanked. What used to value as 5 LE to the dollar is now 7 LE. Inflation struck, and things are much more expensive now, yet salaries have stayed the same. Going out for a sushi dinner with my fiance is equivalent to going out and spending $300 on a casual meal for two in NYC. I can't afford to travel, I can't afford to splurge, I can't afford to explore or do any of the things I thought I would do, being centrally located in the world; and being an expat here in Cairo.

The political problems have not ceased since Thanksgiving last year. I hosted a huge Thanksgiving dinner amongst friends, and that night, my friend who is a journalist, announced Morsi's decisions about the constitution and his new dictatorial role as the president. Since then, I've seen a constant stream of marches, protests, buildings set afire, Tahrir turned into a campsite, women getting harassed at protests... We saw millions go out and protest against Morsi's constitution, asking him to leave. We saw the world pressure him to restore democracy in Egypt. Then we saw the military step in and act in response to the country being paralyzed by anti-Morsi protests. Morsi was removed, and for some reason, his supporters turned this into a religious war, waging a jihad against the infidels who oppose him. It has been senseless, unproductive, and frustrating to watch.

Once I started working, I realized how different life is here. Most employees lack passion for their work. Nearly everyone I've dealt with lacks professionalism. Contractors do whatever they are capable of doing, and I am at a complete loss as to how to deal with the situations I'm dealing with. There is zero capitalism nor chance for class mobility. The rich open businesses and use their rich connections to make money. Middle class don't stand a chance, because the gap between the two is so great, it's impossible to say, open a restaurant with middle class money. The general public don't really have a chance. They get to be spectators. And the rich are so f*cking rich here. I can't understand how they make their money. Most are just born into it. The worst is when they just open any bullshit restaurant or shisha place for the sake of making easy money. When I sit with those clients, I struggle to control this inner fury that would kill to have a piece of that wealth to start my own business... with INTEGRITY. They're all making sick money in any type of currency, and they're paying us annually what the average American makes in one month.

It's like the only thing I learned about living in Cairo this past year, is that living in Cairo is extremely f*cking difficult. No wonder Egyptians are dying to leave. There are so many days lately, that I question what I'm still doing here. Why am I going through this? Why am I ok with making 1/11th of my former salary? Why am I ok with living in such a backwards country? Why am I ok with living in a country on the brink of civil war? Why does it take 2 months to have internet installed in my apartment? How much more hair am I going to lose?

When I try to assess the pros and cons, I struggle to find the pros.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Who is really to blame in all this mess?

What is happening right now in Egypt is exactly what I expected to happen, I am not at all surprised or upset. This is a consequence of a series of short-sighted decisions with no long term foresight, which is a major, crippling characteristic of Egypt.

No one makes the right decision for the right outcome. Rather, decisions are made based on what is 'good enough' for right now. It happens every single day on every single level.

It happens when someone decides to drive down the wrong way on a one way street, which screws everyone else up, causes traffic jams blocks over, and results in exaggerated horn honking and yelling. The wrong driver picks the fight, justifying the mess he caused with the convenience of taking a short cut. And everyone accommodates him by moving out of the way-- and he never learns a lesson.

It happens whenever a contractor takes the easy way out on every single one of my projects, doing dumb-ass things I've never seen on a construction site before. Things like oh, it was easier to just run a waste pipe right through the kitchen floor, which will now raise it 30cm (12") so, now we have a ceiling height of just 1.8m (5'9"), so we'll just have to get someone short to work in the kitchen. Huh? Or let's open a Lebanese restaurant next door to our pizzeria, but make the guests access the 150 square meter Lebanese restaurant through the 30 square meter pizzeria, so we don't have to make 2 entrances. But keep the maximum number of seats in the pizzeria. The customers can just squeeze past the tables.

It happened when they built new suburbs about 45 minutes outside of Cairo, to lighten the load and traffic on Cairo. But instead of including in these developments, most of which are as large as Cairo themselves, a plan for infrastructure or public transportation, i.e., trains or buses, they made them accessible via one road. One. Paralyzing traffic TO and FROM Cairo, because everyone still works there and has to drive in each and every day.

It happened when Egypt hosted its first ever election, and hastily voted for Morsi rather than the left-over from the old regime.

Morsi comes from a group of people who are so threatening, the previous governments spent decades trying to diffuse and suppress them. Decades. Affiliated with Hamas, and known to be terrorists, Egyptians gave the Muslim brotherhood the power they spent decades killing for. Last year, tucked away in NYC- away from Egypt for 3 years, I could see all the problems Egypt would (and did) have, from miles away.

Did anyone think that the MBs might clean up their act once they got power? Or was this just another short-sighted decision with terrible consequences?

Of course the US is accused ofinfluencing the election and negotiating a deal with the MB, which gave them American and Israeli support, and thus, the presidential position. I don't doubt that for a minute, because America's goal is to control as many puppets around the world, as possible. Egypt has been one of its favorite puppets for decades, and that will always be maintained for America's so called "freedom," or rather, "best interests." Egypt will always have to be poor, and its people will always have to remain largely ignorant so that it never catches up to the US or Israel. Egypt is suppressed to remain a 3rd world country, giving Israel the upper hand, and thereby adhering to the Camp David accords, and playing by America's rules. (Not that I have anything against Israel.)

The military stepped in to broker a deal with Morsi last week, after millions of Egyptians protested against him. Morsi refused to negotiate or compromise on all the undemocratic changes he made this year, so the military united with all political and religious parties, as well as the courts, to come up with a plan to get Egypt back on track, in response to the voices on the streets. What we witnessed was democracy in action, not a coup, and I admire the military for taking on that role.

But through all of this, everyone is looking for someone to blame. The only people I find myself able to blame are the Egyptians who voted Morsi into power. Not the US, not the Egyptian military. The Egyptians who overlooked his loyalty to the MB, the history of the MB, his lack of political experience, his obvious lack of class or charisma... But voted for him anyway. This is all their faults.

They should have had more foresight, they should have been more realistic. They should have anticipated these outcomes. They cannot now, a year later, throw a tantrum because they realized they made a mistake, and now want him removed.

They gave these terrorists the power they wanted for generations, and now that they've decided to take it back, they expect the MBs to just comply? They will fight, they will kill, they will terrorize. And it's all the voters' faults. The rest of us living here have to deal with the consequences of their actions in voting him in.

Don't blame the US, don't blame the military, don't blame the police. They were their votes that gave them the power. They were their cries that took it away.

This is the consequence of giving democracy to a terrorist dictator. His supporters are largely illiterate. His supporters are largely poor. They don't know the difference between a constitution they can't read, and religious manipulation. They don't know the difference between dictatorship and democracy, because dictatorship is all they have ever known. Yet the voters gave them the upper hand, and they won't let go of that now.

My fiancé made a great analogy while trying to calm my frustrations down. Egypt is like a septic tank. Like a waste dump. Egypt is underground in this waste collecting tank, while the rest of the world is living above ground, with fresh air and sunshine. Everyone here is living in shit, and shit is what they're used to. Sometimes, instead of shit, some urine comes down the waste pipe, offering a false reprieve. 'Yes! Piss! Not shit!' But at the end of the day, it is still piss. And while you might think the urine is better than the shit- it will turn out to be just as bad or even worse: Diarrhea.

That is how Morsi got elected.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Wadi Naturn

I'm constantly searching for fun and interesting things to do here. This is actually just my nature, no matter where in the world I am. But the lonely planet book for Egypt is filled with amazing little places that neither I, nor my Egyptian fiance, knew existed.

One of them is Wadi Natrun. Apparently the lake there is so full of Natrun, a salt so important that back in the day, this Natrun was used to mummify bodies. Flash forward 5,000 years, and it is said to be an excellent for the skin, especially as a treatment for skin problems like psoriasis or eczema.

Right at this lake is an eco lodge that I found in the book, where we took a day use to enjoy their pool and dip in the lake. The grounds of this lodge are adorable. The place was designed for groups of people to hang out and have a good time. There are bonfire pits, an amphitheater, a huge dining hall, and lots of palm leaf-covered huts and tables scattered.

Going into the lake was an experience. Where the lake receded, the leftover natrun felt crunchy under our feet, and below it is a layer of rich mud that is also excellent for the skin. The lodge keeper instructed us to go into the lake, soak for about 20 minutes and go for a walk. Then we had to stay in the sun until the water dried, when we were left looking all white and salty. Then we repeated this all day. Like the Dead Sea, the water is so dense, your body floats, no matter what depth you're at. If water comes near your eyes, you're in for it. Based on how much this water stings, if you have a rash, psoriasis, or an open sore, it's impossible to imagine that anything could live in this lake. I'm not sure if anything does.

We really felt exhausted at the end of the day from the dehydrating salt soaks, direct sun exposure, and the sand storm that was brewing that day. But my skin was GLOWING at the end of this. I would certainly go back for a weekend.

Enjoying the Nile while it still belongs to Egypt

There has been so much buzz about the Ethiopian dam, and lots of threats coming from Egypt over this Nile. While you can't argue its importance to Egypt since forever, I can't help but find it a bit hypocritical for there to be so much heat over a river that is so obviously neglected, it is ridden with pollution and filth.

Nonetheless, as we continue to tackle my friend's bucket list, two of her must-dos involved lounging on this controversial river.

We took a felucca ride at sunset, and sat there relaxing in what seemed to be the only quiet place in Cairo, (aside from the loud noise eruptions from the other balady boat rides- blasting bad shaaby music).

Then over the weekend, we found ourselves at Le Deck, at the Sofitel, and spent all afternoon into night lounging on the comfy chairs. I'm really just trying to get in as much QT with my cutie friend before she leaves. :-(

After snacking on overpriced, classy options at Sofitel, I brought her over to City Drink in Dokki, where we had fresh juices with the locals. I introduced her to the Egyptian concoction called, "Conbela," which is layers of mango juice, cream, fresh fruit, basboosa, and ice cream. Surprisingly, no one bothered us. The guys behind the counters even asked us to take their pictures and put it up on "Face." She loved the place, the dessert, and the juice, so we've already been twice since then- it's THAT freakin good.

dahab, earning a silver medal

One of the hard realities about living abroad, is that your expat friends are here for a limited time only, (so you better act fast!). Their contracts expire and their posts come to an end. Eventually, they return home, and you are left behind, missing them, and having to constantly replenish the bank of friends you earn.

My closest expat friend is counting down her last few days in Egypt, and she's hitting her Egypt bucket list with full force before packing up and out of here. One of the last things left to do, that I absolutely promised we'd do together, was to go to Dahab, over in Sinai.

Just about an hour north of Sharm al Sheikh, Dahab is the polar opposite of the European and Russian tourist-infested beach destination. Dahab is a chilled-out stretch of boardwalk along the Red Sea coast. It's known for its low-key atmosphere, cheap beach camps, diving and snorkeling, and recreational activities.

When we arrived, like any time we arrive in a tourist destination in Egypt, we are creeped out by how eerily quiet and empty the place is. The airports were so quiet you could hear echos. The boardwalk was empty, which meant we received even more attention from the restaurant and shop vendors, begging us to please come in and spend some of our much desired money.

I prided myself in finding a great hotel deal on the beach, only to learn that there aren't actually any hotels on the beach in Dahab. In fact, there isn't even a beach. Instead, there is a boardwalk that divides the stretch of hotels and shops, from the restaurants and bars. I assume that there was once a beach under this boardwalk, but now the cafes are cantilevered over the sea. So basically what you do is, choose one of the cafes with the most sun beds, soaked up the sun, order food and drinks, and then descend into the water by cafe-made steps. But it's not bad at all.

The water is gorgeous, the weather is great. The food is actually delicious, all fresh and made with care. We noticed the sharp contrast of how there is a little more effort put into making food in Sinai. Produce is fresh and it all tastes so much better.

It did get a little sketchy at some point though. We wanted to go on a bedouin dinner in the desert, and our hotel was offering to send the two of us girls, alone, in the desert about 2 hours away, with bedouins. I don't like to be that scared tourist who is afraid of adventure, but with the weekly kidnappings we've been hearing about in Sinai, we very seriously refused the offer. We were hoping they'd do a group trip of whatever few tourists were in Dahab, but unfortunately, not the case.

So all in all, we had a perfect girls weekend. We got some sun, soaked in the sea, ate great food, talked shit about the crazy Russian tourists who were dunking their newborn baby into the water head first, shopped, and had one of the best massages I've had in a while.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Clean, but still dirty

I take a shower every morning. I wake up, I take a shower, I loofah my skin and wash my hair. I scrub away the dirt and dust from the day before. And at night, I rinse-off of my face, hands and feet before I go to bed. But still, all that time in between, I feel dirty.

It has little to do with the garbage piled up on the streets. It has nothing to do with the litter and the dog shit that I consciously avoid on the sidewalks. It is not because this city is polluted, or dusty, or dirty. It's because it is filled with street pigs who make me feel dirty.

You see, I'm victimized because of the way I was born. Because I have the audacity to walk through the city streets with my calves, my thighs, my butt, my back, my breasts, my arms, my neck, my face, my hair- all the things that come with the biological package for a human being of the female sex. All those things that have existed since Eve- since we were created. And yet, for some reason when I go out, it's as if I were the first woman to ever walk the earth. Somehow it is still shocking that I exist.

My walk to work is a mere 15 minutes through my fantastic, super expensive, expat-filled neighborhood. But no matter how gorgeous the apartments or how rich the residents are, the streets are like all other streets in Cairo: filthy. As I walk with my headphones blasting, I try to ignore the stares and comments from the street pigs. The poor, ignorant, classless men that litter the streets. They service this neighborhood: the bawabs, the delivery boys, the parking attendants, the shop keepers. They ruin life for women in Cairo. They fuck the shit out of me with their eyes, and follow me as I walk past, muttering hisses and kisses, and praises for my beauty. If they meet me through a narrow passage, they take the opportunity to squeeze through with me, to brush up against me. Rub up against my breast, my butt, my arm, whatever they can get. They take whatever piece they can get.

I always imagine that when I'd find myself in these situations, I'd be so enraged with fury that I would attack them: yell, scream, punch, kick. But instead, what happens is that I am so humiliated, I just run away. I retreat silently, feeling so unjustly violated, and wanting to avoid any negative attention being brought to myself. I just scream inside my head, repeating over and over again, "How dare he?"

For those 15 minutes a day, I've undone the shower, the deodorant, the perfume, the makeup. I've become filthy again, having been raped on my way to work. Every.Single.Day. No matter how thoroughly I scrub myself, or whether I'm wearing Chanel or Chloe perfume. No matter if I use organic deodorant, or the regular stuff, it never seems to remove the filth that I encounter on the streets. I am disgusted. If only these street pigs could be eliminated with the swine flu. I think Egypt slaughtered the wrong ones when that outbreak occurred years ago.

Harassment is not a new thing in Egypt. It is a sick and pathetic part of society that hasn't changed for as long as I can remember. Instead of changing society, women have learned to cope by avoiding the streets. Living their lives from one climate controlled environment to the next. But I refuse to do that. I refuse to let classless, ignorant animals dictate how to live my life, it goes against everything I ever taught myself. I will not hide and spend my life indoors. I will not sacrifice my life for these pigs.

I've had to modify my wardrobe and eliminate my skirts, dresses, and all my favorite things to wear. I've had to adopt a whole new style of dress (which is so sad and disappointing), for these street pigs. I've had to change what I love to wear, and avoid taking taxis, and be driven almost everywhere by my fiance. Yet it is still not enough. It is still not enough because I like to walk. I like to go outside; to exist outside my apartment. And why should that right be taken away from me? Why shouldn't I walk wherever I want? I did in NYC. I did in Paris.

I am not the problem. My clothes are not the problem. But I just can't seem to get the stench out.

Friday, March 29, 2013

Heading home...

Apologies for totally slacking on writing posts. There is a complete correlation between my happiness and the volume of writing that I produce. It is amazing how little I need to write when things in my life are good and happy. It almost feels like a chore. And at the same time, I'm not sure that anything I write is relevant anymore. I feel no desire nor need to share my experiences anymore. It's so strange...

I started this blog with the intention of documenting my year off and my year of random travels, and how that would (hopefully) change me. But then I settled in one place (I still did manage to travel some), and then my life completely changed so rapidly. And now I'm no longer a tourist in Cairo, and I'm not sure what my timeline is going to look like in terms of where I'll be living and when...

But for now, I'm going back home for a 6 week break. I'll be stopping in Paris and Lyon for 2 weeks to visit friends and family first. Then I have a day layover in London where I'll meet up with another friend before heading home.

I'm so looking forward to this break, although it is coming at a pretty inconvenient time for me. With having just started my job and getting engaged, it's not exactly ideal to be disappearing for so long.

But I'm not going to complain. I just see it like I am extremely lucky to have the luxury of taking time off every few months. See ya in NYC!

Friday, March 8, 2013

Vacation over.

I just landed my dream job, and I still pinch myself to make sure it's real.

Right around the new year, I had really begun to shift my thinking about my year-off, my future, and my stay in Egypt. I originally had this grand plan to travel around the world and then settle down a year later, somewhere, in a career/job that fulfilled my passions in life. I didn't have any ideas as to where I would go or what I would do, but I vowed to allow enlightenment to come randomly. But Egypt felt right once I arrived. Now, 6 months later, it still feels right. I love my life here; I love my friends, my family, the weather, and my social life. I honestly haven't felt this happy with my life in years. So maybe I didn't travel anywhere else (although I did make trips to Paris, London, and Peru), but this happiness is exactly what I was hoping to find in this year off. That's why for a while now, I haven't felt like I am on vacation or here as a tourist, and I've been looking to find a semi-long term solution to staying in Cairo.

The teaching job eventually got on my nerves, as I felt like I was wasting my time on students who barely put any effort into learning, and had zero knowledge about the world around them. We'd go through our workbooks, and they wouldn't have a clue as to who the Beatles were, or even Mahatma Gandhi, or James Bond. They're all college educated students, but they live in this sheltered, naive, pathetic bubble. I couldn't get through to them, and I was getting nothing out of the job in return-- especially financially. I had had enough. It was never going to be a career change anyway. It was only ever meant to give me something to do during the day.

So I began to think about semi-long term solutions to staying in Cairo. I'd need a real job that paid, so that I would stop digging into my savings. I wanted to have a normal life again. And although I had a fear of selling-out, I started researching and applying to construction and development companies. Despite the terrible economy here, there is still a significant amount of construction around the city. But thanks to the terrible economy, those construction companies aren't hiring. And I mean that literally.

I was cranky for almost all of January, and my boyfriend was such an angel for putting-up with me putting myself down. He's an incredible person: extremely patient and caring, he's the love of my life, and knows me better than anyone. And at the risk of sounding too corny, like an angel, he saved me. He noticed that every time we went out, I would have to comment about the design of the space. There's a hot new trend of restaurant/bar pop-ups that have really attractive looking spaces that just lure me in. We go out all over Cairo, and I always talk about the paint colors, the materials, the furniture, or the packaging. (Never really the food because we've already established that the food sucks in Egypt).

So he was the one who suggested that I work in interior design. Obviously, I have a passion for it, and it's not too dissimilar to what I've been doing, it just has a more exciting focus. Despite the fact that he and most of his friends work in interior design, I really didn't think it was possible for me to do that. I didn't think I could work in Egypt, in Arabic, and learn a whole new job at the same time. I thought I would only be appealing to construction companies with my strong resume. Interior Design? That was just on my Inshallah To-Do List.

Of course he knew which company designed all of my favorite places here and told me to just take a look at their website and see if they may interest me. I must have sat on their website for at least half of the day. They are owned by women who have fabulous taste, one is from Canada, the other went to NYSID, and they are located in Zamalek. I had to work there. He had contacts at all the other design firms except this one, but this is the only one I applied to. All I had as far as a contact there was the generic careers@... email that all companies post on their sites. AKA - the email address to no one. But I wrote to it anyway. I wrote the most elaborate, heart felt, honest email, about how their spaces made me want to stay in Egypt, and make me feel at home here. I went on to tell them about my move, my career switch, and how there's no place I'd rather work for, than them. It took me a day to write that email, and all I could do was cross my fingers, but I knew that no one would even see the email, let alone read it.

The next day I got a phone call.

The night before my interview, my girlfriends and I went to another one of the spots they designed, Aperitivo, for "research." The first interview was great and I was very optimistic. I knew to wait 2 weeks for the partner to return from a business trip to hear back. During that time, I wouldn't discuss a single detail about the interview with anyone except for my boyfriend. Not my roommates, not my friends, not my family. I felt too superstitious to jinx myself.

And then I was called in for a 2nd interview. That interview lasted only 20 minutes. They didn't have many questions for me, and I felt extremely nervous. Something felt weird. I went home and cried all afternoon, rethinking every detail of the interview, feeling terrible that for the first time, I didn't rock an interview, and I wouldn't be offered a job. I felt so bad and so sorry for myself, that I surrendered and told my boyfriend that even though I wasn't getting the job, we should still go to the fondue restaurant that we were saving for my celebration. I was really mean to him that day. (sorry.)

Two days later, I got the call. And the job. And we went to that fondue restaurant to celebrate.

I started 3 days later, and so far, it has been so exciting, so challenging, and everything I wanted. I walk to work, and my office is beautiful and old and full of character. My bosses are fabulous late-30s-something women who I really admire. The staff is all about my age and speak a mixture of Arabic and English in the office. There's even an American-Egyptian girl from Minneapolis sitting next to me, and she also lives around the corner from me. My Arabic is improving, my skills are expanding, my CAD memory is returning, my clients are motivating. It is such a freakin cool job. It is literally everything I ever wanted to do. Meet a client, visit a space, come up with design ideas, draw them out, watch the space transform.

My job is so freakin cool and my boyfriend is a hero for encouraging me to pursue it.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Sakkara

Sakkara is one of the most amazing places I've visited in Egypt.

I've been itching to get out of the city and take some day trips to explore parts outside of Cairo. Of the various attempts previously made, this was our first successful adventure, which made it all the more exciting. I packed a picnic, set my playlist, and off we went.

Located just under 45 minutes from Zamalek, Sakkara is a nearby destination to really make you feel like you're in a completely different country. Once you pass Haram, or the pyramids, it's about 25 minutes down a 2-lane road that parallels the Maryouteya Canal. Parts are paved, parts are not. The streets are lined with small, 2-story brick homes, with the occasional shop here and there. Everything takes on the same shade of sand-colored beige, from the canal, to the road, to the homes. The only break in the monochromatic scene is the random accumulation of plastic bags and bottles that litter the walls of the canal.

Life is quieter here, and much slower. It really reminded me of the balad, or the country, where I used to spend parts of my summers with my grandmother. Of the few women I did see, most of them were cleaning large platters outside their homes, all were completely covered with the niquab. Chickens and dogs were roaming around homes, and children were playing in the street. I have to confess that I wasn't expecting to see this at all. I had just imagined that the Sakkara site was going to be located outside of Cairo, but still resemble Cairo along the route. But this was straight-up balad.

As we turned off the main road and towards the site, we found the land is lush with beautiful palm trees. There is a mixture of both large villas and small farmhouses scattered between the trees, but it is all very serene. When we finally arrived at the site, it was a ghost town. We felt like the only two there, and maybe we were accompanied by a total of 20 other tourists. Just 20! It was really sad to see how empty it was, and how few tourists are visiting the country. What is possibly sadder was the accumulation of litter around these stunning, ancient sites. For God's sake Egypt, tourism is (was) your livelihood. Treat these sites with better respect!

Sakkara is a massive site that was once a necropolis, or the graveyard, for the Ancient Egyptians. They resided and flourished in Memphis, the city to the East of the Nile River, but were buried in Sakkara, the West of it. What's been uncovered today is said to hardly even be 10% of what still remains buried in the sands. But what we did see, and what exists there, is absolutely incredible. This site is better than the pyramids of Giza, and perhaps better than Luxor as well. Yet it is completely underrated and often unvisited by tourists, which is such a shame given its close proximity to Cairo.

Sakkara is home to the oldest pyramid on earth, dating back to 2800 BC. Several pyramids still lie throughout the site, with what's assumed to be hundreds of tombs still buried beneath. From a peak on the site, not only can you see the expanse Sakkara site, but you can also see as far out to the Giza pyramids, and the pyramids of Darshur as well. It's breath taking. With the help of our fantastic guide, we toured various tombs belonging to the Architect, Manicurist, Hair Stylist, Accountant, etc., of the King. The details carved into the walls of the tombs reflected the person's wealth, all telling us stories of their lives and hobbies, over 4,000 years ago. It is truly remarkable and left me open jawed and "wow"-ing the entire time.

But perhaps the best part of the trip was the Serapeum, a network of arched tunnels that buried the bulls that were assumed to be God-like. Solid granite sarcophagi no smaller than the size of my bedroom enclosed their mummified bodies. This tomb is stunning. It used to be open privately, upon request, at the cost of $1,000. However in effort to encourage tourism, this site was opened to the public just 2 months ago. We felt very lucky to have visited it.

Sakkara needs a full day to really get the most out of the site. And I would imagine that going in the summer heat must be close to unbearable, because it is all out in the open in the desert, and there is a lot of ground to cover. Our trip couldn't have been more perfect. The weather was sunny, breezy, and beautiful. After hours of trekking through the sands, we sat for a picnic made by yours truly, which was just the perfect way to wrap up a perfect day. I highly encourage everyone to visit the site.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

This is Egypt.

The other day, my (Egyptian) friend and I were driving out to see The Life of Pi in IMAX, out in 6th of October city. It's about a half hour from Zamalek without traffic. We were joined by a Colombian expat friend of mine.

As they had the opportunity to familiarize themselves, he and I had to ask our favorite question, Why are you here? As an Egyptian born and raised here, he has his obvious curiosities. Why on earth would someone want to come and live here, when we (Egyptians) are all trying to get out? It's one thing for me to be here, obviously I have roots and family here, so Egypt is not at all foreign to me, it's my second home. But a real expat, one with no ties at all... what brings them here? It's our favorite question to ask our friends.

She answered in one of the nicest ways I've ever heard someone speak about Egypt. She's lived in many places, including Colombia, DC, Eastern Europe and England. But she's been in Egypt for 2 years now, and has no plans to leave anytime soon. She said that what she loves about living in Egypt, is that living here is like having a real, human experience all the time. Being in Egypt, although it has its Western influences and imports, is not like being in the West. There isn't that reliable routine that everyone has where they wake up, head to work, come home, and repeat. Where things have been streamlined and perfected, and problems in the grand scheme of things, aren't really problems at all. Every day in Egypt is completely random, almost so that nothing is reliable. And that's why the Egyptians' favorite term is "Inshallah", which means God Willing. When you make plans with someone, they will always say, 'OK, see you, Inshallah,' because God knows what circumstances you'll be faced with on your way to those plans!

Egypt has almost all of the luxuries of a first world nation, without the structure to really support it. So maybe you won't have hot water or power for a few hours. Traffic is pretty much always bad, but also always random, so you have to factor this into your schedule. You will not travel 10 miles in 20 minutes, it will likely take you 1 - 1-1/2 hours. There's one time a week when traffic is at a minimum: Friday mornings right before and after prayers. There isn't the luxury of reliable public transportation, in fact, there barely is any public transportation, and what exists is awful. You won't find all your favorite foods imported and stocked in the grocery stores. Grocery stores are not going to have all fruit available in all seasons. Your elevator just may not work today. Or for the next three days. It will work again when it gets fixed. You can't exactly walk around in a skirt, even if it's knee length. Hell, even if you're wearing pants and a veil, you will be harassed on the streets. Your bawab will Inshallah take your shirts to the dry cleaner when he has time. The salon may be open, but the girls who do hair and sweet will be here in an hour. You come back in an hour, another 30 minutes. You come back then, yeah she's not coming today.

So her point was that living in Egypt, while it's difficult, it connects you to the real world. The real world where everyone is not living an easy, robotic life like we do in the States or Europe. It's not boring here, there's always something going on, something going wrong, and you really need patience to deal with it. You really have to be able to take a deep breath and just accept that life here is random.

People here have real things to complain about. There is a significant population here that struggles to eat or work. The police don't really exist to enforce the law. Car insurance? But this is a service driven society, where labor is super cheap. You can have anything delivered at anytime, including groceries, drugs (medicinal and recreational), food, etc. Just call and it gets delivered. Most homes have a cleaning lady, some have drivers and cooks. The reality is, if you make money, you can have a great life here.

Our other American friend has coined the terms,

"TIE" - This is Egypt, and "TIA" - This is Africa.

We use them whenever we find ourselves super frustrated with any particular situation. Like when we travel across Cairo to see a movie, only to discover upon arrival that it only plays at 10:30am each day (NOT what their website shows!). Or when I booked the Life of Pi tickets at the IMAX theatre online, in advance, only to show up and be denied entrance because the voucher shows I paid, but it didn't attach the seats to the order. (So we ended up being credited and given complimentary tickets to see it the second time, when we had this wonderful conversation). Or when we sat in a Starbucks-like cafe to order one of their 5 fresh juices, only to learn that none of our juices are available. Actually, neither is half of their menu.

We take a breather and laugh,

"TIE Ladies. TIE."

In the classroom...

Class starts at 5:15pm. Students take their time gracing me with their presence. I begin at 5:40 when I have accumulated a whopping 4 out of 13 students. 2 more show up at 6:15. Students don't want to learn grammar or vocabulary. Actually, they tell me how and what to teach them. They want idioms. They want me to spell out the things they heard watching American TV shows and movies. They want to know when they are going to speak like I do. Except, they don't want to learn grammar or vocabulary. The ones who miss the excusable 3 (out of 9) classes just show up at the final and ask me when they will speak like I do. They don't do their homework. They come to 6 classes, late, and then they get upset with me when they fail their exams and I recommend they repeat the level.

I don't teach here to help students cheat their way to a certificate so that they can "officially" claim they speak English.

Students tell me that the reason they keep repeating the same mistakes is because they never get the chance to practice speaking English in their lives at home or with friends. They explain this to me in Arabic without even trying to incorporate a word of English. And then when I ban Arabic from the class and conduct the class completely in English, they gang around me at the end, telling me it wasn't fair, they didn't understand anything, and I need to re-explain it all in Arabic.

I've learned that Egyptian students are taught to memorize in school. They aren't given the freedom to think creatively or use their imaginations. They memorize, recite, and replicate on their exams. My student told me that her teacher used to hit her whenever she didn't memorize the vocabulary, or didn't say things correctly. But he let you learn to say 'wiZ,' instead of 'wiTH'?

Cheating is also completely normal and overlooked. My Egyptian friend explained it best. The mindset is, "Hey we're friends right? You're going to help me with this exam. What did you get for #5?" He told me that when they take their end of the year exams, the teachers get shuffled around to supervise other classes- not their own, to prevent bias or cheating. Except those supervisors don't have anything at stake with the students, so they often assist with the cheating anyway. One went as far as delivering the hand written answers to a student's friend in another class. It's all just... helping a friend.

They can get all the homework and sentences right, but when I close the books and try having a conversation, they look completely lost. They have all the vocabulary and grammar, but they can't think outside of "go to the cinema," when I ask them what they did last weekend, or what they will do this weekend. They also only seem to eat chicken, because that's the only thing they ever eat for lunch when I ask them.

I teach an English conversation class each semester. This is the kind of class that isn't focussed on learning grammar, but rather, practicing conversation skills. I am initially optimistic that I can use this as an opportunity to give them creative freedom, and an ability to think outside the box, since I now know that this isn't the way that they're taught in school. I find that they benefit most when the class is structured around a debate. Egyptians love to debate and talk about anything controversial. It's almost torturous to find a topic they all want to discuss. Then even moreso, when I choose the topic and they can't find any arguments because they are not particularly for or against the topic- depending on which side I assigned them to. We sit in awkward silence for a while, despite my many attempts to suggest a way to get things going. Finally, someone mentions politics or Morsi, and they are off in a heated debate. In Arabic.

I made a list of very controversial topics to debate- controversial enough for the US, and especially for Egypt. My fellow teachers had a lot of success with their students. I was really excited to hear how open and intellectual their students were about the topic of gay marriage and adoption. I couldn't wait to test it out on mine and see how they would respond. They denied that gays even exist in Egypt. They denied that gay men often go and get married to women and hide their secret lifestyle from their wives and families. They didn't care that it must be really difficult to live that kind of secret, double lifestyle. They absolutely refused to discuss it further, as it is "disgusting and against their religion." I stormed out of the class and into the Admin's office, really letting my New York out that day. I used every bit of colorful vocabulary to express how fed up I was, and to let them know that I was no longer going to be teaching those students anymore.

The class before the exam, instead of reviewing grammar or addressing questions the students have, they ask if I could tell them exactly which questions will be on the exam, and if they can go home early. By the end, I just want to go home early, too.

It's really rewarding when the rare, one or two students come into class and actually get it. I can see how much they are benefitting from me, and I clap whenever they get a challenging sentence correct. They move on to the next level, and I ask to be their teacher again in the next semester.

But I think the most important thing I've learned from teaching, is how hard it is to be a teacher. I really have developed a deep respect for teachers. It is a very hard job: demanding, draining, not always fulfilling or rewarding, and they (we) are so underpaid. A good teacher makes all the difference to a student's education, and I had some fantastic teachers in my life. I still remember how and what they taught me, both in and out of the classroom. They shaped my life and guided me to where I am. But teachers need more respect and more pay. Supporting a teacher means supporting the student. And as future (or current) parents to our future students, we really need to do something to support the teachers who will ultimately shape our children's futures.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Cairo food scene, pretty sad

I've never traveled to any place where the food has been so, ehh.

I'm a self-proclaimed foodie who not only kept a food blog in NYC, but takes cooking classes in every place I visit. I love food.

I ate my way through Thailand, with its delicious pads, curries and flavors. China was one great meal after another, introducing me to dim sum, hot pots, XO sauce, and Paris Baguette. In Vietnam I fell in love with pho and summer rolls. India, the land of curries, naan breads, and how can I forget my all time favorite, pani puri? Morocco had me salivating with its couscous and tajines, and that fabulous Mechoui Alley in Djemma al Fna. I tried camel in Morocco, kangaroo in Australia, beef hearts, roasted chicken, and ceviche in Peru, and I only need to mention "France and Italy," to summarize their selection of deliciousness. Whenever I travel, I love to explore cultures through their food.

But here in Cairo, I am living in the world capital of mediocrity. Everything here is just OK, and the cuisine holds no exception to that standard. Most restaurants will try to get the general idea of the dish they are reproducing, but without trying to make it a great dish. It's just OK. Although it is a lot like NYC where you have so much competition for all these restaurants and international cuisines, unlike NYC where everyone is trying to be the best, Egyptians are OK with just OK.. This is a city where every restaurant makes the most delicious sounding food, and usually in fabulously designed spaces, and then it is presented in front of you in the saddest way.

Paninis aren't pressed, and aren't oozing out cheesy goodness. Macaroons are stale. French fries are soggy. I haven't walked into a single bakery where anything was freshly baked. Every pastry has looked sad, tired, and old. Baguettes are either too hard and crumbly, or too soft and chewy. Pastas are always overcooked and swimming in pools of cheese sauce completely lacking in flavor. Pizzas are bland, bagels are no better than Lender's bagels. Cakes are all the same, spongy, blahness; and popcorn in the movie theaters is always stale and under seasoned. I once was super excited to find my favorite brunch, Eggs Benedict, only to receive a piece of salmon and hard boiled eggs on 2 stale pieces of baguette with mayonnaise on the side. I was heart broken. My girl friend and I were so excited to have some Mexican food, but when the food arrived, it was just OK. I spent so much money on the tiniest, blandest sushi rolls. And yet, all these restaurants have the audacity to charge a ridiculous amount, for little quality. I imagine that the only reason why these restaurants and shops are getting away with it is because of the snobbism associated with, look, I just bought a 30 LE pastry, and I don't even know what this is supposed to taste like, so it's all OK to me.

Although there are a handful of great restaurants that I frequent on a cycle, generally, dining out in Cairo is one continuous let down after another. It's my fault for getting my hopes up, but I just love to go out for dinner. It's unfortunate that I'm not finding things held to any kind of standard that is either acceptable, or appropriate for the prices they're charging. I'll pay a lot for a good meal, but it's not OK to pay a lot for crap.

Cairo is such an expensive city to go out in, more than NYC. When you consider what the average person makes here to what the average restaurant charges, it's insane. Some prices are comparable to what we pay in NYC, so just imagine how much this is for the average Egyptian! But at home, you could get a great meal at any price. And more often than not, the best meals are the cheap ones! In the East Village, I met up with my girl friend every couple of weeks at our favorite 50% off sushi restaurant. We'd spend $10 for 3 rolls, soup, and salad. Here, I spent $30 or 200 LE for blahness. Or there was Smac, or Artichoke Pizza, or Mamouns, or curry row on 6th street, all with their fantastic $8 meals. Or how about the salad bar at Whole Foods, or dim sum at my favorite, Jing Fong, down on Elizabeth St, that's never more than $15 pp. Or pho on 32nd, another $8 bowl of noodle soup. I mean, the options were endless, and I never had to spend a lot of money at all for a great meal. But in Cairo, the food generally sucks, and it isn't cheap.

These sentiments are equally shared with my fellow expat friends, and this is often a topic of conversation as we are eating a disappointing meal. Just imagine how it may feel to be away from home and so looking forward to that favorite dish, only to be served something that doesn't even resemble it, let alone taste like it. Going out is such a huge part of having a social life, and thank God the company is always good, because the food is just another depressing let down after another, especially when the bill comes.

A new outlook in this new year...

I received a concerned email from a former coworker about my lack of updates, so apologies to anyone who was alarmed. The current climate has been tense, violent, and stupid here in Cairo. But once again, it's not the whole city; it's concentrated in certain areas. I've been completely avoiding downtown and the nearby areas, but I have been reading from friends on facebook that the use of tear gas is out of control. Not to mention, there have been several fatalities and injuries, which is just sad.

For those who may not read or watch the news, things have been tense here for several reasons. 1) January 25th was the anniversary of the revolution in 2011 that toppled Mubarak. Not only was this day expecting protests, but add to that the fact that it landed on a Friday this year (like Saturday in the west), so plenty of people had heading to Tahrir on their list of things to do that day. People aren't exactly happy with the outcome of the revolution, Morsi, and the general political climate. 2) The courts were ruling on the cases for the Ahly Ultras (soccer fans) who were massacred at the Port Said stadium last year. Ultras have been protesting all week, and actually stopped the metro by descending and sitting on the tracks in metro stations. 3) Harassment is as high as it's ever been in Tahrir. 4) Finally, last week there was yet another train accident causing injuries and fatalities.

In spite of all this, don't worry about me because I have nothing to do with any of this. I'm sick of all the drama and I'm avoiding all protests and political activity. I appreciate that citizens go out and protest, but their efforts are disorganized and thereby ineffective. And since I'm not a journalist, there's no thrill for me to participate. The President couldn't care less about his people or the fact that there are fatalities happening as a result of him and his regime, all the damn time. So in my opinion, it's just a lot of disorganized stupidity. The President doesn't give a shit about Egypt, and Egyptians are unable to do anything about it.

I have had a lot on my mind and agenda lately, hence the lack of posts. It turns out that what was once intended as a transitionary, temporary home is now looking to become something else. I am trying to figure out a semi-long term plan to stay in Cairo. It right now is fulfilling me in every way that I was needing fulfillment back at home. And with my impending return in April, I have already decided that I will be coming right back in May after my friend's wedding. My mindset has been changing from the, I'm on vacation, relaxing and enjoying myself mode, to the I'm really happy here and I'm going to test this out for a while mode.

So my #1 priority is finding a way to stay... sustainably. What that means is, I need a real job. I have been missing being a professional lately. That may have a lot to do with being surrounded with both Expat and Egyptian professional friends. They have their careers, their jobs, their income. Can we highlight income? I am missing my income; a real one.

But teaching was never a career path for me, and while it's been different and interesting, it's no longer fun- which I will get into in another post. So I've been sending out my resume and interviewing. Please send positive vibes in return!

Once I figure out the job situation, I'll book my return flight to Cairo. Looks like I'll be a while, NYC.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Hair to find out...

In a previous post, I talked about the wonderful world of hair removal here in Egypt. So much time and energy is spent on removing unwanted hair. Egyptian women are nothing short of high maintenance. But since then, I've encountered another hairy situation here: loss of wanted hair.

I've noticed that amongst all the shampoos and conditioners sold in pharmacies, there is always a type to treat or prevent hair fall. I didn't really understand why. Are that many women losing their hair? Isn't that a problem for men? Is it one for women here too?

I'm now in my 4th month of living here, and I'm now understanding what this is about. I've had some friends complain about their hair-thinning issues, blaming the water quality. One friend actually uses bottled water to wash her hair, that's how seriously she's (paranoid) reacted to it. I love my friend, but I do think it's ridiculous to wash with bottled hair. Talk about wasteful and not eco friendly.

Over time I started noticing that when I washed my hair, I was losing handfuls. More than usual. I naturally have very thick and curly hair, but lately, my hair started feeling thinner. I now need to wrap my hair tie around my ponytail 3 times, instead of the usual 2. So I started freaking out about this. Someone suggested it was stress. "Stress!?" I exclaimed, "I'm on a long term vacation!"

Trying hard not to be a hypochondriac, or over-react, I have to take a few things into consideration. My hair is the longest it has ever been, and maybe I'm not familiar with the kind of maintenance it requires. My curls get so tangled, sometimes the only way to undo the tangles is by breaking them. Not to mention that I live in the desert, (though my body was designed for this environment, and every day here is otherwise just one great hair and skin day after another-- no humidity = no frizz!!) and being in such a dry climate, I've been oiling my hair at least once a week to nourish it. I usually go as far as hunting down great hair oils and treatments all over Islamic Cairo. Between the spice shops and the oil & fragrance shops, I have a whole collection of treatments. I'm taking vitamins, and doing anything to try to help my mane, one of my most beautiful assets. I got a hair cut, hoping to revive the ends (much to my dismay, as I'm on a mission to grow my hair longer). And well, I'm close to running out of ideas short of washing with bottled water, too.

My cousin confirmed the water theory, citing that once her family got a special water filter, it helped. An article found by google search confirmed the same. A water study found that the water here is so hard, the high levels of calcium causes hair to dry out and break, and worse, the hard water leaves a layer of film on the scalp (much like on shower doors as we are shown in those CLR commercials), preventing new hair growth.

So armed with this information, I'm trying to formulate a plan that still doesn't go as far as shampooing with bottled water or installing a water filter... yet. My plan right now is just to have my hair straightened once a week at the coiffure. That should help reduce the tangles (straight hair doesn't tangle the way curls do), and the number of times I wash my hair (a blow out can last about 5 days). And yes, I go to get my hair done. It's perfectly normal, that's what we do here. We're high maintenance and lazy.

Problem is, I'm such a control freak and I'm so particular about how I like things done that it actually gives me anxiety to let someone do my hair. Complaining and telling someone how to do something better, only confirms how Egyptian I am. However, if I found a salon with filtered water, I probably would never wash my hair myself again!

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

strings and papers

Every weekend I go to visit my grandmother and keep her company while her housekeeper is off visiting his family in the country. In my time here, I've learned how to nail down her routine. Help her get settled in the living room, open the shutters to let some light in, get the paper off the balcony, refresh her water supply, decide what we're going to have for lunch, watch an Egyptian movie on TV.

It's a nice time that we get to share and I've really come to look forward to our weekly dates.

But every time I've gone to collect the paper, I haven't found one with the same string-tie, yet. Every single day/week, the newsies tie them up with anything they get their hands on. Every single day/week, it's something different. I'm impressed with the completely random variety, so I thought I'd share it.