Sweet... but not so nice

In spite of all the recent, ongoing political drama, I'm going to lighten things up in this blog. This post is a bit personal, and in the girl-talk arena, so guys- read at your own risk. I'm going to talk about the taboo subject of hair removal.

Women are very well groomed here, which you would hope for in a region where women are blessed (or cursed) with thick, dark hair. Hair removal is as much a cultural obsession as it is a hygienic and religious responsibility. So it seems like lately, outside of the Morsi debates, this has become my other favorite topic of conversation amongst friends and females. My roommate might even say that I've become obsessed.

Where men are covered with lots of untamed body hair, women are completely without; With the exception of their eyebrows and the hair on their heads. In the West, we don't really have strict limitations on what can stay and what must go. Having been blessed and cursed with dark, thick hair, I've been obsessed with grooming from a young age as well. I've tried every kind from plucking, threading, bleaching, waxing, laser-ing, you name it, I've done it. Part of what I loved about living in Astoria, the most ethnically diverse neighborhood in the world, were the plethora of hair removal options there were, thanks to my fellow Greek, Arab, Indian, Eastern European, etc., residents.

But typically, the one thing I've always overlooked is arm hair. I don't think I know of a single friend who removes her arm hair, and I also don't think I ever noticed if a girl friend has it. I certainly never paid attention to the fine hairs on my forearms. Who cares, right?

Well, Egyptians do. They think it's gross. Just like we would think it would be gross to see a women without her legs or armpits shaved. Arm hair falls into that same category. And after a few conversations, I started to feel really self conscious about it. Egyptian women will say things like, "Oh yeah, we know foreigners don't remove their arm hair, it's fine..." But some women will instead say, "We think it's gross... and don't you too?" My family has never said anything to me about it. But after my blond roommate mentioned that someone said her nonexistent, blond arm hair was gross, I thought well, shit, mine's dark, so it must then be really gross!

I started to worry. Do I get excused for being a foreigner? Or do people see my arms and think ewwww, gross!? Do my students see it and think so too? Will guys get turned off by the sight of it? For the first time in my life, I started paying attention to it, and everyday it seemed to be getting worse, uglier, really unattractive. I started checking the arms of every Egyptian woman: all bald. I began thinking about all the people I've been meeting, all the social situations I'm in. The short sleeve shirts, the bare arms... has it been noticed? Are appetites being ruined over the sight of my arms?

So finally today I couldn't let it go any further. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I walked into a salon and asked for a waxing. Instead of waxing, I was introduced to a new method of hair removal, known here as sweet. What it is is an all natural concoction of sugar, water, and lemon juice, cooked into a caramel. The caramel is then smeared onto the area and ripped off, and that same piece is just re-used over and over again. You can find the standard wax and cloth strips in some salons, but you'll find sweet everywhere. It's even considered healthier and better for your skin because it's natural.

Waxing is never a pleasant experience in itself, but this sweet stuff is torture. Just the smearing-on is painful enough because she's pulling sticky caramel onto your skin to grab onto the hair, and then she is in this constant motion of smearing and ripping that seems to last an eternity. And arms are pretty sensitive. How many of us have techniques at ripping off bandaids quickly to minimize the pain? Well, this is like ripping off 100 bandaids in sequence.

The first arm hurt like hell. By the time she was done, my arm felt and looked like it was severely sunburned: it was red, swollen and hot, with a serious stinging feeling. So when she moved onto the other arm, I lost it. It was so painful that tears were just pouring down my face. I couldn't control it and she said, "If you're crying over this, what would you do if you had a lot of hair? Some women have it much worse than you!" I was told that this was especially awful because it was the first time, and next time should be much easier. I've had plenty of waxings before, but this was just a whole new definition of horrible. It's been hours since I had it done, and my arms are still burning, red, and hot. But I do have to say though, they feel sooooo soft. They've never felt like this before!

So was it worth it? That's to be determined. Will I go back? That's also to be determined. We females seriously got the short end of the stick here. We have to put up with so much pain and bullshit in our lives. Next time I see a guy with a bandaid on his arm, I swear to God, I'm going to rip it off ever so slowly and enjoy every second of watching him squirm.

Morsi Protest - Tahrir Square

Things have only become more heated here in response to Morsi's recent self-declaration as the supreme leader of Egypt. There have been countless protests, reactions, marches and arguments held both for and against the President.

Some have been accusing the Muslim Brotherhood as having an ulterior motive, a hidden agenda through all of this. They don't believe that the MB or Morsi care about Egypt, but rather, they are seeking control of Egypt for the sake of their Nation of Islam. This is not hard to believe when you wonder how the hell a man could have the gall to make himself higher than any authority in this country (by definition, a dictator, or pharaoh as many are calling him) when just a year ago the whole world witnessed Egyptians overthrowing the dictator they'd been living under for 30 years!!

In response, Morsi claims that his intentions are honest, and for the sake of the re-trials, but now that he's seen the peoples' reactions, he's even been backing down, or taking back some of what he's said. The MB was expected to be in Tahrir to counter the opposition's protests, but they then decided to change their location to the other side of the Nile, near Cairo University. Ultimately, they decided to cancel their protest entirely, most likely to prevent clashes.

I held a debate about this whole Morsi issue in class with my English students. The room was split between those wanting Morsi to be removed, and those saying he needs to stay. My personal opinion is that either way, Morsi shouldn't be considered a "leader," he's the test pilot. He's the first man that Egypt ever elected to run the country. This is the first time in the history of Egypt that Egyptians claimed their right to a democracy, and voted. Whether it's Morsi or someone else, the first elected President in this new government couldn't possibly get it right. Not to mention that Egypt has so many issues that need resolution, it will take decades or at least, several 4-year Presidential terms. But the important thing is that armed with their newfound courage and their starvation for democracy, Egyptians should absolutely speak up when they're not seeing their government run the way they want it to. That is exactly what a democracy is- when its citizens have the right and role to speak and influence their government. If they didn't react to Morsi on this level about something so significant, he could slowly and gradually seize power without fearing or suffering any consequences.

Throughout all the years I've spent coming to Egypt, I've always pointed out the obvious problems in the country. I questioned Mubarak, I asked friends and family why they don't speak up or try to change their government, and the response I always got was a passive, 'ehh, this is how it is, it will never change.' I would always leave feeling so frustrated, so disappointed. So when I saw the revolution take place last year, I could not believe my eyes. I remained glued to the TV, laughing and crying. I felt extremely proud and shocked that Egyptians had finally done something so incredible, so life-changing, so world-impacting.

That's why I found it so moving to witness the massive protest held in Tahrir last night. To now be living here, all for the sake of a better, more real-life experience, and to witness hundreds of thousands of Egyptians assemble in the world famous Tahrir Square in active participation of their new roles in their new government... it was just amazing. I had little to say, but I kept smiling and shaking my head in total amazement.

I went with my journalist girl friend and her friends, and had been strongly advised to be on guard as sexual harassment of women has been rampant in the square. We witnessed fights break out in the crowds over women being harassed or abused. In one corner of the square, there's a field hospital set up to treat victims with injuries. Just as we had been crossing it, there was a massive fight, and 2 women had been carried out, over the crowd to the field hospital. The fighting was dragged towards the hospitals, and the doctors had been using flame throwers (a spray bottle and a lighter) to keep the crowds back. It was happening all around us, and I felt disgusted and angered by it. Apparently, during the revolution, some thugs had been paid to harass women as a means of keeping them and other people, out of the square. I told my friend that should anything ever happen to me, I want pictures and stories blasted all over the internet and media. I want everyone to see and to know.

On the ground, it was impossible to get a perspective of the density of the crowd, but it was loud and very crowded. Eventually, we were led to the top floor of an apartment building right on Tahrir Square, where a friend had been broadcasting live news coverage of the protests. She turned out to be a very inspiring girl from England. She'd been previously writing for fashion magazines in London and had a sort of similar, 'What the fuck am I doing here? I need to find something more meaningful,' reality check, to mine. So she eventually made her way over to Cairo and has been covering all the latest activity since the revolution.

The view from that building was just amazing. It offered us a whole new perspective of the protest... And it was massive. Tahrir hadn't been flooded with people like this since the revolution. Every inch, every corner, was covered with people. Marches had been coming through from every road and bridge that led to the square. Tents were sent up in the middle, banners were strewn all around, flags were waving from hands, and painted on faces. From above, we could hear the loud chants from every corner of the square, each group having a different voice.

Many members of my family had been there, but it was so difficult to coordinate, as cell phone coverage was very poor- with so many people in one location using their phones simultaneously, this was to be expected.

I feel so lucky to have been there.

Cairo: A second revolution looming?

Well, it has certainly been an interesting week.

On the anniversary of the protests that occured on Mohamed Mahmoud St. last year, Cairens took to the streets to remember those who passed, while issuing a bold reminder that the people have a voice and many are still unsatisfied with the outcome of the revolution. Protestors gathered on Mohamed Mahmoud St. in Downtown Cairo, and were met with the same kind of police brutality that caused the fatalities last year. Police were reportedly throwing rocks, blocks of concrete and furniture from the tops of buildings, one of them a school, that they had occupied. Protestors were being carried away bloodied and bruised.

Not even 3 days later, President Morsi declares himself the new Dictator of Egypt by granting himself full, legislative and judicial powers, far surpassing all other government bodies in Egypt. His claim is that he's dissatisfied with the Courts' handling of those politicians who were being tried, or dismissed, for their crimes under the Mubarak regime, and that he wishes to seek and issue justice. The country is now divided between those who are calling him out on his bullshit, and those who believe they must respect and submit to the new leader. Groups of protestors are increasing daily in Tahrir Square, with clashes becoming more intense over Morsi's recent activities. And the Courts have declared his decree as illegal and unrecognizable, going so far to accuse him of invalidating his position and authority as President. Those in support of Morsi stormed and set fire to the High Court today in protest, while those against him are chanting "Morsi, leave," in the streets.

In short, it's been a mess. Although these protests have been isolated to certain areas Downtown, the rest of Cairo is operating totally normally. So by no means has chaos broken-out throughout the city. I've even been in the Downtown area a few times this past week, and outside of those concentrated areas, it's all "normal." I use quotations because everyone should still use caution. There's been some propaganda that all foreigners here are spies, so some Egyptians are very suspicious and untrusting of anyone who is/looks like a foreigner.

No one really understands what is going on, and where Morsi's sudden decision came from. Did he really think that he was riding so high with the recent ceasefire he orchestrated between Israel and Gaza, that he could get away with such a thing? Did he really believe that he could get away with it? I was never a fan of his, and but I didn't necessarily believe he had a hidden agenda tucked away somewhere. I'm a little shocked by his audacity. Didn't the world just witness Egypt having a revolution to overthrow a "President" and by "President" I mean Dictator? Didn't the world cheer on in their support for democracy in Egypt? How does Morsi think this will fly?

Egyptians love their conspiracy theories as much as they love talking about politics, so I have heard every sort of theory possible on why he's doing this, or what he's trying to do. There are theories about whether or not protesting will be effective this time around, or whether the peoples' voices will be heard at all. We expats are speculating every possible scenario, asking each other if we'll leave if things escalate the way they did last year.

But this is the hot topic that no one can seem to get off the table. I'm hesitating to formulate an opinion too hastily without gathering more information. My students at school are all voicing their opinions, debating the issues in and out of class, and some are even going to or coming from Tahrir Square.

It's an intense and exciting time to be here in Cairo. There are protests scheduled everyday for the next few days, but Tuesday is supposed to be a big one, and it's my day off. I know there are risks, and the Embassy has advised Americans to avoid Downtown, but I can't help myself. I really want to go to witness and participate.

After all, like everyone in the Mugamma says, I'm Egyptian. This is my country too. And if there's one thing I will support anywhere in the world, it's freedom.

the Mugamma - take two

So it's my day off and what better way to start it by going back to the Mugamma to get this visa??

Today it was even more crowded with Syrians and Palestinians seeking refuge here. Really interesting to see that Egypt is considered a refuge for some, and a hell for others, namely the Egyptians.

I came back armed with my father's old IDs, and embarked on this challenging pursuit of transferring my visa. Doesn't sound like it should be too difficult, but this is Egypt. It turned out that they wanted me to fill out citizenship forms since my father is Egyptian, and therefore I am Egyptian, so I wouldn't need a visa to stay in my country. I went through the same cycle of shoving myself up to the windows and having conflicting conversations with workers about which forms to fill out, not wanting citizenship, and just wanting to pay for a visa for my American passport. No. They refused to give me just a visa on the fact that my father is Egyptian. They even shouted at me that either I become a citizen, or I get nothing. And the thing is- even when I go through that whole citizenship form-filling process, every single person at every single window tells me to go in the opposite direction and fill out yet another form, and it is just so exhausting.

There is no system, no organization, everyone makes up these arbitrary requirements, and all the ppl at the windows tell you to seek approval from an officer, and then the officer tells you you don't need what you're looking for, and the ppl at the window say the officers have no idea what they're talking about. Folders and folders of papers everywhere. Everything is written by hand and filed in messy piles on desks behind the windows. It such a mess.

Eventually, a police officer told me to just lie and say that my dad is Lebanese, not Egyptian. That would explain why i have an arabic name and can speak arabic. That actually was working just until a woman recognized me from last week's attempt and viciously called me out in front of everyone. I was called a liar and was denied any help. Her coworker took my father's and grandmother's names and birthdays to search their records to confirm. I had no idea how to get out of my, kind of Lebanese, kind of Egyptian father lie, so I just left. Again.

I swear I'm not going back. If I have to pay an expediter or make some calls to pull some strings, I will. But I am not going back to that hell hole.

This whole experience sickens me and makes me hate Egypt. No wonder egyptians are so angry. I'm just not sure what to do because I want to travel during the holiday break and I won't be able to without the right visa and I can't get the visa without getting my "genseyya". SMH.

The bachelorette life in Cairo.

so i got the apartment!! i moved in last friday and settled in immediately. the two girls have been more than helpful with my move, even lending me sheets and towels until i get myself out to one of the carrefours located on the outskirts of the city to furnish them myself. i've never had roomates and never lived near girls or girlfriends, so this is a really enjoyable experience so far.

we stay up and talk about boys and drama, we have shelves of beauty products stocked in the bathroom, i haven't been to a cafe since friday, and i am really enjoying the luxury of having wifi at home. other luxuries i quite enjoy: having a cleaning lady come once a week, having a masseuse come to the apartment, and let's not forget, having my own space! i finally unpacked my bags and almost forgot that i brought so many clothes.

now I have the super fun task of shopping for accessories and decor. i've been roaming around zamalek, checking out shops and supermarkets. i found this great place called fair trade that sells egyptian-made crafts at amazingly low prices, and bought a great basket for just 20 LE. it's hard work. :-)

the girls are now my friends and we'll be hosting thanksgiving dinner and various other parties at our place. i'm so happy.

...teaching English in Cairo

When I went around my beginner's English class and greeted each student individually last week, "Hello, how are you?" one of my Palestinian students responded, "I'm very sad." When I asked, "Why!?" he said, "Because my country is in fight and my city is in fire." That was the day the fighting broke out in Gaza. Cairo has been on fire about this.

They've since come to class with Palestinian flags and kaffiyas, as they've joined the protests downtown in support of ending the attacks on Gaza, and to pressure Morsi to resolve the situation. All three were smiling yesterday and there was something inside me that felt very proud of them, rather than sorry for them.

Teaching is going so well, so far. Ironically, my favorite class is my night class, which I didn't even want to teach in the first place. But the students have great chemistry together and everyone is a character. The three Palestinian boys are always laughing at my Arabic, and I laugh at their Arabic accents in return. I have a student who is always cracking jokes, one who must be unconscious for most of the class because he always says a completely wrong and random answer, and each of the 5 women in the class have sass. One is a mother of 5 and is married to an American and her kids are all American, so she thought it was about time she learned English. Another works in tourism and we all embarrassed her when she learned the word "boyfriend" and told us she has one. Simple things are so funny, like when i asked the unconscious guy, "Are you a sister?" and he insisted, "Yes, I am a sister!" the class broke out in laughter. We knew he meant he had one, but he didn't get my question.

The best part is that almost all the students will give me a hard time if I don't call on them to participate. So we just spend a great deal laughing and joking around with a tremendous eagerness to learn. It's very refreshing.

During breaks the Palestinian boys buy me coffee or tea. They're actually the best students in the class and bribes for A's aren't necessary. In my morning class, a female student is always bringing me these breadstix snacks that I love. The other teachers joke about how my students spoil me. I happily enjoy it. It's those small gestures of Arab hospitality that I just adore.

Yesterday I was caught up with some minor food poisoning and I actually had to stop in the middle of my first class to vomit, which took the life right out of me and the class. So at night, I told the class we'd skip our break and leave 30 minutes early. Funny thing is, we spent the first half of the class learning about food and the students were asking me to spell things like "macarona bechemel," "foul," "mahshi," "kawera," these are all Egyptian foods that could be translated, but there's no right way to spell them in English, like cappuccino, for example.

I'm enjoying it so much, that I'm going to add more classes next semester. In fact, I'm going to request that all my students in the Level I night class stay together next semester, and that I continue teaching them through the levels. The company's directors are both happy with me, and met with me to discuss progressing with them.

So everything's going well. :-)

the Mugamma: the end of egyptian civilization

the mugamma is the large building that proudly towers over tahrir square. it handles all things bureaucratic in egypt. anytime any kind of paperwork is needed, you go to the mugamma. people are officially born, married, or dead here; and if you want to have any legal or acknowledgable existence in cairo, you eventually have to make your way over to this monstrosity of a building.

after spending all of 10 minutes going through the organized, streamlined, peaceful, US Embassy to collect my new passport, i thought i'd try my luck by heading to the mugamma straight away to have my visa transfered to the new passport. since my visa is in my old, cancelled passport, technically in my new, valid one, i never entered egypt; i'm not here. so when i leave, that will be an issue. if i wanted to open a bank account, the bank would require a resident visa to do so, so for various reasons, this visa is important.

so i thought i'd pop in and get an idea of what i needed in order to get this visa transfered. the perimeter of each floor is lined with people sitting behind plexiglass windows, each labeled with a particular transaction. i would estimate that about 60% of the people who work in this building are completely useless and clueless and have zero professional sense whatsoever. i witnessed police men shouting at anyone who asked questions about the forms; i saw women behind the counters telling someone to shut up and leave her alone and ask somebody else. in the mugamma, there is absolutely no respect for the person; the human being; the civilian. we're all mashed up into one large piece of shit.

in front of the window are dozens of people shoving their way to the front. absolutely no signs of civilization whatsoever. whoever pushes the hardest gets to the front. doesn't matter if you're already there, someone will cut you. even the person behind the window doesn't care if you were there first, they handle whoever is speaking to them. doesn't matter that you're a woman, men are pasted all over you. the only way to survive this chaos is to join them and completely disregard the respectable concepts of waiting in line or having any manners. so you see, this is all a vicious cycle of chaos. act like animals, get treated like shit. get treated like shit, act like an animal.

the first person i spoke to said to go to window #41. i went to window #41. where is your paperwork? i don't know, what paperwork? you have to go to window #46. i go to window #46. i need paperwork to transfer my visa. are you egyptian? no, my father is. talk to this police officer. he tells me to go to another police officer who gives me a form to fill. tells me to go to window #12. i can't read/write arabic, so i go to window #12 with the form and tell her my name. in egypt, you are given a first name, and your middle name is your father's name, followed by his middle and last name. but i have zero evidence of being egyptian besides my name and that i speak arabic. i have no nationality, no ID card, not even my father's old passport. and that's fine because

all i want to do is transfer my egypt visa to my new american passport.

so she writes my name on the paper and tells me to wait. why? i have no idea. she calls me 15 minutes later. you can't fill out this paper because you have no proof you are egyptian. yes, that's what i told you. go to talk to this police officer.

i lose it a little. i have been circling this building for an hour, everyone tells me to talk to a different person, and i just want to put my old visa on my new passport, i will even buy a new visa, i don't care, i don't care about being egyptian!, just tell me where to go to transfer my visa. she looks at me with her eyebrows raised and a snarky expression that i wanted to slap off of her face and says,

"oh? did you think you were just going to walk into the mugamma, get your visa, and walk out?"

she was lucky there was plexiglass separating us.

i go to the officer and tell him, i have no proof i'm egyptian and i don't care, i just want a visa on my american passport. he says that he cares because i have an egyptian name, so he is the one who decides whether or not i can get a visa. so i have to go find this other guy in another room who is going to search for my dad's name and his birthday to confirm if i'm egyptian or not.

i get lost trying to find this guy, so i ask another window along the way, what to do. she gives me a new form to fill out and tells me to visit window #6.

i walked the fuck out of the building.

after an hour and a half, i had enough. i'll go back when my dad emails me his 1968 egyptian ID that will suddenly, hopefully, validate my existence so i can get the $15 fucking visa stamped into my new passport.