Okay first of all, I just noticed that my days are off. Apparently I skipped from day 72 to day 74 or something like that. Rather than go back and fix all of this, I will just accept the fact that I am one day off. So really its only 128 days now, but oh well.
In other news: Art and Architecture is over. It could have been better and could have been a lot worse. Now it's Ivan's test, which is just brute memorization. I normally do good at these types of tests, because well I put in the time. After 1, tomorrow I am done though. Just got to make it there.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Day 128
May 27th
Well this class year is not ending with a bang but more a sizzle. I think its partially attributed to the fact that when I am done with finals, I am not going home. This means that this does not really feel like finals. Also the fact, that school has never really picked up, its hard to believe its over. So when I finished my Arabic test, it felt quite anticlimactic. I thought to myself, "this is it, class is over?" And the answer was, yes, I had just turned in my last Arabic final in my collegiate career. Although I am not done with the language it feels kind of weird to be done, considering Arabic has been a staple of my college life since second semester freshmen year. It was also quite sad to see our class go. I think everybody kind of felt the same way, as we were all sitting around afterwards, looking at each other, wondering is this really it, is this an end to the "tribe" as we liked to call ourselves. I mean I really liked the people in our class, and I hope to see them in the future. There are some really special people at this university and I hope that goodbye now, is not goodbye forever. But as my roommate says, if you go into Middle Eastern studies, chances are I will see the same people, as the pond is not that big.
Today has consisted of studying for my Art Test tomorrow. It should be a bruiser. I am kind of tired of walking out of these tests feeling unsure about the test. I would much rather walk away thinking I annihilated the test. But as I have also learned, there are more important things than having good grades, like having upstanding morals and long-lasting relationships. I think I learned this lesson at the end of senior year, and I am not sure I will ever learn it for good until I let go of my obsession with going my best. But perhaps I can strike a better balance. We shall see.
Well this class year is not ending with a bang but more a sizzle. I think its partially attributed to the fact that when I am done with finals, I am not going home. This means that this does not really feel like finals. Also the fact, that school has never really picked up, its hard to believe its over. So when I finished my Arabic test, it felt quite anticlimactic. I thought to myself, "this is it, class is over?" And the answer was, yes, I had just turned in my last Arabic final in my collegiate career. Although I am not done with the language it feels kind of weird to be done, considering Arabic has been a staple of my college life since second semester freshmen year. It was also quite sad to see our class go. I think everybody kind of felt the same way, as we were all sitting around afterwards, looking at each other, wondering is this really it, is this an end to the "tribe" as we liked to call ourselves. I mean I really liked the people in our class, and I hope to see them in the future. There are some really special people at this university and I hope that goodbye now, is not goodbye forever. But as my roommate says, if you go into Middle Eastern studies, chances are I will see the same people, as the pond is not that big.
Today has consisted of studying for my Art Test tomorrow. It should be a bruiser. I am kind of tired of walking out of these tests feeling unsure about the test. I would much rather walk away thinking I annihilated the test. But as I have also learned, there are more important things than having good grades, like having upstanding morals and long-lasting relationships. I think I learned this lesson at the end of senior year, and I am not sure I will ever learn it for good until I let go of my obsession with going my best. But perhaps I can strike a better balance. We shall see.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Day 127
Monday May 26th
Today I took the writing part of my fusha test and my colloquial test. Most of the time for writing samples, I like to take the safe route and not write down anything I am not absolutely sure about. But this time, I went all out, trying to use many different words and constructs and playing around with the grammar. My spelling is bad in very language so hopefully that didn't carry over too much. I think that all my problems with languages are connected. The fact that I have trouble spelling words means I have trouble pronouncing, meaning I have trouble speaking and therefore trouble listening. After 4 months in Cairo, I shouldn't have as much trouble as I do with pronouncing words. Anyways, Colloquial went fine, I understood all the grammar concepts he wanted me to cover, I just don't think my pronunciation was all that good. Tomorrow is the grammar/reading/vocab for Fusha. It should go smoothly.
Today I took the writing part of my fusha test and my colloquial test. Most of the time for writing samples, I like to take the safe route and not write down anything I am not absolutely sure about. But this time, I went all out, trying to use many different words and constructs and playing around with the grammar. My spelling is bad in very language so hopefully that didn't carry over too much. I think that all my problems with languages are connected. The fact that I have trouble spelling words means I have trouble pronouncing, meaning I have trouble speaking and therefore trouble listening. After 4 months in Cairo, I shouldn't have as much trouble as I do with pronouncing words. Anyways, Colloquial went fine, I understood all the grammar concepts he wanted me to cover, I just don't think my pronunciation was all that good. Tomorrow is the grammar/reading/vocab for Fusha. It should go smoothly.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Day 126
Saturday May 24th
Well today, as you might have guessed I spent studying for finals. Today I focused on my Art and Architecture test, which I will have on Wednesday. Tomorrow I will spend studying Arabic. Luckily, pretty much everybody else is in the same boat I am with studying, so I don't think I am missing out on anything too exciting going on. Plus, in 5 days I will be done with class and free to spend all my time doing whatever I feel like. As long as that means Arabic or DDC work. I am excited.
Well today, as you might have guessed I spent studying for finals. Today I focused on my Art and Architecture test, which I will have on Wednesday. Tomorrow I will spend studying Arabic. Luckily, pretty much everybody else is in the same boat I am with studying, so I don't think I am missing out on anything too exciting going on. Plus, in 5 days I will be done with class and free to spend all my time doing whatever I feel like. As long as that means Arabic or DDC work. I am excited.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Day 125
Friday May 23rd
Today I spent studying for my political science test on Thursday. This is my weakest grade going into finals, so I need to make sure I rock the final to ensure a good grade. It's tough though, when there the grading in the class is so arbitrary, and I think that the essays on the finals are going to be graded compared to everyone else's. This means I will be going against people who have been studying this material for the last four years of their life, while I am just getting into it. But you know me, I thrive off competition, so hopefully I will be able to pull through.
Other finals are Art and Architecture, which I will plow through tomorrow, and Arabic. Arabic, surprisingly should be my easiest finals, a noticeable difference compared to all my friends who think Arabic will be the toughest. Sadly it's not because I am better at Arabic, its just that I have tougher other classes. Darn.
Today I spent studying for my political science test on Thursday. This is my weakest grade going into finals, so I need to make sure I rock the final to ensure a good grade. It's tough though, when there the grading in the class is so arbitrary, and I think that the essays on the finals are going to be graded compared to everyone else's. This means I will be going against people who have been studying this material for the last four years of their life, while I am just getting into it. But you know me, I thrive off competition, so hopefully I will be able to pull through.
Other finals are Art and Architecture, which I will plow through tomorrow, and Arabic. Arabic, surprisingly should be my easiest finals, a noticeable difference compared to all my friends who think Arabic will be the toughest. Sadly it's not because I am better at Arabic, its just that I have tougher other classes. Darn.
Day 124
Thursday May 22nd
Today is the last Thursday of class. A lot of people around here are feeling an emotional mix of wanting to home to the states and a sentimental desire to not leave Cairo. However, I am stuck here for another 2 months, so I am not getting excited about going home and I am not becoming sad about leaving Cairo, because well I am not leaving Cairo. I am starting to think about summer vacation and the people that I will be missing and the experiences I won't have back in Spokane. I guess this is just a fact of life, there are always opportunity costs. Besides, the research that I am doing here is exactly what I want to be doing. It combines my passions of security studies/development/ and environmental protection. Basically it doesn't get much better than that. Plus, whenever I get bored of looking at resource wars, I get to study Arabic and improve those skills... hopefully.
Today was spent in the DDC and in arabic. Nothing much to report and I didn't really get much accomplished. However, the real fun was at night when we returned to our friends, The Beatty's, in Maadi. I love this place. The Beatty's are some of the nicest people I know and we ate and drank like Kings and Queen's in an Officer's Club for the State Department. It was incredible. JP and I, were affirmed in our love America again. Afterwards we played Wii, everything from bowling to Super Smash Brawl, which I really didn't understand yet, and then Guitar Hero. I was a very happy cat.
Today is the last Thursday of class. A lot of people around here are feeling an emotional mix of wanting to home to the states and a sentimental desire to not leave Cairo. However, I am stuck here for another 2 months, so I am not getting excited about going home and I am not becoming sad about leaving Cairo, because well I am not leaving Cairo. I am starting to think about summer vacation and the people that I will be missing and the experiences I won't have back in Spokane. I guess this is just a fact of life, there are always opportunity costs. Besides, the research that I am doing here is exactly what I want to be doing. It combines my passions of security studies/development/ and environmental protection. Basically it doesn't get much better than that. Plus, whenever I get bored of looking at resource wars, I get to study Arabic and improve those skills... hopefully.
Today was spent in the DDC and in arabic. Nothing much to report and I didn't really get much accomplished. However, the real fun was at night when we returned to our friends, The Beatty's, in Maadi. I love this place. The Beatty's are some of the nicest people I know and we ate and drank like Kings and Queen's in an Officer's Club for the State Department. It was incredible. JP and I, were affirmed in our love America again. Afterwards we played Wii, everything from bowling to Super Smash Brawl, which I really didn't understand yet, and then Guitar Hero. I was a very happy cat.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Day 123
Wednesday May 21st
This day just like almost every other Wednesday, was filled full of classes. However, for me, these classes were a little bit harder to get through because I was exhausted from exercise and staying up late last night writing and updating this blog, as you can probably tell from the flurry of recent posts. On top of these exhaustion factors, I also began noticing a growing pain in my arm that I get whenever I work out for the first time in a while and strain my arms. This pain has grown throughout the day, but I know from past experience that it goes away after a few annoying days. In other news, finals still loom ahead and my progress in studies has not improved. If this were not taught at a high school level I would be freaking out at this point. This weekend will be completely devoted to the studies, except for a trip to the beatty's for dinner tomorrow. I also showed Blake the apartment and we might get another roommate there.
As for new about Cairo, not much to report. I realize I still live in an AUC bubble, and I wonder if life consists of just traveling through the world trapped in self-created bubbles of security and awareness. I bet it is.
This day just like almost every other Wednesday, was filled full of classes. However, for me, these classes were a little bit harder to get through because I was exhausted from exercise and staying up late last night writing and updating this blog, as you can probably tell from the flurry of recent posts. On top of these exhaustion factors, I also began noticing a growing pain in my arm that I get whenever I work out for the first time in a while and strain my arms. This pain has grown throughout the day, but I know from past experience that it goes away after a few annoying days. In other news, finals still loom ahead and my progress in studies has not improved. If this were not taught at a high school level I would be freaking out at this point. This weekend will be completely devoted to the studies, except for a trip to the beatty's for dinner tomorrow. I also showed Blake the apartment and we might get another roommate there.
As for new about Cairo, not much to report. I realize I still live in an AUC bubble, and I wonder if life consists of just traveling through the world trapped in self-created bubbles of security and awareness. I bet it is.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Day 122
Tuesday May 20th
Today I had to give a presentation in Arabic without any preparation. I became acutely aware of how poor my Arabic speaking skills are. Not only do I pronounce all my words poorly but I struggle to find the words I want to use much less put them into a coherent grammer structure. My reading has gotten much better, but I think my listening and speaking are just as bad as they were when I left Notre Dame. Okay, that might be drastic, but I don’t feel like I have gotten any better here. Maybe I don’t put in enough time, maybe its because I struggle with phonetics in general or maybe its because I am just a dumbass. One thing is for sure, I can’t spend another semester here. The lack of quality education is absolutely destroying whatever confidence in my intellectual abilities I might have developed.
Day 121
Monday 19th
Today was once again day of class and work. It’s a Monday, so it’s tough getting through them. After classes I went back to the gym for a second day in a row. I started going back yesterday and I am sore as heck. However, its important to start to up again, there will always be excuses for not going, so I just got to start up suck it up through the first few rough days. I forgot to mention yesterday that I also went to Church again. Here I realized something else about life and God. Some may call me naïve or idealistic, but I believe that there is a better world out there. I believe that this better world is built upon truth, love and prosperity for all. I think there is a better life out there, one free of disease, hate, violence, fear, pride, selfishness, indifference. I believe that there is a life where there is true happiness found in the bonds of relationships between the brotherhood of mankind, where we know truth and freedom. I don’t know if this better life is attainable in the material world, but I believe that we each have a responsibility to try and build this
I realize this is very poorly worded and described, and I think that might be because I am very tired at this moment, but I also thinks it has to do with a general denigration of my English skills in my time here. For one, my spontaneous speaking ability has become more limited and my writing quality has also decreased. I can’t put coherent sentences together anymore. I am not sure if its because I don’t practice enough as the only writing I really do is this fast as possible blog or if it is because I have become so used to Arabic. I hope it’s the later, but I feel it’s the former. More importantly I hope my ability to speak and not sound like a dumbass comes back.
Day 120
Sunday May 18th
Well today I meant to do a lot of work. However, that I still didn’t get as much homework done as I wanted to. I am trying to get ready for the coming finals and so I am starting to study up for the questions for my Political Science. This meant I did a lot of reading, which I started at the apartment and then continued at the library at campus. Our apartment is no longer picking up internet, so this is presenting us with kind of a problem. I think we will either try and get internet or just utilize the tons of free internet cafes located around the apartment. These would be much cheaper and probably more fun. Until summer, I will probably just spend the majority of my time in the dorm.
I was able to clean up the room a little bit and play cards with the guys. I really enjoy playing cards, it’s just relaxing and fun, unless you don’t get the cards you want.
Day 119
Saturday May 17th
This day was spent doing homework. First I did my art and architecture homework, then I did my Arabic homework. I have gotten quite good at reading (to myself) in Arabic. My listening and speaking skills are still lacking. Hopefully we can focus on that in the summer. Other than that, I ate dinner at the new Lebanese restaurant in Zamalek, and then watched Fight Club again. I found Fight Club a lot more rewarding this time. Before I disagreed with many of the philosophies that the movie but forth. But now I find many lessons from it that I could use to improve myself. I think one of the best lines is The stuff you own, starts to own you. I find this especially true and I sometimes find myself trying to define myself by my clothing, when in fact I should define my clothes. Also, there whole idea about how you have to hit bottom and lose sense of yourself I find very appealing. It’s the same lesson that the Esquire article I read earlier got at. Men, Americans, People are too consumed with getting that perfect coffe-table, the nice wardrobe, that they don’t care about the really important things in life. So in Fight Club they try to destroy that system that has subsumed their lives and made them into wastes of space. They really stress how you should let all the other stuff slide and focus on what really matters in life, and you should recognize that the more you live the closer you probability of survival goes to zero. This means you shouldn’t get bogged down with the stupid stuff and should really focus on what matters. So I would just say rather then destroying the system how about you get mad at all the shit that is going wrong in the world and focus your life on that. Just let all the other stuff go, hit bottom, eliminate your lower self so that you can devote yourself to the greater causes. Let go of the shit that clutters life.
Day 118
Friday May 16th
I started the day by watching the movie Miami Vice. This movie was not good. Following the movie I looked up on GQ, the right stuff behind a stuff, and then accompanied my roommate downtown to help him pick out some nice suits. These were some really nice suits, but for $100 they were out of my price range. I prefer to buy the suit at good-will and then dry-clean it. Saves a lot of money.
Following this expedition, I checked up on my boy Obama, took a nap, and then headed out with Kieran, John, and Jake (Kieran’s roommate, from
Returning back to the dorm we played Hearts and Rummy 500 until the late hours of the night and had an amazing time.
Day 117
Thursday May 15th.
Thursday started off with a nice run around Zamalek. Either because the food I ate last night or the lack of oxygen, I was exhausted after the run. But I rallied and spent most of the daytime engaged in one of two activities. Studying for my colloquial test or working in the DDC. I really enjoy going to the DDC. I find the work extremely rewarding as we are working stuff that could actually help a lot of people in need. This work is on the cutting-edge of social issues in
The colloquial test was not what I expected, and I am still not good at it, but I think it went fine. Afterwards I went and signed the deal for my summer apartment, It turns out that we got for cheaper then we originally expected, but on the flip side it turns out we only get 2300 from Notre Dame as the rest is taxed. This money will come later in tax refunds, but it means we are living on the cheap for a while.
After this I got dinner at Euro-deli, I went to part of the AUC play. I thought it was funny, but I couldn’t understand it, and had other plans, so I excused myself early and went to hang out with my friends at Garden City. Afterwards I returned and spent my first at my apartment, named the Penthouse.
Day 116
Wednesday May 14th
Today was one of those uneventful days. There are very few of these days left at AUC, and its starting to sink in that I am spending my last few days as a Student Abroad Student. Although I am not leaving
Anyways, I was able to stay awake through the long block of classes I have in the afternoon. Not only are these classes 1 and half hours, but their afternoon time slot makes them deadly. I was able to stay awake by engrossing myself in note taking and drinking large quantities of Pepsi.
After class, time was spent working, talking to Price and debating the merits of
Day 115
Tuesday May 13th
Well today, I put a deposit in for an apartment. This apartment is just what we are looking for. It’s on Zamalek, the area we want to live in. It’s got access to internet by leeching off the unsecured networks around. Plus, its just a skip away from the Zamalek apartments so we can use there gym and internet hot spot. It’s also a very apartment, with some amazing views. It’s located on the top floor, so we are going to call it The Penthouse. I am kind of worried that is too nice for our budget. But before I agreed to anything I did calculations and between the two of us, it’s not a problem at all. I kind of hope to find a third person to live with us though, so that he/she can defray some of the costs. I kind of wanted to be able to give money away to all the poor people, not waste it on frivolous housing. Oh well, the deal is basically done, I still have two days to back out though. Hopefully everything works out. I feel very nervous about the whole situation, like there are going to be extraneous costs and things tacked on. I hope not. God be with me.
Day 114
Monday May 12th
Monday means another exciting day full of classes. I showed up to my Arabic class before the designated starting time, which was a nice change from yesterday. Class went okay, I wasn’t on my A-game but I wasn’t off my game either. After class I enjoyed the cheap deliciousness of K-tah, where I told Mrs. Cahalan’s infamous Descartes bar joke. I enjoyed it. After that I endured another awful class of Ivan the terrible where I just can’t seem to stay awake. Even if the material interests me, I think the format is just conducive to not paying attention. I was able to rally for my Art class where I stayed awake and focused the entire period. This might be because of my nap earlier or the large amounts of Pepsi I consumed. After colloquial Arabic I returned to the hunt for apartments and came up unsuccessful as the guy wanted more money then we were willing to pay. Oh well, the search continues tomorrow.
After getting some Chinese food for dinner and doing my Arabic homework, I started doing some research for the DDC and trying to understand climate change in
Day 113
Sunday May 11th
Today I had a test on Chapter 2 in Arabic. Since today is a make-up day, I thought we had pushed the time back to 9:00 start date. So I woke up a little later, studied, and showed up to class at around 8:45. To my surprise class had started at 8:00. Oh well, I wasn’t going to sweat it, with sandwich in hand I started the test and finished 20 minutes later. It was a pretty easy test, but I am sure I made some stupid mistakes. After the test, the class went to Al-Azhar Park Al-Azhar park is an amazingly beautiful park built on what was a landfill. It lucks like they put in a bunch of turf and shrubs and trees. Its really well maintained and there is a lot of security to keep people from ruining it. This was a welcome change from the rest of
Afterwards we traveled back to AUC and got stuck in some terrible traffic; Enough for us to get out and walk. Apparently they just closed the street for some important person. Really annoying.
So after doing my homework, and heading back to the dorm I started working on the blogs. But on my way to Metro to buy some bread I saw this nest of big mo-fo cockroaches. They were disgusting. So much so, that I decided right there that I wanted a clean apartment. One where I wouldn’t have to deal with those nasty bugs. So I think I will room with Megan which will work well so that we can work together for DDC stuff.
Day 112
Saturday May 10th
I am tired of
Day 111
Friday May 9th
Today was a day spent catching up on sleep. After a hectic week of classes and homework, I still hadn’t recovered in the sleep department since my vacation. This means I skipped out on a brunch meal at Lucile’s, the world famous restaurant in Maadi, who according to time magazine has the world’s best burgers. However, because I slept in until like 12, I got a few more hours of sleep and saved about 40 pounds on food. I still have a lot more stuff to catch up on, including blogging and contacts.
After being woken up by John returning from Lucile’s, we went over to McDonalds and graded our exams for Better World, the English teaching program that John Paul got us into. I found this program extremely rewarding. First of all, it gave me an insight into the world of teaching, and made we question if I have the speaking, communication, and leadership skills required to make it in whatever job path I go down. Second, I realized just how lucky I am to be a native speaker of the Lingua Franca of the world. English is the language of business and without out it becomes very difficult to succeed monetarily in life. Living in
For dinner, we rolled out to Chili’s and enjoyed the bottomless soda and chips. This restaurant is a little nugget of
Day 110
Thursday May 8th
Today’s big event for me was my work for the DDC. After Arabic in the morning I spent my six hour break working at the DDC. I haven’t really started working on my summer project yet, which I do want to start soon, but currently the DDC is trying to get a grant from the IRDC to research adaptation to climate change in
For dinner we ate at Dido’s, because well its cheap. This time though, JP was finally able to convince his roommate to come out with us. I enjoyed this because we normally only associate with other study abroad kids and talking with an Egyptian, even if it was only small talk was a nice change of pace.
At night we went down to the Metro Movie Theatre to watch
Day 109
Wednesday May 7th
Once again not much to report about Wednesday. They are always full of school and not much else. Oh boy.
Once again not much to report about Wednesday. They are always full of school and not much else. Oh boy.
Day 108
Tuesday May 6th
A much easier day which I spent catching up on all sorts of things like homework and laundry. Getting back can be as stressful as traveling. Oh well. Not much to report, other than I enjoy being in Cairo again, being able to speak at least a part of the language and knowing the basic lie of the streets. We handed out the finals exams for the English test today. Let me tell you something, moderating a test is much easier then taking it. I didn't have any stress, unlike my poor students. However, they should do fine, I tried to make the test as straight forward as possible.
A much easier day which I spent catching up on all sorts of things like homework and laundry. Getting back can be as stressful as traveling. Oh well. Not much to report, other than I enjoy being in Cairo again, being able to speak at least a part of the language and knowing the basic lie of the streets. We handed out the finals exams for the English test today. Let me tell you something, moderating a test is much easier then taking it. I didn't have any stress, unlike my poor students. However, they should do fine, I tried to make the test as straight forward as possible.
Day 107
Monday May 5th
Honestly this day simply consisted of getting back into the flow of things. I was still exhausted from traveling and had to make it through the long day. It was fun though hearing about what everybody did for their spring breaks. Its always easy to make conversation after a long break, because everybody has stories that are humorous and they are willing to share. I always wonder how I will tell the stories when I get back from Cairo. Where will I start to describe this experience? I wonder what kind of questions I will get and whether or not my experience here has actually effected me. Has Cairo really changed me? I don't know, other than becoming a worse talker and writer I am unsure. I guess I am not the person who will really notice though. There are definitely changes that I want to make in my life but they are hard to implement. I guess there is no better time than now.
Honestly this day simply consisted of getting back into the flow of things. I was still exhausted from traveling and had to make it through the long day. It was fun though hearing about what everybody did for their spring breaks. Its always easy to make conversation after a long break, because everybody has stories that are humorous and they are willing to share. I always wonder how I will tell the stories when I get back from Cairo. Where will I start to describe this experience? I wonder what kind of questions I will get and whether or not my experience here has actually effected me. Has Cairo really changed me? I don't know, other than becoming a worse talker and writer I am unsure. I guess I am not the person who will really notice though. There are definitely changes that I want to make in my life but they are hard to implement. I guess there is no better time than now.
Day 106
Sunday May 4th
This day started off early with us getting up and trekking off to catch the bus for Eliat. I slept for most of the bus ride. We waited around in Eliat to catch the public bus to the border only to find that it was almost as expensive as a taxi. Oh well, next time, I'll stick to the taxi. At the border we got a taxi back and this turned to be more of a ordeal than it should of been. It always will. I think after doing it twice though I will be fully prepared to handle it myself when I travel to Jerusalem with Megan. Getting back into Cairo, I promptly showered and started into the rest of my Arabic. School starts for real again tomorrow.
This day started off early with us getting up and trekking off to catch the bus for Eliat. I slept for most of the bus ride. We waited around in Eliat to catch the public bus to the border only to find that it was almost as expensive as a taxi. Oh well, next time, I'll stick to the taxi. At the border we got a taxi back and this turned to be more of a ordeal than it should of been. It always will. I think after doing it twice though I will be fully prepared to handle it myself when I travel to Jerusalem with Megan. Getting back into Cairo, I promptly showered and started into the rest of my Arabic. School starts for real again tomorrow.
Day 105
Today we headed off to the West Bank. This required taking a public bus from the Old City to the Security Wall. This thing is huge and intimidating. It is also super secure and I could see why Israel built it. I don't know how you would be able to get a bomb through it, and I guess that accounts for the decrease in attacks. I don't think its because the Palestine's are finally happy because this thing definitely restricts their movement. Getting through to Palestine was no problem, we just flashed our passports and they let us right in. Once in, we saw the wall just covered in graffiti declaring the insidious nature of the wall. Some of it was angry some of it was pleading for peace and an end to apartheid. We got a cab and headed to Bethlehem Church where Jesus was born. This place is a tourist mecca as well, but we were able to slyly (actually unknowing) go through the exit down to the exact spot where Jesus was born. Pretty spectacular stuff.
After this we got on a local bus to Hebron, where we were told that we had to go in order to understand the conflict. The people in Hebron were not as nice as everybody said they would be to us and we couldn't find Abraham's tomb so we ended up walking around kind of lost in a city where I felt unwanted. So I made the executive decision of just getting out there, it wasn't fun just hanging out in a city that was so much pent up animosity on both ends. Coming back through the security was a little bit more tough but we didn't have any problems. We got back to Old City, had dinner and spent some more time in the old city. I forgot, but earlier that morning we also followed the Stations of the Cross through Jerusalem. So much stuff to see in the city.
After this we got on a local bus to Hebron, where we were told that we had to go in order to understand the conflict. The people in Hebron were not as nice as everybody said they would be to us and we couldn't find Abraham's tomb so we ended up walking around kind of lost in a city where I felt unwanted. So I made the executive decision of just getting out there, it wasn't fun just hanging out in a city that was so much pent up animosity on both ends. Coming back through the security was a little bit more tough but we didn't have any problems. We got back to Old City, had dinner and spent some more time in the old city. I forgot, but earlier that morning we also followed the Stations of the Cross through Jerusalem. So much stuff to see in the city.
Day 104
Friday May 2nd
For our second day in Jerusalem we planned on checking out the Dome of the Rock. I have wanted to visit this site since I first learned about it in Amar's class freshmen year at Notre Dame. Relearning about it in my architecture class just reaffirmed my desire to see this amazing and historical significant building. However, luck was not with my as they had it closed to non-Muslims on Friday. This definitely threw off our plans a little bit, but since we were in Jerusalem there wasn't a lack of things to see. We headed off to the Mountain of Olives, the spot where the messiah will return to start the end of the world. This is the oldest cometary in the world as there are thousands of Jews waiting for there chance to leave there limbo and pass judgment when the messiah comes. There are also a number of significant churches on this hill including the Church of All Nations, that features the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was betrayed by Judas and where he retreaded to pray after the Last Supper. There is also the tomb of the Virgin Mary. We then wandered over and checked out the room of the Last Supper which was later converted to a Mosque and is situated over King David's Tomb. We then went to check out St. Marks Cathedral where the Syrian Orthodox believes the Last Supper went down. Here we had a nun sing to us the lord's prayer in Aramaic which was quite beautiful. Afterwards, we took some expensive cabs over to the National Museum, but since we only had an hour before it closed we really only got time to check out the dead sea scrolls. The Museum did a really stand up job and they gave us these free listening devices that made the experience much more rewarding and memorable as they sometimes had audio re-enactments. In the cab-ride back we had a crazy taxi driver tell us how immoral America was, and how no matter what it was destined for the tubes. He was kind of ridiculous. For dinner we headed off to Tel-Aviv and generally enjoyed ourselves there. We spent some time on the beach and then headed back to Jerusalem for the night.
For our second day in Jerusalem we planned on checking out the Dome of the Rock. I have wanted to visit this site since I first learned about it in Amar's class freshmen year at Notre Dame. Relearning about it in my architecture class just reaffirmed my desire to see this amazing and historical significant building. However, luck was not with my as they had it closed to non-Muslims on Friday. This definitely threw off our plans a little bit, but since we were in Jerusalem there wasn't a lack of things to see. We headed off to the Mountain of Olives, the spot where the messiah will return to start the end of the world. This is the oldest cometary in the world as there are thousands of Jews waiting for there chance to leave there limbo and pass judgment when the messiah comes. There are also a number of significant churches on this hill including the Church of All Nations, that features the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was betrayed by Judas and where he retreaded to pray after the Last Supper. There is also the tomb of the Virgin Mary. We then wandered over and checked out the room of the Last Supper which was later converted to a Mosque and is situated over King David's Tomb. We then went to check out St. Marks Cathedral where the Syrian Orthodox believes the Last Supper went down. Here we had a nun sing to us the lord's prayer in Aramaic which was quite beautiful. Afterwards, we took some expensive cabs over to the National Museum, but since we only had an hour before it closed we really only got time to check out the dead sea scrolls. The Museum did a really stand up job and they gave us these free listening devices that made the experience much more rewarding and memorable as they sometimes had audio re-enactments. In the cab-ride back we had a crazy taxi driver tell us how immoral America was, and how no matter what it was destined for the tubes. He was kind of ridiculous. For dinner we headed off to Tel-Aviv and generally enjoyed ourselves there. We spent some time on the beach and then headed back to Jerusalem for the night.
Day 103
Thursday May 1st
Today was a long day. It started off once again riding a noisy bus across the Sinai Peninsula, trying to get some sleep or do some reading. I was pretty unsuccessful at both of these tasks. However, this time I did bring some earplugs and these did block out enough of the noise for me to fall asleep on the unfortunate Egyptian guy next to me, who according to my friends was squished up against the window trying to not be an awkward pillow. Sorry dude, my bad.
The border crossing took a ridiculous long time as we got caught behind a massive tourist group. Little did I know, this would be the start of a pattern of getting caught up with tourist groups. However, we didn't get held up as much as we were American and knew the ropes. Finally we got a taxi ride to Eliat and then took the bus to Jerusalem. I slept through most of this bus trip, but woke up to see the Dead Sea. It looked salty and had a ton of top-end resorts on it.
We arrived in Jerusalem and immediately got our return bus tickets. We walked to the old city, quite a trek, taking about 40 minutes, but finally got to our hotel, the New Imperial. The hotel is fairly nice, with free tea and breakfast, and most importantly it was right in the heart of the old city.
After settling down and getting a bite to eat we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is the holiest site in Christianity as it has Jesus' Tomb and Mount Calvary where he died. At first I thought the place was kind of a tourist mecca and not that holy, as everybody was walking around just taking pictures without a sense of reverence. However, this opinion changed as I waited in line for the Tomb and got some time to think and digest. I noticed that the line I stood in consisted of people from every color, every age, consisted of people speaking a myriad of languages and coming from different sects, who were all coming together to share in this experience of Christ. Although I found it ironic that people were pushing and jostling for position to see Christ's tombs, I still felt a sense of shared experience and belonging here. So, I took a candle from the tomb and lit it in a prayer for the perseverance of brotherly love.
Afterwards I got some time to sit and think about Christianity. I found that a lot of Christian Doctrine resonated with me. If there is a God, and this God is a God of Love, why is it so hard to conceive that Jesus is a Son of God who shows a way to God, through the ultimate sacrifice of love. He forgoes his lower ego in order to help the many. This is what finding truth is all about it, its about eliminating the personal desires and living for each other. Thus going to Mount Calvary and seeing where Jesus died in order to forgive our sins (don't understand this phrase yet) and died to show us love, was quite moving.
Afterwards he went to the Wailing Wall and I put a note in it to love thy brother as I felt this was the most important thing that I could wish for. So my resolutions after going to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre are to: 1. always treat others with respect and be courteous/kind and polite. 2. Treat others as an end not a means to my own personal benefit. 3 use my money/abilities to lift others up whenever possible; living frugally and not indulging myself.
Today was a long day. It started off once again riding a noisy bus across the Sinai Peninsula, trying to get some sleep or do some reading. I was pretty unsuccessful at both of these tasks. However, this time I did bring some earplugs and these did block out enough of the noise for me to fall asleep on the unfortunate Egyptian guy next to me, who according to my friends was squished up against the window trying to not be an awkward pillow. Sorry dude, my bad.
The border crossing took a ridiculous long time as we got caught behind a massive tourist group. Little did I know, this would be the start of a pattern of getting caught up with tourist groups. However, we didn't get held up as much as we were American and knew the ropes. Finally we got a taxi ride to Eliat and then took the bus to Jerusalem. I slept through most of this bus trip, but woke up to see the Dead Sea. It looked salty and had a ton of top-end resorts on it.
We arrived in Jerusalem and immediately got our return bus tickets. We walked to the old city, quite a trek, taking about 40 minutes, but finally got to our hotel, the New Imperial. The hotel is fairly nice, with free tea and breakfast, and most importantly it was right in the heart of the old city.
After settling down and getting a bite to eat we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is the holiest site in Christianity as it has Jesus' Tomb and Mount Calvary where he died. At first I thought the place was kind of a tourist mecca and not that holy, as everybody was walking around just taking pictures without a sense of reverence. However, this opinion changed as I waited in line for the Tomb and got some time to think and digest. I noticed that the line I stood in consisted of people from every color, every age, consisted of people speaking a myriad of languages and coming from different sects, who were all coming together to share in this experience of Christ. Although I found it ironic that people were pushing and jostling for position to see Christ's tombs, I still felt a sense of shared experience and belonging here. So, I took a candle from the tomb and lit it in a prayer for the perseverance of brotherly love.
Afterwards I got some time to sit and think about Christianity. I found that a lot of Christian Doctrine resonated with me. If there is a God, and this God is a God of Love, why is it so hard to conceive that Jesus is a Son of God who shows a way to God, through the ultimate sacrifice of love. He forgoes his lower ego in order to help the many. This is what finding truth is all about it, its about eliminating the personal desires and living for each other. Thus going to Mount Calvary and seeing where Jesus died in order to forgive our sins (don't understand this phrase yet) and died to show us love, was quite moving.
Afterwards he went to the Wailing Wall and I put a note in it to love thy brother as I felt this was the most important thing that I could wish for. So my resolutions after going to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre are to: 1. always treat others with respect and be courteous/kind and polite. 2. Treat others as an end not a means to my own personal benefit. 3 use my money/abilities to lift others up whenever possible; living frugally and not indulging myself.
Day 102
Wednesday April 30th
Today I didn't know if I had two of my classes. So I showed up to Political Science at 12:00 and it turns out we did have class. There were only about 5 of us there, and the Professor didn't have anything planned, so we just talked about the news and then were on our way. We did sign in, but later found out that it wouldn't be counted against us. So hopefully its extra credit. We shall see. After that my art class was canceled, so I waited around and then went to Arabic where I showed my Professor the sweet helmet I bought and the pictures I took. It was pretty fun. We were heading off to Jerusalem the next day, so after getting come I packed up my stuff for the next round and headed off to the bus station. The Taxi ride took forever as the cab took the longest way possible and drove as slow as possible. After eventually finding the place, he wanted 20 and not 15 pounds. 15 is more than fair, and I refused to pay him more. So I started to walk away and he had the audacity to get out of his cab and demand more. I have never had a cabbie do this, and I didn't really know what to do. My Arabic isn't that good to really argue with him, and I was frustrated with the whole process so I just gave him the extra 5 pounds. I felt like shit afterwards for caving especially when I was right and he was trying to get more money for his stupidity. However, I think I might have felt worse if I had really gotten mad at the guy and forced him back into his cab over just a dollar, especially when its not like this guy doesn't have a hard enough life simply because he is a taxi driver in Egypt. Still, I don't like people walking all over me. It's a quandary I find myself in, where to draw the line, and I would like any help people might offer...
Today I didn't know if I had two of my classes. So I showed up to Political Science at 12:00 and it turns out we did have class. There were only about 5 of us there, and the Professor didn't have anything planned, so we just talked about the news and then were on our way. We did sign in, but later found out that it wouldn't be counted against us. So hopefully its extra credit. We shall see. After that my art class was canceled, so I waited around and then went to Arabic where I showed my Professor the sweet helmet I bought and the pictures I took. It was pretty fun. We were heading off to Jerusalem the next day, so after getting come I packed up my stuff for the next round and headed off to the bus station. The Taxi ride took forever as the cab took the longest way possible and drove as slow as possible. After eventually finding the place, he wanted 20 and not 15 pounds. 15 is more than fair, and I refused to pay him more. So I started to walk away and he had the audacity to get out of his cab and demand more. I have never had a cabbie do this, and I didn't really know what to do. My Arabic isn't that good to really argue with him, and I was frustrated with the whole process so I just gave him the extra 5 pounds. I felt like shit afterwards for caving especially when I was right and he was trying to get more money for his stupidity. However, I think I might have felt worse if I had really gotten mad at the guy and forced him back into his cab over just a dollar, especially when its not like this guy doesn't have a hard enough life simply because he is a taxi driver in Egypt. Still, I don't like people walking all over me. It's a quandary I find myself in, where to draw the line, and I would like any help people might offer...
Day 101
Tuesday April 29th
Well since I didn't have class in the morning I woke up late caught up with eating and the news. The only class I had was Colloquial Arabic, which John and I were the only two students. This means we just talked about our vacations. It was actually quite beneficial. Afterwards, John and I went to our ESL class and helped the students with a review session. Their final is next week, and hopefully we have taught them enough English to help them out in this world and make it worth their time. I never knew that teaching was such a stressful job. You have these kids future on your shoulders and if they fail it's almost as you have failed them. These kids are depending on us to give them a chance to really get somewhere, to beat the line and not fall into the status quo of Egypt, which in many cases means poverty and zero opportunity for advancement. What if this is there only option they have to learn English? That is a big responsibility. Good teachers are truly amazing people, and its a crime, a shame, that they get paid what they do. However, I also realize that they get paid in other ways that are probably a lot more rewarding in the long run. I mean money is not happiness, but it sure is convenient to have around, and I think its about time we try to make teachers lives a bit more convenient.
Well since I didn't have class in the morning I woke up late caught up with eating and the news. The only class I had was Colloquial Arabic, which John and I were the only two students. This means we just talked about our vacations. It was actually quite beneficial. Afterwards, John and I went to our ESL class and helped the students with a review session. Their final is next week, and hopefully we have taught them enough English to help them out in this world and make it worth their time. I never knew that teaching was such a stressful job. You have these kids future on your shoulders and if they fail it's almost as you have failed them. These kids are depending on us to give them a chance to really get somewhere, to beat the line and not fall into the status quo of Egypt, which in many cases means poverty and zero opportunity for advancement. What if this is there only option they have to learn English? That is a big responsibility. Good teachers are truly amazing people, and its a crime, a shame, that they get paid what they do. However, I also realize that they get paid in other ways that are probably a lot more rewarding in the long run. I mean money is not happiness, but it sure is convenient to have around, and I think its about time we try to make teachers lives a bit more convenient.
Day 100
Monday April 28th,
For our last day in Istanbul we decided to had to go Asia. Since it was the start of the workweek, the ferries were back in full force. So we hopped on one of these and headed off to a whole new continent. Istanbul is the only city that is on two continents, and its kind of novel experience to just hop on a fast ferry and change continents. As for Asia, there is really not that much to see on that side of the city. Apparently its the more conservative part and as we wondered around we also noticed that it was more of a residential district. The more interesting experience came with my interaction with a shoe-shining guy rather than anything we saw. You see, I was still carrying around a good 1/3 kilo of Turkish Delight from the previous day. One of these shoe shiners came up and asked if he could have one. I happily handed him one and he insisted that he clean my shoes as payment. I said that it wasn't a problem, thinking that I might be charged despite his claims that it would be free. He however wouldn't take my refusals and insisted that he clean my shoes. Now, my shoes were really quite dirty from getting soaked by the Aegean sea, when the tide soaked them as we were getting to the Ferry. So I gave in, and let him clean my shoes. However, my sucker-ass heart felt bad that he was doing this just for one piece of turkish delight. So I offered him another one, but instead he just took the rest of the bag. Not being able to speak a lick of Turkish, I really didn't know what to say or do. And then after that he had the audacity to demand 20 lira for the cleaning. I tried to explain, no that's not what you said, and what about the candy, but he just wasn't having it. So I gave him the spare change in my pocket, like 3 lira and walked away in a huff. I guess my experiences from yesterday really isn't the rule in Turkey. There are always people, everywhere, who want to make money off you. I just got to stay on my game and be a hard ass, be more determined, more forceful, in what I want and implementing it.
After this incident at the harbor I wanted to walk across the Bosporus Bridge back to Europe. I kind of a thing for big bridges, so I decided that I would there and then across. Well, everyone didn't have enough of their own cares to do anything else so we all walked to the Bridge only to find out the Police wouldn't less us cross it, even though there was a huge sidewalk. So we got a bus back to Taskim Square and then took the Tram back to the Hostel. We picked up our bags and headed on the subway, the world's second oldest, to the airport. That day we road every form of mass transit available. We got to the airport very early, but I always figure its better to get there early than late. So after checking in, I went did my airport routine, which consists of trying on expensive cologne and then reading magazines. We boarded at around 10 at night and headed back home to Cairo. When we arrived in Cairo, it was bittersweet. For the sweet part, when we got to customs, we showed our passports and then let us right through, even though we had tons of bags clearly displaying stores. However, the guard stopped the Australian behind us, and told him to go to the declaration line. He asked why we got to go through, and he said it was because we were Americans. I guess there are benefits to having your country bank-rolling a police state. It was bitter, in that after spending all that time in the developed world, coming back to Cairo was once again a realization of how shitty the quality of life is here.
For our last day in Istanbul we decided to had to go Asia. Since it was the start of the workweek, the ferries were back in full force. So we hopped on one of these and headed off to a whole new continent. Istanbul is the only city that is on two continents, and its kind of novel experience to just hop on a fast ferry and change continents. As for Asia, there is really not that much to see on that side of the city. Apparently its the more conservative part and as we wondered around we also noticed that it was more of a residential district. The more interesting experience came with my interaction with a shoe-shining guy rather than anything we saw. You see, I was still carrying around a good 1/3 kilo of Turkish Delight from the previous day. One of these shoe shiners came up and asked if he could have one. I happily handed him one and he insisted that he clean my shoes as payment. I said that it wasn't a problem, thinking that I might be charged despite his claims that it would be free. He however wouldn't take my refusals and insisted that he clean my shoes. Now, my shoes were really quite dirty from getting soaked by the Aegean sea, when the tide soaked them as we were getting to the Ferry. So I gave in, and let him clean my shoes. However, my sucker-ass heart felt bad that he was doing this just for one piece of turkish delight. So I offered him another one, but instead he just took the rest of the bag. Not being able to speak a lick of Turkish, I really didn't know what to say or do. And then after that he had the audacity to demand 20 lira for the cleaning. I tried to explain, no that's not what you said, and what about the candy, but he just wasn't having it. So I gave him the spare change in my pocket, like 3 lira and walked away in a huff. I guess my experiences from yesterday really isn't the rule in Turkey. There are always people, everywhere, who want to make money off you. I just got to stay on my game and be a hard ass, be more determined, more forceful, in what I want and implementing it.
After this incident at the harbor I wanted to walk across the Bosporus Bridge back to Europe. I kind of a thing for big bridges, so I decided that I would there and then across. Well, everyone didn't have enough of their own cares to do anything else so we all walked to the Bridge only to find out the Police wouldn't less us cross it, even though there was a huge sidewalk. So we got a bus back to Taskim Square and then took the Tram back to the Hostel. We picked up our bags and headed on the subway, the world's second oldest, to the airport. That day we road every form of mass transit available. We got to the airport very early, but I always figure its better to get there early than late. So after checking in, I went did my airport routine, which consists of trying on expensive cologne and then reading magazines. We boarded at around 10 at night and headed back home to Cairo. When we arrived in Cairo, it was bittersweet. For the sweet part, when we got to customs, we showed our passports and then let us right through, even though we had tons of bags clearly displaying stores. However, the guard stopped the Australian behind us, and told him to go to the declaration line. He asked why we got to go through, and he said it was because we were Americans. I guess there are benefits to having your country bank-rolling a police state. It was bitter, in that after spending all that time in the developed world, coming back to Cairo was once again a realization of how shitty the quality of life is here.
Day 99
Sunday April 27th
Today we decided to do another walking tour. After all the fun with last one we decided to take a tour called the Path of Empires in Lonely Planet, that took us to the prominent sites on the Golden Horn. This meant Mosques. We checked out a number of Mosques, all of them big and decadent. The biggest name on the tour was the Mosque of Suleiman the Magnificent. However, we were disappointed to find out that the Mosque was under repairs and we only had access to a very small part of it. We continued on the path eating the 1 kilo of turkish delight purchased at the beginning of the tour and continued rubber necking. There wasn't really anything too spectacular, but we did kind of get a feel for the ebb and flow of daily life in Cairo. The one nice thing is that we were not harassed as much by the local vendors. This was a welcome change from the streets of Cairo, where everybody is trying to rip you off. Here, I felt like people still wanted to get you into there stores but they didn't want to scam you. We had two interesting experiences with people like this. The first was as we were finishing the Path of Empires, this guy came up to us and said he knew of these special cisterns that were just found and were still being repaired. He seemed like a pretty nice guy and so I decided to humor him, and see if the cisterns were actually there. If it looked like he was taking us somewhere weird I would just bounce. It turns out the cisterns were there and they were free. He didn't want any tip for showing us it, but he want us to check out his carpet shop which i obliged too. I didn't have the money or desire for one of the carpets, but I took one of his cards and if I changed my hand I would head up his way. The second experience came from another carpet salesman who always tries his gambits on us when we pass by. This time he just said, "here, I have something I have to show you." And then had us look through the door to his shop, where five our his friends were doing a line dance. It was actually quite hilarious and if I wanted a carpet I might have stopped and at least checked them out. I thought it was a funny and perfectly benign attempt to make a sale. I did not feel the same sort of pressure that all the Egyptian salesman put on us. I was quite pleased to not always be on the defensive. It restored my faith in the idea that people were not selfish creatures who desired nothing else than to scam you for all you are worth.
Today we decided to do another walking tour. After all the fun with last one we decided to take a tour called the Path of Empires in Lonely Planet, that took us to the prominent sites on the Golden Horn. This meant Mosques. We checked out a number of Mosques, all of them big and decadent. The biggest name on the tour was the Mosque of Suleiman the Magnificent. However, we were disappointed to find out that the Mosque was under repairs and we only had access to a very small part of it. We continued on the path eating the 1 kilo of turkish delight purchased at the beginning of the tour and continued rubber necking. There wasn't really anything too spectacular, but we did kind of get a feel for the ebb and flow of daily life in Cairo. The one nice thing is that we were not harassed as much by the local vendors. This was a welcome change from the streets of Cairo, where everybody is trying to rip you off. Here, I felt like people still wanted to get you into there stores but they didn't want to scam you. We had two interesting experiences with people like this. The first was as we were finishing the Path of Empires, this guy came up to us and said he knew of these special cisterns that were just found and were still being repaired. He seemed like a pretty nice guy and so I decided to humor him, and see if the cisterns were actually there. If it looked like he was taking us somewhere weird I would just bounce. It turns out the cisterns were there and they were free. He didn't want any tip for showing us it, but he want us to check out his carpet shop which i obliged too. I didn't have the money or desire for one of the carpets, but I took one of his cards and if I changed my hand I would head up his way. The second experience came from another carpet salesman who always tries his gambits on us when we pass by. This time he just said, "here, I have something I have to show you." And then had us look through the door to his shop, where five our his friends were doing a line dance. It was actually quite hilarious and if I wanted a carpet I might have stopped and at least checked them out. I thought it was a funny and perfectly benign attempt to make a sale. I did not feel the same sort of pressure that all the Egyptian salesman put on us. I was quite pleased to not always be on the defensive. It restored my faith in the idea that people were not selfish creatures who desired nothing else than to scam you for all you are worth.
Day 98
Saturday April 26th
For our third day in Istanbul, we followed what had now become our routine for exploring a city. We would find something that looked vaguely interesting in the guide book and then walk there. Today this meant we wandered over from the old city to Istiklal Ave in the northern European part of the city. We could have taken the tram system, but naturally we opted to walk there instead. This first site we came to was the Galata Tower. This famous medieval tower is all that remains from a Genoese Fortress that occupied the spot in the 14th century. This tower supposedly has great views, but because of the rainy weather and the 10 lira charge to go to the top, we voted to just continue the walking tour of Istiklal ave. Istiklal ave, I felt, was the place to see and be seen. It is this crowded pedestrian only street that features tons of shops, bakeries, clubs and cafes. It is 3 km long and stretches to Taskim square, the equivalent of Midan Tahrir for Istanbul. However, this square is much less organized and the traffic obeyed the stop-lights. We didn't really stop anywhere, other than a couple of churches, a cafe for coffee and a resturant for lunch during our travels to Taskim square. From Taskim square we then marched east towards the Bosporus to check out the baroque palace Dolmabahce Palace. This palace is apparently supposed to be quite amazing on the inside as it features the world's largest bohemian chandelier. However, the high entrance fee, plus the fact that we would have to go with a group of 35 on a guided tour made us again opt out. However, we did want to try and make it to Asia so we walked towards the closet port only to find that it was closed for the weekend. Thus we were forced to start the long trek back to the hostel. Now I have no qualms walking through a city and not paying for a cab. But the girls were tired, so they got a cab. The guys and me walked until we found the tram station and then rode that back for about a dollar. At this point we were quite tired and decided to rest before dinner and had a pretty low-key night.
For our third day in Istanbul, we followed what had now become our routine for exploring a city. We would find something that looked vaguely interesting in the guide book and then walk there. Today this meant we wandered over from the old city to Istiklal Ave in the northern European part of the city. We could have taken the tram system, but naturally we opted to walk there instead. This first site we came to was the Galata Tower. This famous medieval tower is all that remains from a Genoese Fortress that occupied the spot in the 14th century. This tower supposedly has great views, but because of the rainy weather and the 10 lira charge to go to the top, we voted to just continue the walking tour of Istiklal ave. Istiklal ave, I felt, was the place to see and be seen. It is this crowded pedestrian only street that features tons of shops, bakeries, clubs and cafes. It is 3 km long and stretches to Taskim square, the equivalent of Midan Tahrir for Istanbul. However, this square is much less organized and the traffic obeyed the stop-lights. We didn't really stop anywhere, other than a couple of churches, a cafe for coffee and a resturant for lunch during our travels to Taskim square. From Taskim square we then marched east towards the Bosporus to check out the baroque palace Dolmabahce Palace. This palace is apparently supposed to be quite amazing on the inside as it features the world's largest bohemian chandelier. However, the high entrance fee, plus the fact that we would have to go with a group of 35 on a guided tour made us again opt out. However, we did want to try and make it to Asia so we walked towards the closet port only to find that it was closed for the weekend. Thus we were forced to start the long trek back to the hostel. Now I have no qualms walking through a city and not paying for a cab. But the girls were tired, so they got a cab. The guys and me walked until we found the tram station and then rode that back for about a dollar. At this point we were quite tired and decided to rest before dinner and had a pretty low-key night.
Day 97
Friday April 25th
For the second day we spent our morning checking out the Bazaars and other sites on the main peninsula. First we checked the Spice Bazaar and then the Grand Bazaar. These are basically huge Khan markets but inside. They are actually more life Turkish malls. They are well lit, all clean, but still have that open market feel about them. The people also hassle you like you are in Khan as well. Apparently its own of the prime shopping locations in the world, once again I really wouldn’t how to judge. Our hostel is quite nice. It has internet on the first floor and its serves breakfast in the morning on a balcony that looks out on theBosporus and the Blue Mosque. It’s a pretty picture perfect spot.
For the second day we spent our morning checking out the Bazaars and other sites on the main peninsula. First we checked the Spice Bazaar and then the Grand Bazaar. These are basically huge Khan markets but inside. They are actually more life Turkish malls. They are well lit, all clean, but still have that open market feel about them. The people also hassle you like you are in Khan as well. Apparently its own of the prime shopping locations in the world, once again I really wouldn’t how to judge. Our hostel is quite nice. It has internet on the first floor and its serves breakfast in the morning on a balcony that looks out on the
Day 96
Thursday April 24th
We arrived in the Istanbul Train Station early in the morning. After gathering our stuff and checking in all the local tourist office to pick up some maps we started off to the hostel. We really hate spending any money, so we hiked across the peninsula, bags in tow, to get there. This path took us right in-between the Aya Sophia and the Blue Mosque, the two most prominent sites inIstanbul Egypt
We arrived in the Istanbul Train Station early in the morning. After gathering our stuff and checking in all the local tourist office to pick up some maps we started off to the hostel. We really hate spending any money, so we hiked across the peninsula, bags in tow, to get there. This path took us right in-between the Aya Sophia and the Blue Mosque, the two most prominent sites in
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Day 95
Friday April 23rd,
Today was a day of traveling. It started off by waking up at like 6:00 to trek off to the Train Station. My feet were still wet from the day before and wandering around the wet dock. Wet socks is no fun, i realize why the Marines take such care of these precious articles of clothing. However, I still managed to sleep on the train for most of the trip until Thessaloníki. I did wake up occasionally to gaze upon the beautiful Greek countryside. Greek really is like California, its got the farms, the vineyards and the mountains. Its really pretty.
When we arrived in Thessaloniki, my feet were still wet and it sucked. However, not wanting to spend money on a taxi and not wanting to spend our six hour layover in the train-station, we decided to go explore the city. We got to the seaside and were amazed. There is a nice boardwalk that runs right along the city and doesn't have any fence or anything separating the city from the blue sea. With the clear sunny sky and the mountains in the background it looked picturesque. We grabbed lunch and went for ice-cream afterwards. The White Tower where the Janissaries were massacred was closed for repairs, so we didn't get to check that out. After using some down time to check the internet we walked back to the train station and got our sleeper train. This sleeper train was really sweet and Ryan and I got our own little cabin room. We spent the time looking out the window and watching South Park. It was awesome. It was actually really comfortable and I feel asleep traveling across Western Thrace to Istanbul.
Today was a day of traveling. It started off by waking up at like 6:00 to trek off to the Train Station. My feet were still wet from the day before and wandering around the wet dock. Wet socks is no fun, i realize why the Marines take such care of these precious articles of clothing. However, I still managed to sleep on the train for most of the trip until Thessaloníki. I did wake up occasionally to gaze upon the beautiful Greek countryside. Greek really is like California, its got the farms, the vineyards and the mountains. Its really pretty.
When we arrived in Thessaloniki, my feet were still wet and it sucked. However, not wanting to spend money on a taxi and not wanting to spend our six hour layover in the train-station, we decided to go explore the city. We got to the seaside and were amazed. There is a nice boardwalk that runs right along the city and doesn't have any fence or anything separating the city from the blue sea. With the clear sunny sky and the mountains in the background it looked picturesque. We grabbed lunch and went for ice-cream afterwards. The White Tower where the Janissaries were massacred was closed for repairs, so we didn't get to check that out. After using some down time to check the internet we walked back to the train station and got our sleeper train. This sleeper train was really sweet and Ryan and I got our own little cabin room. We spent the time looking out the window and watching South Park. It was awesome. It was actually really comfortable and I feel asleep traveling across Western Thrace to Istanbul.
Day 94
Tuesday April 22nd
This was our last day in Athens. For it, we went to the Aegean Island of Aegina or something close to that name. It was the closet island and therefore the cheapest. Its not really famous for its beaches, but we went there and decided to make the best of it. We walked about the port city, found a breakfast place that was headquartered out of a 574 area code. I thought this was pretty nice. We ended up riding a bus to the other side of the Island, where the "beaches" were. These were not good beaches, but the water was warm and I enjoyed my time hanging out there. We got back to the ferry to find the sea surging. Everything was getting soaked and the boat was rocking and it was actually quite fun. When we finally got back to Athens though I was much relieved and happy to be on the mainland again. After the adventure of the island we just got packed up and got ready to travel early tomorrow morning.
This was our last day in Athens. For it, we went to the Aegean Island of Aegina or something close to that name. It was the closet island and therefore the cheapest. Its not really famous for its beaches, but we went there and decided to make the best of it. We walked about the port city, found a breakfast place that was headquartered out of a 574 area code. I thought this was pretty nice. We ended up riding a bus to the other side of the Island, where the "beaches" were. These were not good beaches, but the water was warm and I enjoyed my time hanging out there. We got back to the ferry to find the sea surging. Everything was getting soaked and the boat was rocking and it was actually quite fun. When we finally got back to Athens though I was much relieved and happy to be on the mainland again. After the adventure of the island we just got packed up and got ready to travel early tomorrow morning.
Day 93
Monday April 21st
Before I start the recap of this story I need to tell some news that I became aware of yesterday. A student from Notre Dame, who was taking a semester off in Thailand died in a bus accident. One of our girls here spent a lot of time him in Thailand and it was very difficult for her. It made us all give us and re-evaluate our feelings of youthful invulnerability. I ride buses all the time, i live in a dangerous third world country where death lurks around many corners. Its disconcerting.
It also makes you give pause to re-evaluate your own life. If I were to die tomorrow, what are the things that I would have regretted not doing, not saying, or saying. Who knows what will be the last you say to somebody.
If I were to die tomorrow, I would want to tell my parents how much they mean to me. I would tell them how much they given me. I know I mean a lot to them, and that they worry about me a lot, especially when I seem to go farther and farther away. But I hope they realize just how much they mean to me, and how highly I talk about them to my friends. They are the most important to me and I attribute all of my success and good traits as a person to them. I attribute my lesser qualities to other people in my life, not to name names or anything. I would also want to tell all my friends how each of them how they influenced me and shaped me, and how much I care about them. There are people who I want to get know people, esp. at Notre Dame. I got my RA assignment today. I am 3North, I am returning to the Nasty.
Okay, today we got up and hiked over to the National Archaeological Museum. After the trip to the Museum, which wasn't open yet we went down to Pireaus, or the port part of the Athens Metropolitan area. We went to buy tickets for tomorrows trip to Aegina. The place was cutesy, gorgeous, and reminded me of the Vanderbeeks and it made me really want to go home. Down there we also saw one of the Olympic Stadiums and then returned on the nicest subway I have ever ridden on to the Museum. This place was strangely boring to me. I usually like history, but even the stuff I knew about didn't seem all that amazing. Maybe art is just not my thing, but its a statue, I don't see why that is all that amazing. Sure its pretty, but its not what I really care about in life. Besides I like God's art better. In my written journal of the day, it says I am really tired and went to sleep at this moment of writing. However I remember getting food and coming back to the hotel to watch Forest Gump on TV. This movie is awesome.
Before I start the recap of this story I need to tell some news that I became aware of yesterday. A student from Notre Dame, who was taking a semester off in Thailand died in a bus accident. One of our girls here spent a lot of time him in Thailand and it was very difficult for her. It made us all give us and re-evaluate our feelings of youthful invulnerability. I ride buses all the time, i live in a dangerous third world country where death lurks around many corners. Its disconcerting.
It also makes you give pause to re-evaluate your own life. If I were to die tomorrow, what are the things that I would have regretted not doing, not saying, or saying. Who knows what will be the last you say to somebody.
If I were to die tomorrow, I would want to tell my parents how much they mean to me. I would tell them how much they given me. I know I mean a lot to them, and that they worry about me a lot, especially when I seem to go farther and farther away. But I hope they realize just how much they mean to me, and how highly I talk about them to my friends. They are the most important to me and I attribute all of my success and good traits as a person to them. I attribute my lesser qualities to other people in my life, not to name names or anything. I would also want to tell all my friends how each of them how they influenced me and shaped me, and how much I care about them. There are people who I want to get know people, esp. at Notre Dame. I got my RA assignment today. I am 3North, I am returning to the Nasty.
Okay, today we got up and hiked over to the National Archaeological Museum. After the trip to the Museum, which wasn't open yet we went down to Pireaus, or the port part of the Athens Metropolitan area. We went to buy tickets for tomorrows trip to Aegina. The place was cutesy, gorgeous, and reminded me of the Vanderbeeks and it made me really want to go home. Down there we also saw one of the Olympic Stadiums and then returned on the nicest subway I have ever ridden on to the Museum. This place was strangely boring to me. I usually like history, but even the stuff I knew about didn't seem all that amazing. Maybe art is just not my thing, but its a statue, I don't see why that is all that amazing. Sure its pretty, but its not what I really care about in life. Besides I like God's art better. In my written journal of the day, it says I am really tired and went to sleep at this moment of writing. However I remember getting food and coming back to the hotel to watch Forest Gump on TV. This movie is awesome.
Day 92
April 20th
Some more thoughts about Athens. Once again, its absolutely gorgeous. I don't know if its because I came from the slums and disparity of Cairo or if its because it truly is that beautiful. But regardless, I don't think I have ever seen a city quite like Athens. Today we went to the Acropolis and the Agora and up the hills to the Southwest of the Acropolis, including Filopappos Hill. This hill might have been one of my favorite spots in all of Athens. They are just huge hills and woodlands right in the middle of the city. They are island sanctuaries in the middle of a sea of humanity. Filopappos Hill was my favorite as you could see from it the Acropolis, the Chapel of St. George and the Mediterranean. We also made out what appeared to be a large bridge, but what we later found out to be smoke-stacks, not pylons. The place with its massive cliffs and viewpoints was breathtaking. It must have been truly amazing in the ancient times when there was crystal clear air and huge monuments and forest.
I have also realized that Dubai is the 21st century equivalent of the 1st century b.c athens. I really want to go there and witness the modern day glory.
Finally I have come to believe that you should never visit a place for just two days to truly experience it. You should try and spend i think 5-7 days to explore about the neighborhoods. You should talk to people and eat in a bunch of different places. I realize this is difficult to do, but to be able to travel the world and meet people would be truly amazing. I wonder if there is a job that lets be fulfill this role. The Marines used to say "join the marines, see the world. I don't buy this slogan as they don't really get to see the world, they just kind of speed through it and blow it up. Maybe there are other jobs in the Corps that allow me to travel.
Some more thoughts about Athens. Once again, its absolutely gorgeous. I don't know if its because I came from the slums and disparity of Cairo or if its because it truly is that beautiful. But regardless, I don't think I have ever seen a city quite like Athens. Today we went to the Acropolis and the Agora and up the hills to the Southwest of the Acropolis, including Filopappos Hill. This hill might have been one of my favorite spots in all of Athens. They are just huge hills and woodlands right in the middle of the city. They are island sanctuaries in the middle of a sea of humanity. Filopappos Hill was my favorite as you could see from it the Acropolis, the Chapel of St. George and the Mediterranean. We also made out what appeared to be a large bridge, but what we later found out to be smoke-stacks, not pylons. The place with its massive cliffs and viewpoints was breathtaking. It must have been truly amazing in the ancient times when there was crystal clear air and huge monuments and forest.
I have also realized that Dubai is the 21st century equivalent of the 1st century b.c athens. I really want to go there and witness the modern day glory.
Finally I have come to believe that you should never visit a place for just two days to truly experience it. You should try and spend i think 5-7 days to explore about the neighborhoods. You should talk to people and eat in a bunch of different places. I realize this is difficult to do, but to be able to travel the world and meet people would be truly amazing. I wonder if there is a job that lets be fulfill this role. The Marines used to say "join the marines, see the world. I don't buy this slogan as they don't really get to see the world, they just kind of speed through it and blow it up. Maybe there are other jobs in the Corps that allow me to travel.
Day 91
Saturday April 19th
Today we woke up around 8:00. I needed to take a shower, but the the shower the bathroom isn't exactly the best. Its the hand-held kind of shower where the spigot doesn't say up. So i had to wedge a bar of soap in it to make it stay up. I should of been engineer. I actually sometimes think I should have been, because then I could have some real-life skills to bring to the table on solving the worlds problems. I mean what kind of skills does a poli-sci major really provide? I don't know if I have the skills to make it in politics. But then who really does...
Okay, so breakfast I ate the continental breakfast and I ate a lot. I also made some sandwiches and stuffed them in my pocket for later. This way I don't have to buy lunch. I felt pretty proud of my resourcefulness. Afterwards we returned to downtown and did the walking tour in reverse. The walking tour is just as it sounds. You walk through the main part of town and check out all the sweet sights. We had started the tour yesterday and only really got to the central park before we stopped and found food. This means we got to see the Parliament building and the famous changing of the guard. Today we saw a number of churches, including a Zombie Church which basically just takes stones and parts from other churches and incorporates those parts into itself. We also walked by the Roman Agora and checked out a few museums. We really didn't want to pay for anything, but eventually caved and checked out the turkish baths. This was a waste of the Euro. It was really boring, and didn't really have anything other then a slideshow, in greek. We got up on the hills around the Acropolis and looked over the city. Afterwards we climbed one of the major hills in the city, Lycabettus hill, which apparently is named after the wolves that used to patrol the hill in the old days. At the top of the hill is the Church of St. George. I think the name is different in greek, because I couldn't pronounce it. We met some other AUC students, including Taylor, my boxing buddy, up there and watched the sun set over Athens. It was pretty amazing.
Another List: More things that rock about Athens.
-Weather, sunny and warm
-Cleanliness
-It looks and smells like San Francisco or the west in general. They have the same kind of flowers, the hills, and the weather.
-The history. This is the birthplace of the West
-the monuments
-the atmosphere. It just feels like a city, rather than a conglomeration of people like Cairo. Cairo is full of self-sustaining independently operating neighborhoods.
Today we woke up around 8:00. I needed to take a shower, but the the shower the bathroom isn't exactly the best. Its the hand-held kind of shower where the spigot doesn't say up. So i had to wedge a bar of soap in it to make it stay up. I should of been engineer. I actually sometimes think I should have been, because then I could have some real-life skills to bring to the table on solving the worlds problems. I mean what kind of skills does a poli-sci major really provide? I don't know if I have the skills to make it in politics. But then who really does...
Okay, so breakfast I ate the continental breakfast and I ate a lot. I also made some sandwiches and stuffed them in my pocket for later. This way I don't have to buy lunch. I felt pretty proud of my resourcefulness. Afterwards we returned to downtown and did the walking tour in reverse. The walking tour is just as it sounds. You walk through the main part of town and check out all the sweet sights. We had started the tour yesterday and only really got to the central park before we stopped and found food. This means we got to see the Parliament building and the famous changing of the guard. Today we saw a number of churches, including a Zombie Church which basically just takes stones and parts from other churches and incorporates those parts into itself. We also walked by the Roman Agora and checked out a few museums. We really didn't want to pay for anything, but eventually caved and checked out the turkish baths. This was a waste of the Euro. It was really boring, and didn't really have anything other then a slideshow, in greek. We got up on the hills around the Acropolis and looked over the city. Afterwards we climbed one of the major hills in the city, Lycabettus hill, which apparently is named after the wolves that used to patrol the hill in the old days. At the top of the hill is the Church of St. George. I think the name is different in greek, because I couldn't pronounce it. We met some other AUC students, including Taylor, my boxing buddy, up there and watched the sun set over Athens. It was pretty amazing.
Another List: More things that rock about Athens.
-Weather, sunny and warm
-Cleanliness
-It looks and smells like San Francisco or the west in general. They have the same kind of flowers, the hills, and the weather.
-The history. This is the birthplace of the West
-the monuments
-the atmosphere. It just feels like a city, rather than a conglomeration of people like Cairo. Cairo is full of self-sustaining independently operating neighborhoods.
Day 90
Friday April 18th
The trip started off late as because I had stayed up late trying to get everything prepared and ready for the break I slept through both of my alarms and woke up naturally 5 mins before we had to go. This was kind of nerve-racking, but because I had packed everything up before I went to bed I just had to throw on some clothes and go. When we made it to the airport I realized that I had forgotten to put my Euros in my wallet and was thus S.O.L. I consoled myself by thinking having lots of Euros would be good, especially as the dollar continued to drop. Then I remembered I brought my journal with me, where I had hidden my extra money. So I dug through my pack found my journal and pulled out my money. I was very relieved, and hoped that that was the only thing I might have forgotten.
Egypt Air, despite rumors to the contrary, was actually quite nice and speedy. The food was fine and we were in Athens after about 1 and a half hours of flytime. We got our stuff, found some free maps and took a bus to Downtown Athens.
Things I notice about Athens after the first day:
-Clean Air and Quietness. It is so quiet here, whether we are in the Parks, the Churches, everywhere. The whole city just feels more civilized.
-I noticed a lot more beggars and a lot of these beggars had physical defects. There are plenty of beggars in Cairo, but I think the Egyptian government I think cleans them out, making sure the tourists get sad.
-Grass and plants, and more importantly they are green.
-Monuments that are preserved, rebuilt, and off limits to climbing.
-A lack of trash covering the monuments
-What Cats are too Cairo in number, dogs are to Athens. (perhaps there is a war between the too, just like in the movies)
-Prices suck. Everything is way to expensive
-I have to be extra-secure as apparently pick-pocketing occurs in this country.
-There is porn being sold on the street-corner. This would never happen in Cairo
-Rebellious Youth. They are ones who were the emo-skate clothing, who cause trouble and have generally rejected the future laid out before them. In Cairo, they don't even have a future to reject. It's work or die of hunger. There is no time for self-reflection.
The trip started off late as because I had stayed up late trying to get everything prepared and ready for the break I slept through both of my alarms and woke up naturally 5 mins before we had to go. This was kind of nerve-racking, but because I had packed everything up before I went to bed I just had to throw on some clothes and go. When we made it to the airport I realized that I had forgotten to put my Euros in my wallet and was thus S.O.L. I consoled myself by thinking having lots of Euros would be good, especially as the dollar continued to drop. Then I remembered I brought my journal with me, where I had hidden my extra money. So I dug through my pack found my journal and pulled out my money. I was very relieved, and hoped that that was the only thing I might have forgotten.
Egypt Air, despite rumors to the contrary, was actually quite nice and speedy. The food was fine and we were in Athens after about 1 and a half hours of flytime. We got our stuff, found some free maps and took a bus to Downtown Athens.
Things I notice about Athens after the first day:
-Clean Air and Quietness. It is so quiet here, whether we are in the Parks, the Churches, everywhere. The whole city just feels more civilized.
-I noticed a lot more beggars and a lot of these beggars had physical defects. There are plenty of beggars in Cairo, but I think the Egyptian government I think cleans them out, making sure the tourists get sad.
-Grass and plants, and more importantly they are green.
-Monuments that are preserved, rebuilt, and off limits to climbing.
-A lack of trash covering the monuments
-What Cats are too Cairo in number, dogs are to Athens. (perhaps there is a war between the too, just like in the movies)
-Prices suck. Everything is way to expensive
-I have to be extra-secure as apparently pick-pocketing occurs in this country.
-There is porn being sold on the street-corner. This would never happen in Cairo
-Rebellious Youth. They are ones who were the emo-skate clothing, who cause trouble and have generally rejected the future laid out before them. In Cairo, they don't even have a future to reject. It's work or die of hunger. There is no time for self-reflection.
Day 89
Thursday April 17th
Today I have spent most of my time gettting ready for going to Athens. After Fusha class I returned back to Zamalak to get money exchanged and get my hair cut. 1st of all, getting money before hand may not be the best idea because not only do you have to pay the withdrawal fee but you also have to pay the fee to exchange the money into Euros. But there is some worth in having money before you leave. Its something to ponder for future traveling. As for the haircut, it was a little bit different than the haircuts you get in America. First of all, they had a little dude, probably around 10 wash your hair. Then they give you some tea, which is way too hot for you to actually drink, primarily because it is served in a glass that lacks a handle. After cutting your hair they wash it again and then add what looked like a pound of gel, which is apparently the fashion in Egypt. Once again I really didn't know what to talk about with the barber, but then again I never really know what to talk about with people who cut my hair.
One of the things that I noticed while I was in the barber was thay used compact fluorescent bulbs . This surprised me as a CFB costs 2-3 dollars in the states; still extremely expensive despite the economic efficiency. I realized though that there is a huge market in the world for Green Development. Everybody wants development but if everybody in the world lives like America, there simply wouldn't be enough to go around. We have already seen the effects of the grain prices worldwide. So, I think for my senior year I will found, form, or join a Green Development Group. Things we might be able to include: Running Campaigns to increase political awareness (like on the Congressional level) Push for greater student understanding. But those ideas are so cookie-cutter lame. I want to continue to to do the work with the DDC but I don't know how to carry this onto a university campus.
I also got to see President Jimmy Carter give a speech at AUC. Security was surprisingly lax, and Carter was surprisingly baller. He spoke quickly and eloquently and with a passion and authority I had not seen from many a politician. He has gone against the cultural norms and came out decidedly on issues like Israel and communication with hamas. He rally has done a lot wiht his life, especially after his presidency, to make a difference int he world. He is the first President that I have seen with my own eyes. Afterwards I sat down with a girl from the Gaza Strip and another study abroad student and discussed what we learned and what we thought about the Palestine Issue. The conversation however was very superficial and unprovocative. This was slightly disappointing.
Finally I want to discuss thing that I have come to love about Egypt.
1. juices, the fruit and variety and quality and cost make the juices here unbelievable
2.Borrios- like oreos only better and cheaper
3.Sweet Sea- they serve it with everything
4. The exchange rate- still rockin'
5. hjab and nigab - I find them mysterious and strangely beautiful
6. The lack of crime
7. Weather - at least for now
8.Feeling of security
9. Mosques
10. Food, Egyptian or otherwise
11. Things don't work the way you expect or one the first try, but somehow things work out
The other thing that i Noticed and really stuck with me was when I was walking to tutoring today, I had my sunglasses and didn't really see all that well to the sides. But I know beggars frequently occupy these streets. However, this begger was quite different as his hands just darted out just for a second, and then out of fear or something quickly retreated back to the shadows. I then noticed that this person looked deformed., but I was already past and didn't turn around. I feel really bad about not going back, because its not like this dude is going to able to find work if begging fails. I am surprised the government even allowed him to sit there for as long as he did.
Today I have spent most of my time gettting ready for going to Athens. After Fusha class I returned back to Zamalak to get money exchanged and get my hair cut. 1st of all, getting money before hand may not be the best idea because not only do you have to pay the withdrawal fee but you also have to pay the fee to exchange the money into Euros. But there is some worth in having money before you leave. Its something to ponder for future traveling. As for the haircut, it was a little bit different than the haircuts you get in America. First of all, they had a little dude, probably around 10 wash your hair. Then they give you some tea, which is way too hot for you to actually drink, primarily because it is served in a glass that lacks a handle. After cutting your hair they wash it again and then add what looked like a pound of gel, which is apparently the fashion in Egypt. Once again I really didn't know what to talk about with the barber, but then again I never really know what to talk about with people who cut my hair.
One of the things that I noticed while I was in the barber was thay used compact fluorescent bulbs . This surprised me as a CFB costs 2-3 dollars in the states; still extremely expensive despite the economic efficiency. I realized though that there is a huge market in the world for Green Development. Everybody wants development but if everybody in the world lives like America, there simply wouldn't be enough to go around. We have already seen the effects of the grain prices worldwide. So, I think for my senior year I will found, form, or join a Green Development Group. Things we might be able to include: Running Campaigns to increase political awareness (like on the Congressional level) Push for greater student understanding. But those ideas are so cookie-cutter lame. I want to continue to to do the work with the DDC but I don't know how to carry this onto a university campus.
I also got to see President Jimmy Carter give a speech at AUC. Security was surprisingly lax, and Carter was surprisingly baller. He spoke quickly and eloquently and with a passion and authority I had not seen from many a politician. He has gone against the cultural norms and came out decidedly on issues like Israel and communication with hamas. He rally has done a lot wiht his life, especially after his presidency, to make a difference int he world. He is the first President that I have seen with my own eyes. Afterwards I sat down with a girl from the Gaza Strip and another study abroad student and discussed what we learned and what we thought about the Palestine Issue. The conversation however was very superficial and unprovocative. This was slightly disappointing.
Finally I want to discuss thing that I have come to love about Egypt.
1. juices, the fruit and variety and quality and cost make the juices here unbelievable
2.Borrios- like oreos only better and cheaper
3.Sweet Sea- they serve it with everything
4. The exchange rate- still rockin'
5. hjab and nigab - I find them mysterious and strangely beautiful
6. The lack of crime
7. Weather - at least for now
8.Feeling of security
9. Mosques
10. Food, Egyptian or otherwise
11. Things don't work the way you expect or one the first try, but somehow things work out
The other thing that i Noticed and really stuck with me was when I was walking to tutoring today, I had my sunglasses and didn't really see all that well to the sides. But I know beggars frequently occupy these streets. However, this begger was quite different as his hands just darted out just for a second, and then out of fear or something quickly retreated back to the shadows. I then noticed that this person looked deformed., but I was already past and didn't turn around. I feel really bad about not going back, because its not like this dude is going to able to find work if begging fails. I am surprised the government even allowed him to sit there for as long as he did.
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