All the pictures from my trips to Israel and Japan are now uploaded. You can find them here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Sara.Keough
and you can still find pictures from Egypt at my Flickr site :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/getlosttraveling/
Though I might be moving my favorites to the other site.
Stay tuned for updated Spain pictures and my Swedish adventures!
Friday, September 4, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Last Egypt post :(
Well my time in Egypt is officially over. This will be my last post about Egypt. It’s still not really sinking in that I’m finished with everything, even though I packed up my whole apartment and am in another country. I decided to make a list of things that I’ll miss and definitely not miss.
Things I’ll miss
~Otlob.com: call me ridiculous, but there is something extremely convenient about being able to just log in and order food instead of calling a place directly to do it. A few clicks and you have a meal!
~Pub 55 and Friday’s/Fusion: our frequent weekend hangouts. They put up with a lot from us, and I’ll miss hanging out in those places.
~My friends: I feel like this is an obvious one.
~Some of my students: While I’m not going to miss actually teaching the kids, they were adorable and I’ll miss their smiling faces.
~The conversion rate: I was living a pretty good life with my pay, and still managed to save a lot of money.
Things I won’t miss
~Dust/sand storms
~Call to prayer: not to sound closeminded, but the reason I won’t miss this one is because there was a speaker projecting the call to prayer directly outside our apartment, so we got it full blast four times a day.
~The flies
~The heat
~The garbage everywhere
~Crazy taxi drivers/ Egyptian men
~Teaching
~Slow internet (my internet in my hostel in Tokyo is RIDICULOUSLY fast!)
As you can see, my things I won’t miss list a lot longer, which is one of the main reasons I’m coming back. Well, that and I feel as though I’ve accomplished everything I wanted to.
My flight to Tokyo was interesting to say the least. I got to the gate and through security just as they had begun loading the plane. I’m sure it wouldn’t surprise anyone if I said that I was the only white person on the flight. I think there was a Japanese tour group on the flight as well, and a handful of Egyptians. I was the only person that was clearly not one of those two groups. People kept giving me odd looks as we were boarding, and one of the flight attendants even asked me what my nationality was and questioned my reasons for being on this flight. We took off pretty well and were on our way when a half an hour into the flight they announced that one of the passengers was sick and they were turning around and heading back to Cairo so the doctors could check them out.
At this point I should probably mention the craziness that as erupted in Egypt due to the swine flu. First of all, they killed all the pigs in Egypt as a precaution, even though we all know that pigs don’t spread the disease and the likely hood of any of those pigs carrying a strain of the virus was slim to none. Secondly at the airport, there are tons of people wearing face masks and they stop everyone getting off the flight so they can keep track of the foreigners in the country. People around Cairo were wearing face masks as well. Egyptians are prone to panic, and swine flu was no exception. People were scared out of their mind, and if you mentioned to them that you were leaving the country, they would exclaim that you couldn’t leave now because of the disease. ‘You’ll get the disease and die!’ I’ve heard that several times. They listen to rumors like crazy, one of them being that the Israelis were sneaking into their country just to spread the disease, or that the face masks don’t really help at all but instead make it worse, or even that the pigs were all contaminated. Everyone is convinced that Egypt is the only safe place in the whole world, but the swine flu IS coming so we need to be careful.
Anyways, they turned our plane around and went back to the airport. There we sat on the runway for two hours as they paraded about nine doctors – all wearing facemasks – to the back of the plane, just to discover that all the passenger had was a stomach flu. People all over the plane started putting on facemasks and the pilot announced that this doctor visit was ‘for our safety’. I didn’t need to be told it was a swine flu emergency, you know when the facemasks come out, that’s what the panic is. I was going out of my mind with boredom, and I just rolled my eyes at the crazy Egypt ways. This whole ordeal put our flight THREE HOURS behind schedule for a stomach flu. Though I suppose I should have been surprised that we even took off on time.
Malesh Egypt. Malesh.
Pete was in Egypt last week, and it was good timing because not only did he take a lot of my stuff back with him, but we also went to a bunch of important places. It was a nice send off for me to see all the historic places one last time before I left. We went to so many places, and I had a blast having him here. I hope he had fun as well, Egypt is a big culture shock when you compare it to America. Also there isn’t much to do once you get past the big things – pyramid, museum, sphinx, Nile. A week is more than enough time in Egypt.
But in a week I’ll be back in Chicago! I’m excited to be back in the states. Right now I’ve got some Tokyo exploring to do :)
Things I’ll miss
~Otlob.com: call me ridiculous, but there is something extremely convenient about being able to just log in and order food instead of calling a place directly to do it. A few clicks and you have a meal!
~Pub 55 and Friday’s/Fusion: our frequent weekend hangouts. They put up with a lot from us, and I’ll miss hanging out in those places.
~My friends: I feel like this is an obvious one.
~Some of my students: While I’m not going to miss actually teaching the kids, they were adorable and I’ll miss their smiling faces.
~The conversion rate: I was living a pretty good life with my pay, and still managed to save a lot of money.
Things I won’t miss
~Dust/sand storms
~Call to prayer: not to sound closeminded, but the reason I won’t miss this one is because there was a speaker projecting the call to prayer directly outside our apartment, so we got it full blast four times a day.
~The flies
~The heat
~The garbage everywhere
~Crazy taxi drivers/ Egyptian men
~Teaching
~Slow internet (my internet in my hostel in Tokyo is RIDICULOUSLY fast!)
As you can see, my things I won’t miss list a lot longer, which is one of the main reasons I’m coming back. Well, that and I feel as though I’ve accomplished everything I wanted to.
My flight to Tokyo was interesting to say the least. I got to the gate and through security just as they had begun loading the plane. I’m sure it wouldn’t surprise anyone if I said that I was the only white person on the flight. I think there was a Japanese tour group on the flight as well, and a handful of Egyptians. I was the only person that was clearly not one of those two groups. People kept giving me odd looks as we were boarding, and one of the flight attendants even asked me what my nationality was and questioned my reasons for being on this flight. We took off pretty well and were on our way when a half an hour into the flight they announced that one of the passengers was sick and they were turning around and heading back to Cairo so the doctors could check them out.
At this point I should probably mention the craziness that as erupted in Egypt due to the swine flu. First of all, they killed all the pigs in Egypt as a precaution, even though we all know that pigs don’t spread the disease and the likely hood of any of those pigs carrying a strain of the virus was slim to none. Secondly at the airport, there are tons of people wearing face masks and they stop everyone getting off the flight so they can keep track of the foreigners in the country. People around Cairo were wearing face masks as well. Egyptians are prone to panic, and swine flu was no exception. People were scared out of their mind, and if you mentioned to them that you were leaving the country, they would exclaim that you couldn’t leave now because of the disease. ‘You’ll get the disease and die!’ I’ve heard that several times. They listen to rumors like crazy, one of them being that the Israelis were sneaking into their country just to spread the disease, or that the face masks don’t really help at all but instead make it worse, or even that the pigs were all contaminated. Everyone is convinced that Egypt is the only safe place in the whole world, but the swine flu IS coming so we need to be careful.
Anyways, they turned our plane around and went back to the airport. There we sat on the runway for two hours as they paraded about nine doctors – all wearing facemasks – to the back of the plane, just to discover that all the passenger had was a stomach flu. People all over the plane started putting on facemasks and the pilot announced that this doctor visit was ‘for our safety’. I didn’t need to be told it was a swine flu emergency, you know when the facemasks come out, that’s what the panic is. I was going out of my mind with boredom, and I just rolled my eyes at the crazy Egypt ways. This whole ordeal put our flight THREE HOURS behind schedule for a stomach flu. Though I suppose I should have been surprised that we even took off on time.
Malesh Egypt. Malesh.
Pete was in Egypt last week, and it was good timing because not only did he take a lot of my stuff back with him, but we also went to a bunch of important places. It was a nice send off for me to see all the historic places one last time before I left. We went to so many places, and I had a blast having him here. I hope he had fun as well, Egypt is a big culture shock when you compare it to America. Also there isn’t much to do once you get past the big things – pyramid, museum, sphinx, Nile. A week is more than enough time in Egypt.
But in a week I’ll be back in Chicago! I’m excited to be back in the states. Right now I’ve got some Tokyo exploring to do :)
Friday, May 1, 2009
Taxi Cab
Time is quickly winding down, and getting away from me even faster! This past week was suppose to be our last week of teaching, but last Thursday the Ministry of Education decided that we needed an extra week of school. So we have an additional week of school that kids are probably not going to show up for. I doubt that many of the kids are going to be coming for several reasons. One, I gave out their review packets on Tuesday and they're pretty comprehensive. I automatically lose kids due to this as most parents like to watch their kids study or something. Also, the week is all half days. Every time we have exam review, the kids drop off more every day. Usually they combine our classes with the kids that are left. Midterm time, I think I only had ten kids from each class. It'll be a nice way to segue into no longer teaching! I'm a little sad to be leaving my kids, but I'm not sad to be done with teaching. Its been a good experience, but I'm glad to be done with it. I've always loved kids, and I enjoy the actual teaching aspect. But I don't enjoy the discipline aspect (though that might be tough for me because I have 93 kids to control),the never ending homework/paperwork, parents, or even the aspect of being in charge of what these kids learn. I know I've done a good job this year, and I'm ok with the idea of being done with this.
But I would be remiss if I didn't write to you about taxi cabs. I keep meaning to write an entry about the experience of riding in a Egyptian cab. Now with the review sessions this week, and my exam written and nothing left to do until the exams are over, there have been a few more trips to Starbucks during down time. The experience of riding a taxi cab in Egypt is unlike one you've had in the States. Here are a few things you'll always need to remember:
1) Before you get in the cab, know how much you are going to pay for the ride. NEVER ask the driver how much it costs. He WILL rip you off if you give him the chance to. There are no working meters in regular cabs, so there is no set fee for any place you go. You can do two things A) barter before you get into the cab so you both know or B) decide how much you will pay and do not waver when he demands more. Don't let how long the ride is be a factor either. Many drivers assume you don't know where you are going, so they'll take the long way to get more money.
2) Have an idea of where you are suppose to be going. A lot of cabs will drive aimlessly asking people on the street for directions. It helps if you know where you are going so you can help. Also, there is no such thing as Mapquest or GPS directions for cars. they are outlawed here (because the President of Egypt doesn't want people to be able to find him) so a lot of people have no idea where they are going.
3) Learn at least 4 words in Arabic - right, left, straight and here. These are the most important words that you need in a cab, even if they are the only words you'll speak.
4) Try to have a backup place near where you are going. For example, we frequent a Friday's by the Nile on the Cornish road. However, many drivers don't know this, so we also know that next door there is a restaurant called Grande Cafe. One of the two usually gets a response.
5) Have a sense of humor. Cab drivers here can be overly friendly, overly creepy, overly mean or overly agitated. If you try to stay positive, then things won't seem so bad.
That being said, I know I've been ripped off many times here, and leered at by drivers. But all in all, I've always gotten to where I need to go.
Less than a month left! AHH!
But I would be remiss if I didn't write to you about taxi cabs. I keep meaning to write an entry about the experience of riding in a Egyptian cab. Now with the review sessions this week, and my exam written and nothing left to do until the exams are over, there have been a few more trips to Starbucks during down time. The experience of riding a taxi cab in Egypt is unlike one you've had in the States. Here are a few things you'll always need to remember:
1) Before you get in the cab, know how much you are going to pay for the ride. NEVER ask the driver how much it costs. He WILL rip you off if you give him the chance to. There are no working meters in regular cabs, so there is no set fee for any place you go. You can do two things A) barter before you get into the cab so you both know or B) decide how much you will pay and do not waver when he demands more. Don't let how long the ride is be a factor either. Many drivers assume you don't know where you are going, so they'll take the long way to get more money.
2) Have an idea of where you are suppose to be going. A lot of cabs will drive aimlessly asking people on the street for directions. It helps if you know where you are going so you can help. Also, there is no such thing as Mapquest or GPS directions for cars. they are outlawed here (because the President of Egypt doesn't want people to be able to find him) so a lot of people have no idea where they are going.
3) Learn at least 4 words in Arabic - right, left, straight and here. These are the most important words that you need in a cab, even if they are the only words you'll speak.
4) Try to have a backup place near where you are going. For example, we frequent a Friday's by the Nile on the Cornish road. However, many drivers don't know this, so we also know that next door there is a restaurant called Grande Cafe. One of the two usually gets a response.
5) Have a sense of humor. Cab drivers here can be overly friendly, overly creepy, overly mean or overly agitated. If you try to stay positive, then things won't seem so bad.
That being said, I know I've been ripped off many times here, and leered at by drivers. But all in all, I've always gotten to where I need to go.
Less than a month left! AHH!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Israel, the three sea vacation: Red, Dead, Med :)
So I just got back from a fantastic vacation in Israel. It was Orthodox Easter this weekend, so everyone got Thursday, Sunday and Monday off of school! Five day weekend! For this weekend, a few of us - Erin, Lisa and Erin's boyfriend Joe - decided to take full advantage of our time off.
We got up on Thursday morning and took a bus to Taba, Egypt which is a city right on the border. It was a long bus ride - about six hours. We then had to walk to the border to cross it. The problem with this is the same thing that is the problem in all of Egypt...its complete chaos. Egyptians have no sense of lines or order, so its basically a mad rush to get to the front. We were in line for what seemed like forever to just get a stamp in the passport that says we left Egypt. Which by the way, tells people I was in Israel, and now i can't visit another Middle Eastern country (except Israel, Jordon and Egypt and maybe another one) until my passport expires and I get a new one. Just the way of the Mid East, they don't want people to go to Israel apparently. Then, we walked over to the Israel side of the border where we had to go through customs. That part was extremely smooth, and you could almost hear the collective sigh of relief that there were lines and technology keeping us together.
After crossing the border, we got in a cab and headed for Eliat which is a town on the Red Sea, right by the border. We had considered trying to catch a bus to go up to Jerusalem that night, but after the border crossing we had all just about had it. We found a really nice hostel/motel and dropped our bags off. Then we headed off to go to an Irish Pub! You cannot even begin to imagine our joy at drinking beer on the patio of the bar, with people dressed in whatever they want, no honking horns every three seconds, just enjoying the clean air. It was great. We stayed at the pub for a while and then headed back to our hostel where we all pretty much were wiped out and went to sleep.
The next morning, we headed over to the bus station for another ridiculously long bus ride, this time to Jerusalem. The bus was about five hours long this time, but we drove by the Dead Sea and some other scenic places. We also picked up a lot of people from the side of the road.
Oh a quick funny story from the trip. When we were in line for customs, there was a very tall guy that was dressed in running gear and looked like he was practically an Olympiad. We were joking that he was running around the world while we waited in line and speculated about the things he was carrying. When we took our cab to Eliat, we saw him walking to town. Then the next day, we saw him on the side of the road and picked him up in our bus! He even stayed at the same hostel as us and we saw him a couple more times, just walking along the side of the road with all of his things. It made us all laugh hysterically every time we saw him.
So once we got into Jerusalem, we knew we had to get into the Old City, which is where our hostel was and is pretty much where all the religious places are. We started walking, but gave up quickly. We got to our hostel after a while, which was also a nice place. They ended up having a tour scheduled for the next day that we signed up for, then we left to go explore the city. We headed over to the Jewish Quarter first to see the Western (Wailing) Wall.
After walking around the Jewish Quarter for a while, we headed over to the New City area for dinner. Most of the places were closed in both areas because of the Jewish Sabbath so as soon as the sun went down, we were already having problems finding open stores or restaurants. We ended up finding a bar where we could again get a good drink and some food (Its hard living in a dry country :)). Afterwards I went shopping in the touristy streets that we kept referring to as the Khan after a similar area near us. They are small streets that are pretty much alleyways filled with little shops. There were quite a few closed shops because of Sabbath, but it was interesting to see a lot of the things. There were a lot of religious things in the shops, from every religion. While I was in a shop, there was a procession down the street. I had forgotten that it was Orthodox Good Friday, and there were people heading down to the church. The shops all closed up soon after that, so I went back to bed.
The next day we got up early for our tour and already there were people lined up around the edges of the Old City. We were waiting to be picked up right by Jaffa gate, which is an entrance into Old city, and there were people lined up outside, there were people lined up by the entrance to the Khan. There were police everywhere just holding people back. The church bells had been ringing early that morning as we
got up. It was officially their Easter and people were out in full force. We all got coffee and waited for our guide. He couldn't drive up to meet us because of the police presence, so we had to walk down to meet him. It was a minibus full of people, most were older couples. The first stop was Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. We couldn't go up into the caves themselves, but the views were amazing. After that, we went to Massada which is the site of King Herrod's palace and the site of a battle between the Romans and Jewish people. The castle is at the top of a mountain that we had to take a cable car up to. We walked down later, but we collectively decided that it was way too much walking. The top of the mountain is actually at sea level, which is pretty weird. The site is pretty much just ruins that you can walk around observe, but its nice to be able to walk within them. We were there for about two hours, and the sun was beating down on us. After our walk down the mountain, we were all pretty exhausted and overheated. Thankfully, the next stop was the Dead Sea!
We hadn't expected to be able to be able to go in the water so none of us had brought bathing suits. But we made do with t-shirts and shorts. No one wanted to miss out on being able to float. The mud there is suppose have healing qualities, so people were slathering it on themselves. The experience of floating was so weird. I can't even explain the feeling of curling up in a ball and bouncing around on the water. We stayed there for a while and then headed over to Jericho for lunch. Jericho is actually in Palestine territory on the West Bank, so we have to go through a lot of security to make sure no one on our bus was Israeli. After lunch we saw the Mount of Temptation, Tree of Zaccharus, Hirsham Palace and the Mount of Olives. Then they took us back to our hostel where we all kind of felt like we should take a nap. But we pushed through and made a trek to the Christian Quarter to see the Church of the Holy Sapulchre which is the church that was built over the area where Jesus was crucified and buried.
It is believed that this is where Jesus is buried, so there were tons of people there fawning over the tomb. Especially since it was Easter weekend.
The next day we went to the Holocaust Museum, which was pretty interesting. And depressing, but mostly interesting. Afterwards, we went to Bethlehem to the church that was built over the cave where Jesus was supposedly born according to Orthodox tradition.
It was crazy busy there, and again we had to go through ridiculous checkpoints because of it being in West Bank territory. When we got back to Israeli territory we took a cab straight to Tel Aviv which was gorgeous. It is right on the Mediterranean sea, and it probably one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen. We spent the night there relaxing and the next morning headed back.
One of new favorite countries. Everyone was so friendly, and happy, and I wish I was still there right now.
But the good news is that school is almost over. 4 weeks til Pete is here, 6 weeks until I'm in Tokyo and 7 weeks until I'm back in Chicago.
We got up on Thursday morning and took a bus to Taba, Egypt which is a city right on the border. It was a long bus ride - about six hours. We then had to walk to the border to cross it. The problem with this is the same thing that is the problem in all of Egypt...its complete chaos. Egyptians have no sense of lines or order, so its basically a mad rush to get to the front. We were in line for what seemed like forever to just get a stamp in the passport that says we left Egypt. Which by the way, tells people I was in Israel, and now i can't visit another Middle Eastern country (except Israel, Jordon and Egypt and maybe another one) until my passport expires and I get a new one. Just the way of the Mid East, they don't want people to go to Israel apparently. Then, we walked over to the Israel side of the border where we had to go through customs. That part was extremely smooth, and you could almost hear the collective sigh of relief that there were lines and technology keeping us together.
After crossing the border, we got in a cab and headed for Eliat which is a town on the Red Sea, right by the border. We had considered trying to catch a bus to go up to Jerusalem that night, but after the border crossing we had all just about had it. We found a really nice hostel/motel and dropped our bags off. Then we headed off to go to an Irish Pub! You cannot even begin to imagine our joy at drinking beer on the patio of the bar, with people dressed in whatever they want, no honking horns every three seconds, just enjoying the clean air. It was great. We stayed at the pub for a while and then headed back to our hostel where we all pretty much were wiped out and went to sleep.
The next morning, we headed over to the bus station for another ridiculously long bus ride, this time to Jerusalem. The bus was about five hours long this time, but we drove by the Dead Sea and some other scenic places. We also picked up a lot of people from the side of the road.
Oh a quick funny story from the trip. When we were in line for customs, there was a very tall guy that was dressed in running gear and looked like he was practically an Olympiad. We were joking that he was running around the world while we waited in line and speculated about the things he was carrying. When we took our cab to Eliat, we saw him walking to town. Then the next day, we saw him on the side of the road and picked him up in our bus! He even stayed at the same hostel as us and we saw him a couple more times, just walking along the side of the road with all of his things. It made us all laugh hysterically every time we saw him.
So once we got into Jerusalem, we knew we had to get into the Old City, which is where our hostel was and is pretty much where all the religious places are. We started walking, but gave up quickly. We got to our hostel after a while, which was also a nice place. They ended up having a tour scheduled for the next day that we signed up for, then we left to go explore the city. We headed over to the Jewish Quarter first to see the Western (Wailing) Wall.
After walking around the Jewish Quarter for a while, we headed over to the New City area for dinner. Most of the places were closed in both areas because of the Jewish Sabbath so as soon as the sun went down, we were already having problems finding open stores or restaurants. We ended up finding a bar where we could again get a good drink and some food (Its hard living in a dry country :)). Afterwards I went shopping in the touristy streets that we kept referring to as the Khan after a similar area near us. They are small streets that are pretty much alleyways filled with little shops. There were quite a few closed shops because of Sabbath, but it was interesting to see a lot of the things. There were a lot of religious things in the shops, from every religion. While I was in a shop, there was a procession down the street. I had forgotten that it was Orthodox Good Friday, and there were people heading down to the church. The shops all closed up soon after that, so I went back to bed.
The next day we got up early for our tour and already there were people lined up around the edges of the Old City. We were waiting to be picked up right by Jaffa gate, which is an entrance into Old city, and there were people lined up outside, there were people lined up by the entrance to the Khan. There were police everywhere just holding people back. The church bells had been ringing early that morning as we
got up. It was officially their Easter and people were out in full force. We all got coffee and waited for our guide. He couldn't drive up to meet us because of the police presence, so we had to walk down to meet him. It was a minibus full of people, most were older couples. The first stop was Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. We couldn't go up into the caves themselves, but the views were amazing. After that, we went to Massada which is the site of King Herrod's palace and the site of a battle between the Romans and Jewish people. The castle is at the top of a mountain that we had to take a cable car up to. We walked down later, but we collectively decided that it was way too much walking. The top of the mountain is actually at sea level, which is pretty weird. The site is pretty much just ruins that you can walk around observe, but its nice to be able to walk within them. We were there for about two hours, and the sun was beating down on us. After our walk down the mountain, we were all pretty exhausted and overheated. Thankfully, the next stop was the Dead Sea!
We hadn't expected to be able to be able to go in the water so none of us had brought bathing suits. But we made do with t-shirts and shorts. No one wanted to miss out on being able to float. The mud there is suppose have healing qualities, so people were slathering it on themselves. The experience of floating was so weird. I can't even explain the feeling of curling up in a ball and bouncing around on the water. We stayed there for a while and then headed over to Jericho for lunch. Jericho is actually in Palestine territory on the West Bank, so we have to go through a lot of security to make sure no one on our bus was Israeli. After lunch we saw the Mount of Temptation, Tree of Zaccharus, Hirsham Palace and the Mount of Olives. Then they took us back to our hostel where we all kind of felt like we should take a nap. But we pushed through and made a trek to the Christian Quarter to see the Church of the Holy Sapulchre which is the church that was built over the area where Jesus was crucified and buried.
It is believed that this is where Jesus is buried, so there were tons of people there fawning over the tomb. Especially since it was Easter weekend.
The next day we went to the Holocaust Museum, which was pretty interesting. And depressing, but mostly interesting. Afterwards, we went to Bethlehem to the church that was built over the cave where Jesus was supposedly born according to Orthodox tradition.
It was crazy busy there, and again we had to go through ridiculous checkpoints because of it being in West Bank territory. When we got back to Israeli territory we took a cab straight to Tel Aviv which was gorgeous. It is right on the Mediterranean sea, and it probably one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen. We spent the night there relaxing and the next morning headed back.
One of new favorite countries. Everyone was so friendly, and happy, and I wish I was still there right now.
But the good news is that school is almost over. 4 weeks til Pete is here, 6 weeks until I'm in Tokyo and 7 weeks until I'm back in Chicago.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Egyptians Celebrate Like No One Else
I went to two celebrations this weekend that illustrate the fact that Egyptians have a completely different idea of celebrating than anyone else.
First, my friend Erin's birthday is this coming Tuesday, so we celebrated it this weekend. Now, an Egyptian birthday is a bit different from they way anyone else might celbrate it. We began the same way that anyone else might, with a dinner out. Ours was a little upscale, this one was at the Four Seasons. Fantastic dinner, really expensive. After that we headed over to a club called After 8, which is just a small little night club in Cairo. You have to reserve a table to stay there, but really you can bring as many people as you want. The place is ALWAYS packed. One of the girls came only to the club and brought a cake with her. She sercretly gave it to the waiters there (we've done this before) and they brought it out around 1 in the morning. They also supplied 2 sparklers per person and some sort of firework to set off when the cake arrived. Then they play a Happy Birthday song, which is played everywhere for birthdays here. I'm not sure where it comes from but its about 3 minutes long and its like regular house/techno music. Its fun to dance to :) Lots of fire, lots of music, lots of dancing. Basically, that's Egypt.
I also went to a wedding this weekend. The director of the school's middle son was married to a pretty foreign girl (not sure where from, maybe Scotland..more on that in a minute). Now, Egyptian weddings aren't really weddings persay. There isn't really a ceremony, just a reception. We were told that the wedding started at eight, but we should show up between eight-thirty and nine because it wouldn't begin on time. Nothing on Egypt begins on time...which is very annoying to someone like me who likes to be on time for things. So we arrive there around 8:30, and lo and behold, the reception hall isn't even set up yet!! We were there for about a half hour until it was finished being set up. Then we sat inside, but the events didn't begin for ANOTHER twenty minutes or so. They said they needed to wait for as many people as possible to show up before they began. Then, finally, we all went out into the hallway. We were in the Nile Hilton on the second floor. Half of us stayed at the top of the stairs, and everyone else went to the bottom. There were two camera men as well, one at the top, one at the bottom. The two of them followed them around all night, projecting things on a screen in the reception area. The groom waiting at the bottom of the stairs as the bride slowly descended with her father. A man playing bagpipes accompanied them - which is why I thought she may be Scottish. On the landing in the middle, the groom and his father walked up and waited. There was a brief conversation (I wonder what they talked about!) and then the couple walked down the stairs with the two fathers walking behind them. They walked to a larger area of the ground floor where everyone followed and about a dozen men with tambra drums (hand drums) and a few other instruments played. Then there was a mini dance party where the bridal party danced to the music. There was a procession around the stairs after the dancing and then the bride, groom and the music brigade walked back up the stairs. At the top they continued to play while they waited to get in. Everyone else was let in before the bride and groom, and then they were announced in. After the introduction, there was dancing. And more dancing...and more... Finally, around midnight, they brought food to the tables. There were several traditional Egyptian dishes but I don't know what any of them are called. There wasn't a lot of food on the table though (as it was a family style type of set up), so we weren't sure if we should eat a lot of a little. Maybe an hour after appetizer dishes were put out, they brought out the wedding cakes (I say cakes because instead of one multi-tiered cake, there were several single layer cakes on many different level platters) and showed the bride and groom cutting the cake. Then, they proceeded into a separate unseen room and showed the bride and groom cutting a huge leg of meat as well. There was a HUGE buffet of food and deserts. Also, Egyptians don't drink with their meals - and I'm not referring to alcohol, I'm referring to anything. While there were bottles of water on each table, we only got other drinks inbetween food. One round of juice (which was odd) and one round of soda. There was no alcohol at this wedding whatsoever, which is normal for Egypt.
All in all, it was a interesting night - just very confusing foodwise.
First, my friend Erin's birthday is this coming Tuesday, so we celebrated it this weekend. Now, an Egyptian birthday is a bit different from they way anyone else might celbrate it. We began the same way that anyone else might, with a dinner out. Ours was a little upscale, this one was at the Four Seasons. Fantastic dinner, really expensive. After that we headed over to a club called After 8, which is just a small little night club in Cairo. You have to reserve a table to stay there, but really you can bring as many people as you want. The place is ALWAYS packed. One of the girls came only to the club and brought a cake with her. She sercretly gave it to the waiters there (we've done this before) and they brought it out around 1 in the morning. They also supplied 2 sparklers per person and some sort of firework to set off when the cake arrived. Then they play a Happy Birthday song, which is played everywhere for birthdays here. I'm not sure where it comes from but its about 3 minutes long and its like regular house/techno music. Its fun to dance to :) Lots of fire, lots of music, lots of dancing. Basically, that's Egypt.
I also went to a wedding this weekend. The director of the school's middle son was married to a pretty foreign girl (not sure where from, maybe Scotland..more on that in a minute). Now, Egyptian weddings aren't really weddings persay. There isn't really a ceremony, just a reception. We were told that the wedding started at eight, but we should show up between eight-thirty and nine because it wouldn't begin on time. Nothing on Egypt begins on time...which is very annoying to someone like me who likes to be on time for things. So we arrive there around 8:30, and lo and behold, the reception hall isn't even set up yet!! We were there for about a half hour until it was finished being set up. Then we sat inside, but the events didn't begin for ANOTHER twenty minutes or so. They said they needed to wait for as many people as possible to show up before they began. Then, finally, we all went out into the hallway. We were in the Nile Hilton on the second floor. Half of us stayed at the top of the stairs, and everyone else went to the bottom. There were two camera men as well, one at the top, one at the bottom. The two of them followed them around all night, projecting things on a screen in the reception area. The groom waiting at the bottom of the stairs as the bride slowly descended with her father. A man playing bagpipes accompanied them - which is why I thought she may be Scottish. On the landing in the middle, the groom and his father walked up and waited. There was a brief conversation (I wonder what they talked about!) and then the couple walked down the stairs with the two fathers walking behind them. They walked to a larger area of the ground floor where everyone followed and about a dozen men with tambra drums (hand drums) and a few other instruments played. Then there was a mini dance party where the bridal party danced to the music. There was a procession around the stairs after the dancing and then the bride, groom and the music brigade walked back up the stairs. At the top they continued to play while they waited to get in. Everyone else was let in before the bride and groom, and then they were announced in. After the introduction, there was dancing. And more dancing...and more... Finally, around midnight, they brought food to the tables. There were several traditional Egyptian dishes but I don't know what any of them are called. There wasn't a lot of food on the table though (as it was a family style type of set up), so we weren't sure if we should eat a lot of a little. Maybe an hour after appetizer dishes were put out, they brought out the wedding cakes (I say cakes because instead of one multi-tiered cake, there were several single layer cakes on many different level platters) and showed the bride and groom cutting the cake. Then, they proceeded into a separate unseen room and showed the bride and groom cutting a huge leg of meat as well. There was a HUGE buffet of food and deserts. Also, Egyptians don't drink with their meals - and I'm not referring to alcohol, I'm referring to anything. While there were bottles of water on each table, we only got other drinks inbetween food. One round of juice (which was odd) and one round of soda. There was no alcohol at this wedding whatsoever, which is normal for Egypt.
All in all, it was a interesting night - just very confusing foodwise.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Egyptian Mother's Day
This Saturday is Mother's Day in Egypt. It hasn't really been explained to me WHY its not the same day as American Mother's Day, but I do know it is on the same day every year instead of the first Sunday of the month. Egyptians, btw, do not have a father's day. I suppose in this culture, every day is Father's day.
The interesting thing about Mother's Day here is that they not only give their mother's presents, but i recieved some as well. Not that the parents of my students think I have children or anything, it just seems to be a common thing here. I got a lot of nice things, and some not so nice, but the thought was there. Its a very sweet gesture, but a very odd idea. Even when the mother's talked to me yesteday they wished me a Happy Mother's Day. I suppose the idea is that I mother them in the classrooms.
Here's what I got:
- Two plates with Egyptian drawings on them
- a nice bowl made of silver and wood
- a set of six cups
- two different perfumes
- a shirt
- a candle holder
- two candles
- a picture frame
- chocolates
I was very appreciative of these, and many of them will be coming back to the states.
Yesterday was our school Bazaar. It was a nice day off of work (kind of, we were required to be there at three) in which we just walked around to the different booths and watched our kids perform. A lot of people were there, and I spent a lot of time telling parents about how their kids are doing in class. I also received a lot of my gifts listed above here. The kids were fun, and it was nice to see them outside of their uniforms. The little booths that were set up to sell things were nice, though there were two booths with pets that were very sad. Egyptian pet store standards are significantly lower than American ones, and this booth was no exception. They had all kinds of animals, and they were all squeezed into cages. There were two very large guinea pigs in a cage meant for a hamster. They could barely move. It made my heart hurt just to see them.
I'll post pictures up soon (though some are on Facebook if you want to see)
EDIT:
I received a lot more gifts today.
- four coffee mugs
- about five assorted pictures in frames (one of which is gigantic)
- some fake flowers
- a barbie doll
- two clocks
- two sets of earrings
- two necklaces
- a set of three glasses
It was like my birthday :)
The interesting thing about Mother's Day here is that they not only give their mother's presents, but i recieved some as well. Not that the parents of my students think I have children or anything, it just seems to be a common thing here. I got a lot of nice things, and some not so nice, but the thought was there. Its a very sweet gesture, but a very odd idea. Even when the mother's talked to me yesteday they wished me a Happy Mother's Day. I suppose the idea is that I mother them in the classrooms.
Here's what I got:
- Two plates with Egyptian drawings on them
- a nice bowl made of silver and wood
- a set of six cups
- two different perfumes
- a shirt
- a candle holder
- two candles
- a picture frame
- chocolates
I was very appreciative of these, and many of them will be coming back to the states.
Yesterday was our school Bazaar. It was a nice day off of work (kind of, we were required to be there at three) in which we just walked around to the different booths and watched our kids perform. A lot of people were there, and I spent a lot of time telling parents about how their kids are doing in class. I also received a lot of my gifts listed above here. The kids were fun, and it was nice to see them outside of their uniforms. The little booths that were set up to sell things were nice, though there were two booths with pets that were very sad. Egyptian pet store standards are significantly lower than American ones, and this booth was no exception. They had all kinds of animals, and they were all squeezed into cages. There were two very large guinea pigs in a cage meant for a hamster. They could barely move. It made my heart hurt just to see them.
I'll post pictures up soon (though some are on Facebook if you want to see)
EDIT:
I received a lot more gifts today.
- four coffee mugs
- about five assorted pictures in frames (one of which is gigantic)
- some fake flowers
- a barbie doll
- two clocks
- two sets of earrings
- two necklaces
- a set of three glasses
It was like my birthday :)
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Tme moving quickly
I know that I haven’t written in a long time, but that’s mostly because nothing really exciting has been happening. We’re back in school these days, and time is flying by quickly. I can’t believe that in less than three months I’ll be leaving here! We don’t have much time left for teaching either. I wrote out an outline for the rest of my lesson plans for the year, and I was shocked to find how little time I have to teach. Not only do we only have about eight weeks left of school (the last few weeks are grading and wrapping up loose ends, no teaching after May 4th). But two of those are review weeks. So that only leaves about six weeks of teaching and that’s not much time to get the information in. Its just crazy to think about!
Besides school, I have been having fun. A few of us rented a felucca boat for an hour on the Nile. A felucca boat is pretty much a big sailboat, but a little less sophisticated than ones that most people own. It has a sail, a rudder and seats. No steering wheel or anything like that. But still lovely to ride on (especially since it comes with a driver! Ha!). The weekend we did that was beautiful and very warm, and the ride was just relaxing. Its getting windy here (sandstorm season is almost upon us), and that always helps move that boat along.
Last night we had what we all referred to as ‘second thanksgiving’ which was great. Everybody brought a dish to share, and we enjoyed a nice feast. There were about eight people all together, and about half of us brought desserts. We all ended up full though, so it worked out for the best – even if we were all sugared up for a while. Lately we’ve done a lot of hanging out on people’s roofs and playing cards. And Jenga! I’ve gotten a lot better at both of them. Its been really relaxing and I’m really going to miss everyone here. Don’t worry about me staying though, pretty much everyone is leaving after the school year ends.
Ok, I'll try to keep updating :) sorry about the long down time!
Besides school, I have been having fun. A few of us rented a felucca boat for an hour on the Nile. A felucca boat is pretty much a big sailboat, but a little less sophisticated than ones that most people own. It has a sail, a rudder and seats. No steering wheel or anything like that. But still lovely to ride on (especially since it comes with a driver! Ha!). The weekend we did that was beautiful and very warm, and the ride was just relaxing. Its getting windy here (sandstorm season is almost upon us), and that always helps move that boat along.
Last night we had what we all referred to as ‘second thanksgiving’ which was great. Everybody brought a dish to share, and we enjoyed a nice feast. There were about eight people all together, and about half of us brought desserts. We all ended up full though, so it worked out for the best – even if we were all sugared up for a while. Lately we’ve done a lot of hanging out on people’s roofs and playing cards. And Jenga! I’ve gotten a lot better at both of them. Its been really relaxing and I’m really going to miss everyone here. Don’t worry about me staying though, pretty much everyone is leaving after the school year ends.
Ok, I'll try to keep updating :) sorry about the long down time!
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