with three Bedouins who prepared a bomb meal out of nothing. It was FREEZING!! I played footsy with multiple people to keep warm. As an aside, anyone who knows me knows I dont do feet.
yup. It was awesome!
11.28.2009
Thanksgiving in the black and white desert!
Yes, this non-outdoorsy girl camped out in the desert, after traveling about 5 hours west of Cairo to the middle of no-freaking where, where a prematurely aged hotel owner insisted we lie about our nationality in order to avoid having to take police guards--they do indeed put a damper on things.
We visited the black desert, some crystal mountain thing (the above picture[we were told it was at this point that our driver started toking up...im really not surprised]) and then spent the night in the white desert. Pardon the bad pic, it was hard to take a decent one with such limited light.
with three Bedouins who prepared a bomb meal out of nothing. It was FREEZING!! I played footsy with multiple people to keep warm. As an aside, anyone who knows me knows I dont do feet.
Sunrise... yes, that is sheesha. There was lots of sheesha involved. Oh yes, and lots of tea and fuul...
and beautiful Bedouins who speak italian....
yup. It was awesome!
with three Bedouins who prepared a bomb meal out of nothing. It was FREEZING!! I played footsy with multiple people to keep warm. As an aside, anyone who knows me knows I dont do feet.
yup. It was awesome!
11.25.2009
هذا مش جزء من حياتي في مصر و لكن...
...من الضروري اشترك الاخبار مع كل الناس
!!!!اتمنهت مع بطاقتي الاولى يعني خلاص
Yay, one down one to go.
11.20.2009
When stupid people get together and feed off
one another's lies, crap like this happens.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8369983.stm
and this...
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/11/20091120132218441380.html
I spoke to an egyptian today who was very upset after I alleged that egyptians destroyed egyptian property. She insisted that they were, in fact, algerian........ That egyptians were being murdered left and right in Algeria... اي ده? SERIOUSLY? And people believe this GARBAGE!
I am nice and kind but I had to burst her bubble. Why would algerians be sticking around in Zamalek after such an emotionally charged debacle? Why would algerians be protesting against ALGERIA? Do you really think there is a conspiracy to make egyptians look bad?
You make yourself look bad...mobilizing around a game while your country is pretty much becoming a monarchy. Just give Gamal Mubarak his crown, already.
When my professors criticized the game as a diversion from the political fiasco(s in egypt AND algeria) I thought they were paranoid but it makes perfect sense! This game business has devolved into complete and utter absurdity.
I am disappointed, disappointed that diplomatic relations could possibly deteriorate over a soccer (football) game. Disappointed that officials, instead of calling for calm, are talking about taking a "tough stance". Disappointed that news outlets are fanning the flames of this ...this MESS. Disappointed that university students actually believe these conspiracy theories...apparently Intro to Logic is not a required course at AUC.
Zamalek is beautiful... I'd like to keep it that way. Respect your country; respect yourself.
هو ده...
and this...
I spoke to an egyptian today who was very upset after I alleged that egyptians destroyed egyptian property. She insisted that they were, in fact, algerian........ That egyptians were being murdered left and right in Algeria... اي ده? SERIOUSLY? And people believe this GARBAGE!
I am nice and kind but I had to burst her bubble. Why would algerians be sticking around in Zamalek after such an emotionally charged debacle? Why would algerians be protesting against ALGERIA? Do you really think there is a conspiracy to make egyptians look bad?
You make yourself look bad...mobilizing around a game while your country is pretty much becoming a monarchy. Just give Gamal Mubarak his crown, already.
When my professors criticized the game as a diversion from the political fiasco(s in egypt AND algeria) I thought they were paranoid but it makes perfect sense! This game business has devolved into complete and utter absurdity.
I am disappointed, disappointed that diplomatic relations could possibly deteriorate over a soccer (football) game. Disappointed that officials, instead of calling for calm, are talking about taking a "tough stance". Disappointed that news outlets are fanning the flames of this ...this MESS. Disappointed that university students actually believe these conspiracy theories...apparently Intro to Logic is not a required course at AUC.
Zamalek is beautiful... I'd like to keep it that way. Respect your country; respect yourself.
هو ده...
Reasons I LOVE Khan el-Khalili
Last night I made my first (but not last) trip to Khan El-Khalili with Rivkah #2 around 6ish. I went with every intention of getting christmas gifts and ended up getting a galabiyya and two scarves for moi. no pictures to post as my camera still has no batteries but soon, I promise.
Anywho, Khan is this huge, open and bustling marketplace where you can get EVERYTHING! Deep breath.
You get out of your extra stinky taxi after struggling to understand your taxi driver's amea (colloq arabic) for anywhere between 10 and 15 minutes, hand him 10 L.E. and make your way into chaos. There are people everywhere, pressing up against you, some smelling like jasmine others like old cheese, some insensitive, some considerate, more curious, all willing to help you try out your heinous arabic, some insisting you can speak english despite the fact that you really want to keep butchering their language. You hear the occasional vendor shout something in french...english...
---"no, no esta bien. puedo bajar el precio. ¿que quieres?"
You turn, squint, shake your head twice. He's masree, a vendor clearly trying to sell his fake papyrus to two europeans. Was that...? Couldnt be...
---"mira, mira eso"
Yes, indeed, that's spanish, if not perfect then (at the very least) conversational. You smile...move aside as some short guy pushes past, his brow furrowed slightly, a cart in tow.
You walk a little more, coming to a narrower street. After getting over the initial hesitation you take it. There are dusty lamps like something out of aladdin (seriously), glass pyramids, nefertiti busts, galabiyya's and scarves.
A young egyptian approaches trying to sell your equally foreign looking companion his scarves, 40 L.E. Really? $7.40 isnt bad but she KNOWs she can get it cheaper. She presses him for 10 L.E.;he refuses; she walks away. You come to another vendor who insists he knows your friends heritage; she is from turkey, right? She blushes and you gag. Turkey?
She says something in french and he insists she is french. She explains that speaking french doesnt necessarily mean she is french...He asks if she has a boyfriend.
The scarf guy appears again. 15 L.E. and no less, he insists. You really want that orange scarf and she really wants the pink one.
-- "Do you have boyfriend?"
Someone pushes past you. You REALLY just want that orange scarf. 15 L.E. kuwayiss. You get the scarves, the vendor still wants to know if your friend has a boyfriend; you quickly walk away.
--- "Brown sugar!"
--- "Hey, sista good price!"
--- "Hey, sista 1 pound shirt!"
--- You from kenya, africa? Where you from girl?
You look at your friend, she looks at you and you laugh. "I look Kenyan!"
She smiles. "And I'm a turk."
You hook arms and walk faster. It's not so much about the buying as it is simple being...being there, being in it, just being.
---"Good price here...good price"
---"Madam, I help you please?"
---"Brown sugar!"
That's got to be the 20th brown sugar you've gotten. You shrug it off but your friend is not as forgiving. She snaps.
--- "ده مش كويس" (that is not okay!)
--- "I'm very sorry."
He holds up his hands, backing away, very clearly apologetic and not expecting the fiery response. She continues to glare.
You keep walking (buy a SUPERFLY GALABIYYA) and circling around you come to the same guy. He's going to do it... he's going to say it and your friend, who is all of 5'2", is probably going to gut him. You cringe as his lips part, everything goes slowly... and then there it is.
--- "White sugar?"
You can't help but laugh; its HILARIOUS. Your friend laughs too but not before telling him that white sugar is also unaccetable.
--- "no sugar? You don't like sugar?"
---"no sugar..." She confirms, unable to hide the smile.
Anywho, Khan is this huge, open and bustling marketplace where you can get EVERYTHING! Deep breath.
You get out of your extra stinky taxi after struggling to understand your taxi driver's amea (colloq arabic) for anywhere between 10 and 15 minutes, hand him 10 L.E. and make your way into chaos. There are people everywhere, pressing up against you, some smelling like jasmine others like old cheese, some insensitive, some considerate, more curious, all willing to help you try out your heinous arabic, some insisting you can speak english despite the fact that you really want to keep butchering their language. You hear the occasional vendor shout something in french...english...
---"no, no esta bien. puedo bajar el precio. ¿que quieres?"
You turn, squint, shake your head twice. He's masree, a vendor clearly trying to sell his fake papyrus to two europeans. Was that...? Couldnt be...
---"mira, mira eso"
Yes, indeed, that's spanish, if not perfect then (at the very least) conversational. You smile...move aside as some short guy pushes past, his brow furrowed slightly, a cart in tow.
You walk a little more, coming to a narrower street. After getting over the initial hesitation you take it. There are dusty lamps like something out of aladdin (seriously), glass pyramids, nefertiti busts, galabiyya's and scarves.
A young egyptian approaches trying to sell your equally foreign looking companion his scarves, 40 L.E. Really? $7.40 isnt bad but she KNOWs she can get it cheaper. She presses him for 10 L.E.;he refuses; she walks away. You come to another vendor who insists he knows your friends heritage; she is from turkey, right? She blushes and you gag. Turkey?
She says something in french and he insists she is french. She explains that speaking french doesnt necessarily mean she is french...He asks if she has a boyfriend.
The scarf guy appears again. 15 L.E. and no less, he insists. You really want that orange scarf and she really wants the pink one.
-- "Do you have boyfriend?"
Someone pushes past you. You REALLY just want that orange scarf. 15 L.E. kuwayiss. You get the scarves, the vendor still wants to know if your friend has a boyfriend; you quickly walk away.
--- "Brown sugar!"
--- "Hey, sista good price!"
--- "Hey, sista 1 pound shirt!"
--- You from kenya, africa? Where you from girl?
You look at your friend, she looks at you and you laugh. "I look Kenyan!"
She smiles. "And I'm a turk."
You hook arms and walk faster. It's not so much about the buying as it is simple being...being there, being in it, just being.
---"Good price here...good price"
---"Madam, I help you please?"
---"Brown sugar!"
That's got to be the 20th brown sugar you've gotten. You shrug it off but your friend is not as forgiving. She snaps.
--- "ده مش كويس" (that is not okay!)
--- "I'm very sorry."
He holds up his hands, backing away, very clearly apologetic and not expecting the fiery response. She continues to glare.
You keep walking (buy a SUPERFLY GALABIYYA) and circling around you come to the same guy. He's going to do it... he's going to say it and your friend, who is all of 5'2", is probably going to gut him. You cringe as his lips part, everything goes slowly... and then there it is.
--- "White sugar?"
You can't help but laugh; its HILARIOUS. Your friend laughs too but not before telling him that white sugar is also unaccetable.
--- "no sugar? You don't like sugar?"
---"no sugar..." She confirms, unable to hide the smile.
هو ده
11.18.2009
Me di cuento del hecho que....
I only blog when Egypt ticks me off, which is why I blog so little. Well, that and (to be quite honest) work ya'll ;) Anywho last week we did Marsa Alam. We took the bus but missed our stop (because you just kinda tell the driver where to stop) and ending up trekking maybe a kilometer through the desert. :) it was awesome!
Alex went snorkeling and it was AWESOME! No really, the most fun I've had in a while. I've decided to learn to swim...tired of missing out. The amenities were awesome...the service, meh. An egyptian was yelled at and the problem was solved :). But yeah, Marsa Alam = awesomeness.
The Egypt/Algerie game is tonight and I'll be officially done with midterms in 15 min! I'm totes going to get caught up in some mob of egyptian madness tonight.
On a more random note, I have the worst luck EVER! Things fall into place just as the trip starts to end. Life in egypt rocks and is cheap and AWESOME. I havent always appreciated it but I do now...& the countdown begins. I have exactly 1 month and 5 days before my great Egyptian adventure is over and another begins... STOP THE TAPE! no sadness here! I'm still in FRIGGIN EGYPT! HOLLA!
Alex went snorkeling and it was AWESOME! No really, the most fun I've had in a while. I've decided to learn to swim...tired of missing out. The amenities were awesome...the service, meh. An egyptian was yelled at and the problem was solved :). But yeah, Marsa Alam = awesomeness.
The Egypt/Algerie game is tonight and I'll be officially done with midterms in 15 min! I'm totes going to get caught up in some mob of egyptian madness tonight.
On a more random note, I have the worst luck EVER! Things fall into place just as the trip starts to end. Life in egypt rocks and is cheap and AWESOME. I havent always appreciated it but I do now...& the countdown begins. I have exactly 1 month and 5 days before my great Egyptian adventure is over and another begins... STOP THE TAPE! no sadness here! I'm still in FRIGGIN EGYPT! HOLLA!
11.05.2009
Marsa Alam Hathahi el-leela!
I'm taking the midnight bus....to Marsa Alam. Where I will be staying somewhere with heated pools and cable to see BEYONCE tomorrow night! I'm so excited/need a serious break from the city, see previous entry for details.
I aced my arabic midtern...okay so I missed one question, whatever...I'll take it! my Comp pols midterm was a bit shaky...because I didnt study israel at all (dont jew read too much into that)....okay that was lame/an inside joke. Work wise I'm okay, case endings in arabic are killing me and I have two papers around the corner. *yawn*
in other news silly troubles are no more. sometimes, you just have to cut it off.
I aced my arabic midtern...okay so I missed one question, whatever...I'll take it! my Comp pols midterm was a bit shaky...because I didnt study israel at all (dont jew read too much into that)....okay that was lame/an inside joke. Work wise I'm okay, case endings in arabic are killing me and I have two papers around the corner. *yawn*
in other news silly troubles are no more. sometimes, you just have to cut it off.
11.02.2009
اليوم و اليوم فقط لا احب مصر
A series of bad experiences (people cheating me, being generally uncooperative, demanding I speak arabic when the only non-amea words in my sentence are part of a name, brushes with IGNORANT international students) have made me hate egypt...just for today, I promise. Actually, the last bit about international students cant even be attributed to egypt...these kids are american or from the EU. Still, it makes me want to strangle someone. It's not even that I want to go home...I'd gladly fly to the EU and finish out the semester there...but thats a pansy move.
Everyone studies abroad in the EU, myself included. I just have to keep going over why I came here...its different, I need/love to study arabic, its FRIGGIN egypt! But i'm no longer loving arabic...perhaps because the professors here (while good) cannot compete with Emory Professors in the Arabic department. Asifa but it's true...and pretty darn sad.
I'm tired of the egyptian obsession with whiteness... Everybody has color issues but when it means I walk into an establishment and they fall all over themselves helping my (white) companion and treat me like they're paying me for a service.....we have issues. It's kinda pathetic. Whatever happened to egyptian pride? to history and culture? whatever.
I'm tired of RUDE people...people who smoke RIGHT outside of a classroom, run into you like they dont see you standing there, pee facing traffic (the peeing in public is bad ENOUGH) and refuse to do their jobs, you know, the one they are getting PAID FOR. Excuse me, I know this is Cairo and everyone smokes but your smoke gives me a headache and the girl beside me is asthmatic...move your habit elsewhere. // the next girl that acts like I'm supposed to move outta her way when she is coming down the stairs beside her friend is getting stabbed...or at least cursed out...or tripped or shoved // nasty old (and young) men who AEYZ.... really old man, really? you want? you WANT WHAT? I'm so disgusted by most of the men I encounter here....there isnt enough liquor in all of egypt for me to talk to you. Cause for real, you are sitting on the corner...do you have a job? when is the last time you showered? you are NASTY and I'd rather ROT than let you within five feet of me...yes even black girls have standards...SURPRISE!
Tomorrow, I will love Egypt insha'allah but now...I'm tired of dirty [insert expletive here] streets, people constantly littering, being unable to breath, vendors who dont give change, smokers and people who act like they are doing me a favor by letting me live in this (another expletive[just for today]) country.
Everyone studies abroad in the EU, myself included. I just have to keep going over why I came here...its different, I need/love to study arabic, its FRIGGIN egypt! But i'm no longer loving arabic...perhaps because the professors here (while good) cannot compete with Emory Professors in the Arabic department. Asifa but it's true...and pretty darn sad.
I'm tired of the egyptian obsession with whiteness... Everybody has color issues but when it means I walk into an establishment and they fall all over themselves helping my (white) companion and treat me like they're paying me for a service.....we have issues. It's kinda pathetic. Whatever happened to egyptian pride? to history and culture? whatever.
I'm tired of RUDE people...people who smoke RIGHT outside of a classroom, run into you like they dont see you standing there, pee facing traffic (the peeing in public is bad ENOUGH) and refuse to do their jobs, you know, the one they are getting PAID FOR. Excuse me, I know this is Cairo and everyone smokes but your smoke gives me a headache and the girl beside me is asthmatic...move your habit elsewhere. // the next girl that acts like I'm supposed to move outta her way when she is coming down the stairs beside her friend is getting stabbed...or at least cursed out...or tripped or shoved // nasty old (and young) men who AEYZ.... really old man, really? you want? you WANT WHAT? I'm so disgusted by most of the men I encounter here....there isnt enough liquor in all of egypt for me to talk to you. Cause for real, you are sitting on the corner...do you have a job? when is the last time you showered? you are NASTY and I'd rather ROT than let you within five feet of me...yes even black girls have standards...SURPRISE!
Tomorrow, I will love Egypt insha'allah but now...I'm tired of dirty [insert expletive here] streets, people constantly littering, being unable to breath, vendors who dont give change, smokers and people who act like they are doing me a favor by letting me live in this (another expletive[just for today]) country.