Denmark, Part II

According to polls, Denmark is the second biggest threat to Egypt, with Israel coming in first. We were a little shocked by that information, as Denmark has ... well, not much of a reputation for anything at all in the US.

We recently discovered this link to a children's show aired in Palestine. Not Egypt, but pretty close. It's scary.

Denmark = Enemy #1

You may remember the controversy a couple years ago regarding some cartoons of Mohammad originally printed in a Danish newspaper: riots around the world, attacks on embassies, dozens dead...

Well, there was recently an attempted murder of one of the cartoonists, prompting newspapers to reprint the cartoons. Again, people are angry. There have been angry words toward Denmark in Egyptian newspapers and talk shows (so we've heard, they're in Arabic). Thousands of students, led by their professors, protested at a university in Upper Egypt. An MP connected with the Muslim Brotherhood has called for a ceasation of all diplomatic ties with Denmark. And there's now a boycott of all Danish products.

How this affects us:

1. Another volunteer just arrived at CEOSS from... Denmark. (She's taken to claiming Norway as home, not that most people know where it is.)

2. A group of foreigners is visiting CEOSS projects next week from... Denmark.

3. I'm currently working on a proposal that requests money from the government of... Denmark. (Hopefully all aid money won't be cut off for some irrational reason.)

4. The butter we usually buy at our grocery store is no longer there because it is produced in... Denmark.

5. My blue eyes, my last name, and my great-grandparents all come from... Denmark.

Thunder!

We had a thunderstorm today! It poured and poured like nothing else! People were hanging out their windows trying to get all their (not so dry anymore) laundry inside. People were running down the street, people were calling each other...

Then it stopped in like five minutes. But it was great while it lasted.

Unfortunately, Cairo drivers are even worse than California drivers with rain. The traffic on the way home was ridiculous. I guess that's to be expected...

Muslim bachelors

The NY Times has a front-page story today about Egypt's increasing trend toward religiousity, especially among the youth. Confronted with the lack of opportunities afforded them, many young people are finding solace in Islam. People tell us that as recent as five years ago, not many women in Cairo wore headscarves; now it's hard to find someone who's not.

Interestingly, chief among the causes of depression and disillusionment is the ridiculously high cost of weddings. Many people are delaying weddings as a result, feel like outcasts or failures, and look to God for acceptance.

It's a good article. Check it out.

Cairo at its best

There are many valid reasons to dislike Cairo, and sometimes we do. Last night was not one of those times.

In a slightly-belated celebration of Valentine's Day, we schlepped across the city to Mena House, an awesome colonial-era hotel right next to the pyramids. The balconies of the rooms boast one of the most surreal views in the world; we could never afford it, so accomodation wasn't our aim. This hotel has the best Indian restaurant in the country, the Moghul Room. It was so nice to eat Indian food again! The food was great and plentiful -- we have enough left over to have a second full dinner today! Sadly, the restaurant did not have a view, but we strolled in the gardens afterward, and they did.

Such an elegant location is, of course, rather expensive. (Cheapest wine: $100. We didn't have any.) I felt like a poseur, surrounding by well-heeled people our parents' age, but we had dressed up a bit so maybe no one noticed!

The second great thing about the night out was our transportation success. Even though our meal wasn't cheap, we scoffed at paying $7 each way for a taxi. So on the way we took the metro and a bus, and on the way home we took an even more ghetto microbus. The Egyptians surrounding us thankfully took little notice, and it was practically door-to-door service. Total transportation bill for the night: $2.

Bureaocracy, Part II

Mo'men, our UN-bound friend, is still here. His flight was this morning, but he wasn't on it. The US embassy had promised to have his visa done in two days, by Thursday. It was indeed very last minute, but the embassy knew that.

He'll probably get the visa on Sunday or Monday. And then the UN will probably book him a new flight for the near future. So everything should turn out ok. Plus it means he'll have a few more days to pack. But talk about nerves!

Egyptian pride

In all likelihood, no one reading this knew that the Africa Cup football tournament took place this past month. To be honest, we barely knew. But we watched the last few games and are happy to announce that our lovely host country fielded the best team on the continent!

(Cue even more honking and yelling than usual.)

There's something to be said for bureaucracy...

Last night we went to the home of Adel, one of our friends from work. His mother made us a great dinner and kept trying to feed us more and more, winning out over our protests. One of the reasons for our visit was to help Adel's friend Momen with some paperwork. He is moving to New York to work at the United Nations! It's essentially the ultimate Egyptian dream come true. It's a pretty sweet deal: on top of a solid salary and good benefits, the UN will cover his travel (business class), give him an "allowance" of $275/day his first month there, and...oh....a "relocation grant" of $10,000. We're quite jealous and now want him to get me a job ;) He's having issues with the embassy with his visa, but hopefully those will be worked out soon. So maybe we'll see him again in New York, if we end up moving back there.

Oh, the UN will pay for his visa too. And the shots they made him get.

The cab to the airport? Yep, that too.

Global primary

For all politically-interested Americans, it was a pretty big day yesterday. It has surprised us how in touch people here are with our electoral process. We, for our part, really wanted to vote in the primaries. So we applied for absentee ballots and visited the embassy (twice) to fill out paperwork -- to no avail. Then we found that the Democrats had a "global primary" this time, for expats everywhere. We registered... and waited. Then Monday evening we got an email with instructions and web links! So we got to vote. It won't count for as much as it would have in CA, or NY, or even TX later on -- but it's something.

I won't tell you which amazing black politician we voted for.

Signal strength: Low

Apparently the internet reaches the Middle East and East Africa and even India primarily via three large submarine fiber optic cables from Europe. And a few days ago two of these cables were cut. We thought it was just our internet that was down, but apparently it was hundreds of millions of people... Even just a few days without internet must have had a huge effect on business. It's working spottily now. Even I can easily remember a time before the internet, but wow. It's really got a hold on us now.