tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34613447736082621272012-02-17T02:58:22.770+02:00stories from a year in egyptnatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.comBlogger1091100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-87479584804057426782008-06-22T22:13:00.004+03:002008-06-22T22:21:41.297+03:00

Dear loyal readers,We leave the US again tomorrow to travel in Europe with our families for 6 weeks. It should be a really good time. This means, though, that this blog is unlikely to get updated anymore. A lot of stuff happened in Egypt that went unwritten -- a car accident, a broken arm (unrelated to the accident), and a lot of traveling -- but it looks like that will remain unwritten. All

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-14945320899759198382008-06-11T01:02:00.002+03:002008-06-11T01:17:51.860+03:00

This view of the harbor was from our restaurant table. We sat very near the place where a wonder of the world (the Pharos Lighthouse) once stood. Alexandria is nowhere near the city it once was, but it's still beautiful.

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-82775256660491909832008-06-09T20:20:00.005+03:002008-06-09T20:38:14.047+03:00

Arab/Berber grain storage houseThe largest Roman colosseum in AfricaRoman ruins in CarthageA quiet corner of Tunis' medina

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-4369129394528285572008-06-09T20:05:00.003+03:002008-06-09T20:19:18.863+03:00

Well.There are at least a few dedicated readers of this blog out there to whom we wish to extend apologies for our reticence this past month (and some). This blog was created to keep interested parties abreast of our life abroad, so it's ironic that our busiest period should go so unannounced. That is to say: so much happened since I last posted, and we got so behind, that we gave up keeping up

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-79059647755834007352008-05-01T18:59:00.000+03:002008-05-01T19:01:43.617+03:00

We haven't posted anything in a while and will try to catch up...A couple weeks ago, we went to Minia, a city in Upper Egypt, to visit some of CEOSS’ projects. Jeannette, a girl from Denmark who started working at CEOSS a couple months ago, also went with us. She had been trying to get down to Minia for weeks, and had been rebuffed or delayed four times. We think it’s partly because of a lack of

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-62599176918806043702008-04-19T22:35:00.001+02:002008-04-19T22:39:04.752+02:00

We have good news for our mothers and anyone else who may worry about our safety: We are not going to Syria. The original plan was to go to Lebanon and Syria, but with Lebanon currently in political paralysis as the Christians and Shiites vie for power, we decided that maybe Beirut is not the safest place to be. Syria seemed safe enough to us – the Arab League summit in Damascus last month passed

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-22337445206881839942008-04-15T21:39:00.002+02:002008-04-15T21:49:31.766+02:00

Our story of the Siwan desert will continue shortly... All we can post today is a link to the New York Times, which just ran a story about the insane level of sheer NOISE in Cairo. It's called "A City Where You Can't Hear Yourself Scream."Money quote:"This is not like London or New York, or even Tehran, another car-clogged Middle Eastern capital. It is literally like living day in and day out

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-44167929565420948932008-04-13T20:48:00.000+02:002008-04-13T20:49:37.727+02:00

The next morning we visited the mud-brick fortress of Shali, which looms above the town of Siwa like an apparition. Built in the 13th century, it stood up well against the scourges of time, up until the great rains of 1926 did heavy damage (more than any invader throughout history) and washed away like a third of it. It now looks a bit like Dresden in 1945. The houses at the base of the hill are

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-18074438245678171982008-04-07T16:09:00.006+02:002008-04-07T21:38:53.345+02:00

Well, the internet is still too slow to upload any pictures, but we can put a few of our oasis adventures in writing.After rising from our nap, we rented bikes and embarked on a tour of the oasis and its surroundings. First stop was a series of old tombs cut into a hill, about a mile outside the town. A few of the tombs had paintings on the walls, but we didn't want to pay the entrance fees so we

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-50661835906823379902008-04-06T00:21:00.002+02:002008-04-06T00:23:35.049+02:00

We have been trying to post pictures from our oasis trip for days now. The internet is just not cooperating. Hopefully it will be working better tomorrow -- though there's no reason why it necessary will be...

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-49281633399099778622008-04-01T23:18:00.000+02:002008-04-01T23:19:33.563+02:00

We had been thinking about going to Siwa Oasis for a couple months now; this past weekend we finally went. Siwa is quite far from Cairo in Egypt’s northwest corner, just 80km from Libya. That translates into a 9-10 hour bus ride. The only non-stop bus is a red-eye that leaves Wednesday night and arrives Thursday morning, so that’s what we took. Luckily, the bus wasn’t entirely full; we each got a

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-58173735110251997142008-03-24T14:55:00.002+02:002008-03-24T15:11:43.642+02:00

A friend at work today came into our office and commented "My colon is very tired." This, apparently, is a common Egyptian "ailment", as a surprising number of people have commented on the state of their colon. As an American, and that too a daughter of doctors, I'm barely aware of my colon's placement, much less its activity or energy level.The way people here talk and think about health is ...

millihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01963581788690871010noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-32525375783260214922008-03-24T14:23:00.004+02:002008-03-24T21:36:35.461+02:00

I work at Egypt Today one long weekend per month, and I am always sick that weekend. Literally every time. I could set a calendar by it: ok, time to get that cold again... A bit odd, isn't it, to catch a cold when it's 100 degrees...

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-51184985694073363992008-03-24T11:54:00.001+02:002008-03-24T11:56:08.821+02:00

We've seen a lot of pretty funny clothing misspellings... I've seen Adidas spelled at least three different ways.

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-56792741046301992582008-03-23T20:56:00.005+02:002008-03-23T22:36:41.204+02:00

It's been a weekend chock full of holidays.This past Thursday was the Prophet Muhammad's birthday. We had the day off work, mostly lazed around. Lots of people go picnicking, but we stayed at home, avoiding crowds.The next day was Good Friday, when we remember Jesus' death by crucifixion.Then on Saturday we celebrated Easter, a day early, because our church meets on Saturdays. It was strange to

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-74817247197096332232008-03-21T18:54:00.002+02:002008-03-21T19:18:02.502+02:00

Al-Azhar is the oldest university in the world, established in 988, about a century before Oxford. It is the religious authority within Egypt, and often considered the center of Sunni Islam.The dark brown balcony above Milli's scarf-clad head is where the teachers used to preach to students in the huge courtyard below. They don't anymore; I believe they use classrooms.

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-40395315641794464752008-03-20T10:43:00.003+02:002008-03-20T10:55:29.386+02:00

The other great Egypt Today article is a profile of Egyptian poverty. The author quotes at length interviews with a variety of analysts and public figures, and they're sometimes quite interesting. I recommend reading it if you'd like to know more about the economic situation here in Egypt.A detached World Bank assessment:"Poverty in Egypt is not severe or deep. Moreover, we have four percent of

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-76142405139328180552008-03-20T10:17:00.004+02:002008-03-20T10:43:44.159+02:00

Egypt Today, the magazine at which I work as a part-time copyeditor, has a couple good articles this month. One is about the American University in Cairo (AUC) and its study abroad students [article here]. Americans' interest in the Middle East has skyrocketed in the last decade, with many more kids coming to place like Egypt. But the cross-cultural exchange hasn't been much of an exchange:"With

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-40715194321757037472008-03-16T17:46:00.003+02:002008-03-16T17:54:38.351+02:00

It looks like this poor cow's time on death row is about over...

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-5456756950624801012008-03-16T17:39:00.003+02:002008-03-16T17:45:49.704+02:00

I got a chance to test my Arabic today. At the juice stand, as I stood drinking my strawberry & juice cocktail (only 40 cents!), the juice guys started asking me questions -- about how long I was living in Egypt, about where I had been, about America. To some of their inquiries I was ready with an answer, but much of the time was spent staring blankly, even after they repeated their questions...

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-58787482572822643422008-03-15T23:55:00.003+02:002008-03-16T00:00:52.425+02:00

We went to an outdoor cafe tonight, braving the slightly breezy weather. Midway through our time there an Egyptian guy our age came over and started talking to us. Mark was a friendly guy and spoke very good English (had just returned from 3 years in DC). He said he was impressed that I had ordered in Arabic and wanted to find out our background. Now I hadn't said more than 6 or 7 words in Arabic

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-10092580877858291172008-03-14T13:32:00.003+02:002008-03-15T23:55:03.726+02:00

One of the things CEOSS does is promote dialogue between Egyptian Muslims and Christians and between Egyptians and Europeans. One of the Danish meetings the other day was about this program, and CEOSS had brought in someone from the prominent website Islam Online to talk about his experience in dialogue groups. He talked about how he had been scared to interact with Christians and assumed they

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-18748789966372590922008-03-11T11:26:00.003+02:002008-03-11T11:43:50.037+02:00

Our major project at CEOSS thus far has been to overhaul the website. (You can see it here.) Well, "overhaul" is perhaps too strong a word; we've rewritten everything, but the website design is still miserable. CEOSS paid a design company far too much money, and got an immutable website template complete with misspellings, broken features, inconsistent formatting, and ridiculous layout. There

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-42828987516124363932008-03-11T10:52:00.002+02:002008-03-11T11:04:45.872+02:00

Into the mix of the cartoon controversy comes the visit of a dozen Danish religious leaders and donors. They had been scheduled to visit CEOSS long before the issue re-emerged, and the timing was unfortunate. CEOSS asked (indeed, begged) them to postpone the visit, but the Danes decided to come anyway.It's true, they probably weren't in mortal danger as long as they weren't stupid, but there were

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-72057533649738737962008-03-08T22:32:00.000+02:002008-03-09T22:32:43.044+02:00

Step One: Lug the pumpkin back home. The smallest pumpkins we could find here for 15 kilos! Luckily, the fruit guy around the corner sells them from time to time, so it's not too far to carry.Step Two: Hack through the pumpkin in order to cut it into small and more manageable pieces.Step Three: In multiple batches, boil said pieces until they become tender.Step Four: Once the pieces cool, peel

millihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01963581788690871010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-45011236063183268782008-03-08T13:03:00.003+02:002008-03-09T18:40:18.379+02:00

millihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01963581788690871010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-24024893211450958712008-03-07T00:08:00.000+02:002008-03-07T00:09:33.298+02:00

I saw an accident yesterday while walking home from the store. A taxi stopped suddenly (presumably to let out its passenger), and a motorcycle slammed into the back. I was just across the street when it happened and one of the first people on the scene – though within a minute there were 20 people there. (I don’t know where they come from. The street was relatively empty.) They pulled the

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-32244467831939108492008-03-05T17:37:00.003+02:002008-03-05T19:25:18.377+02:00

Yesterday I road a crowded subway with LE 5,300 in my pockets. That's almost $1,000. (For reference, average annual income in Egypt is about $1,500.) One thick wad filled each of my front pockets. People were pressed up against me the whole time. I kept my hands in my pockets the whole ride.So why was I carrying so much money in cash? The only way to buy tickets with Egypt Air is to purchase them

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-38227827165567827942008-03-03T14:18:00.002+02:002008-03-03T14:38:25.923+02:00

With Japanese financial support, Cairo built a grand opera house 20 years ago to serve as a venue of all types of performance arts. We had been thinking about going for a while and finally did this past weekend. Tickets are heavily subsidized by the Ministry of Culture -- $7 for the best seats in the house! (We should go more often.) We went an hour early to get tickets, but the ticket booth

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-89239450162869480702008-03-02T21:21:00.003+02:002008-03-02T21:29:49.390+02:00

A couple nights ago we had the distinct privilege of attending an awards ceremony wherein CEOSS annually bestows honor and certificates upon worthy partners in the development field. We were told by our supervisor Medhat that it was an extraordinarily fun event, that everyone dresses up in their best finery, and that the music was wonderful. Oh, and that it would only last 20-30 minutes. Turns

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-8612746658005171832008-02-29T17:33:00.003+02:002008-02-29T17:40:19.846+02:00

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.

millihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01963581788690871010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-641427875572648242008-02-27T12:31:00.004+02:002008-02-27T14:35:39.353+02:00

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

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-22354010934226395472008-02-25T22:23:00.001+02:002008-02-25T22:27:24.113+02:00

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

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-30112437225029162362008-02-17T21:45:00.002+02:002008-02-17T21:51:24.534+02:00

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

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-86949206410196311732008-02-16T11:48:00.003+02:002008-02-16T12:18:55.455+02:00

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.

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-59336851557874287772008-02-15T17:05:00.002+02:002008-02-15T18:21:02.699+02:00

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

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-20216879066555864632008-02-11T14:13:00.000+02:002008-02-11T16:10:47.895+02:00

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.)

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-34651870369193362702008-02-08T20:18:00.001+02:002008-02-08T23:07:15.225+02:00

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

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-11797968555285181022008-02-06T19:45:00.001+02:002008-02-08T00:38:54.514+02:00

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

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-27129988208856910222008-02-02T23:31:00.000+02:002008-02-02T23:41:06.154+02:00

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

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-86653308688364552512008-01-28T17:15:00.000+02:002008-01-28T17:32:33.037+02:00

A glimpse of our office.I was trying to upload images from our trip to Upper Egypt, but it wasn't working. But for some reason, this picture did.

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-24122951826453628192008-01-24T09:34:00.000+02:002008-01-24T09:54:21.274+02:00

Our first three months in Egypt were completely illness-free, which actually surprised me a little. However, since then, one or the other of us has been sick almost constantly. Our symptoms in and of themselves are not all that worrying, but, sick of being sick, we finally went to the doctor last night.The $15 fee is paid up front. (That's the whole charge, not the copay.) Then we waited 45

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-24105735375893012222008-01-23T22:13:00.000+02:002008-01-24T16:39:43.878+02:00

Palestinians are streaming across the border into Egypt to buy milk. Nice.UPDATE:350,000 Gazans have now crossed the border. The official Egyptian line: "Let them come to eat and buy food and go back, as long as they are not carrying weapons."

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-9413390419874168002008-01-23T14:29:00.000+02:002008-01-23T15:32:54.125+02:00

A few days ago we came out of the metro station in the main square downtown to discover cops everywhere. They were directing pedestrians. We were herded across a street we didn’t want to cross and prevented from walking down one we wanted. This had never happened before. Police are everywhere in this country, but they never do anything. They’re asleep at their posts almost as often as not. So

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-41854456146521086012008-01-19T09:40:00.000+02:002008-01-23T21:46:49.009+02:00

It's been a busy two weeks. We toured the bottom half of this country, then jumped on an airplane and saw another one.It was really nice to spend time with family: Milli's grandparents, brother, and (surprise!!) her mom. She had been feeling left out and decided to join the trip at the last minute ;) It was impressive that the details worked out so that she could come, especially considering the

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-62553808633248435392008-01-06T17:20:00.000+02:002008-01-06T17:27:41.229+02:00

We're going to be incommunicado for over a week because our family is here are we're all going touristing! We leave tomorrow for a four-day cruise down the Nile, stopping often to admire tombs and temples. Then we fly to Jordan to see, among other things, the final resting place of holy grail (at least according to Spielburg). Should be fun.

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-86410570665685580942008-01-01T23:34:00.000+02:002008-01-01T23:42:14.720+02:00

Indeed.

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-47872991957946163832007-12-30T21:03:00.000+02:002007-12-30T21:48:54.222+02:00

The UAE is a lot more than Dubai, and we set out to see it. We took a bus tour across much of the country -- the fact that this could be done in a day shows how small it is. We drove through the conservative, overtly Muslim emirate of Sharjah that is becoming something of a cheaper suburb of Dubai. We paused at what our guide called the "Little Grand Canyon," a huge river dry river bed, and at a

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-9950494502643886172007-12-25T14:06:00.000+02:002007-12-30T02:13:08.023+02:00

Each year Muslims celebrate Eid al-Adha, which commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac; they celebrate by sacrificing animals (often sheep) and giving all extra food to the poor. We hear that in Egypt the sheer number of sacrifices leads to blood literally flowing in the streets... But we didn't see it because we left the country and spent four days in the United Arab Emirates. Most

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-26618477884241654972007-12-25T12:20:00.000+02:002007-12-25T14:03:53.189+02:00

We wish everyone a very merry Christmas! We hope y'all enjoy good food and good company. We wish we weren't so far away, but are having a great Christmas here in Egypt. Our French friends invited us to a nice dinner party last night, and tonight we're joining a couple new friends from our church. And we recently got back from a great trip to Dubai, where we stayed with new family. All in all,

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-41781866704433586502007-12-18T22:04:00.001+02:002007-12-18T22:17:33.228+02:00

We downloaded some Christmas songs and have listened to a Christmas radio station online. We've gone to a couple concerts, one of which featured Christmas songs. We've made cider and cookies. We decorated our building a little bit with some Santas and a "Merry Christmas" banner we found. The little kids at our church did a pageant last week.But for some reason it still doesn't feel right... We

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-33669246665068330412007-12-16T17:24:00.000+02:002007-12-16T17:35:06.335+02:00

It's rather absurd and fetish-like how much people here love their mobiles. Almost everyone has one, in their hand or not far from it, all the time. People answer their phones everywhere: during lunch, during meetings, during church. And no one puts them on silent or vibrate, always loud; we went to an Egyptian church service last weekend and heard at least a dozen phones ring during the

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-55127258286336557322007-12-11T13:59:00.000+02:002007-12-11T15:46:22.065+02:00

I recently went on a trip with a work colleague and 20 or so Copts to the Monastery of St. Mina near Alexandria. (Just me, Milli didn't go.) It was built by the beloved Pope Kyrillos VI, who is almost as revered as Mina, his patron saint and the monastery's namesake.This monastery was hardly an oasis of calm and meditation. People were everywhere -- and they told me it was a light day. Praying,

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-66944473179971593672007-12-11T12:03:00.000+02:002007-12-11T12:13:02.207+02:00

I finally gave in and submitted myself to the stylistic whims of a barber who understood no English. The conversation was rather like one between two-year-olds: I would haltingly offer Arabic words I knew, like those for "please" and "short" and "here," to which he responded with hand motions or nods of apparent understanding.My hair ended up being a little different than usual (parted on the

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-63449216045932734882007-12-09T15:18:00.000+02:002007-12-09T16:32:25.283+02:00

The only surviving wonder of the ancient world is less than 20km from our flat here in Cairo. And we lived here for over three months without paying the pyramids a visit.Here's Milli looking for the public bus we took to get there. It didn't stop, so we ran across 4 lanes of traffic, knocked on the door, and hopped on.Isn't globalization great?The Sphinx looms large in the public mystic, but is

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-2018899871702583922007-12-06T20:44:00.000+02:002007-12-06T20:50:12.849+02:00

Since moving here, I've gotten a series of friend requests from completely random Egyptians. Most recently, I got requests from Ahmed Al-Khilefat, Jack Jabbour, and Emad Emad Emad. Many send me messages too, mostly filled with "words" like "ru" and "4". My favorite so far, from Honko Momo, an Egyptian, 26 year-old, male:i ll gonna to send to u a 3 angels ,&i ll aske them to :......surround u with

millihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01963581788690871010noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-79460289832515109022007-12-01T14:08:00.000+02:002007-12-01T14:46:37.163+02:00

Much of our day yesterday was spent trying to get a Nigerian entry visa for our supervisor at work, who has a business meeting there in a couple weeks. A few other people at CEOSS had been jumping through hoops and red tape for two weeks prior to our involvement. We seemed to be the last ditch effort, the rearguard.This was the story: To obtain an entry visa, one must fill out the online

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-68536567758237652162007-11-27T08:57:00.000+02:002007-11-27T09:43:29.037+02:00

Ahhh, green:Lots of couples:Sun setting over the city:Our own philosopher-king:

millihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01963581788690871010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-27208353720309731242007-11-25T15:09:00.000+02:002007-11-25T18:43:17.754+02:00

I now have a second job -- a part-time proofreader for the magazine Egypt Today. I've worked there a few days now. It's going to be only a few days toward the end of each month, during the production period. I'm excited to see the world of journalism from the press room.It's the largest and oldest English-language magazine in the country. A little ambiguous whether it's a domestic or

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-41916787379771129772007-11-22T22:13:00.000+02:002007-11-23T10:54:43.764+02:00

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!We were lucky to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with 50 or so people from a nearby church and the seminary here in Cairo. And, as we live in one of the few large and freely available spaces around, Thanksgiving was right outside our door! The common dining room held most, and the others spilled out into a beautiful table set in the common living area. The woman

millihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01963581788690871010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-82432602943963580552007-11-21T14:40:00.000+02:002007-11-21T18:43:33.435+02:00

I have been genuinely surprised at the subway etiquette in Cairo.On the one hand, when the doors of the subway open at each station, groups of men push their way onto the train with little regard for those trying to exit (or for anyone for that matter). This is especially true during rush house; I often here someone yelling "Push, push!" (in English) as people get on the train.On the other hand,

millihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01963581788690871010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-50262515624770060362007-11-19T21:45:00.000+02:002007-11-19T22:30:01.975+02:00

Before:After:The means (and a little pluck):

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-8809801631992783822007-11-16T18:49:00.000+02:002007-11-16T19:21:22.869+02:00

During breakfast today, music started booming from outside our window. Half Egyptian/Arab, half (bad) American music. Apparently it was the 100th anniversary of the school here. Milli wasn't feeling too well, with a headache. Even with the window closed, it was terribly loud -- not good for the headache. We moved to another flat on our floor that wasn't quite so loud. As Milli was settling in,

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-46650269645081731272007-11-16T17:38:00.000+02:002007-11-16T18:48:17.248+02:00

At one of the home visits:This is the kitchen in one of the homes we visited:One of the water installations:Those kids going nuts:

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-88211107596973650422007-11-15T15:42:00.000+02:002007-11-15T15:44:39.870+02:00

(I apologize for the length of this post. Hear me out, if you will.)Our van stopped amid announcements of “Here we are.” Our arrival had hardly been inconspicuous, but then I guess there was little chance of that. Vans probably don’t normally rumble through the narrow alleys of this village in Upper Egypt (which means anything south of Cairo). There were people surrounding us. Children were

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-25243760431768315192007-11-13T15:26:00.000+02:002007-11-13T15:46:48.997+02:00

Yesterday we went to the fanciest, largest, and most westernized grocery store Cairo has to offer -- Carrefour. This place sells toys, sheets, clothes, kitchenware, bicycles, pet food, and the like, and also has a full-sized grocery store. We were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of choice present -- not unusual compared to US stores, but pretty incredible for here. At the fish counter, one could

millihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01963581788690871010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-57854971043722089212007-11-07T13:38:00.000+02:002007-11-07T13:44:18.794+02:00

At first I thought it was just something people said to be nice, but I was wrong: most people here really think Milli looks Egyptian. People frequently just start talking in Arabic to her. And today an Egyptian pulled up next to us and asked her for directions!Me? Not so much.

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-80536341569841783302007-11-05T20:54:00.000+02:002007-11-05T21:56:42.836+02:00

Probably not a thought that crosses the minds of many western, Christian authors. Or many people at all. Yet, this past weekend, we heard Anne Lamott, an American, Christian author, speak, once at the American University in Cairo and twice at a church in an expat-filled area of Cairo. Apparently, each year this church hosts an individual of academic, literary, artistic, or ecclesiastical

millihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01963581788690871010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-67075557624496863792007-11-04T16:37:00.000+02:002007-11-04T18:41:35.438+02:00

So, Dahab.On one level, it is a fairly unremarkable beach resort town. It's pretty small, consisting primarily of the hotels and restaurants off a single boardwalk. It has the usual band of incredibly tanned beach bums, restaurant hustlers, big-spending tourists, and waiters who act like serving you a milkshake is their single goal in life.But on a far more important level, it was NOT CAIRO,

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-73889714674223431222007-10-30T19:36:00.000+02:002007-10-30T20:03:58.406+02:00

A couple nights ago, Milli and I became tourists and went on a Nile cruise. Not on one of those five-star Titanics with belly dancing and lobster. This was on a 15-foot sail boat (fellucca), captained by a barefoot, 65-year-old man.It was amazing. Except for the part when a police boat roared past and splashed the camera, it was peaceful and calm. Very luxurious. A call to prayer rang out midway

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-38385287196259815622007-10-28T22:33:00.000+02:002007-10-29T19:57:12.531+02:00

A few more pictures from Mt. Sinai:

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-26670179970577860532007-10-28T14:51:00.000+02:002007-10-28T20:29:58.878+02:00

So... at long last, here is another post about our trip to Sinai. Seems like a while ago now...Climbing Mt. Sinai is something of a pilgrimage for many people. A weird tradition has developed over the years: people hit the trail in the middle of the night so they can be at the top of the mountain in time to watch the sunrise. If that's what everyone else did, we weren't going to be left out.

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-78177639956533778602007-10-25T23:17:00.001+02:002007-10-25T23:20:52.511+02:00

In the random browsing that I do, I came upon a website called Free Rice.It's wonderful, especially for those studying for the GRE or people who like words. It's a vocabulary quiz, of sorts, but for each word you get right, 10 grains of rice are donated to the United Nations World Food Program. So, basically, have fun, get smarter, and do some good!

millihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01963581788690871010noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-40006257226799742502007-10-24T22:48:00.000+02:002007-10-24T22:51:58.378+02:00

We had dinner tonight with Samuel and Elsa, the French couple just down the hall. It was kind of a joint birthday party: Samuel birthday is tomorrow, and he's also 25!Funny coincidence, huh? It gets better. Elsa turns 25 next June -- two days before Milli.

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-19774649264033993622007-10-23T11:49:00.000+02:002007-10-23T11:55:48.135+02:00

There's a small flower shop near the gate to our compound. About a week ago, the owner stopped us as we were walking by and emerged with two roses for Milli! He smiled profusely as she thanked him.This wasn't the first time, not was it the last. I think he likes her :)On a side note, a man with him started talking to us in English. Turns out he used to live in Astoria, only a few subway stops

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-64056241728570635332007-10-23T11:22:00.000+02:002007-10-23T11:45:29.495+02:00

Milli and I went to a fancy French restaurant on Saturday night. Goat cheese, salmon, chocolate souffle. Prawns, beef, creme brulee. It was amazing.Then last night we went out for Mexican food, which we may miss more than anything else. And instead of birthday cake, which I dislike, Milli made me an apple pie!It was a very nice birthday weekend.

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-88425967474103227612007-10-19T15:38:00.001+02:002007-10-19T21:54:39.907+02:00

So finally a little bit about our most recent foray into the wide world of Egypt.Quick itinerary:Sunday: Bus from Cairo to St. Catherine's Monastery, 7 hours.Monday: Begin hiking Mt. Sinai early, see sunrise from atop the mountain. Take van to Dahab on the Red Sea coast, 1.5 hours.Tuesday: A wonderful and lazy day snorkeling and lying around in Dahab.Wednesday: Took a bus a little after noon back

millihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01963581788690871010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-81711730333503580492007-10-17T23:38:00.000+02:002007-10-17T23:46:28.801+02:00

As we stepped off the bus into Cairo's East Delta Bus station, we were accosted by taxi drivers eager to take advantage of weary passengers. We ignored them at first, stepped around them to get our luggage... and then negotiated. One man claimed that we were 12km from home and quoted an exorbitant price. We walked away and climbed into a different cab, which got us home in 5 minutes.Back to the

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-66521304597793543592007-10-14T02:06:00.000+02:002007-10-14T02:10:13.366+02:00

We're excited for two reasons:1. Milli has submitted over half of her law school applications!2. We're leaving this smog-choked, noise-polluted city for four days and going to Sinai! There we'll sit on the Rea Sea coast, visit an ancient monastery, and climb Mount Sinai =)Good times.

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-51021994064858978142007-10-14T01:23:00.000+02:002007-10-14T02:06:19.921+02:00

This weekend Muslims celebrate Eid, the feast at the end of Ramadan. We joined the festivities by going to Islamic Cairo and lounging in the city's oldest and most famous ahwa (coffeehouse), Fishawy's. In addition to the inside, which looked fake it was so authentically old, they had taken over the entire alley in which the ahwa was located. That's where we sat. This shot is above the heads of

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-7413599377160103052007-10-12T23:30:00.000+02:002007-10-12T23:31:13.696+02:00

This was on a USAID grant application we were helping with: "... (d) Source, Origin, and Componentry of Goods. If the recipient plans to purchase any goods/commodities which are not of U.S. source and/or U.S. origin, please indicate below (using a continuation page, as necessary) the types and quantities of each, estimated unit costs of each, and probable source and/or origin... The "origin" of a

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-73065431208215582732007-10-09T20:19:00.000+02:002007-10-09T20:26:07.438+02:00

Could Samuel Huntington explain this? A not insignificant group of Muslims praying in the courtyard of a TGI Fridays -- which is a symbol of America if I ever saw one. The strip mall clique restaurant is enormously popular. Maybe it's just the great location.

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-26498497975888690182007-10-08T13:52:00.000+02:002007-10-08T14:48:25.891+02:00

... according to a complicated ranking system. More good news for our parents ;)The Fund for Peace, who created this index, is known to me only because I interned there a few years ago and worked on this project!

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-51826089798265252032007-10-04T13:30:00.000+02:002007-10-04T13:54:32.466+02:00

To hop on a bus here means propelling yourself into crazy, crowded, chaotic existence. (I mean "hop" literally: they don't stop, really...ever.) The ability to navigate the convoluted intestines of this sprawling city via bus will mean that we have made it.We took our first bus yesterday. But yesterday doesn't count. A work colleague drove us to the bus stop, found the right bus, and told the

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-48337425266267607792007-10-03T22:15:00.000+02:002007-10-03T22:36:18.775+02:00

We wrote a couple weeks ago about being offered dinner on the street on the first night of Ramadan. Since then, when we're out around 6 pm, the time when the evening call to prayer goes out and the fast is officially broken, we've been offered other little things. On Monday, we were offered packaged dates as we left the metro station. Today, while we were still on the subway, we were given date

millihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01963581788690871010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-4826789531346024102007-09-30T16:35:00.000+02:002007-09-30T17:03:19.503+02:00

... combine to mean bad news for the global poor, according to an article in the magazine Egypt Today. It could be better written, but the author does a good job weaving together various strains of news into a coherent fabric. Unfortunately, the outlook is predictably grim: food availability in poor countries--already pretty terrible--is set to get worse.

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-82710803178224260802007-09-29T12:27:00.000+02:002007-09-30T02:54:29.454+02:00

A couple of days ago, Nate and I ventured into Mogamma:Mogamma is the huge, Soviet-style building that holds over 3000 government offices and is the center of Egypt's sprawling bureaucracy. In Arabic, Mogamma literally means "together."We had to go to Mogamma in order to get our visas extended for one year. Many people had warned us about the chaos inside, and so we went expecting the worst. We

millihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01963581788690871010noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-22793563761979241362007-09-29T00:58:00.000+02:002007-09-29T14:21:05.066+02:00

The way that CEOSS, our organization, generally works is that it finds/forms small associations in underdeveloped communities, builds their capacity to implement positive change, trains and funds them, and watches them do their thing. The relatively organic and empowering nature of the process has impressed me.On Thursday we visited a couple local NGOs in eastern Cairo with which CEOSS has

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-35662630591518098702007-09-25T22:30:00.000+02:002007-09-25T22:37:10.428+02:00

This would have been a really cool picture if some guy hadn't gotten in the way... ;)

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-35547285276439601832007-09-24T18:46:00.000+02:002007-09-24T22:57:36.899+02:00

Similarities abound between Ramadan here and the Christmas season as celebrated in the States, according to my expert analysis:1) People are more generous than the rest of the year.2) The halls are decked -- with lanterns, streamers, lights.3) Rampant commercialism overwhelms religious significance.4) Families gather around excessively heaped tables.5) No one really feels like working.6) From

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-72003500539155909122007-09-24T11:25:00.001+02:002007-09-24T11:47:13.950+02:00

I wanted to write a bit more about our work, now that we've been here for a few weeks.We haven't had a whole lot to do yet. Still mostly "settling in" type activities like background reading, leaving us substantial time with nothing (productive) to do. The one real job we've had is to take a bunch of notes and emails and compile an itinerary for a Danish development agency who's visiting in a few

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-90378366616025609642007-09-23T01:04:00.000+02:002007-09-23T02:12:42.561+02:00

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-23009332638407666652007-09-22T23:46:00.000+02:002007-09-22T23:55:18.437+02:00

1) for those of you who have been reading, thank you. we are both thankful to be able to share our experiences here in cairo with our community. despite seas and time zones that separate us, it helps us feel a little more connected with the rest of our world.2) for those of you who have been commenting, thank you. we so very much look forward to comments (we eagerly check every morning when we

millihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01963581788690871010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-7509008511143595992007-09-21T23:56:00.000+02:002007-09-22T11:00:52.062+02:00

Happy Birthday, Aalok!Welcome to 19. Enjoy the last of your teenage years. Don't be too rowdy at Tufts as you celebrate.

millihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01963581788690871010noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-10628541441264720042007-09-21T23:13:00.000+02:002007-09-21T23:39:52.633+02:00

"O you who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, dedication of stones, and divination by arrows are an abomination, among the works of Satan. Abstain from such works so that you may prosper. Satan's plan is to stir up enmity and hatred between you, with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of God, and from prayer. Will you not then abstain?"- Quran 5:90-91Muslims cannot

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-33920475090881048592007-09-18T20:55:00.000+02:002007-09-19T14:06:22.511+02:00

average monthly salary of a ...... public school teacher: 150 LE... college professor with a PhD: 1300 LE... sales representative: 700 LE... mid-level government employee: 300 LEand, for a basis in comparison, the cost of ...... 3-4 pieces of pita: 1 LE... a loaf of sliced bread: 5 LE... 500 mL milk: 6 LE... dozen egges: 9 LE... one bowl of kushari: 2 LE... 1 can of coke: 1.85 LE... 1 can of

millihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01963581788690871010noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-70954056222360046692007-09-18T17:34:00.000+02:002007-09-18T17:45:16.373+02:00

Of the public watering holes placed strategically throughout the city, this is one of the nicer ones. It even has TWO communal plastic cups instead of just one.

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-39031480732248823822007-09-16T22:51:00.000+02:002007-09-18T20:54:53.027+02:00

There seem to be four basic ways to travel around Cairo: (1) by metro, (2) by foot, (3) by taxi/car, and (4) by mini-bus. So far we've relied only on the first three, as buses seem like an adventure unto themselves. We'll brave them someday soon, we hope.The first way, by metro, is by far the easiest and nicest way to get around. A one-way ticket costs 1 LE (about 20 cents), and the stations and

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-66605855489795440672007-09-14T15:18:00.000+02:002007-09-14T23:32:35.488+02:00

I'm a bad tourist. Embedded in my complexity-ridden head is a distressing paradox: 1) I love visiting new places and peoples and cultures, and I love commodifying them in such a way that I can put them in my pocket and take them home. Which is why I have a secret dream of being a great photographer. It's the artform I am the closest to being able to personally produce. But I hope to be able to

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3461344773608262127.post-91030959101536439442007-09-12T23:21:00.001+02:002007-09-12T23:40:31.721+02:00

We bought water from a hole-in-the-wall shop, whose proprietor invited us into his other business just down the street: a perfume depot, family-owned for 130 years. Beautiful place literally out of another bygone era. They even served us tea.

natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11461507194972271422noreply@blogger.com4