USY redux

Yesterday I came back from my first AIESEC conference, and all I can say is... it reminded me a lot of USY conventions. Ironic, no? Despite my (admittedly) limited experience in USY, between those weekends, Wheels, and eight years at Eisner, I think I know a good cult when I see one -- and I mean that in the best way possible.

When we first arrived at Arabian Nights, we were divided up into two groups: the Egyptian AIESECers, and the international trainees (our internships are called traineeships, thus we are all trainees). They have "Roll Call," where they call out your country and you do a cheer/dance (as one of many Americans there, we chose to represent our country by calling out the catchphrase from Team America: World Police. And if you've seen that movie you know I can't type it here because my grandparents read this blog. Hi Gubba!) Another version of a Roll Call is just a song that everyone knows the same dance to (some popular examples are that Indian "Tunak Tunak" song, "Freed From Desire" by Gala, and several others.) Some people make up a dance, everyone learns the dance and teaches it to other chapters, and then before you know it you end up at one of these conferences doing the same choreographed dances with people from the around the world. Cheesy and fun -- and cultish, kind of like song sessions at camp. If you'd like a visual, just go to YouTube and search for AIESEC roll calls.

We spent the weekend switching between downtime by the pool and sessions with our facilitators (my friend H was one of the facilitators), where we talked about our experiences abroad. We had sessions on bridging the cultural gaps in a foreign country, what we hoped to accomplish at our traineeships, how to use AIESEC as a career stepping stone, and how to spread the message and goals of AIESEC's global community. We also had a bonfire (camp again! Though sadly, this one did not include a guitar sing-along next to the dock), and an Egyptian-style party that included club/trance/house music (I still don't really understand the difference), shisha (hookah, though apparently only Americans call it that) and backgammon, a game that I always feel I kind of know how to play, but really don't. Some Israelis tried to teach me when I was in Jerusalem (where everyone calls it shesh-besh), but apparently it didn't stick. Maybe now I'll learn?

My enthusiasm for the conference was dampened somewhat when I found out we would all be sleeping in tents, but I shared a tent with my friend N and we survived our night in the great outdoors. It was nice to leave the city for the weekend -- just an hour outside Cairo, but it got refreshingly cool at night in the desert and the air was much more breathe-able.

I'll admit that I was skeptical at first. I didn't really know anything about AIESEC; I definitely didn't know any of the dances, many of the acronyms went over my head (should I be impressed that someone is CCVP of the MC or NPM of the LC? It turns out I should), and the whole thing was just different than I expected. But I am a pretty idealistic person, and I found that I really identified with the "Can't we all just get along?" mentality that AIESEC embraces. I thought AIESEC would just be a good way for me to find a job in Cairo, but it's actually a very welcoming community of students and alumni that I am glad to be a part of.

And now for something completely different: one thing that is a major problem in Egypt is harassment of women. Most of the time it's harmless (if a bit disturbing), like blatant staring regardless of what you're wearing. Women wearing long skirts and a hijab (traditional Muslim headscarf) get stared at just as much as Western tourists wearing shorts and tank tops (yes, I've seen people completely ignoring local standards and wearing vastly inappropriate clothing). Other times they just whisper something when you walk by, but it's easy enough to ignore. Mostly this comes from lower class Egyptian men, who I don't spend any time with, but I've definitely still experienced it. (It doesn't really bother me too much - having spent time in a variety of large cities with varied populations, I have pretty thick skin now.) People have numerous "support groups" and discussions sections aimed at dealing with and talking about the harassment. Someone sent this article over the Cairo Scholars listserv today, and I thought it was interesting and pretty relevant. Take a look, and you'll understand what all the fuss is about.