The Ramadan excitement has continued this week. My friend S2 (I think I mentioned a different S before), who is Egyptian, invited all of us over to his house for iftar. So much food, 15 hungry people, overall excellent. Plus it was cool to have a "real" Egyptian iftar experience. On Monday, T, N, H and I went to a party at a friend of T's in Mohandessin. It was on a rooftop with a nice view of satellite dishes. Just kidding, it was actually a very nice view. The weather outside is now approaching pleasant, especially at night, so it's nice to be spending time outdoors. (Fingers crossed for apartment with balcony!)
Speaking of balconies, the apartment hunt is officially underway. M and H looked at one already (I had other plans so they went without me, but I trust their opinions). Anyway, they report that it is a great apartment in a pretty perfect location, though because it is so perfect it is also quite a bit over our price range. We might try to haggle them down, or else live there anyway, but eat only ramen noodles and fuul. This is a distinct possibility. And of course, we will continue to look at more apartments.
Last night I went to City Stars to take advantage of some Ramadan sales. A1, A2 and I met up for dinner, then A2 split off to do his own shopping and A1 and I went straight for the sales. When we first got to the mall (around 5:30) we thought we'd be able to do a little shopping before dinner, but because it was before iftar everything was still closed. For some reason we thought that stores in City Stars would be open, but even in Cairo's little slice of Western paradise Ramadan is still Ramadan. We hung out in the Starbucks for a bit, then wandered around the deserted mall (seriously, it was like a ghost town) until we found the restaurant we wanted.
People showed up early to stake out their favorite restaurants before iftar, and then as soon as they heard the call that they could eat at around 6:10, everyone made a beeline for a table. And since everyone starts eating at exactly the same time, the waits are awful and the service/kitchen are overwhelmed. But overall, entertaining. Then all the stores re-opened at around 7:30-8, and stayed open really late. A1's Egyptian friend M also joined for some shopping, and after some good-natured teasing about the American girls going to the mall, she told us about a great area with cheap Egyptian shopping.
So we left City Stars (very successful shopping, by the way) and went into Heliopolis with M, who took us to this cool area with tons of cool little shops in this covered shopping area. Several of the shops had amazing knock-offs of designer purses and wallets -- like 10 times better than what I have seen on Canal St. in Chinatown. Real logos and everything -- really legit looking. And only like LE 35 (approx. $7). So if you want a good fake, let me know. Or come visit! Anyway, we had already done a lot of shopping so mostly we just looked, but we will definitely go back. It's one of the ways we can be more Egyptian and less ex-pat.
In other news, I got a most excellent e-mail on Cairo Scholars yesterday. It is the link to a Web site entitled the Overseas Vote Foundation, they had all kinds of cool stuff. I have been missing the election coverage here (last summer we watched all the debates), so it will be nice to get updates. I have the paperwork filled out for my absentee ballot, I just need to get it to the post office. And I have been encouraging other American friends to do the same (even the Republicans!), so I am pleased that there are sites like this that make it so easy. Then, just to make my day even better, someone replied to that e-mail with the link to Democrats Abroad, which I obviously joined. After joining, they forward your information to the chapter in your country, so hopefully I will get to hear from the other Democrats in Cairo soon. Now all I can is wait... and cross my fingers that the American Embassy has an election party.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
ramadan party: shisha yes, beer no
It's been an interesting first week of Ramadan, and I am sorry I have not had a chance to write about it until now. I have not posted for a few days because of my shorter work hours (still have things to get done, less hours to do them). Still, I am really enjoying the schedule.
After iftar at around 6:30 p.m., people generally stay up reeeeaaally late (or take a short nap), and then eat again for sohour, the meal before fasting again that can take place anytime between midnight-4 a.m. After this meal, some people go directly to the mosques for prayer (mosques have a call at around 4 telling people to stop eating and come pray). Work is from around 9-2, then home for a nap. Most of the people I work with are Muslim, so even though I am not fasting for Ramadan I still want to be respectful and not eat or drink in front of them when I know they can't.
Since people tend to be up late, there is a lot of special entertainment around the city -- tents of traditional Egyptian music, all kinds of special food for sale, etc. This is seen as a time to be generous, so we often see big tables set up outdoors where people have donated food for the less fortunate to be able to have iftar as well. The atmosphere all around the city is quite festive; I was walking around downtown with some friends on Friday night and everything around Tahrir Square in downtown was all lit up. People go to 'ahwas (kind of like baladi coffee shops) and sit drinking tea and smoking shisha in the streets, stores and restaurants are open late, and there are many people out walking after iftar. It might seem odd to have much of the daytime pass and the nighttime so vibrant, but I think it's kind of fun; it's part of the reason the month feels so special, I guess. I certainly enjoy the shorter working hours, though I am sad that I have to wake up earlier and then can't have coffee. Do you see the inherent problem?
My company recently entered into a partnership with a large corporation in Egypt, and that bigger company invited us to attend a large sohour party they were throwing for their employees. It was at this gorgeous place a little outside the city called the Arabella Country Club, and they had the whole outdoor courtyard all done up so that different areas of the party were decorated like the different cities of Egypt, each with its own theme and food. You could eat shawerma, koshary or fiteer in the Cairo and Giza section, have mango juice in Luxor, or get bowls of nuts and dates in Sinai. I have not had the opportunity to visit a lot of these places yet, but I am certainly looking forward to it. The party also had dance performances, belly-dancing puppets (yes, they were awesome), live sufi music from Upper Egypt, plenty of shisha, and lots of areas to sit and lounge. But since it was Ramadan, no alcohol.
I have spent most of the week doing wholesome things to pass the evening hours until sohour, including shisha on a rooftop bar (foreigners could buy alcohol but not Egyptians, and yes they checked IDs), poker night (won a few hands, ultimately lost...luckily no actual money was gambled away), many movies, etc. A1, N and I cooked an iftar together one night (we did the legit fast for the day and then called it girls iftar), which was good, and my flatmates have made sobya, a sweet Ramadan drink that looks like milk. H, who is quite the prankster, told me it was goat's milk. I am so gullible that I actually believed this (I know, I know... gullible is written on the ceiling, hardy har har), decided to try it anyway (I figured I like goat cheese, so why not), and then promptly realized that it was not, in fact, milk of any kind. So H and M had a good laugh, but at least I got to enjoy plenty of sobya.
So that's been my Cairene Ramadan so far, I will try to post more updates this week. Hopefully with photos!
After iftar at around 6:30 p.m., people generally stay up reeeeaaally late (or take a short nap), and then eat again for sohour, the meal before fasting again that can take place anytime between midnight-4 a.m. After this meal, some people go directly to the mosques for prayer (mosques have a call at around 4 telling people to stop eating and come pray). Work is from around 9-2, then home for a nap. Most of the people I work with are Muslim, so even though I am not fasting for Ramadan I still want to be respectful and not eat or drink in front of them when I know they can't.
Since people tend to be up late, there is a lot of special entertainment around the city -- tents of traditional Egyptian music, all kinds of special food for sale, etc. This is seen as a time to be generous, so we often see big tables set up outdoors where people have donated food for the less fortunate to be able to have iftar as well. The atmosphere all around the city is quite festive; I was walking around downtown with some friends on Friday night and everything around Tahrir Square in downtown was all lit up. People go to 'ahwas (kind of like baladi coffee shops) and sit drinking tea and smoking shisha in the streets, stores and restaurants are open late, and there are many people out walking after iftar. It might seem odd to have much of the daytime pass and the nighttime so vibrant, but I think it's kind of fun; it's part of the reason the month feels so special, I guess. I certainly enjoy the shorter working hours, though I am sad that I have to wake up earlier and then can't have coffee. Do you see the inherent problem?
My company recently entered into a partnership with a large corporation in Egypt, and that bigger company invited us to attend a large sohour party they were throwing for their employees. It was at this gorgeous place a little outside the city called the Arabella Country Club, and they had the whole outdoor courtyard all done up so that different areas of the party were decorated like the different cities of Egypt, each with its own theme and food. You could eat shawerma, koshary or fiteer in the Cairo and Giza section, have mango juice in Luxor, or get bowls of nuts and dates in Sinai. I have not had the opportunity to visit a lot of these places yet, but I am certainly looking forward to it. The party also had dance performances, belly-dancing puppets (yes, they were awesome), live sufi music from Upper Egypt, plenty of shisha, and lots of areas to sit and lounge. But since it was Ramadan, no alcohol.
I have spent most of the week doing wholesome things to pass the evening hours until sohour, including shisha on a rooftop bar (foreigners could buy alcohol but not Egyptians, and yes they checked IDs), poker night (won a few hands, ultimately lost...luckily no actual money was gambled away), many movies, etc. A1, N and I cooked an iftar together one night (we did the legit fast for the day and then called it girls iftar), which was good, and my flatmates have made sobya, a sweet Ramadan drink that looks like milk. H, who is quite the prankster, told me it was goat's milk. I am so gullible that I actually believed this (I know, I know... gullible is written on the ceiling, hardy har har), decided to try it anyway (I figured I like goat cheese, so why not), and then promptly realized that it was not, in fact, milk of any kind. So H and M had a good laugh, but at least I got to enjoy plenty of sobya.
So that's been my Cairene Ramadan so far, I will try to post more updates this week. Hopefully with photos!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
feeling breezy
Last night I went to a good-bye dinner for my friend W, who has gone to work in Switzerland. We had dinner at this Korean restaurant, and while I am now familiar with several of the dishes on the menu (thanks to Jaye for that one!), I have to wonder if it's really possible to find authentic Korean food in Cairo. I'm guessing probably not, though it was still good. Afterwards I went over to my friend N's to hang out and watch movies -- have successfully gotten her hooked on V Mars, so obviously this is excellent.
As we were walking over to N's apartment for said movie night, we realized that we were experiencing something all too rare in Cairo summers: a breeze! I mean sure, sometimes I get hit with a blast of delightfully smoggy air when I ride in taxis with all the windows down, but it's hardly the same thing. In Chicago I was a chronic weather-checker (this is most definitely the fault of my mother, who considers the Weather Channel legitimate entertainment. Hi Mommy!), but there is no real point in that when I live in the desert in the summer. Every day is the same: ridiculously hot and very sunny. One morning it was cloudy when I woke up and I almost went into shock, but it was all cleared up by the time I left for work. It is not scheduled to rain until late October, maybe November. Still, last night it was around 85 degrees (that's about 27 Celsius for those keeping track), and with a nice, cool breeze that made it downright comfortable outside. Exciting!
Kind of a lazy weekend, though we all wanted to go out as much as possible in preparation for a month of not going out at all. Even though some places are still open (like the always-awesome, expat-filled British Club), enough people in my extended group of friends are Muslim that we want to be respectful. Plus, who knows if I will ever be in the Middle East again during Ramadan? It will be cool to get the authentic experience. Anyway, we went out Thursday and Friday nights, including my first-ever trip to After 8, this really cool place downtown. It's rather smoky with a small dance floor, and they often have DJs or some variety of live music. It was a lot of fun, though the DJ was kind of weird -- odd combos of techno, hip hop and baladi music.
Baladi is kind of all-purpose adjective to describe something typically Egyptian. Literally, it means "national," (balad = country), but people use it to describe anything. For example, the little grocery stalls all over are "baladi grocery stores," and when I stopped buying Herbal Essences shampoo (so freaking expensive) in favor of the cheap Egyptian brand, I could justify it as "baladi cosmetics." And so on.
Also, Egypt starts daylight savings time early, so we in Cairo have already fallen back one hour. Yes, I did enjoy my extra hour of sleep, thanks! So this means that until you slackers in America catch up, there is a 6-hour time difference instead of a 7-hour one (for the East Coast -- people on Central now have 7 hours instead of 8, etc.). This might make it a bit easier for you to catch me, at least temporarily.
As we were walking over to N's apartment for said movie night, we realized that we were experiencing something all too rare in Cairo summers: a breeze! I mean sure, sometimes I get hit with a blast of delightfully smoggy air when I ride in taxis with all the windows down, but it's hardly the same thing. In Chicago I was a chronic weather-checker (this is most definitely the fault of my mother, who considers the Weather Channel legitimate entertainment. Hi Mommy!), but there is no real point in that when I live in the desert in the summer. Every day is the same: ridiculously hot and very sunny. One morning it was cloudy when I woke up and I almost went into shock, but it was all cleared up by the time I left for work. It is not scheduled to rain until late October, maybe November. Still, last night it was around 85 degrees (that's about 27 Celsius for those keeping track), and with a nice, cool breeze that made it downright comfortable outside. Exciting!
Kind of a lazy weekend, though we all wanted to go out as much as possible in preparation for a month of not going out at all. Even though some places are still open (like the always-awesome, expat-filled British Club), enough people in my extended group of friends are Muslim that we want to be respectful. Plus, who knows if I will ever be in the Middle East again during Ramadan? It will be cool to get the authentic experience. Anyway, we went out Thursday and Friday nights, including my first-ever trip to After 8, this really cool place downtown. It's rather smoky with a small dance floor, and they often have DJs or some variety of live music. It was a lot of fun, though the DJ was kind of weird -- odd combos of techno, hip hop and baladi music.
Baladi is kind of all-purpose adjective to describe something typically Egyptian. Literally, it means "national," (balad = country), but people use it to describe anything. For example, the little grocery stalls all over are "baladi grocery stores," and when I stopped buying Herbal Essences shampoo (so freaking expensive) in favor of the cheap Egyptian brand, I could justify it as "baladi cosmetics." And so on.
Also, Egypt starts daylight savings time early, so we in Cairo have already fallen back one hour. Yes, I did enjoy my extra hour of sleep, thanks! So this means that until you slackers in America catch up, there is a 6-hour time difference instead of a 7-hour one (for the East Coast -- people on Central now have 7 hours instead of 8, etc.). This might make it a bit easier for you to catch me, at least temporarily.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
the early shift
More Ramadan news: I am going to have excellent work hours. At my company, everyone will work 5 hours a day in one of three shifts: either 8-1, 9-2, or 10-3. I know it seems obscenely early (or maybe just to me, who has been arriving at work at 11:00 for the last two months), but this is so people can wake up and eat breakfast before sunrise, do some work, and then go take a nice long nap before iftar at sundown. That also takes care of the lunch question -- I will just wait until I leave work.
At first I optimistically thought I would take the 9-2 shift and then be productive, but I think we all know that neither one will happen. I will oversleep and arrive for the late shift, and then when I am done I will take a nap instead of doing something productive. But hey, at least it's a culturally appropriate nap. Woo!
Anyway, this week... well, a new girl, C, arrived from the U.S., so I am no longer the newbie in my group of friends. Yay, now I feel very officially integrated. It's kind of cool that I am now in a position to be giving advice on Cairo when I still feel like I could use some. But then, I don't know that that feeling ever goes away when you live in a foreign country. I have been here for two months now, so that's something. Otherwise it was mostly a chill week, though last night I went with my friend N to see Cronicas, a Spanish movie. I heard that the Cervantes Institute was having Ecuadorian film week with free screenings and N also speaks a little Spanish, so that was cool. The movie was good, though a bit depressing.
As many of you may recall, the apartment I live in now is meant to be temporary since apartment prices in Zamalek went up for the summer. Well, my flatmates and I are hoping to move sometime in the next month, so we have started to look for a new place. Of course, nothing is ever that easy in Cairo; generally, apartments come with a simsar, a kind of real estate broker. They help you find an apartment, then ask for a percentage of the rent as a "tip". But if you find an apartment on your own, the simsar attached to that apartment often still demands a cut because they don't want to be left out of the deal. So we are trying to find an apartment as well as a simsar who won't screw us over. M knows someone trustworthy and we know which building we want to be in, so hopefully that will work out soon-ish. The apartment I live in now isn't so bad -- it's huge, in a great location, fully furnished, air conditioned, new-ish washing machine -- and I have definitely seen much worse. Still, there have been some problems with it (namely, it is also a bit rundown and not particularly well cared-for), and I am looking forward to the move.
In a moment of weakness, I went to Diwan, my favorite overpriced English-language bookstore, to see about buying Eclipse. And they didn't have it. Gah! Will beg parents to buy me a copy in the U.S. and ship it to Egypt. BTW, if you want my address to ship packages, they will be greatly welcomed! I don't want to post it on the blog, but let me know and I will e-mail it to you.
At first I optimistically thought I would take the 9-2 shift and then be productive, but I think we all know that neither one will happen. I will oversleep and arrive for the late shift, and then when I am done I will take a nap instead of doing something productive. But hey, at least it's a culturally appropriate nap. Woo!
Anyway, this week... well, a new girl, C, arrived from the U.S., so I am no longer the newbie in my group of friends. Yay, now I feel very officially integrated. It's kind of cool that I am now in a position to be giving advice on Cairo when I still feel like I could use some. But then, I don't know that that feeling ever goes away when you live in a foreign country. I have been here for two months now, so that's something. Otherwise it was mostly a chill week, though last night I went with my friend N to see Cronicas, a Spanish movie. I heard that the Cervantes Institute was having Ecuadorian film week with free screenings and N also speaks a little Spanish, so that was cool. The movie was good, though a bit depressing.
As many of you may recall, the apartment I live in now is meant to be temporary since apartment prices in Zamalek went up for the summer. Well, my flatmates and I are hoping to move sometime in the next month, so we have started to look for a new place. Of course, nothing is ever that easy in Cairo; generally, apartments come with a simsar, a kind of real estate broker. They help you find an apartment, then ask for a percentage of the rent as a "tip". But if you find an apartment on your own, the simsar attached to that apartment often still demands a cut because they don't want to be left out of the deal. So we are trying to find an apartment as well as a simsar who won't screw us over. M knows someone trustworthy and we know which building we want to be in, so hopefully that will work out soon-ish. The apartment I live in now isn't so bad -- it's huge, in a great location, fully furnished, air conditioned, new-ish washing machine -- and I have definitely seen much worse. Still, there have been some problems with it (namely, it is also a bit rundown and not particularly well cared-for), and I am looking forward to the move.
In a moment of weakness, I went to Diwan, my favorite overpriced English-language bookstore, to see about buying Eclipse. And they didn't have it. Gah! Will beg parents to buy me a copy in the U.S. and ship it to Egypt. BTW, if you want my address to ship packages, they will be greatly welcomed! I don't want to post it on the blog, but let me know and I will e-mail it to you.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
in which i admit to liking twilight
My lobby is under construction. They have knocked down many walls and there are sacks of dirt and concrete and piles of bricks all over the place. The workers seem to take frequent cigarette and tea breaks, but at least they are making visible progress (as opposed to the giant pipeline holes in front of my apartment on Sherman Ave. which they kept digging and re-filling at 7 a.m. for several months with no discernible difference AT ALL). On the bright side, the building could definitely use the a little help in the classiness department, and hopefully a shiny new lobby will help.
So...weekend! Thursday after work my friend N and I went looking for a place in Zamalek to get our eyebrows done (sorry men who are reading this). But because this is Egypt, where many women wear hijabs, salons are often separated by gender. Most are either men-only or women-only; if they are unisex, the women are often in a separate section that is either in the back or has blacked-out windows so people walking by won't be able to see them with uncovered hair. So we went for a walk and ultimately found a non-shady women's salon, which was also pretty cheap. Yay affordability! Plus A1 has said she knows of a good place that has cheap manicures, so that's something else I can look forward to.
Anyway, Thursday night we went to Harry's Pub for karaoke (this week's songs included various members of our large group singing "Piano Man," "Like a Prayer," and a rendition of "Twist and Shout" that everyone joined in on and felt very Ferris Bueller-esque. I pictured myself singing on a parade float in front of Daley Plaza).
Friday was supposed to be my day to run errands and do laundry and get things done...but instead I read Twilight. I know, I know, it's cheesy and a bit trashy and definitely written for 13-year-olds. But it's so good. Like so bad it's good. I have been describing it as both fantastically horrible and horribly fantastic. I meant to just read a few chapters, but instead I read the entire book, and now I am halfway through New Moon. So addictive. English bookstores here can be a bit limited, but if none of them have Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, I might pitch a fit. Spoil the endings and I will fly back to the U.S. and kill you.
After my extremely entertaining read of Twilight, I went over to J's and had Shabbat dinner again (I know, two weeks in a row in Cairo -- very exciting). I ended up over at my friend H's later that night under the impression that people wanted to play poker, but it never really materialized, and instead a group of us just hung out. Saturday we went back to the Mohammed Ali Club for the last pool day before Ramadan starts. If it seems like we go there a lot... well, that's because we do. It's hot, the beach is far, and this place is in Cairo and has a cheap pool. Done. Saturday night it was our friend T's birthday, so we went back to Latex for her birthday party. But we all have work on Sunday (our weekends are Fri-Sat), so we didn't stay too late.
Now I am watching the closing ceremonies of the Olympics, and I think I am actually going to miss it. I am not usually (...or ever) a big sports fan, but there is something I really liked about watching politics go out the window in the name of international cooperation and good sportsmanship. On Thursday I spent like a good three hours at the office watching the games -- there is a big TV in the newsroom, and everyone has been into it. Throughout the whole thing I have felt rather patriotic (i.e. Michael Phelps is awesome), which is understandable considering I am watching China from Egypt and rooting for America. Egypt, meanwhile, won one medal (a bronze in judo), though everyone in the office was rooting for anyone competing from the Middle East (some weightlifters from Syria were extremely popular but didn't win). Fingers crossed for Chicago 2016!
Also: Obama/Biden '08! I'm feeling pretty positive about this choice, and am extremely excited for my absentee ballot. I feel certain that coverage of the Democratic convention in Denver will enable me to procrastinate at least as well as the coverage of the Olympics.
So...weekend! Thursday after work my friend N and I went looking for a place in Zamalek to get our eyebrows done (sorry men who are reading this). But because this is Egypt, where many women wear hijabs, salons are often separated by gender. Most are either men-only or women-only; if they are unisex, the women are often in a separate section that is either in the back or has blacked-out windows so people walking by won't be able to see them with uncovered hair. So we went for a walk and ultimately found a non-shady women's salon, which was also pretty cheap. Yay affordability! Plus A1 has said she knows of a good place that has cheap manicures, so that's something else I can look forward to.
Anyway, Thursday night we went to Harry's Pub for karaoke (this week's songs included various members of our large group singing "Piano Man," "Like a Prayer," and a rendition of "Twist and Shout" that everyone joined in on and felt very Ferris Bueller-esque. I pictured myself singing on a parade float in front of Daley Plaza).
Friday was supposed to be my day to run errands and do laundry and get things done...but instead I read Twilight. I know, I know, it's cheesy and a bit trashy and definitely written for 13-year-olds. But it's so good. Like so bad it's good. I have been describing it as both fantastically horrible and horribly fantastic. I meant to just read a few chapters, but instead I read the entire book, and now I am halfway through New Moon. So addictive. English bookstores here can be a bit limited, but if none of them have Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, I might pitch a fit. Spoil the endings and I will fly back to the U.S. and kill you.
After my extremely entertaining read of Twilight, I went over to J's and had Shabbat dinner again (I know, two weeks in a row in Cairo -- very exciting). I ended up over at my friend H's later that night under the impression that people wanted to play poker, but it never really materialized, and instead a group of us just hung out. Saturday we went back to the Mohammed Ali Club for the last pool day before Ramadan starts. If it seems like we go there a lot... well, that's because we do. It's hot, the beach is far, and this place is in Cairo and has a cheap pool. Done. Saturday night it was our friend T's birthday, so we went back to Latex for her birthday party. But we all have work on Sunday (our weekends are Fri-Sat), so we didn't stay too late.
Now I am watching the closing ceremonies of the Olympics, and I think I am actually going to miss it. I am not usually (...or ever) a big sports fan, but there is something I really liked about watching politics go out the window in the name of international cooperation and good sportsmanship. On Thursday I spent like a good three hours at the office watching the games -- there is a big TV in the newsroom, and everyone has been into it. Throughout the whole thing I have felt rather patriotic (i.e. Michael Phelps is awesome), which is understandable considering I am watching China from Egypt and rooting for America. Egypt, meanwhile, won one medal (a bronze in judo), though everyone in the office was rooting for anyone competing from the Middle East (some weightlifters from Syria were extremely popular but didn't win). Fingers crossed for Chicago 2016!
Also: Obama/Biden '08! I'm feeling pretty positive about this choice, and am extremely excited for my absentee ballot. I feel certain that coverage of the Democratic convention in Denver will enable me to procrastinate at least as well as the coverage of the Olympics.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
pre-ramadan musings
The end of August is coming up, which means one thing in Egypt: time to prepare for Ramadan. Much the same way that Labor Day signals the end of the summer in the U.S., the start of Ramadan coincides with back to school, autumn, and hopefully temperatures below 100 degrees. A girl can dream.
And so, welcome to what the first of what I am sure will be many posts about Ramadan. The Muslim calendar is lunar, like the Jewish one, so Ramadan is slightly different on the Gregorian calendar every year, and this year it will be starting in the beginning of September (Sept. 1, I think). The grocery store we usually go to, Metro, has a huge Ramadan section now with dried fruit and nuts, honey, these kinds of cookies usually eaten during iftar (the daily break fast at sundown), and other holiday food. I have not quite figured out while I will be doing for the month; most people at my office and both flatmates will be observing the holiday, and I don't want to be offending people. Of course, it's not like I'm the only one -- Egypt, with a population of 80 million people, is also home to about 8 million Coptic Christians who will also want to eat during the daytime, so I am sure I will figure something out. Probably I will eat a really big breakfast/brunch at like 11 before I leave for work and then wait for iftar with everyone else.
Most (all?) liquor stores will close for the month, so anyone who wants to have a beer in September will have to stock up ahead of time, and also many bars and clubs shut down for the month. Tuesday night a large group of us went to a club called Latex at the Nile Hilton for their last hip hop night before Ramadan starts, so that was a lot of fun. We don't usually go clubbing when we all have to wake up for work the next morning, but it was worth it because we won't really be going again until October.
Actually, I am excited for Ramadan to start. When I went to Morocco from Spain for four days (I did Morocco Exchange in fall of 2006, when I was studying abroad in Madrid) it was Ramadan, and I thought it was cool. The whole city (then it was Rabat, now it will be Cairo) flips its schedule so people can sleep during the day and go out get things done after sundown when they have had something to eat. I am very much a night person, so I think it will be cool. In any event, they say people are much less productive (which in itself is something of a feat in a country already plagued by inefficiency) because the work day is shortened. Should be interesting.
I saw Wanted, by the way, and I thought it was only so-so (I love action movies with flimsy, vaguely supernatural premises, but Wanted is no Constantine). Still, I definitely got a kick out of seeing that the movie took place in Chicago. They showed the El, Lake Shore Drive, Sears Tower... made me all nostalgic. Oh, Chicago.
One last thing: notice anything different? I re-decorated the blog with a new color scheme and template, your feedback welcome. I can't decide if the photo on top is too much or not, so feel free to throw in your two cents. I like that it's all bright and fun now, so this is hopefully an improvement. And if it looks ridiculous, also let me know because I probably would not figure that out on my own.
And so, welcome to what the first of what I am sure will be many posts about Ramadan. The Muslim calendar is lunar, like the Jewish one, so Ramadan is slightly different on the Gregorian calendar every year, and this year it will be starting in the beginning of September (Sept. 1, I think). The grocery store we usually go to, Metro, has a huge Ramadan section now with dried fruit and nuts, honey, these kinds of cookies usually eaten during iftar (the daily break fast at sundown), and other holiday food. I have not quite figured out while I will be doing for the month; most people at my office and both flatmates will be observing the holiday, and I don't want to be offending people. Of course, it's not like I'm the only one -- Egypt, with a population of 80 million people, is also home to about 8 million Coptic Christians who will also want to eat during the daytime, so I am sure I will figure something out. Probably I will eat a really big breakfast/brunch at like 11 before I leave for work and then wait for iftar with everyone else.
Most (all?) liquor stores will close for the month, so anyone who wants to have a beer in September will have to stock up ahead of time, and also many bars and clubs shut down for the month. Tuesday night a large group of us went to a club called Latex at the Nile Hilton for their last hip hop night before Ramadan starts, so that was a lot of fun. We don't usually go clubbing when we all have to wake up for work the next morning, but it was worth it because we won't really be going again until October.
Actually, I am excited for Ramadan to start. When I went to Morocco from Spain for four days (I did Morocco Exchange in fall of 2006, when I was studying abroad in Madrid) it was Ramadan, and I thought it was cool. The whole city (then it was Rabat, now it will be Cairo) flips its schedule so people can sleep during the day and go out get things done after sundown when they have had something to eat. I am very much a night person, so I think it will be cool. In any event, they say people are much less productive (which in itself is something of a feat in a country already plagued by inefficiency) because the work day is shortened. Should be interesting.
I saw Wanted, by the way, and I thought it was only so-so (I love action movies with flimsy, vaguely supernatural premises, but Wanted is no Constantine). Still, I definitely got a kick out of seeing that the movie took place in Chicago. They showed the El, Lake Shore Drive, Sears Tower... made me all nostalgic. Oh, Chicago.
One last thing: notice anything different? I re-decorated the blog with a new color scheme and template, your feedback welcome. I can't decide if the photo on top is too much or not, so feel free to throw in your two cents. I like that it's all bright and fun now, so this is hopefully an improvement. And if it looks ridiculous, also let me know because I probably would not figure that out on my own.
Monday, August 18, 2008
franzia for president
Wow guys, sorry I'm lame. See, my life isn't always exciting -- yesterday I wrote about microwaves. To make up for it, here are some non-boring news stories. Enjoy!
I think the most important item I have read today is that The New York Times hearts Franzia.
In Egypt news, not everyone is a fan of women-only beaches. Check the end for some excellent hypocrisy from the men interviewed.
Also, women say wearing a hijab (headscarf) doesn't prevent you from getting harassed. I know I have written a couple times about harassment of women in Egypt, and the reason is because it's something that we just continue to marvel over. It's just so blatantly prevalent (and kind of disturbing), and rather than trying to get men to stop...they tell women it's their fault and they should cover up more. The Washington Post article I linked to above references an e-mail campaign urging women to be more modest. There's a version of that ad below, comparing veiled women to the covered lollipop, and unveiled women to the fly-covered lollipop. The text says "You can't stop them, but you can protect yourself." And they wonder why women in Egypt are harassed...
I think the most important item I have read today is that The New York Times hearts Franzia.
In Egypt news, not everyone is a fan of women-only beaches. Check the end for some excellent hypocrisy from the men interviewed.
Also, women say wearing a hijab (headscarf) doesn't prevent you from getting harassed. I know I have written a couple times about harassment of women in Egypt, and the reason is because it's something that we just continue to marvel over. It's just so blatantly prevalent (and kind of disturbing), and rather than trying to get men to stop...they tell women it's their fault and they should cover up more. The Washington Post article I linked to above references an e-mail campaign urging women to be more modest. There's a version of that ad below, comparing veiled women to the covered lollipop, and unveiled women to the fly-covered lollipop. The text says "You can't stop them, but you can protect yourself." And they wonder why women in Egypt are harassed...
Sunday, August 17, 2008
challah back
Not an extremely exciting weekend, but at least I was able to catch up on my sleep. We went out on Thursday night to bar/club/lounge-type place in Maadi, a neighborhood in the southern part of Cairo. The DJ who was spinning that night advertised the party on Cairo Scholars, so I have to admit I was skeptical, but it ended up being a lot of fun. (See? Cairo Scholars has many functions!) Also, I found a local branch of Egypt Post, so I can hopefully begin sending people packages and fun postcards, which I know you're all waiting for with bated breath. I'll keep you posted (pun intended).
I have also been doing some thinking lately about buying a microwave. I know, I know: I'm weak. The thing is, it's not because I want to eat microwavable dinners (I don't even think those exist here), but more because I like to cook in bulk and then reheat for the rest of the week when I am too lazy to cook. Prices are a bit steep (more than $100 at an electronics chain called Omar Effendi. Seriously?!?), especially when compared with the $30 option available at Target. Right now we have a small gas stove that needs to be lit by hand (i.e. tie back hair, turn on gas, use lighter or matches for fire) and, to be honest, freaked me out quite a bit the first few weeks. And the oven...well, it took me a while to make peace with a regular American oven, so don't even get me started. It's not a problem now, but still -- I miss the microwave.
In Jewish news: It took me six weeks, but this past weekend I had my first Shabbat dinner in Egypt! Another Schechter grad, J (the year behind me in school, though we have plenty of mutual friends) is in Egypt for the fall, and neither of us has had a lot of success meeting other Jews in Cairo (not entirely shocking). We had a bottle of red wine for Kiddush and some kosher-friendly food from a nearby restaurant with lots of vegetarian options. I'm sure we both would have loved a slightly more traditional dinner, but Shabbat is Shabbat no matter what you're eating. (Thanks also go to Shira, if you're reading, for making the connection.)
I went to Israel a few weeks ago, but I really think that overall lack of Jewish activity has been a bigger culture shock for me than anything else I have experienced in Egypt. I had my first culture shock going from Schechter to Northwestern, where I was lucky enough to find a welcoming and supportive Jewish community. And to go from that to Cairo, where the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo doesn't even have enough people for a minyan -- well, that's true culture shock for a Teaneck girl who's spent her life at Schechter, Eisner and Hillel. So I guess what I'm trying to say is: when you come visit, bring challah!
I have also been doing some thinking lately about buying a microwave. I know, I know: I'm weak. The thing is, it's not because I want to eat microwavable dinners (I don't even think those exist here), but more because I like to cook in bulk and then reheat for the rest of the week when I am too lazy to cook. Prices are a bit steep (more than $100 at an electronics chain called Omar Effendi. Seriously?!?), especially when compared with the $30 option available at Target. Right now we have a small gas stove that needs to be lit by hand (i.e. tie back hair, turn on gas, use lighter or matches for fire) and, to be honest, freaked me out quite a bit the first few weeks. And the oven...well, it took me a while to make peace with a regular American oven, so don't even get me started. It's not a problem now, but still -- I miss the microwave.
In Jewish news: It took me six weeks, but this past weekend I had my first Shabbat dinner in Egypt! Another Schechter grad, J (the year behind me in school, though we have plenty of mutual friends) is in Egypt for the fall, and neither of us has had a lot of success meeting other Jews in Cairo (not entirely shocking). We had a bottle of red wine for Kiddush and some kosher-friendly food from a nearby restaurant with lots of vegetarian options. I'm sure we both would have loved a slightly more traditional dinner, but Shabbat is Shabbat no matter what you're eating. (Thanks also go to Shira, if you're reading, for making the connection.)
I went to Israel a few weeks ago, but I really think that overall lack of Jewish activity has been a bigger culture shock for me than anything else I have experienced in Egypt. I had my first culture shock going from Schechter to Northwestern, where I was lucky enough to find a welcoming and supportive Jewish community. And to go from that to Cairo, where the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo doesn't even have enough people for a minyan -- well, that's true culture shock for a Teaneck girl who's spent her life at Schechter, Eisner and Hillel. So I guess what I'm trying to say is: when you come visit, bring challah!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
channel surfing in the middle east
One of things I like best about Zamalek is how community-like it is. Cairo is such a huge city that it's easy to feel lost or overwhelmed just thinking about going downtown, but on "the island" (as we say), you often get the desire to start humming "It's a Small World After All." It really is its own little world -- people often talk about leaving Zamalek as though it would be exiting the Green Zone in Baghdad.
I guess what I like about it is that I just run into people I know all the time, which wouldn't happen elsewhere in Cairo. Walking home from a shisha place last night I saw a guy I know from AIESEC on 26th of July. Two nights ago I had dinner with my friend A1 (the girl...trying to remain consistent with previous postings), and when we were walking around after dinner, our friends H and N spotted us and called out as they drove by in a taxi on their way back from salsa class.
This has happened a lot, and I think it's cool that I have been here long enough to run into people I know all over the place. It's like walking around on campus and running into friends on Sheridan Rd. Plus, I am now a regular at certain places: there is a Quick 24 (think 7-11 or White Hen) where I buy water all the time, or the cheap sandwich place I sometimes grab dinner at, or the pharmacy where I (finally!) found a good supply of hairspray. (Don't make fun, lack of quality hair products caused me a lot of stress the first few weeks. Plus I was frizzy.) Anyway, they recognize me, know I am a foreigner and speak slowly, it's good times.
Although I will say that my Ameyya (Egyptian dialect of Arabic) is coming along well -- I just have a bunch of basics that I have to re-learn. For example, it is typical to put question words at the end of sentences, so I have been told to practice asking lots of questions so I will get the hang of it. This is not a problem for me, but understanding the responses sometimes is. On the other hand, I am getting really good at is arguing with cab drivers; I can now yell impressive things like, "I want 5 pounds change or I am not leaving the taxi."
Also, exciting discovery of the week: I get MTV Arabia! My apartment gets satellite (most do...every building in Cairo seems to have like 5-10 satellite dishes on top), but there are levels of satellite packages, like cable in the U.S. If my flatmates and I really wanted to get all the amazing cable channels, like Bravo, Discovery, TNT, Animal Planet, A&E, etc., we would have to pay extra. But we are cheap, so we have the basic package instead, which includes about 100 channels, like 10 of which are in English. Sigh...sometimes I miss the DVR. It's not like I am home all the time to be watching TV (I'm really not), but sometimes after a long day, I just want to sit on the couch like a zombie and watch TV. I know, I know: life's so hard, blah blah blah.
Anyway, of those 10ish, some are news (Al Jazeera English, BBC, CNN International), some are Middle Eastern channels that have content in English with Arabic subtitles and Arabic commercials, like Dubai One (love this one -- they have Grey's Anatomy twice a week, plus random re-runs of Gilmore Girls, West Wing, Tyra Banks's talk show, every variation of CSI, etc.) and the MBC family of stations. These include the MBCs 1-4 and MBC Action, which is clearly the best. MBC 2 has movies, MBC 3 has kids programming (odd combinations of Hannah Montana and Tom and Jerry), etc. The only thing is that MBC is broadcast from Saudi Arabia, so all content is blatantly censored. It's especially jarring if it's a movie or TV show you've seen before and suddenly, mid-kiss, they cut away before anything "inappropriate" is shown. Oh, Middle East.
The other day I got home from work and was flipping aimlessly through the other Arabic channels, and I came across MTV Arabia. I was so excited that I immediately watched True Life: I'm a Southern Belle and an episode of Made in which a tragically uncool kid from Texas discovers he is hot on the inside, learns something valuable about himself, gets a date and becomes Prom King, in that order. I can only hope they also plan to air re-runs of The Paper. (Yes, Andi and Dani, you win: I liked that show. Bah.) But don't worry, I don't think my standards will ever be low enough to get me to watch The Hills.
I guess what I like about it is that I just run into people I know all the time, which wouldn't happen elsewhere in Cairo. Walking home from a shisha place last night I saw a guy I know from AIESEC on 26th of July. Two nights ago I had dinner with my friend A1 (the girl...trying to remain consistent with previous postings), and when we were walking around after dinner, our friends H and N spotted us and called out as they drove by in a taxi on their way back from salsa class.
This has happened a lot, and I think it's cool that I have been here long enough to run into people I know all over the place. It's like walking around on campus and running into friends on Sheridan Rd. Plus, I am now a regular at certain places: there is a Quick 24 (think 7-11 or White Hen) where I buy water all the time, or the cheap sandwich place I sometimes grab dinner at, or the pharmacy where I (finally!) found a good supply of hairspray. (Don't make fun, lack of quality hair products caused me a lot of stress the first few weeks. Plus I was frizzy.) Anyway, they recognize me, know I am a foreigner and speak slowly, it's good times.
Although I will say that my Ameyya (Egyptian dialect of Arabic) is coming along well -- I just have a bunch of basics that I have to re-learn. For example, it is typical to put question words at the end of sentences, so I have been told to practice asking lots of questions so I will get the hang of it. This is not a problem for me, but understanding the responses sometimes is. On the other hand, I am getting really good at is arguing with cab drivers; I can now yell impressive things like, "I want 5 pounds change or I am not leaving the taxi."
Also, exciting discovery of the week: I get MTV Arabia! My apartment gets satellite (most do...every building in Cairo seems to have like 5-10 satellite dishes on top), but there are levels of satellite packages, like cable in the U.S. If my flatmates and I really wanted to get all the amazing cable channels, like Bravo, Discovery, TNT, Animal Planet, A&E, etc., we would have to pay extra. But we are cheap, so we have the basic package instead, which includes about 100 channels, like 10 of which are in English. Sigh...sometimes I miss the DVR. It's not like I am home all the time to be watching TV (I'm really not), but sometimes after a long day, I just want to sit on the couch like a zombie and watch TV. I know, I know: life's so hard, blah blah blah.
Anyway, of those 10ish, some are news (Al Jazeera English, BBC, CNN International), some are Middle Eastern channels that have content in English with Arabic subtitles and Arabic commercials, like Dubai One (love this one -- they have Grey's Anatomy twice a week, plus random re-runs of Gilmore Girls, West Wing, Tyra Banks's talk show, every variation of CSI, etc.) and the MBC family of stations. These include the MBCs 1-4 and MBC Action, which is clearly the best. MBC 2 has movies, MBC 3 has kids programming (odd combinations of Hannah Montana and Tom and Jerry), etc. The only thing is that MBC is broadcast from Saudi Arabia, so all content is blatantly censored. It's especially jarring if it's a movie or TV show you've seen before and suddenly, mid-kiss, they cut away before anything "inappropriate" is shown. Oh, Middle East.
The other day I got home from work and was flipping aimlessly through the other Arabic channels, and I came across MTV Arabia. I was so excited that I immediately watched True Life: I'm a Southern Belle and an episode of Made in which a tragically uncool kid from Texas discovers he is hot on the inside, learns something valuable about himself, gets a date and becomes Prom King, in that order. I can only hope they also plan to air re-runs of The Paper. (Yes, Andi and Dani, you win: I liked that show. Bah.) But don't worry, I don't think my standards will ever be low enough to get me to watch The Hills.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
clean up
In the interest of keeping everyone well-informed about Egypt (and not just my personal experiences in the haven that is Zamalek), I figured I would post an occasional news story. Enjoy!
It's a well-known fact to ex-pats here that Egyptians can be a bit...aggressive when it comes to tourism. In my last post I wrote about a commercial for Egyptians to see how not to treat tourists; all of those scenarios are perfectly plausible. It's particularly bad at the pyramids, where the city of Giza goes almost right up to the pyramid plateau and hustlers follow tourists around trying to sell souvenir postcards and camel rides. They are remarkably persistent, and it can become kind of frustrating trying to fend them off.
So I was really pleased to find this article in the New York Times about Egypt's efforts to clean up the area by clearing out the peddlers -- I hope it works. I am sure I will be back to the pyramids, so I will let you know.
It's a well-known fact to ex-pats here that Egyptians can be a bit...aggressive when it comes to tourism. In my last post I wrote about a commercial for Egyptians to see how not to treat tourists; all of those scenarios are perfectly plausible. It's particularly bad at the pyramids, where the city of Giza goes almost right up to the pyramid plateau and hustlers follow tourists around trying to sell souvenir postcards and camel rides. They are remarkably persistent, and it can become kind of frustrating trying to fend them off.
So I was really pleased to find this article in the New York Times about Egypt's efforts to clean up the area by clearing out the peddlers -- I hope it works. I am sure I will be back to the pyramids, so I will let you know.
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