tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38848693156663808712024-03-13T00:47:06.321-04:00There and Back AgainEverything from now until college. Hopefully...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-40421381153343875032010-10-02T17:53:00.000-04:002010-10-02T17:53:07.973-04:00Shout OutTwo summers ago while I was in South Korea I met some really awesome people. One of these people was Lauren, we have stayed in touch since then and she is doing a GAP year like me except way cooler. She is doing her GAP year through Thinking Beyond Borders, a year long program with stops in various countries around the world where the participants learn about various things and also do their part to make this world a better place.<div><br />
</div><div>If you like my blog for one reason or another then you will love hers. Her descriptions are perfect, her vocabulary is huge, and her ideas are amazing. I was just reading over it and I must say that I am quite jealous of the way she writes. Give it a peak, you wont be let down.... http://laurenhonican.blogspot.com/</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-51166448612188898982010-09-27T16:06:00.000-04:002010-09-27T16:06:05.650-04:00CollegeBy the Way:<br />
<br />
I've finalized my college list.<br />
<br />
Applied to:<br />
<br />
University of Minnesota<br />
<br />
Applying to:<br />
<!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">University of Oregon</div><div class="MsoNormal">Penn State </div><div class="MsoNormal">Temple</div><div class="MsoNormal">Butler</div><div class="MsoNormal">Middlebury</div><div class="MsoNormal">University of Toronto</div><div class="MsoNormal">Mcgill</div><div class="MsoNormal">Suffolk</div><div class="MsoNormal">Tufts</div><!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-82921085908959011882010-09-19T04:22:00.000-04:002010-09-19T04:22:01.052-04:0024 Hours until GermanyIn a little less than 24 hours i will be landing in Hamburg, Germany. My grandmother will be picking me up at the airport and we will go back to her house where hopefully i will be able to catch up on some sleep before meeting up with jonah. Who knows maybe he will even take a picture of me for his blog! You may be asking yourself, just as i am, why i am up at 3:51 AM the morning of my flight. Well there are a few reasons not all of which are reasonable or well thought out but others, i think, are perfect. <br />
<br />
I think i have jet lag figured out. If i set myself to the new time zone before i arrive there, i shouldnt feel the effects of jet lag as much right? So i stay up all night and then tomorrow around 4 or 5 when i board my plane from newark to hamburg hopefully i will be falling asleep. The local time will be 5 but the german time will be 10 or eleven, the perfect bed time. I wont get great sleep on the plane, so a small nap will be in order but i should be good for the rest of the day. Insha'allah!<br />
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Since my last post i have managed to pack and my bag weighs about 50 pounds. This is the heaviest suitcase i have ever packed but its for a whole year. Seeing as somebody brought two 50 pound bags for a month in egypt i think that my extremely large bag is okay. <br />
<br />
Im not nervous about leaving or living there but this is the first time that i can ever remember trying to visualize germany before i actually arrive. I can see the streets of hamburg and berlin in my mind, with the fernsehturm, the michael, and the other churches sprawled across the hamburg skyline as well as the lines in the berlin roads marking the path of the wall. I think that this mental preparation or visualisation is a comfort thing. In the past i have gone but only for a month, and i had control of exactly what i saw and did (unless my mom drags us to some famous monument). This time though everything will be new to me and i wont be in control. The visualisation is weird because im picturing the parts of germany that are familiar to me, im not trying to imagine the place i will be staying. My thoughts and concentration on the scene of germany is almost stressful as i strain to remember tiny details and feelings about various locations. The other strange thing is that even though it is still late summer/early fall i can only visualize a cold fall afternoon bundled up in a jacket wearing a hat and a scarf as i walk down the hamburg streets. This image or feeling is so real that im even wearing my jacket on the plane later. I would probably only take a sweater otherwise. The past 4 years i have visited Germany purely as a tourist and a visitor, this time im going to live there. Ive done this before in the seventh grade when i lived there for half a year but never for this long. The length of time seems extremely long but it seems even longer when i think about how much i love Germany and how real the possibility is that i will stay there or be back for another long stay. Its weird to go back to live there for a second time because i never even thought i would go there once to live. Its even more weird to think that i could actually be more german than i think or feel that i am. <br />
<br />
My mom keeps telling me that im going to come back even more german than i already am. The same was true last time i went. I dont remember how "american" i was going into that trip but i remember feeling very german coming back out of it. Since that trip i have been reformatted as an american by the social scene of highschool, sports, television, work etc. I know that I am very American but in the last few weeks i have also felt more german than ever before. Not in my behavior, or style, or culture but just my feelings. I am german, and i always will be. Even leaving this country i will be an american (even with my american passport) but once im on the plane from newark i can put away that passport and that life until i come back to the states sometime next summer. English will be around me, but it wont be me. American culture will be around me, but german culture will dominate. I will hear about american politics, but for a change i wont have to discuss politics with anyone. While im there i want to be german, as authentic as i can without putting on lederhosen or a dirndl, but what abut when i come back? I know that its too soon to think about that but still, have to. My biggest pet peeve about exchange students is when they come to america and refuse to adapt to our culture. They still wear their tight jeans, leather jackets, their hair long, and way too much gel. I know ill be going to germany with lots of american clothes but i want to be looking, feeling, and acting german quickly. Coming back though, i will have to read up on the latest in politics, download the top 10 songs on iTunes, and maybe look at a magazine to see what is "in" in america. Or i could come back with my lederhosen listening to a new Philip Poisel album and wearing a HSV scarf. Not to sound like some deep thinking person but what it all boils down to is conformity. I will go there, and i will conform. I will come back, and i will conform. Anybody does anything to fit in and they are conforming. I guess conforming is the least i can do because already by not going to college and going to germany instead i guess you could say im nonconforming.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-19296419643146279912010-09-17T14:05:00.000-04:002010-09-17T14:05:08.483-04:00Ich bin bald da.I leave in two days. So far I have:<br />
<br />
1.Not packed<br />
2.Had my last day of work<br />
3.Failed my drivers license test<br />
4.Gotten my laptop<br />
<br />
Today im going to go to one last Schenley Soccer practice before I leave. Tonight, after practice im going to establish a packing list and if i have time go shopping to get the things that I still need. Im starting to get really excited but certain aspects of the last few days have been very sad (no, not failing my drivers test). My last day of work was fun but it felt weird that my 6 o'clock mornings and 10 hour work days were coming to an end and all of the familiar faces would soon be memories. I hope to go back to work when I come back and jokes are already spreading around the cafe how I will spend my life travelling but will always dedicate a few weeks or months a year to the Square Cafe. The square cafe has been great to me and I hope that they have enjoyed me as well. I spent two years working varying amounts of time per week or month but in the past month i have worked more than ever before there. Through this i have come to actually know the people i work with beyond their names and faces. The character of the cafe is fantastic and apparent to every customer, but as an employee it is even better. The peach cobbler and "for he's a jolly good fellow" sendoff were a bit embarrassing but still sweet. <br />
<br />
Failing my drivers test was frustrating but im not overly upset. I have only been driving for a month and only tried parking 5-10 times before attempting to get my license. I parked perfectly when the instructor told me to back up a bit so that i could pull out forward more easily. When i did this a car drove by me so i checked my mirrors and turned on my blinkers, i pushed on the gas and VROOOOOM!!!! i went straight backwards. I had forgotten to shift into drive after she told me to back up. I tapped the gas only lightly and then hit the brakes, I didnt hit anything but the instructor was just as shocked as i was. "Always make sure you check what gear you are in!" she said, "I always tell my students to check the gear before they pull out or in" . Well lady! YOU DIDNT TELL ME TO CHECK! AND ITS YOUR OWN DAMN FAULT FOR MAKING ME BACK UP! And she continued: "If that had been a car and not cones it could have been very dangerous!" WELL LADY! IT WASNT A CAR! AND!!!!!!!!! I HIT THE BRAKES BEFORE I EVEN HIT THE CONES!!!!!! well, apparently that wasn't bad enough to fail because she let me do the rest of the test. We drove for 5 minutes but near the end she asked me to merge to the left. This is an easy maneuver for me, and one that I am used to making comfortably. I checked my mirrors for ten seconds to make sure no cars were coming up behind me. I blinked and merged left, and then came that nagging voice again "You didnt check your blind spot!" and then her incessant scribbling began. OOOOOOPS! I drove well and i made two mistakes that i have never made before and it happened to be with the woman who decided my fate as a driver in the car.<br />
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Tonight and tomorrow will be spent preparing and packing before my flight Sunday afternoon. Once in germany i will spend a day and a half with my grandmother and hopefully see my brother as well before heading to the family with whom i will be staying. Im looking forward to meeting them after a few weeks of emailing back and forth. My mother and brothers have already met them and they say that the family is wonderful. It will be a new experience for me for sure. I have always lived in a city both in the United Sates as well as in Germany and everywhere else. The house where i will be staying is 10 minutes from the nearest town which is 10 minutes from the nearest city which is one of the smaller cities in Germany. The family owns a farm with two horses and 20 sheep as well as some land but the land isn't used for farming as far as i know. <br />
<br />
Also I will be adding my address as soon as i have it but if you want to email me or email me your address i will write back to you either in letter or email format, whichever you prefer. my email is: raether.jan@gmail.comUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-31905589489552504872010-09-12T00:23:00.001-04:002010-09-17T00:20:49.214-04:00PreparationAs happens every year around this time, the exchange students from my moms program start to arrive. For the past two years we have hosted students, Di Xie from China, and Matas Ignativicius (i dont know how you spell it exactly). This year my brother decided he didnt want to have one. The decision was his because he will be the only kid at home. He would rather spend his time being an only child with a house to himself and all the space in world. I dont blame him, i would have taken the same opportunity as well. Despite not hosting for the whole year we have had a few exchange students spend between a few days and a week with us. I wish they had programs where you could do this for a whole year on a rotating basis and have a new kid every few weeks or months. The students who have stayed with us have all been amazing and have taught me a lot. Jonas from the Czech Republic was my age and he, tobias and I spent our week watching lost, playing video games, comparing music, and just hanging out. Before him Alina and Jovana spent time with us. Alina has been preparing me for Germany more than anybody else but i feel bad because it comes at the expense of her preparation for the US. Alina is from Germany and we only speak German so my german has improved drastically but it doesnt do much for her. I spoke German well before i met her but already i notice my grammar improving. In Germany I will be living with a family with younger kids than me so its nice to get the perspective of Germany from someone my own age. The best contribution from her has been the music she has told me about. I havent spent enough time in Germany to really get into German music or hear too much of it but Alina introduced me to her favorite artists and groups and im beginning to really enjoy it. I spend my bike rides, and walks to and from work listening to German Artists and the language I hear there is even more useful than the conversational language I use. More importantly, I feel a bit more german listening to it and i must say i almost like it more than american music. Hopefully the music also gives me something to talk about with the kids or other people my age while i am there.<br />
<br />
Tommorow afternoon, my brother jonahs' host brother arrives, he is a few years younger than me but will also give me a chance to speak German with someone else before I go. I dont know how prepared I am for spending a year in germany but from a language standpoint i feel extremely comfortable. Its just too bad that that was one of my smallest worries. I have five more days of work, three dyas to pack, a few essays, a new laptop, and a drivers test between me and the flight to germany. Once im there ill spend a day and a half with my grandmother and hopefully my brother as wll and then i join the family with whom i'll be staying. The past few nights have been sleepless and restless because of excitement. I wish the day of my flight would arrive already.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-22557038351165800702010-09-09T23:14:00.000-04:002010-09-09T23:14:18.468-04:00a new postIts been a long time since i have last posted but its not because i have nothing to write about. The past few weeks have been really busy (go ahead mom laugh) so i havent been writing much. In the past 4 weeks i have been working 4 or 5 days a week as a cook at the square cafe and am averaging 9 hour work days. When i get home i do nothing but watch Lost, which sounds really really lame (it is). Recently though i have been trying to make better use of my time and part of that is also posting a new blog post. In the past few days and in the next week i hope to finalize the colleges i will be applying to, pack for germanym, say goodbye to the friends who are still in town, and help the schenley soccer team when and where i can. <br />
<br />
I want to pause and talk about schenley soccer for a few minutes because the past few days i have been hanging out around my old team. For four years i played on the team and for three of those i rode the bench and played JV primarily. Im not a great player or goalie but watching the past two games makes me wish i still played. Each of my four years at schenley i feel that our talent level dropped. We always have had talented players but each year we had more and more players who wouldnt not have started in previous years. Admittedly i was one of those players, there are better goalies and there have been more talented players on our teams in years past. Once again this year i feel that the talent level has dropped off but there is something about schenley soccer that keeps it going and playing at a high level. Last year we strung together our best three games at the very end. Semi final win against Brashear, championship win against allderdice, and a playoff loss to Upper St. Clair. When we won champs i felt prouder of myself and prouder to be part of any other team. I dont want to detract from swimming or volleyball but swimming is too independent and in volleyball we are expected to win. The schenley dice soccer rivalry is by far the best i know. Our tiny cupples stadium with 200 fans for the championship match is the perfectplace in early november in freezing rain to play under the lights. For three years that night was frustrating, sitting on the bench in the coldd rain, being so close....and then losing. My last year i played in that game and it all changed for me. To play and to have in my control the feelings i would have at the end of the game was amazing. I want to say i played for myslef, i couldnt let four years of soccer end without winning but i was also playing for the freshman sophomores and juniors on the bench. I know what its like to sit on the bench and lose, to go three years and wonder if you will ever win a championship. None of those players have to worry about it anymore, they have their championship, they will hopefully win more, but they dont have to worry about leaving without one the way me and my fellow seniors did. Anyway after champs i knew i had another game but i knew it wouldnt be the same as dice. I almost wished we had ended with that win, the perfect storybook ending for the seniors but we had to play a playoff game. Having nothing to lose in that game made us play the best soccer of our lives for 70 minutes before they scoresd three goals in 10 minutes. That game is almost more memorable, how the smaller but still energetic crowd gave us a standing ovation at halftime for being TIED with one if the better teams in the state. We lost and the seniors left the game early to give the young kids their shot at playoffs and it was nice to walk off that way but that night in the lockerroom was when it hit me. I had played my last organised soccer game and we played magnificently. I forgot that feeling until tuesday when i saw schenley play. It was wierd to not be part of the team, and only a spectator. I'll always be a part of the schenley teams but not in the same way and its wierd and sad. But whats almost more sad is that ill never play organise soccer again, i dont have any misconceptions that im good enough to play in college but i wish i did. To go through the work leading up to a game and not just getting together some friends is kindof disappointing.<br />
<br />
Anyway thats a long story dragged on but its been on my mind since tuesday. back on to my preparations. I work for a few more days which is going to be hard but worth it and nice to be with my coworkers who are all amazing. I have to decide on my colleges, begin the applications and write my college essays. I know it sounds early but i didnt everything rushed last year and i want to do better this year. Ill have time in germany but i want to have an idea before i go. I know ill be comfortable there but something about being there for so long makes me uneasy especially with the college process. Mail will take longer and has a higher chance of getting lost etc. Other than that i couldnt be happier to be going. I love pittsburgh but there isnt much here for me right now, my friends are who knows where, and all i do is work and sleep and think and im ready for change. Ill post hopefully once more before i leave but dont hold me to it. Ill be more regular once i get there...promise. Until then.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-51762029932172019742010-08-10T18:38:00.000-04:002010-08-10T18:38:41.848-04:00much ado about nothingThere are events in each persons life which make them feel more mature. In the past two years the most significant of those events have been my trips to South Korea and Egypt. I've been thinking about this a lot because almost exactly a year ago today I left for South Korea. I had traveled without my family before but only in a controlled environment where at least I knew the language or some people I could go to in an emergency. Yesterday I talked to a friend of mine from the trip to South Korea and we talked about how we had changed. She thought I looked different and acted different and I realized almost immediately how different she acted from a year ago as well.<br />
<br />
A year does a lot to change a person and I feel that in the past year I have grown and matured immensely. The problem is that looking back to South Korea, I feel that I was a little kid. I don't know why I feel this way because I had traveled more than most of the other students on the trip and I was one of the older students but compared to now, I was very young and immature. This feeling may be compounded by my brothers trip to South Korea this summer as well. When I think of him going there I think about how he will act and automatically think that that is how i acted as well. My brothers aren't young or extremely immature in my eyes, how can they be when they tower over me like they do? But I still know that I have more experiences under my belt than either of them, but thats also beginning to change. Jonah just came back from two weeks in Italy, is making friends faster than I did when I was there, and is living with a family he has known for only a few months. I can't say that I did that as a 15 year old. Tobias is going to South Korea at an age two years younger than I was when I went. The things he will see are probably the same things that I saw and will have the same effect on him only two years sooner.<br />
<br />
Before my trip to Egypt, the trip to South Korea was the single greatest time when I came back home and realized how much I had grown and matured. I hope Tobias will have the same realization. People always tell me to travel while I can because its harder to do when you grow up, well I have one more year before college which seems like the beginning of the end of my traveling experiences. I know that I will study abroad in college but in all likelihood it will be someplace I have already been. My last real chance to travel and mature comes in a little over a month when I go to Germany for the year. I'm going to be working as an Au Pair from mid September to sometime in the spring when I hope to travel around Europe and then head back to America and prepare for college.<br />
<br />
Taking a year off crossed my mind a lot throughout high school, my sister had done it and I knew other people who were doing it. When I got to my senior year I pretty much decided that I was ready for college and that I couldn't take a year in between. After powering through IB tests, being rejected by my top schools, talking to college students, family, and teachers, taking a year off seems like the best thing that could happen to me. <br />
<br />
Coming back from Egypt I feel more mature than many 18 year olds I know. I feel this way partly because of the the things I have seen but also because my friends on the trip told me every day how much more mature I was than college students they knew and especially other people my age. Im glad that people see me this way because I pride myself in my character. I don't understand however why I'm "mature for my age". Why aren't more 18 year olds as "mature" as me? And if they are why dont they show it or why dont people see it. As I write this i feel very egotistical and immature as I commend myself but I dont know how else to bring it up and make the point I am trying to make. You may also be asking "what is the point you are trying to make?" and the answer is "I don't know exactly but its something like this...."<br />
<br />
This fall I will be reapplying to schools from a foreign country and maybe even to schools in that country or countries around it. I will be living in the country with a family I have never met in person and hopefully being a part time student there. I will be travelling some and seeing my family there and my old friends hopefully. I know that come June, when I come back these experiences will make me even more mature. More importantly though, I'm thankful for my regular opportunity to travel and I try my best not to take it for granted. Hopefully a summer and fall of traveling, blogging, living, and experiencing will help me through the application process of college. I've done it before and i did a horrible job last time, I missed deadlines, ignored recommendations, and was generally laid back about it. Having gone through it already and having a whole year to grow and live will hopefully make it go more smoothly by increasing my focus. I realize now the importance of it which seemed to slip my mind last year. Thankfully I have this opportunity to take a year off and collect my thoughts and finally return and begin college. I haven't gone through it yet, but I already suggest it to all high schoolers and graduates. Lets see if my opinion is the same in June....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-559260007285114582010-08-06T09:00:00.000-04:002010-08-06T09:01:04.740-04:00Reverse culture shockI've been back in the states for a little over 48 hours and life here feels normal as it was before I left. I'm undergoing some reverse culture shock, I have a mental block between me and the tap, I think about whether my food was washed with Nile water, and I have to get used to not being stared at. That last one is probably the weirdest. Aside from our school in Cairo we were the extreme minority. Europe is not as diverse as America but it is vastly more diverse than Egypt or other middle eastern countries I'm assuming. In egypt everyone stares at the white people. THe same was true in south Korea last summer but in Egypt they say "hello" or "welcome to Egypt". Coming back and walking around I fit in, I am the majority, I don't feel differen from anyone else and it's weird. The water and food are a big issue too bi know that the food here is safer than the food in Egypt, the long term effects of the American diet may be worse but inthe short term American cooking is much better as it rarely causes stomach issues. In Egypt we asked at every restaurant where they got their fish and vegetables and if "the Nile" was a response to either of those we wouldn't there. I had salad and chicken yesterday and wanted to eat in moderation because I was worried about my stomach but why? The food here wasn't washed in the Nile water but my mind is already wired to be careful of all food. On the flight back we all said what we wanted to first upon returning home. Some of us had elaborate plans which included driving, eating cheeseburgers, etc. But mine was to drink a glass of water from the tap and then a glass of milk. Both of which I hadn't had since june 25th. The water was great and so was the milk but the absence of milk from my diet made me a little sick a little after having it for the first time in a month while in Egypt. There are numerous other shocks I have gone through like the lack of change in news, being able to read full speed, overhearing and understanding conversations, and getting the news whenever I want it. I've never been shocked like this when returning from another country. Europe is too similar and south korea was too short and the others were just blips in time. The odd thing is that I'm culture shocked here but for the first time ever I came home and I didn't feel like Everything was strange. That sounds wierd I know but usually when I come home I feel hat everything is strange despite no being culture shocked. His time I'm shocked by everything but for instance the drive back from he airport felt like any other drive back from the airport. In a few more days it should be good though<p>I will add now that I will still be posting while in the US however with decreasing focus on Egypt and increasing focus on America and my upcoming trip to Germany hopefully. Also my posts will become more sporadic but do check back occasionally. Also I will notify you somehow that I posted again.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-87104350182193486262010-08-04T23:30:00.000-04:002010-08-04T23:31:57.300-04:00Beyond EgyptFinally.... ALL of my pictures in one place for anyone and everyone to see. Enjoy and feel free to comment or ask questions.<br /><br /><a href="http://goo.gl/photos/C3ov" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right;margin-bottom:1em;margin-left:1em"><img border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_N_NtafAtjJc/TFoomvtm3AE/AAAAAAAAAOo/Of1EJCRwAtM/s160-c/BeyondEgypt.jpg"></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-44150501506268557582010-08-04T09:35:00.000-04:002010-08-04T16:16:30.642-04:00I expected more from you AmericaI'm not home yet but I'm on American soil. I haven't been on the <br>ground for 4 hours and I already am frustrated by everything here. <br>Call it reverse culture shock, lack of patriotism, being European, or <br>just sleepless but I'm frustrated. I ended my last post with <br>"something is seriously up with this country" in reference to Egypt <br>well something is seriously up win this country. Rude airport <br>employees and TSA agents feel entitled to do what they want and say <br>what they want. People don't smile or even say "welcome to the US". I <br>heard "welcome to Egypt" twenty minutes before leaving from the Cairo <br>airport. I don't know if we consider ourselves to be a friendly <br>population but we aren't. Egyptians live under a dictatorship and <br>have horrible wages and standard of living but they still are the <br>happiest people I know. Strangers ask your name where your from why <br>you're here etc. The foreigners in America are barely respected <br>enough to be welcomed. It's no wonder our diplomatic relations with <br>other countries are bad when the customs officers are admittedly the <br>"face or our borders" and cannot treat anyone with anything close to <br>human respect. Underneath their boothes are the list of things they <br>promise to do including greetings, respectful manner, helpful advice <br>etc, it's a shame that those are posted because none of those have <br>ever happened to me here. And random selection my ass, the Egyptians <br>on our flight despite carrying American passports or greencards were <br>still questioned 3 to 4 times as much as any white American was. <br>Women in the hijab were pulled to the side for an extra pat down. <br>Arab women say that women here have no rights, if i was coming to the <br>US and they gave me a lengthy touchy pat down I would feel the same way.<p>Economically and and technologically speaking the US is not a third <br>world country but geez we are probably the least friendly people in <br>the world. The culture shock is infuriating and makes it impossible <br>for a foreigner to adapt let alone want to stay here. How you did it <br>mom I have no idea. I left for Egypt a little over a month ago and on <br>the tv in line to board was CNN talking about Brett favre and the bp <br>oil spill and now as I sit here waiting to board my flight to <br>Pittsburgh what do I see on the screen but that same purple jersey and <br>that infamous live video feed of the oil spill. Does nothing happen <br>in this country or why do we cling to the same news for more than a <br>month. Has anything but a cd or movie release happened here since I <br>left? Trust me I'm a patriot (as wierd as that feels to write, it's <br>true), and I call myself an American but sometimes I wish that I could <br>be all of that without associating myself with the America I see now. <br>I'm in the airport and I'm homesick but the problem is I don't know if <br>I'm homesick for Pittsburgh or for Cairo. Cairo is crazy, yes and I <br>did say that I'm glad to be coming back to normality but I forgot that <br>I was returning to American normality. At least Cairo was welcoming.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-9938437691033880402010-08-02T20:05:00.000-04:002010-08-04T08:53:59.242-04:00Update:well we got stopped at a checkpoint and our driver told them we were <br>all Canadian, Germans, australians, etc. They still asked to see our <br>passports which happen to ALL be US passports. Voices weren't raised, <br>bakhshiish wasn't paid, nothing except a glance at the picture and <br>then we were off again. Something is seriously up with this country.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-40727558584689676432010-08-02T17:17:00.000-04:002010-08-04T08:53:57.314-04:00Slight issue arisesWhen we got back from Sinai this morning I took a nap and then took a <br>short trip to the Internet cafe. The first thing I saw on the new York <br>times website was a a missile attack on Israel in Elat. Thanks to 20th <br>century history I know where Elat is and I knew that it was on the <br>gulf if aquaba where we happen to be staying. This is all well and <br>good, the attack was far away (a hundred miles?) and it had no <br>immediae effect on us except as a conversation starter. When I read <br>the article they had no idea who shot the missile but the main <br>suspects were Palestinians launching it from Egypt. As the story <br>progressed however information was released that the missile came from <br>the southwest. We happen to be southwest and all of southern Sinai is <br>south west of Elat. The other suspect using the information was Saudi <br>Arabia who have some land souh west of Elat. I will stop here and <br>correct myself a bit. The attack wasn't directly on Elat, it hit Aqaba <br>a Jordanian city a little ways away. The problem was the intention to <br>hit the israeli city.<p>The problems for us are going on as I write. We are on the bus back to <br>Cairo in time for our evening flight tommorow. As we left the hotel <br>management paniced a bit. We are six Americans travelling without <br>security and a terrorist attack is suspected to had come from Egypt. <br>It doesn't matter that the attack was on israel, the Egyptians are on <br>alert to protect all americans in Sinai where the suspected terrorists <br>launched the missile from. The hotel manager who arraned the bus told <br>us to right down on a piece of paper our names; passport number, and <br>"any nationality except US". I wrote German so as not to fully lie <br>but the rest of US are now Canadian and australian. This goes back to <br>the corruption within this country. Instead of showing our passports <br>at checkpoints they ask to see the paper and they see Germans candians <br>and Australians. Immediately. They let us go without assigning us <br>protection because none of those countries provide Egypt with huge <br>sums of money and arms.<p>In Egypt American citizens are better than Egyptian citizens or any <br>other nationality. We give them money to not fight with israel. They <br>need the money and the only way they continue to recieve it is if <br>American tourists are happy. To the Egyptians a safe tourist is a <br>happy tourist. The hotels disagree and think that the police just <br>cause more problems (personally I agree) so they do their part to <br>screw over the police. Honestly there is no threat to us here but <br>there is a chance for the police to make more money by using events <br>like this as propaganda to be hired on as security. I fly tommorow at <br>this time so I'm going to get some sleep now but I thought I would <br>share. Inchallah there will be no problems and I will be in Cairo <br>tommorow morning in time to pack and say goodbye to this beautiful but <br>sometimes spectacularly corrupt nation.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-29870511194674390902010-08-02T06:13:00.001-04:002011-06-27T23:53:45.577-04:00Mount SinaiIn an earlier post I talked about religion for myself. I told you <br />
that I am not a religious person. I don't remember if I said anythig <br />
about spirituality though. Sprirituality to me is very important. There <br />
are moments of power, feelings of belonging, and times of complete <br />
calm. These times, among others, have a spiritual meaning to me. It's <br />
weird to say this but scuba diving was spiritual, everything was in <br />
perfect balance and it was perfectly quiet. Again it's weird to think <br />
that snorkeling here has been spiritual, to be in contol and dive five <br />
to ten meters while holding your breath and actuallly swimming with <br />
the fish instead of around them made me feel like a part of nature. <br />
Sure I was an invader and not natural to their habitat but they were <br />
welcoming.<br />
I had heard in the past that mount Sinai, and climbing <br />
mount Sinai was a deeply religious experience for some people. The <br />
importance of the mountain to religion didn't escape me but I didn't <br />
think a mountain could do that. After having climbed it I can now say <br />
that I understand that position. Although it was purely spiritual for <br />
me it was odd to have a closeness to the site where morality for half <br />
the world's population was established. And it was definitely as close to <br />
religious as I will ever get.<br />
We left the penguin village hotel at a little after 12 and arrived at <br />
the base of Sinai at 2 am. We started to climb as a group of twenty at <br />
around 2 15. It was obvious that there were serious hikers, fit <br />
people, and then us, the Cairo bums. I guess there was some overlap <br />
but I walked slowly mostly to stay with Kayla and Ayman. She was struggling <br />
because of her asthma and I carried her backpack to the top along with <br />
mine. The walk was along a dirt path but it was wide enough for <br />
camels to walk beside you on either side. The moon lit the path <br />
as our group spread out more and more, them making progress, and us <br />
falling behind. It was an extremely long walk and took us a little <br />
over three hours to finish. As we walked up people sang and chanted <br />
and enjoyed their religious experience. I don't know if it's <br />
religion, will power, or both but there are very few things in the world <br />
that could make 80 year men and women make a climb of this nature. It was a wide <br />
path but it was steep and just before the top, the last 30 minutes are <br />
a walk up hundreds of stone steps. As we looked back below us while <br />
walking, groups of people, flashlights in hand, wobbled up the <br />
mountain just as we had done a few minutes before them. To me this was <br />
the spirituality, something brought us all together on that mountain <br />
this morning. Even though most of the people will never see eachother <br />
again we all know exactly who we shared that hike, that view, and that <br />
sunrise with. That happens every night there but each groupk each <br />
night has it's own connection, somehow. I have been to touristy places <br />
before but nothing like this. Not because of the chuchkie trinkets but <br />
the languages and the community. There were a few hundred people on the mountain I would <br />
guess and here must have been more than two dozen languages. The <br />
Asian tourists were there with their high socks, goofy hats, gloves, <br />
sleeves, and cameras. The Germans were there wearin typical capris, <br />
tevas, and German socks while eating bread and cheese out of a cheap <br />
plastic bag. The Americans were there, and you can guess how they <br />
were. Every background, age, nationality, and religion was <br />
represented and we all watched the sun rise together before climbing <br />
back down. We climbed down the steps but then decided to descend on <br />
another path. The other path was filled with switchbacks and tiny <br />
shops but we returned by climbing down more and more and more stairs <br />
until the bottom. The view was great as we came down this crevace in <br />
the side of the mountain.<br />
In the dark of the night we drove to the base and could not see our <br />
surroundings, as we climbed we saw the ouline of mountains and the <br />
trail ahead of us. But on the top and on the way back everything that <br />
we hadn't seen was finall revealed to us. A ligt fog covered the <br />
mountains and the sun as it rose but the red mountains reflected the <br />
sunlight in a way that no camera, only firsthand experience could do <br />
it justice.<br />
It's starnge that this place was as highly gaurded as the DMZ <br />
between the koreas. Our bus to Sinai from dahab was stopped several <br />
times and we were asked our nationality. Before leaving the hotel <br />
receptionist told us to say canadian or british because as ling as <br />
there are no more than 3 Americans they don't tag security on you. <br />
The security for Americans is to keep us/them happy but it has an <br />
opposite effect. The police here are burdensome and creepy and way <br />
overbearing. The whole Sinai penninsula is like that but especially at <br />
Sinai. Even within the complex of mount Sinai, our bus was pulled over <br />
4 times. It's completely unneccesary but also completely the fault of <br />
our own government.<br />
Once the police were dealt with and the climb through the night began <br />
I was struck by that spirituality. Everything was calm. The people <br />
were in harmony. The setting was gorgeous. Truly a once in a lifetime <br />
experience and a story to tell to everyone. My only question is, am I <br />
obligated to climb it again in old age like the men and women we saw <br />
or was this my one trip. I couldn't figure out whether the old people <br />
were returning, or trying to cross something off of their bucket list in the latter <br />
stages of life, either way the draw to return is there.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-10600667625445481642010-08-02T05:33:00.001-04:002010-08-02T06:15:05.725-04:00The theoryThis post is out of order but it's just abou the most important thing <br>I have to write about. I'm on the bus to mount Sinai and it popped <br>into my head. It goes along with the post that was the the recap of <br>the last few days.<p>Like I said we ate dinner with the Iraqis on Wednesday and the topic <br>of oppression came up at dinner. Nolan and I weren't there for it but <br>Jamie Kayla and yalda told us what they said. The iraqi women and some <br>other women we have talked to got offended when we asked if they felt <br>oppressed because they feel that American women are more oppressed and <br>have fewer rights than they do. I never thought of the hijab or nikab <br>as oppression but I did assume that Arabic culture in general was <br>oppressive. Nolan and I argued that they are oppressed and just don't <br>realize it because they don't see what we are missng. I now agree <br>that this was a very closed minded western opinion but it's the <br>opinion I took. We got into a heated debate over oppression and the <br>girls ultimately proved to us that we cannot call them oppressed. I <br>they don't feel oppressed then they can't possibly be oppressed. We <br>asked how they felt about being called oppressed and they compared it <br>to our opinion and our argument which makes complete sense. The <br>ddebate went on but I don't know exactly what went on in the debate. <br>The importance of the night and the importance of this post came after <br>the discussion. Nolan and I returned to our room heads hung low and <br>soundly beaten but we couldn't figure out why. We started talking and <br>involved our other two roommate into the discussion. We started <br>talking at 1am and went to sleep at 5 am just to put into perspective <br>the intemsity ofhis conversation. It started because Jamie challenged <br>Nolan to find one time that he actually saw a woman being forcefully <br>oppressed. Nolan obviously couldn't but we still needed an argument. <br>We came up with oppression we had heard of bt not actually seen and <br>tried to think of it as when is it oppression and are we justified in <br>thinking it's oppression and most importantly when can we intervene. <br>This question bugged us bu at some point we came up with a failptoof <br>theory. And when I say failptoof I mean that I fits everything. We <br>agreed at four am that maybe this just worked because it was 4 am and <br>we were all extremely tired. But first thing in the mornin we ran <br>through several more scenarios and what do you know, still failproof. <br>This theory should be written into a book and studied everywhere it's <br>that good. I know I'm one of the founders of the idea but wventhe <br>girls couldn't argue with it and I obviously believe in it. I'm now <br>going to go through the theory and if you agree tell me if you don't, <br>well then don't say anything.<p>We decided that within any system of percieved oppression there are <br>four kinds of people. This percieved oppression can be percieved by <br>anyone, westerners, Asians, Arabs, women, men, gay, straight, and <br>alien. The four levels each have a corresponding actionthat can be <br>taken by someone who prlercieves oppression. The four stages are not <br>oppressed, internally oppressed, externally oppressed, and the <br>revolutionary. I'll start at the first stage and I will use the first <br>tense and the percieved oppression of slavery. If I percieve that <br>slavery is oppressive then I can use this system<p>The unoppressed slaves are the slaves who are happy with their <br>situation and who don't percieve themselves as oppressed. These people <br>are content and despite my feelings that they are oppressed I have no <br>right to tell them they are oppressed.<p>In stage two the internally oppressed slaves are the ones who are <br>unhappy but they feel that they have a duty to be a slave. They do not <br>try to leave the system because it is an internal feeling that they <br>cannot do anything but that. These people are internally oppressed. I <br>can call these slaves oppressed and at this point I have the human <br>right to tell them that they are either happy where they are, in which <br>case they would become unoppressed. Or to tell them that they are <br>oppressed and that they should try to remove themselves by moving to <br>stage three.<p>Stage three slaves are the slaves who are made to be slaves by an <br>external force. They have tried to escape the system by running away <br>or buying their freedom but they are continually forced back into <br>slavery by their masters At this stage I have the right to call the <br>person oppressed just as I was with stage two oppression. At this <br>stage my human rights expand. I gain the right to help the person <br>escape their oppression. They have tried and are unable to escape <br>without outside help so I have the right to help them escape if they <br>are willing to accept it. Advancement to stage four has two choices, <br>one of which has another two options. This is where the theory gets <br>confusing but it still works.<p>The revolutionary slaves are the slaves who have escaped slaery and <br>the percieved oppression. They can escape as an independent escapee in <br>one of two ways: dead or alive. Either the slave gets out of the <br>oppression by running north and succeeding or by being killed while <br>running away. Either way the slave is no longer a slave and is no <br>longer oppressed. This seems morose but it's true. The second way of <br>escaping is as a group. A whole sale change within a system of <br>oppression which allows people to escape. In terms of slavery this was <br>Abraham Lincoln and the abolition of slavery. Slavery was made illegal <br>and the slaves were no longer oppressed. They escaped the oppression <br>as a whole and therefore have become unoppressed. Naturally these <br>people are not oppressed and we have no right or option bu to call <br>them unoppressed.<p>Some of you may be thinking "what about the happy slaves? The stage <br>one slaves?" well here's the problem in America and within every <br>system of oppression. It should be optional. This sounds like I am a <br>southern radical who promotes slavery bu I'm not. But we cannot <br>abolish slavery is a slave was entirely happy to be a slave and felt <br>unoppressed. By abolishing slavery we deny him a han right to the <br>pursuit of happiness. We stop him from being what he wants to be, a <br>slave. There are a few more clauses that I wrote in a notebook <br>throughout the night but they are too superfluous for now. We tried <br>this system with everyone we thought of as oppressed and it always <br>worked. Part of the problem for us is that we do not see western <br>oppression very much today but this theory/idea is universal because <br>it can be applied to your personal perception no matte where you live, <br>how you were raised, or how ling you have been alive. It always works.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-3223256429723972732010-08-02T05:33:00.000-04:002010-08-02T06:15:02.507-04:00Dahab day 1? Sortof...Before I start talking abot dahab I want you to all go back and read <br>my firt or second post where I talk about the sun and my skin. Do that <br>now........... Okay now that you read it I'll tell you how I'm going <br>to look when I get back. If you wanted you could print the post <br>gazette on the front of me but you may mistake my back for a lobster. <br>This whole trip I have done a great job with suntan lotion and <br>avoiding the sun and on my last weekend here I screw it up, if I can't <br>sit still on the plane because I this sunburn I will be mish mabsut <br>when I get back. When I say red I mean RED. I applied SPF 95 to my <br>back and still I managed to broil. That was earlier today and I'm <br>getting ahead of myself.<p>We got to dahab at 10 in the morning. For those of you who don't know <br>dahab is abou halfway down the gulf of Aqaba 16 kilometres across from <br>Saudi Arabia. When we got here I had about 3 hours of sleep since the <br>same time the day before. We talked to the people at the front desk <br>and were told our rooms weren't all available so they switched our <br>rooms around as we sat on the deck and had a small breakfast. When we <br>got our rooms the man mentioned Scuba diving to us. Originally we <br>planned to climb mount Sinai last night and do other things today but <br>he said that the monastery was closed and we would have to wait until <br>today. This worked perfectly in the end. Scuba diving changes the <br>pressure in your lungs because you are breathing compressed air and <br>descending. Therefore when you climb a mountain you come in serious <br>risk of bursting your lungs. Some of us wanted to dive from the time <br>we planned the trip and others were fine just snorkeling. I was among <br>the snorkelling group but I'll be damned peer pressure works wonders. <br>At 1 o'clock, three hours after arriving I was with Nolan Sara jamie <br>and Kayla talking to our dive instructor. He explained the dive and <br>the dangers and the signals and then fit us into our equipment. We got <br>wet suits shoes fins goggles and apparatus and loaded them onto a <br>truck. We all squeezed into the back of a car and fifteen minutes late <br>we arrived at a small cove called lighthouse. We pulled the gear out <br>of the truck and the instructors set it up for us. Jamie has her scuba <br>PADI license and set up her own gear. As we put on the wet suits we <br>took lots of pictures and acted as goofy as we looked much to our own <br>amusement. The wetsuit and shoes were extremely hot and they only got <br>hotter and more uncomfortable as the instructors lifted the oxygen <br>tanks onto our backs. I had seen scuba diving before and I knew about <br>the oxygen tanks but I never assumed them to be burdensome. Underwater <br>they look so normal but on landthe aluminum mass becomes a weight <br>almost to much to carry. As beings we are bouyant, our suits were <br>bouyant, and our oxygen filled tanks were probably somewhat bouyant as <br>well so to counteract that you have a belt of weights strapped around <br>yor waist before you enter the water.<p>Where we entered was relatively rocky but they were the nice rounded <br>smooth rocks so with the shoes on it wasn't uncomfortable. Our <br>instructor told us to spit into our goggles because it's the best kind <br>of antifog bwe did this and we put them around our necks as he <br>strapped us into our fins. Above water it's nearly impossible to move <br>around in the wetsuit and apparatus so it was nearly impossible to put <br>them on ourselves as beginners. He gave us final instructions in the <br>three foot water and took me under first. I waited in my knees <br>breathing into the apparatus as he helped nolan down as well. It took <br>a little bit of time because he had to remoe the bouyancy from the <br>apparatus so that we coul stay underwater without rising to the top. <br>I'm not a claustrophobic person at all and I'm usually very relaxed <br>but in the three foot water I paniced because I felt so surrounded. I <br>was breathing into the apparatus and it felt so weird that I freaked <br>out a little. I wasn't scared just jittery like the moment before the <br>drop on a big rollercoaster. Going underwater I guess I hadn't <br>realized that that would be my last breath of real air until I <br>resurfaced which made it even worse. I popped up and immediately felt <br>better after I took a final breath, this time knowingly, before going <br>back to the pressurized air. Underwater this time I was much better <br>and i focused on breathing deeply. The air isn't thin but it's <br>different from breathing normally, the air sortof rushes into your <br>mouth and lungs with a vaderlike hiss. Nolan was underwater and set as <br>I came back down on my own accord. We ran through the skills we talked <br>about above water like emptying your goggles underwater, and clearing <br>the breathing apparatus. The goggles were a bit scary beause you fill <br>them underwater and then have to force the water out by exhaling <br>through your nose until the water is out of the goggles. To clearthe <br>breathing apparatus you take a deep breath, remove it, allow bubbles <br>to exit your mouth, replace the apparatus to your mouth and exhale <br>deeply.<p>Because Nolan, Sara, Kayla, and I had never dove before we had to be <br>literally pushed and pulled by our instructors. We began our dive and <br>he lowered us deeper into the ocean occasionally telling us to <br>equalize our ears and asking if we were okay using hand signals. We <br>reached the drop off and suddenly I saw truly the most amazing thing I <br>had seen, I was surrounded by coral reef and thousands of fish from at <br>least fifty species. The water was perfectly clear and the visibily <br>must have been at least 50 to 100 feet. All in all we were under for <br>almost fourty minutes and were about ten meters deep. I never paniced <br>after that first part because I was surrounded by beauty and filled <br>with amazement. The only problem I had was smiling which allowed some <br>water to seep into my my mouth but that was barely on my mind. <br>Because of the apparatus you can't speak and the fish don make sounds <br>either, the only sounds are your inhaling, the bubbles of your <br>exhaling, and your own thoughts. It was so peaceful. When we surfaced <br>I was all smiles and I began asking our instructor about his diving <br>experiences and I was definitely eager to dive again. Someday I will <br>and maybe I will get a license so that I don't have to be tugged <br>around. After the dive we all talked about what we saw and changed out <br>of the gear. The car drove us back and after a quick lunch I fell <br>asleep.<p>After waking up we rented snorkels and walked along the boardwalk to <br>the same location we wet scuba diving. We snorkeled around some parts <br>that we didn't see on our dive an his time tallied about it as we <br>looked around. Snorkeling was never my thing but I only ever <br>snorkeled in lake Erie where ten foot visibility is considered great. <br>Here I could see as far as I wanted and somehow after breathing out <br>ofthe apparatus earlier the breathing with a snorkel became more <br>regular. We snorkeled for a while and then at dinner and chatted on <br>the roof before going to bed.<p>This morning we woke up at ten for our 11 o'clock trip to the blue <br>hole. It was about thirty minutes way and it's the most famouse dive <br>and snorkle site in Egypt and rightfully so. Blue hole is a general <br>term for sinkholes surrounded by a rounder circular wall. The blue <br>hole is extremely deep and a tunnel coonects it to the open water. <br>This tunnel is infamous and makes it one of the most dangerous dive <br>sites in the world. It is completely safe if you stay within your <br>limits and the limits of scuba diving. Scuba diving allows you to <br>reach 40 meters below the surface, the tunnel is at 52 meters. Many <br>people have tried to go the extra 12 and swim through. Those who make <br>it down that far often miss the tunnel or get nitorgen narcoses and <br>become "drunk". There is apparently a video of a man at the blue whe <br>who removes his apparatus and offers it to a fish and then begins to <br>drown because he lost his survival instincts. Some divers find the <br>hole but it is very narrow and they often get stuck and drown. More <br>than fourty people have died there which seems ridiculous. At the <br>blue hole we joined hundreds of other snorkelers and divers and this <br>is where my sunburn story comes in. Trust me, I applied sunscreen, <br>lots of it. But that does nothing against the sum in the desert in <br>crystal clear water. We snorkeled around the hole for two hours and I <br>spent the majority of that on my stomach looking downward. This is <br>where you call me an idiot and I proudly accept it. I'm red and burnt <br>but it was worth it. There were thousands more fish and hundred of <br>more species of coral and dozens of more colors. The fish vary in <br>shape and size and are the inspiration of one fish, two fish. The <br>while thing was amazing and the bubbles rising from the scuba divers <br>in the depths added to the beauty. Schools of fish swim in unison, <br>larger independent fish float around and show of their parrot like <br>colors. I'm a pool person and I hate deep water but this I could do <br>all the time. My fears vanished and I didn't even feel like I was <br>swimming. I fogot I was swimming and that I had to be able to swim <br>because I was so dustracted by everything else. Not even the small <br>shark I saw or the dark abyss below could rattle my nerves. Never in <br>my life have I been so comfortable swimming in open water as I have <br>been here.<p>The sunburn and the day of swimming made me tired as soon as we <br>returned back to the hotel. I woke up a few hours ago and finished my <br>last post and I have been writing this one since. And so far, despite <br>the sand in my bed, my back is comfortable. We leave in two hours fo <br>mount Sinai and I couldn't be more excited to climb, see, photograph, <br>and write about it. But right now I need a bit more sleep and <br>definitely some food. I'll write again post climb. Until then....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-74826670133431080232010-08-02T05:32:00.000-04:002010-08-02T06:14:56.076-04:00I'm sorry: a recapIt's been a long time since I have posted and for that I apologize. <br>I'm writin this on Friday night but I'm not sure whether or not I will <br>be able to post until I'm back in the United States on Tuesday. It's <br>not that I have forgot to post or that nothing has happened, actually <br>it's the opposite. This past week I have been thinking alot and every <br>time I think about writing it down it feels like a daunting task, <br>especially at two in the morning when I'm exhausted. Well I finally <br>have time and it's four in the morning. I'm on a private bus with some <br>friends and we are on our way to Dahab. The trip is six hous and we <br>are about two hours in. I can't sleep like the rest of us but we <br>really should be because tommorow is going to be a long day. Before I <br>go on about tommorow I'll recap the last few days.<p>On Tuesday I was feeling sick and didn't do anything. I left my class <br>early and then used the afternoon to catch up on much needed sleep. I <br>wish I had felt better because we had a trip to the citadel which <br>would have been educational. Instead I spent the day in bed hoping I <br>would feel better the next day.<p>We have tests to show how much we have learned while we have been <br>here. I think this is ridiculous because written tests are not the <br>purpose of the Arabic I have learned on this trip. Sure I can read and <br>write but many people do not have the courage or capabilities to order <br>at a restaurant or give directions to a can driver. It is those <br>things that should be graded because it shows a willingness to learn <br>and apply your knowledge. Why learn Arabic if you won't een use it <br>while in an Arabic speaking country. But anyway I used my sick day to <br>study for the exams, of which there seem to he alot.<p>On Wednesday I wasfeeling better which was a really good thing because <br>we had our final presentations for our language class at ILI. Our <br>presentation went well, Yalda my partner was feeling sick so I did <br>most of the talking. Not because she didn't want to speak but because <br>I get nervous and need to make sure that we talked enough. In the <br>afternoon I slept again as normal but then some of us went out to <br>dinner with the Iraqis who we met the week before. They brought their <br>whole extended family and other families which was great. I was a bit <br>dissapointed in our group because we all invited to take them out to <br>dinner or a movie but then half ofthe people backed ou leaving the <br>cost of the dinner on half of us. I didn't let this bother me because <br>I know that the nice dinner and company would mean alot more to the <br>Iraqi refugees and myself than the extra money would bother me. The <br>meal was good and the conversations were again interesting. Some of <br>the stories they shared biug tears to their eyes as well as theirs but <br>they still happily shared. I thought, while listening to one woman <br>tell me how she saw her driver shot on her way to work and how the gun <br>was pointed at her until an American hummer pulled up, that someone <br>needs to ask all of these refugees to write or dictate on short story <br>or experience and then publish all of them. I know that people would <br>read it and say "awww" and then go back to their suburban gated homes, <br>but maybe they would at least understand the situation there a little <br>bit more. Ultimately the night was great and we exchanged information <br>and hopefully we can stay in touch.<p>Thursday we go our final grades from ili and recieved our <br>certificates. I got an overall A and nothing less than an A- in each <br>category. For me the grade didn't matter even if I had gotten a C. I <br>know that I have learned Arabic. Arabic has come pretty easily and <br>pretty quickly to me so my efforts on homework or in class were <br>sometimes not the best. Some people tried harder than me and got <br>better grades which is fair. For me the real grade or proof of how <br>well someone knows a language isn't the certificate or grade you get <br>it's how well native speakers understand you and how well you can <br>communicate with them and I think I can do that. One thing that I <br>forgot was to get gifts and souvenirs. I had been to the sookh a <br>couple of times mostly to look around so I went Thursday night and <br>actually got the things I had seen before and was interested in. I <br>didn't buy things specifically for anyone I just got a few things that <br>I knew people would enjoy. This was my last oportunity to go shopping <br>because our Friday was planned out and now I'm in dahab until the day <br>when we fly back home.<p>Friday was a good day because I got to sleep in until the day was half <br>over. After that I studied for a few tests and then took them. I have <br>one moreto take once I get back to Cairo but I have this weekend to <br>study for it. The tests wee both makeup tests to see if we improved <br>over our course of study and I think that I answered the questions <br>more completely the second time around. In the evening we had our <br>final PMEI goodbye/birthday party for Alex. We went to the Nile where <br>we got on a large dinner boat at around 8. The boat drove up and down <br>the Nile for almost two hours and we got to eat buffet style the whole <br>time while listening to music and talking about our trip to that <br>point. Some people left right from the boat to their bus to the red <br>sea. Two groups of students made the trip to the red sea. Josh, <br>Andrea, and Whitney paid to spnd Saturday and Sunday at a resort and <br>Nolan, Jamie, Kayla, yalda, Sara, and I got a cheap hostel right on <br>the water with lots of opportunities to swim and snorkel. Our bus <br>picked us up at two AM. I started writing this on the bus and have <br>been writing it in pieces since. The experiences here have gone on <br>making it hard to write about what happen before so I'll make a new <br>post solely for the purpose of our first two days here.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-62462462237546229692010-07-26T17:40:00.000-04:002010-07-27T01:26:10.122-04:00Early reflections and thank yousFor the first time since Writing my old posts I wen through and read <br>them again. I find do this for any particular reason other than <br>wanting to see what we did the first day. This brought me to a few <br>thoughts that I now feel like sharing. First I'm really glad that I <br>have been keeping this blog. It's a way for me to have the memories <br>that I don't actually remember at a moments notice. Part of being <br>glad about keeping this blog is not only my dedication but all of <br>yours. Never in my life did I think I could or would ever want to <br>write this much and I think it says even more that I'm writing on an <br>iPod touch. I never know how much I'm writing and I don't organize my <br>blog before posting. What you have been readin and what you are <br>reading now and will hopefully read tommorow is all stream of <br>conscience. I wouldn't have cared if nobody had read my blog or <br>commented it or nobody "followed" it because it's ultimately for <br>myself but I'm glad to share it with all of you. The point I am <br>getting at is that despite my inexperienced writing, lack of Internet <br>recognition, and my random posts you all still read my blog. As of <br>today my blog had more than 1100 hits in a month. More han half have <br>been from germany (thanks Raethers!) but alot have been from the <br>united states (thanks friends and blackman family!). All in all my <br>blog has been read in 11 countries and in at least 5 of those I don't <br>think I know anyone. I know that people stumble across websites but <br>I'm thankful to everyone who stumbled across it and actually read a <br>post. And thankful for the people who read occasionally and especially <br>thankful for the people who read it everyday.<p>I know I went of track with that but I'll get back on now. While <br>rereading my old posts I noticed how differently I see Cairo and the <br>middle east now than I did then. I've been thinking alot about what I <br>though in the days leading up to the trip and it's fascinating. Cairo <br>feels so natural to me now, I cross streets blindly, talk to people at <br>restaurants in Arabic, read signs in what look like heiroglyphics to <br>most, and eat unusual food like it's nothing. Before I came here I <br>expected a city not unlike new York or Berlin but now I can't picture <br>anything but this city. The first few days were shockingto say the <br>leat and there are still days when I am shocked but they are much more <br>sporadic. My point is that even my first posts after arriving in Egypt <br>now seem bogus. The impressions I got driving into this city on the <br>first day told me nothing about what I have seen sense. This means <br>alot when I look back and see how shocked I was then and how relaxed I <br>am now. This whole trip gives me great peace of mind that I can live <br>anywhere. I know I'm an adaptable person and I do not let change or <br>differences effect me. Every city is it's own river with it's own <br>twists, turns, rapids, and obstacles but the water still flows and you <br>just have to ride it out and adapt. Cairo has bumped me around, honked <br>at me, stared at me, grabbed me, confused me, gotten me lost, and much <br>more but I have not let it get the best of me and I know that I will <br>be able to say the same for any other city I visit or live in. Cairo <br>and Egypt are far from the worst places to live in this world but the <br>aspects of it can surely prepare anyone for those places.<p>I still have a week here and I'm not sure why I'm writing a semi <br>conclusive post now but it's been on my mind and needed to be <br>written. This isn't the last post or the next to last post Tom Egypt <br>or anything like that it's just a memo to myself and to all of you <br>that yes this place was shocking at first and that yes it got more <br>shocking as time went on and there are things that I will never forget <br>but also things I will never remember. Don't just read my blog because <br>my experiences are within and as much as I enjoy writing I can't write <br>everything I want to. I don't mind explaining to you on facebook or <br>via email but again I won't be as descriptive in my writing. If you <br>call me or talk to me in person I'll share with you as many stories as <br>I can. But it you want to know what I experienced and what fourteen <br>other Americans experienced for a month, you have to make the trip <br>yourself and see everything. I know it's not within everyones means <br>and so I share my experiences, but if it is, and you do come here, <br>please, do not expect a vacation. This isn't Hawaii or Florida or New <br>York or London, as the Egyptians would say "this is....EGYPT!!!!" <br>where soccer players pray on the field before games, donkeys share the <br>road with cars, everything is cheap, sandwhiches are sold by the <br>homeless, and people with brooms give new meaning to "street <br>sweeping"...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-25495842640241713242010-07-25T17:10:00.001-04:002010-07-27T03:57:15.739-04:00*insert title here*I just got back from an Egyptian soccer game. Supposedly the game was <br />
for some sort of championship. The first team (and the team I <br />
supported), Ahly, play in one league and the other team, whose name I <br />
forget, plays in another league. The game is to decide the overall <br />
champion between the two teams. Ahly is widely supported here and <br />
everyone has Abootrika jerseys in honor of their favorite player on <br />
the team. The other team was supposedly a team made up of policeman <br />
but that wasn't clear. Before i go into the details of my night let <br />
me go into the details of the weekend up until the game.<p>After seeing inception and staying up until 3 i finally fell asleep <br />
only to be woken up by my six thirty alarm clock, which was telling to <br />
get up, shower, and eat before going to Alexandria. We cancelled the <br />
trip to Luxor butthe trip to Alexandria is easier to we decided to go <br />
up for the day. Nolan, Jamie, Kayla, and I left the school at 7 30. I <br />
had slept the least but I was the most prepared to go. We didn't get <br />
tickets in advance but knew trains left every half hour or hour so we <br />
aimed for the eight o'clock train. We got there on time and found the <br />
platform but we could not find a ticket booth, sometimes I hate this <br />
country. Everyone on the platform was telling us something different <br />
"go there", "come here", "pay on the train", "there's a train at 8 15" <br />
and more outrageous things. Before I go on I'll pause and say that <br />
Cairo is a city of 22 million people with one major train station, and <br />
it's smaller than the one in Pittsburgh. Still, in this city of 22 <br />
million people, as we are walking away from the train to hopefully <br />
find a ticket booth we see a sweet little old lady. "wait, we know <br />
her, that's mrs. Magda who lectured us the other day".<p>7:56 we say hello and find out she is also going to Alexandria<p>7:57 she tells us what we already have heard but says we can sit in <br />
the buffet car<p>7:58 we are running behind this little old lady to the buffet car<p>7:59 we are on the train, the buffet is full, looks like we are <br />
standing<p>8:00 the train starts moving (and they say Egyptians are never on time)<p>8:20 we way overpay for the train, 41 pounds. A first class seat is <br />
30. We are standing between two cars of the train.<p>10:15 we are in Alexandria!<p>I'll stop with the rundown of times here but the day was just getting <br />
started. We met up with Sara and yalda who drove ip with ayman and <br />
aheb. We got lunch and then decided to go to their apartment and take <br />
a nap because we hadn't slept on the train and weren't feeling well. <br />
After "napping" we did a few of the things we had done the last time <br />
in Alexandria but also walked along the beach for a while. I still <br />
really like Alexandria but it still feels too European and doesn't <br />
have it's own Egyptian identity really. We had a great fish and <br />
shrimp dinner, the best I had ever had and the others agreed it was <br />
among the best they had had as well. For 9 people it was supposed to <br />
be 800 pounds but we wanted to treat the Egyptians. Having Egyptian <br />
friends in Egypt has it's perks because nothing, unless it's in a <br />
department store or supermarket is a fixed price. Every price is <br />
negotiable and they negotiated the price down to 700. Elhamdulilah! <br />
We then left at 10 30 to head back to Cairo in time for our 2 30 <br />
curfew, or not in time as it ended up being. It's usually a three hour <br />
drive but traffic in Alexandria and on the highway held us up. They <br />
could tell we were nervous abou getting back late so they drove faster <br />
which made us more nervous. We explained that we would rather arrive <br />
late, and safely, than try to go as fast as possible and be unsafe. We <br />
ended up thirty minutes late which wasn't a big issue. We apologized <br />
to rayda, the gatekeeper and then rolled into bed<p>This would have all been fine except that today was Visa renewal day. <br />
We had to get up at 7 30 and go to the mogamma and get our visas <br />
renewed. I would like to point out that at the time we got back from <br />
Alexandria I had slept 3 of the previous 24 hours. When I woke up at <br />
7 30 I had slept 4 of the previous twentyfour hours. I was tired. The <br />
mogamma, renowned for it's complexity and long lines went smoothly. <br />
Elhamdulilah! We got there at 8 30 and were back at our dorms at 9 <br />
30. We had dropped of our passports, photos, stamps, and applications <br />
and needed to go back two hours later to pick them up. Two hours <br />
Egyptian time is three hours standard time so we went back to sleep <br />
until noon and they rode back to the mogamma once again. We were <br />
still tired. Two hours of sleep only does so much. Luckily for us <br />
Egypt must be on holiday, the mogamma was once again smooth and only <br />
took fifteen minutes to grab our passports/visa and leave. In less <br />
than an hour we had gone to the mogamma for a second time and returned <br />
back to our dorms. Still tired, we fell asleep again.<p>We woke up at 4 15 to catch cabs to the stadium at 4 30. We already <br />
had tickets to the the game but they don't have assigned seats so you <br />
have to go early enough to get good seats for the game which starts at <br />
8 30. We got to the stadium at 5 but our Egyptian friend who bought <br />
the tickets only showed up at seven. We finally entered, sweaty, hot, <br />
and restless from standing for two hours waiting, but also excited. <br />
The stadium was huge, I imagine 80 or 90 thousand people max, but it <br />
was far from full. One side was completely full l, the el Ahly side <br />
and the other side was about half full. There were probably more <br />
police than fans and more riot police than police. I now understand <br />
why the average government salary here is 600 pounds, they are all <br />
policeman many of who don't even carry weapons. I guess it's a way of <br />
creating jobs but also a way of bankrupting a country. The other <br />
team, supposedly a police team had the most colorful supporters I had <br />
ever seen, they all wore tracksuits, and it seemed that each person <br />
had another color. The el ahly fans were rowdier but still subdued <br />
compared to St. Pauli or HSV fans. Not to mention British fans. It was <br />
still a good atmosphere with lots of noise and excitement but I had <br />
expected worse. The game went well and el Ahly won on an Abu Tereika <br />
goal which sent everyone into a frenzy. It's lucky for us that el Ahly <br />
won because apparently Egyptians fans are subdued until their teams <br />
lose which is the reason for the riot police I suppose. Having el <br />
Ahly win was in the best interest of all involved, which makes rigging <br />
of the match impossible to rule out. We left 5 minutes early to avoid <br />
traffic and the mob and we ended up back at the dorms and hour before <br />
the others in the group who stayed the extra five minutes. It was a <br />
good weekend but an exhausting one and now my pillow is calling me... <br />
Goodnight dear readerUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-61746280252544033392010-07-25T16:17:00.000-04:002010-07-26T01:25:34.294-04:00FridayIronically the night after writing abou my dreams hear I went and saw <br>inception. And for those of you who don't know it's all about dreams. <br>That's not the topic of my writing today. Like I said earlier we <br>didn't get to go to luxor this weekend because one of our friends was <br>sick. She felt well enough inthe afternoon that she Jamie, Nolan and I <br>were able to go to Coptic Cairo.<p>Egypt is a very islamic country but it does have it's christians. The <br>christians here are Coptic and not roman catholic so they have <br>seperate priests etc. I haven't seen a roman catholic church but the <br>Coptic churches are prevalent and the school where we are staying is <br>connected to a Coptic church. The Coptic churches in Coptic Cairo are <br>much older and much more beautiful than this one. The museums seem to <br>be in a complex of 5 or six churches, a synagogue, and a museum. We <br>went to the museum and looked at the artifacts we weren't in a rush <br>but there were so many placards that we couldn't read everything. <br>Still, we managed to come out with more knowlede than we did going <br>in. Before this we had seen churches, visited churches, and talked to <br>Copts but we didn't know the signifigance. The art was beautiful and <br>their designs were very obviusly derived from many other regions like <br>Italy, Greece etc. We went to look at some of the churches but only <br>managed to get inside one because many closed at 4, just as we were <br>leaving the Coptic museum. We missed the church where Mary and baby <br>Jesus supposedly stayed for a while as well as the synagogue.<p>After exhausting ourselves with walking we decidedto catch the metro <br>back to tahrir square where we now have a favorite restaurant, Kazzaz. <br>It seems like the equivalent of Egyptian eat n' park. The food is <br>quick and relatively cheap and it is especially delicious. I had the <br>lentil soup which looked disgusting but tasted amazing. Jamie had <br>planned to meetfriwnds in zamalek and I wanted to meet my sister so we <br>grabbed a cab and split up once in zamalek. Alex, Lev, two friends of <br>theirs, and I went to Jo sushi which was good except I had just eaten <br>so my appetitte was small. We talked about various things and alex <br>and i joked about speaking german in front of the other three so that <br>they wouldn't understand. All together I saw alex three times while <br>in Cairo together which was less than I expected I would see her but I <br>guess it shows how well I adjusted and how much I enjoy the people I <br>am with on the trip. I had to lead dinner early so that I could meet <br>up with Jamie again, and take a cab back downtown where we were <br>meeting some other friends to go see inception which was AMAZING! We <br>all came out of the theater with different explanations though but it <br>tarted a conversation that lasted well into the night about dreams, <br>space, aliens, and more. It geeky I know but I think having my brain <br>violated by a movie is a justifiable cause to be geekyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-76027822037576608102010-07-22T19:46:00.000-04:002010-07-24T04:21:34.878-04:00The dream sequenceI lied. We aren't going to Luxor this weekend. One of our friends got <br>sick and we all agreed it wasn't in her best interest to travel and we <br>didn't want to go see everything without her especially since she was <br>most interested in going. This however leaves me with no experiences <br>to write about. I'm sure there will still be experiences this weekend <br>like our trip to the mogamma, a mosque, a soccer game, and maybe <br>Alexandria again. For now though, I'll write what I feel that I have <br>left out of my descriptions. These are minute details about Egypt and <br>Cairo that aren't vital but definitely interesting and worth writing <br>about and reading if you have the time to do that.<p>I'll start with a recent subject amongst our friends here, dreams. <br>This may seem weird and it is but alot of times one person will <br>mention something randomly unusual and everyone else stops, turns, and <br>says "oh my god! You're right!". Recently this something has been <br>dreams. As some background information, I never dream in the united <br>states and if I do, I never remember them the next morning. Here on <br>the other hand, I do dream. I have dreamt at other points in life, so <br>dreams are not completely foreign to me but these dreams are. Not <br>only do I dream but I dream vividly. I rememembe minute details, I <br>feel as if I can actually reach out and do things, I can hear and see <br>and I am definitely myself in these dreams and I can control what I <br>do. At first this was interesting to see the different dreams I would <br>have and the new dream experiences I would have. Recently though the <br>dreams have been sequential, for the past three periods of sleep (2 <br>naps and 1 night time sleep) my dreams have been a continuous story. <br>This is wierd because I have had recurring dreams and dreams with <br>stories but never my own tv show that plays on my eyelids as I sleep. <br>I brought this up with some other students and they agreed that <br>something about the dreams here was different. We have several <br>hypotheses like new chemicals in the food, the bottled water, the <br>pollution, the horns, the language, etc. It's one of the more <br>quizzical things about this place that I will probably never find out <br>but it has been nice. And I kind of look forward to sleeping to see <br>how my story continues and maybe changing it. Jamie, one of the other <br>students, says that the last time her dreams were this vivid was when <br>she was hyped up on pain killers after surgery but that they were so <br>vivid that the idea of sleeping was scary. I'm glad my dreams are not <br>at that point but also dissapointed to know that after a few days back <br>in the US my dreams will once again dissapear. This is a cometely <br>random post but something that has been on my mind all day. I'll <br>continue this miniseries of Egyptian oddities this weekend but now my <br>dreams await.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-71861628759203929222010-07-21T18:22:00.000-04:002010-07-22T01:22:11.777-04:00What a day!Today was one of the best days since getting here. No one part of my <br>day stuck out but as a whole it was just great. Every part of my day <br>was perfect including right now as I write in my airconditioned room <br>at midnight.<p>My ili class went really well and I really like what we are learning <br>now because it's really practical and simplifies life a thousand <br>times. Just in the last few days I feel that my Arabic has progressed <br>much much more. I talked to a cab driver today and he understood the <br>questions I asked and the statements I made. I think the real sign of <br>progress is that I can now pick out words of other peoples <br>conversations, the news, music, movies, etc. I still have difficulty <br>reading but every morning I practice as we drive to school. I think <br>that kids just learning to read in English whether they are American, <br>British, or foreigners should have to be driven around and read every <br>sign they can to the best of their ability. Traffic here is slow <br>enough that I can pick apart each letter and than say it aloud or in <br>my head as we roll by in the car. There are also enough signs here <br>that my morning reading sessions don't bore me and the words rarely <br>repeat. It doesn't help my vocabulary because many of the words are <br>streets, neighborhoods, companies, names and so on.<p>After ili I got my nap and I managed to get two and a half hours <br>before waking up to a text from georges our director. He asked us to <br>come downstairs for our afternoon class a bit early because Mina had <br>met some Iraqi refugees and invited them to speak with us. Mina has <br>an uncanny ability to meet people. I dint know how he does it but it <br>seems that every day he is talkling to someone new. I got firsthand <br>experience today watching Mina work hi magic on the cab drivers later <br>in the day. He not only got us three cabs in three minutes, he had <br>the cab drivers working together, and most importantly they were <br>calling him "Mina" within minutes. If anybody has trouble meeting <br>people them they really need to meet Mina and take lessons.<p>We came downstairs to the patio of the school at 3 30 and met with six <br>women (later a man joined the group). I would never have guessed that <br>they were Iraqi and not Egyptian but apparently it is very apparent to <br>Egyptians. The six women came from three families, a mother and <br>daughter, and two sets of sisters. The mother was a very strong woman <br>but she spoke kindly and softly. She was amazingly smart and well <br>spoken and obviously very caring but it was also very easy to see the <br>pain in her past as well as the five girls. Two of the girls were <br>among the prettiest girls I have ever seen and they all ranged from 14 <br>to 18 and then the mother was probably in her fourties. The mother <br>said that they fled five years ago after the civil war broke out <br>between Sunnis and Shiites so the girls all had different experiences <br>and different memories. The mother spike the most and a few of the <br>girls spoke quite a bit and the rest were silent almost the entire <br>time. They spoke some English but georges and Mina still translated <br>our questions and their answers. At first we asked them questions <br>like how they felt about America, whether they would return, how life <br>was in Egypt, and how they felt before the US invasion. The responses <br>were emotional but eyeopening and surprising. It's hard to listen as <br>people talk calmly about leaving their homes for school and work and <br>seeing corpses on your sidewalk. Or how their father was kidnapped and <br>beaten by Shiites and even how one of the girls had a bag thrown over <br>her head and then was saved because of her screaming. They spoke <br>calmly about these obviously damaging events but afterwards some of us <br>agreed that we might have cried had we been in another setting. Some <br>of the most interesting comments were that they don hate americans, <br>and they don't blame americans for what is going on in their country <br>now. They say they rely on the united states to maintain the situation <br>and keep it from getting worse. This made me think about the US plans <br>to pull the troops out. I know that the war has gone on too long and <br>it's time for it to end but righ now the Iraqi people still at least <br>have respect for us and out military. If we pull out and leave them <br>without fulfilling their needs we help noone. To me it seems that the <br>people who are radically supportive of immediate withdrawal are just <br>just as detrimental as those who say we have to stay there until all <br>the WMDs are found and destroyed. Our relationship with the Iraqi <br>people is hanging on a thread but it's still possible to save it. <br>According to the women with whom we spoke Iran is the main threat and <br>main cause of violence in Iraq now. Someone asked if they were Sunni <br>or Shiite and she said "we don't know, we were always just Muslim, we <br>married Sunnis and Shiites and had Sunni and Shiite neighboors. Then <br>the influence of the Irani Shiite leaders reached Iraq and the civil <br>war began". This was surprising to hear but even more surprising to <br>hear was that they were threatened by both Sunnis and Shiites because <br>nobody knows who is who. This is obviously problematic and <br>detrimental to the well being of Iraq. The fact that Iraq has not had <br>a fully functioning government for four years is a huge issue, if the <br>US army leaves without a) sealing the borders and b) establishing a <br>government then it will easily fall under he control of Iran. The man <br>added at this point that they need a government and a leader not a <br>democracy. He explained that people must feel that they want a <br>democracy. Under saddam Hussein life was good, people followed rules <br>and Iraq was prosperous, everyone had enough money. He was a dictator <br>and he did torture people but he tortured guilty people and only <br>people with enough power to harm him. Now however people are tortured <br>everyday either by the US military, sunnis, Shiites, the "government" <br>etc. and these people don't even need to be guilty or even suspected, <br>just associated or have potential information. Towards the end they <br>all said that until the people demanded democracy they needed another <br>saddam Hussein. Someone who was strong and could make the sunnis and <br>Shiites stop fighting, who was respected by all the people and could <br>restore electricity and water.<p>This was so intriguing because in the US we are told that the people <br>hated saddam Hussein and that the people were miserable under him, <br>these were refugees, the outcasts of their country saying that they <br>needed him and wanted another leader like him. I understood everything <br>they said and when they talked about the people needing to want <br>democracy it struck me that our nation, the symbol of democracy, <br>became a democratic nation because the people wanted it, not because <br>someone came and said "you need a democracy". I've thought abou that <br>since then and I still can't think of nation, still existing where <br>democracy was established and maintained without the will o the <br>people. Ultimately it was one of the best discussions I had ever had <br>and I wish that all Americans had to do what we did today and talk to <br>the people of Iraq and understand what they want not why we want.<p>After asking our questions we invited them to ask us questions because <br>we felt bad bombarding them with question after question. It was <br>mostly the mother who asked questions and her questions were difficult <br>to answer. Our group is obviously educated and open enough to other <br>cultures that our answers did not reflect the answers the majority of <br>americans would give. We explained this time after time and they <br>seemed to understand. She asked questions about the hijab and how we <br>felt abou women wearing, how we feel about the Iraqi people, or <br>Muslims, and also about terrorism and torture. It was the second time <br>this week that someone mentioned America as terrorists and torturers <br>and I think that's something we don't realize. Operation Iraqi freedom <br>is an act of terrorism in their eyes, they combat us just as we would <br>combat terrorists on American soil. This doesn't mean that we have to <br>hit them harder because they hate us, it means we must respect them as <br>their own people and as a sovereign nation and they will not bother <br>us. It seems weird that she said she loved the united states but also <br>that she thought we were a terrorist nation. I think this respect is <br>something we as Americans don't have, we think all Muslims are <br>terrorists so we hate them or we hate them so we stereotype them all <br>as terrosists, one way or another this is wrong. As long as this <br>mindset remains in the US, the two sides can never reconcile. The <br>last thing I would lime to point out was her comment about Barack <br>Obama. She said that he is better than Bush but that he cared to much <br>about his military and not The situation in Iraq. With all of the <br>support for withdrawal, the focus of US efforts has been on the <br>military, and not on the Iraqi people, there are still conflicts in <br>the streets and homes without water and those should be the priorities <br>of out army not our own miltary. I do support a withdrawal of the <br>troops but after today I realize more the importance of staying there.<p>As my perfect day went on, Mina, 9 students, and myself visited a <br>church carved into the mountain near the citadel. The church was <br>amazing and a feat of architectural genius despite being naturally <br>formed. The pews were carved into the mountain just as the altars, <br>sculptures, and other statues were. The full church must have held <br>more than 5 000 people just in seats and I imagine many more stand. It <br>was empty when we were there but this did not detract from it's <br>magnifigance. I enjoyed the church but the highlight for me was the <br>neighboorhood it was situated in and the view from one of the <br>buildings in the complex. The neighboorhood is all Christian and among <br>the poorest in Cairo. The community is made up of garbage collectors <br>who sweep up, bag, pile, transport, sort, recycle, and burn all of <br>cairos trash. Trucks are seen with massive loads of trash tied down <br>and men are seen sweeping highways but until today I had no idea where <br>the trash went until I was on the roof ofthe building. Looking out of <br>Cairo starting at your toes and then lifting your head slowly you must <br>pass over a mile ove garbage before a trace of Cairo is seen through <br>the smog. This is not a sight seen by many tourists but it was <br>beautiful and disgusting. We looke over the community we had driven <br>through to get to the church and we realized that we hadn't driven <br>through a neighboorhood, ghetto, or slum, but an actuall garbage heap <br>which happened to have buildings on it. Garbage was on roofs, hanging <br>out of windows, being eaten by pigs and goats, sorted by children, <br>stacked, slept on, burned and just about anything else you could think <br>to do with trash. One roof had thirty goats on it and a pile of <br>natural waste which I suppose was their food. This wasn't a small <br>building either, it was at least 5 stories high and the lower levels <br>were also littered with trash. When I realized which community this <br>was I remembered something I had heard last fall about Egypt. When the <br>swine flu rolled around Egypt had the smart idea to kill all of it's <br>pigs, i thought at the time about how a seemingly educated country <br>could be so dumb as to think that the pigs were actually spreading the <br>disease. Turns out this country is smarter than I thought, as a 80% <br>Islamic country they have a Christian problem, one of the largest <br>communities of Christians in Egypt is this garbage community and guess <br>what their main source of income is. That's right, pigs. Last year <br>the roofs we saw now covered with goats would have been covered in <br>pigs. Mina explained that there is some speculation that the swine flu <br>and killing of the pigs was an act of terrorism agains the christians. <br>I remember PETA being angry at the slaughter but now I realize that <br>the US, UN, and every christian group should have been outraged as <br>well. I don't say that that is the exact truth but the reasoning <br>behind it makes complete sense.<p>This was my great day of discussion, sights, and reflection and it's <br>one of the best days of my life and I don't know how it could get <br>better. As I look at my clock now I see that I've been writing for <br>over and hour and twenty minutes and I just hope you all read more <br>quickly than I write. I'm going to Alexandria and Luxor this weekend <br>so I won't have Internet for a few days I don't think so this is my <br>last post until Monday. But I will try to have several posts about my <br>weekend. Until then dear reader....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-6444900398620316632010-07-19T20:03:00.000-04:002010-07-20T01:43:35.543-04:00Jan reflects on the day, religious thoughts ensue, blog post become incomprehensible to everyone, including himself. Oh well.Today I decided that I want to study the middle east if I really go <br>into international relations. We had another lecture with sheikh <br>hamdallah today and it was really educational and thought provoking. <br>It was the same translator and he was again superb but I wish that I <br>could speak directly with sheikh hamdallah because I feel that <br>somethings are lost in translation. He lectured about prayer and the <br>steps of prayer which was interesting but the question and answer <br>session was by far the best.<p>We got into a discussion about Islam as a religion of peace as well as <br>it's role in politics. Hamdallah said that Islam can and should effect <br>politics. Not as a religion like christiantity in the united states <br>but as a lifestyle. He said that islam is morethan religion it's a way <br>of life and that is why they know when to pray, which way to face <br>during prayer, and what to do in the prayer because it is natural. He <br>said that he does not want Egypt or other nations to be ruled by Islam <br>but rather by secular governments which share the ideals of Islam. <br>This isn't hard because many of the guidelines of Islam are like the <br>guidelines in Christianity or Judaism. He didn't speak about <br>religions outside of the people of the book but I imagine that if they <br>were involved in the government he would disagree.<p>I realized today how similar most religions are and that the <br>differences lie in the way we worship. The conflict lies in the <br>lifestyle and the extremist radicals of each religion who feel that no <br>religion but their own should exist. Hamdallah explained that in Islam <br>as a rule, humans were created to serve humans and all other things on <br>the earth were created to serve us. I disagree with this but as far as <br>all humans serving one another I agree. He said that Muslims cannot do <br>what benefits themselves if it harms other people so I asked if Muslim <br>terrorists would be called Muslim by other Muslims. He gave me a <br>roundabout answer asking which terrorists I meant to which I responded <br>well what about 9/11. I felt bad as soon as it came out of my mouth <br>and wanted to give a general example about any Muslim who would <br>hypothetically strap a bomb to himself in a market. He asked why we <br>focus so much on muslim terrorists and not Jewish terrorists in gaza <br>or American terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq. I didn't like that he <br>didn't answer my question but I loved that he asked me about the other <br>acts of terrorism by groups outside of Islam. I answered that I had no <br>idea why we don't pay attention to that and elaborated saying that I <br>am pro Palestine and against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and I <br>ask myself the same question every day. We are the terrorists in the <br>middle east, all violence stems from us. I know that that is a <br>generalization but for the most part I think it's true.<p>We are killing civillians in both Iraq and afganistan. Why? Freedom. <br>But he said, and I agree, that killing people does not bring them <br>freedom. The Taliban may be gone, but other groups will arise and we <br>will be "forced" to expell them as well but at what cost? Again the <br>answer is lives and ultimately the cost of freedom. In answering <br>another unrelated question he gave answers to many other questions. <br>The answer he gave to a question stated that there needs to be someone <br>who has no prophet who can bridge Islam to christiansity to Judaism <br>who has no idols and does not want to be idolized. Who is fair but <br>understanding of everyones needs. While he said this I was thinking <br>that he would eventually say that we only need to wait for this person <br>to come along but then he suggested that this person is Allah. I had a <br>tough time with this because I know the negative impact of that word <br>in the west. Allah ultimately is the word for god but the different <br>spelling and pronunciation throws many people off. As long as the <br>mediator between east and west goes by the name of Allah I doubt there <br>will ever be legitimate negotiations and settlements. I hope that <br>someday someone can be respected enough by both the Muslim world and <br>the western world. This will be nearly impossible but we are about <br>1200 years overdue for a holy figure who will unite the people. <br>Someday, if religions are true; there must be another prophet right? <br>God can't have given his people all the answers in the bible, qur'an <br>etc. This brings me to one thing which I love about Islam and find <br>dissapointing in christaianity, and that is additions to the holy <br>text. In islam ishtihad is the process of adding more to the Quran, I <br>have never heard of anything similar to this in the bible. To be fair <br>however, it is nearly impossible to add to the quran but there is a <br>process.<p>I doubt religion and have trouble with faith in any religion that has <br>not been updated in hundreds of years. We have trouble in the US with <br>the language in our constitution because it is 300 years old how can <br>we say that we have the exact right interpretation of the bible or <br>Quran when the texts were written way before the constitution was even <br>considered. Especially since nothing has been added to either book <br>since their inception. I also find it hard to believe that in a span <br>of a few thousand years there were hundreds of people who were <br>important enough to be mentioned in the bible, bu in the last thousand <br>tears there have been none, if there is a god did he give up on us? Or <br>why have there been no more people worthy of addition to the bible.<p>I'm getting off track here but that's what happens when I think about <br>religion. It confuses me and I have thought about it everyday of my <br>life so i have a tough time with people who have such a strong faith <br>in their religion. Having faith in a religion is hard but trying <br>everyday to have faith in religion and failing to find any way to have <br>faith is much harder. I don't loom for reasons to not have faith in <br>religion or god, rather i look for a way to have faith in religion or <br>god but so far nobody has convinced me, I haven't convinced myself, <br>and god surely hasn't convinced me that he exists or that I should <br>have faith in his teachings. I have nothing against religious people <br>or any person of faith so please don't be offended, these are merely <br>questions I'm asking you and anyone else aloud and expressing my own <br>concerns. If you have any advice or anything you want to share please <br>feel free and I'll gladly share more of what I believe and the <br>thoughts I have about religion.<p>Anyway, I want to study the Issues in the middle east regarding <br>religious conflict. I know I'm not the mediator hamdallah was talking <br>about but without people trying to solve the issues now a mediator <br>will never be found and the strained relationships will only continue <br>to exist. If I can't do my part to help directly maybe I can help <br>find, educate, and inform the next generations who may be able to <br>bring about resolution. According to sheikh hamdallah all religions <br>must adapt to modernization just as nations and people must adapt as <br>well and I think that with the massive amounts of information around <br>the world that can be shared so easily today education and educating <br>people about the positives of Islam, the middle east, judaism, Israel, <br>Christianity, the united states, and every other religion and region <br>of the world is the best thing we can do to understand one another. So <br>if I don't make it as a big time person in foreign diplomacy Ill go <br>back to school as a teacher and recycle my knowledge and hopefully <br>someone I teach or share my knowledge with can do what needs to be done.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-73089596544732317112010-07-19T16:27:00.000-04:002010-07-19T16:29:57.251-04:00Middle Pyramid<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_N_NtafAtjJc/TES1ncc387I/AAAAAAAAAGc/augMhCEvQ8c/s1600/pyramid.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_N_NtafAtjJc/TES1ncc387I/AAAAAAAAAGc/augMhCEvQ8c/s400/pyramid.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495717134555673522" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-25792675990158426942010-07-19T16:13:00.001-04:002010-07-19T16:15:53.483-04:00Sphinx<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_N_NtafAtjJc/TESyWQRdlSI/AAAAAAAAAGU/P_qwjdiZCf4/s1600/sphinx.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_N_NtafAtjJc/TESyWQRdlSI/AAAAAAAAAGU/P_qwjdiZCf4/s400/sphinx.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495713540693923106" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3884869315666380871.post-66005640807346307782010-07-18T18:22:00.000-04:002010-07-19T01:35:01.688-04:00The weekendAny weekend where you have at least two firsts in your life should be <br>a good weekend. When you start to have three or more firsts in a <br>weekend it should be classified as great. Well I had at least tour <br>firsts but still this weekend was only good. Not because both days <br>were bad but rather one was fantastic and the other miserable. On <br>saturday Kayla and I got up at 9 and went to the pyramids at 10. <br>Originally yalda and Sara were going to join us but as we like to call <br>it here in Egypt they were they were being schlob-kebabs and stayed in <br>bed. We hailed a cab and were off to the pyramids. We got a metered <br>cab but about five minutes in he wanted to make his own price. He <br>asked how much and when we said thirty pounds the car screeched to a <br>halt and he said in his Arab accent "you crazy!!! 100 pounds <br>Egyptian!" we promtly got out and walked back in the direction we came <br>from so he couldn't follow us. But what do you know, the little devil <br>came at us in reverse. "okay okay 75 and we have deal" he said this <br>time. "la'a" Kayla and I said in unison and again walked away. I guess <br>he was adamant and he stopped us again and we negotiated him down to <br>fifty pounds. I was against accepting fifty because my experience with <br>taxis and the stories I have heard basically say that if you get out <br>of a cab because of disagreement DONT GET BACK IN!!! Why? Because <br>they will find ways to annoy you more or pay more. The fourth minute <br>cab ride was tense but calm. Kayla thought maybe he would take us to <br>the wrong place and then make us pay more when we finally got to the <br>pyramids. I told her that if he tried any more bullshit on us we would <br>get out and refuse to pay. He took us to the pyramids which we knew <br>even before we arrived. Starting a mile away people stop the taxi, <br>talk to the driver and then tell you "you must get out here my friend, <br>taxis cannot go any further you must ride a horse" and each time we <br>gave a one word answer "la'a". Soon enough our taxi driver realized we <br>were not idiots and didn't stop to talk to any more liars, smart man. <br>He did stop a bit before the gate, but for this we forgave him and <br>were almost thankful because it would have taken twenty minutes to <br>move the 100 yards through the horse ride hagglers. We got out and <br>paid fifty without any argument but the next hundred meters were <br>horrible. People yell at you from either side and say "no where you <br>going? Zee entrance here, must take horse". We knew these were lies <br>but still they are very convincing and I know lots of European, Asian, <br>and American tourists get ripped off and scammed everyday.<p>We finally got through the hordes with all of our money and no horse <br>rides. We bought tickets to enter the area (this was legit no worries) <br>and then began taking pictures of the last standing wonder of the <br>ancient world. It was HUGE. The middle pyramid was the only one to <br>give a hint to their grandeur of old. They are all still standing <br>perfectly but the great pyramid and small pyramid have become a sort <br>of step pyramid with jagged slopes. The middle pyramid is also like <br>this except the very top where the smooth sides are still visible I <br>hadn't realized that they weren't all still smooth but this didn't <br>dissapoint me. We took a ton of pictures and even got some with a <br>camel in background and us wearing turbans. We didn't mean for this <br>to happen but like most things in Egypt it happened too fast for us to <br>stop it. It cost us twenty pounds after we argued with he man that <br>fourth was too much. All of this while the tourist police stood by and <br>listened and did nothing. Because he didn't intervene he was probably <br>paid a commision (bakhshiish anyone?!). On the way out we haggled for <br>a cab to take us to the metro and got one for fifteen after jitneys <br>offered us rides for thirty and fourty pounds. The cabbie was sweet <br>and in his fifties but his taxi was older than him and much less <br>welcoming. We hoped on the metro and were back home by 1 30. We had <br>spent 20 dollars to see the pyramids, get there, and back all in less <br>than four hours. Plus no sunburn!<p>That night we went back to the movies and luckily didn't have any <br>bakhshiish problems. Instead we had four egyptians who laughed at us <br>the whole time. I wish I understood more arabicfor this movie because <br>the way the Egyptians were laughing at some scenes you wold think it <br>was the greatest comedy of all time. To us it sucked and was a boring <br>American plotline, so we left early and went back home.<p>This morning we woke up at 7 and were to be on the bus by 7 30. We <br>didn't leave until 7 45. Today was supposed to be a surprise trip <br>Buber had figured it out in advance and it turns out the only surprise <br>was that it took 4 hours to get there when originally we were told it <br>would take 2. We found out or were reaffirmed that we would be <br>visiting an oasis. Let me tell you one thing, oases are not like they <br>are shown in Tintin! But before that, the trip to the oasis. We got <br>stuck in Cairo traffic for a good hour and then less than an hour <br>beyond the traffic we are pulled over by a blue Toyota with three <br>armed soldiers in the back. We stopped for half an hour while three of <br>our egyptian friends talked to the men in the truck. Apparently they <br>were worried for our safety as tourists and would not let us go on <br>without them (I smell bakhshiish). They began driving ahead of us <br>leading our bus through back country roads rather than the highway. <br>His was pretty and much more scenic but also prolonged the bus ride by <br>an hour. Basically from the time we left Cairo until the oasis we <br>were surrounded by sand, sand, and more sand. It was amazing to see <br>the oasis suddenly like we did, in the middle of dunes. I don't know <br>how big most oases are but this one seemed rather large with a lake at <br>least the size of lake Arthur. There weren't many trees but the <br>desert was greener around the edges of the lake. We got to go swimming <br>and to my dismay it was saltwater. I thought oases were freshwater! <br>My only explanation forthis was that the sand from the desert makes <br>the water salty. The sahara isn't like the saltflats of western USA <br>but it is also a dried ocean bed and definitely has large quantities <br>of salt. It wasn't saltly like the medditeranean but the found was <br>disgusting, cover with knee deep muck. Once you got past this it was <br>fine and you could swim but then there was issue two, the water. I'm <br>spoiled by pool water, lake erie water, and Mediterranean water and <br>this was none of those. This was like pond water, I wasn't going to <br>let this ruin my one chance to swim in an oases and so I did my best <br>to keep my head above water.<p>Being there was the weirdest feeling, my body until my neck was cool <br>and refreshed and my head, untouched by water, was sweating. Being <br>that this was a lake in the sahara the sun was right above us and it <br>was hot. I put on sunscreen and left on my shirt and was oy in the <br>water for half an hour before showering and returning to the bus. We <br>didn't stay long but none of us wanted to, it was nice to be refreshed <br>by the water but I can't imagine spending the whe day there. I used <br>three layers of sunscreen on my face and was only in the sun for <br>thirty minutes but I still managed to get a sunburn. We headed back to <br>Cairo but stopped to eat lunch/dinner, see a show, and ride a camel. <br>Meanwhile the soldiers are still leading us around in their truck. The <br>system is very corrupt and even the Egyptians we were with couldn't <br>explain it entirely. Either way we bought them drinks everywhere we <br>stopped and offered them meals when we at as well. They did come in <br>handy because we had our own section if the beach where they prevented <br>other Egyptians from coming. Still the women had to wear shirts and <br>shorts but at least we didn't feel like we were being watched except <br>by the police.<p>After dinner we drive back and managed to ditch the police. How much <br>or if we paid bakshiish I'm not sure but it was a very interesting <br>experience not unlike the DMZ in Korea where soldiers also lead us <br>around. The drive back was four hours but this time we spent two hours <br>in Cairo traffic which was so slow that some people got off our bus <br>and walked along side just so they could stretch their legs. I know <br>today didn't sound horrible and the things we did were all exciting <br>but siting on a bus in the sahara with no AC sucks. The only thing to <br>male I worse? Moving slow enough that now air blows in through the <br>windows. The only thing worse? Having no empty seats and a girl fall <br>asleep on your shoulder. Malish, it was still a good weekend I guess <br>and now that I have had time to wind down from the stressful bus ride <br>and write this I can enjoy it much more. I will have stories to tell <br>about the soldiers and camel but I'll save those for later or for when <br>I'm back home. But for now Im going to lay down and put an end to a <br>good, okay a great weekend...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1