Tonight we're leaving Cairo (37 degrees C) for Luxor and Aswan (44 and 41 degrees C respectively). Since we'll be on a Nile cruise, my access to the internet may be very limited. We'll be back in Cairo on Sunday.
I have updated some of the late postings from Italy. To see them, click on the "Late Blog Post" link below this post.
Monday, July 14, 2008
What's on TV?
What type of television shows our country is exporting to Egypt:
Pimp my Ride (from MTV)
Cold Case
American Gladiators (the new version)
Kojak
Las Vegas
Law and Order: Criminal Intent
And last but not least:
The Dukes of Hazzards (Yes, from the 70’s. I can not make this up.)
Pimp my Ride (from MTV)
Cold Case
American Gladiators (the new version)
Kojak
Las Vegas
Law and Order: Criminal Intent
And last but not least:
The Dukes of Hazzards (Yes, from the 70’s. I can not make this up.)
Response
Amy left a great comment, what do Egyptians say when they meet you? First of all, I can only comment on what they say to me in English, what they say in Arabic is something unknown to me. When you walk down the street many vendors and even children will call out “Hello!” and “Welcome!” I have had more conversations with people outside of Cairo which makes sense; in the States it’s easier to talk to a local in the Mid-West than New York City.
1. Where are you from?
2. Who do you like better, McCain or Obama?
3. Do you like Egypt?
4. You have family?
5. How long are you staying in Egypt?
On the question of the presidential candidates, this question comes from men right away. You will literally be meeting with someone for less than three minutes and they will pull that question out. Overall, the Egyptians I’ve met are Obama supporters; they’re afraid with McCain we’ll be in Iraq forever. Like a taxi drivers in Cairo said, “I love America, but not George Bush.” From the lectures we’ve been attending at the Fulbright Office, there certainly are some Egyptians who are not happy with America, but they’re not happy with their own government either. Just like we have stereotypes of other cultures, they have stereotypes of us as well.
One thing that took a while to get used to as a woman, are the men who stare, leer, and honk. This has happened mostly in Cairo, and it is grating on the nerves. What’s odd is that men will exhibit the same behavior to traditionally veiled, Muslim women, as they do to me, a Western woman exposing her arms and hair. This really bothered me the first week I was here, but now it doesn’t; you just ignore it. I will admit I do like the “women’s only” cars on the Metro. They’re much less crowded and there no chance for public groping.
Our group is made up of ten teachers from the Jeffo School System, six high school teachers and four middle school teachers. They mostly teach geography, history, civics, etc., and have various topics for their projects. There are four of us from Metro State; an Islamic historian, a criminologist, a scholar with an international studies background who teaches with the Women’s Studies Department and me, the art historian. The Criminologist, Allison Cotton, is studying Female Genitalia Mutilation (FGM) and has been surprised on how open and honest Egyptian woman are on this topic. It is illegal to perform FGM here in Egypt, but the practice still continues. Arlene from the Woman’s Studies Department has been looking at the portrayal of women in advertising and the media. Paul is gathering information on an article he is writing (I can recall what exactly it’s on; his specialty is the Fatimid’s.). We're all really sponges over here, just absorbing everything and anything, even if it is not directly related to our work.
The big obstacle I’m hitting is that some museums I wanted to visit are closed (such as the Islamic Art Museum in Cairo and the Greco-Roman Museum in Alexandria) and those I am visiting don’t allow photography in the museum – at all. (The Egyptian Museum and the Coptic Art Museum won’t even allow you to bring a camera inside the building, even with pressure from the Fulbright office.) Of course, I can buy books in the gift shop, but many times those books focus on the popular pieces. The last thing I need is another image of King Tutankhamen’s throne; I want images of the odd, “unpopular” pieces that are not in the books. Of course, I’m still getting a ton of images I can use, but you always remember the ones that got away.
1. Where are you from?
2. Who do you like better, McCain or Obama?
3. Do you like Egypt?
4. You have family?
5. How long are you staying in Egypt?
On the question of the presidential candidates, this question comes from men right away. You will literally be meeting with someone for less than three minutes and they will pull that question out. Overall, the Egyptians I’ve met are Obama supporters; they’re afraid with McCain we’ll be in Iraq forever. Like a taxi drivers in Cairo said, “I love America, but not George Bush.” From the lectures we’ve been attending at the Fulbright Office, there certainly are some Egyptians who are not happy with America, but they’re not happy with their own government either. Just like we have stereotypes of other cultures, they have stereotypes of us as well.
One thing that took a while to get used to as a woman, are the men who stare, leer, and honk. This has happened mostly in Cairo, and it is grating on the nerves. What’s odd is that men will exhibit the same behavior to traditionally veiled, Muslim women, as they do to me, a Western woman exposing her arms and hair. This really bothered me the first week I was here, but now it doesn’t; you just ignore it. I will admit I do like the “women’s only” cars on the Metro. They’re much less crowded and there no chance for public groping.
Our group is made up of ten teachers from the Jeffo School System, six high school teachers and four middle school teachers. They mostly teach geography, history, civics, etc., and have various topics for their projects. There are four of us from Metro State; an Islamic historian, a criminologist, a scholar with an international studies background who teaches with the Women’s Studies Department and me, the art historian. The Criminologist, Allison Cotton, is studying Female Genitalia Mutilation (FGM) and has been surprised on how open and honest Egyptian woman are on this topic. It is illegal to perform FGM here in Egypt, but the practice still continues. Arlene from the Woman’s Studies Department has been looking at the portrayal of women in advertising and the media. Paul is gathering information on an article he is writing (I can recall what exactly it’s on; his specialty is the Fatimid’s.). We're all really sponges over here, just absorbing everything and anything, even if it is not directly related to our work.
The big obstacle I’m hitting is that some museums I wanted to visit are closed (such as the Islamic Art Museum in Cairo and the Greco-Roman Museum in Alexandria) and those I am visiting don’t allow photography in the museum – at all. (The Egyptian Museum and the Coptic Art Museum won’t even allow you to bring a camera inside the building, even with pressure from the Fulbright office.) Of course, I can buy books in the gift shop, but many times those books focus on the popular pieces. The last thing I need is another image of King Tutankhamen’s throne; I want images of the odd, “unpopular” pieces that are not in the books. Of course, I’m still getting a ton of images I can use, but you always remember the ones that got away.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Question time
All right guys, this weekend I'll have internet access. So before I head to Luxor for the week (with questionable access), I want to hear from you. A shout out. A comment. A question. Stop lurking. I've got a little less than three weeks left of this trip and I need some interactions from home.
To get the ball rolling I've thought of some lists:
Top Five things I miss from the States (other than family or my dog)
1. My washer and drier. (Seriously, this doing laundry in the sink is getting old, and the hotel porters stop and count every piece before they take it to be washed. Ask my roommate how she liked her underthings being counted in the hotel lobby. Oh yes.)
2. Free and ample toilet paper at public restrooms. 'Nuff said.
3. My bed and pillow.
4. Wireless 24/7. I'm so out of touch with the rest of the world, it's not funny.
5. Mexican food. (I have stopped talking about all food from America, because it just makes me crave it even more. Do not talk to me about cookies.)
Top Five Things I miss about Europe: (This one is tough.)
1. Cappucino for breakfast in Italy.
2. Wine with dinner, pretty much every night.
3. Chruch bells ringing. In almost every place we stayed there was some type of church bell. For some reason I really liked them.
4. Really long, unrushed dinners.
5. Their public transportation. (Ok the trains in Italy weren't all that great, but they worked.)
Top Five Things I will miss about Egypt:
1. Fresh Mango Juice. (I've never tasted any better.)
2. Pitas and hummus. We get it almost every meal, and I eat it up.
3. Our tour guide, Selma. She's so smart and knows so much about people.
4. Snorkling in the Red Sea. I'm still amazed at what I saw.
5. The Egyptians themselves. Once you get past the lurkers and vendors, Egyptian people are very friendly. They are so happy to meet someone from America.
Your turn now - add your comments!
To get the ball rolling I've thought of some lists:
Top Five things I miss from the States (other than family or my dog)
1. My washer and drier. (Seriously, this doing laundry in the sink is getting old, and the hotel porters stop and count every piece before they take it to be washed. Ask my roommate how she liked her underthings being counted in the hotel lobby. Oh yes.)
2. Free and ample toilet paper at public restrooms. 'Nuff said.
3. My bed and pillow.
4. Wireless 24/7. I'm so out of touch with the rest of the world, it's not funny.
5. Mexican food. (I have stopped talking about all food from America, because it just makes me crave it even more. Do not talk to me about cookies.)
Top Five Things I miss about Europe: (This one is tough.)
1. Cappucino for breakfast in Italy.
2. Wine with dinner, pretty much every night.
3. Chruch bells ringing. In almost every place we stayed there was some type of church bell. For some reason I really liked them.
4. Really long, unrushed dinners.
5. Their public transportation. (Ok the trains in Italy weren't all that great, but they worked.)
Top Five Things I will miss about Egypt:
1. Fresh Mango Juice. (I've never tasted any better.)
2. Pitas and hummus. We get it almost every meal, and I eat it up.
3. Our tour guide, Selma. She's so smart and knows so much about people.
4. Snorkling in the Red Sea. I'm still amazed at what I saw.
5. The Egyptians themselves. Once you get past the lurkers and vendors, Egyptian people are very friendly. They are so happy to meet someone from America.
Your turn now - add your comments!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
On my own in El Arish
We had some time in the morning before we returned to Cairo. I decided to go for a walk with my camera. I walked down the main drag which runs parallel with the coast.
A painted-tile mural:
Sheesha pipes outside a café:
I then turned left, away from the hotels and into the town. With my very limited Arabic and charades, I was able to take some photos of the locals.
A customer, a baker and a construction worker:
A bookstore sign. (No, my Arabic is not that good! Selma told me what this said.)
The man was spreading the bread out on to the low block wall. (Yes, that is a Nike hat he is wearing.)
When I asked this man if I could take his photo, he said “Yes, I love America,” and raised his bottle above his head. Maybe he wanted to look like the Statue of Liberty? I have no clue.
When I first walked by this bakery, the little boy (in the center) said “Hello” to me. I asked if I could take his photo and he said yes and ran inside the bakery. His older brother on the right ame out, pushed his brothers away and said to only take a photo of him. I shook my head "La!" (No!) and montioned to his brothers. He shrugged and allowed them in the photo.
A painted-tile mural:
Sheesha pipes outside a café:
I then turned left, away from the hotels and into the town. With my very limited Arabic and charades, I was able to take some photos of the locals.
A customer, a baker and a construction worker:
A bookstore sign. (No, my Arabic is not that good! Selma told me what this said.)
The man was spreading the bread out on to the low block wall. (Yes, that is a Nike hat he is wearing.)
When I asked this man if I could take his photo, he said “Yes, I love America,” and raised his bottle above his head. Maybe he wanted to look like the Statue of Liberty? I have no clue.
When I first walked by this bakery, the little boy (in the center) said “Hello” to me. I asked if I could take his photo and he said yes and ran inside the bakery. His older brother on the right ame out, pushed his brothers away and said to only take a photo of him. I shook my head "La!" (No!) and montioned to his brothers. He shrugged and allowed them in the photo.
I lovd getting out of the tourist area and really see how people live. They were as intrested in me, as I was them. Many saw me and said "Hello! Welcome! I love America!"
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