20 September 2008
View From Space
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Here's a quick post before I go to bed. This is the Nasr City, Cairo with markers for our apartment.
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17 September 2008
Yay! Pictures!
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16 September 2008
Daily News
So today, the day before school starts, I got my class list and a syllabus with a lot of persistence. I basically asked the same three people for stuff all day over and over again until they just couldn’t ignore me anymore.
I’m almost a hundred percent sure tomorrow will be a disaster. Everyone keeps saying “God be with you”. The students are apparently going to spend the whole day crying, and it’s my job to make them comfortable…
One of the things I didn’t get today is a schedule. I have two classrooms, and I have no idea exactly where I’m supposed to be in the morning (ahhh!). I asked Mrs. Jane, the principal, where I should be, but she just said “whatever room you want”…does that confuse anyone else? Good new is, the kids are only going to be at school for a few hours so they can get the feel for the whole thing. This way I'll get to kind of ease into it. The staff has designated a whole 2 hours to get them all on the right buses which I think is hilarious.
Other than school, things we’ve been doing pretty much consist of café, café, café, and so on. Apparently it’s the only thing to do during Ramadan. I don’t mind so much, sheesha and good company is always fun.
Anyway, café’s are everywhere…take a step in any direction and ta-dah! Café! Café’s always serve sheesha, coffee, and juices. Paul’s favorite drink is mango. He’s been drinking so much of it he’ll probably turn orange. I’m pretty sure they make the juices by simply pulverizing the fruit; the drinks are really thick and scrumptious. Sheesha is delicious too, and since it’s everywhere, the streets are perfumed with the smell of it.
Getting around is relatively easy. Everybody drives it seems and usually whoever we’re with at the time is happy to tote us around. Cabs are everywhere. There are two kinds, the yellow cabs, which are new and air conditioned and come complete with a working meter. Tourists usually take these since you don’t have to haggle over a price. Paul and I have never ridden in one. We prefer the black and white cabs. These are usually really, really old cars often decked out with flashing lights and a furry dashboard. They have meters, but they’re just for show in case they get pulled over, so this makes prices negotiable. Paul and I have discovered that you should never ask how much, simply get out of the cab and hand them whatever is reasonable. It's easy to be taken advantage of as a foreigner. Sometimes they’ll tell you “more”, but you just have to be firm. Fortunately a majority of the cabbies haven’t given us any problems.
Also, although Cairo is one of the biggest cities in Africa, it’s also one of the safest. It has a lower crime rate than the US and the UK. Everyone walks around really late at night. As a female you have to be a little more careful. As a foreigner you get a lot of attention anyway, and guys like to make kissy sounds at you constantly, its obnoxious, and all the other guys we’ve met apologize for it constantly. But everything is tolerable. In a conversation with a Russian teacher at school, she was telling me that if you get even in the slightest bit of trouble, you just holler and hundreds of people will come out of nowhere to help you…cool right! I haven’t seen a single cop car. Apparently they only hang out at the tourist spots.
Paul and I are going to try cooking at my place tonight. It'll be an experiment; our appliances are pretty finicky. Our apartment kept blowing a fuse for no apparent reason today. It’s only pasta so we’ll manage.
more...
I’m almost a hundred percent sure tomorrow will be a disaster. Everyone keeps saying “God be with you”. The students are apparently going to spend the whole day crying, and it’s my job to make them comfortable…
One of the things I didn’t get today is a schedule. I have two classrooms, and I have no idea exactly where I’m supposed to be in the morning (ahhh!). I asked Mrs. Jane, the principal, where I should be, but she just said “whatever room you want”…does that confuse anyone else? Good new is, the kids are only going to be at school for a few hours so they can get the feel for the whole thing. This way I'll get to kind of ease into it. The staff has designated a whole 2 hours to get them all on the right buses which I think is hilarious.
Other than school, things we’ve been doing pretty much consist of café, café, café, and so on. Apparently it’s the only thing to do during Ramadan. I don’t mind so much, sheesha and good company is always fun.
Anyway, café’s are everywhere…take a step in any direction and ta-dah! Café! Café’s always serve sheesha, coffee, and juices. Paul’s favorite drink is mango. He’s been drinking so much of it he’ll probably turn orange. I’m pretty sure they make the juices by simply pulverizing the fruit; the drinks are really thick and scrumptious. Sheesha is delicious too, and since it’s everywhere, the streets are perfumed with the smell of it.
Getting around is relatively easy. Everybody drives it seems and usually whoever we’re with at the time is happy to tote us around. Cabs are everywhere. There are two kinds, the yellow cabs, which are new and air conditioned and come complete with a working meter. Tourists usually take these since you don’t have to haggle over a price. Paul and I have never ridden in one. We prefer the black and white cabs. These are usually really, really old cars often decked out with flashing lights and a furry dashboard. They have meters, but they’re just for show in case they get pulled over, so this makes prices negotiable. Paul and I have discovered that you should never ask how much, simply get out of the cab and hand them whatever is reasonable. It's easy to be taken advantage of as a foreigner. Sometimes they’ll tell you “more”, but you just have to be firm. Fortunately a majority of the cabbies haven’t given us any problems.
Also, although Cairo is one of the biggest cities in Africa, it’s also one of the safest. It has a lower crime rate than the US and the UK. Everyone walks around really late at night. As a female you have to be a little more careful. As a foreigner you get a lot of attention anyway, and guys like to make kissy sounds at you constantly, its obnoxious, and all the other guys we’ve met apologize for it constantly. But everything is tolerable. In a conversation with a Russian teacher at school, she was telling me that if you get even in the slightest bit of trouble, you just holler and hundreds of people will come out of nowhere to help you…cool right! I haven’t seen a single cop car. Apparently they only hang out at the tourist spots.
Paul and I are going to try cooking at my place tonight. It'll be an experiment; our appliances are pretty finicky. Our apartment kept blowing a fuse for no apparent reason today. It’s only pasta so we’ll manage.
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14 September 2008
Katie's Apartment
Here are some pictures of my apartment which I shares with 2 (soon to be 3) other girls.
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My First and Longest Post Ever!
So the blog has officially been started. Paul and I have decided to be coauthors on the same blog since we’ll have the same pictures and stories. Internet has been a bit sketchy though so posting may be less often than I initially intended. There is no internet in the apartment, but we would like to set it up. Unfortunately, it is an ordeal to set up anything in Egypt. There's a Starbucks down the street that seemed like a sure deal at first, but it turns out they only have internet about half the time. There are many other internet café’s around but all Egyptian shops are operating on Ramadan time. I’ll go ahead and warn everyone now that this first post will probably be excruciatingly long simply because it’s the first post and I feel like I have to catch everyone up.
As far as I’m concerned everyone knows we made it here. We flew on Egyptair, which I have since heard is nicknamed “Egypt-Scare” due to the fact that they use incredibly old Russian planes. The flight was fine, but neither of us slept very well. Once in the airport, it’s super easy to get a visa. You simply walk up to a booth hand the guy $15 and you’re set.
Mousad showed up a little late and drove us to our apartments. Both Paul and I live in Nasr City, which is part of New Cairo. It’s a very desirable place for people to live right now, but there’s not a whole lot around it. We needed this location since the school is kind of on the outskirts of the city. Our bus ride is already pretty close to 45 minutes with traffic. I guess it makes sense to put the schools outside of town so the noise level is better, but it feels really strange to be out there surrounded by desert.
So anyway, I’m sure most of you have already heard about the apartment situation. Basically my apartment rocks and Paul’s doesn't. My apartment is huge and so far everyone has their own room…although we’ve heard we may be getting another roommate.
Paul and I are getting used to living apart and are adventuring between and around the neighborhoods. The distance between our apartments is a 10-15 minute walk or a 3 pound cab ride (less than a buck). Paul’s apartment is much better since we cleaned it, and the bed situation is looking a little better everyday. His Kitchen ceiling leaks though, and roaches and a rat trap were discovered in the cleaning process (eeeek!!!).
A tidbit about the school. I don’t have a schedule, I don’t have a syllabus, I don’t know the curriculum, I don’t have a class list, I have no idea what the grading system is like, I don’t know what supplies the children will have, and I have had ABSOLUTELY NO training. I’ve simply dealt with the fact that I’m going to be completely unprepared on Wednesday, I'm about ready to start taking matters into my own hands. And you wonder why "Inshallah" (god willing) follows every other sentence. I’ll tell you all how it goes after Wednesday.
Roommates. My two roommates are very nice. Faye is from Seattle and is sassy as hell. My other roommate is Anna who is from Virginia, but her family is from Sudan. She’s very sweet and quiet. Fun fact for everyone, her cousin is the crazy tall Sudanese guy in the movie I Heart Huckabees. Paul’s roommates are both from London. Tom is 26 and likes to order 2 milkshakes at a time. It’s fascinating the amount this kid can eat. Saleh has family from Bangladesh and has never lived away from home before, so he was a bit homesick for awhile, but feels much better now.
I know I’ve mentioned Ramadan a little in some of my e-mails, but it’s really interesting because it seems to affect every aspect of Cairo. Basically, Ramadan is a religious observance in which Muslim’s fast from dawn until sunset, meaning they can’t eat or drink or smoke anything (which I really don’t understand because it’s just so damn hot). Work schedules are not the norm, which has been nice because the school day is much shorter as of right now. Many Egyptians sleep all day as a way to survive the fast and then stay out till the early hours of the morning. Breakfast (which I haven’t determined if it’s called breakfast because it’s the first meal of the day, or if it’s because they are breaking fast) takes place around 6:00. During this time there is absolutely no traffic and the streets are empty because everyone has hustled there ass home or to the nearest restaurant to eat. So, if you are hungry during this time, you have to make a reservation. Lucky for us, Nour has invited us over almost every night for Iftar at his parent’s house. Also during the day and during breakfast, shops are closed because Egyptians are either sleeping or eating. Then, after breakfast, the streets are incredibly crowded with people and traffic. Adults and children can be seen walking the streets until the early hours of the morning. Shops are also open incredibly late…shopping at night is actually optimal. Prayers are also broadcast around the city five times a day, which adds a unique twist to the environment, but can also be quite obnoxious.
I’m looking forward to end of Ramadon because we get our first vacation…yay! We’re going to an area called Marsalam, where we’re going to stay in huts and snorkel in the red sea. All this for 500 pounds, about 100 dollars….mmmmmm…life is good. We did have the opportunity to get or diving certification, but its way more expensive and Paul’s lung thing won’t allow it.
I feel like there is still so much I’ve left out. I have a list of things I want to talk about, but I think I’m done for today. Keep your eyes peeled for more posts soon. Hugs to everyone.
more...
As far as I’m concerned everyone knows we made it here. We flew on Egyptair, which I have since heard is nicknamed “Egypt-Scare” due to the fact that they use incredibly old Russian planes. The flight was fine, but neither of us slept very well. Once in the airport, it’s super easy to get a visa. You simply walk up to a booth hand the guy $15 and you’re set.
Mousad showed up a little late and drove us to our apartments. Both Paul and I live in Nasr City, which is part of New Cairo. It’s a very desirable place for people to live right now, but there’s not a whole lot around it. We needed this location since the school is kind of on the outskirts of the city. Our bus ride is already pretty close to 45 minutes with traffic. I guess it makes sense to put the schools outside of town so the noise level is better, but it feels really strange to be out there surrounded by desert.
So anyway, I’m sure most of you have already heard about the apartment situation. Basically my apartment rocks and Paul’s doesn't. My apartment is huge and so far everyone has their own room…although we’ve heard we may be getting another roommate.
Paul and I are getting used to living apart and are adventuring between and around the neighborhoods. The distance between our apartments is a 10-15 minute walk or a 3 pound cab ride (less than a buck). Paul’s apartment is much better since we cleaned it, and the bed situation is looking a little better everyday. His Kitchen ceiling leaks though, and roaches and a rat trap were discovered in the cleaning process (eeeek!!!).
A tidbit about the school. I don’t have a schedule, I don’t have a syllabus, I don’t know the curriculum, I don’t have a class list, I have no idea what the grading system is like, I don’t know what supplies the children will have, and I have had ABSOLUTELY NO training. I’ve simply dealt with the fact that I’m going to be completely unprepared on Wednesday, I'm about ready to start taking matters into my own hands. And you wonder why "Inshallah" (god willing) follows every other sentence. I’ll tell you all how it goes after Wednesday.
Roommates. My two roommates are very nice. Faye is from Seattle and is sassy as hell. My other roommate is Anna who is from Virginia, but her family is from Sudan. She’s very sweet and quiet. Fun fact for everyone, her cousin is the crazy tall Sudanese guy in the movie I Heart Huckabees. Paul’s roommates are both from London. Tom is 26 and likes to order 2 milkshakes at a time. It’s fascinating the amount this kid can eat. Saleh has family from Bangladesh and has never lived away from home before, so he was a bit homesick for awhile, but feels much better now.
I know I’ve mentioned Ramadan a little in some of my e-mails, but it’s really interesting because it seems to affect every aspect of Cairo. Basically, Ramadan is a religious observance in which Muslim’s fast from dawn until sunset, meaning they can’t eat or drink or smoke anything (which I really don’t understand because it’s just so damn hot). Work schedules are not the norm, which has been nice because the school day is much shorter as of right now. Many Egyptians sleep all day as a way to survive the fast and then stay out till the early hours of the morning. Breakfast (which I haven’t determined if it’s called breakfast because it’s the first meal of the day, or if it’s because they are breaking fast) takes place around 6:00. During this time there is absolutely no traffic and the streets are empty because everyone has hustled there ass home or to the nearest restaurant to eat. So, if you are hungry during this time, you have to make a reservation. Lucky for us, Nour has invited us over almost every night for Iftar at his parent’s house. Also during the day and during breakfast, shops are closed because Egyptians are either sleeping or eating. Then, after breakfast, the streets are incredibly crowded with people and traffic. Adults and children can be seen walking the streets until the early hours of the morning. Shops are also open incredibly late…shopping at night is actually optimal. Prayers are also broadcast around the city five times a day, which adds a unique twist to the environment, but can also be quite obnoxious.
I’m looking forward to end of Ramadon because we get our first vacation…yay! We’re going to an area called Marsalam, where we’re going to stay in huts and snorkel in the red sea. All this for 500 pounds, about 100 dollars….mmmmmm…life is good. We did have the opportunity to get or diving certification, but its way more expensive and Paul’s lung thing won’t allow it.
I feel like there is still so much I’ve left out. I have a list of things I want to talk about, but I think I’m done for today. Keep your eyes peeled for more posts soon. Hugs to everyone.
more...
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