Only 3 weeks left!

Wow, how time flies! I've got to thank Mike Palmer for hooking me up with the new (supplemental) internship/volunteership with USAID in Cairo. Working at the social work center in Shobra hasn't exactly been the most stimulating work I've ever had (although I love learning/teaching), and I wanted to get some more in depth and meaningful experience while I'm still here. They definitely needed help because one of their staff is taking some time off for the next couple of weeks, and I'm basically helping with editing the content that they put in their reports and brochures for the Agricultural Section. It's only in the mornings (I still work in Shobra in the afternoons) but I've already meet some great people and I feel like I'm getting awesome exposure as to how USAID works in this part of society. As it turns out, the U of M and many other mid-west Universities (especially U of I) are contributing a lot of their expertise to the whole project. The main goal of the project that I'm working on is to make Egyptian crops more competitive on International markets and this involves researching and implementing new techniques, cooperating with the private and public sectors, and keeping the academic side of things up to speed (in a nutshell). It probably doesn't sound too exciting, but it's so interesting reading real world reports and helping with the dissemination of information (even if only on a small scale). The boss really appreciates the help (as far as I can tell) and said he'd love to have me back for a full scale internship in the future. It's also really testing my writing skills, because the English callibre of the secretaries is very professional and technical, and their errors are so subtle yet I find myself refreshing my English vocabulary just by reading what they've got.
I'll be going to upper (southern) Egypt on a 3 day trip with friends tonight, but it looks like my proposed trip to countries to the east may be hampered because of security concerns. We'll see. Basically, I plan on traveling either to the northeast or south around the 5th, till about the 15th, then fly home. They got dirt bikes in the Sinai, and that's definitely on the agenda too. All else is good, but I wonder about the proliferation of video games. I definitely had my fair share of this addiction, but I've noticed that some of the few internet cafes here are packed with youngsters playing for hours on end rather than learning about the wonders of the world available via the internet. It's almost like a mirror into part of my past, and it reminds of how young I still am and how precious time really is. MARK, IF YOU MISSED THE PART ABOUT DIRTBIKES, I REPEAT, DIRTBIKES IN THE SINAI, CAMPING, DIRT ASS CHEAP! I'll call you soon. Take care everyone.

Garbage City and Interfaith Dialogue

A few friends and I ventured to a district of Cairo known as 'Garbage City' the other week. The trip was impromtu- we just wanted to see what everyone kept telling us about- but it was a real eye opener. Garbage city is a predominately Coptic Christian community overlooking the City of Dead (I don't make these names up, they're just nicknames of course) and it's where large sums Cairo's garbage ends up getting deposited. The first place we went to was a church that was built into a sandstone mountain that overlooks the area. The entire churchgrounds was magnificant, with beautiful carvings and etchings throughout the mountainside (kind of like mount Rushmore). It quickly became apparent the the churchgrounds served as a tranquil retreat from what lay outside its gate. We were very surprised to see so many people rummaging through the loads of garbage that came in, in the streets, in garage after garage, but it's not as bad it may sound. There's a bit of a stench that you get used to, and the piles of trash aren't in the roads but rather in garages, and things are a bit more systematic than first meets the eye. I met a very friendly man named Rizk who told me a brief history about the area. He said that garbage city didn't used to have the concrete and brick appartment complexes that now dominated much of the landscape, but rather it used to be filled with tin shacks much like the isolated one he pointed out on a hillside which now is thankfully used for livestock (yet of course many people still do have it pretty bad). In the eighties, a Belgian woman (amongst others) visited garbage city and wanted to do something about raising the standard of living of the people and raised money from international donors to set up several development projects in the community. Rizk's place was right next to the school that this woman set up, and was from the first graduating class that trained the community how to make the most of their lot by teaching them foreign languages, business practices, and various other skills. Recycling and pig farming have become major industries and many people make their living by seperating the garbage. Sanitation issues are more acute here than I've ever seen, and Rizk has invited me and my fellow Salamers to come back for a more in depth tour of the area. We didn't have enough time to go over everything, but NGOs such as Habitat for Humanity are doing their best and I can't wait to learn more about how this local community makes ends meet, and how I can help.
On another note, a Lebanese, an Egyptian, an Israeli and I (American) had the most delightful and insightful discussion about current affairs the other night. It was so nice because everyone was so eager to reach some kind of common understanding about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict/occupation which can be hard because the issue can get quite emotional for people and I've seen similar conversations denigrate quickly. I've spoken with many Egyptians about the issue, but having an Israeli present this time really made for a much more diverse and meaningful conversation (not to mention the Lebanese person). Of course it would have been the best if a Palestinian, a Syrian and a Jordanian were also part of the discussion but we had to make due with what we had. All three Abrahamic faiths were represented, and focusing on shared faith and history made the most headway throughout the 5 hour friendly debate. In the end, I believe security and living standards were understood to be the most important issues for everyone, and it was a great exercise that made us remember that there are multitudes of different peace and war camps on all sides, and that labeling people with broad strokes is usually conterproductive. I look forward to more conversations like this, this is really what the whole Salaam program is about- creating dialogue, understanding and cooperation.
I'd also like to thank my mother for giving me a wonderful book called "Leap of Faith : Memoirs of an Unexpected Life by Queen Noor" about Jordanian Queen Noor who was married to the late King Hussein (God keep him). Not only was it inspiring and insightful, but it has made for invaluable conversation with the local Egyptians who tend to have a different opinion about the monumental events mentioned in the book. It's so great hearing everyone's percpective and I love reminding people (and myself) what one would do if they were in the other person's shoes. Everyone really wants the same thing, and bringing people back to the fundamental human principles usually reminds everyone that we're all related and progress is made. I know these conversations aren't trivial and that they'll serve us well in the future but I still feel like I'm crawling rather than walking. I suppose it's only natural, I'm sure I'm not the first or last college student to have angst. Love you all.

Week 2 (or 4, but who's counting!)

Hello! Last weekend we finally went to the Mediterranean in Alexandria and had a really nice break. Work is great but the teaching aspect of my job is bit challenging because of the various English levels of my students. Fortunately there's only about 7 of them that regularly come, so that makes it easier to devout the much needed individual time to each of them. Given their various interests, I've found it much easier to throw extensive noun and adjective lists at them and let them decide which words are most important to each of them on an individual basis. I've got a very nice translation program called al-wafee which will translate hundreds of words at a time, of course it's not perfect, but after going over the words with the students, I've found it's accurate about 90% of time. Playing charades is a great alternative if there's any confusion too, but I've noticed that some of the students want to move beyond the basic tenses which I insist they all need more practice with. Many Arab speakers will often put "ing" on verbs incorrectly (or misconjugate some other way) but the simple present, present continuous, simple past and the simple future are simply too important to overlook, albeit boring. So, that's teaching... I'm really loving the fact that things are becoming routine. It's taken me about 3 weeks to really adjust to the time, and I've figured out what local treats to stay away from. As tasty as tea really is, I noticed the other day that it's very much a stimulant like coffee and that it's been throwing me off. People at work have noticed right away that I've got more energy in the afternoons now, and I'm friendlier too (I was a bit more of a crab in the morning before putting 2 and 2 together). A regular at our house (one of many) Mu-uh-thhum has found a Quran for me that's translated into Amaya and English on top of Fosha, and this little treasure will really come in handy in the future. He said it's pretty rare, and I'm so grateful for his effort in finding this for me. I feel like I'm learning 2 languages here, so this will help greatly. As far as the question on nomadlife is concerned, I think relationships here are basically the same as they are throughout the world. People have friends and acquaintances and discuss various matters throughout their daily lives. I've found people here (especially in Shobra El-Khama) much friendlier than the average American from any walk of life however. I'm sure some of this has to do with their curiosity about Americans and American pop culture which is hard to escape (anywhere in the world), but I know it's something deeper in their admirable upbringing which stresses polite and courteous manners with strangers. Certain differences are unmistakable. Blatant PDA (public display of affection), such as kissing on the mouth and groping, is not allowed yet understandably so (it's even rude in certain parts of the US too). Curiously enough though, Egyptians engage in subtle PDA quite often and men walking hand in arm is not uncommon. My friends do this with me when we walk in the streets, and we all understand it's simply a sign of friendship. It's comforting really, and I just pretend I'm 5 and completely oblivious to the otherwise (conservative) American taboo. Families are much more of a cohesive social unit here, and many children often live with their parents until they get married. Many businesses are family run, and I often hear about how hard it can be to break into certain businesses that are run as such. I'm no expert on the issue, but it would make sense, seeing as the major social unit is the family rather than the individual. As a whole, these are some of the nicest people I've ever met.

My first blog!

Hello everyone! I'm spending the summer in Cairo, Egypt through a program called the Salaam Inititiative (or Peace Initiative) with AIESEC International. AIESEC is the largest student run organization in the world and facilitates exchange and internship opportunities around the world. I was fortunate enough to be one of the 55 or so young individuals chosen for Salaam which was set up after 9/11 to encourage cultural exchange between Americans and people from the Middle East (Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates specifically).
I've been in Cairo for about 2 weeks now and I've been so blessed with everyone I've encountered. People from the local AIESEC chapter have been so warm, helpful and eager to teach us about Egyptian culture and we're all becoming great friends. I live in a 5 room apartment that is nicknamed "the palace" with 8 other Americans and 1 Brazilian. Aptly named, the palace must be a colonial relic, and it's vaulted ceilings, antique furniture, and shotty plumbing are really quite charming and have far surpassed any expectations I could have ever had. To boot, the rent is only $100 dollars a month!
After about a week of orientation, sight seeing and hanging out, I finally received my development traineeship/internship in the Shoobra district of Cairo. I work in a community social center that provides a variety of services for local residents including: learning opportunities for people of all ages, maternal training courses and microfinance lending amongst various other coordination roles in the community. The environment is extremely friendly and we are all having a blast teaching each other about our respective cultures.
I basically have 2 roles at the Shoobra social work center; one is to teach English, and the other is to write up a brochure about what the center does and then follow up the brochure by acting as an ambassador of sorts (as yet to be determined). At first I wasn’t too excited about teaching English, however after going through the ropes, I realized how it important it is for someone like me (who wants to work in the Middle East) to actually sit down with the locals and assess their language capabilities. It really takes a conscious effort to step outside of one’s own language to see how complex and difficult it really can be for others. I immediately noticed how often I used expressions, complex words etc. and it took a while to get used to not fully expressing myself for the sake of getting the message across. By teaching English, I’ve really honed exactly what I need to know from the Arabic language and Shoobra is the best place for me right now.
Cairo is quite a crowded city with intense traffic. There are few rules of the road here, and people honk incessantly. I’ve yet to meet a rude Egyptian (other than the few fights I’ve seen) and many people are eager to talk with you about nearly anything. My coworkers are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. I find it a bit ironic that they’ve nicknamed me Key-moe (which is short for Kareem and means generous) when they are the ones who are showing me around town, insisting on buying my meals and constantly asking if I need anything. Their manners are truly second to none, and their generosity is hard to accept in light of their economic condition, yet it’s truly difficult and even rude to refuse, so I just try and get them back by buying them drinks whenever I get a chance.
People tell me that Shoobra is an impoverished section of town, and I don’t doubt that these people aren’t wealthy, but you wouldn’t notice it by the warm smiles on their faces. Malnutrition is a serious issue however and I’ve never seen so many people who suffer from bowleggedness/weak joints. Sanitation is a problem and I still have yet to get a deeper understanding of the greater picture, let alone in Cairo, let alone in Egypt, and definitely let alone the Middle East.
As desperate as some of the people of Shoobra may be, I cannot help but feel how blessed they are not to have military occupation compound their problems. Thank God these people don’t have to worry about getting shot, having their home bulldozed, or getting harassed on the way to work. I’m blessed that I’m starting my Middle Eastern experience in a (relatively) peaceful country, and my only hope is that I make the best use of this peace in my conquest of peace. I have to keep telling myself that must learn to walk before I can run, and I can still only barely introduce myself in Arabic. Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon and Sudan will have to wait, and I’m sure it’s for the best.
In the meantime, I'm getting into a nice routine, eating well and staying fit. I think we'll see the ocean soon. I can't wait.

Don't Drink the Water!

Sorry everyone! I've had 2 nasty cases of Diarhea so I haven't had time to post anything. Aside from that, everything is great, and I'll post something here soon.