Crazy last couple of days!

Well, I've moved! Please congratulate me via email. (that gives you a reason to write to me) *grin* I had a fun Saturday morning with my students at a retreat center just outside Tanta. We made it a short day b/c of the extreme heat, but that was probably good b/c it left me time/energy to pack and move things. I worked on that little project from about 1-6pm, then took a break to watch the Germany/Argentina soccer match.

What a match! I wouldn't say it was great b/c things got a bit sloppy for awhile there, but it was good to watch. Nice to see that the home team continues to win!

After that, I returned to packing and kept at it until 10.30 when my friend Fady came to help me carry things. We took 2 car-loads to my temporary apartment (which Fady's family owns). Now you're probably asking yourself “how did Jason accumulate that much stuff while in Egypt and how is he going to get it home?”

Now that's a fair question.

The answer is that most of what we took in the car is not mine and will not be going to the U.S. I'm talking about towels, plants, office supplies, etc. There were things that I need to have with me for the next few weeks but I won't take back in December. At the moment, most of what I want to take back fits in my suitcase and big backpack. I say “most” b/c Fady has volunteered to carry some items back this summer when he goes to the States and leave them with a friend in Chicago for me to retrieve later. I figure I can fill ½ of a suitcase and give him a carry-on without feeling like I'm asking too much.

Of course...I continue to get more stuff that I want to take back. (keep reading for details)

It was 2am by the time we finished everything, so I slept in and then hurried around to make it to Cairo for the Independence Day Party. First, I met with some friends at their apartment near the party location and then we all walked over together. This was all in Maadi, the really American suburb of Cairo. Lots of U.S. govt employees live there, highly-paid oil company people, etc.

Fun party! Tons of free food, including cans of Coke, Sprite, Fanta Orange and Fanta Apple from the Coca-Cola Corporation and slices of pizza from Pizza Hut. Sadly, the ice cream ran out early. So I can't say good things about the company who provided it. In fact, I won't even tell you the name. But I will say that it's a company that advertises having more than 30 but less than 32 flavors. *smirk* They also had burgers and hot dogs (even some with pork!).

Face-painting for kids, slides, games, etc and Bingo, Bingo, and more Bingo for everyone to play. They gave small prizes for the Bingo winners (but I didn't get anything) and bigger stuff in a free raffle. Prizes ranged from T-shirts to round-trip tickets to the U.S. from KLM. Can you guess what I won?

(I'll give you a hint, it's size Medium and says Hard Rock Cafe on it)

In addition to that, I got a free T-shirt from a travel company and a Coke water bottle for shaking my hips. There was a Hawaiian theme to the party (insert obligatory joke here) and that included a short dance lesson for those who were willing. It gave me the opportunity to put on a grass skirt (comfortable) and a clam-shell bra (too restrictive), so I was all for it!

The weather was hot, so they had big fans with mist machines to cool down the crowd. The whole party was outside under a huge tent and then smaller tents were outside of that with tables for the sponsors and additional misting areas to walk through.

I'm really glad I went. Fun to see my friends and also to see tons of Americans in 1 place. Yes, there was lots of security around! There was 1 fully veiled woman pushing a stroller around and that was definitely the exception to how people looked. Lots of people in shorts and baseball hats (including me). I kinda wish I had gone in previous years, but at least I got to attend once in my time here.

Got back to Tanta around midnight, then went out with Fady to a cafe for lemonade. Nice to help me cool down. Got cleaned up, now emailing before bed (though I won't post until later)

Missed the Brazil/France match b/c I was on my way back to Tanta. I arrived at a cafe' just as the match ended! *sigh*

More soon about where I'm staying – it's a beautiful place!!

Life and Politics

This week I've taken a bit of time in the afternoons to catch up with my news/website reading. My friend George has a computer company and he allows me to bring my laptop to use his DSL connection. If he is free, we talk while I'm online or sometimes I just have an uninterrupted stretch of a couple of hours.

What I try to do is open about 20 different windows with various websites that I enjoy. Then I disconnect and take the time to read them offline at home in the evening.

One thing I found was a lively discussion of the World Cup television coverage in the U.S. (via Kottke).

By the sounds of things, I'm lucky to be watching the Arabic broadcast. It's on a special subscription satellite sports channel, but all the cafes around Tanta have it this month so that people will come in to watch the matches and eat/drink while there. No special graphics or anything – just the bare essentials of the clock and the score and sometimes a window about the percentage of possession for each team and number or shots on goal. That's it!

As to the audio, I can't say that I follow all of it (because of my level of Arabic and because the Arabic they're using is from the Gulf, which is very different)...but it seems to be fairly plain play-by-play. People's names as they control the ball or pass, criticism when someone makes a mistake, praise for good plays and some discussion when the referees make their calls or when players flop.

It's fun to be watching in public places b/c I can get a sense for who people want to win here. For example, there was no question on Tuesday that the crowd was rooting for France to beat Spain. I don't there were any Spain fans in the place where I was watching. Or maybe they were just keeping quiet b/c of the energy of the France fans? *laugh*

As some of you may know, the environment has become a topic that I spend quite a bit of time thinking about here in Egypt. I think there are 2 reason: 1 is that I see what a mess Tanta is – trash everywhere, mostly disposable items (cups, spoons, bottles, etc) and it comes from economics and lack of awareness. Last night, I tried to convince a friend that it's cheaper in the long run for him and better for the environment to buy a Gillette Sensor razor and then just replace the head when he's finished (after using the blade for a month or more), instead of getting cheap plastic razors that he only uses 2 or 3 times and then throws away the whole thing, handle and all.

Not sure if I succeeded. I may have to make the purchase myself and give it to him as a gift.

On this note of the environment, I came across an interesting suggestion about the U.S. government implementing a lightbulb exchange program and how much money/energy it would save each year to eliminate inefficient bulbs. Have you changed all your bulbs yet?
(via Kottke)

Now, to politics...I won't comment much about these b/c I think the articles speak for themselves.

1. Sane comments about war in Iraq (from the Detroit Free Press):

2. 1 Israeli soldier kidnapped, bombings result in loss of electricity for nearly 1 million Palestinians in Gaza strip: (from AP): The Story

What kind of person am I?

(edited, as requested)

I'm not very nice to my students sometimes. *frown*

But they forgive me.

If only I could so easily forgive them for the small things that agitate me and make it hard for me to enjoy my time with them.

I had a great, fun group of students these past 10 weeks. They loved to talk with each other in class, gathered outside after to talk more, and were just great people. But I just let the little problems bug me and ruin our days sometimes. The heat was difficult and I was not sympathetic. I need to “let things roll off my back” more, but I seem to hold onto little things. A few of the students came in late and I always made some comment or gave them some look of disapproval. It's a small thing, but it's important and some of the students never quite “get it”.

B/c it's summer and this last course was difficult, most/all of these students will take a break and then come back to our courses in the fall (I hope) Maybe that's a good thing. I want to encourage them to come to our once-a-week Conversation course on Saturday nights and then hang out sometimes after that class. I hope they like the idea.

Tuesday night was our final class and I wanted it to be really nice. Yet from the beginning, I was upset. See...the new air conditioners weren't working yet b/c the electrician hadn't finished his work. I had been looking forward to using them and having a nice, comfortable class. The students were thinking the same thing. So it was a big disappointment when we couldn't do that. They let it go. I didn't. *sigh* It's one of those frustrating things that I've never gotten accustomed to in Egypt – work of low quality, unreliable schedule/appointments, people not respecting time.

But...even after all that, we had an OK class and then we went out for a simple dinner and cold drinks after class to celebrate and to see the 2^nd half of the Brazil/Ghana World Cup match. Not much of a match, but nice to all be together.

Then I came back to my neighborhood to see people at church and then continue a long conversation with a friend. I've known this friend for a long time, but we really don't have anything in common. Anytime we talk about life/religion/politics, we clash and neither of us really changes our view of things.

Yesterday, the best way I can describe our talk is to say that it was about “personal safety and violence”. To make a long story short, a strange man came to my friend's apartment at midnight on Monday and talked with my friend's adult sister and wife while my friend was in the bathroom. The man left, but then my friend chased after him with a gun and then hit him repeatedly.

*frown*

My friend's view is that he did this to teach the man a lesson and now the man will never come to the building again to bother people. My friend thinks that the man was knocking on every door to see if people were home and then was going to break in and rob apartments if he found them vacant.

Maybe this was the case, but I tried to get my friend to see past this and to see that there were other options in this situation and things that can be done to protect yourself. He has a peekhole in his door so that you can look out to see who is at your door. But his sister didn't use it. He has a chain on the door too, but she just opened the door. His explanation is that she was expecting her husband to return, so she was opening the door for him in a natural way. I tried to get my friend to see that it's each person's responsibility to do these basic things to protect themselves.

I'm not sure he was convinced.

At one point, my friend said “you sound like a monk”. (this has been a comment from him in the past, also)

My response: “thank you”.

I've been thinking about this conversation and about why I'm friends with this person. I'm praying for God to work on both our hearts, that I may learn patience and perspective from him and the he sees a way to peace and satisfaction. Please pray for this.

Blog Visitors

Hmmm...fun to see who visits the Blog.

Now I'm really curious who the people are that go with these locations from yesterday:

Bloomington, IN
Rochester, MI
New York, NY
Philadelphia, PA

I have some guesses, but I'd like to hear from you to say "it was me". Who are you???

Please comment on the Blog or send me email.

Statistics!!!

Finally got around to adding SiteMeter to the Blog here. (thanks to David for pointing me to that site).

What that means is that I can now get statistics about visitors to my Blog. It shows all sorts of things, including where you are connecting from in the world, what pages you visit, etc.

Check out Jason's Stats.

Food, Glorious (?) Food

One thing about my Palestine/Israel trip. There's a lot to be said, and maybe it's better if people write me with question. Then I'll try to respond here with answers.

A question came from my mother and she asked: “What kinds of foods did you eat while you were there?”

Answer:

Palestine – the only similar food to what they eat in Egypt that I had was falafel. I say similar b/c it's made in a different way and with some different ingredients, but then the process of frying in oil and putting in a sandwich with some veggies and sauce is the same.

Beyond that, the food of Palestine is much like that of Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. By that, I mean it's much, much better than what we eat in Egypt! *laugh* Garlic and yogurt go along with sandwiches, which is a nice addition. They also have small 8” pieces of bread that are baked and covered with cheese. Great for any meal!

I had sweets just 1 time b/c they were really expensive and most things were the same as in Egypt.

Israel – the only real meal I had there in a restaurant was Thai food. Kosher Thai, of course!

I also had 2 meals in a home when I stayed with a Jewish guy in Tel Aviv. Of all things, he had an Indian-style Chutney from his cousin to have with bread, along with fish. For breakfast, we had omelets.

Aside from that, I ate from the bakeries I talked about in an earlier ent

On a related note, I had the same food for 3 different meals yesterday. Sad, but true! The dish was fuul, which is a very cheap bean in Egypt. You mash them up and eat with bread/veggies, or in a sandwich. For breakfast and lunch, I had bowls of the stuff and then a sandwich for dinner.

And more tonight for dinner. I think I'll take a break tomorrow and get something different!

But this evening, I made a special treat. In my continuing effort to use things up from my apartment before I move (t-minus 5 days), I made a cake from a mix that I brought back from America. I found this nice white cake mix on sale for $.47 and brought back 2 boxes. At that price, it's probably about the same price as what I would pay at my local bakery for a few small cupcakes, but they are a bit heavy and this cake is nice and light. Yummy!

Off to bed. I have to be awake in about 5 hours to play tennis with a friend. He's just learning, so I'll be trying to help him with a couple of things. Mostly it's social. He's someone I met a long time ago, but never really became friends with. Recently, we talked at church and he invited me to play tennis. I'm looking forward to it!

Back from Alexandria!

Ah, Coptic Christian weekend trips -- gotta love 'em!

Basically, you go off for a couple of days in some sort of "retreat center", have meetings, praying, fun/games, talking, visiting monasteries, and then not much sleep!

Got back Sat. night and slept a lot to catch up on my rest.

Class, quiz, and party tonight!

World Cup, cleaning, teaching, thinking

I've been doing lots of all those things! The current round of matches doesn't fit my schedule very well. I can't see any of the early match and then I have a couple of hours to kill after class until the late match (10pm here). With that said, I was able to watch a great Sweden/England match on Tuesday night and a very exciting Spain/Tunisia match on Monday.

I'll be on a trip to Alexandria with a group of 20-something Egyptians from my church in Tanta from Thurs-Sat, so I probably won't get to see any of the matches. *sigh* But maybe there will be some real football nuts and we'll find somewhere to watch. In any event, it should be a nice trip and hopefully my first of many trips to Alex this summer!

Cleaning: As mentioned previously, I move out of my current apartment at the end of June. (very soon!) So, I've been trying to clean out old papers and junk that I don't need/use and throw them out. I've been taking a bit of time each morning to do that and I think I'm making progress.

To update you, I do have a place to live after leaving this apartment. During the gap between leaving my old place and getting into my new place, I will be staying at a friend's apartment. His parents and sister are in the U.S. for his sister's wedding, so their place is empty. What great timing! My buddy will be there, so it'll be fun. Now I just need to figure out what to do with the furniture during that time. Maybe that's something my current landlord will have to deal with!

Teaching: It's been good to be back in class. We've been doing some new topics and also had Quiz 2 this week. Next week, we will finish this level and have the exam. Then new courses for summer start in July. I don't know my schedule yet, but I'll keep you posted.

Thinking: My future, jobs, the past, my time in Palestine/Israel...all of these things have been on my mind. Ideas are coming together from my trip and I will try to post them soon.

My Wacky Nephew

Just finished chatting with my nephew in Michigan. What a funny kid! He's really growing up and his sense of humor is really great! He also likes computer role-playing games! What a kid!

(I really love him and all my family, so I just wanted to share about him)

First full day back in Tanta

Back in Tanta. Met with my students for a welcome back/refresher class yesterday and then we'll get back to classes as usual on Tuesday. Last night I watched the 2^nd half of the Brazil match and most of the France/S. Korea match. Exciting stuff!

I really need to keep better track of the schedule. If one of my students hadn't left class early to watch Brazil play, I wouldn't have known about it! *laugh*

Today, I've been sorting things out in my apartment. I have to move at the end of the month, so I'm taking the time to throw out old papers and things that I don't need. I'd do this before leaving Egypt in December anyway, so it's better to do it now and not move it with me to my new place.

Not quite sure where that's going to be... *smirk* At present, my new place will be available on July 20, so there's a gap of 3 weeks when I'm not sure where I'll be living. That's my mission for this week – talk with friends and see what options are for staying with them or possibly in an empty flat for that short time. Crazy!

I bought a bunch of fruit yesterday. The grape season started while I was gone, plus a new crop of bananas. I ate lots of yummy stuff in Israel and Palestine, but not much fruit. I wanted to try things that were different from what I could get in Egypt, so fruit wasn't on that list!

The main thing I discovered was the wonder of Jewish bakeries. *grin* Oh, my goodness!!! The first day I paid full price in the morning for sweets, but then I discovered that at the end of the day (around 9pm), prices are slashed in half and everything is still really fresh. Full price for 1 kilogram was about $5 which was worth it for the great stuff, but $2.50 was even better for the day-old goodies!

Tonight, I'm hoping to see some friends to catch up on things and watch whatever matches are on. Yup, it's a football-crazy place!

Somewhere Different Adventure Villa Holidays

Very scatterbrained at the moment. I need to get off the computer, but DSL is such a wonderful thing (as opposed to my Tanta dial-in) .

While sorting through ticket stubs, receipts, etc from my Israel/Palestine trip, I found something I'd forgotten about.

On my trip to Siwa Oasis over Easter, I met some Brits with a very interesting business concept called "Somewhere Different Adventure Villa Holidays". The basic idea is for former backpackers who now have lots of money, but not much time to rent villas in cool, out-of-the-way places for a few weeks (and pay a premium price for it). The locations are:

Egypt
Croatia
Romania
Sri Lanka

I like the idea and want to keep tabs on it...

CouchSurfing!

I don't feel inspired to write about my trip right now, but I'll tell you a bit about the people I stayed with and how that all came about.

This fall, I learned about something called CouchSurfing.com through a visitor to Cairo. The basic premise is that if you have an extra bed/couch in your home and want to host a tourist, you register with a profile and people can email you. So, being the adventurous sort that I am, I decided to try it for my Israel/Palestine trip. I already had a place to stay in Palestine, so what I needed to do was find somewhere in Israel. I mostly looked at Jerusalem b/c that's where I was going to spend most of my time.

I found a few people and exchanged emails. The best option looked like Shahar and Roni. I told them my possible dates and then called a couple of times once I got to Israel. They told me that by chance, they were going to have 3 other people there at the same time but said I could still come if I wanted!

Around midnight, after coming back from Tel Aviv and then finding their place, I met Shahar. At first, we were going to bring up an extra mattress from their downstairs neighbors, but then I suggested that I literally "surf their couch", so we moved the couch cushions to the floor of Shahar's room. That's where I slept for a total of 5 nights.

Amazing, amazing guys. Both Israeli, but not practicing Jews. It turned out that one of the other visitors was a Mormon, and the guys didn't have a problem with us having lots of religion-related discussions.

The link I put in before are to pictures of Sharar, Roni, and their friends. We all hung out in one way or another most of the nights I was there. One day, Roni carried the 35" TV downstairs to watch World Cup with his friends b/c people went to sleep early in the place I was staying. Another night, we went to a coffee house with live music, performed by friends of Roni/Shahar.

More soon about my adventures with this crew and the rest of my time around Israel/Palestine.

Made it back!

Well, after many, many hours on buses and in taxis...I've made it back to Cairo.

Mostly it's my fault, but it seems like it all happened for a reason. For fun and for the experience, I tried hitchhiking on Friday morning from Jerusalem to the border (4 hours away). After about 2 hours of waiting and even getting help from security guys, I finally gave up and raced to the bus station for a 10am bus.

I barely made it there in time, but was too late to get a seat so I stood or sat on the floor, along with several others. Crazy!

Unfortunately, this all made me too late to catch a bus to Cairo, or anywhere else in Egypt. So, I gathered together some other tourists who were in the same situation and we got in a mini-van together and headed for Dahab.

As it turns out, on this part of the "journey", I met up with a 70-year old women who I had heard about from an MCC friend in Jerusalem. She is traveling around promoting peace and working on development projects (noble work), but comes across as a bit senile. I'm not sure what her story is, but it seemed like beyond coincidence. So...it seemed like I should help her out as much as possible, so that's what I did! We left her in a small beach town and she's hoping to go into Gaza on Sunday. God be with her!

So, I made it to Dahab, which is my favorite beach spot in Egypt. I was interested to see the changes since my last tri in Jan. 2005 and also since the bombings in April. It seems like things are going better than ever and this was confirmed by a restaurant guy I talked to. But I only had enough time to walk along the promenade and then have a nice dinner while watching a World Cup match before getting a 10pm bus to Cairo.

Uneventful ride and actually quite comfortable. I managed to get quite a bit of sleep! It's 8am as I write this and I want to spend some time online and uploading pics to share, then maybe a short nap and laundry before going to the American University in Cairo for a World Refugee Day celebration at 5pm.

Sunday morning, I'll head for Tanta and get back to teaching in the afternoon.

Memorial for those who died in the attack:

Maybe 4 hours sleep?

Trying to spend as much time awake as I can during my last day in Jerusalem. *sigh* I have to leave around 7am Friday morning for Cairo. It's now 2.40am and I'm packed, showered, and ready for bed. Hungry b/c my Thai food dinner was 6 hours ago, but that's all right...

So much to write about and there just hasn't been time since leaving Bethlehem. I have so much to say/show and I will really try to do that from Tanta this week.

Thanks to those of you who have emailed -- keep it up!

Last one for awhile...

Would you believe I'm watching the first World Cup right now with some Germans (and other foreigners). Score just became 4-2 Germany. Fun b/c we're watching in the International Center where my friend Matt works.

Big day visiting MCC'ers for lunch, back to the Church of the Nativity again, to the Milk Grotto, and for a bit of shopping. It's my last day (I think) in Bethlehem so I've tried to make the most of it.

Tomorrow, I'm headed for Jerusalem early in the morning. I have to be there at 7am! But it will be worth it b/c I'm going on a day-trip to the northern part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. I'll be riding in a car with some other MCC'ers.

After that, I'll be staying in Jerusalem for the rest of my time (I think). I plan to go all around the old city, the Stations of the Cross, Mount of Olives, etc. I have until next Friday morning when I leave, so I think it'll be OK.

This is an amazing place with wonderful people. Palestinians have lived through a lot, yet they continue to be creative, vibrant human beings. Pray for them.

Everyone needs to come here and experience what it is like. Words, pictures, and video cannot convey the reality of it all.

More about Egypt?

If you miss reading about Egypt, try these 2 blogs from MCC kids living there (and getting ready to leave soon *sniff*)

Nick

and

Becca

Busy around Bethlehem

Wow, tons going on. Let's see if I can tell the short version.

Wednesday, I went to the Old City of Jerusalem in the morning for some shopping and looking at sights. I made it to the Armenian Quarter and the Garden Tomb. In the afternoon, I met up with Sri, the MCC'er in Jerusalem and we went to Ramallaha to the Quaker Friends Center for a talk by a visiting American professor on Christian Zionism.

I couldn't find one good website with a biography of the speaker (Rev. Dr. Don Wagner of North Park University in Chicago), but if you Google him you will find links to books, lectures, etc.

On the way back to Jerusalem on the bus, it took Sri and I 90 minutes to go about 10 kilometers. This was due to multiple "flying checkpoints" put in place at random by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). Why?

From what I have seen, it is to humiliate and degrade Palestinians.

Thursday, I went to Hebron to see the Old City, mosque, and situation there. (good article at BBC)

What a situation. The Old City is quite nearly a ghost town. It once was a busy place with thousands of shops and people all around. Now, tensions are high with Jewish settlers both inside and around the Old City. We met a man who lost 2 children to violence from soldiers and faces daily harassment. His story was featured in a documentary called "In the Spider's Web". We were given a copy, but unfortunately the subtitles are only in Arabic. I need to see if I can track down a copy in English to share once I'm back in the U.S.

Last night, we went to a great art exhibition on Peace and Non-Violence.

More later, if I can get to a computer...

Made it to Israel!

Well, I'm now sitting in Bethlehem. We left on a bus from Cairo at 11pm last night and arrived in Taba at about 6am. After a bit of struggling at the border due to the Syrian stamps in my passport, we made it across and to Eliat. They took me off into a little room and subjected me to all sorts of questions about why I had gone to Syria, who I saw there, what I was going to do in Israel, if I knew people, etc. Quite a process but it only took about 1/2 hour.

What a crazy place! Israel proper feels like Europe and people look/act like it, except for the automatic weapons that some are carrying around. That's going to take some getting used to!

From Eliat we took a 4-hour bus to Jerusalem, walked around town a bit, then took a bus part-way to Bethlehem, then a taxi. We had to do the 2 ways b/c you get to a point where the Separation Wall stops the road that the bus is on and there's no easy way to go around. So...you go through a check-point of security where everyone is screened and then taxis are waiting to charge you high fares to continue.

I came on the bus with my friend Lachlyn who has a friend Matt in Bethlehem. So, I'm staying there for the next couple of nights and then will be going to stay in Jerusalem after that. Hopefully, I'll get some people to stay with from Couchsurfing.com

Playing tourist around Bethlehem tomorrow. Matt works at an institute with a computer lab and 'net connection, so hopefully I'll be able to keep using that.

Wadi Natrun

That's where I went to day with some volunteers from the Presbyterian/Lutheran churches in the US. They're doing service in Egypt and I hang out with them every so often.

Today, we loaded up in a small bus with seats for 14. There were only 7 of us and this Mercedes-Benz bus had great air-conditioning, too! Great relief from the 100 degree heat today.

Wadi Natrun is a salt lake of sorts that dries up in the summer and then comes back each fall/winter. Due to mineral deposits the water appears to have a red/pink hue.

Take a peek:


I also posted pics from yesterday and included a link to those from a friend. See "Coptic/Old Cairo" on the right side of my Blog page.

Before my trip, a new look!

Hi all,

I've been thinking about giving my Blog a new look. So, here it is... What do you think? I saw that Blogger had lots of choices of ways to change and much to my surprise, this one is by one of my favorite web designers (yes, I have a few), Jeffrey Zeldman.

This includes a change to the way the comments work, which for the time being means that any comments before today are gone. Well, at least until I go back and make links to find them. If you put any comments in about things I wrote on Friday or Saturday, please go back and write them again.

A new beginning

I'm a bit behind on things (like adding titles to my posts). Egypt has done that sort of thing to me!

*laugh*

Big day on a long tour, and it finished up in a beautiful park.




Off on another big trip Sunday, starting ag 7am. That means I'm hoping to get up around 5am. Good thing that I'm trying to tire myself out so that I can sleep Sunday night on my night bus to Israel!!! *smirk* Pray that I can get some rest.

Still putting together plans for the trip, but at least I have bus tickets and some contact information for friends/MCC'ers there.

Inter-faith Communication

Here's a pic from an inter-faith communication tour/gathering that I went on today. We visited a mosque, several churches, and an old synagogue. This is one of the ancient churches in "Coptic Cairo". I learned today that the pulpit in churches predates those in mosques by a significant amount of time. The story that I was told is that the pulpit in the oldest mosque in Cairo was given by a church...



The person wrapped in green is a woman who needed to be "properly dressed" to be in this mosque. These robes are provided at some mosques.



This next picture is

My first tattoo.

Helway - falling down

This is the palace (on right) and falling-down hospital (left) that we saw in Helwan.

If you haven't read the story yet, it's below where this picture is.

At some future date, I'll do the research to find the background of these buildings. Be patient...

Cairo with Michael

Last Thursday, my friend Michael (from Tanta) and I went to Helwan, a suburb on the outskirts of Cairo. Our goal was to visit the Wax Museum and Japanese Garden. Crazy things to have in Egypt, right? Well...both were closed! But we got to see a hot spring which made Helwan famous as a spa location for the rich and famous in the early 1900s (but now it's an industrial area with lots of pollution and cement factories).

We walked around the outside of the Japanese Garden and what did I discover across the street? An old hospital and palace! Follow links for more information on those b/c that's what I had to do. I never knew about these places and the people we met in the area couldn't tell us much about them, either.

Since places were closed, we had some extra time, so I took Michael to the Khan el Khalili, the famous market in Cairo. We sat at Fishawy's Cafe and tried to escape the heat a bit!

From here, Michael went back to Tanta and I hurried over for the first Going-Away Party of the season. It was in a nice part of town, at the home of the pastor of an English-speaking church in Cairo. Good to see friends, munch on some tasty food, and have nice conversations.

Friday, I went to church in the morning and to another Going-Away Party in the afternoon for our MCC'ers from Beni Sueff. I've known them for their full 3 years here and it's been wonderful to have them as friends and watch their kids grow up. I'm sad to see them go... But it's always good to have a reason for a party! This one was also to christen our new MCC office.

After that, I went with one of the MCC'ers and his visitor from Canada. They were headed to...Khan el Khalili. *laugh* 2 days in a row? We also did some shopping and I made it to a few shops that I hadn't been to in a couple of years! Nelson got a very nice painting. If he takes a picture, I'll try to link to it or put it here.

Saturday, I played tour guide for another MCC'er (Gloria) and her niece from Canada. Canadians – they're everywhere!!! They wanted to go to the Islamic area of Cairo and the Khan el Khalili (3 days in a row, if you're counting). We started early to beat the heat and were fairly successful in doing that. We went to a beautiful 400 year-old Arabesque house called Beit el Suhaymie.

After a nice tour of the place (which I didn't get on my first trip there 2 years ago), we walked out onto the street and a doorman ushered us into the office across the street. What was the office? Well, it was for the engineer/architect/manager who did most of the planning for the renovation project at Beit el-Suhaymie and is now directing things for other renovations in the area. Very cool to talk with him and get a bit of info about current projects! Great guy!

This was all in the morning and then after Gloria/niece left, I did more walking by going from the Khan all the way to the Citadel. This was my first time to see most of the monuments on this walk and it was really nice! (but tiring, as it was several kilometers of walking each way) To cap the day off, I dragged my tired body to watch the Whirling Dervishes.

Sunday, I rested.

*grin*

I started reading the Yacoubian Building and enjoyed the cool morning. Good that I did that b/c the A/C was broken on the train I took back to Tanta in the afternoon! Hot, hot, hot!

Back to teaching this week. More details about things in Tanta soon!

Lack of Posts

Sorry for the lack of posts. I'm going to try to start making up for that right now. And look for a long post with links and pics tomorrow (I hope).

To begin, I'd like to say thanks to the people at Gillette for making a can of shaving gel that lasted for 2 ½ years! When my Mom and Kevin came to visit in January 2004, they left behind a can of shaving gel. I just finished that can yesterday! Unbelievable? Well, I used it sparingly and I only shave every other day. Plus, I had a goatee during part of that time, so I was only shaving about ½ of my face. But still, I think that's pretty good!

Also thanks, to Aerosoles shoes for building a durable product that I've been wearing for at least 6 years and can be easily/cheaply repaired in Egypt! I found this great pair of over-the-ankle dress boots on sale in a mall while working near Detroit and they were really comfortable, so I wore them all the time. Of course, I brought them with me to Egypt and they've performed great!

(unfortunately, the website only features Women's shoes, so I wonder if they stopped making products for men. Too bad!) *frown*

But a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that sole on left shoe was starting to pull away from the upper. I knew that was a bad sign, but I decided to wear them until it became a serious problem. Well, that happened while walking around in Cairo recently. *Flop, flop, flop* as half of my sole has detached from the rest of the shoe! Fortunately, I was in a good part of town for getting repairs done, so I asked around for a shoe repair guy and then walked to his place a block away. A mere 15 minutes later and after some gluing and hammering of nails, the shoe was (almost) as good as new! The cost for this service? About $.35 US. *grin*

(yes, I did say 35 cents!)

Speaking of companies and products, I spotted this on a CD-R case today:

“Pleomax, a sensible bit of Samsung”

What kind of advertising slogan is that for a spin-off company? *laugh* Doesn't that imply that the parent company (Samsung) is _not_ sensible? Seems a bit odd, but perhaps I'm thinking about this too much. Must...be...mindless...consumer...

*smirk*

Defining Moment in Egypt

Well, it finally happened! I had what I think is my “defining experience” for my time in Egypt. Read on for the story.

Last week, my friend Jay called to invite me to his birthday party in Cairo. He was planning it for Saturday night, so I decided to go into Cairo on Friday for Ultimate Frisbee and then find things to keep me occupied the rest of the time.

Friday, I wandered around near downtown looking at architecture, checking out the inside of a hotel I had never seen before, etc. Basically I was checking out how Cairo once had been. Going back to my theme of “firsts” from last week, I went to the Ben Ezra Synagogue. Now this was _the_ place for the Jewish community to go, before all the changes in Egypt in the mid 20^th century. Inside at a small desk was 80+ year-old Eman, who was born in Egypt. I asked her why she never left and she explained that even with all that has happened, Egypt is still home. I want to go back and talk to her more some other time and hear stories...

After Frisbee, I decided that I needed to check out the inside of one of the old cinemas that I hadn't gone to before. This one was called the Metro and is quite nice, with an interesting history. I don't know when it was built (but will try to link), but it's been well-preserved. That's surprising! The movie I saw? Mission Impossible 3. It was decent. They definitely changed the formula from the previous two, which can be dangerous, but I think it worked. For sure, it was better than War of the Worlds (also starring Tom Cruise), which I watched the previous night on my computer. Horrible! I might write another post just about that...

So...you're still waiting for me to tell about this “powerful experience”. Have patience, we're getting there.

Then on Saturday, I had the whole day free. I arrived at the edge of Islamic Cairo around 2pm. It's an area I've walked around several times over the past few months, but this time I had a better book to use that shows some out-of-the-way spots.

While examining the exterior of a small mosque, I noticed an old man (maybe in his 70s) leaving the mosque and slowly starting his way down the steps Now, when I say “steps” I mean slabs of rock that have been rounded by hundreds of years of use and can be tricky for anyone to use!

In Arabic, I said “Any service, sir?” which is a common way of saying “Can I help you?”

His response?

He tilted his head toward the sky, turned his brown, wrinkled palms up, and smiled.

Trust in God.

"New to me" Coffee Shop

Well, I went to another “new to me” coffee shop on the way to class today. I have seen this one while walking to my courses these past 3 years and I finally stopped in to have some juice. Nice place. Very Islamic. Many verses from the Koran at the entrance and they even turned off the television during the call to prayer!

After class tonight, I experienced another first! -- seeing college-aged females at coffee shops in Tanta! Not just in 1, but in 3 different ones near the Faculty of Commerce. I was shocked! It was only 8pm, which is quite early so I thought that this was just a strange occurrence b/c of the location. But then, I was with some friends later at a coffee shop in a different part of town and there was a young woman there, too! Now this was even more extreme. She had a head-covering on (but face uncovered), was sitting with a young guy, and she was smoking a cigarette!! Wow!

Off to Cairo for the weekend, I think...more on Sunday!

A Week of Firsts

It's been a week of firsts for me in Egypt.

Last Thursday for the first time, I played 3^rd wheel with an Egyptian friend and his “blind date” in Alexandria. As a result of me trying to give them as much time as possible to talk and get to know each other, my buddy and I missed our train back to Tanta. (also a first)

While in Alex, I went to a coffee shop that I had never gone to before and this helped inspire me. I'm now making it my mission to go to as many coffee shops in Tanta as I can before I finish my time in Egypt. Already this week, I've added 3 to my list!

Possibly related to all this, I started feeling sick on Tuesday afternoon. I was fine to teach, but my whole body was just aching after that. I ate dinner at my friend Michael's house and got home late. I've learned how to listen to my body a bit better in Egypt that I did in the U.S., so I knew that I needed to rest, so I slept from about 2am – 11.30am on Wednesday.

I woke up a new man! Well...not quite. I woke up feeling better, but also knew that eating any sort of solid food was out of the question. *stomach grumbles* I had made plans to meet with a student at a coffee shop at noon and that was good b/c it required me to get out of the house and test how I was feeling (as opposed to lying around on my couch).

At the coffee shop, I had a hot milk drink which helped settle my stomach. I also had a good talk with my student and one of his co-workers. After that, I did a bit of grocery shopping and came home for a nap. I thought about eating lunch, but still didn't think my stomach was up to it. I did have 2 bananas. I have to keep working the 2kg that I bought earlier this week! That's about 4.4 pounds and when dealing with the numbers it doesn't seem like a lot, but it's tough to eat that much before they get soft! *laugh* I still wasn't feeling great, so I took an hour nap.

Had a good class tonight and then met up with friends at my local church. We went to my favorite coffee shop which is conveniently located across the street from a cheap place for sandwiches (chicken, sausage, etc) I can never resist eating at this place, and thankfully my stomach was ready for food.

In other food news, while walking home tonight, I stopped to buy eggs. This was my first time buying eggs in about 6 weeks...and I was shocked by the price! In Egypt, the price for eggs is based on buying 30 (a dozen has no meaning here). When I bought eggs before, the price was about $1.50 for 30 eggs. (about $.60/dozen) Today, the price was $2.50 for 30 eggs!!! Blame bird flu and the drastic measures the Egyptian government took to contain it. A friend who works selling medicine to vets says that it will take about 3 months before the supply of eggs gets back to pre-bird flu levels. Until then, it's “a crisis” (in his words) for people living on a fixed income.

Well, time to finish watching Walk the Line. I'm feeling much better now, but my sleep schedule is a bit off b/c of all the sleeping today. Hopefully I'll be able to get to bed around 3am.

Stay tuned! I'll try to write again soon!

Wow...can you all believe that this is my 4th post this month! And it's just the 15th!!! So, I'm taking the time to write, but what do I have to say?

Well, I can start by pointing you to an author that I've been reading? Can you believe that I've started reading _The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People_ by Stephen Covey? After years of thinking my friend Rob was a bit fanatical in his attachment to FranklinCovey, I think I now see that value of it. At least of the principles I've read in the book. Not sure if I'll go the planner route in the future, or not!

The book is from our MCC library in Cairo and my boss recommended that I read it. He just finished it and I generally like his reading choices. I'm quite shocked by how Christian the book is. I was quite ignorant of Covey's background, so I never knew that his ideas would connect with my beliefs. It's been a good discovery!

When I finish up my "Mission Statement", I'll post it here. Or maybe I'll even write out ideas as I'm working on it...

On a Tanta note, I ate "Jew's Mallow" with rice and chicken this evening with a friend and his grandmother. Anyone out there know what that is?

Well, it looks like Egypt is in the news again! (though I'm not sure if this story is making it to many of you yet)

There have been some major protests against the government lately and it looks like things are really heating up! It could be a very interesting time these next few months that I'm here!

Follow the story on: SandMonkey.org

Well, I just promised one of the kids that I would get off the computer in 10 minutes. So, let's see how much I can type out about our day in that amount of time!

Today's main event was going to the Susanna Mubarek Children's Museum. The museum could have been much better, but it was interesting and told some good things about Egypt. There was also a simulation of a submarine diving deep down in the Red Sea that was pretty good. Nothing was interactive, unfortunately.

But as we were leaving, they said that for an extra ticket (another $1 US on top of the first $1 US for each child) we could have an art lesson on how to make some small item out of clay. Everyone (including me) was excited about that! We had a very nice teacher and it was really fun! I made some sort of vase, I suppose. While making it, I didn't think it was very good but at the end, our teacher said that I'm good with my hands and he suggested that I take some lessons. *smile* Maybe he was just being nice, but I have always liked art. Someday, perhaps I'll be in the right place at the right time to take lessons.

From there, we took a short walk to McDonald's. The kids had been eagerly anticipating this and it was a fun experience to be there with them. The main thing of interest (aside from the food) was one of the couples eating together. She was wearing a higab (with face uncovered) and he had on sunglasses and shorts. They sat across from each other and after eating, their faces were only about 6 inches apart!!! About as close as you can get without touching/kissing, I guess!

Now the day is winding down and I'm starting to think of plans for the evening. I need to make a couple of phone calls. We leave early Wednesday morning for meetings/retreat near Alexandria. I'll be helping with the kids again for the first 1 1/2 days and then taking part in the meetings and activities after that.

I won't be on email again until the 9th or 10th, but feel free to email while I'm away. I'm opening the floor to suggestions on what I should do "next" in my life. Interesting jobs you think I'd like? Service opportunities? Graduate programs?

Would you believe I have a few quiet minutes to write, without any distractions. *laugh* This is quite impressive b/c I'm currently watching over 5 children, ages 8-12!!!

They're all MCC kids and their parents are in training sessions today and tomorrow, so I volunteered to hang out with the kids. So, that should mean that I'm online quite a bit during the day today.

It's possible during that time that I'll be able to write a bit about what I've been doing the last few weeks.

As a parting shot, the kids just chose to listen to "I Shot the Sheriff". *smile* I love MCC kids!!!

Back from another weekend in Cairo. Thursday, I went in the afternoon and met some friends at the famous, old El Fishawy's Cafe. Very cool place in the Islamic area of town. Friday, we had a meeting for everyone in my MCC group. After that, I went to the Opera House for an amazing performance by the Virsky National Dance Company of Ukraine. Wow! I've never seen such great dancing!

Now, I'm back and this evening I spent a bit of time online snooping around for things.

It looks like the city where I was living most recently in the U.S. while working at Walsh College is now doing a major downtown development project. Check out Clawson, Michigan!!

Playing with Google Mars. What is Google going to offer next?

A link from David. Looks like an interesting article about an Imam in New York.

Well, I thought I was going to have a nice, quiet weekend in Tanta. *laugh*

Instead, I had a nice and really fun weekend running around the countryside and Cairo!

On Thursday, I went with my friend Fady to the hospital he works at in a village of 5,000 just outside Tanta. We met people there and I even went on rounds with him! *grin* After that, we went to a wedding of one of the nurses. She is Muslim, as is everyone in the village.

Very neat! She wears the higab to cover her head and hair (but leaves her face open) everyday, but for her wedding day, she took it off and also wore a very nice wedding dress with transluscent sleeves. Pretty racy!

It was a long night and then an early Friday morning b/c I got a call to come to Cairo and help a Monk with his English. He's trying to travel to England to serve a church there. I have some experience in helping people prepare for the test he needs to score well on, so I went to help. Quite an experience! We sat together for about 4 hours and I mostly let him practice speaking -- so I got to ask him questions about his life, things at the monestery, etc.

Saturday was a big day, too! My friend Matt and I decided to head for some monuments in the morning and had a great time. We thought the highlight of the day was going to be the Ibn Tulun Mosque and that was cool, but then we discovered the Amir Taz Palace. It's an amazing story of how it was rescued.

Matt is a great photographer and took tons of pics, but I haven't seen them yet. For now, take a peek at these pictures that I found on the Net. If you're really interested, you can look at these pre-restoration pics.

This is my new favorite place in Cairo! (possibly in all of Egypt) Why? Well, it seems that it's not on the tourist trail yet, so we were the only people there! Sure, I want other people to enjoy it -- just not when I'm there! *smirk* It's just such a beautiful place and very calm.

Western Entertainment -- gotta love it!

Here's your quick report of the Pink Floyd cover band from Thursday and more...

Fantastic! The band was composed of all Egyptians and the crowd was about 90% Egyptian. People were singing along and even making requests! So much fun!

The meetings went well in Cairo and now it's Saturday night. I'm with friends and we're watching Saturday Night Live 25th Anniversary on DVD. *laugh*

Now, the last thing on the note of entertainment.

In a future post, I'm going to be trying to put together a list of major concerts I atended in the U.S. So...if you ever went to a concert with me, please email me at my gmail account and tell me what you remember!

Another pic from out in the village. This was a bridge over a small canal.

Looks like I'm going to a concert by a Pink Floyd cover band on Thursday night.

*laugh*

Yet another thing I never imagined I'd do in Egypt!

More details after the actual event...

Another first for me in Tanta!

Last night, I took my buddy Michael out for dinner, after my English classes. We sat down in the empty restaurant and while waiting for our meal, 3 more people came in.

The group of 3 was composed of 1 Egyptian and 2 university-aged students from either Malaysia or Indonesia.

So...that means that 3-out-of-5 customers in this restaurant at that time were foreigners! *laugh* I certainly never expected that to happen in Tanta!

Another pic for you all to enjoy. And I'll even explain the previous one with the bicycle. This was out near a village about 45 minutes outside of Tanta. One of the teachers in Tanta and her family have a house there and she invited me to come visit. So, I invited some other MCC'ers and we had a nice day.

Now, this pic is some critters we ran across while walking out in the fields. Cute, eh?

Not sure if anyone saw this on the news yet, but I received this email from the U.S. Embassy:

On February 17, 2006, the Government of Egypt confirmed that H5N1 Avian Influenza was found in poultry from the Cairo, Giza, and Minya Governorates.

The Embassy is not aware of any evidence of any human cases of the H5N1 Avian Influenza in Egypt.

--”Governorates” equate roughly to states, and I live in a different one from those 3 listed. Nonetheless, I'm going to cut down on my fondling of chickens and frolicking in poultry markets.

I have friends in Tanta who are vets and/or work for vet supply companies as sales representatives. Even before this recent development, they said that the market was in a downward spiral due to news in other parts of the world. I can only presume that these cases in Egypt will cause further damage to the industry.

Apparently, since this notice was sent out, there are now confirmed cases in 9 governorates, including the one where I live. As of the 20^th, no live chickens, geese, ducks, or swans are to be allowed in markets. If they are found, they will be confiscated and owners fined.

Speaking of health news, did anyone else happen to notice that this week a law was passed in the U.K. banning smoking in all enclosed public places (pubs, restaurants, and concert venues being the major change)?

England is becoming like California.

Scary!

I was lucky enough to watch part of 2 different hockey games today! *laugh* That's something I never expected to do in Egypt! Thank goodness for the Olympics!

The first was Germany vs. Italy. I saw another thing for the first time – Germany had cheerleaders! Strange...

It also sounds like New York has a new hockey team, at least according to the announcer on the station I was watching (from Dubai). The announcer twice mentioned the New York Icelanders. Seems silly, cut I see how that could come from “Islanders”.

Just a few minutes ago, Slovakia vs. USA finished. I think I was watching it live, so I won't spoil things for anyone by telling the final score. The biggest shock for me while watching that match was to see Chris Chelios on the ice! 44 years old and still going strong, I guess!

Between the 2 hockey games, I drove around Tanta for the first time and then taught 2 classes. A friend of mine had minor surgery on his foot last week, so that makes it tough for him to drive. So...I took him to his doctor's office today to have the dressing changed. I was impressed at how clean the office was. Much better than a hospital I saw last year that was a bit scary!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Now, I'll procede with a completely non-Valentine's themed message. *grin*

--I recently paid my utility bill with you. I thought I'd share the specifics, for any who are interested:

Gas: 40
Water: 53.50
Electric: 80

Now, that's not very helpful for comparison to where you live, until I convert to dollars.

Gas: $8.00
Water: $10.60
Electric: $16.00

Cheaper than what you're paying? *grin*

Oh wait, I forgot one important bit of information -- that's my total bill for the past 6 months.

*smirk*

By popular request (first by mother and now by David), I'm going to start updating things here a bit more often.

I just got back to Cairo this afternoon for my classes!

Go Egypt!!! Friday night, they won the Africa Cup Soccer Championship! And I was there cheering them on! We arrived 4 hours early and were very surprised to see the stadium already quite full!!! Thankfully, we still managed to get some decent seats to enjoy the pre-game cheering and then the match itself.

This was my 2^nd time to see Egypt play in this tournament. We did our ticket-buying far in advance and then Egypt was nice enough to keep winning so that we could see them play again! *grin*

Friday afternoon, the crowd was really lively. Go figure – 99% were cheering for the home side! People had nearly perfected their costumes and face-painting! They also got a chance to practice their French, at least in banner-writing!

One change from earlier matches was that there was a marching band for this match! I certainly didn't expect that!!!! Nor did I expect part of the band to be dressed in pseudo-pharonic garb! *laugh*

Pres. Mubarek and 1^st Lady Suzanna were in attendance and we watched the military helicopter fly overhead to bring them to the parking lot. It didn't surprise me that he was there, but in class today I had a long conversation with students about the match. They said that it is new for the 2 of them to show this much emotion over a sporting event. My students liked that they both (especially the Prez.) were just acting like normal people. I guess Suzanna was waving a flag and jumping up-and-down at times!!!

And they had a lot to cheer about!

The crowd was really loud at the beginning of the game, but then simmered down b/c the 1^st half was a real defensive battle! Quality play, but not much to really fire up the crowd.

Half-time was good to re-energize folks and roll through the 2^nd half. Score: 0-0. Yup...another match going to extra time.

15 minutes – no goals
another 15 – no goals

And then? Shoot-out!!!

Amazingly, Egypt's goalkeeper stopped 2 of the first 3 attempts against him! (very difficult to do) When he stopped the first one, it just sent a blast of energy through the crowd. With the 2^nd stop, it kicked up the energy level another notch. When all was said and done, Egypt scored on 4 of its kicks to Ivory Coast's 2.

The crowd? It went wild, to say the least! People were flinging their inflated noise-makers into the air, tossing their hats, etc. No high-5s, but lots of hugs and smiles!

We stuck around for a bit of the medal/trophy ceremony and then decided to slip out to beat the rush on the way out.

But we weren't allowed to leave. We went up and out of the stadium to the walkway and headed for the gates, only to find that the gates were closed. Yes, we were a bit confused.

However, our confusion was soon interrupted by the HUGE fireworks display. They were setting them off just outside the gates we wanted to use, so were were thankful that they weren't allowing people out! Nice display! Probably 15 minutes of constant explosions!

After that, we went out these gates and then for a 5 minute walk to the main gate and to the street. All inside the stadium, the cheering/celebrating continued and everyone was so happy! It was great to see! On the street, it reached another level!

Taxis with people hanging out the windows...pickups with people packed in the bed and sitting on top...cars with teenager sitting in the trunk with legs dangling out...flags...people on shoulders...families/couples/groups.

Now this isn't just people from inside the stadium. People were coming from all direction on foot and in cars to join in on the fun!

We thought about trying for a taxi, but ended up walking about 25 minutes and then catching a tram to where we were sleeping. What a trip! Everyone in my group was decked out in red/black/white, so as we walked past groups of soldiers, people in stores, or out in front of their apartment buildings, they would cheer for us/Egypt and we would wave and yell!

Then...fire. Now this was nothing compared to what I heard about at Michigan State University when they used to celebrate/riot, but these folks were doing their best.

It seems those “keep away from open flame” on spray cans like bug spray are there for a reason. If lit on fire, the streams make a torch about 3 feet in length!!! That's just a guess on the length b/c I wasn't getting close enough to really tell!!! *grin* But I saw several people doing it!!

We also saw people pouring gasoline on the street and then lighting it on fire!

Crazy!

I guess there's a reason the U.S. Embassy issued a warning on Thursday for U.S. Citizens to be careful around celebrations for the match!

Finally, we got to a tram stop and continued our party-watching from a tram. Good to get a different vantage point and be a little bit removed from things...but we could still see the partying out the windows.

Fun, fun, fun!!

While typing this, I've been half-watching an interview program on TV with the coach, captain, several players, and some singers who did songs for the tournament. They're also showing a few clips from the matches, but mostly it's crowd shots and short talks with people before/during/after the match yesterday. Cool to see!

As a closing note, I'll share a bit from a talk in class today. I had my students talk about the championship match for them to talk and also get some new vocabulary. One of the points they really were impressed by was how many young women and families were at the matches. I had also been surprised by this, so I encouraged them to talk a lot about this.

Apparently, matches in the Egypt club leagues are almost exclusively attended by men. Women don't see it as safe b/c thing are not well organized and fights often fight out between teams or spectators.

So...this was the first time for people to see such diverse crowds. My students seemed quite pleased and hope that this is the beginning of a change in the way things are done. I hope so too!

For a different perspective (from a friend who watched on TV and I sent updates to about the crowd, etc) see:

http://www.smsevcik.blogspot.com/

Another post where I apologize for not writing anything recently. Sensing a pattern here? What a sad Blog I have...only a few of you die-hards out there reading it b/c of my lack of posts. *sigh*

My excuses? I don't really have any.

Yes, I began classes this week...but that's not really keeping me too busy to write.

Social life? Well, I have been somewhat busy catching up with friends and sitting with people to watch the Africa Cup soccer matches...

But I've still had time at home to do some reading and to watch some movies. I wouldn't want to try typing while reading, but I think I could do it with a movie on in the background. But I just don't.

I know I've promised to get to the details of what's been going on since the holidays, but I guess I'll start with the present and then try to move back in time...

Here's my teaching schedule, if anyone is curious:

Saturday
5-6.30 --> Help with Conversation Class

Sunday, Tuesday
5.30-7 --> Level 5
7-9 --> Advanced Practice Class

Monday, Wednesday
4.30-6.30 --> Level 4
6.30-8.30 --> Level 6

Of this batch, only the “Advanced Practice” is new. We had a large group that finished Level 6 in December and they just don't want to stop studying! (I think that's a good thing) So, I'm putting together this class without a set textbook, just using handouts, Internet materials, etc. It's going to be more work than the other classes in terms of preparation, but I think it's going to be fun to do!

As I mentioned earlier, I've been watching lots of the Africa Cup matches. This includes 2 matches in the stadiums in Cairo last weekend!!! Quite an experience!

One of the other MCC'ers organized us awhile ago to buy tickets early, so we got tickets for 2 of the quarterfinal matches (Egypt ended up playing in one of them). The match we saw on Friday with Egypt was so much fun! We arrived at the stadium 4 ½ hours early so that we could get the best seats in our section.

So what did we do for all that time? Well, we entertained ourselves and also let the crowd entertain us. I don't know exact numbers, but I think there were about 30,000 in attendance. The vast majority were wearing red/black/white, the colors of the Egyptian flag. People had all sorts of clothing with these colors – hats, jerseys, scarves, shirts, even Muslim women with special higabs for the occasion!

People were beating on drums, singing songs, and doing chants. There was such an energy in the air! In the end, Egypt triumphed and the crowd was happy, to say the least...

Then on Saturday, we went to another quarterfinal match between Ivory Coast and Cameroon. We knew that crowd would be smaller, so we only got there 3 ½ hours early for that match. Even at that, we were there much earlier than we needed to be! This was in a smaller stadium than the Egypt match and there were were only several thousand ticket-holders in the stadium and then maybe 10,000 Egyptian soldiers/military to fill the other seats!!! *laugh*

Yes, they gave these guys colored running suits and then randomly dispersed them in sections of the stadium – some guys in green, others in red, orange, and yellow. What a scene!

Now I've been back in Tanta teaching this week.

Well, except for 1 class that I canceled on Tuesday night. Egypt was playing in the Semi-finals and I wanted to watch it on TV (and so did some of my students)! In a lively match, Egypt defeated Senegal 2-1 and will play Ivory Coast in the Final on Friday in Cairo.

Where will I be?

In the stadium!!!!! *smile* Yeah, it's going to be incredible!

Check next week for details about the match.

To see pics and read about the championship, check out: http://egypt2006.com.eg

Nearly 2 weeks since my last post!!! Yikes!

Let's see if I can start with today's activities since they're fresh in my mind and try to work backward in future posts.

Today, I spent the day with 3 students from Eastern Mennonite University. They're on something called the Middle East Study Tour. If you want to see a bit of what they've been up to, check out the journal/photo gallery.

Had a great Christmas-time in Tanta. Coptic Orthodox Christmas, that is! I was around the church both inside and outside on Christmas Eve to see the service and people, then went for dinner at a friend's house.

Christmas day started out for a children's party at the church, then time at the outdoor Tanta Social Club with friends, and then to a cafe' for the evening! Lots going on!

Now I'm in Cairo.

Tuesday starts a Muslim holiday which involves the sacrifice of sheep. I'll try to write more details later. Needless to say, the day of is a very bloody affair. However, days leading up to that can be somewhat amusing!

For example: today, I saw a man putting a sheep into the trunk of his car! The sheep wasn't putting up much of a fight. It wasn't even making any noise! It just tried to stick its head back out and the guy pushed him back in.

Crazy!

Thursday I'm off for about 10 days in Israel. More later!

Life is going in spurts -- either I'm really busy around Cairo, or nothing is going on. Friday was busy with church in the morning, then meeting some relatives who are visiting Egypt, Frisbee at 3pm, then dinner with another MCC'ers and her visitors. Crazy.

Today, it's been a quiet afternoon of emailing and catching up on news. Tonight, I guess I'm going to do something to celebrate New Year's Eve, but I haven't quite figured out what!

But it's all insignificant compared to this:

UN 'shocked' by violence in Cairo

--Please read this article and follow links to the pics and other newspapers reporting on this story. It's horrible, absolutely horrible. I heard yesterday afternoon about troops going in, but I didn't know until today about the death toll. I'm not sure if I know anyone who was involved, but I'd be willing to bet that I know several family members of people who were.

I'm saddened by the reality of this, but I'm glad to see the heavy coverage that it is getting by Western media. This is a story that needs to be watched and followed... Please pray for all those involved.

I guess I should explain the pictures.

The one with me and 2 other guys was taken at a Retreat Center near Tanta when I was there on the 23rd and 24th with all the MCC'ers. On the left is George, our accountant/office manager (Egyptian). Next is James, the coordinator of our program in Egypt (he and his wife, Linda do that job together -- both are from Pennsylvania)

The big group picture is me with my Level 4 class that just finished. That's the reason for the odd hand gesture! *grin* This was a great group and I'm excited about having them again in Level 5!

Day after Christmas...

Went to a big mall today. It's a huge mega-mall in Cairo called "Stars Centre". I would include a link, but the website is so useless that I can't bring myself to do it. I couldn't even find a list of the major stores or any decent pictures. *sigh*

Just did window-shopping while some MCC'ers and their kids went to the movies. I didn't feel like watching anything, so I was happy to walk around.

Chatted tonight with my Mom, my niece Jordan, plus my friends Rob and Juan. A very nice after-Christmas present.

I should be online again on Tuesday if anyone is around to chat. I'll also try to write more about my Christmas celebrations...

Merry Christmasn and Happy Holidays to all!

If anyone is online on the 26th, I should be online b/c I want to chat with my family. Try to catch me then!

-Jason

9 days since my last post! Terrible! I have been online in that time, but I keep forgetting to write anything here.

Now I'm sitting b/c it's better than moving around. *smirk* On Friday, I went on a 2-mile run with a friend and then played Ultimate Frisbee. This is more high-impact exercise than I've done in the past 6 months combined! I need to learn how to say "my knees hurt" in Arabic! *grin*

I was around Cairo for a couple of good Christmas concerts, but now I'm headed back to Tanta. In fact, I need to go right now so that I can get to the train station in plenty of time!

1 of my exams is complete and graded. That leaves 3 more to give this week and then grades to calculate. That'll all be done on Wed. Then on the 22nd, some MCC'ers are coming to stay with me for the night and hang around Tanta. On the 23rd, the rest of the group will come to Tanta and we will all be at a Retreat Center together for 2 days to celebrate Christmas. Then...back to Cairo for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Beyond that...????

Back...in Cairo...again!!!!

Yes, this update is coming to you from the fine city of Cairo. Tanta? Yeah, I was there for 4 days this week!

I'm here to go to church on Friday morning, bake Christmas cookies with friends in the afternoon, then go to a party Friday night. It'll be a big day!

Saturday -- it's back to Tanta for a meeting with my bosses from Cairo, my director in Tanta, and the Bishop. Nothing bad, just to see how everything is going and talk about what we'll be doing this upcoming year.

Next week, I'll finish one of my classes (they asked to speed things up to be done before their university exams) but I'll keep going with my others until the 18th or 20th.

Made it back from a long weekend in Cairo. Would you believe that I was awake before 7am on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings??? Crazy!

Thursday was so that I could observe some classes at Ein Shams University in Cairo. The director of my English program in Tanta teaches there and she invited me to see her students and talk with them a bit. I did this a year or so ago and it's quite the experience!! 60-80 students crammed into a small lecture room. Most of them were Muslim and a handful were fully veiled. (no, the veiled ones didn't talk to me)

I was running on caffeine most of the day! I had breakfast around 6, Nescafe at 10.45, and then Turkish coffee at 12.45. I was wired!! Finally had lunch around 3.30pm, before going to the Cathedral in Cairo to watch an MCC'er teach 2 classes and help with them a bit. Big, big day of being in classes!!!!

After that? I went to a band playing African music and then to dinner at 11pm.

More later about the rest of the weekend!

Just some quick thought for the day... I'm thinking about getting a DSL connection in my apartment after the holidays. My bosses in Cairo have DSL at work and at home, so it would be convenient to talk to them anytime using MSN Messenger or Skype. This wouldn't be a blinding fast connection (it's actually ADSL), but fast enough. Of course, many of you out there have really fast connections and I could talk to you from home, too.

I'm also gearing up for some serious research into jobs or graduate schools for when I return to the U.S., so I think that will require quite a bit of time online.

Big weekend coming up -- Thanksgiving in Beni Sueff, then Sat. and Sun. in Cairo for a teaching conference.

No big news. It seems that most people I talk to are quite nervous about the results of the recent election in Egypt. Out of 440 representatives, about 70 are now from the Muslim Brotherhood. That's less than 20%, but a big increase from the 30 people who previously held office. I'm curious what the short- and long-term reaction by the U.S. govt. will be. It seems that throwing millions of dollars to Egypt is not having the desired result. I wonder what Plan B will be...?

Well, here's your unexpected Election update.

Election -- what election? Well, today is round 2 of the elections for parliament seats in some areas of Egypt. Tanta is one of those areas, so the election has been a big topic of conversation this week.

Last Sunday was round 1 which took a list of about 20 candidates down to 4. Today, 2 will be elected from those 4. I can't find a lot of links, but this one tells you about some arrests in Alexandria.

Actually, by the time you read this there will probably be updated news about what's going on. So, the best place I can point you to is: Egypt's Independent News.

Pray for this country. It's getting crazier than ever!

Ack!

For no good reason, I seem to be having a Bill the Cat moment. *laugh* Now, how many of you will get _that_ reference.

Crazy busy times here. Extra classes last week, gone all weekend for the MCC Fall Retreat in Minya, back to Tanta on Sunday, now more extra classes this week. Visitors from MCC are coming to stay with me Friday night, so I'm working on cleaning when I have time...

So, no deep thoughts on world issues. In fact, I'm back into my little bubble in Tanta, so I haven't gotten any news in days. My cable TV has been out for a few days and I'm guessing my landlord stopped paying for it. I was spliced into his line, so it was free for me -- so I suppose I can't complain!

Hopefully, I will have some time Thursday afternoon to look through emails, and post more here. I've been hearing about more and more people using Skype. Do you? Opinions? I'm going to try to register tomorrow and then be online a bit to test it.

So this post began as a comment to what David wrote about the non-profit group One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), but it was getting quite long so I thought that I should put it here:

Of course this will be successful. By "successful", I mean that there will be lots of good press for MIT and the sponsors as they hand these laptops to smiling children. Really, the only goal is to give them the computers. On the site, there aren't any concrete goals about the use of the computers. Here's a question and answer from the site's FAQ:

"Why do children in developing nations need laptops?
Laptops are both a window and a tool: a window into the world and a tool with which to think. They are a wonderful way for all children to "learn learning" through independent interaction and exploration."

Now, there are several problems with this. The first is that if there is a goal in here somewhere, it's one which will make it impossible to do follow-up on. There will be results to giving the computer away, but there will be no good way of using them to justify the project.

The second problem is that in general, projects which address a "need" should have the assessment and decision-making done locally. If these countries came to MIT or some group and said "we need cheap laptops for reasons X, Y, and Z" that's one thing. The reality is another. Here, you have an outside organization with serious resources coming into countries and saying "Take this -- try to use it in a good way".

There's a very funny of this in the FAQ:
"In one Cambodian village where we have been working, there is no electricity, thus the laptop is, among other things, the brightest light source in the home."

Yup! Odds are, that's how some of these computers will be used -- as light sources. Not as a "window on the world", but like a $100 candle to light up someone's living room.

Wow...the prospect of looking into graduate schools, getting funding, etc. is really daunting. I started doing some research on that today. *sigh* Anyone have any good suggestions?

Fortunately, I had a few nice distractions to take me away from the frustration of that. First, I chatted with my Mom, then David, and finally my friend Dhiveja from South Africa. I've never been able to chat with Dhiveja online before and this was a very special occasion b/c she was chatting with me from China, where she is competing in the 2005 Miss World Competition. Check your local listings for December 10th and cheer for her!

My first picture from Syria. That trip is often on my mind and I finally got around to putting up a pic. This is on my final day in Damascus, in a "bath house". Do I look relaxed? I should! For 2 hours leading up to this picture, I was in a sauna and then got a really good massage.

Bad news for the day: Bananas Could Split for Good. (bad pun from the BBC)

One of our new volunteers in Egypt recently told me about the possibility of a banana blight. This article from the BBC is a couple of years old, so let's hope scientists have been working on things! Thankfully, it's not a problem for me in Egypt b/c the bananas here are a different variety. The taste a bit creamier and are softer than what you get in N. America.

Yes, another post already!

That's b/c I forgot something important in the previous one. I bought a drum today!!! Now, I just need to learn how to play it. My neighbors are going to _love_ me while I'm playing around with it!

It's an African-style drum. I don't know how to describe it, beyond that. One of these days, I'll take a pic. But I need to post Jordan/Syria pics first!

Anyway, I got it for less than $3 U.S. and it's really cool. Someone made the body from pottery and then put a drum head over the end. The sound is decent and I like how it looks, too. A bit heavy to move around much with it, but fun to have!

The first post in my newly-revived Blog and I don't have much to say.

I guess the highlight of the weekend was hearing a talk by Terry Waite at the American University in Cairo. To refresh your memory, this is the hostage-negotiator (among other jobs) who was held hostage for 5 years in Lebanon starting in 1987. He spoke on the roots/causes of terrorism and it was very thought-provoking (and even entertaining b/c he's a funny guy!)

This was quite a relevant topic b/c of the bombings in Jordan on Thursday.

To use a famous quote..."I'm baaaack!"

Basically, I've decided that I am online often enough and it's more fun doing a journal online like this than Tanta Tales. At least for now. What do you think?

Right now, I'm not sure how often I'll update things here -- maybe a couple of times a week. For special occasions, I'll send out Tanta Tales messages...

Of course, I still want to hear from you by email!!!

-Jason

Well, I've decided to start sending out emails and only using this site to put links to my pictures, books I'm reading, etc. I also like that the site is archived so that I can keep the old things I've written but I guess I could manually do that too. We'll see how that works out.

But for now, I'm just going to send email out to folks. If for some reason, you haven't been getting my notification messages and want to be on my email list, please let me know.

Signing off...

Hmmm...this didn't work when I posted on Sunday. Better now?

A bit about where I'm living:

No A/C -- fans only. I have 2 floor-fans in my room, then in the TV room there's a ceiling fan, and in the dining room (where I eat lunch) there are quite a few fans which help keep the air moving.

The food has been good and I definitely feel like I'm "eating like an Egyptian". I've been having many foods that I had only seen or maybe just tried 1 times. Now I am eating them on a daily basis. Let's see if I can describe some things:

-Green peppers stuffed with rice and seasonings
-bread and cheese
-meatball-type things
-corn "soup" (kinda like soup, but not quite)

New pictures up of where I'm living...

Username: jpics
Password: easy

http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4289823393

and the recent MCC meeting

I also just added a page with the books I've been reading. It's "books".

Hmmm...so they've changed the way thing work for the software I use to write my journal. It looks a bit nicer for me to type, but it shouldn't make any difference when it comes to how you view it.

Things have calmed down here in Tanta, but apparently I've been acting a bit tired/grumpy today. Two different times, people asked me, "why aren't you happy". But tomorrow is a new day!

I hope people are still reading this, even though I haven't been posting much and didn't send out an email about my most recent posts.

This is also the first post from my laptop in Tanta. The guys at my local Internet Cafe' have been nice enough to let me connect here. It's not very fast for downloading *frown*, but it'll do...

On the way back from Cairo on Sunday night, I started talking with 2 guys on the train. Both are studying to be translators at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. Very bright guys and friendly, but of course not Christian.

Tuesday afternoon, one of them called to invite me to come with them to his agricultural village a few kilometers outside Tanta. Everything was so green, nice fresh air, a great sunset, and the opportunity to see fields of apples, grapes, oranges, mangos, and corn. (the guy's family owns property and raises crops). He sent me home with a bunch of apples and I shared a meal in the family home.

Great! Right?

Well, for me -- yes! I felt completely comfortable and safe the entire time and really enjoyed the experience.

Unfortunately, the folks at Dar Phoebe (where I live) weren't thrilled. I left around 5pm and got back at 11:30. Before midnight when "the big outside door is locked".

So this morning, Tessuni (the sister who runs Dar Phoebe) and others were very curious what I had been up to, where I had been, and why I hadn't told them when I would be back.

Mostly b/c I wasn't sure how long I was going to be gone. Also, I didn't think they wanted/needed to know my movements, but apparently they do.

Due to this and the people I was with not being Christian, I got into a fairly long talk today with Tessuni about who I should (and shouldn't) be friends with. *sigh* Mostly I said lots of "I understand" in response to what she was saying. It seems as if they would like to choose my friends for me, or at least make sure that they are Christian.

I know that I am teaching with/for the Orthodox and they feel responsible for me, but what are the limits? Overall, being at Dar Phoebe is wonderful, but it would be even better if they would just relax a bit. I'm feeling like choosing discretion over honesty is in the position I'm in now. Up to this point, I've been telling them everything when they ask, but now it feels like that's going to cause more problems.

(this was the text of a message I sent to my bosses about things in Tanta, but I thought it made for a good journal entry, too)

A good weekend in Cairo. Frisbee, a couple of movies ("You've Got Mail" and "When Harry Met Sally"), a meeting/goodbye party for Craig/Karen, and a bit of baking. Busy, busy!

I watched "Mail" with other volunteers at Dawson Hall on Friday and decided to watch more Meg Ryan, so "Sally" was on Saturday. Funny thing is that it was the edited Egyptian version, so _the_ scene was completely taken out!!! *laugh* I won't explain, but hopefully folks understand.

Also went to a big "Refugee Day" at the American University. Good music, food, fun, and learning about different organizations.

I met a couple of interesting guys on the train last night, coming back to Tanta. Both are students in Cairo, but coming back for the summer with their parents in Tanta. One is studying "Islamic Law" and the other is studying to become a real-time translator (like for live speeches and that sort of thing)

They might call me later in the week to get together. We'll see...