February 2009
1 post
An Egyptian soldier on his way to Darfur
Egypt plays a pivotal role in Darfur crisis; it is crystallized in the attempt of Egypt to solve the crisis peacefully and settle the differences between the parties in conflict so as to stop bloodshed and prevent the foreign interference in the Sudanese affairs, thus, maintaing the unity of Sudan.
When I first met A. Sultan, it was difficult to get him to talk about anything other than his...
January 2009
3 posts
Iraqi LGBT →
This organization helps persecuted LGBT Iraquis escape the country. It’s been said that the American occupation worsened the lives of gay Iraqis. Death squads now specifically target them, in addition to all the risk that living in the country entails for anyone.
Egypt's position in the Gaza war
Involvement in news from Palestine is inescapable, but it’s amazing how much less abstract it seems from Egypt than it did from the U.S. There’s the personal connections, and also the much more graphic news.
So far the Israeli army killed 205 children, and around 600 people, mostly civilians(5) . While the U.S. media shows flag covered coffins, the cover of every newspaper here...
December 2008
3 posts
Egyptian Chronicles →
One of the Egyptian blogs (in English) that I read.
Egyptians Living in Israel →
Watching you peel off your. . .sweatshirt
The other day I was on the train, in the car where only women are allowed, and I took off my sweatshirt. The woman standing in front of me said in Arabic, approximately, “By the way you must not do that outside of here.” Meaning, you know, where men could see me.
Actually, I’ve always thought there was something oddly erotic about watching people take off their sweatshirts but,...
November 2008
1 post
Hello again
I’m reviving this blog with the goal of relaying what I am learning about Egypt to everyone interested. Tracking my experience can be a way to learn about the country outside of academic writing or shallow and impersonal news coverage. I aim to make my writing personal but accurate. However, I make no claim to be “unbiased” in the tradition of newspaper journalism. There are...
October 2008
1 post
Egypt blogs U.S. Elections →
Egyptian bloggers reporting from the U.S. share their views on our elections.
September 2008
6 posts
Ana buhib adarris kateer!
Hesitantly, I signed up to co-teach an English class with an Egyptian NGO. My co-teacher bailed on me the day it was going to start and I was left wondering why I ever thought I could do this.
Then, it turned out to be one of my best experiences since I got here!
The class I am teaching is an advanced English class, so the students are fluent. I am happy to say the cirriculum is very flexible...
Ya Mozza! pt 2
So it turns out the Egyptian government’s psa’s are not about sexual harrasment per se, but about treating the tourists well. Last night I saw one with an old American guy and an Egyptian shop owner who tries to sell him something over the marked price. Basically friendly big-brother reminder of who’s bringing money into Egypt.
Speaking of shop owners, Mallory, Evan and I went...
We all look the same.
While most Egyptians automatically greet me with “Hello!/Welcome in Egypt!,” (to which I usually reply “fahima arabiya” or “ana aesh hina”), the rest have thrown a weird mix of ethnicities and nationalities at me.
Next to American, the most popular is French. It only ever happens on the train though— I will offer my seat to an Egyptian woman and she will...
Ya, Mozza!
In response to the problem of men sexually harrassing women on the street, the Egyptian government has started showing a series of anti-harrasment psa’s. Although harrassment is a problem for most women here, the star of this series is always the same blonde tourist woman.
The best one involves an Egyptian truck driver yelling at the blonde tourist lady while she is on a tour bus. All I...
The end of my honeymoon with Cairo
I’ve been here three weeks now, and I’m watching all of my assumptions about the way things work get dispproved. Culture shock is the most commonly understood term, but “shock” makes it seem a lot more striking and sudden than it really is. After I stopped being so infatuated with everything, it was more like I became vaguely and persistently stressed. As cliche as it...