I took the shuttle up to the Embassy last week and was again the only one riding that day. As usual, the shuttle driver took the opportunity of a captive audience to expound upon life in Egypt. This driver, Ahmed, felt compelled to give me a lesson in theology.
Ahmed began by saying that he knows my husband and thinks that he is a very kind man. 'He always smiles and seems very happy. People should be happy- it makes God happy to see that people are happy. So people should try to be happy all of the time.' Feeling mischievous, I asked why God sent bad things to people if He would prefer that we all be happy. After a few minutes trying to answer, Ahmed gave up. I am not sure whether it was his English or his theology that was the problem, but I didn't push it.
The next topic that Ahmed brought up was children. He asked if I had any children and I said I wasn't sure if I wanted children because they are a lot of work. Although he agreed that they are, he disagreed with my reasoning. 'You should have children. Why? If you decide not to have children and the next lady decides not to have children very soon there will be no children in the world. You should pray to God whether you should have a child or not. If he blesses you, you will have one boy and one girl.'
After bringing God into two conversations, Ahmed felt the need to explain why. 'I don't need to ask whether you are Jewish, Muslim, or Christian. All people worship the same God, and God answers everyone's prayers.' To a middle-aged Middle Eastern man, the thought that some people might not believe in God was probably outside his ability to comprehend. As I do believe in God, I didn't see the need to argue this point. I was impressed with Ahmed's all-inclusive theology, however. I don't know whether the official Muslim doctrines support the idea that God is the same God for all people and He listens to everyone's prayers. Whether it is accurate or not, I suspect that were this belief more widely shared there would be much less conflict around.
Ahmed's final contribution to my Egyptian Theology instruction was God's Antibiotic. I was going to the Embassy to see the doctor about a rash on my arms. Ahmed looked it over and suggested I do the following: 'Put your finger under your tongue (to moisten it). Then, run your finger along the outside edge of your earlobe. In a few days your problem will be gone. This is God's Antibiotic.' So far the suggestions of the embassy doctor are working well, but if I suffer a setback I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try the Egyptian way!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Compound Cats
Cats are quite ubiquitous in Egypt, partly due to Egyptians' long history of revering cats and partly due to most Egyptians' lack of interest in spaying and neutering their animals. A few years ago several Americans living in our building took pity on a few cats that hung around our compound and started feeding them. This led to spaying and neutering those few cats and making sure they had their shots.
Our compound is now the proud owner of four cats. It seems likely that the people who took care of the cats' medical needs also gave them names, but those people have now moved on. Another new family took over feeding duty, and their seven year old daughter Amelia has given them new names.
The oldest cat is called Princess. I reluctantly adopted this name after calling her 'Loud Mouth' for a few weeks. Amelia insists that the reason she is so loud and demanding is because she is acting like a princess.
Princess' mortal enemy among the compound cats is Tigress. Tigress is unimpressed with anyone's efforts to befriend her— cat or human. She hangs around merely for the food.
The nicest cat of the four is called Mamma Cat. If you sit down next to her she will climb into your lap and settle down. She has a soothing purr and loves to be pet.
Mamma Cat got her name because she arrived with a daughter. Amelia calls the daughter cat Gemila, which is Arabic for beautiful. As Gemila is still quite young she loves to play but does not usually sit still long enough to be pet. We all hope she will grow up to be as nice as her Mamma.
All of this is technically against US Government housing rules, but we have a very nice building manager who looks the other way. Four cats is manageable, but we are nervous about what might happen if any more very nice cats start showing up for free food and petting...
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Clubs
Cairo is the largest city in the Middle East, and as such, there has been a consistent presence of a large number of foreigners in Egypt for well over a 1000 years. One of our sponsors explained to me on our first day in Cairo that expatriate life in this city is organized around a series of clubs, due no doubt to the lingering British colonial influence. There is a British club, an American club, a Swiss club, a club for wives of oil executives, etc. The kind of social life you lead and how much interaction you have with the local population are governed in large part by which club you belong to.
The Egyptians themselves have adopted this way of life, and many of them also belong to clubs. The membership fees for both the expat and local clubs can be quite high. It is a sign of wealth and standing for Egyptians to belong to the 'right' clubs. One person we met said that her Arabic teacher was so proud of finally being able to pay for a membership in a highly desirable club that he arranged a party for the whole class there in order to show it off.
Within a week of arriving here we belonged to two clubs— the American club and an international club called the Community Services Association (CSA). The American club has a great pool, a playground, a restaurant, a bar, and a lot of activities for the Embassy families. We enjoy going there to just 'be American'. My favorite club, however is the CSA. It is free to join and has a large number of activities available. It also has the best coffee I've tasted so far in Egypt.
The variety of nationalities at the CSA is overwhelming. Last week I stopped by for coffee and spent an hour talking to a man with Greek residency but of German and Egyptian heritage. After a while an elderly Frenchman came in for his daily espresso and joined our conversation. Once he left, an Egyptian girl and Thai girl from the next table started talking with us. This morning I took a Lebanese cooking class, taught by an Egyptian, also attended by women from Romania, Tajikistan, and the Philippines. My Pilates classes are taught by three British women, and the chiropractor in the office next to the gym is Canadian.
Clubs can, of course, by their nature be exclusive and isolating. And sometimes it might be necessary to limit a club membership, as in the case of the American club, due to security reasons. It is very refreshing, however, to visit a club such as the CSA and see so many people from so many countries peacefully enjoying classes, activities, and coffee together. It is fitting that such a club exists in Egypt, as most Egyptians themselves are so welcoming and open to whoever wants to visit the country they are so proud of.
The Egyptians themselves have adopted this way of life, and many of them also belong to clubs. The membership fees for both the expat and local clubs can be quite high. It is a sign of wealth and standing for Egyptians to belong to the 'right' clubs. One person we met said that her Arabic teacher was so proud of finally being able to pay for a membership in a highly desirable club that he arranged a party for the whole class there in order to show it off.
Within a week of arriving here we belonged to two clubs— the American club and an international club called the Community Services Association (CSA). The American club has a great pool, a playground, a restaurant, a bar, and a lot of activities for the Embassy families. We enjoy going there to just 'be American'. My favorite club, however is the CSA. It is free to join and has a large number of activities available. It also has the best coffee I've tasted so far in Egypt.
The variety of nationalities at the CSA is overwhelming. Last week I stopped by for coffee and spent an hour talking to a man with Greek residency but of German and Egyptian heritage. After a while an elderly Frenchman came in for his daily espresso and joined our conversation. Once he left, an Egyptian girl and Thai girl from the next table started talking with us. This morning I took a Lebanese cooking class, taught by an Egyptian, also attended by women from Romania, Tajikistan, and the Philippines. My Pilates classes are taught by three British women, and the chiropractor in the office next to the gym is Canadian.
Clubs can, of course, by their nature be exclusive and isolating. And sometimes it might be necessary to limit a club membership, as in the case of the American club, due to security reasons. It is very refreshing, however, to visit a club such as the CSA and see so many people from so many countries peacefully enjoying classes, activities, and coffee together. It is fitting that such a club exists in Egypt, as most Egyptians themselves are so welcoming and open to whoever wants to visit the country they are so proud of.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Storming the Embassy
As some of you may have heard, last night there were protests in Cairo. Although some of the protestors were angry at the United States specifically, the majority of the protesters were not gathering, as far as we can tell, due to it being September 11th. Instead, the protestors were upset about a film that was made either by an American Jewish man or Danish Christian— the news sources are conflicted about exactly which film was being protested.
Most major protests in Cairo gather in Tahrir Square which is only two blocks from the United States Embassy. The embassy security services were aware of the planned protest and sent most employees home early. This was fortunate because the protests were larger than normal and quickly became angry. Several hundred protesters left Tahrir Square in the early evening and stormed the embassy. Our Marines guard the inside of the embassy, and Egyptian security forces guard the outside. Even with that, about twenty young men were able to scale the walls and get inside the embassy courtyard.
The protestors took down the American flag hanging in the courtyard and attempted to replace it with a flag representing their own group, the Ultras. And here is where, to our amusement, Egyptian inefficiency and lack of foresight became evident: The initial idea seems to have been to burn the American flag. Unfortunately, no one was able to set it alight. So instead, they tore the flag into pieces. This was also insulting, but not quite the insult burning might have been. Secondly, the young men were unable to raise their own flag inside the embassy. They had to settle for draping it across a ladder which was leaning against the outside embassy walls. Rather less of a statement than it might have been.
Fortunately, no one was harmed yesterday— American or Egyptian. As almost all of the embassy employees had been sent home by the time the protests gathered, there weren't many people around anyway. And even though it seemed fairly easy for the protestors to climb the embassy compound walls, they never would have gotten any further than the courtyard. All of the buildings have bullet-proof glass, and every entrance was guarded by several armed Marines. One news source says that warning shots were fired, but no one seems to know who fired them.
In case anyone was worried, I want to assure you all that we are perfectly fine. We had ample warning that something might happen so we were able to be out of the way many hours before the protests started. We were notified by email, text messages, and phone calls as soon as the protests took a turn for the worse. We even had additional phone calls asking whether I was still OK with my husband going out of town on his business trip the next day. Frankly, I was more worried when all the phone calls started than when we first heard the news. Everyone seemed to think I would be perfectly justified if I insisted that the trip be canceled. We are, of course, hoping that things don't get any worse, but for the moment we are as safe as can be.
Update: We have just found out that the Libyan ambassador was killed in a rocket attack on their consulate this morning. Things are a bit tense at our embassy since Libya is right next to Egypt.
I was a bit apprehensive about going out this morning even though our apartment is quite far from the protests in Cairo. I went out anyway, and it was a good thing I did. As I was waiting to cross a busy street a young man saw a scratch on my hand (I had just been petting a kitten), handed me a tissue, and offered to show me to a pharmacy. Not one minute later a lady walked past me, saw that I was having trouble getting across the traffic, grabbed my hand like I was two years old, and pulled me across to safety. Just after that I got the call about Libya.
If I had been tempted to fear all Egyptians due to the unrest in the region I had just been given two excellent reasons not to. There are uncontrolled, angry people around that can be dangerous, but there are also many people who can look past politics and religion to help a fellow human being— a good lesson for everyone and perhaps especially for Americans.
Most major protests in Cairo gather in Tahrir Square which is only two blocks from the United States Embassy. The embassy security services were aware of the planned protest and sent most employees home early. This was fortunate because the protests were larger than normal and quickly became angry. Several hundred protesters left Tahrir Square in the early evening and stormed the embassy. Our Marines guard the inside of the embassy, and Egyptian security forces guard the outside. Even with that, about twenty young men were able to scale the walls and get inside the embassy courtyard.
The protestors took down the American flag hanging in the courtyard and attempted to replace it with a flag representing their own group, the Ultras. And here is where, to our amusement, Egyptian inefficiency and lack of foresight became evident: The initial idea seems to have been to burn the American flag. Unfortunately, no one was able to set it alight. So instead, they tore the flag into pieces. This was also insulting, but not quite the insult burning might have been. Secondly, the young men were unable to raise their own flag inside the embassy. They had to settle for draping it across a ladder which was leaning against the outside embassy walls. Rather less of a statement than it might have been.
Fortunately, no one was harmed yesterday— American or Egyptian. As almost all of the embassy employees had been sent home by the time the protests gathered, there weren't many people around anyway. And even though it seemed fairly easy for the protestors to climb the embassy compound walls, they never would have gotten any further than the courtyard. All of the buildings have bullet-proof glass, and every entrance was guarded by several armed Marines. One news source says that warning shots were fired, but no one seems to know who fired them.
In case anyone was worried, I want to assure you all that we are perfectly fine. We had ample warning that something might happen so we were able to be out of the way many hours before the protests started. We were notified by email, text messages, and phone calls as soon as the protests took a turn for the worse. We even had additional phone calls asking whether I was still OK with my husband going out of town on his business trip the next day. Frankly, I was more worried when all the phone calls started than when we first heard the news. Everyone seemed to think I would be perfectly justified if I insisted that the trip be canceled. We are, of course, hoping that things don't get any worse, but for the moment we are as safe as can be.
Update: We have just found out that the Libyan ambassador was killed in a rocket attack on their consulate this morning. Things are a bit tense at our embassy since Libya is right next to Egypt.
I was a bit apprehensive about going out this morning even though our apartment is quite far from the protests in Cairo. I went out anyway, and it was a good thing I did. As I was waiting to cross a busy street a young man saw a scratch on my hand (I had just been petting a kitten), handed me a tissue, and offered to show me to a pharmacy. Not one minute later a lady walked past me, saw that I was having trouble getting across the traffic, grabbed my hand like I was two years old, and pulled me across to safety. Just after that I got the call about Libya.
If I had been tempted to fear all Egyptians due to the unrest in the region I had just been given two excellent reasons not to. There are uncontrolled, angry people around that can be dangerous, but there are also many people who can look past politics and religion to help a fellow human being— a good lesson for everyone and perhaps especially for Americans.
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