rites of passage

So after a somewhat fruitless attempt at getting all my stuff done at Mogomma, I realized I had just gone through a very important Egyptian rite of passage; wasting time in the depths of Egyptian bureaucracy. No English, photo copy this here, get a passport sized photo of yourself there, pay at window number 1, and then window number 43, sign this, no you may not write in red pen, and oh, now it is 1 pm, and it is too late so come back tomorrow. The imposing, communist looking building sits right on Tahrir Square, looking out at the Egyptian museum right downtown. In a way though, everyone needs to go through this, and I'm not too put off by taking another day off from school before I fly out to Istanbul. 

This weekend for whatever reason I got in club mode. I hadn't really gone "clubbing" in Cairo, and on Friday night, it consisted of waiting outside of one place because some people were wearing sneakers, and not getting in to another one because not everyone had their ID on them. Thank you very much, I wont be back. I much prefer my favorite shabby watering holes, or the coffee shops playing dominos and smoking shisha with the locals. 

Field trip to the Sinai

As much as some days in the class room can be absolutely draining and disheartening, the field trip with my class to the Sinai Peninsula seemed to wash away all worries, and make it completely worth it. Not only were the kids actually actively engaged with the program, but they got to see a relaxed, inspired teacher side of me that is rare in the classroom, and together we were in a beautiful place in the world, rich with educational opportunities. It was unique in many ways; we were staying in an ecolodge, no electricity, little running water, ran by bedouins in the largest (of seven) protectorate in Sinai.  

[view of the Al-Karm Ecolodge in the Gharaba Valley, Sheikh Awad area]

The field trip was ran by WESC (an educational program that organizes environmentally conscious programs), so we had three "leaders" who took us around various activities. I felt like a kid doing some of these activities. Upon arrival we went on a hike through a canyon, looking and observing rocks. The following day, we met with a doctor from the valley, or in Arabic a Hakim, meaning someone wise, who explained to us the uses of the plants of the valley for medicinal purposes. It was a treat to be with him as he told stories about trial and error in understanding the uses and power of the plants, and it spoke to the Bedouin mentality of resourcefulness and surviving on the bare minimum. Each plant had it's own purpose, from treating asthma, to illness, to helping people with diabetes who are injured, to curing lethal snake bites. At one point one of the children stepped on a hose that was leading to the ecolodge from one of the wells, causing a leak, and Doctor Ahmed went off and found a plastic bag, and a something to tie it with, fixing it on the spot. 

[Doctor Ahmed, explaining about "Batharan" or "Sheeh Baladi," a plant good for Diaherra]

We also had activities making soap with a plant called Agram, learning about rocks and minerals and doing tests on them, going on a fauna trail - learning about the living creatures in the desert, a history trail - learning about the Nabatean people, and a long hike. Not to mention camel riding (where I raced on a camel), and a fortuity of a retired british man to be staying at the ecolodge as well with his 8 inch aperture digital telescope (the most high-tech telescope on the market) and the chance to check out the rings of Saturn and the craters of the moon. 

At times, it was a bit bothersome to see trash from our group, and hear the constant response from every student "it's not mine." Or when four children took the wrong turn on the way back, and got lost for about an hour. Most of all, when we were doing some activities, bedouin kids would attentively watch us, and the GVS students would shrug them off, be rude to them, or be too afraid to interact. This is an upsetting reality of rich spoiled kids who are uncomfortable of stepping out of their class. 

Bedouin women selling their wares outside the Ecolodge

I like this kid's taste. He's drinking Fanta. However, here it's saddening. A new trend of goods coming into Bedouin life when it use to be all disposable, sustainable items. 

Ruins from the history trail. This is the Nabatean village, one of the few landmarks left over from their history, one of the more famous ones being Petra. The Nabateans were a powerful people who controlled the trade routes across the Middle East, to China, from 300 - 0 bc, with a secretive ways, and completely disappeared leaving little trace. They were fearful of the Romans, who wanted to kill the Nabateans for what they saw as an unfair trade tax upon them. 

World Cup Qualifier

4$ tickets to go see an Egypt v. Zambia qualifying match for the World Cup? Why not. I realized on my way to the match that I had no idea where exactly in Africa Zambia was, other than it wasn't in the North, probably in the East we concluded.. We got to the stadium about 2 and 1/2 hours before the match started, which gave me ample time to grade quizzes, soak in the scene, get an Egyptian flag painted on my face, and decline the multitude of junk that coming by for sale for "Egyptian brice."  The match was decent, Egypt was by far the better team, and played well in the first half with a solid goal, but then let up a little in the second only to let a lucky header in from Zambia to tie the match. The angst and priceless crowd reactions continued until the end. The stadium was about 100,000 capacity, and was basically filled. It was fun doing the wave as it went around, and the stadium went nuts after the first goal. 

After the first goal.

The cheers were also pretty easy to follow. Clap clap clap clap, musri! (Egypt!)

Opa ee... opa ah... inshallah haneksib (we will win God-Willing)

These dudes were wearing one-piece suits that were in all different colors. This was the military section. We saw them get trucked in. Go figure. 

Taking a pause from grading quizzes to take a picture.. 

friday noon anecdote

I realized it as soon as I stepped foot out of my apartment on the way to pick up some ta'mayya sandwiches. The prayer was going off and it was noon on friday.  Although prayers go off five times a day, the Friday prayer at noon, the Ju'muah is obligatory for all men to perform. It had slipped my mind, that absolutely everything is closed during this time. As an outsider, it is incredible to witness the sense of community that comes about from this; every male leaves his apartment, and prays together in the mosque, or in the street. Blocks upon blocks are filled with lines of people listening to the sermon. As a whole, the aSalaam alaykum's (peace be with you) have a wonderful purpose, and the prayer is an excellent bind to keep oneself on the right track. 

Sports Day

Today was Sports Day at the school and I have a sunburnt face. In all, it was a wonderful break from the classroom. Especially because my students have become completely unmanageable when they do not feel like being taught (most of the time), so this was a good chance to enjoy some good competitions with them. It was a bit like being a counselor back in camp, but then add the "Mr. that's not fair" attitude, which happened in about half of the games, and most definitely stems from a student's/this age group's constant need to push against authority. Nevertheless, the tears (after winning a relay and being told by the judge that we came in 2nd), the injuries (one boy badly sprained his wrist after the long jump), and the enthusiasm for having fun outdoors were all there, with the chance to view teachers as something other than menacing sources of supremacy. For the school, image is particularly important, hence why we missed almost 4 periods of class two days before just to "rehearse" for sports day, the location of the event in a lush club, practice time and stress on the cheers and "sports day song" (a version of "we are the champions") and a slew of emails and emphasis on sports day procedure. I guess it makes sense, this is the school's one big day with all of the grades. 

Each grade, 1 through 6, is divided into four houses, Red Indians, Blue Vikings, Green Pharoahs, and Yellow Aztecs. For primary six, we competed in a relay race, a balance race, an obstacle course, the long jump, soccer, baseball, a zig-zag race, and a sprint. I was the leader for the blue vikings. 

Mohamed, the last photo evidence of him in good condition before he landed on his wrist.. 

A surprise of everyone doing the warm-up exercise/also a sweet dance move (we do this every day for the morning lines, and I am usually the only one doing it for primary six, but in front of the parents the kids feel the need to perform..)

Teacher picture

Outside the club. If it weren't for technology it would be a harsh desert. This is exemplary of a trend of Cairo life, if you can afford to move out, you do. Up rise developments beyond developments, shopping malls, sports clubs (like this one), and the exclusion of Baladi (popular culture) life. 

Soon, more fun out of the classroom things are coming up. I will be going on a 4 night 5 day field trip to an ecolodge in the Sinai Peninsula with my class. I am excited/dreading it. 

My turf

It's always nice to have visitors, obviously for their company, but also because it throws a healthy splash of perspective on a city that one can view as their own. Drew flew in last week on Wednesday morning around quarter to three in the morning, and after picking him up and navigating my way from each of the three terminals. Two more hours of sleep, then off to school for me, and I sent him off with Hany to see the Egyptian museum, and then met up after school. Grabbed a quick beer at Horreya (my favorite cheap british expat bar), then headed off to the Islamic part of Cairo: Al-Azhar Mosque, al Azhar park, and a shisha in Khan Khalili (the place where there was the bombing - there is now a metal detector to go through to enter the area), and then went to this really cool sufi dancing concert. Great lively drumming and whirling dervishes. 

The next day, Drew came to school. It was hilarious. The children were all excited to see another American like myself, and they all called him Mr. Andrew. They were actually behaved for once. It was nice, and maybe they learned something.. 

The next day, we took off to the pyramids, rolling out of bed around 2 from a solid night before. Characteristic of Egyptian rules - or those that are in place to be broken such as "leave your camera at the door when you go inside pyramid," I brought my camera in the pyramid which lead to this epic shot.. 

Inside the coffin of the second pyramid.
The night then went on to see the dirtiest funk band probably to ever grace the Middle East, and definitely the best live music that I have seen yet in Cairo, at the Cairo Jazz club. 

The last day we checked out the 1973 war panorama. An enjoyable visit to a museum that was created by the North Koreans to show Egypt's might over Israel when they stormed across the Suez canal and decimated Israel. I love objective history.

Dahab

It was a pretty last minute decision really. I had enrolled in a six day night course, "the Art of Living" from the first to the sixth of March, which ended on a Friday night. The course itself was an out there hippy course centered around breathing, self-awareness, and meditation, and from it I gained much more relaxation, clarity of mind, and a much better appreciation for the "now" of things. So when Ceci told me she was going to Dahab until Monday, leaving Friday (an hour after the end of my course), I hopped on East Delta bus with her and her cousin and met up with three others. Thank you Prophet Mohamed for having a birthday going by the lunar schedule the surprises us with a four (rather than 3) day weekend. 

In the end, I only slept in Dahab one night, and stayed for two full days, (I left early with some others in our group, saving climbing Mount Sinai for another time) but I can full-heartedly say that Dahab is a place that I will absolutely come back to. The snorkeling yesterday at the blue hole was the coolest thing I have ever seen in the water, and scratching the tip of the iceberg of how much there is to see in these incredible reefs; 20 different types of colorful fish, the nooks and crannies of the reef, with fish darting around the holes, the precipice into the clear clear blue sea... 

I wrote a lot, here are some of my entries

"Dahab. The wind blowing from Saudi Arabia. Fog on the horizon. Yesterday we landed at 8 from a midnight bus ride. An immediate escape, backed by mountains, warm, strikingly clear waters. We biked South to a point, snorkeled at the blue lagoon. The teal blue rock with small bushes for darting striped fish, some sleeping by facing the strong current. A night of drunk promenades, snagged some ice cream on the way back after winning both games in pool (a surprise) before a pizza to end it. It's a place I know I will come back to. The chill vibes, the good people. A life of relaxation. For 30 pounds there is transport up to the blue hole, along with snorkeling gear. But I have to finish my coconut milkshake first." 

(The first thing I wrote)

"Written with a pen from Commerce bank

Kittens on my food, escape the Cairo stank

Saudi Arabia starin back at me

building broken glass from the Dahab Red Sea

Sinai in the future, moses in the past

Desert mountains part the sea, the present that will last

Whatever will? Let it be.

It's the music and the muses that will set us free.

Religion to confuse it,

Extremes to abuse it,

However you choose it,

There's always a way to lose it.

Positively, there's the heavy trodden path.

Good people and the life who are never looking back.

(at this point a dude who booked tours at our hotel came over, which prompted this..)

Ya momo, ente raggal kwayyis

Bil A3ribee, ente sau3bee mish rayyis.

Zahma kiteer fi'l Qahirah

Lakin fee Dahab, mafish mishkila

(hey Mohamed, you are a good man

in Arabic, you're my friend not the waiter

There's a lot of traffic in Cairo,

but in Dahab, there is no problem!)

Saudi Arabia on the Horizon

Taken from hotel Jasmine, the mountains behind us.