Things to know about Cairo

Egypt is a paradox. In the words of a colleague, it is "hypothetically Islamic," meaning that it is important to appear Islamic, and go through the motions of being Islamic, but that is because everyone else is Islamic, and you do not want to lose face. In other words, one does not do something because it is Haram (which means absolutely forbidden by the Koran), but because one does not want to be seen doing it. Behind closed doors, it is fine for all Egyptians to drink and have sex with unmarried people, but this is not talked about.

On to more superficially obvious things...

-In the sha'(g)bee (popular/middle class/egyptian) parts of town, everything you could ever want is in a specific shop on the street. If you live above one of these shops or markets, a the best way of getting things you want is by letting down a bucket attached to a string, with some money in it and a list, and then pulling it right back up.
-For the upper class, there are malls. I went to one mall, called city stars, seven stories, more western and opulent than the west actually is, had absolutely everything that you could imagine, I wish I had taken my camera.
-There are a few traffic lights, but they are meaningless and should be disregarded. Intersections can have four scenarios.
  1) they are directed by a traffic cop
  2) there is no traffic cop and it is honking-match grid-lock
  3) the big vehicles and the cars moving in the flow win and you wait your turn
  4) you honk your horn and go (most common in the back streets)
-There is an abundance of police officers doing nothing.
-Smoking Hashish is more morally and socially acceptable than drinking beer. This is because the Prophet Mohammed explicitly condemned beer more times in the Koran than he did hash.
-It’s not gay to walk elbow to elbow. Lots of men do this, it’s how Cairene men walk.
-It’s been cool to litter for 5000 years. Poor people will go through the trash on the street. There are some trash disposals, but waste just sits on the street everywhere.
-When there isn’t a price on something that means that you are supposed to bargain for it. In certain scenarios an accepted Egyptian/Non-Egyptian price for things. This can also be true in certain restaurants where the non-Egyptian menu prices are standard, and you have to fight to pay what the guy next to you is paying.
-There is a beer delivery service. This is because there is no way to buy beer otherwise during Ramadan. After Ramadan these places open up, as do the bars.
-Egyptian kids love saying “What’s your name?” “Welcome to Egypt” and “How are you” to you if you are white.
-The society is class based and will stay that way. In different parts of the city, there can many self-contained areas of the wealthy or the poor.
-Lots of men have a “raison” on their head, or a mark. This means that they pray a lot.
-Most women are veiled. This means that you do not touch.
-There is no drainage system for water because it never rains. Even so, when there is water on the street it just festers for days.

Breaking fast with the orphans

Yesterday we had iftar after school. The way Islam works is that by doing good deeds, you can get points that basically you can cash in when you die that help your case in going to heaven (thawab). So, we invited a number of orphans to the school to break fast with us, and all of the children stayed after school. It was nice to see the school in a different light, playing, gossiping, getting to know me outside of the classroom. It felt much more like camp in a way, because they are all free to do what they want. Basically all I had to do was throw a soccer ball on the main lawn, and they were content to play for a while – which is good because everyone gets really irritable since they have not been allowed to eat since 4 AM. Of course I had my PE whistle with me, which came to good use when needed.

Once the orphans came it was a bit strange, and the kids didn’t really want to mix with them, but it was also difficult because they were all six year olds. Soccer didn’t really work, and they all got distracted. We played duck-duck-goose instead. It's also funny to think of how activities are completely dependent on when the call to prayer is, which is when we were allowed to eat.

On a side note, I have weekly homework to use the spelling words assigned for week in a sentence. Some funny ones. “Lots of people think that Arabs are terrorists, while actually they are not.” “2008 is Juhayna’s (a milk juice company) 25th anniversary.” “I am completely scornful at Michael Jackson after his last operation.”

After the orphans got bored, and my Arabic wasn't good enough to keep them all engaged. Mr. Nasser, the other gym teacher. 

Cairo Sights

Ok so I took these pictures when I was here in January, but having lost my battery charger in Switzerland and with a cracked camera screen, I think it's fair to put them up to give a sense of the city. Going back through these pictures brings to mind an Egyptian Proverb in a book I just finished .. "He who tastes the sweetness the Nile is destined to drink it again."

The citadel. One of the highest points in Cairo. You can see the Pyramids from here on a clear day.

Another view of it. 

Downtown Cairo, from the citadel.

Busy street corner

"The Cairo Push"

Metro stop near the coptic part of town. 

This is in the other part of town for me, but still in Cairo.

Cheops, the biggest one. 

Camels, cars, pyramids... all standard sights in Giza.

One of the Nile tributaries. 

Horses in the night

Last night I definitely had one of those moments that makes you appreciate life.

Me, David, and some others caught a cab during Iftar to some stable by the Pyramids (so the normally 2 hour ride took 30 minutes), and rented some horses. The sun had just set, and with the pyramids to the right, we trotted off through a small part of Giza, into the desert. Shortly after passing a cemetery, and a stinky area of makeshift garbage dump, we hit the sand dunes. Basically, it was just open track, and the horses were able to take off, going upwards. Clicking the horse along at walks, trots and canters up passed the Pyramids (about a mile away, but seeming so close) - which were being lit yellow, red and green by the nightly light show that tells a story of the pyramids (I saw this in January), we made it up to a beduin hut, beckoned by his fire. This dude basically hangs out at this spot in the desert and provides warm tea and cigarettes to those coming up on the horses. But it is a welcoming feeling to be standing in the desert at this man's hut.

The moment of clarity came while we were returning, when me and David stopped, gazed at the pyramids, and then took off in a gallop back towards Cairo. Both of us shrieking Yella Yella! to which the horses respond well. The sand was lit by the full moon and the glow of Cairo, and with the pyramids now on the left and the expansive city of Cairo right in front, I felt like Laurence of Arabia, swooping down on some Arab village. All you could hear was the thump of the hooves on the sand, the bounce in the saddle, and the dissonance of prayer and traffic which became much louder as we got closer to Giza. All said and done, the cab ride there was 5$, and the horse rental for an hour and a half was 7$.

Yella!!

David

Ramadan from a infidel perspective

Ramadan, which is the holy month in the Muslim world based on the ninth lunar cycle, is meant to mark the time when the Qu’ran was revealed to the prophet Mohammed. It is a transforming time in Cairo, and seems to captivate this city of 18 million in ways that nothing else in the world can. I am in no way qualified to explain it, but here are some of my understandings and observations.

If you are Muslim, you aren’t allowed to eat, drink, smoke, or have sex until after the evening prayer which happens around 6:20 (each day it becomes a minute less) unless you are elderly, sick, or pregnant. This breaking of the fast is called Iftar, and it must be done communally, usually with families, but many charitable groups and restaurants put out large tables with free food for the poor or for those who aren’t able to get to their families in time. Ironically, this is called “breakfast.” During this time the main streets of Cairo which usually are a jungle, are about a tenth as crowded, and side streets are completely dead. So for the non-Muslims, this is the ideal time to get somewhere in the city. If you want to be like the prophet Mohammed, you eat dates and drink milk, which some taxi driver shared with me and David when we caught a taxi at Iftar, but the typical meal is soup and rice with some ful (beans) and maybe some lahma (meat). Once the sun comes up, you aren’t allowed to eat again, so the last time people eat is call the suhur, at around 4 in the morning to be finished by the time of the morning prayer at 5 AM.

The whole idea is to think pure thoughts, be extra charitable, and to work on being a good person. Although that is the purpose, it is evidently taxing on some of the other teachers. One of the new foreign teachers of grade 4, Javier – from the States and Puerto Rico, is constantly grumpy and stressed because he sleeps only 3 hours a night (because he has to hang out with his Fiancée’s family until midnight), not to mention he has never taught before… Pretty much all of my students (10 and 11 years old) are fasting for the first time, and at school that means shorter classes – we end at 1:30 so the bus drivers can get home, and more breaks during PE class. I don’t eat at school anyways, (or I will discreetly snake at my desk in my staff room) mostly out of respect – except for this one time when I was on break duty (which is when the younger students can buy food from the canteen), and this one third grade bought a frosted carrot cake, which he couldn’t finish in time and of course couldn’t bring into the class room. I was starving so I did him a favor and ate it. The whole no alcohol rule is big too. Although it is hardly followed by all Muslims, during Ramadan, it is extra bad if you drink, so for the most part, all of the bars and nightclubs are closed.


I saw this on a walk I took today. Gotta love Chilis..

More about school

The mornings now start with all of the primary students standing out on the front lawn to a quick message from the supervisor Ms. Inji. I am on the far end because I have the oldest children. Then, we do a warm up to music, which is actually hilarious because none of the older kids do it. It includes jumping up and down and a lot of bouncing stretches to the count of 8. We then salute the flag and sing the national anthem and then head inside for “circle time.” Every class begins with me saying “good morning class,” and the whole class responding “Good morning Mister Christophe.” (Whenever someone has something to say, it is either “Mister, Mister!” or “Mister Christophe!”) Then I will go on to say the morning message which always is an inspiring quote that I write up the night before. Today’s was “a truly happy person is the person who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.” Uncoincidentally, I got a phone call at 6 AM this morning saying that the staff bus that would come to pick me up at the normal time would not be coming, reasons unknown. I rode in with the children’s bus on a different route.

In more ways than I think I can appreciate, working at the summer camp prepared me for working with children at this age. Between knowing when to be more strict with them, to learning patience with them, to being able to gauge attention span and intellect, I find myself very comfortable with these eleven and ten year olds. Much more than I would like though, much of what I do is thought up in the classroom, on the fly, seeing right then and there what will work - and what wont, with a basic structure in mind. Much of this whole teaching business is charting new territories in what I have ever had to do before. Planning lessons is a pain in the ass, but really necessary. I still try to make things fun and structured within the general guide that is provided for me. So far we have just been reading stories, and discussing them, which is easy enough to plan, but I am still at the point where I am planning the class the night before. Slowly, teaching tricks are being added to my arsenal, but it is slow.

As the gym teacher, I decided to take a class to teach them dodgeball. This went over really badly. They all cheated and did not stay in the court. Some of them refused to go to jail. Then when I was looking the other way, one of them threw a ball. No sooner had I turned around but the ball made direct contact to my nose. I tried had to remain under the impression that it was an accident. For the most part though, they enjoy gym, and they enjoy my coaching. And there is always the good challenge of making sure the fat and uncoordinated kids are not all on the same team.

My Classroom. Note the orange octopus with bubbles coming from his mouth. "Mr. Christophe Jospe. Primary Six Blue"

Bulletin Board.

View from the other side.

Literally across the street from the school. Without technology my school would most definitely be in a desert. 

Standing in the same spot, back at the school. 

The GVS

So I had my first day school with the students yesterday.

I work at GVS as a Sixth Grade English and PE teacher (School Website - http://www.gvschool.net/) I am the class teacher for primary six blue, which means that I get to know them a little bit better, and have them for something called circle time - which is basically homeroom. I teach them and primary six yellow English and PE. So far it is still early in the year and it is hard to give real impressions on how the school is, but I really like the way everything is structured. My supervisor, Inji, is incredibly helpful with everything, and seems to be everywhere at the same time, and knows everything. It also helps that the lesson plans are basically written out for me at least initially, so basically I follow a written plan. The day starts at 6:40 when I get picked up by a bus near my apartment, and I get to the school at around 7:30. The drive to the school goes out of Heliopolis, passed the airport, and out of Cairo. The school is basically in the desert, in one of the rich suburbs that is moving out of the city, so on the drive there is construction everywhere (we even pass a mall that is in the process of being built). There are seven periods a day, and since it is Ramadan, there is a special schedule so the school can end at 7:30.

I like my class, there seem to be a lot of characters in it, but of course it has only been one day, and I have been warned by the teacher who had them last year that there was a group in the class who referred to themselves as "the mischievous 8." Although, between being from New York and being a male, I think I have been able to win their respect. (there are about 10 male staff, and 4 foreign teachers in the whole school - staff around 60). That, and I will also be their PE teacher, so I am pretty sure that all of the guys will like me. Although I will definitely have to get used to treating the children differently than I did as a camp counselor, I hope that my patience with the kids will work out. For PE we are downstairs in some gym, and the old gym teacher showed me some kind of dodgeball that they can play on the first day. He then left, and then I tried to play some kind of tag with them which the boys enjoyed, but was a cultural mistake. I tried to have them play a sort of partner tag - where two people are linking arms, and one person is "it" and another is trying to stay away - once the person being chased links up to one groups arms, the person on the other side has to leave. This was fine and well, except the girls weren't playing, and the boys refused to touch their arms. When I said "come on guys, the girls wont bite," one of the boys responded, "No, but in Egypt we aren't allowed to touch the girls." Have joking, perhaps thinking that the girls had cooties, half cultural truth..

Front view of the school.

Down the street where we get dropped off by the bus. 

The bus that picks me up every day. Back ground of El Obour city.