Wadi al-Hitan

Thoroughly impressed with myself, I am also infinitely sleepy for having started my morning at 6:45. Yes, that's ante meridian, believe it or not. I joined my friend Edward, a Middle East Studies grad student, and a busload of other AUC students, mostly Egyptian, for a trip to Wadi al-Hitan in Egypt's Western Desert. Along the way to the UNESCO world heritage site, we passed Lake Qarun in Fayoum, the closest oasis to Cairo. Perhaps because I didn't really look at the route, I hadn't expected a huge expanse of water complete with boats and wind-whipped waves to suddenly appear in the middle of the desert, but it's by far one of the coolest things I've seen in Egypt. Wadi al-Hitan (lit. "The Valley of the Whales") itself was pretty fascinating for its scientific value. We saw whale fossils that were millions of years old and played an important role in piecing a transcontinental puzzle about the development of marine mammals over time. A German-Egyptian biology professor from AUC brought the story and the scenery to her life with her effervescent enthusiasm and descriptions and explanations. The professor and the others that Edward and I met made the day as much as the trip as much as the breathtaking scenery. It was a fun departure from the norm that hearkened back to the days of biology field trips. It was good to work some geology, evolutionary biology, and pre-history into my other wise social sciences-dominated brain.

News:
Palestinian national unity talks begin in Cairo
Egypt rejects US labeling of Egyptian human rights records as poor
Egyptian, foreign activists continue Gaza solidarity march despite crackdown

Another Day in Cairo

Today was my first day of Migration and Development. I met both the regular professor and a anthropology/human rights/gender studies professor who will be teaching next weeks class on human rights. It seems as those it'll be a useful course and, even better, I now essentially have a four-day weekend. I have class Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Before you get too jealous, I'm volunteering and reading and writing for these classes on those other days. After class, I went out with some classmates for Moroccan food in a restaurant on one of the Zamalek riverboats on the Nile. We discussed last week's comparative migration law class since one among our ranks had missed. Beyond that, there's nothing particularly exceptional to mention, so I'll cut straight to the news.

News:
Muslim Brotherhood condemns bomb attack
Hizbullah condemns bomb attack
"The fixer in the shadows..." from The Daily Telegraph

A bite of crow

Ok, ok, so I'm all about admitting when I'm wrong. I decided that my apprehension about my psychosocial class and about trekking out to the new campus once a week was more or less unwarranted after all. The class, though it seems a little too undergraddy, promises to be pretty interesting. The TA who's an American who studied in Canada, Sweden, and now Egypt is married to an Egyptian, and I ended up spending the busride back chatting with her about, among other things, her experiences with her Egyptian in-laws and how alternately frustrating and rewarding that situation can be. We talked about racism in Egypt in the wake of my cab experience and a heated conversation she had with her husband's aunt.
I do have to say that the new campus has something of a surreal atmosphere. Everywhere are Egyptian undergraduates dressed to the nines having little (aesthetically) in common with the kind of over-the-top, bi2a, faux designer, blindingly-shiny or awkwardly tight garb so common downtown. As they lounge around on the steps, ledges, and other seating areas of the multi-million dollar dessert campus, they look more like an Abercrombie advertisement than a scene from the eastern reaches of the Sahara Desert. Adding to the effect are large speakers at every turn piping in almost-tasteful Egyptian pop-esque music, though I don't recall there being any lyrics. The sunshine was warm and inviting, but I imagine that the closer we get to summer, the less I'll be of that opinion.
The busride itself wasn't so bad either. On surprisingly well-kept buses, we leave downtown along a route that hugs the Nile for several kilometers before cutting through the suburbs, then the desert. Along the way, shoddily-built "luxury villas" and institutions seem to have sprung out of the sand each with their own unique style. Some like the Future University of Egypt are an exercise in high kitsch. It's main building is a miniature colosseum (like something you'd see in Vegas) with one side cut away revealing an all-glass entrance seeming to suggest a marriage of classical learning with cutting edge technology. I don't know about the credentials of said university, but somehow I don't think they'll be giving AUC a run for its money anytime soon.
Back at home, feeling lighter at the prospect of really enjoying this semester--no classes to sincerely dread as I did my intro class last semester--I made dinner, or rather boiled pasta and frozen vegetables, and then got juice with Ross and Phil. The pomegranate juice, which costs the equivalent of 36 US cents, was spectacular. Later on, I caught a ride with some friends to a party in Zamalek where I met an Egyptian who tried to make it as a used car-salesman in Lawrence, Kansas but after getting into an auto-accident himself and being wronged, so he told me, by an insurance company, he ended up out of money and having to return to Egypt. Mentioning Caterpillar as I do when I mention being from Peoria, I learned that I can apparently make tens of thousands of dollars selling used loaders in Egypt. I'll keep that in mind. I bonded with another acquaintance over our sobriety. Neither of us is particularly fond of excess when it comes to alcohol--she doesn't drink at all and I'm a wine with dinner kind of guy or a sucker for good Belgian beer, but not more than a couple. We decided that it my be fun to try finding more culturally significant or even offbeat adventures outside of the parties and bars that preoccupy many in the expat community, so hopefully fun will materialize out of that. The circus, maybe? I met a Russo-Egyptian journalist and one who is Franco-British who told me of a Rotarian he met in Canada who was a warden at an upscale prison. Rotarians are everywhere and do everything, it seems.
Soon, for the reading pleasure of those that follow this blog, I will be including an interview or maybe several interviews with Egyptian friends and their impressions on things like the recently-inaugurated American president, relations between the West and the Islam world, American values, terrorism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and more. If you have any questions you'd like me to ask, please send them along.

News:
How the US is trying to spread tolerance and a respect for diversity in Egypt
Ransom paid to Somali pirates to free Egyptian ship and its crew
Dreams fueled by hyperconsumptive tastes and poor planning to yield more suburban sprawl outside Cairo

Bibimbap and Comparative Migration Law

Last night after sending out a slew of postcards and working on my résumé, I joined a bunch of friends for Korean. The vegetarian crew (of which I'm a sometimes member) got orders of bibimbap--delicious! It's always so surreal to have the Korean owner, Egyptian waiters, and a small herd of Americans interacting as if it were the most normal Tuesday night activity ever. We spent the evening catching up, asking about each other's winter breaks--some were snowier than others. On the way in, we passed a praying policeman or military guy praying with his gun completely apart from him, laying on the floor. I didn't bother snatching it or anything; it probably wasn't loaded anyway.
Today I breathed a sigh of relief as I realized that I made an excellent choice in selecting Comparative Migration Law as my elective for the semester. Mike Kagan (who's teaching the course) is fantastic. Maybe I should be looking for an international law program somewhere. I'm so fickle. Today we talked about jus sanguinis and jus soli as bases for citizenship and discussed the differences between the laws governing nationality in Egypt, Chile, Argentina, China, the UK, and the US. Eventually we'll be developing our own migration codes in small groups. I'm really stoked by the prospect. Tomorrow is my dreaded first trek out to the desert campus for my psychosocial class. I'll try and be optimistic tomorrow when I get on the bus for the hour-long bus ride, but no promises.
I've also been in contact with an author who was a former Rotary ambassadorial scholar to London in the late 1980s. He's coming out with a memoir that promises to be excellent and will discuss in part his Rotary experience. Check out his bio at the Huffington Post website.

News:
Nazi war criminal eluded capture, allegedly died in Cairo in 1992
Paper suggests lack of professionalism as much as problem as suppression in Egyptian media
Short films capture cultural currents in Cairo

Throwing kittens

To my devoted readership (assuming that you do exist), sorry not to have written last night. While I ran a number of very productive little errands, I didn't have any moving cultural notes or insights to include. I did, however, see a young Egyptian boy wielding a stick and simultaneously grabbing a cat by the nape of its neck and then throwing it several times. Where's PETA now, I wonder?
February, which began almost unnoticed yesterday, is a month of new things--getting used to life in Cairo all over again, new classes, bracing for new manmade challenges concocted by AUC, etc. I'm also teaching in a new school that was opened by the same program through whom I taught before. I would've preferred to stay with my former class, but my courses at the university conflict. I start back to teaching on the 17th, so stay tuned for those updates. There are also new opportunities--new people to meet and new possibilities for volunteering.
Overall the pollution, increased challenges in eating and sleeping healthily, and my displeasure with AUC have sapped a lot of my energy, but I'm still doing well. I've got the rest of my course readings for Comparative Migration Law and will pick up those for Methods tomorrow. Like the class in general, picking up my readings for Psychosocial Issues in Refugee Studies promises to be a pain. I may even be expected to take an hour-long busride to the desert campus place an order and turn right back around spend another hour to return downtown. Realistic, I'm sure. The university hasn't even explained how to obtain bus passes this semester. Ma3lesh, just have to keep on keeping on!
Koshary at Koshary Tahrir with friend and classmate Erin was good--man, that stuff is just so addictive! I wonder what they put in it. On second thought, judging from the methods they employed for cleaning their dishes, I don't want to know what they do with anything there. Ignorance is bliss...and maybe a parasite.

News:
Egyptian gas to flow to Israel
Egypt overturns journalists' prison sentences
Food prices down slightly in Egypt

Carl in Cairo

After what was perhaps the most glorious and satisfying shower of my life, I got dressed and plopped down on an overstuffed armchair in my new (to me, otherwise, quite old) rather kitschy living room to write up this entry.
Arriving yesterday into Cairo International from New York via Frankfurt, I enjoyed a very easy entry into Egypt: no delays at passport or customs and no lost luggage. My ride, the grandson of the cousin of the father of a friend of friends (al-hamdulillah for obscure connections), arrived in typical Egyptian fashion: late but full of hospitality and goodwill. In Egypt, the concept of time is vastly different than our efficiency-driven American paradigm. The wave of Cairene heat hit me as I left the building and headed for the the black SUV that was to convey me through the treacherous streets of Cairo and to my apartment (eventually). "Not as hot as I remember," I thought optimistically myself, reflecting on my last visit to the country in late July, 2005.
Though infinitely thankful not to be taking a taxi, I had to laugh (nervously) to myself as my friend's driver stopped half a dozen times to try and ascertain where exactly we were going. He deftly dodged other cars, cyclists, and fearless pedestrians as we made our way into downtown Cairo, which we promptly left, ending up driving through Zamalek (a neighborhood/island in the Nile) and to the wrong side of the river into a quarter called al-Doqqi. Amazingly, I remembered the layout of the city from last time, and was able to explain that I was pretty sure we were going the wrong way. Of course, the driver didn't listen to me at first, but later relented and ended up bringing me to my new home on Tahrir Street, not too far from AUC's old campus.
My roommate, Ross, a Rotary ambassadorial scholar from District #5810 in Texas has turned out to be a godsend--he lined up the apartment before arriving and has been here for a while already, enabling him to show me the ropes and work out kinks with the landlord. Though fading fast from lack of sleep and the time change, I managed to have lively conversation with Maged, the young man who'd come to meet me at the airport, Ross, and our neighbor Karyn until it was time for us to get some grub. We wandered through the crowded, dirty streets to, of all things, a Swiss restaurant. Now, when something is "Swiss" or "Italian" or anything else exotic in Cairo, it's not quite authentic. In fact, I was able to enjoy moussaka, a Mediterranean dish, though the Egyptian take on röschti might've been interesting.
Though I'll readily admit that Egypt is overwhelming and quite intimidating, as pre-dinner and dinner conversation turned to the Arab-Israeli conflict, the idiosyncrasies of Egypt, Islam on the very first night, I knew that I'd made the right decision and that this year, though hugely challenging, will be fantastic. As one might expect, Ross and I have a lot in common in terms of interest. In fact, we found out that we both interned in the same section (Diplomatic Security) in our respective embassies (Lima, Peru for him, Paris for me). Ross has already made connections with a Young Diplomats club and I have friends in the area from a Global Young Leaders Conference I did in high school as well as other connections that should be a good start to our meeting friends and serving as ambassadors of goodwill and understanding. Hopefully we'll soon hear from our scholarship coordinator at Rotary HQ about being assigned clubs, but no word on that yet.
Though I got a relatively good night's sleep, jet leg is keeping me a bit groggy, so I'll leave off blogging for now!

An Introduction

Welcome! My name is Carl and I created this blog in order to share my upcoming experiences as a Rotary International ambassadorial scholar in Cairo, Egypt during the 2008-2009 academic year. Please explore the links at right to learn more about Rotary International, my sponsor club and district, my host district, and the American University in Cairo, where I will be pursuing a graduate diploma in forced migration and refugee studies. You'll also find links to sites pertaining to Egypt and the greater Middle East, central Illinois, refugees, other bloggers (other Rotary scholars and friends), and up-to-date Rotary International news.

So who am I? A recent graduate of Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, I earned my BA in international studies and French. Over the course of studying for this degree I spent my first two years and my final year in Peoria, while for the third, I was a student at the Université de Haute-Bretagne, Rennes 2 in Rennes, France. My coursework has focused on international relations theory and practice, challenges faced by the developing world, globalization, nationalism, decolonization and the post-colonial era in Africa and the Middle East, Muslim-Christian relations, human rights, and the European Union. Following my school year in Rennes, I interned with the US State Department at the American embassy in Paris for the summer.

Prior to attending Bradley, I graduated from Shattuck-St. Mary's School in Faribault, Minnesota. While I was born and graduated from high school "up north," I attended Peoria and Dunlap schools in from kindergarten until the middle of high school. My parents are both from the area: my mom, originally from Henry, grew up in Morton and attended Academy of Our Lady/Spalding Institute in Peoria. She has a BA from Illinois State University in Normal and an MA from Bradley. A teacher at Von Steuben Middle School, she lives in Peoria. My dad, also a Bradley grad, was reared in Lacon, Illinois. He currently lives in New York City and works for Permasteelisa North America Corp. I also have a little brother, aged 10, who attends Wilder-Waite Grade School in the Dunlap school district.

I'd like to wrap up this entry by thanking corporately all of the individual Rotarians who, through their contributions to the Rotary Foundation, have helped make my upcoming experience possible. I would also like specifically to thank the members of the Rotary Club of Peoria and District 6460 for selecting me to represent them and Rotary in Egypt.

Please return often to check for updates! I touch down in Cairo the 21st of August and expect the entries to be a lot more interesting then.