Homeward Bound

I'm taking a break from my paper (of which three and a half pages remain to be written) to catch the old blog up and to say goodbye for a while.
Yesterday was more of the same, Christmas shopping and paper writing. Though I'd planned to be more studious, I caved and joined Phil and Jenn, Marise's friend, for dinner. Just prior, I did some shopping at the fair trade store in Zamalek in a mad dash for Christmas gifts and a bid to hang out with my friend from high school, Sheila, before my departure. I'm not sure that I covered everyone in my frantic gift-buying outings to the Khan and to some of the stores in my neighborhood, but I did my best. Anyway, dinner was at the rooftop bar above Sabai Sabai. Though it was a bit chilly, the views of the Nile and the Thai food we ordered up more than compensated. Later tonight (or rather early tomorrow morning if we're being technically correct), Marise is taking Jenn and I to the airport. We fly to Amsterdam at 4:15 AM and then get separate connections. I fly Amsterdam-Detroit and then Detroit-Peoria. Sometime before that, I have to finish this paper and begin work on my law final which I suspect I will have to work on in a haze of jetlag tomorrow and the day after. Ma3lesh.
My last class of my first semester of graduate school is in a couple of hours. It's so strange to think of how much has happened in the last four months! I'll have to admit, Egypt has really grown on me and I'm looking forward to coming back in January (though I definitely won't complain about being able to hang out in the States, France, and Belgium in the interim!)
If my entry is lackluster and scatterbrained, I blame my paper-writing and general franticness brought about by packing and tying up loose ends. Hopefully I'll be cool, calm, and collected in late January when I return to blog about further adventures in Cairo.

News:
Egyptian attitudes toward US government policies turn even more negative
Egypt cell service to begin operations in North Korea
114 migrants attempting to reach Israel are arrested by Egyptian police
Pressure to marry causes stress for Egyptians

Egyptian Hospitality

Yesterday after class, classmates Phil, Marise, and Rebecca joined me in pursuit of Thai deliciousness. It was to be found at Bird Cage, which I've mentioned before. The evening was full of laughs, good conversation, and much-needed relaxation. After dinner, Phil and I hit a nearby store that sells clothes made of Egyptian cotton. I need to start Christmas shopping, so I think it'll be a stop when I make the rounds. After getting home, Ablavie, my Togolese neighbor, came over to hang out with Ross and I. Yet another chance for me to keep up my French!
Today has been just as good and restore my fondness for Egypt (and firmed up my thankfulness for Rotary connections). My new host counselor had me to her home for a late lunch--all Egyptian food. Molokhayya, fatteh, wara ainab, salad, and more. I brought them pastries from the pastry shop near my house, but I'm not sure of their quality. I'm not a connoisseur of Egyptian desserts, but think that if I am trying to be a good guest, I'll go to Al-Abd next time and pick up a tray of sugary goodness. Anyway, the meal was delicious. I decided not to share with Omaima my vegetarian tendencies and thus ate quite a lot of beef. My stomach feels a bit funny, but I think the protein's good for me. Before, during, and after the meal, we had really good discussions about politics. Omaima's husband, Tarek, explained in no uncertain terms his distaste for Hamas and the problems being caused in Palestine. He was also talking about how intractable the conflict in Iraq is. In his opinion, it's going to be harder to resolve than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We also discussed Egyptian names and their meanings and common American names. Tarek told me about his travels in America--apparently he's been to Chicago and Urbana/Champaign in Illinois, Texas, and many other polaces and they have a son that lives in Texas. Both on my way there in the metro and on my way back in their car, I realized that a love for Egypt was seeping back into my soul. It's less fleeting and more realistic than the euphoria that comes with novelty, and hopefully more enduring. It was reinforced by the incredible friendliness and hospitality of my hosts today which in turn was made possible through Rotary. It's finally all starting to work as it should. Al-hamdulileh.

News:
Egypt risks political unrest if economic slowdown not properly handled
Egyptian Minister of Endowments discourages the wearing of the veil
Former Secretary General of the UN condemns Saudi lashing sentence of Egyptian

A Busy, Breezy Day

My day started at 10:30 with me dashing around to get ready for a Center for Migration and Refugee Studies meeting at the Greek Campus. Once I'd showered and dressed, eaten my habitual muesli and yogurt, and grabbed my iPod, I headed to join my fellow CMRS colleagues who are on the Master's track (which I, of course, am still debating switching to). Ray and Philippe were the faculty there and filled us in on thesis requirements and expectations. Aside from actually choosing the topic, completing a Master's thesis seems a lot less intimidating (but no less challenging) than I had feared when imagining what life as a graduate student would be like. I also had the chance to talk to Ray a bit after the meeting about some of my hesitations and questions about the program, whether to remain and pursue a Master's, and how to come up with a sound thesis topic eventually. I'm hoping to explore the possibility of coming at an issue in migration from an international relations perspective, which might be a bit more work, but certainly fulfilling, I suspect. My classmate Phil and I also talked politics with Ray and ended up being invited to watch the election results at his house, which sounds like a lot of fun.
A small detachment of those attending the meeting, congregated outside in the courtyard in the wonderful weather who's only drawback is that the autumn breeze blows up all sorts of unpleasant things into one's eyes. There, we reviewed a number of possible cases needing to be analyzed for our refugee law midterm which we'll be discussing in class tomorrow. Most consisted of circumstances of people seeking asylum or resettlement and whether they qualified those people for either or not.
From this yet smaller group, Erin, Brandy, and I walked and chatted in Bab al-Luq on the way to my apartment where I grabbed the carrot cake Amanda and I purchased in Ma'adi yesterday, and ultimately Erin and I headed for Zamalek, while Brandy headed to Al-Azhar Park with the Middle East Studies folk.
In Zamalek, I got coffee with a new friend who's a freelance journalist here in Cairo. He's been living in Egypt for three years--I admire his mettle. He was following up on the Moqattam cliffs disaster that I'd mentioned a while back--the rockslides that crushed parts of poor neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city. He also generously brought me back Tom's of Maine toothpaste from a recent trip to America. Ok, so I'm a toothpaste snob.
I met Amanda and Erin for dinner and, though we were suppose to have Ethiopian, we ended up getting Thai. In the short, but respectable, time I have under my belt here, I've begun to develop the ability to expect nothing to go as planned. I don't expect everything to fail, but rather if something I'm hoping for doesn't work out, that something different, but still good will spring up in its place. It's a much healthier and more flexible outlook than moping around blaming Egypt for being chaotic, inefficient, and illogical (though it is all of those things in infinite measure). After dinner, we went back to Erin's to enjoy carrot cake and wine and were joined by Brandy. Not being sated by the dessert and tempted by the presence of a cake shop that delivers even late at night at no charge, we ordered a couple of slices of cheese cake which were actually pretty good attempts. Whether this was calorically wise, I don't think we care to think about. Erin shared stories and pictures of Africa with us and we discussed our musical tastes and some of the things we liked about Cairo. I only just returned from my very full day after midnight, about a half hour ago.
Monday I officially begin teaching English in Ain Shams. I feel like I've been trying to actually volunteer as an English teacher for eons to no avail. We'll just have to wait and see if it works out this time. I'll be sharing my native tongue with Sudanese gang members in the bright pink room I helped scrubbed down last week.

Oh, and I forgot to mention yesterday that in Ma'adi, a beared, traditionally dressed and broadly grinning man tried to give me (or perhaps sell me) a live pigeon in the street yesterday. He had no other pigeons or any cages around him, just a single pigeon. "Hammam?! (Pigeon?!)" No thanks, thought I, after recalling all of the new facts about avian flu I'd just learned at the seminar on Wednesay. Though I won't say the idea of briefly owning a pigeon didn't appeal to me (it surely would've gotten away since I neglected to bring along a cage...silly me).

News:
The US pledges more money to fight bird flu at Egypt talks
Egyptian author pens fictional Chicago about Egyptian expats at the University of Illinois
Bloggers in Egypt arrested while an Egyptian blogger is honored in America

Tasty Thai

I finally made it to the Thai restaurant my friend Erin had been trying to take us to since Ramadan, when we went there to find it closed. Unfortunately, Erin was feeling unwell, so Phil, Amanda, and I went just the three of us. The food was delicious and the company even better. I've now been here two months and it seems it's taken about that long to start to forge meaningful friendships out of fun acquaintances. After dinner, the three of us headed down to hang out by the river. I couldn't help but think of how amazing it was that our deep conversations, funny stories, and laughs were all taking place with Nile as the backdrop. I love those moments where I suddenly remember where it is I am. After Phil headed back to Ma'adi, I dragged Amanda to Metro Market where I stocked up on some juice from South Africa and the biggest size of halva they had (the 700g size instead of my usual 350g size, thus betraying my addiction). We then parted ways, heading to our different parts of Cairo, both having had one of those great nights that makes up for some of the harder Egypt days.
Tomorrow I'm meeting with the professor of my intro class to discuss possible paper topics and then later I have plans to attend a seminar on pandemic preparedness and healthcare in the Sudanese refugee communities in Cairo followed by an evening at Horreya with the speakers. Should be informative and fun!

News:
Egypt shows symbolic action on sexual harassment in court decision
Coptic pope back in Egypt after treatment in the US
"Balancing Tourism and History in Egypt"