Getting on the Right Track... Then Getting Lost Again

Day 2 of Arabic class was another success! My class (there were only four of us today, as one student was sick) managed to have a (rather stilted) discussion with our teacher about poverty and globalization... all in Arabic! I think this was my most advanced dialogue in Arabic to date, which makes me even more excited to continue studying at Arab Academy. Although the discussion was far from perfect - we worriedly explained to our teacher that we didn't have the vocabulary to describe the nuances of our arguments, so we might make some obnoxious generalizations. She laughed us off and said that wasn't really the point of the exercise, and in retrospect it may just have been our desperate American desire to speak in politically correct terminology. The only not-so-wonderful part of the class was getting assigned a lot of homework, but since we don't have class again until Saturday it shouldn't be that bad.

The work continued full steam at St. Andrew's, where we went to meet with our community facilitators, all refugees themselves who have successfully integrated into Cairo society, and work with them on our lesson plans. Though there was some confusion at the beginning of the session between our team and our facilitator, an Eritrean named Jamal, we had made a lot of progress by the end of the class. Jamal is very soft spoken, but very knowledgeable about the population with which we will be working. He told us that most of the Eritreans and Ethiopians will probably have a high school level of English and little Arabic, but want to improve their conversational skills and most importantly their confidence with English. The only concern I have at this point is that the few Iraqis in the class will be at a dramatically different level, making our lesson planning very complicated.

So while both school and work started moving in the right direction, our excursion to a coffee shop called Cilantro, located in Zamalak, took a definite wrong direction. Though we got kind of lost and ended up having to take cabs (good thing I've been practicing taxi-cab-dialogue!), the walk across the Nile and then the bridge over Zamalak is gorgeous, and very cool and breezy at night. We ended up staying at Cilantro until about midnight, chatting and laughing over our super fancy and mildly expensive coffee drinks. (In reality, I think they cost about as much as they would have at home, if not less, but it just feels odd putting down 35 Egyptian pounds for a fancy cup of hot chocolate - about $7.) Regardless, it was the perfect way to unwind after a long day of work. I guess you could say we all ended up back on track and ready to work again tomorrow.

Let's Get Down To Business

To defeat... my mediocre Arabic and refugee illiteracy? Not terribly catchy, but regardless, it was good to finally get the ball rolling on our various projects. Today was our first day of Arabic classes (and consequently our first night of homework) and a more substantial orientation at St. Andrew's, this time discussing the nuts and bolts of lesson planning. We were up and at the Arab Academy by 9 am, where we had a solid three and half hours of class. Normally it would have been four hours, but we had to leave early to make it to St. Andrew's on time. The thought of four straight hours of class makes my college student self want to cry; I'm used to lectures that last an hour and fifteen minutes at most and a lot of self-directed, self-time-managed studying outside of that (in other words, I can take as many study breaks as I want). However, this lesson flew by, and I'm really looking forward to going back tomorrow! We spent today only studying 'Amia (colloquial Arabic), and we'll return to Fus-ha for the rest of the summer. Most of the class was made up of discussion and practicing real-world scenarios, for example one student would be a taxi driver and the other would be a potential customer. We had to practice bargaining with the taxi driver, telling him where to stop, and asking if his meter was working (only half of the taxis in Cairo have meters; these are the white taxis. Black taxis never have meters and require bargaining before riding. However, white taxis often don't use the meter anyway). I was probably the meanest taxi driver of the bunch... I asked for an astronomical price that I doubt any taxi driver here would use. We were assigned just a bit of homework (practicing vocabulary and writing a paragraph), then we headed for St. Andrew's.

At St. Andrew's we had a brief lecture on AMERA (Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance), mainly focusing on the structure of the organization and the services they can provide to our students. The two main components of AMERA, at least in regards to the unaccompanied minors that we will be teaching, are the legal aspect (helping them with paperwork and such) and psycho-social work. The director of the unaccompanied minors division, Chantel, will certainly be a useful contact, though even hearing her mention in passing what some of her cases have experienced was eye-opening. Then we discussed lesson planning strategies with two St. Andrew's teachers. Their presentation was very dynamic, beginning with a game where we had to throw stuffed animals around in a circle and shout out their Arabic and English names. I got hit in the head by a stuffed Barney doll at least twice (p.s. the word for "dinosaur" in Arabic is actually "dinosaur" ... at least that was an easy one!) After that session I feel much more comfortable with my ability to teach, though I'm worried my confidence will erode as soon as I get in front of the class and realize that my students are all at drastically different levels. The day ended with the groups splitting up into their teaching sites and going to visit the ones in the more remote parts of Cairo, but since I'm teaching at the downtown center, I was free to go home. As soon as we got back I took a much-needed nap before starting my homework. Though today was exhausting, I'm excited to finally be on a schedule and defeat some Huns (metaphorically speaking).

I Don't Know What You Want But I Have What You Need

I thought yesterday would be my last uber-tourist day for a while... not so - we're still in the orientation phase of the trip, so we still have lots of time to kill and not too much class to attend. This morning we went to St. Andrew's Refugee Ministry to discuss our main project, teaching English to refugees from Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea. The director of the project, Fiona, emphasized that this is less about reading and writing in English and more about life skills. For many of these unaccompanied minors, this phase of their lives is technically temporary, that is, they intend to move and resettle in another country. However, this dream is highly improbable for most of the refugees, so we need to help them improve the quality of the lives they have here in Cairo. I'll be working at the downtown center, conveniently the closest to our apartment in Garden City. The majority of my students will be Eritrean and Ethiopian, with four Iraqi students. I'm interested to learn about the differences in the living situations between all these groups and to get to know the students.

After that brief meeting, we were free for the rest of the day and reverted to our touristy ways. I went with three friends to Khan El-Khalili, an old market in Cairo. We met a very sweet and very slick salesman named Ahmed as we first began looking around. He gave us a tour of the not-quite-as-touristy part of the market and showed us his family's shop making papyrus scrolls. Although all four of us realized his salesman's tricks immediately, he was a wonderful guide and he gave us tea, and we each ended up buying a beautiful papyrus scroll (mine is of an ankh, the ancient Egyptian key of life)... of course at a "reduced student price." In actuality, we noticed when we went to the main market that our purchases were of much higher quality then those in the stands. As we walked down, we were hailed with many yells and requests to view their goods, including one shop keeper who said, "Welcome back! You were here yesterday correct? From Canada?" The best line by far was, "I don't know what you want, but I have what you need!" I think they might be song lyrics... or something out of a book of pick up lines. Regardless, we had a great time browsing the stalls, filled with everything from hookahs to backgammon sets to spices to t-shirts to belly-dancing costumes. I ended up buying myself a tunic (I desperately need more conservative clothing to wear here!) and made a somewhat successful attempt at haggling. We also went into the Al-Azhar Mosque, located next to the Khan, which is gorgeous, although we were all a little hesitant to walk around and be too nosy while people were studying. Before returning to our apartment, we met up with the rest of our group and took a boat ride on the Nile. It was fun, if a little bit odd.. the boat driver kept insisting that we dance with him, while we just wanted to sit down! All in all a touristy a day, but tomorrow we start Arabic classes. Ma salama.

The Real Way To Make Nescafe

This morning started off exactly like yesterday - with an Arabic exam (did I mention that the placement test was two parts? Yea, ouch... another morning of being reminded how far from fluency I am). Yet again though, we enjoyed our time after this exam by chatting with the staff at the Arab Academy, all of us bemoaning how terrible at cooking we are. During this conversation, my friend and I were trying to make Nescafe, a type of instant coffee which is very popular in the states. Making Nescafe is generally not that difficult, the issue we were really facing was not being able to find spoons and not being able to determine the instant Nescafe from real coffee (they were in unmarked silver canisters). One of the Arab Academy staff, noticing our struggle, came over, poured out half of the cup I had been working on, whipped out a portable frother, and somehow created a bona fide latte out of Nescafe and powdered milk. The Starbucks baristas would have been shamed. After much oohing and aahing, he had made one for each of us, and we immediately asked him where we could buy such a frother in Egypt. He then presented it to us and said "hadaya," gift.

Since the day was so hot, my wanderings around Cairo were limited, but I did go back for more koosheri for dinner and tried some orange and sugar cane juice from the stand down the block (completely delicious). In the evening, we had a lecture at the house of a professor at AUC about the politics of the Nile. The discussion was interesting, even if his argument seemed a tad optimistic. Basically of the countries that border the Nile, Egypt and Sudan have nearly exclusive rights to use the water, yet the other countries (particularly Ethiopia) want greater claim to use the water. He argued that war over water was not feasible (it's not like they're going to attack a dam), and thus the nations would be forced to compromise. He outlined a compromise which he thought probable and highlighted all the bonuses from it. Having little background knowledge of the subject, I couldn't tell you if there were any flaws in his argument, but to me it seemed like he skated over the possibility of war a bit too easily. Anyway, this was the first in a series of lectures we'll be attending about various issues in the Middle East, and it was certainly thought-provoking.

Tomorrow we have orientation at St. Andrews, an NGO that works with refugees in Cairo... it's about time to really get started with our work here!

Stairways to Nowhere and Armed Crossing Guards

Today started out a bit drearily - with a placement exam at our Arabic language center, the Arab Academy. Although the staff there were wonderful and happy to see us, even through the painful interview portion, the test was not the ideal way to kick off the morning. For example, one of the options for the essay was: "Poor countries argue that it is the duty of rich countries to protect the environment. Discuss." Honestly, I'm not sure how I would respond to that even in English... but that is really the point of a placement exam, to challenge you and determine exactly what you know and don't (emphasis on the don't, it seemed like from today!). After the exam however, we drank tea and ate cookies and chatted with the staff at the Arab Academy, and I'm really excited for classes to start there. I should probably make a quick note on the difference between formal Arabic, called Fus-ha, which I study at Duke and will be studying at the Arab Academy, and the street Arabic known as 'Amia. Fus-ha is the language used in the media and in any written Arabic and would be similar to Shakespearean English (i.e. people think you sound ridiculous when you speak it outside the classroom). 'Amia is distinct to various regions of the Arab world, for example the Cairo dialect is slightly different than the dialect spoken in the rest of Egypt which is very different from other countries' dialects. So while I'm still working on the formal Fus-ha in class, I'm also trying to pick up Egyptian 'Amia to speak with shopkeepers, people on the street... really anyone who will talk to me.

Alright enough about language, and back to the rest of the day... after a brief orientation about life in Cairo, we headed out to explore. I had something called "koosheri" for lunch, which is a delicious combination of rice, noodles, spaghetti, lentils, chickpeas, and fried onions with a tomato sauce (sounds weird, I know, but it's unbelievable). There is the option of adding a spicy sauce. I'm not really sure what it was made of, but I put a few drops into my bowl and my mouth was on FIRE. After lunch, a few of us walked from our apartment to Zamalak (the island on the Nile). We intended to go to the Cairo Tower, but we somehow managed to walk all the way around it without ever finding a way to get in and up to the top... I guess we'll have to take on that adventure another day. Regardless, the walk was amazing. The view from the Nile is gorgeous, and we had fun interacting with the people walking around - most of whom shouted "Welcome to Egypt!" as we passed. Two big things from our trip: walking down pointless stairways and trying to cross the street. Multiple times we attempted to walk down a stairway that seemed to end at the bottom of an exit ramp off the bridge to Zamalak, but actually dead-ended into a concrete wall... oops. Then there was street crossing: think Frogger, except the cars don't always stay in their lanes and drive at a consistent speed. It is also impossible to find a gap when no cars are coming in any of the lanes. Luckily, there were plenty of police officers sitting in the area who helpfully led us across. Though they are all more than happy to lend a hand and their expertise at navigating Cairo's streets, they are extremely intimidating since they are so obviously armed (probably because they are stationed near so many embassies). Later that night, I went out to a tiny backgammon room/tea shop/hookah bar type place, where we sat with some Egyptian men who critiqued our backgammon skills. All in all it was an excellent day, but I really need to get some rest now... ma salama!

Wust El-Balad

Hey everyone, just back at the apartment from a much more restful day in Egypt. There was only one official DukeEngage activity of the day: finding St. Andrews Refugee Ministry (where we'll be working most of the time we're here). After that quick walk and a tour of the center (we'll be returning for orientation in a few days), we headed back to the apartment to finally catch up on sleep.

In the evening, we headed out for the first time without our phenomenal guide Zoe, an American from our university who has lived in Cairo for the past two years. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous for this - my formal Arabic is a bit rusty and my knowledge of the Egyptian dialect is almost nonexistent. However, the night was both fantastic and successful. I grabbed dinner at the ful restaurant down the street, which was absolutely delicious and more than I could eat, and then went to an Egyptian pop concert in Zamalik, the island in the middle of the Nile. The band was called "Wust El-Balad" and they were great! (even though I didn't understand much of their lyrics). Then came our attempt to get a cab home. We (amazingly) managed to hail one and negotiated a price to Garden City; the problem was giving directions to our cab driver. Fortunately, he and every other person on the street were helpful and more than happy to give us directions as we sat in the backseat and repeated "Sifara Canada" (Canadian Embassy, which we live near) and "Shar'ia Ibrahim Naguib" (Ibrahim Naguib Street) until we finally recognized our apartment building. Even if I make them laugh with my overly formal and antiquated attempts to speak, which will hopefully improve before long, everyone in Egypt is kind and amazingly patient enough to figure out what help we need.

Check out Wust El-Balad here!

Italian Food in Cairo?

I'm not proud of the fact that I didn't really eat any ethnically Egyptian food today. To be fair, I fully intended to get ful (pronounced "fool"), a very common dish made of fava beans for dinner at the restaurant around the corner, but by the time I got back to our apartment after a long day out, I could not make myself leave. So we resorted to Pizza Hut, one of the unlimited number of delivery options here in Cairo - and when I say unlimited, I mean every single place delivers to wherever at whatever time. The number of McDelivery bikes I've seen is ridiculous.

But before I dive too deeply into a description of the Cairo dining options, I'll give a quick rundown of the day. We went to orientations at three different NGOs, of which we will select one to work at. The options are "Ana al-Misri" (meaning I, the Egyptian) which works with children formerly living on the streets, "Al-Kayan" working with disabled children, and Awtad which has a variety of empowerment projects in the city. My favorite and first choice to volunteer at is Ana al-Misri; although it's the farthest away (a 45 minute taxi ride), it is the most hands-on and high-energy atmosphere of the three, and the kids are absolutely adorable. In between our orientation marathon, we stopped to get lunch at an Italian restaurant, chosen for it's convenient location. The inside looked nothing like Egypt, and there was far more English and Italian on the menu and wall decorations than Arabic. Afterward, we hit up the other two NGOs, then collapsed back at our apartment and settled down to Pizza Hut, which is even better than American Pizza Hut (apparently because health standards are less strict here, so they can make it a lot worse for you).