Saturday, November 15, 2008
inner peace
How ironic is it that I moved to Cairo, one of the loudest cities, to search for inner peace?
تقرير المرصد النقابي والعمالي حول الاحتجاجات في شهر سبتمبر واكتوبر
http://arabist.net/arabawy/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/sept3weeksindustrialaction.pdf
Click on the link to download the (Arabic) report on industrial action during the first three weeks of September, put together by the Egyptian Workers and Trade Unions Watch…
Forced evictions
In 1948 a British police report attested: "Every effort is being made by the Jews to persuade the Arab population to stay and carry on with their normal lives..." that was not true then, and it is not true now. It is mind boggling that 60 years later Palestinians are still forced to leave their homes!
Friday, November 14, 2008
yes it is possible to be single and happy
Two quick stories:
I had a phone interview with the director of a well-known institute in Yemen (I will not mention the name here). Overall, the interview went well, but there were some odd statements:
Director: “I asked around and they told me you're single. That is very good.”
Me: “umm why?
Director: “Since you're not married you will work hard and probably work overtime since there is nothing for you to do after work!"
WHY WHY WHY, do people assume that just because we are single, it means we have no life?!!
Let me give you another example:
A few young Yemenis on facebook were discussing early marriage in Yemen and the article on Nujood’s woman of the year award (http://www.glamour.com/women-of-the-year/2008/nujood-ali-and-shada-nasser) . A 21 year old man said:
“i guess to marry at an early age is waaaaay better than being single almost all life ,,,"3anes"...and sorry for the word,,, wt do u think u guys ??”
Why is life equated with marriage for some people. I’m not against marriage, I think it can be a beautiful thing. But I also know that just because someone is single does not mean they are unhappy, and just because someone is married does not necessarily guarantee happiness. Our happiness is not necessarily ONLY extracted from a spouse. It can also be felt without one.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Need advise on the rules of male/female interaction in Egypt
As you know I recently moved to Cairo. One thing I do not understand yet is the male/female interaction. Egyptian men and women are flirty, lively, and very friendly. So, how does one know if the guy is just friendly, or if he is “interested”? When is the question “do you want to hang out?” just a friendly question and when is it a statement of interest. Also, how will my response demonstrate either friendship or interest?
No wonder she's single!
Yesterday I had one of those days where I woke up in the morning and stood there staring at the closet and wishing I had a uniform to wear so I wouldn’t have to think so early in the morning.
I tried on the first shirt, but umm na it wasn’t what I was looking for, so I threw it on the bed. I tried the next shirt, but it’s getting cold now and this shirt won’t work, so I also tossed it on the bed. I tried on the third shirt, but it was too tight, (must have been last night’s basboosa), so I also tossed it on the bed. This process went on for about 10 minutes, until I finally selected the FIRST shirt I tried on. Of course this made me think about the importance of trusting one’s instinct.
I look down at my watch, crap it’s late! Of course I couldn’t clean the pile on the bed, which is ok, cause I live alone right?! WRONG I left the apartment in a hurry contemplating the philosophy of trusting one’s instincts, and why humans are afraid to listen to their heart.
I went to work all day, then around 6:00 p.m. I met up with some friends for dinner. Around 8 p.m., I received a frantic phone call from my neighbor, who was wondering if I was home. I said no, why? She says: “because the apartment door is open”, “what?” I say. She says: “don’t worry I’ll go check it out.” Before I could say no, she already hung up.
My neighbor, a 54 year old woman her two sons, and the door man went up to my apartment. They went inside to check if everything is ok. They went into my room, and saw the “hurricane on my bed” and decided that there MUST have been a thief in the apartment who caused such destruction. They called me to tell me to come because the room is a mess, and I should check for what’s missing!
At that moment, I had two choices:
- Tell the truth, and admit that no, that mess was done intentionally, and forever be known as the “very messy single girl!”
- Tell the truth, but also explain that I’m not always that messy!
- Lie and pretend a thief was in the apartment
One thing I’m terrible at is lying, so of course I ended up telling the truth, which is: I admit that I stupidly left the door unlocked, and I am the cause of that mess. (I wanted to insert a message saying, please come tomorrow to see for yourself that the room is not always this messy, but I couldn’t).
The next day, I passed by my neighbors’ house to thank them, and their house keeper opened the door, and kindly said to me “sweetie, if you need help I can come upstairs and help you, I heard about the room!)
How EMBARASSING IS THIS!
Amnesty sites serious human rights violations in Yemen
Amnesty International expresses concern about human rights situation in Yemen
Everyone knows EVERYTHING here
My friend Nadiya sent me flowers for my birthday…two days later I stopped by the pharmacy located across my apartment building. The pharmacist told me “so did you receive the flowers?” Confused I say: “what flowers?”, he says: “there were flowers for you two days ago, you’re on the 9th floor right?”
So umm ya, everyone knows EVERYTHING here!
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