Cairo's Random Nights

One Cairo night my friend Michelle and I decided to take a wall in Cairo.  We walked to Qasr al-Aini bridge, and as we were walking along the nile, we spotted a parked car with blasting music.  It was a wedding celebration, and the bride, groom, family and friends all got out of their cars to take pictures and dance on the Nile.  It was a wonderful scene.  As we passed by, something or someone literarllly dragged us to join the party and dance with the mother and the bride!  

Random, friendly, and fun, that is the essence of Cairo.

Close Your Eyes and Swim

** A good friend of mine, Shaker Lashuel, who is a mentor to so many, a teacher, and a great writer, sent this to me when I was going through a confusing time. It really helped me then, and continues to help me. I re-read it recently because I needed to, and so decided to post it here, hoping it may help others as well **

There are junctures in our lives when we stand stationary and helpless. Hesitant, reluctant, and unable to move. We calculate and plan for the best possible direction of movement. We add, subtract, multiply, and divide in order to find the shortcut to the dreamy state of existence we seek.

Sadly in our eagerness to reach that destination, we sometimes forget to enjoy the journey as we become obsessed with the final destination. We stand there helpless, drenched by the what ifs and engulfed by uncertainty and fear.

The blessing of having many choices becomes a curse, and we turn the gift of freedom of choice into dilemmas and conundrums that chip away from our happiness and steal the moments of joy we were meant to have. 



In Yemen we say, those who don't close their eyes don't learn how to swim. Maybe we need to close our eyes and take the bold moves we are afraid to take. At the end, the destination we reach becomes irrelevant if we learn to enjoy the ride and internalize the lessons we learn. All of our choices will have consequences and ultimately we're judged not only by the choices we make but by how we deal with the consequences.

Gaza

I am utterly DISGUSTED by the response of the Egyptian government to the tragedy in Gaza.  I can’t believe that we are only 7 hours away from the Rafah border but that humanitarian aid can’t be delivered! 

I understand people’s frustrations at the US foreign policy, I am one of those that is constantly disappointed by that, however, I am more outraged at the Arab government, that speak of “Arab unity and nationalism” but when they are asked to prove it, nothing happens.  They let their “brothers and sisters” on the other side die, and sit there to watch.  Where is the unity they speak of?

If people focused their energy on asking why their OWN governments aren’t doing anything, maybe something would happen.  Yes the US is to blame for a lot, but the US isn’t your country, look internally first, change within, and then look abroad.  The closet neighbors are the Arabs, and they are blocking the aid and allowing people to die. 

SMILE

"Learn to smile even in your liver" Buddhist teaching

Freedom to be Myself

Dear Freedom,

There came a time when I almost completely lost you, lost myself and lost the ability to freely think, believe, and act.  But, I found you again.  I'm glad that we have reunited and i promise not to let you go.

At times, I may have to compromise and I will not be able to give you everything.  At times you will feel that I have overlooked you so that a family member or someone dear to me can be happy.  But if you feel that I have completely abandoned you, please wake me up because I need you.  Your presence is essential in my life, and without you, I lose myself and I can no longer exist.

"Traveling is the great true love of my life"

Is longing to travel while you are "on travel" greedy madness?

Three months in Cairo & here is what I've learned:

Five things I learned about the city I love:

1. “za7mah ya dunya za7mah” is not just a song.  Cairo traffic is really as bad as they claim, and rush-hour can be any time of the day.  If you want to enjoy living here, you must give-in to the power of traffic, because there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.  How? By being prepared at all times, with a book, ipod, chocolate, or breakfast bar just in case you are stuck for hours.
   
2. Egyptians survive through laughter.  No matter how life is treating them, people are smiling, laughing, and telling jokes.  It is quite remarkable.
   
3. There is no such thing as privacy.  The entire neighborhood will know anything and everything about you.  But, at the same time, the neighborhood becomes your family.  They will know you, ask about you, and will be there for you whenever you need.  A sense of community still exists in this large city.
   
4. Crossing the road is as dangerous as it looks.  Yesterday I saw a man get hit by a car; and a week ago an acquaintance of mine was hit!  The ironic thing is that a week before she was hit, her and I were rejoicing that we have become pro’s at crossing the road! Oops, maybe not.
5. Egyptian society, like most Arab countries today is extremely polarized politically and religiously.  The middle is shrinking and disappearing from the public sphere.  Because of this polarization, people tend to pass enormous amount of judgment against each other.
   

        Here is what I’ve learned  about myself:

1.     I’m finally comfortable eating alone in public. 
2.     I can live without a microwave; I didn’t even notice that I didn’t have one.
3.     I can’t live without Internet; it’s an addiction.
4.     I’m no longer afraid of being alone with my thoughts.
5.     I learned that I’m more “emotional” than I portray.
6.     As much as I love social gatherings, I learned that I need time to decompress, energize, and be alone once in a while.
7.     I learned that I am so blessed to have amazing family and friends.
8.     I also learned that I love the “arts” so much.  Cairo has given me the opportunity to explore that side of my self.
9.     I learned that I need to work on my “indecisive” nature.
10. I learned that I can cook, but I don’t enjoy doing it often J

In response to the AUC protest

I'm very proud that AUC students are calling for their rights and demanding the end of the commercialization of education!
http://aucpetition08.blogspot.com/2008/11/from-forum.html

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…