It's been awhile since I've written on the blog, somewhat because school work is starting to pick up but also because there is just so much to do here that I don't have much free time! We are now on break for the next week and half, so I no longer have an excuse for not posting. Thus, here are a few fun experiences from the past week and a half:
1) My first Egyptian wedding. Last Thursday, three of us tagged along with the program's academic director to his friend's wedding. The wedding was in a suburb of Alexandria named "Wahed wa Ashreen" or, in English, simply "21." The unimaginative name is inspired by the fact this town is 21 kilometers from the center of Alexandria. The town didn't have many distinguishing features, and seemed decidedly middle class by Egyptian standards - modest, low-rise apartment buildings without much attention paid to aesthetics, satellite dishes everywhere, electricity, and bumpy roads. What was most interesting to me was the general absence of all forms of transportation on the streets. We saw a few cars parked along the sides of some of the streets, but we never saw or heard nary a motorcycle, bike, or car actually moving while we were there. As such, the roads turned into a playground for the local kids and a free and public venue for the wedding.
As guests, we were treated with the utmost respect and at every opportunity someone from the groom's family insisted that we eat more food or drink another cup of tea. One of the hardest jobs in Egypt is that of the guest: the host will always bring more food to the table than is humanly possible to eat, but you have to try your best to eat as much as possible lest you appear disrespectful. It's a tough task, but one I do enjoy (especially when there is good food like the Upper Egyptian food we were treated to at the wedding). When you are obliged to eat two huge meals in the span of two hours, however, it can become a bit much.
After our two dinners, we sat in the street and alternately watched and participated in the dancing / fundraising portion of the wedding. The groom and his family were from Upper Egypt (i.e. the south of Egypt), so this portion of the wedding included music played on a recorder-like instrument and drum from the region. As each person gave a small donation to cover the cost of the wedding, he would say who the donation was in honor of and would then get up to dance with the musicians. We donated in honor of Alexandria University, America, and finally Barack Obama, and then proceeded to do our best to emulate the Upper Egyptian style of dancing that we had watched the other men do quite gracefully before us.
Unfortunately after the dancing ended we had spent four hours at the wedding and we had to get back to Alexandria for a birthday party (and another huge meal). There was still no sign of the bride when we left, but I ran into the groom by coincidence a few days ago in Alexandria and he told me that the rest of the wedding went quite well. Alf mabrook (congratulations!)
2) As my Arabic skills continue to develop, I am starting to have some interesting conversations with the Egyptian students that go beyond basic, daily topics such as school, sports, and, my personal favorite, food. As opposed to my experience in Kenya last summer where I would read the English-language newspaper everyday and stay abreast of political developments, I am relatively cut off from Egyptian politics. I don't have time to slog through Arabic newspaper articles every day, and I didn't know much if anything about Egyptian politics before I arrived. In the month and a half that I have been here, however, I have heard the constant refrain from nearly everyone I've talked to that the current government is rife with corruption, inefficient in service delivery, and generally unable to take up the real problems (primarily unemployment) that the country faces. I have focused particularly on the shabab (youth) when thinking about the political situation in the country, and over the past week and a half I had a few chats with my Egyptian friends focused on the future of youth and politics in Egypt.
There are groups of young men all over the place in Alexandria, and Egypt, like most developing countries, has a disproportionally high percentage of its population under 30 years old. So the first question I always ask about the issue is about the options that these youth have. Is a steady job available for your average college student after he graduates? What if you don't make it to college? Are these youth seemingly languishing on the streets simply unambitious, or are they victims of an education system that doesn't prepare them well for future employment? What is their level of interest in politics? The general answers that I have heard so far is that these youth are victims of a poorly-designed and antiquated education system and a gerontocratic society that prioritizes age over skills at their expense. It would be a mistake, of course, to apply these sweeping generalizations to every Egyptian, but the reality on the street should not be taken lightly. Having large groups of unemployed, disaffected youth who are thereby cut off from engaging in the normal social processes of earning a steady income, finding a spouse, and starting a family is a potentially dangerous situation for the government and general stability in the country. The question that remains and that I want to take discuss more with my Egyptian friends is about the political alternatives that might or might not exist. I have heard some of my friends express support for the Muslim Brotherhood, some for the potential presidential candidacy of Mohamed el-Baradei (former head of the IAEA), and some continue to support Hosni Mubarak. As the semester goes on, I am going to keep trying to get my head around these issues and hopefully learn some useful Arabic vocabulary in the process.
We're off on our group trip to Sinai for the next few days, and after that some of us are going to Jordan to visit, among other things, Petra. I am complete ready for the beach, snorkeling, and, of course, for some more fun adventures in Egypt and Jordan.
UPDATE: After waiting five hours for our shredded bus tire to get fixed in a random rest stop on the side of the road in Sinai, we finally made it to Dahab. All of us are 100% relaxed here - life is good. More to come soon on Sinai and my upcoming trip to Jordan
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