Sunday, September 21, 2008

A bird's eye view

So directly in front of me when I look out from my balcony is an ugly hotel but if you look to the left or the right you see the Nile or the city...the Nile to the left, city to the right.  So I try to look to one side or the other because the view is much more pleasant.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Home Sweet Home

Now this blog can officially be called Adventures in Aswan because I moved in Thursday night! It was a bit of an adventure getting here, our plane had technical difficulties so we got to sit in a hot airplane for almost an hour past our departure time. After we finally got in the air things went smoothly, but it is a little strange arriving in a new city in the middle of the night…I didn’t leave the airport until a little after 1 am. The director of EACID met me at the airport and took me to my new flat. It feels really big for one person so it’s good that I’ll have visitors now and then. It’s right downtown and when standing on my balcony the is in front and to the right, and on the left is the Nile! I’m also only a couple streets over from the main market street and about a 15 minute walk to the office.

Yesterday was fairly uneventful. I tried to sleep in but my window faces east and needless to say I’m going to need to figure out a better way of blocking out the sun than the tissue paper like covers the windows have right now. I spent most of today cleaning, not that the place was dirty but it hasn’t been lived in in the last little while and since the is pretty much in the dessert things can get a little dusty. So after sweeping and moping the whole place I decided I need a few essentials so I took a walk around the block and came back with a case of bottled water and toilet paper. Very exciting I know, but I go through water like crazy here. My next task was the kitchen which I figured I should wipe down before starting to keep food in. one I had finished that I needed some food so I went looking for that next. It’s a little more difficult than walking into a grocery store…no one stop shopping here. And I think I’m the only non-Egyptian buying things other than souvenirs so I’ve been getting some funny looks.

Today i was able to sleep in a little...till 9:30 as opposed to 6...so I guess I just needed to get used to a new place. Had a shower and was please to find out that the water heater works, and I've got great water pressure. I then went out to find some more food, things like sugar, pepper, salt, etc...it's amazing how much there is to buy when you're starting from nothing. I also found a good fruit stand and bought mangos, pomegranate, and apples.
Right now I’m thankful for less traffic, air conditioning in my bedroom, living by the water, and the Arabic lessons I took in Cairo…they’re already coming in handy. I feel some how that I belong here a little more now that I can communicate without needing someone else to speak English. I actually understand Egyptians better than the foreigners around here who are mostly European.

And finally for those of you who are interested some pictures of my new abode...

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

As promised...pictures from the last week

ALEXANDRIA

Caroyln, Rike, Max and Akino on the train to Alexandria

Akino and Rike sitting along the Corniche

me in front of the pool in front of the library....it took
 everything in me not to want to jump right in!

the sun starting to set over the harbour 
with Fort Qaitbey in the background

KHAN AL-KHALILI (Islamic Cairo)

The moon over al-Ahzar Mosque from the steps
 of the underground pedestrian walkway

vehicles speeding down packed alleyways faster
than my camera shutter can capture the light

Bab Zuweyla, the last remaining southern
 gate into the medieval city of Al-Qahira
 from the roof of the al-Muayyad Mosque

the non-tourist Khan market...much less hassle, but people kept telling us we were wanted the bazaar and were going in the wrong direction.  Kind of sad that they don't think foreigners would be interested in a market that doesn't cater to tourists



Breathing Deep

Week two in Cairo has come and gone and I feel much more comfortable in my surroundings.  Still no real routine to speak of except for my daily arabic lessons.  Julie and Jennifer, two MEDA staff were around for four days having discussions about new potential projects in the country.  We had dinner with them one night and had a couple meetings.  One of those was meeting the accountant and his family at their home.  It was a great evening with some of the most hospitable people I've met here.  Egyptians are in general very hospitable and this was another experience of that.  He also works with MCC in Egypt and so I may have a chance to connect with them while I'm here which could come in handy when I'm looking for traveling companions as there will be no shortage of things to see here.

The highlight of the week was a day trip to Alexandria with Carolyn (Rachel's roommate and therefore mine for the time being) and a few of her coworkers.  It's a three hour train ride north to the sea.  We got there at 11 am and booked a return trip for just before 9 pm and then set off to explore the city.  As a place that has been held by many different civilizations including the romans, and being just across the water from Greece, it has a much more European feel.  There was still lots of traffic, but less than Cairo, and most of all no smog!  There were a few clouds in the sky, but otherwise it was clear, and hot enough to get a little extra sun on my face.  We grabbed a coffee at a square near the water and then sat along the corniche (the street along the water no matter which city you're in).  We also got to see the great library (from the outside) that they have there, as well as some catacombs and Fort Quaitbey.  The catacombs were discovered when a donkey fell through the ground of an archeological dig and were at one time the resting place of 300 mummies.  In use since roman times you can see from the carvings on the walls which period different areas were from, Christian, Roman and Egyptian.  We sat along the water to watch the sun set and then ordered fresh fish at a restaurant before catching our train back to Cairo.  All in all a relaxing day withr room to breathe, sea breezes, and good company.

Saturday was a down day, and then Sunday I met with Richard (my sometimes in-country manager) to discuss some logistics, both regarding my move to Aswan and getting started on my work here.  Yesterday and today have involved a couple more meetings, a my new phone up and finishing up my Arabic lessons.  I can now successfully get around in taxis on my own, buy food, the essentials.  Sunday night Rachel and I also visited the Khan al-Khalili market.  It consists of both a tourist and regular market and is in the old, Islamic part of Cairo with lots off ancient architecture, mosques that make it feel like a maze of narrow streets.

That's all for now.  The next time you find something new here I'll be in my new home since yesterday we finally secured a flat for me to live in in Aswan! (a flat is an apartment for those of you who might be confused)  Yesterday I went and got a flight so it's now official and I'll be on my way there Thursday evening.  That will be when the heat really begins....clean air to breathe, 42 degrees and sunny, here I come! 

Stay posted for pictures...we're leaving the cafe before they finished uploading so I'm going to try from home tonight.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Through the haze

So, I don't like hearing myself on camera but I'm trying to get over it in the interests of keeping you all entertained.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Why am I here?

I’ve realized that while some of you are caught up on what I’m doing in Egypt, others aren’t quite sure, and perhaps my first post should have been a bit of an introduction to why I’m here.

So I guess to start, I graduated this past spring with a degree in international development studies and in business administration. After applying for a few different positions, I was offered an internship by MEDA (Mennonite economic development associates) for 5 ½ months here in Egypt. MEDA doesn’t have an office here but works with PTE (Partners in technology exchange) and EACID (Egyptian Association for Community Initiatives and Development) on a project called Protecting and Promoting the Interests of Children work Work (PPIC-Work). There have been and are other partners in the project, but these are the ones I will mostly be working with. I will be based in Aswan, working with EACID to document the stories of some of the children who have been part of the project in that city through pictures, text, and perhaps video. There are links on the side to the websites of the organizations I mentioned if you want to read more. That’s my basic understanding of my role here over the next 5 months. The plan right now is to be here until the end of January. My work will most likely cross over into other parts of the project such as ‘learning through work’, which is Rachel’s primary task, as well as networking, which is done by Reem.

There you go, better late than never I guess. Feel free to ask any questions you have…although I can’t promise I’ll be able to answer them just yet.
While many of you are enjoying the last few hours of your weekend, mine has been over for a day now. Here in Egypt, and in the Middle East in general, the weekend starts on Friday instead of Saturday, so Sunday is like Monday and today we were back to work, and my Arabic lessons.

But the point of this entry was to recap the weekend. Friday evening we went to a place called Al Ahzar Park. It’s a kind of oasis in the middle of Cairo with fountains, grass, and palm trees. Along with my roommates and some friends we had a picnic dinner in the park, along with many other family scattered across the park enjoying their Iftar (the meal to break the fast) meal. Then on Saturday Rachel and I played the role of tourists and visited the Citadel of Salah al-Din, home to a few mosques, one of which we visited (see picture).

That had not been the end of our plans for the day but we received news while at the Citadel of a rockslide in the neighborhood where the
 project I am working on operates in Cairo. It is one of the poorer areas of the city, homes are not well built and the neighborhood is built on, below and around some large cliffs, one of which broke off Saturday morning crushing many homes and taking many lives. Go to http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80205 for a good article from the United Nations. Rachel and I met some other colleagues and went there to see if there was anything we could do but since the rocks were massive (some up to 70 tonnes) and they had not been able to get an heavy machinery in there was nothing we could do. Rachel and I went back today for a workshop with the children she is working with. With the main road into the community blocked to traffic it is much quieter than my first visit. The closing of the road also means that business in the community has also slowed which will be an added burden.

To end off the weekend, Carolyn, Rika and I took a walk through the city to a couple places both Rika and I had not yet visited and then came home to make dinner. With Ramadan may shops are decorated and people string up lights like we might do at Christmas. Once the sun sets the streets become quiet, and you can watch people eat Iftar on street corners, in cafes and on balconies all over the city.

The last thing I’ll say is that while walking down side walks it is not uncommon to feel water droplets on your head. One should not be fooled into thinking it might rain…this is Egypt and the sun is always shining….it is only the air conditioner dripping on your head.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Some First Impressions

Now that I’ve been in Cairo for almost one week…don’t be confused by the title of the blog, I won’t be in Aswan until mid-month…I thought it was a good time to give some thoughts and reflections of my temporary new home.

First of all, and to get it out of the way, Egypt is hot…anyone surprised? Oh, and it’s humid. I know some of you are thinking “but Egypt is mostly a desert??”, however the Nile is a big river, big enough to have islands. So yes, it’s humid. Also, and this may be surprising, no one talks about the weather. Hot and sunny is kind of predictable. Oh, and Aswan is hotter.

The second thing that is affecting life here right now is that it is Ramadan, which for those of you who don’t know, is the month of fasting for Muslims who fast between sun up and sun down each day for 30 days. In general this means that business hours start a little later and end a little earlier, and pretty much everything is close between 5:30/6 and 9pm. Around 6:30, probably a little before, the call to prayer happens and everyone eats. It feels a little like Christmas, people put up strings of lights, everyone eats with their family, people serve meals for others in the neighborhood. On our way to a picnic lunch in Al Ahzar park yesterday there were tables set up on sidewalks and along the streets. It is really the only time that the city is ever quiet.

For my first couple days in Cairo I was with Rachel. The first day we went to the neighborhood where the project is operating in Cairo, called Dowiekha (you don’t pronounce the k), and to a meeting with a potential partner in some research. We also went to a massive building called Mogamma to my visa extended for the year, and Rachel’s renewed as she has now been here for a year. Otherwise, I’ve been reading up on the project and taking Arabic lessons, which have been going very well. I go two and a half hours per day, five days a week.

That was my first week, the weekend (friday and Saturday) has been very relaxing and a lot of fun, but this is getting long so you’ll have to wait until next time.