And Class Begins...

MONDAY
We visited Garbage City (Moqattam) on Monday.
What a strange, strange place.
We have nothing like it in the United States.
Garbage City is a slum community on the edge of Cairo where the economy revolves around garbage. Donkey carts bring Cairo’s trash to the community, and then the families sort the garbage to retrieve recyclables and useful scraps. Many of the Coptic Christians living here may also raise pigs (using the garbage to feed them), and sell the meat for income. This is how the families of Garbage City make their living.
Unfortunately I forgot my camera in my flat, so I was unable to take pictures, but it was both fascinating and saddening to see a community literally covered in garbage.

The stench while walking through the streets is like none other. The people living there are filthy (just imagine what you would look like after sorting through garbage all day long). The buildings are skeletal structures.
I glanced in some of the open doorways we passed and saw heaps of trash with men, women, and children sorting through it with their bare hands.
As we weaved in and out of people and cars, massive garbage bags were lowered and raised by ropes and pullies in the windows above.

Garbage city is a strange sight, but it is a community like any other community, with families, homes, streets, stores, schools, and churches.

Moving on…
We visited an orphanage run by Sisters of Charity, and an organization which provides looms for women within garbage city to make rugs, purses, wallets, etc. out of recycled materials. They also make paper products, teach literacy, and much more… It’s a neat organization but I don’t remember the name of it. If you’re interested ask and I’ll find out.

FASHION PEOPLE…A cool fact: Marc Jacobs bought many items from them and will be selling them in the U.S… I’m curious though the price they bought them for in comparison to how much they will be selling them for. Hmmm.

Also visited some churches in Garbage city…The churches were caves. Literally CAVES. Gigantic. I’m so mad I didn’t have my camera! I was awe-struck.



TUESDAY

First day of service projects…I’m doing the prison ministry which I mentioned earlier in the blog. It was a holiday though, so instead I went to the orphanage again and spent 4 hours surrounded by dirty, greasy haired, runny-nosed, toddlers. I describe them this way, because this was their appearance. They weren’t adorable. They were sickly looking.
But they were/are beautiful little human beings, each with his/her own unique personality. We spent 4 hours holding them, playing with them, feeding them. It was exhausting but wonderful. I don’t know how the sisters who run the orphanage survive with so many kids and so little workers. (The orphanage has toddlers, babies, mentally/physically handicapped, and also elderly). Not only is the orphanage understaffed, but they have also taken a vow of poverty…meaning they survive on little. Also crazy: they wash all clothing by hand…imagine for a moment the amount of laundry needed to be done every day without any machines!

That night Justine and I met up with Geehan (the Yemen woman we met at the mosque). Such a sweetheart! She’s 31 and works for the ministry of oil, and is on scholarship studying Business Administration. Her father is the Sheikh of Sana’a (the capital of Yemen). It was so much fun, and we got to ask her all kinds of random questions about Islam and her life in Yemen and in Egypt.

Random bits of conversation:
-In Yemen, many muslim women work
-Just as we visited a mosque service simply to observe and learn, she has visited church services for the same reason (one of which was a catholic mass)
-She is Sunni
-Educated Muslims in Yemen don’t have arranged marriages…typically it’s the less educated (which most ppl I think are aware of)




WEDNESDAY

First day of Arabic class. Yay!
I sounded like a fool, but so fun!

Also, got our handouts for the courses and assignments. Dr. Holt (director of our program) went through and talked about what the learning will be like this semester and how our beliefs will be challenged over the next few months…I can’t even begin to describe the thoughts and emotions I was experiencing…it was overwhelming, but in such a good way. Basically my world will be shattered this semester.

Ah Salaam.