It's been a long time since I've posted and I apologize.
I've started writing many times, but every time I begin, it gets interrupted and then another couple days go by and the update I was going to post becomes totally outdated.
I don't even know where to begin. So much has happened since my last post.
First of all, I'm no longer in Cairo. On March 17th we embarked on "Travel Component."
Our first stop was Istanbul. What a rush. After spending 2-3 months in desert and city, it was exhilarating to see grass!
The air was clean, cold, and crisp. We had a bit of drizzly rain the first two or so days and with Istanbul being on the water and hilly, I was reminded of Seattle.
In Turkey we spent our days listening to various speakers (journalists, AK Party, residents, etc.) on lots of topics...secularism, Islamism, Turkey's foreign policy, the Kurdish issue, the EU, the Armenian "genicide" etc.
From Istanbul we traveled to Ankara, the capital, for a few days and then on down to Syria. I don't know why we Americans paint a picture in our head of a dry, dust ridden Middle Eastern Region. Yes there's vast desert in certain regions, and other regions may be more on the dry, dusty side, but there are so many areas that are fertile and alive with color. Syria was beautiful to drive through. It was so green.
On our way to Damascus we stopped at one of the largest (or THE largest) crusader castle left in the world. [If only I had made the trip there as a 10 year old. I would have been in Heaven exploring the underground passageways.] It was a cloudy/rainy day when we went to the castle so unfortunately we didn't get to see the apparently spectacular view that one gets standing atop the castle on the hill. It was still really cool nonetheless.
On our way to Damascus we also stopped in Maloula (one of 3 aramaic speaking villages left in the world) and visited St. Tekla's shrine and an old Orthodox church.
In Damascus, we spent basically all of our time in the Old City. We saw the house of Ananias (who healed Paul when he went blind) and the Ummayid Mosque (where, supposively, they have John the Baptist's head). There were lots of Iranians in the Old City, especially at the mosque, and it was interesting to see their reaction to seeing Americans...it was fascination/excitement. Apparently Iranians rarely come in contact with Americans, if at all, and so we found ourselves to be the subject of a lot of camera lenses. There will be dozens of Iranians taking home pictures of their "American friends". haha.
Anyway, from Damascus we moved on to Amman, Jordan. We were only there for a day basically, and spent it at the Dead Sea. and Yes you can literally sit in the water reading while floating as if you were sitting in a chair.I wonder if swimming through space is a similar feeling to swimming in the Dead Sea? I was weightless.
So from Turkey, Syria, and Jordan, we have made our way to Israel and occupied Palestine.
More to come.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Homestay Week
February 14th-20th.
Well remember when I wrote that I was hoping I wouldn't end up living with a family far away?
My morning/nightly commute was about an hour to an hour and a half...one way.
Lovely.
Each morning I would wake up at 6 am...walk out the door by 6:30...walk through the dirt allies to meet up with another girl from MESP who was staying in the same neighborhood and then we would begin our commute together.
Picture a small old van in the worst shape possible...dented, scratched, rusted, doors that won't close fully, zero shocks to absorb bumps etc...
We would begin our day riding one of those until we got close to the metro station where we'd be dropped off. Then we'd get on the metro and ride it for about 14 or so stops (almost always having to stand b/c of the crowd).
For those of you who asked: No I was not able to ever read or get hw done or have a nice quiet time during the commute...not possible with Egyptian public transportation.
After a long ride, we'd get off the metro downtown and head up to the street where we would catch a taxi to take us to Aguza where class is.
Long process.
But actually, it really wasn't too bad.
My family would probably be considered lower or lower middle class and from what I gathered, were pretty conservative Muslims.
The family structure in the house was interesting.
I was living with a mother and three girls...ages 10, 13, and 20.
Olah (the 20 yr. old) doesn't actually live with them, but was staying there since she was on holiday for school. Her father passed away when she was young, and her mother remarried and had two more children (the two other girls in the home). So Olah lived with her siblings from her mother's 1st marriage and her grandparents.
The current husband wasn't there at all while I stayed with them because he works as an engineer in Saudi Arabia.
[This was nice because I didn't have to worry very much about dressing as conservative inside the home as I would've if a male had been around.
But...I think it also took away from the experience because I wasn't able to see the husband/wife and father/daughter relationships played out.]
Happenings/Thoughts:
-Besides class and my commute...I did basically nothing all week.
Really. Seriously.
I went outside of the home with my family only twice the entire time. The first time was to walk with my 3 sisters to their aunts house (which was in the same neighborhood so hardly counts). We sat there talking with her for about 20 minutes or so (and when I say "we sat there talking" I really mean they sat there talking and I sat there smiling, looking from person to person trying to guess what in the world they were saying).
The second time, was on Friday when we traveled to their cousins' home (in a different neighborhood in Cairo) and spent the day in their flat with them.
-From the moment my family woke up, to the moment they went to sleep, they had the tv on...this is the norm here. Family interactions at home take place in front of the screen. They don't even necessarily watch the screen all day, but it's definitely always on, and they're always in front of it.
-Egyptian hospitality revolves around food. They love to feed their guests LOTS of food. When you finish a plate of food, they automatically fill it with more. If you tell them "La'a Shokran" (No Thank you) they insist. Doesn't matter how many times you tell them you're full, they always want you to eat more. Ha. So basically I got stuffed with food for the week.
-I had bits of interesting conversation with my sister Olah about Islam, Bin Laden, Bush, Obama, the taliban, family, and also Judgment Day according to Islam. I would write it all out, and actually I did write some of it on here, but I had to delete it because it took up way too much room. If you want to hear about it, then let me know and I will give you a bit of a summary.
-I learned that Egyptians are very dramatic. Actually I had learned this already in being here, but got to see even more of it during home stay. Interactions between people/family members are way more dramatic than you see in the States (except for maybe my family). There were a lot of times when I would watch and listen to my family speak with each other and I had no idea whether they were having a serious fight, or having a normal conversation.
Overall, I had a great week with my host family. They welcomed me into their home lovingly and the whole experience definitely gave me more insight into the culture, and what life may be like for some Egyptians in Cairo.
Well remember when I wrote that I was hoping I wouldn't end up living with a family far away?
My morning/nightly commute was about an hour to an hour and a half...one way.
Lovely.
Each morning I would wake up at 6 am...walk out the door by 6:30...walk through the dirt allies to meet up with another girl from MESP who was staying in the same neighborhood and then we would begin our commute together.
Picture a small old van in the worst shape possible...dented, scratched, rusted, doors that won't close fully, zero shocks to absorb bumps etc...
We would begin our day riding one of those until we got close to the metro station where we'd be dropped off. Then we'd get on the metro and ride it for about 14 or so stops (almost always having to stand b/c of the crowd).
For those of you who asked: No I was not able to ever read or get hw done or have a nice quiet time during the commute...not possible with Egyptian public transportation.
After a long ride, we'd get off the metro downtown and head up to the street where we would catch a taxi to take us to Aguza where class is.
Long process.
But actually, it really wasn't too bad.
My family would probably be considered lower or lower middle class and from what I gathered, were pretty conservative Muslims.
The family structure in the house was interesting.
I was living with a mother and three girls...ages 10, 13, and 20.
Olah (the 20 yr. old) doesn't actually live with them, but was staying there since she was on holiday for school. Her father passed away when she was young, and her mother remarried and had two more children (the two other girls in the home). So Olah lived with her siblings from her mother's 1st marriage and her grandparents.
The current husband wasn't there at all while I stayed with them because he works as an engineer in Saudi Arabia.
[This was nice because I didn't have to worry very much about dressing as conservative inside the home as I would've if a male had been around.
But...I think it also took away from the experience because I wasn't able to see the husband/wife and father/daughter relationships played out.]
Happenings/Thoughts:
-Besides class and my commute...I did basically nothing all week.
Really. Seriously.
I went outside of the home with my family only twice the entire time. The first time was to walk with my 3 sisters to their aunts house (which was in the same neighborhood so hardly counts). We sat there talking with her for about 20 minutes or so (and when I say "we sat there talking" I really mean they sat there talking and I sat there smiling, looking from person to person trying to guess what in the world they were saying).
The second time, was on Friday when we traveled to their cousins' home (in a different neighborhood in Cairo) and spent the day in their flat with them.
-From the moment my family woke up, to the moment they went to sleep, they had the tv on...this is the norm here. Family interactions at home take place in front of the screen. They don't even necessarily watch the screen all day, but it's definitely always on, and they're always in front of it.
-Egyptian hospitality revolves around food. They love to feed their guests LOTS of food. When you finish a plate of food, they automatically fill it with more. If you tell them "La'a Shokran" (No Thank you) they insist. Doesn't matter how many times you tell them you're full, they always want you to eat more. Ha. So basically I got stuffed with food for the week.
-I had bits of interesting conversation with my sister Olah about Islam, Bin Laden, Bush, Obama, the taliban, family, and also Judgment Day according to Islam. I would write it all out, and actually I did write some of it on here, but I had to delete it because it took up way too much room. If you want to hear about it, then let me know and I will give you a bit of a summary.
-I learned that Egyptians are very dramatic. Actually I had learned this already in being here, but got to see even more of it during home stay. Interactions between people/family members are way more dramatic than you see in the States (except for maybe my family). There were a lot of times when I would watch and listen to my family speak with each other and I had no idea whether they were having a serious fight, or having a normal conversation.
Overall, I had a great week with my host family. They welcomed me into their home lovingly and the whole experience definitely gave me more insight into the culture, and what life may be like for some Egyptians in Cairo.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Siwa
There is NOTHING like the desert.
This was my favorite trip yet…
Siwa is a town located in an oasis in the middle of the Saharan desert (close to Libya).
One of the first things we did in Siwa was rent bikes in town and ride to a local’s home to hear all about the culture of Siwa. It’s very different from Cairo…way way way more traditional. Ex: girls get engaged as early as 7 or 8 years old…and while engaged the male can only see the girl once a year during the engagement for literally maximum 12 seconds.
After he shared with us, the males in our group left and some local girls came so that we could ask them questions and get a taste of what life is like for a female in Siwa. The girls were all family members (cousins, sisters, mother, aunts, etc.) of our local friend so he was able to be present to translate for us.
Interesting:
-The parent-child relationship is extremely different…The daughters don’t really ever talk with their Father, and conversations with their mother are basic, concerning only practical things. Very surface level…nothing deeper.
-We asked a girl (8 yrs old) if she was excited to get married, if she was looking forward to it but the response we got was one of almost confusion. Marriage for them is simply something one does…like going to the market to buy food or cooking etc…there’s not the same emotional attachment to it as in the West.
-We also tried asking what “Love” meant to them, but this question didn’t facilitate much of a response because the girls had nothing to base it off of, nothing to compare…they don’t interact with males at all unless they are a family member.
-Even Siwans love their television (one thing you notice here in Egypt is that EVERYONE has a tv and at least in Cairo it is the norm for a family to have the tv on from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to sleep…all day is spent in front of the tv)
-Sadly the Siwan culture is changing and modernizing because of tourism. There aren’t that many foreigners who visit Siwa compared to many other locations in Egypt, but the Egyptian government has decided (against the will of the community) to build an airport there…this will drastically change the culture and destroy the traditions….
After our time with the Siwan girls I and a few others explored the “Old City” in Siwa and biked to the Oracle and some Hot Springs. We somehow missed the Temple tho and ended up biking out into the desert for quite a while before realizing we were definitely not headed in the right direction (fun detour tho!).
Then that night we biked to a nearby salt lake to swim, rode back in the pitch black night, and went back to our “hotel” for dinner around the campfire accompanied by a local Siwan band.
Friday.
I and another girl in my group stumbled into the shop of the only Christian in Siwa. He invited us through a side door that led into his “home” and served us tea while we sat and chatted (via his 11 yr. old boy who spoke minimal English). He told us that there’s no church in Siwa so the only time they are able to go is during summer when they drive a few hours to the closest town that has one. We had a cool conversation even though we were only using basic language.
Later.
We took jeeps into the desert.
If only I could adequately describe the majesty of the desert…
Sped through the sand in the jeeps, up and down the dunes, weaving crazily right to left.
Illhamdulilah there were no crashes.
Drove to a giant dune and sandboarded (not as cool as expected…the boards didn’t work too well—and also more painful than expected)
We also drove to a cold spring (how the heck it stays as cold as it was out in the middle of the desert, no one knows) a hot spring and then stopped on top of a giant dune for the sunset. The drivers then made a little fire in the sand and we sat around drinking tea and eating dates (which Siwa has A LOT of).
That night we slept in the desert in giant tents (or some slept under the stars) and I froze to death even with all my layers. I brought my smartwool long underwear tops and bottoms that I use for skiing, smartwool socks, sweatpants, a fleece, another fleece on top of that, hat, and gloves. Even with all the layers, it was one of the most miserable nights of my life. Haha. I was SO thankful for morning.
More updates to come...hopefully I can get caught up.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Anafora with the Copic Christians [from a few weeks ago]
I started writing this a few weekends ago when we got back from Anafora.
Never finished. Rambled. but capped it off today so if you're interested...read on...
Coptic-American Meeting at Anafora
Anafora is a monastery about 2 hours outside of Cairo…it’s used as a retreat center for many Coptic Christian churches.
What’s the Coptic Christian Church?
Basically Coptic is equivalent to Egyptian (non Arab Egyptian that is). The Coptic Christian Church is the Orthodox Church that was started in Egypt by the Apostle Mark.
Sooo.
Friday we drove to Anafora with a group from one of the Coptic churches…The day was spent in dialogue. Constant dialogue. Soon after we arrived, we intermixed and split into 5 groups for some open discussion.
We talked about the 7 sacraments of the Coptic Church: Baptism, Confirmation, Anointing, Communion, Matrimony, and Priesthood (the first 4 are what’s most important)…traditions, the role of men/women in the church, the architectural significance of the church, fasting, prayer etc. Basically we just asked each other a lot of questions about each other’s church traditions…
A few things I got from this discussion:
- On one hand I gained ENORMOUS respect for the traditions within the Orthodox church… My eyes were fully opened to the beauty of tradition. There is meaning behind literally almost everything (where one sits during mass, the location and number of entries/exits, the structure of the building, the color of Mary and Jesus’ clothing in iconography, the number of pillars supporting the church, etc...). Not only is meaning and symbolism present, but it’s known, appreciated, wanted…It’s not an empty shell. It’s full of passion.
I’m not sure if it’s because Christianity is the minority religion here and there is a form of persecution/discrimination so therefore it’s forced people to either fully embrace their faith or convert…or if it’s because this church was started by THE Apostle Mark, the Mark that walked with Jesus…or if it’s simply that religion is more apart of society and each individual’s life in this part of the world than in the west…
I’m not sure, but whatever it is…I find beauty in the meaning…and I understand how it can bring one closer to Christ.
- On the opposite side of the spectrum…While recognizing the beauty of tradition and the importance of discipline/structure, I was also reminded of the beauty of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and how that is all that truly matters. Buildings will fall, songs will be forgotten, water won’t always be present… there is beauty in not needing these traditions and practices because as long as your heart is seeking after Christ and your life is following thereafter (however that may look), it is enough. These things bring us closer to Christ; they are important in guiding and teaching us, but we are not dependent upon them for Salvation.
The structure of a building may be a form of teaching or worship…but the structure of a building is not where you find the Church. You find the Church within the body of Believers, wherever they may be.
We had a break for lunch, which was it amazing. The food was vegan and all grown on the grounds. SO GOOOOD.
Then we gathered all together and Bishop Thomas lead a devotional. It was such an interesting devotional…definitely not Western is the only way I can describe it. It was more like listening to one’s grandfather tell a beautiful/moving story about an encounter with Christ.
We had a second discussion period which was even better than the first because people were more relaxed…less defensive…it was more dialogue instead of us simply asking them questions and them answering.
From this discussion I learned more about the Christian/Muslim relationship and the tensions felt by the Christians.
Through the conversation I came to understand how powerful media and education can be.
There seems to be a general trend…the more education a person has, the more open they, the more willing they are to accept others and disregard differences (such as differences in religion).
Also in line with education…People fear the unknown; they fear things they do not understand...a lot of Muslims avoid Christians and don’t know much about Christianity and a lot of Christians avoid Muslims and don’t know much about Islam…This ignorance cultivates fear and it cultivates misunderstanding…which then lead to separation and even tension.
This is why media is important too. Media is a powerful educational tool… it exposes people to ideas; it exposes people to ways of life. It can teach individuals a lot about cultures, beliefs, traditions, etc.
It also familiarizes things making them seem more acceptable and normal. Showing Christians and Muslims interacting as close friends in movies familiarizes this concept and encourages it in real life. (too bad there isn’t really much interaction between the two in the media here)
I also learned of something else that helps ease the tensions between the Christians and Muslims: SOCCER.
Go figure.
One of the Coptic Christians expressed how thankful he is for soccer sometimes because when Egypt is playing and doing well people disregard religion and people become people. Egyptians become Egyptian. Not Muslim and Coptic. It’s a temporary* break from the tension between the two groups.
Later in the evening we worshiped together with the Coptic Christians in the sanctuary at the monastery. Here's some of the music...Some English, some Arabic, some Swedish...
The experience was so beautiful and meaningful...all worshiping together in multiple languages from different backgrounds...worshiping the ONE GOD... At one point someone started reading Romans 5:3-5 (which happens to have been my soccer team's verse last year). It was in this moment that I was reduced to tears, completely overwhelmed with the power and beauty of the night.
Final thought:
Ignorance is not Bliss.
Maybe childlike ignorance is bliss…But general ignorance is, in my opinion, simply a catalyst for conflict.
Never finished. Rambled. but capped it off today so if you're interested...read on...
Coptic-American Meeting at Anafora
Anafora is a monastery about 2 hours outside of Cairo…it’s used as a retreat center for many Coptic Christian churches.
What’s the Coptic Christian Church?
Basically Coptic is equivalent to Egyptian (non Arab Egyptian that is). The Coptic Christian Church is the Orthodox Church that was started in Egypt by the Apostle Mark.
Sooo.
Friday we drove to Anafora with a group from one of the Coptic churches…The day was spent in dialogue. Constant dialogue. Soon after we arrived, we intermixed and split into 5 groups for some open discussion.
We talked about the 7 sacraments of the Coptic Church: Baptism, Confirmation, Anointing, Communion, Matrimony, and Priesthood (the first 4 are what’s most important)…traditions, the role of men/women in the church, the architectural significance of the church, fasting, prayer etc. Basically we just asked each other a lot of questions about each other’s church traditions…
A few things I got from this discussion:
- On one hand I gained ENORMOUS respect for the traditions within the Orthodox church… My eyes were fully opened to the beauty of tradition. There is meaning behind literally almost everything (where one sits during mass, the location and number of entries/exits, the structure of the building, the color of Mary and Jesus’ clothing in iconography, the number of pillars supporting the church, etc...). Not only is meaning and symbolism present, but it’s known, appreciated, wanted…It’s not an empty shell. It’s full of passion.
I’m not sure if it’s because Christianity is the minority religion here and there is a form of persecution/discrimination so therefore it’s forced people to either fully embrace their faith or convert…or if it’s because this church was started by THE Apostle Mark, the Mark that walked with Jesus…or if it’s simply that religion is more apart of society and each individual’s life in this part of the world than in the west…
I’m not sure, but whatever it is…I find beauty in the meaning…and I understand how it can bring one closer to Christ.
- On the opposite side of the spectrum…While recognizing the beauty of tradition and the importance of discipline/structure, I was also reminded of the beauty of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and how that is all that truly matters. Buildings will fall, songs will be forgotten, water won’t always be present… there is beauty in not needing these traditions and practices because as long as your heart is seeking after Christ and your life is following thereafter (however that may look), it is enough. These things bring us closer to Christ; they are important in guiding and teaching us, but we are not dependent upon them for Salvation.
The structure of a building may be a form of teaching or worship…but the structure of a building is not where you find the Church. You find the Church within the body of Believers, wherever they may be.
We had a break for lunch, which was it amazing. The food was vegan and all grown on the grounds. SO GOOOOD.
Then we gathered all together and Bishop Thomas lead a devotional. It was such an interesting devotional…definitely not Western is the only way I can describe it. It was more like listening to one’s grandfather tell a beautiful/moving story about an encounter with Christ.
We had a second discussion period which was even better than the first because people were more relaxed…less defensive…it was more dialogue instead of us simply asking them questions and them answering.
From this discussion I learned more about the Christian/Muslim relationship and the tensions felt by the Christians.
Through the conversation I came to understand how powerful media and education can be.
There seems to be a general trend…the more education a person has, the more open they, the more willing they are to accept others and disregard differences (such as differences in religion).
Also in line with education…People fear the unknown; they fear things they do not understand...a lot of Muslims avoid Christians and don’t know much about Christianity and a lot of Christians avoid Muslims and don’t know much about Islam…This ignorance cultivates fear and it cultivates misunderstanding…which then lead to separation and even tension.
This is why media is important too. Media is a powerful educational tool… it exposes people to ideas; it exposes people to ways of life. It can teach individuals a lot about cultures, beliefs, traditions, etc.
It also familiarizes things making them seem more acceptable and normal. Showing Christians and Muslims interacting as close friends in movies familiarizes this concept and encourages it in real life. (too bad there isn’t really much interaction between the two in the media here)
I also learned of something else that helps ease the tensions between the Christians and Muslims: SOCCER.
Go figure.
One of the Coptic Christians expressed how thankful he is for soccer sometimes because when Egypt is playing and doing well people disregard religion and people become people. Egyptians become Egyptian. Not Muslim and Coptic. It’s a temporary* break from the tension between the two groups.
Later in the evening we worshiped together with the Coptic Christians in the sanctuary at the monastery. Here's some of the music...Some English, some Arabic, some Swedish...
The experience was so beautiful and meaningful...all worshiping together in multiple languages from different backgrounds...worshiping the ONE GOD... At one point someone started reading Romans 5:3-5 (which happens to have been my soccer team's verse last year). It was in this moment that I was reduced to tears, completely overwhelmed with the power and beauty of the night.
Final thought:
Ignorance is not Bliss.
Maybe childlike ignorance is bliss…But general ignorance is, in my opinion, simply a catalyst for conflict.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Homestay Week
Alright.
So my update is LONG overdue. I know.
But things have been very busy...Weekend trip to Siwa and the desert, Midterm, and now Homestays...
So my update will be delayed even more.
SO SORRY.
But just to give a heads up: Starting tonight I will be staying with a (most likely conservative Muslim) Egyptian family for the next week.
I won't have my computer with me and won't have time to go to an internet cafe either since the whole point of this week is to spend as much time with the family as possible to get the full experience of the home stay.
I'm semi-nervous because I will have to commute to class/ service project in the mornings and some of the homes are about an hour commute away...(hopefully I'm not at one of those!) I'll be staying by myself with the family and there should be one person in the family who speaks some English.
SO this is going to be verrrry interesting!
I will update as soon as possible!
I'm sure it will...But pray that this will be a positive experience and that I learn to be a proper guest =)
So my update is LONG overdue. I know.
But things have been very busy...Weekend trip to Siwa and the desert, Midterm, and now Homestays...
So my update will be delayed even more.
SO SORRY.
But just to give a heads up: Starting tonight I will be staying with a (most likely conservative Muslim) Egyptian family for the next week.
I won't have my computer with me and won't have time to go to an internet cafe either since the whole point of this week is to spend as much time with the family as possible to get the full experience of the home stay.
I'm semi-nervous because I will have to commute to class/ service project in the mornings and some of the homes are about an hour commute away...(hopefully I'm not at one of those!) I'll be staying by myself with the family and there should be one person in the family who speaks some English.
SO this is going to be verrrry interesting!
I will update as soon as possible!
I'm sure it will...But pray that this will be a positive experience and that I learn to be a proper guest =)
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
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