SO FREAKING COOL!!

2,500 year-old sarcophagi uncovered

CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) -- Egyptian archaeologists have found two ancient sarcophagi close to the pyramids, the head of Egypt's Supreme Council for Antiquities said on Sunday.

The sarcophagi, found about a kilometer (0.6 miles) south of the pyramids in Giza, dated to the late 26th dynasty, or about 2,500 years old, council chief Zahi Hawass said in a report by the state MENA news agency.

Hieroglyphs referring to the ancient Egyptian gods Osiris, god of the dead, and the sun-god Ra were painted on the larger sarcophagus, which measured about 2 meters (6 feet 6.74 inches) tall, 70 centimeters wide and 60 centimeters deep and was painted red, blue and green, the report said.

The name of sarcophagus' owner, Neb Ra Khatow, and ritual incantations to the gods were also painted on the sarcophagus.

The second sarcophagus had a more human form and was found inside the first. Hawass said it was in good condition, and that a wreath made of plants encircled the mummy inside.

Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Islam

So, the fact is I know NOTHING about this religion, which was kind of bad preparation on my part. I own a copy of the Quran, but never read it, and didn't even think to bring it with me ... which means I'm kind of stumbling around in the dark here.

All the same, because about 90% of the population is Muslim, I definitely hear and see things daily that make the religion seem quite interesting ... For example, my boss, Mr Zarea, is Muslim. Last night, he was driving me home and we passed Drinkies (hahaha), a liquor store. He commented on the fact that, when he was in NY, he noticed there were a LOT of liquor stores, but that isn't really the case in Cairo. I replied with a comment like, 'Well, not many people here drink, right?' Which he affirmed, because, as he firmly stated, 'Muslims don't drink. I am Muslim, don't drink.' Except he DOES, it turns out ... he explained that he actually does drink once or twice a year, generally while traveling outside the country. Furthermore, when he drinks, it isn't like a glass of wine. It is "10, 15 biras, and when I finish, my friends-" and here, he mimes picking someone up. That is to say, my Muslim boss, once or twice a year, gets absolutely PLASTERED! I don't know why I find this so interesting ... I guess it's just the fact that Islam seems like such an accepted and respected way of life here that I kind of assumed it would be more sacred. I thought that, since the Quran says not to drink, MUSLIMS WOULDN'T DRINK! Turns out that, just like Christianity, flexible adherence is okay.

Another cool thing I've seen is the Quran as theft-prevention - literally. Many stores, when they close at night, prop a copy of the Quran up on a chair in the doorway, inside the store. Anyone who breaks in through this front entrance will have to topple the chair, thus knocking the Quran on the ground! I don't know how "effective" this deterrent is, but considering the number of stores that do it - walking down Talaat Harb, a street lined with shoe stores, I'd say at least 75% of the stores had such an arrangement - it seems like a well-accepted system. And, I have to say, I think Egypt's felony and misdemeanor theft rates are both significantly lower than their American counterparts ...

I recently did some reading on the 2005 presidential and parliamentary elections in Egypt, and an organization that kept coming up was the Muslim Brotherhood. This isn't technically a "political party" - it cannot be recognized by the state, because it is religiously based, so all MB-sponsored candidates campaign as indepedents - but it still accounts for the main opposition to the National Democratic Party, which currently (and, considering the state of Egyptian politics, may indefinitely) controls the government. Anyhow, in the most recent election, the MB gained about 30% of the seats in the People's Assembly, campaigning on a slogan/platform no more developed than "Islam is the Solution." They didn't say what the problem was (except that the current government must go), and didn't say how Islam would fix it ... but they campaigned in such a way that many voters felt that, in choosing between the NDP and the MB, they would be voting either against or for Allah, against or for their religion. Clearly a cheap shot, but religion resonates so strongly here that it did work to a surprising extent.

With all that, however, Islam here isn't NEARLY so pervasive as in other Arab countries. In fact, Cairo is a liberal stronghold for Muslims - so much so that Muslims from, say, Saudi Arabia take their summer vacations in Cairo because they can get away with things here that would never be allowed at home. And my coworker Ghada was telling me that her parents actually didn't want her to wear a headscarf until she got married - far from trying to impose the religion on her, they were trying to grant her more freedom than she herself desired. She does wear the scarf, because "I ask Allah for many things, and so wish to be close to him. Allah is pleased by head-scarves." In fact, she's even planning on wearing a scarf at her wedding, although current fashion at weddings is much like in America, with white dresses displaying varying amounts of skin, and sometimes a veil.

Which brings me to what might be the most interesting thing about Islam in Egypt. In a time where the world is becoming more "liberal" in a lot of aspects, Egypt is having a resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism. My roommate Mona, whose father is Egyptian, has photos of her aunts and even grandmother without veils or scarves, and wearing dresses that I wouldn't even wear in public in America. But in the past few decades, with the economic decline, things have changed. Egypt has no social welfare system - if you can't work, you can't feed your family, and you certainly can't expect the government to step in and help you. Which means that, without a strong state structure to turn to, Egyptians were left to put their faith in their families and in Allah. Thus, the people I work with, who are living well enough - with clean food, water, and a place to live - but certainly hand-to-mouth, with no safety-net if something goes bad (Insha'allah, nothing will go wrong). Because the economy isn't one that will allow them to easily improve their situations, there's nothing left but a return to the belief that, if one is pious enough, Allah will provide protection - it's the only way that anyone has control over one's life.

APRO shake-down

So, as you all may recall, when I first applied for a job, it was with the Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners (HRAAP). But I went to the HRAAP office on the first day of work, and was transferred over here, to the Arab Penal Reform Organization (APRO), which is essentially the same organization, but for the Arab region, instead of just Egypt. Additionally, the organizations are run by the same man, Mr Zarea, and seem to have more or less the same staff, so the division really seems to be one of physical location only.

Anyhow, something very strange seems to have happened ... APRO has much less to do than HRAAP at the moment, and so all of our staff has been transferred back to the HRAAP office. Osman made a comment a couple of days ago that he needed my email, because he'd like to be in touch once he goes to the other office, which will be "very soon." And then today, Adel told me I needed to call him before I left the country. Reham, I haven't seen for a number of days. Finally, I asked Ghada, and she told me that everyone was moved/moving back to HRAAP except for her, Atef, the tea boy and maintanence guy, and, as far as we can tell, me.

Huh. SO all of the human rights employees are moving (Ghada is the accountant), and I'm not ... which means that, not only do I not have work to do, but I don't even have access to people so that I can push my way into their projects. I'm a bit perplexed by the entire situation, but Mr Zarea has just left for Yemen for ten days, and I suspect I'll have to wait until he returns to get it all figured out. Clearly, I can still do editing and stuff - it just needs to be emailed to me, instead of transferred over the network - but I'm a bit concerned. The work I was doing was lame enough, but at least there was work!

On the plus side, Ghada and I get along very well, and today she spent an hour or two teaching me the alphabet. I've decided that I'll just give myself different work to do, and if don't come out of the summer with a better knowledge of human rights NGO work, at least I'll have better knowledge of Arabic!

Gratuitous camel shot :)

Woohoo!

So my roommate just suggested I search for wireless, and lo and behold, there are people in the building using wireless networking, which means that I have internet on my laptop, and my pictures and my blog are in the same place for the first time! Thus, I'm posting pictures that have nothing to do with anything I've said recently ... but provide INDISPUTABLE proof that I am in fact in Egypt!

Everyone remember Emma ...?

First, just wanted to mention that, on the subject of kindness, I was all grumpy towards my boss yesterday because he asked me to work late to finish an application so that he could review it before leaving the country. He offered to get me some dinner, but I had other plans, so made some off-hand comment about how I never turn down sweets and got back to work. But, at the end of the evening, he returned to the office with a small tray of Egyptian donut-like thingies, which were VERY good, and after the three of us still at the office ate some, he sent the rest home with me ... with a HUGE serving tray packed with every kind of sweet imaginable! He said he got me a selection of sweets from across the entire Arab region, so that I would have a good sampling. PEOPLE HERE ARE RIDICULOUSLY GENEROUS!!!

Anywho, for those of you who don't understand the post title, allow me to explain. Emma is a girl who was in my class last year ... the first day of Civil Procedure, she made some rude comment to me, probably completely on accident, and then followed it up with a couple of socially-inept comments in the next couple of weeks. In return, I hated her WITH A PASSION, even with no fuel for the fire, for most of the school year. It became a running joke, where friends would look at me for my reaction whenever she said something idiotic (which, in my opinion, was often), and my hatred actually infected a couple of people who otherwise would have been completely uninterested in the girl. Of course, I eventually got bored, and then started treating her just like every other person I don't much care about either way ...

The point: I've come to the realization that OSMAN IS MY EMMA! I developed this dislike for him the first day I met him, and it's continued since, even though he hasn't really done anything to provoke me at all. I mean, he's a nice man, and wouldn't like to think that anyone doesn't like him. He's never been anything but polite to me, or anything but polite to anyone else in front of me, and yet I still just can't stand the guy!

I kind of fear he has some sort of social problem ... he just doesn't seem to put ANYONE at ease. I've discussed him with most of my coworkers, and EVERYONE has the same reaction. He's hit on every woman that works here, which is clearly some of it, but the fact is, he's just a silly, inept nerdy guy who desperately needs to find a woman and so tries. I mean, we shouldn't hate a guy just for having the balls to go for it, right?

And really, I don't think we do. He just happens to be one of those people that rubs others the wrong way. I just find it fascinating that, even halfway around the world, I can find someone to irrationally dislike. :) However, I rest easy in the fact that others irrationally dislike the boy as well. Come to think of it, though, we have a majority - it might have become infinitely more rational ...

Egyptian hospitality ...

Lest you all get the impression, from scammy apartment dude, that all Egyptians are bad people, I just thought I'd tell you about some of the cool ones that I've met. There are a LOT of people who just automatically do nice things, especially for confused foreigners such as myself.

To begin with, although I get many looks and stupid comments walking down the streets, I also get a lot of people who, with no apparent agenda, just tell me, "Welcome to Egypt" with a big smile. There's still a lot of national pride around here. The people who I briefly speak to, behind the counter when I'm buying ice cream or something, inevitably ask me how I like it here, tell me a few wonderful places they think I should go, and just generally try to convince me that Egypt is the best place in the world for me and I should stay forever.

Even better is cab drivers. Most of them don't speak English, but sometimes I hit the jackpot. Just yesterday on the way to work, I had a driver who was actually giving me street names so that I could tell future cab drivers the best way to go, and just generally being friendly - I learned about his family and his desire to find a better job, and when I got out of the cab and paid the 5 LE I always pay, he not only didn't complain, but told me to have a nice day, enjoy my stay in Egypt, and it'd been his pleasure to talk with me. Seriously, never get that kind of service in the US! In fact, the last cab ride I took in Boston ended with the driver lecturing me about increasing gas prices, and how if I didn't give him a better tip (and trust me, it was already a damn good tip), he wouldn't take people to Cambridge anymore. Ass.

Right, moving on ...

Another random kindness: yesterday afternoon, I took a minibus home (or microbus - still haven't figured that one out). Now, this route goes past where I live, but is actually heading to October City, about 30 km outside of Cairo - it just so happens that the bus conveniently goes through Mohandisseen. But this time the driver took a slightly different route than normal, and so didn't go straight through Lebanon Square, which is where I get out. So I asked to get out when I saw we were going around the Square, and instead of just letting me, which wouldn't have been difficult and would have made total sense, there was a big conversation which ended with a guy behind me explaining that, if I was trying to get to the Square, I couldn't because the way was blocked for pedestrians, too (construction), but the driver would loop back around and drop me off there (even though everyone else is going straight through to October City, and so there was no legitimate reason to go through the square).

See, these are the kinds of people that comprise the majority of the Egyptian population. There are occassional jerks, just like everywhere else, but for the most part, people here are genuinely nice and friendly and willing to help. Especially my co-workers, actually ... there's now a daily routine where Reham or Ghada walk with me to the minibuses, and make sure I get on the right one, just because they can't bear the thought of me paying for a cab when I don't need to. And yesterday, one of the higher-ups (as identified by his suit) walked with Ghada and me as well. We passed by a corner shop, and he insisted on buying us sodas. (I actually said I didn't drink soda, but he insisted until I caved and got a Miranda.) When I was telling Ghada that we have Ho-Hos in America (the counter was covered with individually wrapped Twinkies, Ho-Hos, etc), but not the little rolls next to them, Hassam insisted on buying me one of THOSE as well. And when I asked where I could find a restaurant that serves fatta, a traditional Egyptian dish that I really want to try, Hassam invited me over to eat with his family (wife and three children), and his wife will make fatta and anything else I ask for. And I'd actually just met this man an hour before - he works at one of the other offices. Clearly, there's nothing shady going on - he's having me over with his wife and kids, and Ghada is coming as well. He was just being NICE.

So, for anyone who was worried I'm spending the summer surrounded by horrible people only looking out for themselves, I want you to know that I'm not. In fact, more people go out of their ways to help me out or make me feel comfortable than ever happens in the States. Which is nice - it means, despite the scam artists and salesmen, Egyptian hospitality is alive and well.

Scammy apartment dude: Update

So I've spent the last few days working with the tourist police to try to get my money back. It's been quite an adventure, I must admit.

First of all, the tourist police office used to be located in the middle of downtown, but they recently built themselves a brand new (and VERY nice) building, OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF FREAKING NOWHERE! The day we first attempted to file a report, we went to the old office and were told we had to go to the new one ... but that it was closed for the dinner hour, and wouldn't open again until 6. Since it was about 4:45 at the time, Mr. Zarea (big boss-man) decided he would take the extra time and visit a friend in the hospital, so I killed some time chilling in the back seat of his car ... finally, we made it to the police station, only to learn that our info was wrong, and they actually wouldn't have anyone there to take my report until 10 PM. Hmm ... we decided to just return another day, during normal business hours.

So, we go back and tell the story to some chief-looking guy (nice office, bosses everyone else around). He actually CALLS Baher, who claims, "I only have my $150 commission, but I'll return that to her!" The police decide that it was Baher's agent who stole the money, without Baher's knowledge (which is clearly incorrect, since BAHER is the one who lied about how much the apartment cost - why would he do that so that his agent could take the money???), and so the officer decides that I need to return with a second report, that more explicitly discusses this agent - he's the "key figure" in this whole thing, apparently. Ahh, police work at its finest. But whatev ... so we get up to leave, and I ask if I can use the restroom. ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE! This is a new building, and so it actually has a women's WC ... the problem is that no women work there, and women rarely visit, so it's kept locked. After 20 minutes of frantic searching, the maintanence staff was forced to conclude that the key had, in fact, been lost ... it was incredibly funny, and would have been even more so if I hadn't needed to pee so badly ... :P

So the next day, we return with my report written up, translated into Arabic, signed and dated by me and the translator, Osman ... it seems like it should be a quick get-in, get-out situation. But NO. Because the report can't just be filed ... it has to be transferred to an official report form - verbatim, BY HAND. So the officer reads it to another guy, who writes it all down (using CARBON PAPER, no less - I thought I'd gotten away from that stuff!), stopping for smoke breaks, tea, phone calls, etc. This country is SORELY lacking in efficiency! But, finally, the report is official, signed, dated, assigned a number*, everything. Phew.

So I got back to the office, and emailed Baher just to tell him that the report's filed, and now I'm going to pursue other avenues (don't know WHAT other avenues, but he doesn't know that). He'd already asked me to meet with him to resolve this, but I told him that I wouldn't meet with him anywhere other than my office, during business hours, and only if he was going to return my money. That shut him up until my latest poke ... but this morning, I had another message waiting from him, which said, "I'd like to resolve this outside the police system, but I only have the $150 commission. I'm willing to give you $200 to let this go."

Huh. First of all, if he's innocent, why is he offering to pay me extra? Doesn't he have faith in the police system to suss out the truth? (Answer: hell, no! And, from what I've been reading in all of these reports, in his shoes I sure wouldn't assume that I'd be okay since I was innocent ...) But, a question I find much more interesting: HOW CAN HE ONLY HAVE $150 WHEN I WIRED HIM $200???? So I emailed him back with that question ... we'll see what he says.

So, good point: I think he wants to get this fixed. Bad point: I think it's going to take a HELL of a lot of effort. But, well, it isn't like I have a lot else going on ...

* Funniest thing EVER: So, we get back to the office and the lawyer that's been helping me, Akhmed, writes down the report information for me. The report number: 2. That's right. 2. My report is the second report that's been filed in June 2006. Which is even funnier because that means that Tak, my Japanese friend from the hostel, was the first. My theory - no one can find the new building to file any reports!! But, I guess if this is only the second case of the month, they might have the resources to investigate ...?

Cairo nightlife ...

It exists! And, well, it's oddly similar to, say, Boston nightlife ...

On Thursday night, I met up with Karen and her roommate, Tori, a girl from Alaska who's been studying at the American University for four years. We first went to this club, La Bodega, near the American University dorms, where all of the summer students are housed. It was actually two bar/lounges, and both were absolutely FILLED with the kids who "study" abroad for the summer semester, and just so happen to be underage ... but in Cairo, where IDs aren't checked (the drinking age is in fact 21 here as well), they can go hog-wild.

So, yeah ... kind of like the Bistro in Boise, or ... umm ... okay, where do all of the underage kids go in Boston? The Kells? Wherever ... anyhow, it was FILLED with barely legal girls whoring it up, and the kind of guys described to me by Karen the day before - the ones who are really nerdy and outcast at home, so leave the country in an attempt to become cooler. (It rarely works, by the way.) And, of course, rich Egyptian guys hitting on the barely legal foreign girls. All in all, standard bar scene ... I felt right at home! Of course, I don't really like those bars in the US either, but it was still an oddly familiar environment ... the big problem was the smoking. I thought the constant pollution was bad, but by the time we'd spent an hour inside La Bodega, the outside air smelled positively clean!

Anyhow, we only made it through one beer at La Bodega before leaving. None of us were digging the scene, and Tori was annoyed because "No one is going to hit on us with all this jail bait here." So we moved on to another bar, Deals ... which was lame enough that we walked in, turned around, and walked back out before the door had a chance to close. After that, L'Aubergine, which was about the same, although we at least made it all the way to the bar itself. I was jazzed to go to L'Aubergine, though, because it's also Cairo's only vegetarian restaurant, and I'd been wondering where it was.

So finally, we moved on to the Cairo Jazz Club, a place in Mohandisseen (my neck of the woods) that tends to have actual "adults" ... a friend of Karen and Tori was there, COMPLETELY hammered ... he stumbled into me three times, even though I was actively dodging. Anyhow, the place wasn't bad, and there was LIVE MUSIC. Not jazz, of course - that would be way too much to ask - but at least legitimate music, instead of the shitty "house" music that's taken over around here. In fact, they were covering a bunch of American songs, which was a nice change (although the Elvis medley was a bit strange). I had to find a certain amount of humor in the fact that these American (-looking and -sounding, at any rate) kids actually went halfway around the world to form a band and sing American covers ... feels like they could have done that a bit closer to home. ;)

All in all, it was more or less EXACTLY like a night out at home - we got annoyed by the really young girls because they were obnoxious (but really because we were jealous that they got all the attention), there was not great music performed by social outcasts (the kind of guys that want to be in a band, but aren't cool enough to make their own music), a drunk guy put a cigarette hole in my shirt, and I came home smelling horribly of smoke (okay, maybe the last two are only Boise things). Oddly enough, it made me feel a lot less homesick ... either because I now know I can get some Americana here, or because I remembered how lame America sometimes is. :P

Gossip (yeah, I do that occassionally)

Yesterday after work I trekked over to (another) Cilantro, near the American University, to meet up with Karen, an Irish girl who interned at this organization last fall. Not only was it a nice change - speaking with a NATIVE English speaker - but I learned all sorts of office gossip, which is always nice to have.

Most notable was all she had to say about Osman. As you (avid readers that you are) may remember, I was a bit concerned a few days ago that Osman may be "sweet" on me. Well, it seems that 1) my fear is definitely founded, and 2) I shouldn't be in the least bit flattered. We were discussing how Osman kind of creeps me out, and it turns out I have good reason. He's officially old by Egyptian standards (about 28), and still single, living with the 'rents, etc. Additionally, he's of the lower class, which makes marriage even MORE important. This means that he's desperate to get married, and will fall in "love" with pretty much any girl who's available and kind. Thus, his constant invitations to do something after work should definitely be shunned, as they are the first step on a very slippery slope. Karen's story: she made the mistake of going for a short walk after work with him a couple of times, and then he asked to meet her to go over some application he was filling out in English. She agreed, they met near her apartment, but he didn't have it with him - he'd been planning on going up to her apartment to get it off the internet! Annoyed, but not aware of how taboo having a man in the apartment actually is around here, she went with it, and the next thing she knew he was acting ULTRA-possessive of her all the time, and soon proposed.*

Karen turned him down, obviously, and then things got very uncomfortable around the office. Like it is with me, Osman was kind of her lifeline to whatever work she had to do, and so she had to deal with him, but he was far from civil. Finally, a woman pulled Karen aside and asked what was going on, and the information somehow got back to the boss, who spoke with Osman. And then he pulled Karen aside, telling her that she had "no right" to tell anyone that he'd proposed. Her response: "I don't know how it is around here, but in my country, a proposal is a pretty big deal, and something that will be shared with a girl's friends. And it just so happens that my girlfriends are your co-workers, which you knew ahead of time."

He wasn't pleased. Especially since Karen told Reham, who Osman'd proposed to three weeks prior ...

The moral of the story: STAY AWAY FROM OSMAN! Karen actually made a very good suggestion - the next time he asks if I want to do something, I'll just say, "I'm sorry, but I don't think my fiancee would be comfortable with me spending time alone with another man." Short, sweet, and to the point. I'm to expect a response along the lines of, "You'd do it in America," because that's standard fare from men trying to get foreign women to do things local women won't, but if I explain what I'd do to my imaginary fiancee if I found out he was spending time alone with another woman, it should put the whole thing to rest.

So a productive evening, learning a bit more about the office and people. And it seems like Karen actually made things easier on me - for awhile, Osman was making her highlight all of her changes so that he could review them, until she freaked out and told him that if he didn't trust her command of the English language, then maybe she shouldn't be editing at all ... and no one has asked me to keep track of what I change. :) Besides, it was good to just sit around and gossip for a bit ... nothing makes a girl feel better than imagining the torments she'd pile on her imaginary lover for his imaginary indiscretions!

*I feel I should defend Karen's honor: NOTHING happened in the apartment. As a matter of fact, he sat down to watch TV while she got online to get the application, which never actually materialized. However, while online she saw a friend she hadn't spoken to in months, and so started chatting with her. Osman got all sulky because "You invited me into your house, I'm a guest, and all you want to do is talk to your friend on the computer!" Karen replied with a combination of justification ("I haven't talked to her in months!") and dismissal ("And who are you to complain? You actually invited yourself up here!"), and eventually he stormed out because he was getting so little attention. Hahaha - between his desperation to get married, and his high-maintanence need for attention, he sounds just like a bunch of girls I knew in college. :)

Work (yeah, I do that occassionally)

So I've spent the last couple of weeks editing up a storm. I was assigned to edit/proofread an application for funding that was being submitted to the European Commission, and once I finished that (and had a day of downtime, when no one knew what to do with me), I was assigned to edit HRAAP's 2003 Annual Report. Yes, that's right, 2003 - written and published in 2004. Why was I asked to edit it, you ask? Good freaking question!!!! I don't think I've ever been asked to do busy-work as transparently useless as this ...

Except, really, it wasn't useless at all. Clearly, it didn't help the organization much, but it gave me a very good 115-page overview of what we do around here, and the state of prisons in Egypt. Since I'm fighting to reform the damn things, I guess it's good to know how they're run at this point. I read some pretty interesting stuff in there, too ... really horrible cases of torture and disappearance, and stupid legislative flaws that enable police and detention officers to get away with absolutely astonishing things. For example, someone in the Egyptian legislature thought it would be smart to define "torture" to ONLY include abuse of someone currently in detention and being investigated for a crime. This means that 1) family members of defendants, or random people with no charges pending, and 2) convicts in prison, are never "tortured," no matter what is done to them - the worse charge that can be filed on their behalf is a misdemeanor called "cruelty." Genius, eh? Almost as good is the caveat that ONLY the general prosecutors (e.g. district attorney, assistant DAs, etc) are allowed to file torture claims, NOT victims - if I was taken into custody and tortured, my only recourse would be to report to the general prosecutors and hope that they were willing to open an investigation. I guess this is kind of analagous to the US system - it's not like I can file my own criminal charges in Boston - but the close relationship between the police and general prosecutors, and the lack of any guidelines directing when the case will be investigated (it's left entirely up to the discretion of the prosecutors, who don't even have to explain their decisions), results in very few cases filed regarding state-sponsored torture. If nothing else, I'm definitely convinced that the system could benefit from reform!

Anyhow, that done, and no new editing projects on my schedule, I've moved on to my more ambiguous project of "building a closer working relationship with the UN and other International Organizations." I still haven't gotten guidance, mainly because I don't feel like asking for it, but I think progress is being made all the same ...

It turns out that NGOs can register for "consultative" status with ECOSOC, the main body under which human rights work is done at the UN. There are a few different levels, depending on how relevant we actually are, but it seems like we qualify for "special" status (as opposed to "general") as an organization that specializes in prison reform and torture. The only problem is that we need to meet certain structural requirements - a constitution, a democratically-run decision-making process, etc - and I'm not certain that we do. I think I'll ask the relevant questions in writing, though. That seems to make the communication a bit smoother.

Once that's determined, and if we meet the requirements, I get to write a letter of intent and then fill out an extensive application about how valuable our assistance would be to the UN. I don't know how often consulting actually takes place, as there are currently almost 3,000 NGOs registered with the UN. However, it would give us constant access to relevant UN conventions and sessions, and then we could join this organization, CONGO, of NGOs with consultative status, which organizes additional projects and initiatives and stuff. So, this is what I'm hoping to work on in the next few days.

I'm also going to dig around for other organizations that might be of interest to us. I know there are some pan-regional groups that bring together multiple NGOs, so might see if there are any relevant and reputable options there. And I should spend some time researching the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights ... maybe I have other options there.

So, all in all, work is kind of interesting right now. I'm a little irritated at times to have so little guidance, and find myself wondering what exactly the OPIA evaluation of this organization says - but of course, I never found the time to go up to the office and check it out. I have, however, talked to an Irish girl who interned here last summer, who said that "No one spoke English and they didn't seem to know what to do with me," so at least I know I'm not alone! The pro, though: I can get as much or as little out of this summer as I want, and since I want to learn more about how international organizations actually work, spending my time trying to get my organization recognized by ECOSOC seems like valuable and relevant job experience, even if it wasn't specifically assigned ... And, well, on the days where I really just don't want to do anything, I can pretty easily get away with it!

What's up with syndication?

I'll be brief.

For me.

This is something I've noticed in other countries, too, but the amount of ass-on-couch time I've been spending lately has brought it to the forefront of my mind. What's up with the crap that America exports to TV channels in other countries??? It's no wonder that everyone has such an absurd impression of us as a nation!

We have satellite in our apartment, which is actually quite common around here ... every apartment building has three or four satellites, at least, mounted to the roof (I think we have about nine, but haven't actually counted). Anyhow, one of these has two channels, MBC 2 and MBC 4 that regularly show American stuff - MBC 2 is 24-hour movies, and MBC 4 is shows. Obviously, these channels are a bit more entertaining to me than the local stuff, since I can at least understand what's going on, so they get a lot of air-time in our apartment. (Not as much as you'd expect, though - my two German roommates are lucky enough to have an entire SATELLITE of German-language programming!)

MBC 2 is a fascinating assortment of almost-popular movies and stuff I've never heard of. We saw G.I. Jane one night, which was cool, and Four Weddings and a Funeral was on the other day ... but I was also subjected to some 50's movie with a guy who had to swim across the country, back to his home, through other peoples' pools (maybe some of you know what I'm talking about ... the actor was burly and blue-eyed - does Heston have blue eyes?), and some John Ritter/Kathy Bates movie that opened with Ritter being wheeled across the floor on a dolly, which gave me the impression it was supposed to be a comedy ... fifteen minutes and zero laughs later, I gave up.

MBC 4 is even better, though. Every day at 7 is Dr. Phil, Oprah is on at 9, and Super Nanny shows at 10. I even caught an episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun yesterday. So far, so good, eh? Maybe not all shows I like, but shows that are at least popular in the states ... But don't get too excited, because my current obsession is nothing nearly so admirable. Nope - I'm fixated on a show called "Popular," which as far as I can tell, is about six years old (based on references to the millenium and Monica Lewinsky). It's kind of a high-school 90210 - currently, I'm on the edge of my seat wondering if the cheerleaders (or, as they prefer, "Glamazons") will get their funding back, and if the QB will choose the musical (in which he stars) or the homecoming game ... Fascinating stuff.

Seriously. As embarrassing as it is that I watch this in the first place, I feel even worse that THIS is the crap that we're exporting to other countries! I really can't blame the Muslim culture of Egypt for thinking I'm morals-free (or, at the very least, morals-lite) when my country sends them characters who say things like "My life goal is to wear a belly shirt. No, seriously!" and pass notes saying, "After dinner tonight, are we going to 1. go to first base, 2. round third, or 3. hit a home run?" to girls who agonize over whether they'll be perceived as a slut if they bring the condoms. Maybe the international opinion of the US would be better if instead we exported stuff like ...

Okay, I just tried to think of a really intelligent show that represents America well - figured it'd be a good closing. But I drew a blank. Either I don't watch enough TV (something I've never been accused of before) or we really are a bit morals-lite ...

My quest for justice (well, sort of) ...

So, I know I've alluded in past posts to the apartment drama that occurred when I first got here. For awhile, I decided to just move on, and accept it as a very expensive lesson about how I should always look at a place before putting money down (and, as a man I met in the hostel pointed out, such tragedies always take place in periods of transition - so allowing adjustment before spending that much money would have been a much better option). But, well, I'm not so great at letting things go - I'm a dweller. So I decided to try to get my money back ... Tak, a Japanese guy I met at the hostel, has been working with the police for a week or so to prosecute a man who "stole" 60 LE from him (the two had drinks together, but then the local had "forgotten" his money, and so Tak had to pay), and I have to respect the kid - it's only $10, but as he keeps saying, it isn't about the money. It's about the principle. And I, too, would like justice - after all, people shouldn't be allowed to take advantage of foreigners like that. But really, more than the principle, in my case, it's kind of about the money ...

First things first, though. I lamented the poor state of the apartment in my first post, but just so everyone gets an idea of how stupid I was and how much I was taken for, here's a (too extensive) recap:

I registered online at some subletting site, so that I could contact people ... apparently, my info was sold, and I got an email from some guy in Cairo who rents flats. So we did some talking, I told him where I was going to be working, and he told me he had a nice, 2-bedroom apartment (I'd specifically asked for two bedrooms) about 12 minutes walk from my office. Then I received an email from HRAAP, where I'm working, with the office address actually listed in the signature block ... and it was a different address than the one I'd gotten off the website! I verified that the website address was old/wrong, and then contacted Baher, the apartment dude, with the news - "Sorry, I gave you the wrong address, if you have anything within walking distance of this new address, let me know." And he writes back and tells me that, in fact, the apartment he was holding for me was 12 minutes walk from THAT address as well!!

Huh ...

So I'm like, "Dude, you're obviously wrong, because the two addresses I gave you are on DIFFERENT SIDES OF THE NILE!" He insists it's 12 minutes, he's walked it himself, but if I don't want to take that place, he has one available in Zamalek that also meets all of my requirements, and is the same price. I was told that Zamalek is a good place for Westerners such as myself to live, and I found the street on a map - it looked like a good place to be (Zamalek is actually an island in the middle of the Nile, and the apartment was at 5 Brazil Street, a street that goes around the edge of the island, so the building would have a Nile view). So I told him I'd like that place instead, and made him verify that we were still talking about the same essentials - AC, washing machine, phone, two bedrooms ...

Anyhow, long story short(er), he told me I had to send a $200 deposit to get the owner to hold the place for me, and so I wired it over, spending an extra $45 with Bank of America (stupid overseas transfers), verifying that the deposit for the 5 Brazil Street apartment had been received ...

And then I got picked up at the airport, and everything I mentioned earlier happened ... the place was a one-bedroom piece of shit on Yehia Ibrahim Street, and since Baher wasn't there, I couldn't talk to him about it. His agent called him, and I got on the phone only to get told over and over again, in an increasingly loud voice, that "You can't get a two-bedroom apartment for $500!!!" and "This is a nice place! What's your problem???" They agreed to show me a two-bedroom in the building, and it wasn't bad, but wasn't good, either (and was on the second floor, which means there's NO natural light), and they wanted $750 for that one! I kept trying to reach my cousin's friend Nazli, to come over and look at the place (I was pretty sure I was getting screwed, but obviously didn't know how much stuff should cost), but she wasn't answering her phone, and so I was stuck in an apartment with three men, only one of whom (the landlord) spoke any English at all, in a strange neighborhood in a strange country, absolutely exhausted ... and these people refused to leave until I signed the lease and paid for all three months. So I caved, handed over my money, and they left.

But I finally got through to Nazli, and she was ASTONISHED at how much I was paying - and kept telling me that, for that much money, I better have a VERY nice place, and if there were any problems, the owner better be handling them immediately. Her negativity managed to undermine my tenuous "it'll be fine" attitude, and I decided to leave. A full month's rent is an absurd amount of money to keep for one night, but since I'd actually signed a contract, the owner didn't have to return anything - I wasn't going to rock the boat. But when the rent was returned, I learned that Baher, in addition to being a slimy, lying asshole, had skimmed significantly off the top. And the men at the apartment had no idea - as I was waiting for a cab, I was talking to the landlord, and he seemed just as surprised/irritated as I was.

So, all told, I lost, in addition to the $350 the landlord kept, 1000 LE (about $150) x 3 months in skimmed rent, and the $150 commission that Baher actually admitted to taking.
Grand freaking total: $950, $600 of which is currently in the hands of a sleezy flat agent!!!!

$800 is a pretty significant dent, but I spent the next two weeks being touristy and busy, so didn't really consider trying to get the money back. Besides, I was fairly certain I had no chance ... but, reading over our email communications, it became very clear that I'd at least been responsible enough to demand verification of the particulars of the apartment, including the address, after I'd sent my deposit ... and he'd complied. (Sadly, I haven't found Egypt's Better Business Bureau yet ...) And now that I'm settled, I'm much more motivated to try to get the money back, both because having an apartment makes life less stressful and because I know how incredibly significantly he scammed me (my super-nice, three-bedroom apartment with every possible appliance and convenience costs less than 3000 LE).

So, I sent the guy an email that basically said, "You're a big fat fraud, you owe me $800, and if I don't get it back, I'm going to the tourist police." This idea hadn't occurred to me until I witnessed Tak's quest ... but apparently, it's a viable threat, because Baher almost immediately wrote back, saying "I'm really sorry, I'm an honest man, this was a misunderstanding, one of my employees screwed up, and he's been dismissed - just make an appointment, and I'll fix your problem."

Sweet, I thought! Obviously, this has nothing to do with his employees - I only ever communicated with him, and he's the one who told me how much to pay, and actually yelled at me over the phone for thinking I could get a 2-bedroom apartment for $500 - but it seems I've scared him enough that he's willing to work with me! So I email him back and set an appointment for Saturday (it was Wednesday) ... and then don't hear anything from him at all. Of course. So, Saturday, I write him again, saying, "Look, if you're really an honest man, you should probably follow through with this appointment thing - I'm not actually patient enough to play this game all summer." I heard nothing all day Sunday, so spent last night stressing over the hassle of actually going to the police (can you say "empty threat"?), but I showed up at work this morning to find an email proposing we meet tomorrow, Tuesday.

SO ... that's where we're at. I'll definitely meet with him, but the question right now is WHERE? I want to meet him in a public place, in the hopes that he won't scream too much at me (although I don't know - he still might), but don't know where's appropriate. Also, I'm thinking about inviting Nazli to come with me, as back-up. She's absolutely LIVID about this whole thing - after I'd left the apartment, she called there and reached the landlord, who she bitched out pretty extensively for charging me 3000 LE, and for making me pay all three months ahead of time. When he explained that neither of those had been his idea/doing (the apartment was only 2000 LE, and it was Baher who'd insisted I pay all three months, so that no one found out about the discrepancy between what I thought I was paying and what the landlord was receiving), she turned to lecturing him about keeping an entire month's worth of rent for a one-night stay. As my mom says, "She's a bulldog." But she's also Egyptian, and really upset about the complete lack of ethics this kind of thing demonstrates ... which worries me, because I don't want her to piss him off so much he refuses to return my money.

Anyhow, I've got to decide on a meeting place to email him before leaving work today ... I'm leaning towards Cilantro, a Starbucks-style coffee shop near the American University that will be filled with Westerners. Added bonus - pretty close to where Nazli lives. And, also important, they have yummy hot chocolate. He hasn't specifically said, "Yes, I'll give you your money back," so I'm sure I'm in for a fight - he's not just going to walk in and hand over a wad of cash. But, well, I can be pretty bitchy when I want to, and at this point, I kind of want to ...

Freaking Egyptians! Most of them are quite nice, but I have to admit I'm a bit exasperated with all the scams. I know it's a poor country, but constant attempts to part me from my money without any qualms because I'm American, and therefore "rich," are getting a bit frustrating ... do they not understand that the cost of living in the US is significantly higher than here? I wonder what they'd think if I told them that my 2-bedroom apartment in Boston is 9000 LE a month??? Hah! Or if I told them how much I'm taking out in loans just to pay for school ... maybe then they'd be a bit more willing to leave me alone.

Doubtful, though. Cultural stereotypes are strong enough to quash whatever sob story I try to pass on ... I'm definitely thinking that, to many of the locals, I'll retain my rich foreigner status. Besides, in comparison to many of them, I am almost offensively well-off ... and understand that my 5 LE cab rides cost the locals 3, and that our 3000 LE apartment is probably a bit overpriced as well. I can accept that ... honestly, I generally feel that, if someone is smart enough to get a bit extra out of me, good for them! But Baher stealing what amounts to 6 months of the average Egyptian salary from me is, in my opinion, a bit excessive. So, I'll try to get it back. Didn't expect to spend my time and energy this summer arguing with a local over money and ethics, but it should be interesting, at the very least ... Wish me luck!

Mmmm, carbs ...

So now that I've officially recovered from my first (but likely not only) sickness brought on by the local cuisine, I feel much more motivated to actually discuss what it is that I've been eating. There's definitely temptation to just eat as normal, now that I have a stove, fridge, all that jazz (not to mention a relatively Western grocery store) ... but the two weeks I spent in the hostel guaranteed that I ate enough "Egyptian" food to get a feel for what's out there.

I've been telling people that the pinnacle of Egyptian cuisine is a dish called kushari, and although I'm not necessarily taking that back, I think there's a drink that also deserves some room on that pedestal. I first had it at market the other day, and can't understand why I haven't tried it sooner! It's called azap, and it's pure sugar cane juice. The guy takes a couple sugar canes, a good four feet long each, and presses them into this huge, loud metal monstrosity ... and out of the bottom comes enough juice for maybe three mugs. I can get it at any of the juice stands, and it's a fun change from the "healthy" orange and mango juices that I've been getting ... it's pretty hard to turn down what's essentially a hearty sugar-water! And, icing on the cake, it's actually substantially cheaper than any of the fruit juices (possibly because of a 100% lack in nutritional value)!

But a girl cannot live on azap alone, which brings us back to kushari. I've ranted about it to a few individuals, so if this is sounding oddly familiar, you may consider skipping to the next paragraph. Kushari is about as close as Egypt gets to a unique "national dish," since most of the cuisine is sort of generically adopted from surrounding countries. Many kushari restaurants only sell kushari, and you can recognize them from the big bowls of noodles and rice in the front window. A small bowl of kushari will set you back about 1.5 LE, and is generally enough to constitute a meal. Anyhow, to the nitty-gritty: kushari is nothing more than rice, spaghetti and macaroni (and sometimes also vermicelli) noodles, lentils, chickpeas and fried onions, topped with a small amount of spaghetti sauce and served with little packets of garlic oil and chili oil on the side. Absolutely DELICIOUS! And, for the individual who feels that the meal just doesn't contain enough carbs already, some of the locals spoon the concoction into pita bread, instead of sticking to a fork like I do (clearly, I'm a timid soul).

If it sounds like Egypt is a bit carb-heavy - kushari and sugar water - then you're on the right track. This is not a world for Atkins-followers! The other sort of national meal, fu'ul, is almost as bad - basically, mashed fava beans stuffed in a pita. Or, if you're not in the mood for fu'ul, you can get a "potato sandwich" - french fries and a bit of salad, stuffed in a pita. The most protein-intensive meal I've had was shawarma, which was beef shaved off a spit, mixed with tomatoes and a yogurt sauce ... and stuffed in a pita. This is the kind of stuff we order in at lunch, and probably counts as Egyptian fast food. Lately, for lunch I've been on a baba ganoosh kick ... a sandwich consisting of baba ganoosh, stuffed in a pita.

After kushari, juice stands, and various pita sandwiches, the most notable consumable is bakery goods. The guide book says that Egypt is as big into baklava as Turkey, which I'm not seeing - in Istanbul, every third shop only sold baklava, but here I've seen it in maybe a handful of places. However, because carbs are such a big part of the diet here, there are bakeries EVERYWHERE. In addition to the seventy million different kinds of breads you can get, they always also have a nice selection of pastries (often filled with either dates, if you're feeling sweet, or a white cheese kind of like feta, if you're hoping for savory) and cookies. Sesame and/or anise seeds show up on EVERYTHING! Honestly, I haven't purchased anything from a bakery yet that I don't like ... of course, the same could be said in the States.

Part of the reason that Egypt doesn't have much in the way of notable meals is that eating out isn't as popular here as it is in America. Which is bad, because then it's harder for people like me to get an idea of "real" Egyptian food, but also fun, because it means there are tons of open-air markets to wander and shop. On Friday, I went down to big market near our apartment and stocked up on fresh fruits and veggies, fresh-baked bread (and a couple of pastries), and cheese. There were also fish vendors and butchers (nothing like a fresh-skinned cow carcass first thing in the morning ...), but the idea of purchasing and preparing a hunk of meat without getting sick is just a bit overwhelming for me, so I think I'll stick to eggs. (Oh! Speaking of, I went to the grocery store last night, and there were eggs with "50% less cholesterol" ... could someone please tell me how that works? I don't get it, and I'm quite curious!) Anyhow, it's possible to buy enough of these staples to get me through the week for maybe $5 ... and that's a high number, because I splurged on some Washington state red delicious apples some dude was selling ... more expensive and less natural than the local apples, which I've actually heard are quite good, but I figured it was a legitimate indulgence - just this once. (To be honest, I don't really like red delicious apples in general ... but it's amazing what a reminder of home is worth!) So, with home cooking so cheap, it's no wonder that the locals rarely eat away from home.

But after dinner, when the sun is down and everyone is out, it's totally legit to get some ice cream! (Well, it actually seems pretty acceptable any time of day or night ...) Definitely a big deal around here, it seems that more or less every restaurant/cafe/take-away place has an ice cream freezer and a stack of cones out front. The most popular flavor by far is mango, although strawberry is also pretty well-received. Personally, I'm digging the vanilla - it tastes different than I'm used to, almost more like ice milk than ice cream ... or something. I could be blowing smoke here, since I'm not really an ice cream eater in the states. It's just so hot here that concessions need to be made, and I'm willing to make them in the arena of frozen desserts.

My roommate Mona, who is half-Egyptian (but grew up in Germany), told me that she "doesn't trust" most of the street vendors, and will only get ice cream from El Abd, a very popular bakery, or from the grocery store ... I've tried it in a number of places, and have never had any problems (for some reason, ice cream doesn't seem to be to be a particularly risky food ... I would assume that, as long as it's still frozen and covered, there's not much that can go wrong), but last night instead of going out for ice cream, we made it. Not with an ice cream maker, of course - they actually sell ice cream powder in the stores in Egypt. Basically like pudding mix (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it actually IS pudding mix), you just beat it with milk and then stick it in the freezer. Sadly, it took so long to freeze, and our craving hit so late last night, that I didn't even get to try it! But it'll be waiting for me when I get home this afternoon ... and if it's not good, I'm going out for a cone!

Mmm ... kushari for lunch today! Life is good ...

Don't date the locals!

Okay, before today's rant, I just want to say that this one-day weekend BLOWS! My theory: because Egypt is predominately Muslim, and Muslims don't drink (or indulge in any of the grad-student excesses I hold so dear), they don't need the two day weekend. For them, the holy day (Friday) is enough without the debauchery/recovery period I've come to rely on. What are the odds of me pushing through some some sort of reform in the next few weeks ...?

Righty-o! Moving on!

So I haven't met too many female Western (European/American) ex-pats living here, a result of the fact that I work entirely with Egyptians. (And while my stay in the hostel exposed me to many Western people, they were more or less uniformly travelers.) This means that I have a pretty small selection size - namely, my two German roommates, their ex-Swedish roommate, and my friend Ian's German and Swedish roommates. Out of these, none have been here for years or anything - I think the span ranges from four months to one. And yet, somehow, ALL of these women are dating local men!

I know, I know, the kind of men they're likely to find here are by definition local. But really, I think it's a more significant statistic than that. Because there *are* male ex-pats as well - I run into them in grocery stores and at Cilantro (the Starbucks-style coffee-shop that only foreigners can truly appreciate), and am pretty sure they aren't dating Muslim women - so it's not solely an availability issue.

Additionally, the men here are pretty skeezy towards Western women. It runs the gamut from open-mouthed stares to marriage proposals, with the vast majority of men in between (comments in Arabic that are hopefully not too offensive, and comments in English which really aren't that bad, and could actually be flattering if I wasn't so creeped out and hadn't heard it thirty-two times already in the past 20 minutes).

Let's digress for a minute here and discuss my top five skeezy Egyptian experiences so far:
5. Not a specific experience, this is just a combination of all of the amusing pick-up lines I've heard walking around, especially in Khan al Khalili, the huge bazaar. The best were "You dropped something - my heart" and "Do you want to spend your heart in my store?" The other great one is dowry negotiation ... a jovial old man at the camel stables offered 5000 camels for me, but my friend Sheikh managed to raise the price to 15 million at Khan al Khalili ... but really, what would my parents do with that many camels???
4. Also at Khan al Khalili, as if gawking wasn't enough, some dude stuck his cell phone out as I was walking by and took a picture, about a foot from my face (I can't imagine it was very flattering). I wonder how many of his closest friends have seen it by now ...?
3. I spent an afternoon at the Museum, and afterwards explored the garden out front for a few minutes before leaving. I noticed a guy looking at me, but since it's less common for a guy NOT to look at me around here, I thought nothing of it. But then, as I'm waiting to cross the street, I hear an "Excuse me" and turn to see him standing right there. What does he say? "I love you from the first time I saw you." Umm ... five minutes ago? He goes on to tell me that he was watching me in the museum, and would love to get to know me better - did I want to go for tea? I turned the guy down, claiming a prior engagement, but he seemed so forlorn that I gave him my email address. Fortunately, I haven't heard from him since ...
2. When I was walking back towards the hostel ten minutes later, I decided to go grab some juice before collapsing from heat exhaustion. On the way, a guy about my age compliments my sunglasses. Innocent enough, I think ... so I thank him, he asks where I'm going, I say I want some juice, and the next thing I know, we're at a little side-street cafe he frequents. We spend some time talking, and I field some pretty weird comments (for example, he complimented me on my hair - and then asked what shampoo I use). After he's a) informed me that, in Egypt, many people don't date before they get married, and he thinks that's the way to go, b) told me how beautiful I am, and c) asked what kind of men I date ("dark-skinned?"), I decide things have gone a bit too far, and tell the dude that I'm engaged. Suddenly, the whole tone of the conversation changes, he has to get going, and we split the bill - and, though we both had juice, mine was 7 LE and his was only 3 LE ...
1. (Drumroll, please ....) My (second) first day of work, I stopped to ask directions from a friendly-looking business man. An old dude took over, grabbed my notepad (with the address) and started walking. When we made it here, he indicated it was the fourth floor, and then walked up half a flight of stairs with me. When we were were no one in the courtyard could see us, he put his hand behind my neck and leaned in for a kiss! Umm ... eww? I don't kiss dirty old men of any nationality (now that my Grandpa Toweill has passed away ... hehehehe), and it was clearly an inappropriate thing for him to try! I pulled away with "La! La! La!" (No! No! No!), and he accepted the rejection pretty gracefully ... my guess is he just sort of figured Western women (or Americans specifically?) were like that. But he's clearly got us all wrong - I mean, it's not like he was driving a BMW! :)

Anyhow, back to the issue at hand. CLEARLY, Egyptian men as a generic group are kind of weird, and not especially date-able by Western women ... or, at least not by me. And yet somehow, every Western woman who's here for any significant period of time winds up dating an Egyptian man! I was discussing this with my roommate, Doris, when she'd mentioned that Josephine, the girl moving out, has an Egyptian boyfriend. She said that it's very common, because dating Egyptian women is very difficult for Egyptian men ... there's too much pressure. Which I thought was interesting, because it seems to me that Egyptian men have most of the power in those relationships - what's so freaking difficult about it?? Of course, then I learned that Doris' boyfriend is Egyptian, which made so much more sense. (Side note: he's married, but "seperated - they never even talk anymore." However, he can only see Doris once every week or so, and she's never been to his apartment ... good to know that these jerks are cross-cultural!)

Anyhow, as great as Doris' theory is, I think I have a better one. It seems to me that the perception of Western women as morally lax (thank you, Hollywood!) is something that men appreciate, and that makes us more attractive than our upstanding Egyptian counterparts. Thus, Egyptian men chase Western women (and give them more attention than they generally receive from Western men) because we're more "fun." Of course, a local also told me that visas, especially US visas, are very difficult for Egyptians to get - and that marrying an American is a good way to break through the red tape. Hmm ...

This is more or less an academic inquiry for me, though, since I have no intention of dating an Egyptian, and will maintain my claim of a guy waiting for me back in Boston (I wish :P). However, understanding the men's motivation is important, because I fear that my coworker, Osman, is interested. This could just be paranoia and an over-inflated ego (both of which I tend to suffer from ...), but he did tell me I was beautiful and ask a) for my address and b) if I had plans for the evening over about a 10-minute span. If I'm reading the signs right, I need a way out. Because dating a coworker is NEVER a good idea (again, entirely academic, as this is the first time I've worked somewhere with actual MEN), and it's even worse when your coworker is the guy who translates everything between you and your boss ... I would hate to upset him!

My plan: a combination of obliviousness and a full social calendar (or so I will claim). Many of you have seen this approach before, and know how horribly it actually works - but maybe this time it'll be different ...? ;) And, if all else fails, I'll just have play the fiancee card again!

Traffic

So I hopped a cab to work this morning, and realized that I've clearly been in Cairo too long ... I was getting actually, genuinely annoyed by the driver's refusal to dart into tiny openings in traffic, and when he turned on his turn signal to change lanes, it took me a couple of seconds to figure out what that little clicking noise was ... All I can say is, when I make it back to the states, I wouldn't recommend riding in my car for awhile ...

Cairo is crazy-overpopulated, and has significantly more taxis than I've ever seen anywhere, because most people don't own cars. However, some people do ... enough so that traffic is always absolutely insane. As a pedestrian, it's not too dangerous, although it's kind of like living in a game of Frogger - focus on making it to the next lane, not the other side of the street, and accept that cars will not stop or go around you. (Well, that's not entirely true ... I did dart directly in front of a van, which kindly slammed its brakes on, earlier this week. Still not an experiment I'd like to repeat, though ...) But the fact that most streets are one-way make things slightly less deadly, and there are always locals crossing, for use as a human shield.

However, I would never in a million years consider driving in this craziness! Yesterday, sitting quietly in the back of a cab, I counted a total of three cars, a van, and a bus next to each other on what was, in fact, a three-lane road. And actually owning a car worth any amount of money - idiocy! Pretty much every car on the road has scratches up and down both sides, and I noticed this morning that some people actually drive with their side-view mirrors folded in, because otherwise they might be lost - and I saw at least one driver reach out and fold his in, because someone was trying to get by that close ...

Riding in cabs can be its own kind of stress, though. Seatbelts are more or less unheard of, which would bother me more if we ever hit over 50 km - fortunately, traffic keeps the speed down to a manageable level. But there's a certain amount of angst surrounding the seemingly simple payment at the end of the ride. Cabs in Cairo are, for the most part, black and white and 15-20 years old. They all have meters, but the meters were calibrated when fuel was so much cheaper that, if anyone actually used them, the drivers would inevitably be operating at a loss. Thus, the fare either has to a) negotiate the price ahead of time, or b) pay at the end and hope the amount is mutually agreeable. Rumor has it that the locals follow the latter option - tell the driver where they're going, hop in, and once at the destination, hop back out and hand payment in through the window. That's what I've been doing, for the most part, and haven't had any trouble.

The problem, of course, is figuring out how much is okay ... I dread the day when I don't hand over enough and the cab driver starts screaming at me in Arabic. My roommate (who's half-Egyptian) told me that I shouldn't pay more than 5 LE to get to work in the morning. Nazli, a friend of mine (also Egyptian) had me pay seven for a cab out to the apartment. I figure that, somewhere in there, there must be an acceptable price. So far, though, I haven't had the guts to pay 5 LE - that tends to be the fare when moving around within downtown, but Mohandisseen (where I live) is a bit off the beaten path, so it seems that it should be worth more. And yet, I suspect 5 LE for downtown is inflated for foreigners, too, so ... The other option, negotiating the price ahead of time, seems to be potentially problematic. I heard that a couple British girls in the hostel negotiated for a 10 LE cab ride, paid when they got there (but before they got out), and then the driver started hassling them for more money as they frantically tried to find the door handle. And Ian, a kid from AZ studying Arabic for a month, always insists on negotiating ahead of time, but often has cabs refuse to pick him up because the negotiations go sour - when, if Ian just hopped the cab and went to the same final destination, and at the end paid what he had been proposing, it wouldn't be an issue. Of course, if local custom is to just get in as people have told me, then they might just be refusing him because they're annoyed with the fact that he's negotiating at all ...

And I have to admit - the least I've paid for a cab between home and downtown is 7.5 LE ... I think I'm going to drop it .5 LE each time until I get yelled at, and then bump it back up to the last acceptable price. You know, kind of like those "maximum load" signs on bridges - bigger and bigger trucks are driven over until the bridge collapses, and then the last truck is weighed and the bridge rebuilt ... (10 points to anyone who gets the reference!)

Another option is minibuses and microbuses. And, well, buses. I'm avoiding the buses, because they're overly crowded and old and rickety (of course, the same could be said of pretty much any form of transportation around here). However, there is a mini- (or micro-)bus that will bring me close-ish to work in the morning, once I get the hang of catching it. It's just an unmarked white van, sometimes with someone yelling the destination out the window - if I can make sure to catch the right one, it's a mere 50 piastres to make it downtown. Of course, if I catch the wrong one, it's hard to say what exactly will happen ... which is why I decided to just take a taxi this morning. Plenty of time for such an adventure down the road!

Another weird thing about Cairo traffic - the HORNS! Everyone uses them ALL the time. In America, I'm very used to reacting to traffic horns because they either mean someone's close to road-rage-pissed-off, or someone's about to get run over. But here, no such thing ... horns are used to say "Scoot over - I want to get around" and "Hello, Western woman walking down the side of the road" just as often as "Get out of my f'ing way!" In rush hour the other day, my taxi driver would honk his horn regularly every 25 seconds or so - I wished I spoke Arabic just so that I could ask him what in the world he thought to accomplish. The well-manicured woman in the Daewoo next to us had a different approach - she just held the damn thing down until traffic started moving, about a minute later. The moral of the story: Cairo is freaking LOUD!

Anyhow, that's today's rant. Tune in next week for a fascinating discussion of the many uses of fava beans!

Recap ...

So I guess I'm starting this whole blog thing a bit late ... I was going to stick to the mass-email of friends and family, but I hate cluttering inboxes with messages that people may or may not want to read. At least this way, you can decide whether or not you're interested - and I never have to know!

Anyhow, I've been in Cairo for two weeks now, and it has been a pretty busy two weeks. Although my emails to the 'rents were definitely epic, I'll try to keep this short for the sake of everyone's sanity - and acknowledging that some of this stuff was really only interesting to me.

So I arrived in Cairo on 24 May. I had arranged for an apartment online with a seemingly reputable middle-man, and his agent met me at the airport. So far, so good! Unfortunately, I arrived at the flat and found I was getting something COMPLETELY different than what I had been promised - fewer bedrooms, different address, and seriously flawed, with an ant infestation, a gas leak, and a balcony that didn't exist, blocked by a door that didn't fit and was held closed by a padlock and a towel. Definitely not a good sign! I insisted the agent call the middle-man, who screamed at me about how I couldn't possibly get a 2-bedroom apartment for the price I was paying (which is odd, since that's what he verified I was getting ...), there was nothing wrong with this place, blah blah blah. So, because I was tired from traveling, in the middle of a neighborhood I didn't know where I couldn't communicate with anyone, and in an apartment with three men who refused to leave until I signed the lease, I caved and handed over three full months of rent, plus a 10% commission that was to go back to the middle-man. You can handle anything, if it's for a short period of time, right?

Yeah, turns out that's not necessarily true ... or, at least, you don't HAVE to handle anything, even for a short period of time. I agonized about the place all night, finally decided at around 2:30 in the morning that I wasn't going to stay, and the next day tracked down the bowab (doorman), who tracked down the live-in manager, who had accepted my money the afternoon before. I explained to him that I wasn't going to be staying in Cairo for three months as I'd thought (technically true, since I'm spending August exploring, but also pretty spineless of me), and wanted to move out. He had to call the owner, there was a lot of sitting around and waiting, but eventually they returned my utilities deposit and two months of rent.

Which is when I learned that the middle-man had both required a deposit "for the owner" that never made it to the man, and inflated my rent by 50% and skimmed that off the top (I thought I was paying 3000 LE/month, but it turns out the building manager only received 2000). Bastard! But, I figured, nothing I could do about it, and it is just money ... hopped in a cab and headed for a hostel downtown, from where I intended to start the whole apartment search over.

The stay in the hostel, at the very least, was good for making friends and seeing a bit of Cairo. In the next few days (I wasn't scheduled to work until the following Monday), I got to see the pyramids at Giza and Saqqara, the ruins at Memphis, and the Egyptian Museum. I also rode a camel, saw approximately 152 stray cats daily, and got an epic sunburn that is actually still peeling as I type. Of course, all of this was done instead of looking for somewhere to live, so when my first day of work rolled around, I was still stuck sharing a dorm with a rotating selection of travelers.

The first day of work, 29 May, was kind of a joke. I showed up about half an hour late, because the cab driver couldn't find the place. I met with the "international relations" guy I'd been corresponding with, and after the traditional glass of tea, I asked what exactly I was supposed to do. Turns out he had no clue. Told me that there were two offices, that he needed to talk to the man who'd first hired me to see what exactly I was going to be responsible for, and that he'd "be in touch." Sweet ... So I hopped in ANOTHER cab, which got lost on the way back to the hostel (which was total retardedness on his part, because Midan Talaat Harb is THE square in the middle of downtown, and a completely reliable reference point), and went for the whole tourist thing a bit more.

Went to a new office on 31 May, and eventually got assigned some actual work. I sat down with the boss, and Osman, the informal translator, and was told I'd be in charge of editing all of their reports and applications and stuff, since everything needs to be in English. Easy enough! They also mentioned something about "building a closer working relationship with the UN and other international organizations." Umm ... huh? But whatev - they gave me something to edit, and I called it good.

The work environment here is like NOTHING I'm used to ... I habitually show up 15-20 minutes late, and not only does no one notice, often I'm still one of the first people here! The office itself is clean and relatively modern, but the computers are old and the power is unreliable ... I think my computer has battery issues (or something - I'm pretty sure my computer science minor didn't teach me anything useful about computers), because it gets unplugged at night in case of power surges, and takes about 10 minutes after I plug it back in before it will turn on, regardless of how many times I push the power button.

And trust me - I push it many, many times ...

Huh ... I think I've been spending too much time with crude guys in the hostel, because that sounds marginally inappropriate.

But the people at work are very friendly, and speak varying degrees of English ... we order in every day for lunch, and I get a yummy sandwich for 1.5 LE (maybe 30 cents). Plus, we have tea boys who get me tea whenever I want it, which is better service than I ever got in the states! The work seems pretty interesting - I'm just editing, but that's kind of something I love doing anyway, and I get to learn all sorts of crazy stuff about Egyptian prisons. Big boss-man did come to my desk yesterday to ask me what kind of progress I'm making on that whole "closer relationship" project ... I'm not quite sure what they want, but I suspect it's something close to impossible. At least it'll keep me busy, though!

In terms of general impressions of Egypt:
- It's freaking HOT, and will only get hotter! The walk to work is generally in 80+ weather, and when I leave the office, it's consistently over 100 degrees.
- WAY too much pollution!
- People are either really nice and friendly, or (around tourist sites) skeezy and trying to get something from you. One afternoon I was told by two seperate men that I couldn't get into the Museum for an hour, and would I please come take tea with them? The first, I bought it, and wound up in his "brother's" perfume shop. Finally got away, only to get dragged to the man's travel agency. Once I escaped THAT, I went to cross the street a second time, only to get told by another man, again, that I couldn't get into the Museum ... he sold papyrus. I went for it anyway, and lo and behold, I got into the Museum with absolutely no fuss. Crazy! The touts (salesmen) around the Pyramids were the most aggressive by far, putting headdresses on some of my companions and then screaming at them for payment, but really any time you get a "Hello, my fren - where you from?" you know you're in for a sales pitch.
- The poverty here is ASTOUNDING - I think the average annual salary is around $1,300 US. Even taking into account that it's probably lowered a bit for rural families who practically support themselves, and even considering how cheap things actually are (like my 30 cent sandwiches), there seem to be a lot of poor people. Most evident are the children running around trying to sell packets of tissues, but it seems that most people either work more than one job to make ends meet, or (less admirable) try to supplement their income by harrassing or scamming all the "rich" tourists.
- There seems to be sort of a general apathy among Egyptians, that even Egyptians have discussed with me. The consensus is that Egyptians have been granted greater freedoms, but didn't really ask for them - and so, instead of appreciating the power of choice, they abuse it. As my co-worker told me, "No country will ever appreciate democracy without having to fight for it first."

However, it's not all bad - there are some GREAT things about being here:
- I can walk down the street and find a fresh juice stand pretty much anywhere, where they have fresh squeezed mango, orange, peach, banana, whatever juice that always tastes SO GOOD!
- There are enough mosques in the city that, no matter where you're at, you hear the call to prayer - some people seemed annoyed, especially early in the morning, but I think they sound absolutely beautiful.
- Egyptian people have an amazing appreciation for ice cream - maybe because it's so hot here. I can actually chose from about 5 open ice cream shops on my MORNING walk to work! Mmm ...
- Although I get harrassed constantly (Western women are pretty scandalous in general, although I'm dressing as modestly as I can in this heat), I feel entirely safe ... assaults and actual theft are extremely rare. And since I can't speak Arabic, I don't actually know what the staring guys are saying ...

All in all, I think it'll be a good summer. I'm finally moving to an apartment after work today, and after a (legally) threatening letter to the middle-man, I have an offer to "get your problem solved." All I have to do is dodge the scams (getting pretty good at that), ignore the comments and catcalls on the street (a bit harder when men are sticking their camera cell-phones in your face to get a picture), and spend a LOT of time sitting in front of the AC. I've spent my fair share of time wishing I'd gotten a job in the States, but I really feel like this will be an adventure I couldn't possibly pass up.