Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Trump card

There is a caste system and its alive and well here in Cairo. There are some unspoken agreements about the roles people play and how they are to be treated. The system is not hard and fast, but it's there. The thing is that I trump the social order, which at times can be uncomfortable. I'm American, and this comes with certain social privileges. In Arabic class, my teacher and I discussed travel. He told me that an American passport is gold and that having one made traveling so much easier. I agreed, except of course it doesn't always help in the Middle East. Then my teacher told me here, Americans could do as they please. Do whatever you want, he said. You'd get away with it. This past week a few American teachers and I were escorted to the hospital downtown for a blood test. We walked through the waiting room where women held babies in their arms and looked, I'm sure, like they'd been there for hours. We however flashed our one way ticket to the front of the line and were in and out in about ten minutes. The crazy part though is that the Egyptians sat back and watched this happen and accepted this as the status quo. Now to be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about this. In one sense I just want to hide and be the fly on the wall, and have as we all hope to, an authentic experience. In another, it is hard to complain when you are ushered to the front of the line and allowed certain social luxuries. I guess the only close analogy I can draw is to compare my role to an undercover cop. You play the part the best you can until the time comes to flash your badge.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Class is in Session

Put away the sunblock and your passports, because the school year has begun. This week was my first week teaching... ever. Granted, I had some tutoring experience before, but never anything quite like this. I teach about 45 12th graders, and 45 11th graders. Already I am getting to know the personalities of the students and the personalities of the classes as a whole. And there are a lot of personalities. Before the year started I was warned about potential behavior problems. And it's true, it's hard to get 17 year olds to be calm and quiet, especially when they're all taller than you. But despite the behavioral challenges, it has been a lot of fun getting to know them. In terms of academics, I started off with a fairly traditional syllabus, but I see now that I may be more effective with some more creative activities and class discussions.

Though I enjoyed my maiden voyage as a teacher, this week was one of the longest on record. We started on Saturday which made for a six day week. Also, I started taking Arabic classes 3x a week for 3 hours each session. The place is great and the teachers are so nice, but again, makes for very long days.

I'm now enjoying a very necessary weekend. Boy do I have a new found respect for teachers. Round two begins Sunday.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Eid Mubarak




Some friends and I decided to get out of town for a few days during the Eid holiday here in Egypt. We (7 Egyptians, 6 Americans, and 1 Brit) headed to Ras Shitan, an area on the Sinai Peninsula right on the Red Sea. We needed our passports for the journey, and though we never left Egypt we did technically leave the continent, and spent the weekend in Asia.

The camp where we stayed was minimalist, as was the price. We spent our days lounging, swimming, eating, and playing games. (Yes, I did introduce the Egyptians to bananagrams and yes they did love them.) At night we slept outside under the stars, and gazed across the sea to what was either Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, or a combination.

I'm back in Cairo now, but hey at least I'm a little more tan and a little less stressed.

The pictures above show our huts surrounded by mountains and the Red Sea at sunrise. Below is a link to an article with a worthwhile description of the area.

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/749/tr8.htm

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Rosh Hashanah

Well as Jews who move to new places may know, we have to figure out our surroundings fairly fast. Because sure enough, a couple weeks after showing up it's time for High Holy Day services. This means finding a temple and getting there. At school this was a cake walk. Services were held on campus and half the student body attended. Here in Cairo, my quest for a Rosh Hashanah service was not so easy. I did a bit of research online, which was less than encouraging. There are fewer than 100 Jews left in Cairo, and possibly Egypt. Articles claim that there is only one functioning synagogue and it was attacked in March of this year. This same synagogue's head rabbi fled the country after fraud charges. Alright, I thought, I will get in touch with the Israeli embassy and see what advice they have to offer... oh wait, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website is down. Which seems... suspicious. I got in touch with some writers who had written pieces about the remaining Jews in Cairo to ask them how to pull off attending Jewish services in a Muslim country. They were very nice and wrote me back but couldn't promise any accurate information. So I did my best to piece together an address for Shar Hashamayim, the 'Gates of Heaven' synagogue that I had read about in downtown Cairo. I didn't know what to expect, but when I saw the fleet of police outside I knew I had found the place. We spoke to security from the Israeli embassy. They took our passport info and asked us several questions. They turned us away at first, because we had not been invited. This is, of course, understandable. Then after some talk, they told us to come back in an hour and see what happens. So we did, and after some calls to the Israeli embassy we were welcomed in to the synagogue. The rabbi introduced himself. He had come in from Paris especially for the occasion and spoke to us and the congregation in French. It was a short service followed by a communal dinner. We met other Americans, mostly students, and other expats working in various industries in Egypt. All in all, it was a lovely, safe, and rare (given the dwindling size of Cairo's Jewish community) evening.

On the cab ride back from services, I felt very proud for pulling off what is a delicate move. Showing up unannounced to a synagogue in Europe is hard enough, let alone a Muslim country. But I am very glad I tried, and very glad I was able to attend. I don't consider myself too religious, but the High Holy day services are an annual tradition. Not going would be simply disorienting. Also, in a strange, jostling city such as Cairo, it's nice to find, albeit briefly, a moment in time in which you belong, and can joke with others about being Jewish in a city that is not.

That said, the Egyptians running security at the synagogue and helping to serve dinner were very respectful and friendly towards us. Some describe Egypt's peace with Israel as cold. But tonight, it made all the difference.

A safe and happy New Year to you all.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Balancing Act

Ah the irony. I've been assigned to teach 11th and 12th grade literature. The 11th grade textbook is devoted solely to American literature. Which means, that for at least one of my classes I am assigned to teach the American experience. Two things strike me as counter-intuitive. First, that I am here to teach anybody anything is humorous to me. I studied Middle East history, religion, and politics in school, so it feels natural for me to surrender myself to learning. Thanks to prior training in study abroad and other such ventures, my natural state is one of guest and student. Second, I am supposed to teach Egyptian students about America. This makes sense, as one of (if not the sole reason) I was hired was my nationality. Yet, here I am, thirsty for information about their culture, their literature.

As with an old friend, I am meeting again with a familiar feeling, one I experienced when spending time abroad before. At home, I rarely feel that 'American.' As a liberal free-thinker from Portland-wonderful-bubble-of Northwestern-but-detached-goodness, Oregon, I rarely feel a strong patriotic pull. However, in the context of a foreign culture, I have a strongly heightened sense of my Americanism. Generally, I find myself appreciating things from home I never thought I would, and as I skim through the literature textbook, I find myself praising classic American works and figures. I am slowly realizing how truly carved I am out of the American stone.

And so the need arises to perform a strange and sophisticated balancing act. I want to learn as much as I can, letting my host country guide my experiences. At the same time, I want to be the best teacher I can, sharing with my students all my country's past has to offer. And, most importantly, I want to find the perfect balance between demonstrating pride and appreciation for my background, and respect and awe of my new surroundings.

Ready. Set. Balance.