Astute Reader –
Let me begin this week’s update with a moment of silence for that musical genius, dance-floor prodigy, and consummate performer: the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. In all sincerity, he is a legend whose mark will always be felt in the music world, and I for one am sobered by his passing. Everyone, please take time and watch the full fourteen minutes of “Thriller” in honor of the man.
Right, on to the news report. I have had some thoughts this week about the nature of Arabic, specifically the navigation between Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and colloquial dialects. After talking to a professor of medieval Arabic history whom I attend church with, as well as a CASA alumna who now works in Cairo, I have confirmed the general sense I have that Arabic is impossible to grasp in its entirety. I could of course say that about any language; although I’m fluent in Portuguese, I couldn’t go into the belly of a nuclear submarine and talk shop with the engineer in that language. But the spectrum of linguistic skills necessary to negotiate the vagaries of Arabic really is so much broader than that required by European languages. Anyone who has tried to tackle Chinese or Sanskrit will be able to identify with me when I say that I’m coming to terms with the fact that I have to pick and choose what to emphasize in my efforts to improve in this language, and that I should probably abandon comparisons with fluency in Portuguese or Spanish.
As part of coursework for the CASA program, we also have weekly lectures and activities on Sundays to supplement classes during the week. Our first activity this past week was a lecture given by a judge and head of the government tribunal for districts in southern Egypt. His topic was fascinating: the relationship between civil and religious legal models in Egyptian law. Before the military coup of Gamal Abd al-Nasser in 1952, the Egyptian constitution was based primarily on French civil law, with Islamic law (shari’a) being one of its several constituent elements. However, the coup and succeeding political power plays ushered in a new interpretation of and discourse surrounding the Egyptian constitution, which came to be described as a product first and foremost of Islamic law. So, the trend has been one of increased application of religious legal precedent, and less of an emphasis on civil law. Fun times!
On a less brainy topic, we rode boats up the Nile this week. Woohoo! All the CASA students piled into wide sailboats called “faluccas,” in which we tooled around on the river for about an hour. The sunset was beautiful against the skyline and intermingling palms. Our captain was an elderly Nubian gentleman who long ago mastered the fine art of laying guilt trips. Needless to say, we rewarded him handsomely for his boatmanship skills.
So I promise that as soon as I get over being lazy and actually upload some of the photos from my camera, I will provide visual confirmation of everything I write about. Stay tuned for next week’s update, which will include tales of Egyptian cinema and possibly a trip to a museum in downtown Cairo. You won’t want to miss it.
Salaam,
K
Friday, June 26, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Learning In and Out of Class
Faithful Reader –
There is a cruel irony of keeping a blog about time spent abroad: on one hand, the passing weeks in a foreign country yield storytime fodder at an exponential rate; on the other, they slowly funnel time away from publishing those stories on an open source forum, due to an ever-increasing awareness of how much you have yet to discover and how little time in which to explore your world.
But long-winded apologies for shorter blog entries aside, this week marked the actual start of classes (the Swine Flu Threat has been deterred). I’m settling into a groove with homework assignments and the healthy pressure of being in class for four hours a day. I have two classes, one in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), the consolidated, modernized version of Qur’anic Arabic developed by scholars in the late nineteenth century and used in any formal setting, e.g. newscasts, newspapers, speeches and presentations, and so on. My other class is in Egyptian colloquial Arabic, which is the dialect people actually speak at home and which you find in movies, talk shows, and other less formal media. Without going into a rant on the phenomenon of “diglossia,” or the vast gap between formal and colloquial Arabic (the word literally means “two tongues”), suffice it to say that the fact that I have to take a separate class to learn how to talk to people in everyday settings should give you an idea of how difficult Arabic is.
I also found myself revisiting thoughts which I had internalized since living in Brazil from 2002-2004 as a missionary for the LDS Church, involving the terrible state of things for most people living in the developing world. Not that I don’t think about this on a regular basis anyway, but being back in the “third world” (the term is an outdated, Cold War phenomenon) has a way of shoving it in one’s face. In my colloquial Egyptian Arabic class, we discussed the situation of minimum wage-earners, who further research confirmed bring home 280 LE per month (it was raised from 148 LE only last year). That’s less than $50, and does not cover living expenses (average monthly costs at the poverty level are estimated to be at around 660 LE/month). So most people either work multiple jobs, find employment under the table, or live away from family in the Gulf States or Europe, from whence they send their much better wages home.
There’s debate over this, though. The other day I spoke with a young guy about my age, who was telling me that complaints about not being able to find work are unfounded, and that there’s plenty of work for those who want to look for it. I do consider the source, though: he studies law at Ain Shams University, one of the most prestigious institutions in Egypt and in all the Middle East. He is also industrious and resourceful, working during the day and studying at night, and perhaps his point is that more people would benefit from a similar regimen if they had the energy and resourcefulness. One way or the other, though, I have begun to feel that motivation which comes from a healthy sense of guilt over the amazing opportunities given me, and which most other people will never see. As a student on the CASA program, my monthly stipend is six times as much as what the professors who teach me make at their jobs.
Food for my thoughts and yours, at least until next week. Salaam,
K
There is a cruel irony of keeping a blog about time spent abroad: on one hand, the passing weeks in a foreign country yield storytime fodder at an exponential rate; on the other, they slowly funnel time away from publishing those stories on an open source forum, due to an ever-increasing awareness of how much you have yet to discover and how little time in which to explore your world.
But long-winded apologies for shorter blog entries aside, this week marked the actual start of classes (the Swine Flu Threat has been deterred). I’m settling into a groove with homework assignments and the healthy pressure of being in class for four hours a day. I have two classes, one in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), the consolidated, modernized version of Qur’anic Arabic developed by scholars in the late nineteenth century and used in any formal setting, e.g. newscasts, newspapers, speeches and presentations, and so on. My other class is in Egyptian colloquial Arabic, which is the dialect people actually speak at home and which you find in movies, talk shows, and other less formal media. Without going into a rant on the phenomenon of “diglossia,” or the vast gap between formal and colloquial Arabic (the word literally means “two tongues”), suffice it to say that the fact that I have to take a separate class to learn how to talk to people in everyday settings should give you an idea of how difficult Arabic is.
I also found myself revisiting thoughts which I had internalized since living in Brazil from 2002-2004 as a missionary for the LDS Church, involving the terrible state of things for most people living in the developing world. Not that I don’t think about this on a regular basis anyway, but being back in the “third world” (the term is an outdated, Cold War phenomenon) has a way of shoving it in one’s face. In my colloquial Egyptian Arabic class, we discussed the situation of minimum wage-earners, who further research confirmed bring home 280 LE per month (it was raised from 148 LE only last year). That’s less than $50, and does not cover living expenses (average monthly costs at the poverty level are estimated to be at around 660 LE/month). So most people either work multiple jobs, find employment under the table, or live away from family in the Gulf States or Europe, from whence they send their much better wages home.
There’s debate over this, though. The other day I spoke with a young guy about my age, who was telling me that complaints about not being able to find work are unfounded, and that there’s plenty of work for those who want to look for it. I do consider the source, though: he studies law at Ain Shams University, one of the most prestigious institutions in Egypt and in all the Middle East. He is also industrious and resourceful, working during the day and studying at night, and perhaps his point is that more people would benefit from a similar regimen if they had the energy and resourcefulness. One way or the other, though, I have begun to feel that motivation which comes from a healthy sense of guilt over the amazing opportunities given me, and which most other people will never see. As a student on the CASA program, my monthly stipend is six times as much as what the professors who teach me make at their jobs.
Food for my thoughts and yours, at least until next week. Salaam,
K
Friday, June 12, 2009
Pyramids, Papers, and Swine, Oh My!
Devoted Reader –
There are few moments that inspire jealousy in others more than hopping on Skype chat with a friend and having the following exchange:
--“Hey Kevin, how’s things?”--”Hey Joe, good to hear from you! What have you been up to this week?”
--“Just working over the summer, getting ready for school in the fall. What about you?”
--“Oh, you know, went to the pyramids this morning, the Nile this afternoon…same old boring Cairo!”
I don’t know how many more times I will get to say that I kicked the week off with a visit to one of the Seven Wonders, but this week was such a time. On Saturday my roommate, two friends from Dahab Hostel, and I rented a car and driver for 200 LE between the four of us and went out to Giza to marvel at the ingenuity and timelessness of local vendors hawking overpriced jewelry and camel rides. I mean, we went to see the pyramids, which were indeed awe-inspiring, although after the first five minutes of gazing at the biggest one, we all went, “You’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all! Let’s go get lunch.” The highlight of the trip for me was seeing about eight or ten camel ride-hawkers out on horses, trying to round up a camel that had gotten loose between pyramids. It took them about five minutes and reminded me of cattle wrangling, except with a somewhat different feel…
I also got to go to church on Friday, which was interesting because, at forty or fifty members of the Cairo, Egypt branch, it was the largest gathering of white people I’ve seen in Cairo thus far. The branch is located about twenty minutes from downtown Cairo by metro, in a neighborhood consisting largely of expats and foreign dignitaries. I had thought about getting an apartment there and am now relieved that I didn’t: one of every two people I saw there were American, there were fast food joints on every corner, and people drive around in their Beamers and Chevies like it ain’t no thang. On Sunday, I was part of my second largest gathering of Americans, i.e. orientation for the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA from here on in) program! They fed us and made us sign a bunch of scary papers, including a language pledge in which we promised to not speak Arabic with other participants in the program, and to speak Arabic as much as possible anywhere we go. Most of my CASA colleagues, to my surprise, PROMPTY IGNORED THE FACT THAT THEY SIGNED A DOCUMENT PROMISING NOT TO SPEAK ENGLISH WITH EACH OTHER, and went ahead and laughed up the afternoon. People: I’m generally an easygoing guy. But when I put my name to paper, I take it seriously, especially if it means the difference between developing linguistic skills which you are being paid by the U.S. government (i.e. taxpayer dollars) to acquire. It’s kind of a sore spot for me.
Anyway, the next day we had classes. That is until we were about to go to our last hour of class, when we were pulled aside and told that the entire American University in Cairo had been shut down due to a swine flu scare. Two American students at AUC who were living in Zamalek came down with the virus, and they had apparently been on buses going out to the new campus in Rahab (where our CASA classes are being held). So, all classes were canceled this week, which means I’ve spent most of the time at home relaxing and working on homework assignments we have in lieu of class. At last count, there are twelve total cases of swine flu in Egypt, including a McDonald’s employee, which has led the government to shut down fast food restaurants all over the city. But don’t worry, I feel fine. And I hope you’ll tune in next week for the real start of classes. Until then, I am sincerely yours,
K
There are few moments that inspire jealousy in others more than hopping on Skype chat with a friend and having the following exchange:
--“Hey Kevin, how’s things?”--”Hey Joe, good to hear from you! What have you been up to this week?”
--“Just working over the summer, getting ready for school in the fall. What about you?”
--“Oh, you know, went to the pyramids this morning, the Nile this afternoon…same old boring Cairo!”
I don’t know how many more times I will get to say that I kicked the week off with a visit to one of the Seven Wonders, but this week was such a time. On Saturday my roommate, two friends from Dahab Hostel, and I rented a car and driver for 200 LE between the four of us and went out to Giza to marvel at the ingenuity and timelessness of local vendors hawking overpriced jewelry and camel rides. I mean, we went to see the pyramids, which were indeed awe-inspiring, although after the first five minutes of gazing at the biggest one, we all went, “You’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all! Let’s go get lunch.” The highlight of the trip for me was seeing about eight or ten camel ride-hawkers out on horses, trying to round up a camel that had gotten loose between pyramids. It took them about five minutes and reminded me of cattle wrangling, except with a somewhat different feel…
I also got to go to church on Friday, which was interesting because, at forty or fifty members of the Cairo, Egypt branch, it was the largest gathering of white people I’ve seen in Cairo thus far. The branch is located about twenty minutes from downtown Cairo by metro, in a neighborhood consisting largely of expats and foreign dignitaries. I had thought about getting an apartment there and am now relieved that I didn’t: one of every two people I saw there were American, there were fast food joints on every corner, and people drive around in their Beamers and Chevies like it ain’t no thang. On Sunday, I was part of my second largest gathering of Americans, i.e. orientation for the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA from here on in) program! They fed us and made us sign a bunch of scary papers, including a language pledge in which we promised to not speak Arabic with other participants in the program, and to speak Arabic as much as possible anywhere we go. Most of my CASA colleagues, to my surprise, PROMPTY IGNORED THE FACT THAT THEY SIGNED A DOCUMENT PROMISING NOT TO SPEAK ENGLISH WITH EACH OTHER, and went ahead and laughed up the afternoon. People: I’m generally an easygoing guy. But when I put my name to paper, I take it seriously, especially if it means the difference between developing linguistic skills which you are being paid by the U.S. government (i.e. taxpayer dollars) to acquire. It’s kind of a sore spot for me.
Anyway, the next day we had classes. That is until we were about to go to our last hour of class, when we were pulled aside and told that the entire American University in Cairo had been shut down due to a swine flu scare. Two American students at AUC who were living in Zamalek came down with the virus, and they had apparently been on buses going out to the new campus in Rahab (where our CASA classes are being held). So, all classes were canceled this week, which means I’ve spent most of the time at home relaxing and working on homework assignments we have in lieu of class. At last count, there are twelve total cases of swine flu in Egypt, including a McDonald’s employee, which has led the government to shut down fast food restaurants all over the city. But don’t worry, I feel fine. And I hope you’ll tune in next week for the real start of classes. Until then, I am sincerely yours,
K
Friday, June 5, 2009
Beginnings
As a general policy, I try to avoid subjecting readers to fluff and cheese. I find that sarcasm, in addition to being the dominant tool of humor for my generation, makes me sound cynical and therefore intelligent. So you’ll have to forgive me this somewhat sincere introduction to what I hope to be a fruitful, if inadequate, account of experiences and thoughts had while living in Cairo on a year-long study abroad program. My guiding principle for the blog is Horatian: while your entertainment is foremost in my mind, I also hope to shed some light on my experience as an outsider in a culture which can often seem unbearably foreign. A culture which I have come to love and appreciate through the lens of language, that first and last bastion of understanding and respect across continents and civilizations. By investing time and effort into unlocking the treasure troves of Arabic—which in its consolidated, standardized form makes reading classical texts from 1500 years ago possible without years of university study—I feel a kinship with Egyptians in a way that would be impossible without such struggle on my behalf. Would that all young people were fortunate enough to inherit an early vision of the importance of foreign language learning and its role in dissolving barriers between cultures and peoples.
On to the tale. My luggage and I arrived unbroken but somewhat shaken at 2:00AM on a balmy Sunday morning in one of the world’s oldest and grandest cities. After exchanging currency and haggling with cabbies, I found myself in a rooftop hostel on the seventh floor of a building that, for lack of a better mental image, recalled for me the Tower of Terror ride at Disneyworld. Creaky fire escapes and a guillotine-esque elevator led upward to Dahab Hostel, which is a steal at 35 LE (Egyptian pounds) a night. I made my home there for the next three days while I waited for my future roommate to arrive in Cairo so that we could secure an apartment together. As anyone who has ever stayed in a hostel knows, fast friendships are made; I suppose the drifter lifestyle lends itself to an openness to humanity which less nomadic routines seem to lack. So I ended up feeling right at home and having several people to explore the city with. My roommate came in Wednesday, and we sealed the deal on a two-bedroom flat right in downtown Cairo, which we had arranged by word of mouth prior to our arrival. For me, the process of finding housing and securing it entirely by informal needs is a microcosm of life in Egypt: a legendary and stultifying bureaucracy in this country has led to underground networks and word-of-mouth communities being spawned and nurtured by a populace frustrated with more formal channels.
I’ve enjoyed having a week of relative freedom to explore the city and familiarize myself with practical information, such as where to find the best falafel pitas for the cheapest price, before beginning intensive Arabic study next week. One of the week’s highlights involved making the trek to Cairo University in an attempt to watch President Obama deliver a speech which many people hope to represent the beginning of a new era in U.S. foreign relations. After camping out for almost three hours in the hot sun, I, my roommate, and two friends from the hostel were shooed away from a main entrance by soldiers, who then forcibly removed a group of protesters calling for Obama to help end the siege in Gaza by allowing the Hamas movement a seat at the negotiating table. Luckily, we had made friends with a photographer from Reuters, who drove us to an air-conditioned, westernized café and forced us to have delicious food on his dime as we watched Obama’s speech on television. My life is so terrible.
That’s all for now, folks. More next week as we explore topics such as: visiting the pyramids, or how to keep sand out of your eyes; being Mormon in Cairo, or why I’m glad I don’t live in an upper-class bubble of American culture in Egypt; and the start of classes at American University in Cairo. Until then, I am yours,
K
On to the tale. My luggage and I arrived unbroken but somewhat shaken at 2:00AM on a balmy Sunday morning in one of the world’s oldest and grandest cities. After exchanging currency and haggling with cabbies, I found myself in a rooftop hostel on the seventh floor of a building that, for lack of a better mental image, recalled for me the Tower of Terror ride at Disneyworld. Creaky fire escapes and a guillotine-esque elevator led upward to Dahab Hostel, which is a steal at 35 LE (Egyptian pounds) a night. I made my home there for the next three days while I waited for my future roommate to arrive in Cairo so that we could secure an apartment together. As anyone who has ever stayed in a hostel knows, fast friendships are made; I suppose the drifter lifestyle lends itself to an openness to humanity which less nomadic routines seem to lack. So I ended up feeling right at home and having several people to explore the city with. My roommate came in Wednesday, and we sealed the deal on a two-bedroom flat right in downtown Cairo, which we had arranged by word of mouth prior to our arrival. For me, the process of finding housing and securing it entirely by informal needs is a microcosm of life in Egypt: a legendary and stultifying bureaucracy in this country has led to underground networks and word-of-mouth communities being spawned and nurtured by a populace frustrated with more formal channels.
I’ve enjoyed having a week of relative freedom to explore the city and familiarize myself with practical information, such as where to find the best falafel pitas for the cheapest price, before beginning intensive Arabic study next week. One of the week’s highlights involved making the trek to Cairo University in an attempt to watch President Obama deliver a speech which many people hope to represent the beginning of a new era in U.S. foreign relations. After camping out for almost three hours in the hot sun, I, my roommate, and two friends from the hostel were shooed away from a main entrance by soldiers, who then forcibly removed a group of protesters calling for Obama to help end the siege in Gaza by allowing the Hamas movement a seat at the negotiating table. Luckily, we had made friends with a photographer from Reuters, who drove us to an air-conditioned, westernized café and forced us to have delicious food on his dime as we watched Obama’s speech on television. My life is so terrible.
That’s all for now, folks. More next week as we explore topics such as: visiting the pyramids, or how to keep sand out of your eyes; being Mormon in Cairo, or why I’m glad I don’t live in an upper-class bubble of American culture in Egypt; and the start of classes at American University in Cairo. Until then, I am yours,
K
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