Starting out in Cairo (sweets and ducking out of the way of disease)
The AC is humming in the background, keeping the room at a cool 24, and if I open the bedroom door to the apartment, 37 degrees will be there to greet me. I'm in Cairo.
It's only been a week since I left Toronto, but it feels like longer. I think it has a lot to do with the warm people who insist that they are welcoming me home here and complete strangers who grab my face to kiss me when they discover that I'm in Egyptian coming from Canada. Instead of being scolded for my poor Arabic as I had anticipated, they're excited about my lame Arabic musings on the weather and my cheesey Arabic writing scrawl.
I'm staying with my cousin in Ma'adi at the moment. She is introducing me to all of the soap operas and talk shows here. She's a journalist and covers a lot of arts and entertainment stories, so this is the place to get my fill of Egyptian pop culture. I was almost over-informed when today, a lady from work told me I spoke like 'Sarah,' who is the star of a soap who is mentally and physically disabled. I think it was my reliance on the word 'mashy' to carry me through conversations. I was using the word 'okay' to show that I was listening and understanding them, but it was a failed effort. Oddly, the very first thing I saw when I turned on a television here was an episode of Emily of New Moon.
At work there is a lot to learn and many people to meet to coordinate the Youth Employment Network project here. After a few days with the Ministry of Manpower and Migration in the Ministry of Foreign Relations, I will attend a meeting tomorrow at a think tank that evaluates development projects carried out in Egypt. This will be my first trek into the downtown. I plan on poking around to look at neighbourhoods to live in. I'm aching for an upper floor away from the street, but have been warned about water pressure problems the higher up I go. It's a toss up between running water and a room with a view.
It's only been a week since I left Toronto, but it feels like longer. I think it has a lot to do with the warm people who insist that they are welcoming me home here and complete strangers who grab my face to kiss me when they discover that I'm in Egyptian coming from Canada. Instead of being scolded for my poor Arabic as I had anticipated, they're excited about my lame Arabic musings on the weather and my cheesey Arabic writing scrawl.
I'm staying with my cousin in Ma'adi at the moment. She is introducing me to all of the soap operas and talk shows here. She's a journalist and covers a lot of arts and entertainment stories, so this is the place to get my fill of Egyptian pop culture. I was almost over-informed when today, a lady from work told me I spoke like 'Sarah,' who is the star of a soap who is mentally and physically disabled. I think it was my reliance on the word 'mashy' to carry me through conversations. I was using the word 'okay' to show that I was listening and understanding them, but it was a failed effort. Oddly, the very first thing I saw when I turned on a television here was an episode of Emily of New Moon.
At work there is a lot to learn and many people to meet to coordinate the Youth Employment Network project here. After a few days with the Ministry of Manpower and Migration in the Ministry of Foreign Relations, I will attend a meeting tomorrow at a think tank that evaluates development projects carried out in Egypt. This will be my first trek into the downtown. I plan on poking around to look at neighbourhoods to live in. I'm aching for an upper floor away from the street, but have been warned about water pressure problems the higher up I go. It's a toss up between running water and a room with a view.
posted by Nermeen at 2:30 PM
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