| If buildings could talk... |
[Mar. 4th, 2007|03:28 pm] |
If buildings could talk, the Mugamma, downtown Cairo's hulking government office complex, would say, "Come back tomorrow." With a sneer.
(Washington Post, 29 September 2005)
If you've ever been in any government office, embassy, or post office in the UK, you really have seen nothing when compared to the Mugamma. Outside, the big, offensive dirty grey block shadows part of Tahrir Square. Inside the masses of people and noise and the stench of piss could put you off bothering to apply to stay in Egypt. What I can't see is how their ancestors build fascinating pyramids and temples, and they built the Mugamma.
I got up at 7am this morning in order to conquer this monster in its most docile time of day, but little did I know this day was going to be more of an adventure than expected. As I left the building at 7:45, I got a call that Rachel (who I was meeting to go to Mugamma), had got her card eaten by an ATM. She was quite distraught so I headed over there and we spent a good hour or so sitting by the machine and ate some Tammiyya. After a great amount of pleading (it takes that to get anybody to do anything in Egypt, I find), the man agreed to come and get Rachel's card from the machine, and give it her back. Card in hand, we were ready for the Mugamma - only it was 11:00am, and we were going to be forced to face the Mugamma at its worst.
Once we were in (after a pretty rubbish security check) we wandered aimlessly for a while until someone pointed us in the right direction for the photocopier on the ground floor. We then headed upstairs for the residency department - basically a row of 60 different windows each one for a specific thing (not that this speeds anything up at all). We head over to the lady at one window, who tells us the value of stamps we need, we then go to the other end of the corridor, get the stamps, and go back to the lady who served us first. Then we wait two hours and go to a woman at entirely the other end of the department to pick it up.
Anyhow, I'm good to go in Egypt for another few months now, except I need to go back to the Mugamma to get my re-entry visa - I think I'll try to go early to avoid the crowds! If you're at all interested in seeing what the Mugamma's like, try a film called "Al-Irhab wal-Kabab", quite funny.
Went to Ain Sukhna last weekend which was beautiful. Ben and Mum should be here in the next few weeks so looking forward to that too. It's been good getting back to Kalimat after Christmas and making new friends - I seem to be getting on with everyone really well and I see a fair bit of them outside school. Anyway new term tomorrow so we'll see how that goes, then holidays woo! |
|
|
| At last... |
[Nov. 14th, 2006|02:36 pm] |
Well I haven't updated my blog since I first arrived in Cairo, and things were still a bit topsy-turvy, and not quite knowing how to deal with people here was getting me really frustrated. Now I'm really well settled here in this really amazing apartment which this French guy, Xavier, is renting while he's working for a bank here. I've really been quite lucky to have met him, and we've had a couple of good parties here, including my 20th birthday gathering early in October.
For the last week I've been wrestling with the customer service helplines of the old and new internet companies in this flat. Today I'm sat at home because I'm full of cold and really didn't feel up to going to class, and I don't seem to be able to sleep which doesn't help, but I finally have internet al-hamdu li-llah, and hopefully tomorrow I'll be back on form. I've also started reading, including the Qur'an, which is an interesting read.
The apartment is in the south of Mohandiseen, on the other side of the Nile from Downtown Cairo, and is full of restaurants and businesses, but is all the same a nice part of Cairo to live in, and not too far from anywhere else in Cairo. It's right next to one of the main leisure clubs, called Shooting Club, which the middle-class egyptians go to to play sports and to socialise, and as the name might suggest, there are constant gunshots most days of the week - but I've learnt not to be alarmed.
I've made a good group of friends, although they won't all be in Cairo for the duration of my placement here; many come during their post-graduation travels to learn Arabic, some are on work placemetns, and those from Edinburgh Uni on their year abroad (studying not at my school, Kalimat, but at another school called ILI) will leave after Christmas to go to their respective European-language countries. I'm sure I'll make new friends, though, in the new term after Christmas.
In terms of travelling, so far I haven't visited too many places but I've been to Alexandria and spent a few days there - sadly everything was closed for Eid, including the Greco-Roman Museum and the Alexandrian Library, which is a real shame. I've also visited the Great Pyramids at Giza on a camel, and the pyramids at Saqqara, which include the Step Pyramid, one of the oldest pyramids in existence, from the 3rd Dynasty, so I hear.
The strucure of the course at Kalimat is 12 seperate "terms" throughout the year, and I need to register on a total of 6 of those terms for MSA (48 hrs per term) in order to fulfil my requirement for the year abroad. By Christmas, all being well, I will have 3 out of 6 terms out of the way, and that leaves me with a decision to make - whether to do the other 3 terms together from January to April, as I am thinking now, or to take more time with them and do some travelling around Egypt and the Middle East, which was my original plan. The advantage of finishing the course earlier is that it will allow me to spend a little more time in Spain in order to work or take a course there. The disadvantage, as I've learnt during my time here, is that Arabic requires a lot more effort than learning Spanish, and I need all the time I can get. In fact I've even heard talk that fluency in Arabic is a 10 year project, which is worrying as my Finals Exams are in just over 2.5 years...
However I do feel my Arabic is improving. I mean compared to how little I knew before I came - I must admit I crammed a lot of stuff into my head before Prelims and it all just kind of evaporated during the summer. I also speak a reasonable Egyptian 'Ammiya now, which I had none of before I came - they almost seem like different languages at first, but are starting to help each other as I study more. I even managed to skip one level this term, in both standard and colloquial Arabic, which is hopefully a good sign.
I do often feel a longing for close ones, roast dinners, fish and chips, duvets, crisp chilly days, dark mornings, my guitar, proper pavements, pubs, the Welsh countryside, lifts with two doors, clean air, rain, boring British highstreets, pasties and pies, bacon butties, among other things. But the truth is that this is one of the most amazing cities and countries in the world - amazingly crazy but amazingly eye-opening and bursting at the seams with a passion for culture, although this is tainted by the poverty and disillusionment of people in this overwhelming land of contrasts. |
|
|
| Feeling better |
[Sep. 28th, 2006|10:08 pm] |
I started class at my school, Kalimat, yesterday and although I've been quite ill the last few days, I feel happy that I'm finally "out there" - studying, making friends etc. I had Modern Standard Arabic class in the morning, which was pretty straight-forward and the teacher is great. Apparently he's like a tourist guide and a traditional dancing trainer so he must be quite busy.
I had Egyptian Colloquial class in the evening which could almost be a different language altogether. It's a pretty cool language, and from what I hear from some others who are at the higher levels in the school, it's quite easy to skip through the levels. I do need to speak a lot more Arabic in general, although I also need to absorb a lot more vocabulary before I'm ready for that, I think.
I've been quite annoyed with this "Global SIM" I bought before I set off, as it's been playing up. I'm supposed to have a UK number and be able to receive calls for free, but in fact it's an Isle of Man number and it charges a bit more for people to call me. Oh well, better than nothing I suppose. I bought an Egyptian mobile too, to use with people who are here. Really cheap, like 0.03 GBP to make a call so I'm not complaining.
Tonight I went for a coffee with this Egyptian guy who's lived in Florence for 21 years working as a chef. As my Arabic isn't top-notch yet, we were speaking a kind of Spanish-Italian-Arabic mixture. I miss Spanish and Spain so much, but there are Spanish speakers in both my classes at school so at least I can practise with them. I was talking to him about taxi prices and how the meters don't work anymore, and I think I've started to get a grip on things and not get ripped off. The Lonely Planet guidebook I have always talks about the friendly attitude and humour of Egyptians, which is all well and good but sometimes it just needs to be tamed a little. This is difficult, as it seems that whenever I try to put forward the opposite point of view, Egyptians see a great divide between what is acceptable for us foreigners, and what is acceptable for them. This applies to the consumption of alcohol, lifestyle, eating during Ramadan, but also, it seems, to pricing.
As for my current record on the price of eating, I've dined for 50p-ish a few times since I've been here. Then earlier this week I managed to get it down to about 30p in exchange for some bread, "fool" which is a local dish, and some vegetables. Today I've finally done it - I've managed to eat for free! There's no beating this unless they start paying me to eat. The deal is that it's Ramadan, so they set out tables in the street which are open for anyone to eat from - the idea is that you're supposed to be generous to others, especially the poor, during Ramadan. They're very welcoming with the usual laughing and excitement at seeing a foreigner in a typically Egyptian environment. The great divide persists. Still the food was good, and lots of it. A bowl of rice, some meat (meat is a generic thing here, no specific animal), water, bread, fish - all sorts of things. You'd pay like 10 quid at least at home!
I've also got used to the usual "taxi-talk". It's the routine of him telling you that you speak Arabic well, even if you don't, then him having a moan about traffic, then asking you your name and your nationality, usually guessing randomly around Russia, America or England, and then moaning about some person who they nearly ran over and/or car they almost crashed into, continuing the conversation by asking if you have any sisters, then insisting that the fare I offered is too low, moaning about the traffic again, before continuing to hum along to some dusty old cassette of Arabic music.
Well I'll be needing the taxi-talk tomorrow as I'm off in one in the morning and finally going to stay with Xavier, the French guy from church, for a couple of weeks. I can't wait - he's a really decent guy, and has an amazing apartment - and plus the Egyptian weekend runs a day early, Friday-Saturday, so it means he'll be around rather than working at the bank, which means I can get to know him a bit better and stuff. It's so kind of him to let me stay, but I suppose he is living there for free. It will be sad to leave the hotel - the guys there have really become friends, especially Walid, the manager; always wanting to take me to coffee-shops or have a chat or make me a drink. So maybe the divide isn't so real after all. |
|
|
| Diarhoheoarria |
[Sep. 26th, 2006|10:02 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Cairo, Egypt | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  drained | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Some Arabic stuff | ] |
Yup it's hit me finally. It seems that every poor traveller expects to get it at least once during their stay here in Egypt. This nice Dutch guy and girl gave me some Immodium this evening and that seems to have helped. I think it may have been this sugary "Ramadan drink" that they offered me in the internet cafe last night - perhaps made with tap water.
Yesterday I just rested and thought mostly. I'm on a budget at the moment, waiting for my student loan to come through. It's not exactly the best situation to be in; in another country and waiting for the Student Loans Company to get their act together. Ben had his through and applied after me. He says that if you apply late you get to the top of the pile. Ben sent me an email in the wee hours which I picked up today, which really made me think about how things are going to be this year away from home and country. I sound like I'm away on service, don't I?
Well at least I'm back for Christmas. I was thinking of taking 3 terms (each is a month) in the school here in Cairo so that I can have a bit longer at home during Christmastide - three, maybe four weeks. I'll get to see Ben properly at least, as it might happen that he can't come to Cairo around Easter, what with it being his final year at uni and the average student's financial situation being as it is. I hope he can come, though. Mum should come, at least, and Dominika and Denitsa, my friends from Granada, said they may pay a visit.
I had my first real Arabic conversation today on the way to the school for the test. It was pretty decent - we talked about the traffic, and why I'm here, and how long for etc etc. I felt pretty good afterwards but I still don't know how to ask for basic things.
So I arrived at school for my level test this morning to see which level Arabic class I should be in. It seemed to take hours, I think it was only an hour and a half. I'm told I'm an intermediate (3) in Modern Standard Arabic (which is what I'm here to study), and that I'm a false beginner (1.5) in Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (which is not what I'm here to study but which I will inevitably have to learn if I want to stop ending up lost in taxis). So I'm going to take the morning (intensive) classes in MSA from 9am-12 Monday to Thursday (eek!), and also classes in colloquial on a Monday and Wednesday evening, which are only 4 hours a week.
I called mum and Ben this evening through Skype, and I feel better for it. This stupid con of a "Global SIM" has been playing up though and won't call out. Yeah fair enough it costs me nothing to receive calls but still if it doesn't work properly then there's not really much point.
Well, on a more positive note, I'm not feeling so sick now after that Immodium, but I'd best go get some rest as I'm going to have to leave myself an hour to get to class with the traffic in this city. |
|
|
| Taken for a ride... |
[Sep. 25th, 2006|04:39 pm] |
This weekend's been pretty mad, especially Saturday. Saturday morning was supposed to be just a trip to the pyramids. But I can't help feeling I've been ripped off somehow. This was lesson number one for me in how not to get ripped off, and I learned it the hard way.
I was taken out of the hotel by this random guy who I think I'd met once before. He took me to this fragrance shop and said something about an exhibition and something about the body shop as they usually do. If you haven't experienced this before don't do what I did. They have nothing to do with The Body Shop, or Tesco, or Marks and Spencers or whatever they say.
The normal procedure is to sit you down and offer you a cup of tea or another drink and explain that this is egyptian hospitality. Then they show you a few things, explain that you don't have to buy although they don't usually mean it. They'll ask you which one you like and which size you like if applicable. The best thing to do in this situation is just get out of it the quickest way possible, because if you get trapped there's no way out. Don't let them get you in their trap! Anyway I walked out with this bottle of 140ml "student price" Eau de Urine fragrance. This being the first annoyance of the day. I never got the cup of tea.
The thing is they get commission if they take you into this shop or that shop so that's why they want you to buy. The next rip-off was soon to come.
I was then whisked into a taxi and taken to a stables, offered another drink which I never got, and hurried onto a camel. This thing cost me 40 quid, and we're talking GBP here. I was really frustrated by this point especially considering I think I should have paid 10 times less. Yeah the ride was nice etc etc, I went into a pyramid bla bla bla, but I just think it was so disorganised and overpriced I really couldn't enjoy it properly. Then the bastard wanted a tip. I'd just had enough by this point, I wanted to get back to the hotel. I gave him his tip - who's he think I am? I'm a student not some money-making business man from the City!
So back in the taxi and back to the hotel. The friend of the hotel manager who'd been taking me everywhere wanted some bloody tip as well. So he got his tip and everyone was happy except me. Well, never mind. I had the "nicer" flat to view in the afternoon in that dump of a block I was in the day before. Yeah, the flat was "nicer" but I was just too p****d off with Egyptian eagerness to withdraw money from Adam's apparently incredibly rich account by this point, so I basically politely told him where he could stick his flat. He looked frustrated, and I felt better because of it.
In the evening I went to Sunday vigil Mass at the local Catholic church. The church is beautiful, a lot of white marble and a wonderful altar. They were decorating it for a wedding the next day. After Mass, in French, we had a talk from the priest before the blessing. It was the feast of Padre Pio. After the blessing, I walked to the back of the Church to sign myself with water from the font, and this French guy came up to me.
He's called Xavier - he's got 9 months here working for a bank in Cairo and has just moved into a new apartment from the hotel he's been living in, as he's just had an extension of his time working for the bank here. He asked if I was looking for somewhere to stay. I told him yes, and about me coming here to study Arabic, and that I was in a hotel at the moment. Anyway, we left the church and walked along the street towards my hotel. I asked him how much, and he told me he couldn't possibly charge me rent as the company pay for the flat. I decided to go an view the apartment straight away and we caught a taxi.
The apartment was amazing. Top (10th) floor with amazing views over the Shooting Club and apparently towards one of the pyramids during the day. A massive terrace with a bar, a gazebo, two small bathrooms, a pretty large kitchen, an open-plan living-dining room with a large dining room, satellite television, proposed DSL internet connection and my own room. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?! Yeah, it really pays to go to Mass every Sunday.
Well I didn't get up to much on Sunday other than sign up at Kalimat - that's my language school where I'll be studying for 6 months out of the next 9. The school's in a pretty nice area of Cairo, Mohandiseen, although it's quite hard to get to as the underground train doesn't go there, yet. Sunday was the start of Ramadan, which is the Islamic holy month of fasting. You have to avoid eating on the street as people can give you funny looks and it must be annoying if you're starving hungry and someone's stuffing their face in front of you. Some shops close for half days too which can be a bit annoying but I suppose you just have to get used to it.
I remember thinking that there's so much poverty here. I mean kids will randomly come up and ask for money, and it's not that they look like they're extremely poor, but just that they see the frustrating contrast between them and the tourists from "the West". This annoys me, if only people didn't see such a contrast maybe we woldn't treat each other so differently. I suppose in reality we are different and it's hard to avoid that fact.
I'm feeling a bit down and betrayed at the moment especially with the rip-offs on Saturday, but I think I'll feel a lot better when people arrive from Uni and I meet other people when I start classes at the school on Wednesday - 9 til 12! I'm thinking of taking classes in Egyptian colloquial Arabic too because it's really hard to understand people with a language that's pretty much based on Classical or Koranic Arabic!
I got an email from the estate agent who works with Kalimat today asking to arrange a viewing, saying he had 2 properties in mind. I'll probably contact him later, but I'm still not very enthusiastic about it at the moment.
Oh well, it's the level test tomorrow. I'll probably get quite a low level as it's been months since my panicked revision before the Prelims exams at uni, and I've done zero Arabic since then. Well there is a good side to this all, in that I'll meet a lot more people in a similar situation to me as soon as I start class on Wednesday. So I suppose it'll all come right in the end. |
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
| |
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
madeinsaneuk's journal
exhausted
hopeful
satisfied
contemplative