Comings and Goings

Some of Noelle's photos from when we lived in Alexandria:





Busy mind.

It's been an active stretch of weeks with our flood of visitors and I find my simple Cairo reality turned upside down each time I make contact with friends coming and going. It uproots my hard-earned mental stability when someone just takes off on a plane and lands in an English-speaking country within a day or two. It's almost easier to pretend that vivacious Cairo is the only reality there is, with interruptions of stories from other (fictional) lands with famous presidents or war or widespread hunger. Our Italian friend (19) who's still in Cairo has brought so many stories about Serbia and Kenya and Palestine. It's good to have perspective for the expansive needs around the world and the volunteer opportunities out there and how I could tone down my tendency to complain and perceive obstacles here as the end of the world. Surprisingly she said Egypt has been the most difficult place to fit in, probably because she walks around by herself Downtown where some local men are used to heckling tourists (to what end, I still haven't figured out). One man called to her, "I love you," and she turned to face him and said frankly, "That just doesn't make sense." It shocked him into silence to have this small girl talk back in such a matter-of-fact way.

If I could just take a break from my new commitment not to complain...we had a horrifying moment the other night where Ryan spotted a large hairy dark long-legged spider in the living room, and mumbling angry curses Ryan and I lay out on the dining room table while he pushed an empty cereal box around the spider using a broom handle. Knowing that should his plan fail, he would probably give up on this life, Ryan carefully enclosed the cardboard trap and dumped the monster off the balcony. With its fat, jointy legs spread out, we think it was the size of a baseball.

Onto some brighter events, my progress with Arabic has sped up now that John, Ryan and I have invited our tutor to come 2-3 times a week. Our homework for tonight's lesson is to write a 2-page story. It's a throwback to feeling daunted by seemingly simple assignments like addition tables in elementary school.

Leading Brian Corgiat and his friend Evan around Old Islamic Cairo, I found myself glowing with pride at the end of the night for having sustained us with my meager Arabic, where the only mishap was when I told the cab driver I was 11 because I thought he was asking the time, and I initially said "Yes, yes" when he asked if I had a baby...And I put their airport cab driver in a frustratingly circular conversation over the phone because all he wanted was my house number but I thought he was saying he would come an hour and a half late to pick them up. But the good news is, I'm putting myself out there a lot more in conversations with any Arabic speaking people I come across.

That said, Ryan and I are currently hiding out silently on the couch while our doorbell gets punched repeatedly. This morning we decided to spare ourselves the pain of someone asking us for things we can't understand. Also we're still in pajamas.

--- 3 days later ---

Man, it's hard to believe I was happily beginning this entry in the calm before another food poisoning storm. Today I stepped into the twilight squinting and wishing I had a cane for my atrophied limbs, determined to pick up some drinks and snacks for the party we’re hosting tonight. I am equally determined to change out of the T-shirt I’ve become attached to through my poisoning/virus/whatever it is…And to convince my family that their lives won’t be threatened when they visit Cairo, thanks to my unwise decision to Skype them from my bed of pain yesterday.

Obama was 4 miles from my house today!! Anthony saw his motorcade pass by the Nile a block from his house. Then we watched the speech from home and wondered who was invited to attend (and who taught Obama how to pronounce “hijab”??) because all the expats here were harassing the embassy for a ticket. I guess it’s justifiable to have a crowd full of Egyptians at the Cairo University. In Egypt. Go figure.