Ok everyone i know i havent been updating much and i probably wont be able to much because work is really REALLY busy now. It all came all of a sudden now we have much planning, organizing, and preparing for all the groups that are coming to build here in a month. So yeah i mean i am not complaining i feel really great getting into this making this dream of habitat's become a reality. So i guess i'll talk a little bit about my "adventure" last night (sorry austin in advance)....
So I live in a place called Abassaya and i work in "mus-reh-ge-deeda" this is about a 20-30 minutes drive in a taxi or micro bus depending on what i can get. The microbus is really awesome in that it is only a pound rather than 10 pounds with a taxi. But i decided that i dont really like spending any of it since its all going to add up in a year. So i played with the idea of walking back and forth. Its actually a really really easy walk its just down this one road and you make a right and then a left to get to my office. So i mean the only thing would be the time. I estimated it would be about a 2 and a half hour walk and thats really not so bad for me because usually when i get back to my room i dont do anything but sit and think until i go to bed so why not do that thinking while saving money and getting some exercise!? Yeah so i was talking to austin about that on aim and he said not to do it and i finally agreed to take a taxi after work. However...its ramadan and when i finished locking up it was pretty close to sundown. Now for those who may not know in ramadan is when the muslim people fast all day until sunset when they all get to have a huge iftar (feast) and eat all this delicious food. This goes on for about a month. I think this year it started in september and is ending the second week of october? maybe the first? sorry i am not really sure. So anyway at sunset the streets go empty! literally empty because everyone goes home to eat food with their family. So finding a taxi is hard and for me it wasnt worth the wait. So i started walking and it was actually really amazing. The weather was nice last night and it only took 2 and a half hours and i got to see a lot that i might not normally see while speeding by in a taxi.
The first thing i noticed was all the cats. There are really a lot of cats in egypt people told me that but up till then i only saw one or two but there was a whole litter of kittens sitting ontop of a trash bag trying to rip it open. I felt really really really bad and probably shouldnt have done what i did but hey whatever man whatever...i ripped open the bag for them and continued on my walk. Cats of course werent the only things living in poverty and its really hard to explain to you guys what i feel when i see this kind of thing. You may see homeless people on the streets of new york and stuff but its really not the same. I wish i could describe it but its probably best for in person or something so sorry about that...
Yeah so the people in egypt are amazing. When the sun set and i was walking people out of their stores sent out errand boys into the streets with trays of drinks and food. This was later explained to me that the richers muslims in business set out food for hundreds of people each day of ramadan. The thing about it is that its not always really the rich they all just adopt this concept of "give as if you have plenty" which is something i can respect. the idea of keeping extra for youself "just in case" really gets to me (but thats for another entry haha). Anyway yeah so these people set up tables and chairs every night of ramadan with food for about 100-200 people who can just come up and take food no paying no nothing just to share what God has provided for them. This is something i can really respect and is unfortunately something i dont think i'll ever see in america.
A lot of it i think has to do with that there is a real feeling of unity and national identity here in egypt. In america there is such a diverstiy of people, race/ethnicity, and religion that everyone feels isolated from their neighbors and just cant open up. In egypt the majority is muslim and egyptian so all are so warm and kind to each other since they are all essentially in the same boat as one another. Which makes it easier for them to be able to give because they can relate to the ones they give. I mean i like this but i really think that it shouldnt have to be limited to the way we look or the things we believe. We all live on this earth and we all share in everything thats on it so why cant we come together in a sense of unity? i dont know its just something on my mind from walking on the streets. I dont want to get too much into it because i still dont know anything about it so i dont want to put out the wrong message. My point is i guess i hope one day we can all just i dont know love each other or at least act kindly to one another. In egypt i never have to worry about asking someone for something. you walk on the street and everyone you pass greets you in america most of the people walk with their heads down or try and do whatever they can to avoid eye contact or something cutting themselves off by listening to their music players or running to their mobiles. Meh whatever i dont know i just hope things change soon.
Ok i made this post really depressing haha i am sorry about that. Anyway something i noticed about my taxi interactions is that i dont know if its cultural but the taxi driver if he smokes always offers me a cigarette. It may be cultural but i dont know maybe i just look like the type that smokes...i dont know this post was terrible sorry everyone i am really busy at work! i'll make it up to you guys somehow.
I hope Joe didnt read this terrible post
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6 comments:
I really liked this post Hamdruid!
I'm with Bryan.
As for the whole national identity thing; I took a bit of comfort by the fact that India has a lot of what you're describing (that is, in terms of hospitality and friendliness. maybe not as much as Egypt, but about 10,000,000 times more than in the US), yet India is a really diverse place. It may not seem that way at first for someone like me, but the more time I spent there the more I realized that the country has a Ton of different significant religions and languages.
So I'm hoping there's something we can learn from them, too. But the more you write, the more I realize that I need to go to Egypt.
i absolutely can not believe that you
a. lied to me
b. disobeyed me
c. walked all that way to save yourself a buck 75
I couldnt have said that any better. Thats why Im planning on leaving america for good! people suck here. PS, you really should wait for a taxi Andrew. 2.5 hours is a long walk and even though its Ramadan, there are criminals there (just as there are everywhere) and I really would suggest not to walk even if you have to wait long for a taxi. Im not trying to scare you. I just want you to be safe.
thank you all for your comments.
Austin - haha disobeyed you? hahahaha thank you i needed a good laugh. sorry about lying :'(
kristina - thank you for your concerns and no you didnt scare me, nothing scares me and i found an easier way which only takes an hour and a half
I am right now listening to a sermon by Brenda Salter-Mcneil from Urbana 06 and it's weird that you write this because she talked a bit about cultures and how settle in our lives and how we live. http://www.urbana.org/u2006.session.info.cfm?session=3
You should listen to it. She's really good.
your post hit me b/c i'm guilty of isolating myself. The only time I can imagine us living in such a away is when Christ comes back. Seriously..it's only possible with Christ.
but yeah....TWO HOUR WALK? don't you end up really sweaty by the time you get to work?
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