24 Hours

The last 24 hours have been slightly crazy and extremely eventful. I woke up early yesterday to go get my ticket back to the states only to be greeted with a mass of people waiting at the place already. After standing around for about 45 minutes I had to leave to make a meeting at the Marriott on time. After a few meetings and mass of emails that I still haven’t made my way through yet :-( I left work in hopes of taking a much needed nap since the theme of this month seems to be lack of sleep but unfortunately that just wasn’t in the cards for me and start catching up on some news back home and emailing.

Finally decided on a date of some get togethers back home – March 10 for the fam and March 31 for my bday party; this will be the first time I’ll be celebrating my bday in Chicago since I was 14!

Later in the evening I headed to this Yemenis restaurant with May, Farzina, Kent and Mustafa. Kudos to Kent; he’s always trying to further my education about the world and made the suggestion to go to this restaurant a few weeks back since the country of the month for me is Yemen. If you ever feel the need to learn more about Canada – I kinda wanna make a joke here but I won’t – then u should definitely check out Kent’s blog. He hooks me up with some pretty interesting info about his country.

Anyways, the food was good. A big bowl of yellow rice with some chicken and lamb plus the awesome bread (pic to come later) and according to Kent some random pieces of animal hair – it’s good protein! And a very nice waiter who was more of a gentlemen than most of my boyfriends.

Afterwards I went over to Nisrin and Luli’s for a sleepover with them and Kait. It was lots of fun; after watching Luli kick Kait’s butt in Scrabble, we watched this clip on how incredible ignorant Americans can be. Then we played Cluedo – I believe the British wanna be version of Clue. It was a seriously intense game. Between Luli, Nisrin and I, we were playing our strategies hard. I just needed one more round. I was soo close but between Nisrin wanting to be funny and move me half way across the board and Luli beating both of us to the punch, I didn’t win :-( It’s all good tho’; next time!

I woke up early this morning to attempt once again at getting my ticket. Got to the office, a five minute walk from Cinema Tahrir, and thankfully didn’t have to wait too long before I could talk to an agent. Gave her all my info and debit card. Then the words, “It was declined” came out of her mouth. I’m saying to myself ok, that’s odd and asked her to try again. “Decline” Now I’m a bit annoyed. I have to say one thing about Egyptians, they don’t seem to care about others hearing your “sensitive” news cause the lady said really loudly, “You must not have enough money in your account.”

I’m standing there trying to figure out what was the problem. I’m asking if she can just manually type in the numbers b/c maybe the strip got demagnetized but she was very persistent in not taking that suggestion. She once again claimed that I didn’t have enough money. So I took my card and told her I’d pay in cash. Walked out the door and headed to the ATM and withdrew the money. I was already a little bothered that the price was a higher than I original had thought and then to have to go and withdraw money from my American account which charges me a nice little service fee every time I take money out here. Not very happy. But after figuring out how to change the payment from credit card to cash – a task that shouldn’t have been that difficult but it apparently was for her - I got my ticket!!!!! It’s official. February 23 I will be back in the states (I’m grinning heavily right now).

I walked home happily taking random pics of Dokki for my mom and was greeted warmly by my one and only doorman who speaks enough English to have a small conversation. I guess he was really please to see me cause he likes to practice his English on me and called the lift (another effect of living with Farzina!) and shook my hand. I was kinda shocked by that one but it’s all good.

It’s a good morning with lots of potential for the future. AND I’m going to Lucielle’s for breakfast; what more can I possibly as for right now ;-)

Catchin' my Breathe

Life has definitely been non stop lately. I’ve been meaning to write but have yet to have the time to really do so. The last two weekends I have been out and about and enjoying my last moments here. Last week I finally went to the Egyptian museum. It was okay but a suggestion to anyone who has yet to go – go there before you go to Luxor or any other museum or you might just be bored. But I have to say that I really enjoyed the mummified animals. There was a crocodile that was mummified and this huge fish from the Nile!

This past weekend I was almost on the brink of having insomnia. I was already tired going into it because last week Farzina, Kent and I hung out a lot plus a nice movie night on Wednesday – Night at the Muesum with Kait and her sister-in law; Pursuit of Happines w/ Farzina, Mustafa and Harrison. Thursday I got home from work only to turn around and start getting ready for yet another party at the Nay-Zine Penthouse (a new name coined by Mustafa). This time we celebrated Megan’s bday. It was really fun; much more chill than the last but just as unforgettable; esp. Kent dancing…classic!

Woke up the next morning and Farzina tried to convince me to go chill at a café near the pyramids, but I decided to go eat lunch with Megan, Kent and Dody – Nisrin was supposed to come but her deep sleep got in the way! After lunch, Megan Kent and I headed back to my place to veg for a few hours only to have a bunch of people randomly drop by. Some people in attendance included some fellow AIESECers from Madison coming to study at AUC, newly arrived IPM teamsters and about another 5 or so people. Oh yea, and May – you get your own shot out!!!

Later headed to a café for some sheesha with Megan Nisrin and the WI boys and decided to hit Alexandria the next day. Woke up early the next morning – had about 5 hours of sleep – and caught a train to the beautiful city. Tho’ it was only slightly beautiful that day; more like windy, cold and rainy. It was so windy, Luli’s car started shaking at one point.

It was a fun and much needed day away from Cairo. Hung out at a café for breakfast, walked around a bit, had lunch at the infamous Mohamed Ahmed headed to Roushdy’s Senter ElSalam (no this isn’t a typo) for bowling where Nisrin totally kicked everyone’s butt. It was a total off day for me; that and Megan kindly jinxing me every other second!

After bowling and some ice, we all headed to Carefour to see AAST Alex. It was good to see some of the LC – Alaa, Bahaa, Salma and Shazly. It had been a minute. I definitely have to head back there again and say a proper good-bye (I’ve been living with Farzina too long)

Anyways, later we got some seafood, a must when you visit Alex. Got to see Ahmed Badr which was kinda sad cause I had to say my first good-bye. I didn’t even realize it til Badr said something. It’s just gonna get worse.

Slept for about 5 or so hours and got up to catch a train back to Cairo. Got home took a much needed nap. Later meet up for Korean food with Kent, Tom, May, Farzina and one of her co-workers. It was really good and my first time eating the cuisine. And of course after we finish a meal decide to head for coffee and sheesha.

When I got home I truly tried to book my ticket home. I had the credit card in hand and everything. Only to read a line that says, this ticket is not available as an e-ticket and a few lines below that, sorry but we can’t ship tickets internationally. Thx expedia :-(

This week doesn’t seem to be getting any better. I got home from work today to be presented with this weeks plan by Farzina and it’s VERY full…

The Undiscovered Pearl of the Peninsula

Part of my new year’s resolution was to start researching a new country every month. This month I chose Yemen. And I was informed by the wonderful Kent that I have to share my knowledge on here. Tho’ I can’t possibly put everything on here – I have about 7 pages of notes right now – I’m gonna hook you up with some info. I’m also hoping to talk with some people from Yemen before the end of next month to gain some more insight into the culture. If I get that opportunity, look for some info on that.

“The reputed home of the Queen of Sheba, Yemen has been at the crossroads of Africa, the Middle East and Asia for thousands of years thanks to its position on the ancient spice routes.” – BBC News

The capital of Yemen is Sana’a. It borders Oman, Saudi Arabia, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. According to Wikipedia it’s somewhat larger than California and comparable in size to Thailand. It is the 49th largest country – after France. According to the CIA’s World Factbook, Yemen is slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming.

The population is around 21.5 million. The people are predominately Arab, but there are also Afro-Arabs, South Asians and Europeans. Muslim is the dominate religion with small numbers of people who are Jewish, Christian and Hindu. And the official language is Arabic.

Yemen has a lot of history that can be dated back to at least the 2nd century AD. So here’s some recent history: North Yemen was part of the Ottoman Empire beginning in the 16th century and again in the 19th century until 1918. The British occupied the port of Aden from 1839 – 1967. When they left, this area became known as South Yemen. Around 1970, a massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of people from the south to the north lead to two decades of hostility between the two. They basically split into two countries, North Yemen and South Yemen. In 1990, they came together to form the Republic of Yemen.

Encyclopedia Britannica states, “Yemen is a part of the Islamic world and as such reflects many of the contemporary trends in Islam. At the same time, the Yemenis are intensely proud of their pre-Islamic heritage. The national museum in Sana’a and the archaeological museum in Aden house important treasures from this period. In their extensive networks of overland and maritime trade, the ancient Yemenis encountered myriad cultures and civilizations. There is ample evidence of Greek, Roman, Indian, Indonesian, and Chinese influence on various aspects of both traditional and contemporary Yemeni culture. Similarities have been drawn, for example, between marriage institutions in India and Yemen and between religious music in Yemen and Byzantine masses.”

There are 46 airports in the country, 16 of which have paved runways. There’s approximately 71,300km of roadways but only 6,200km of it is paved.

There are 19 governorates; the capital is treated as an additional governorate for electoral & admin purposes. The legal system is based on Islamic law, Turkish Law, English Law and local tribal customary law. The president is elected by popular vote for a 7 year term. Everyone else is appointed by the president. The next election will be held in Sept. 2013.

The agriculture consists of grain, fruits, veggies, pulses, qat, coffee, cotton, dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry and fish.

The economy mostly depends on oil. Most of the people are employed in agriculture and herding. Construction, services, industry and commerce make up less than ¼ of the labor force. They partner with the following countries for importing & exporting: UAE, Saudi Arabia, China, Kuwait, India, Chile, Thailand, Japan, South Korea and the US.

The currency is Yemeni Riyal. 1 YER = $0.005083 and $1 = 196.75 Riyal (Yahoo! Finance, Jan. 6, 2007).

The life expectancy is 62.12 and the fertility rate is 6.58 children born/woman. Half of the population is literate with men dominating the skill.

There are 7 broadcast stations compared to Egypt’s 98 and the US’s 2,218. There are 220,000 internet users compared to Egypt’s 5 million and the US’s 205 million. According to BBC News, “the Ministry of Information administers all broadcasting through the Public Corporation for Radio and Television. It controls most printing presses and funds some newspapers. The press is strictly controlled and newspapers have often been prosecuted over political articles. TV and radio are vital sources of news in Yemen because of high levels of illiteracy.”

As of 2005, there were 63, 511 refugees from Somalia.

According to Lonely Planet, the places to see in Yemen are Sana’a, Shihara, Old Sana’a, Shaharah and Shibam. Sana’a is believed by many Yemenis to be the first sites of human settlement, founded by Noah’s son, Shem. Sana’a is now sprawled outside the walls and many homes in the Old City are over 400 years old. The area within the walls is the largest preserved medina in the Arab world. In Old Sana’a, the town is so perfectly preserved it is said that you can walk on a square km without coming across a single new building. The old city is famous for its 14,000 tower houses which reach up to six or eight stories high.

Anything that wasn’t specifically sited came from the CIA’s World Factbook. Hope you enjoyed learning about a new country ;-)

Animal Moments

ok so i have seriously taken for granted the wondeful animals that surround me everday here. as i walked home from work today i caught a glimpse of a sight that i rarely pay attention to anymore. a man sitting in a cart being pulled by two donkeys down my street - a very busy street in dokki. i have to say, anyone who's willing to be in that cart while being surrounded by the driving in cairo gets points in my book. and they guy made the donkeys u-turn along with the cars.

i see stuff like this all the time and i think i've gotten used to it. i'm starting to wonder if i'll be sad when i go home and look at my neighbors roof but am unable to find several chickens playing in the morning. or walk down the street with friends and be heart broken not to see lambs, camels, cows or goats....

now, don't think that there are animals just randomly roaming the streets of egypt - well besides cats. it's just that its a new experience (well not anymore) to be able to walk down a street and see some animal tied up and kickin it 5 feet from you. especially when it's near an Islamic holiday. boy, the animals you get to see then.

New Year update

So it’s been awhile since the last time I wrote…last year to be exact! Since Christmas I’ve gone on random excursions to ice cream shops in Nasr City, bought a new coat (I’m now a very warm person), partied in Alexandria and learned about a new culture.

Myself and 12 other trainees/aiesec people/friends spent new years eve in Alexandria. We bought tickets to this nice dinner held at a hall near the Hilton. There was a belly dance, tho’ not the nicest one I could’ve known and a DJ. Tho’ it wasn’t the music we were hoping for, we made the most of the night.

Part of my new year’s resolution is to learn about a new country each month. This month I started with Yemen. It’s pretty interesting stuff. Look for a blog later this month to learn some interesting facts on the country.

Another resolution – one Farzina and I both share – is to explore Cairo more. We’ve already started wandering around the city and created a game plan for the next few weeks. This will be great considering neither one of us has really gotten to know the city and we’re both leaving soon. Farzina in about three weeks and I’m leaving around Feb. 23. It’s actually crazy because a week ago today I was supposed to leave Egypt.

Anyways, tonight was our first real Cairo outing. We headed to the Museum of Egyptian Modern Art, which was supposed to be free, but found out that they wanted to charge us! First it was 10LE, then 5LE, then 50LE and finally 15LE :-o So we decided not to go and just walked around the grounds which also included the Cairo Opera House, a Museum Library and more. Afterwards we dined at Peking in Zamalek and then had desert a Joffery’s. If you haven’t gone to this place, you should try. They have amazing treats.

Tomorrow there’s a movie night and later this week the Egyptian Museum, two other museums and some exploring of Coptic Cairo and of course more great dining!