Blame the Jet Lag... or Florida

"Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot." Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Not that anyone should care, but I'm completely knackered, extremely slap-happy, and a bit consistently dizzy at the moment. I woke up at just before 5am this morning. Full-on woke up; just got up and went downstairs for coffee. And yet I still accomplished next to nothing today. My brain feels like it's been run through the blender like a piña colada...man, I loved those as a kid (sans rum!)...I digress. I blame jet lag and my own stupidity and lack of boundaries in taking on perhaps too much this semester. Oh, well. As my mother helpfully noted, "It's just another five weeks." At which point I dropped into full-on panic mode. Somehow my preferred use of the term "month and a week" had buffered the reality of my situation.

Anyway, I felt compelled to share this story I came across today from my home state, which only serves to highlight the truth in our unofficial state motto: "All the nuts roll down to Florida."
Not surprisingly, "The Impaler" is now running as a Republican. Should fit right in with the Grand Old Party.
Do yourself a favor and go read some of Hiaasen's books and then you'll understand where I'm coming from in more than the geographical sense.
At the moment I must present myself to the poor souls who are in a project group with me. Nothing like working with the living dead!
Peace/سلام

Gone to Texas

"You may all go to hell and I will go to Texas."
Davy Crockett

Back in Austin at the end of a long, wonderful, busy trip. Woke up this morning and it me a few minutes to register where I was, whether it was day or night and what I was supposed to be doing. My brain felt like one of those little comic strip flip books.
I dive right into the final five weeks of the semester and several tons of related assignments. I'll break down the trip and resulting summer plans at a later time. Right now I have a mountain of readings, research and project tasks to stare at and try to make sense of...and likely procrastinate about a bit more.
Peace/سلام

Istanbul'da...

Just a quick posting before I head off to another meeting. One week goes by much faster than I expected and I'm already feeling that heavy, creeping sadness as my departure date gets closer. It's been a very busy week, with at least one meeting every day with a different organization. One meeting may lead to my designing and implementing an outreach and evaluation project with refugees in late summer. Looks certain that I'll be dividing my summer between projects (and improving my language skills) in both Cairo and Istanbul, which thrills me.

I've managed to see squeeze in visits with just about all my friends here, too, which has been wonderful. Staying at a friend's pad overlooking the Bosphorus in Arnavutköy. A few people have commented that it's as though I never left or that it certainly didn't feel like a year and a half. It certainly felt a long time to me.

Off to listen to Selim Sesler with a friend tonight. Ricocheting between meetings on the European & Asian sides starting early tomorrow, but how I do love my ferry rides.
Peace/سلام

Shanghaied

I was kidnapped this evening, not by extremists but by a tiny old man. I'd waded back into Khan Khalili to try to find a few specific mosques and historic sites and ended up wandering the tight back streets south of al-Azhar, where I'd walked around a few days ago. Didn't have a destination in mind, but all of a sudden a wiry little man appeared at my side and sputtered quickly in broken in English that he would show me the way out, his name is Fatih, the fact that his photo was published in a guidebook, that he has friends all over the world, that I would come with him because he was going my way to mosque and would I like tea or coffee. That he managed to cram all this information into about five seconds time was impressive. He insisted, insisted, I let him show me the way "out". "I not guide," he said, "no money. No money!" I knew this meant a sales pitch for something was inevitable. We were nowhere near the souq and on a rather dirty little back alley, so I figured he couldn't be selling anything, or at least not much. I kept insisting that I knew where I was going and was just out for a walk, but he would have none of it, ever so sweetly insisting I have a rest and some tea with him. He walked at a rapid shuffle of a pace and quickly arrived at a worn wooden door, which he unlocked with great flourish to reveal a downmarket Ali Baba's cave the size of a bathroom stall stuffed with old brassware, old found items and some inlaid boxes. He insisted I sit and ran off to fetch tea for us. I figured I'd sit for a minute and move on. I was wrong. As soon as he returned with a glass of dark tea, he launched into a sales pitch for the inlay work he, his father and grandfather had all produced (the few remains of which he indicated were all he had left to sell). He also seemed to be recruiting me, asking me at various moments to bring him a new version of the guidebook to Egypt, a camera phone for his daughter and more customers when I return to Egypt. All of this was delivered in his breathless, rapid-fire manner of speech while I just sat and listened and tried to figure out how to leave. He pulled out a few of the tiny boxes and just as quickly explained their merits while I tried to explain I hadn't intended to shop and didn't bring much money, that I'm just a student and I really was not in the market for anything. Of course that was just another form of engagement and he somehow interpreted this to mean the duel was on. With every protest from me, he lowered his price until he was willing to give me the little box and "you pay next time you come back." No matter what I tried he just smiled and continued his one way haggling mixed with questions about my family, studies and work. He kept gesturing to the collection of photos of himself with foreigners over the decades and business cards from around the world to emphasize his claims of fairness. It made for an interesting conversation but for the fact he didn't listen to a thing I said. It was getting late and I realized I wasn't going to win this one. I even tried explaining in Arabic that taking something without paying or paying such a low price made me feel shameful. No dice. With great flourish he finally stated that he would only take what I felt fair. In the interest of ever leaving the place, I paid him about 1$, more for the tea and conversation then for the little box. I am no expert in inlay, so for I know it'll be like the tourist items I saw in Istanbul and the stickers will fall off in a week. With that he jumped up and grabbed an old copper bowl, green with age and full of junk - buttons, scrap bits of inlay work, beads, coins... He declared he must give me some gifts to go in the box and quickly picked out a few choice items, put them in the box and wrapped it tightly in newspaper. And just as quickly we were off down the alleys, which actually made for an interesting tour. He showed me a few graves of principal early figures in Islam along the way and introduced me to the butcher, backer and lattice work maker along the way, again all at lightening-shuffle speed. He left me with an energetic handshake and many thanks at the old gates and I was left to drift back towards downtown through the souq and ponder what had just happened. Sure, I felt taken advantage of, but somehow Fatih managed to do it so I didn't much mind.
Peace/سلام

Musings

Sitting in the lobby, having tea and eating the last of the little, round loaf of bread some Copts gave me today when I visited the Christian district. I've loved these little loaves and the tradition of giving them to the congregation since the Coptic fathers in Jerusalem gave me a stack at Gethsemane.

Tomorrow is my last day in Cairo before heading to Istanbul for a week. Then it's back to the U.S. and a very busy end of the semester. I'm more than a little worried about getting back on the wagon with my courses. The larger issue is just not wanting to go back to the U.S.

The visit to the village scheduled for tomorrow was pushed back, so I'll not be able to go this trip. The organization assured me they'll expect to see me when I return in May or June, insha'allah. A few meetings fell through, but overall I think it was a good way to start getting a feel for the place and the work being done here. Spent a productive hour with several staffers from an intergovernmental organization this morning. Decided to hit the library Thursday morning and instead walked along the Corniche to enjoy the cool weather, from my meeting in Maadi to the Coptic churches. Of course the enjoyment of the walk was somewhat tempered by the fact that I was walking beside a six-lane highway, but it was pleasant none the less. The Coptic quarter is a bit odd because it's essentially an enclosed area. Not that there are not churches elsewhere in the city, but this little cluster of historic churches unfortunately ends up feeling a bit Disney-ish with everyone herded together. Still there are some lovely details to be seen and as there are active congregations meeting in these churches, some while I was there, it provides a nice glimpse into a different and often overlooked element of Arab culture. By the way, for those who don't know, the service is (obviously) conducted in Arabic, which means reference is made to Allah. Yes, God is God, no matter how you say it. Visited Ben Ezra synagogue, but again, no photography is allowed.

So, tomorrow I'll hit the library for a bit when it opens and see if that bear fruit. I'll likely spend the rest of the day kicking around the old city. Somehow, calling it "Islamic Cairo" seems a bit silly and redundant. I may even brave the Khan again. There are a few sites I've missed, but mostly I just like kicking around that part of town. I'm certainly not as anonymous as I am downtown, but I get along just fine. Other than non-threatening stares and the random English word - usually "Welcome." and "Hello."- the only "harassment" I've received so far has been the throngs of school girls who have mobbed me at every site I've visited, wanting to talk and have me pose for photos with them. They've been surprised and amused that I speak Arabic, even if only Fusha, and it's never a chore to blow some stereotypes. They've also been quick to steer me away from school boys, who they typically describe as "stupid" and "dirty" though they seem fine to me, if a bit hyper. Always funny to see universality of "boys are gross". At the citadel, some of middle schoolers I'd talked to inside spotted me on my way out as they were getting ready to board their school bus and shouted me over to introduce me to even more of their friends. Their teachers were a but mystified, but gracious.

Also gracious was the older woman on the metro women's car who, after exchanging only a few words with me when we got on the train, ended up finding a seat and somehow making space for both of us and insisting that I sit with her. And then there was the woman who let me share a tiny both with her and her daughter at the koshary place I popped into this evening at rush hour. The little girl might be kindergarten age and spent the rest of our meal staring at me while her mom tried to get her to finish her meal. The girl and I finally gave up the fight to finish at the same time and my teasing agreement and gestures that there was simply no space left in us to stuff koshary met with a big smile and giggles.

When I moved to Syria in 2006, I'd actually considered going to Cairo instead. I'm glad I didn't. I feel like, for me, I made it here at the right time. I like it here, am getting my bearings, and will be glad to come back, though the summer heat will undoubtedly be a major challenge (to say the least). Yes, the place is mental, but it's somehow manageable. Yes, it's dirty and sometimes smelly, but it's somehow - even at it's worst - what I might call lush. It's a city of sensory overload. You smell dust, frying oil, bread in the oven, shit, exhaust, the damp of the river, the stink of the river, grilling meat, sweets, mint, incense, diesel, sweat...sometimes in sequence, sometimes all at once.

Unless it all collapses tomorrow and I have some horrid experience to radically alter my opinion, I've found people here to be generous, kind and helpful. They are also very blunt at times. Some may be rude, like the angry man in the ticket office at the pyramids who chewed me out about trying to use my school I.D. for a discount instead of an international student I.D. (though my card was accepted everywhere else), but those folks are not endemic to Egypt. Walking the Corniche today, I was rather sure I was close to the Coptic quarter and stopped to ask directions from an elderly man sitting in the gateway to one of the lovely gardens along the Nile. He said I was indeed close and gave me the brief directions I needed. As I stepped off the curb to run the gauntlet of traffic, he called me back and asked several times if I'd like him to walk me there and insisted he didn't mind. I declined with profuse thanks and he reiterated the directions before asking if I was certain I would be alright and waving me off.

The place is a good lesson in going with the flow, or as I've been joking to myself, going with the crazy.
So, one more day of floating in the current and sometimes swimming for an eddy.
Peace/سلام

Quick Cuts

Meetings going well. Invited by the director of a human rights organization to visit a village near Cairo they work with on Thursday. A good bit of prep work required on my part to pull my limited Ama together. Two women from one of the partner villages were at the office when I arrived and we cobbled together a very funny conversation between their dialect and my fusha. Meeting with an international migration organization and some academics tomorrow. Keep trying to make it to the AUC's social research library, but their hours are right when people want to meet. Definitely realizing the need for much more language study, at least more vocabulary in addition to the dialect. I can get by alright, but you certainly can't work with people that way, as patient as they may be.

Visited the synagogue across from my hotel today, a bold, neo-Pharonic structure subtly named The Gates of Heaven. The front is lined with these striking art deco palm trees in relief. Unfortunately, security is extremely tight after an incendiary device was thrown at it not long ago. Had to show my passport, register twice and answer several questions. Worse, no photography allowed, which is truly a shame because the interior features some lovely art nouveau touches since it was completed in 1905. Worth it, though, because it's a lovely building and an interesting bit of history. Supposedly the Jewish community here numbers about 100 and the synagogue is only used for high holy days. Trying to visit the Coptic quarter after morning meetings tomorrow and hope to weasel my way into the recently restored Maimonides synagogue. Due to the closures imposed on Palestinians by the Israelis this week, the Antiquities Department canceled a scheduled opening ceremony.

Had a very good talk with the staff at Fair Trade Egypt, the only such organization in the country. Might be working with them informally when I (hopefully) return this summer. They work with about 40 communities around the country and their small HQ in Zamalek features really a nice shop that's nowhere near as expensive as the rest of Zamalek. Be ware of any neighborhood where the restaurants charge a cover.

Most amazingly, I had my first cab driver have and offer to use a meter! The price ended up half the price I was told I should bargain for. I had to ask him about three times, much to his amusement. And he turned up the football match so I could listen in.

Sorry, Egypt, but I'm not digging your version of felafel. But though I never previously would have considered broad beans to be sandwich filling, I'm a bit besotted with ful & egg sandwiches. And aish merahrah is a close rival in my heart to the hearty bled(country) bread I loved in Morocco. Could have stayed and had mint tea after mint tea with the bookbinders all afternoon.

Just when I think I've got the city center figured out, I try to take an ever so slightly different way and end up all turned around, but not too far off the trail. I suppose everyplace is like this to an extent - Istanbul certainly is - but I feel you could live here all your life and still find something new, surprising, whatever, each day. I do feel a bit more a part of the flow, as much as one can in just two weeks.

Have to get some work time in for tomorrow's meetings and those in Istanbul. Looking forward to seeing friends. Can be a bit lonely at times on the road...Hard to think about going back the the U.S. again, though.
Peace/سلام

Now I feel like I'm in Egypt

Finally saw the pyramids today! Well, saw them from the back seat of a taxi, stuck in evening traffic on the Corniche along the Nile and they were way off in the distance, but I SAW them. And at sunset, so very cinematic.

Also rode with my first crazed Cairo cabby tonight. Went up to Nasser City to visit with a professor of social work who runs a family services center. The driver on the ride back was absolutely mental. The first time I actually had to force myself to look away from what lay ahead. I ended up slung around like a dog's chew toy. Add to that the fact that the taxi rattled so bad you would have thought we were pulling Gs and about to shatter. Prior to this guy, I didn't get what all the fuss was about.

Yes, the conference is over. My head's a bit sore from trying to translate things on my own. Did better than I'd hoped. Connected with a few professors with similar interests and we're trying to meet up next week. Sadly, had to say goodbye to my flock of students, but I'll write more about that later. It's 1am and I'm wide awake, which is completely off for me. Of course, the rest of town is up, too. Spending quality time at mathaf al-maSry - the Egyptian Museum - in the morning and supposed to attend a play tomorrow night. Have about three days to cram in some sightseeing before my meetings start next week.
Peace/سلام

Living Like a Rockstar

The conference has proved interesting already. First, I miraculously made it to Helwan, far on the south side of the city, after the driver had to change a tire and then stop repeatedly to reattach said tire before speeding off down the Nile road again. I was left wondering exactly what happens to a speeding car if a rear tire comes off while trying to enjoy the less warm morning air.

At the main gate I asked one of the security officers to point me towards the conference hall. Instead, he commandeered the vehicle of a lovely woman dropping her daughter off at school and demanded that they take me across campus. Mom was very sweet and insisted it was not a problem. Unfortunately, she didn't know where we were going either and finally asked if I wouldn't mind if we just dropped her daughter off first so she wouldn't be late for class. She then had the grace and class to smile, ask my name and welcome me to Egypt profusely when we finally found the place.

I can't say I've been to another conference where I had to walk a red carpet, flanked by young people with ceremonial sashes and swarmed by papparazzos of sorts. Once again, I find myself the sole ajnabia (foreigner). Actually, that's not totally true. Turns out there are a few professors from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia attending, but I'm the only non-Arab and thus the only one whose Arabic is limited. Translation has been provided in the past and it was assumed by others that it would be provided this year. Well, it's just not cost-effective for me and after asking about headphones I was passed person to person and sort of eventually ignored.
Being a big fan of self-advocacy, I just starting asking people with conference badges if they could help me out. Oh, and nobody had me on the list, I guess, because no badge for me. The ladies at the table smiled, handed me a vinyl laptop bag and ushered me on. Finally somebody grabbed a fourth year undergrad student who spoke English and, bless her, when she determined there would be no translation, simply drafted herself into my service as an assistant and translator. Luckily, she also has a very good sense of humor and provided good color commentary during the speechifying by the VIPs at the opening ceremonies.

In fact, the day was more or less salvaged by students who seemed to sense what I needed before I did. And these were mostly undergrads. They would alternately swarm and subside, asking me questions about me, the U.S., social work. One girl grabbed my cup to force her way to the hot water for tea during the break, another guy wrestled a snack plate from other attendees for me, and a few kept trying to figure out how to get me a badge even after I'd given up. A few students and faculty asked for my help in studying in the U.S.

I must add here that somehow, simply by arriving in Egypt, I have acquired an honorary PhD because a fair number of people introduce me as doctora. Yes, I do try to correct them, but the title seems to have stuck.

In the end, a crowd of students sort of adopted me and treated me like a cross between a professor-pet-big sister-rock star. These guys were lining up to have their picture taken with me. Trust me, this has never happened in my nearly 36 years on this planet. We ended up sharing lunch in the school cafeteria, always an interesting perspective on a school. Two of the women live near where I'm staying and brought me home via the Metro, which is not so bad above ground but an endurance test at rush hour on the subterranean leg for even the heartiest soul.

So, did I learn much? Sure, just not what I expected. Tomorrow, the last day, will feature panels on the papers and there are several I am very interested in. I just hope I can follow along. I plan to hunt down the paper authors, if need be.

Next week I have a few meetings with Egyptian and international NGOs about their development work here. And somewhere in the next week I am squeezing in some sites. I really need a map. I just cannot put the parts of this place together yet.
Peace/سلام

A View From the Bridge

Looking south, up the Nile, in downtown Cairo today.
I know of none (so correct me if I'm wrong), but this place should be a hotbed of great sci-fi writing for it's physical setting alone. The city sits under feet of dust like a lost city too quickly reclaimed. Very surreal in places. A dry, dystopian vision of the hot, dry, crowded future facing much of the world.
Peace/سلام

Initial observations on the journey

Bit of an ad-hoc post, but I've been in Cairo for about 24 hours and have learned a few things along the way:

I love Turkey more than maybe I thought. I literally got giddy on our descent over the Marmara, even though I had I was only stopping for a brief layover on this leg of the trip. A professor from one of the Istanbul universities I made friends with on the flight said perhaps I'll get to "come home for good" someday. My Turkish came back faster than I thought. And, as usual, everybody thinks I'm Turkish, even the Egyptians.

As for Cairo...
Egyptians may be to Arabic as Cubans are to Spanish.
If you had to describe the city in a single word: brown.
I am beginning to think Egyptians invented the energy drink because they never seem to quit. Even on our little back alley, the action kept going until 2am. And I know this because that's when I was having "dinner".
Cairo has the best pedestrian crossing signs ever - a little green LED man running for his life.
Attending an all-day workshop in a language other than your own is not a great choice when jet lagged, but being the only ajnabia at the table is always fun.
Spending half a day with a local patient trying to navigate services in a public hospital in the developing world is fascinating (as long as the patient is not you). Excellent lesson in the need for self-advocacy.
Walk with purpose when crossing the street and do not flinch. Drivers can smell fear. Make eye contact and they almost always let you pass.
I cannot tell you where I am staying in Cairo other than that it's in or near Mohandessine. Maybe. We rode long enough in the taxi from the airport that I was beginning to think she lived in Alex. I know I'm west of the Nile because I remember crossing that...
Anyway, if I don't sleep I may drop.
More when I have it. Conference starts day after tomorrow.
Peace/سلام

Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go!

I'm wheels up for Cairo, and subsequently Istanbul, in 24 hours. I'm hoping my welcome in Cairo will rival ElBaradei's. O.k., I jest. It's been a bit of an arduous week with exams, presentations and meetings galore, helped little by the fact that I have hit some sort of personal line in the sand energy-wise by cramming over two-thirds of the work for this semester into the previous weeks. Luckily, a friend in my Development Policy course offered to roll me into the corner should I fell out of my chair. Joey Ramone is bouncing around my brain, though sedatives would be highly counterproductive at this point:
"Put me in a wheelchair, get me on the plane! Hurry, hurry, hurry, before I go insane. I can't control my fingers, I can't control my brain. Oh, no, no, no oh-oh."

I've set up several meetings with development-related organizations and professionals in both cities. In addition to the Helwan Social Work conference, I've been invited to some meaty-sounding workshops on human rights, women's empowerment and policy development. If anybody has anything else for me, please leave a comment.

Add to all that, I'm lucky enough to get to revisit dearly missed friends.
For now though, I just have to get through today...Hit it, Joey.
Peace/سلام

Stand up and fight for your education!

From student organizers:
Rally at UTAustin, Thursday, March 4, 11:30 AM
Gather at UT West Mall steps (west side of Tower)

"In response to a massive budget shortfall, slashing of funding for public education at all levels, and skyrocketing college tuition costs, students and educators up and down the state of California have been mobilizing, culminating in a call for a day of action on March 4. At the University of Texas at Austin, various colleges and departments have been laying off staff and instructors, throwing UT employees to the wolves and reducing the quality of education despite a relatively shallow budget deficit. Next came news of a 8% tuition increase over the next two years — after tuition at UT has doubled over the last decade — and the closing of the beloved Cactus Café. Now Gov. Perry is demanding another $29 million cut from UT’s budget. Enough is enough. Students and educators shouldn’t have to pay for the crisis others created.

On March 4, join a demonstration at UT to defend public education. Come out and demand: Stop the cuts and layoffs! Protect our education! Stop raising tuition! Save the Cactus! Equal benefits for all UT employees!

Endorse the March 4 Day of Action at UT to Defend Public Education. Email your name and title, or that of your organization, to enmarterre@gmail.com"

You can RSVP via Facebook here.

Peace/سلام

Vote Corporate Interests!

This post is brought to you by the letter P for Procrastination.

Seems as though the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision unfettering corporate influence on government escaped some people's attention. Here's the inevitable result...


Oh, and, my sincerest apologies to the good people in Blighty regarding the latest U.S. export.

This time next week I'll be in Egypt. Wallah!
(cue ululating)
Peace/سلام

Geeking out

Sort of an embarrassment of riches this week at UT Austin:
Tonight, I'm off to hear Mary Robinson speak at the LBJ School. [Free passes still avail. @ Union]
Actually headed for a brown bag session with her this afternoon. Not that I don't have a heap of work to do on deadline...
And, I just found out that MIT Econ Prof. Esther Duflo is lecturing on poverty and microfinance tomorrow on campus. [3:30-5 p.m. ACES Bldg., Rm 2.302, FREE]

O.k., well, it's exciting to a poverty and human rights geek like me...
Peace/سلام

Completely irrelevant to most of you, but...

It's snowing. In Austin.
It was 23C on Sunday.
And now it's snowing as I try to listening to a former U.S. ambassador talk about democracy and development in Africa.
I would rather be outside making snow angels.
Peace/سلام