Hi friends and fam!
So this update will be short but hopefully sweet :) Things are going great here in Cairo. We have been in Zamalek the whole week taking class and getting used to the area. Being a tourist was incredible but it feels so nice to settle in to a routine and learn more about the life style here. Classes are fantastic! Our first class is at 10am and this is our Egyptian colloquial class (or amia) that we take at Kalimat Language Center. I have had two different teachers, they switch out, but both are great! This class is really teaching us the common language (so slang/dialect) of Egypt. I really love learning dialect because it helps in communicating with the people here SO much! I have been introduced to this before (in BYU) but it is still very helpful. A lot is thrown at us in two hours but I honestly love it! Then I have a short break and go to fusHa, or classical Arabic. We are looking a lot at the newspaper since this is a modern source of classical Arabic. In Arabic there is this strange divide between fusHa and a nations' dialect. The two forms of Arabic are very different to the point where many natives, unless they are very well educated, do not know fusHa and therefore can't read the newspaper and Arabic literature. The realm of free speech, creative writing, non-fiction, and so on are still a privilege of the better educated and often wealthier members of society. I find that pretty interesting and a current debate going on is actually about the possibility of some books emerging in a nations' dialect. Since dialects, like amia in Egypt, are not standardized this would be difficult.
Anywayyy...I love my classes and am learning so much already. The most effective of all my learning experiences, however, is just being in the city and interacting with the people. I love trying to speak Arabic and everyone around me expecting that. It is so wonderful to feel these years of learning it, actually being put to use. We visited a book store this past week for fusHa class and I bought the "mother of all dictionaries" as ustaaza (my female professor) says, which means I have officially committed to learning this language no matter how long it takes :) The dictionary is awesome!
So along with class, hanging out with group members, and getting lost in Cairo, we visited a few things this week. We went to see the Coptic part of Cairo where we visited a church, a synagogue, and The Coptic Museum. They were all beautiful. The church is actually said to be the one where the holy family (Jesus, Joseph, and Mary) stayed when they were hiding in Egypt. I don't know why it is said to be that exact church but the thought of that even being possible was pretty incredible. The synagogue is supposedly where Moses came and prayed that God would lead his people out of Egypt. It is incredible to imagine Biblical history unfolding on the ground I was walking on. It makes everything I have learned about for so long look so different. Suddenly I felt like I saw the story of Moses, Mary and Joseph, and Christ as real human stories. Strange yet awesome feeling. We also saw the hanging church that day. It is somewhat famous because it has no foundation and is built on the ruins of a Roman temple. Those Roman ruins are the only left in all of Egypt. Crazy stuff.
Other than those sights this week has been filled with just walking around, finding our favorite food joints, and seeing as much of Cairo as possible. One thing taking me a while is the absurd traffic here and crossing a street with cars coming at you. Yes, I know my Mom is freaking out as she reads this but you literally have to. It makes me nervous too but as crazy as taking taxi's and crossing the streets is, it seems like no one ever gets hurt! Oh, and I found a Dr.Pepper! Yea, that was pretty exciting. So most soda's are 2 egyptian lbs. but Dr.P was 7...they really don't love the DP here. That is a little upsetting. (But I have my DP lipsmackers :) ) My roomie and I are having an awesome time together and getting along really well. Honestly, the whole group is pretty tight and gets along great! Tonight we went out to dinner as almost a whole group to a restaurant called Felfela and it was delicious! Afterwards I had the amazing experience of walking around with a small group and finding a disco tech. Yes, a disco tech! This means dark, smoky, houka (shesha) and tea/juice bar with mirrors, cow print, ballons, and a d.j. Can you picture anything more fun!? Needless to say we had an awesome time dancing! That leads me to where I am now, sitting in my bed, roomie asleep, me exhausted, and needing to get up pretty early. So I will bid you all goodnight now from Cairo, only to update you again soon!
Maa Salaama,
Lauren
p.s. i put a lot more pictures on facebook so check there if you want!
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