It’s now officially summer here and it’s surely heating up. The humidity and temperature are rising as are the foul body odors from the locals! I’ve been here for about 4 months and last week I finally experienced my first meltdown. All of the cultural changes that I experience, some good and some not so good, finally got the best of me. I had a good cry and venting session with Mom & Dad on the phone and then slept it off. Although my circumstances haven’t changed, I feel as though I’ve dealt with my frustrations and can now better cope. I’ve finally begun to get my patience back. While beautiful and rewarding in MANY ways, life in a third world country also comes with difficulties. The lack of proper governmental systems and corruption therein cause problems at many levels. For instance, there is not an efficient trash management system, so it piles up everywhere. Locals burn it on the sides of the street, and I unfortunately deal with the strong smell of burning plastic wafting into my house all too often. I’m also about 1 block from the water. Sounds nice, right? In theory it would be, but the location next to my house is the exact dumping area for all of the untreated sewage. So, this means that any time we get a nice breeze coming in from the ocean, the smell of crap makes its way into my house. I can feel the brain cells being burned off my plastic fume inhalation and can taste literally taste shit (excuse my French)---oh the joys! Another frustration is that in the last two weeks I’ve gotten stuck in the shower when the water has gone out six times! This is just the tip of the iceberg, but I cannot allow myself to sit here and tell you too much all at once for two reasons: 1) I’ll get all anxious about it once again and 2) I don’t want to paint too grizzly a picture or you won’t even consider coming to visit me!!
It took about 12 weeks, but now I feel as though I’m settled in to teaching and am finally starting to enjoy it! A few weeks ago the school celebrated International Day. This is a day where each student represents the country of his mother and/or father and the place that is considered ‘home’. The entire school, dressed up in their national attire, separated into groups based on the represented countries and did a parade around campus, ending in the gym. Here a couple groups did presentations for the assembly. India put on a fashion show; Japan did a martial arts routine, etc. We had a UN representative who works in Tanzania come and speak to the kids about the global community too. Throughout the rest of the day the parents grouped themselves by continent and then had tables within that continent to spotlight their individual countries. Each table had food, an activity, pictures, etc. Classes were given time to go around and visit each continent and learning about the countries. There was a Chinese calligrapher doing the kids’ names on rice paper. The Netherlands had wooden shoes to try on, South Africa had a sand pit set up to go digging for diamonds. India did henna on students’ hands, Mexico had chips, salsa, and maracas, and the list goes on and on. What a great day this was—definitely my favorite so far! These parents went above and beyond in creating wonderful food and activities to represent their countries. I was amazed at how much work they put into it! The kids and I all had a fantastic time learning about the places their peers are from. I’ve certainly got a lot more ideas about where I’d like to vacation next! Because I celebrated the U.S.A. I borrowed an Obama dress from another teacher who had it made during the election. I’ve never had so many comments on an outfit before either! In the first link at the bottom I’ve included a few pictures from International Day. On a side note, I’ve also added some pictures from Halloween. Since a few friends and I just came back from Egypt, we decided to be Egyptian queens. The costumes were bought while we were in Cairo.
I’m sorry for not posting this blog and my Egypt pictures sooner; I’ve been trying to catch up since my return. A few weeks ago I spent a week traveling along the Nile. I loved Egypt more than I had even anticipated! The above map shows you what parts of the country we visited. A lot of ground was covered in 7 short days, and I learned so much history! I knew that I would love Egypt the moment that the plane began its decent into Cairo. Staring out the airplane window as I always do, I became mesmerized the topography of the land. The formation of the Sahara Desert caused by the wind made for breathtaking views. As my vision was transfixed on the seemingly endless amount of sand, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to live my life as part of a nomadic tribe, many of whom still roam the desert today. Then I shifted my thought process to what it must have been like for the Israelites thousands of years ago, wandering around aimlessly and hopelessly lost in that same desert for 40 years. While fascinating from above, the thought of living in it terrified me! This moment of fearful imagination abruptly ended as I witness a complete and sudden change of terrain. There it was before me-the infamous River Nile. From its banks, stretching east and west about a mile in each direction was some of the most dense, lush vegetation that I have ever seen. Now I know what she meant when my middle school history teacher referred to this region as the ‘fertile Nile valley’ (Thanks Mrs. Norris; I know you’re reading this!). This green, flourishing land continued to amaze me during the entire week that we lived along its banks.
We commenced our first day of explorations by touring the Giza pyramids and Sphinx. It’s difficult to judge size in a photograph, but the pyramids were considerably larger than I had imagined! Our tour guide, a woman who possessed a four year degree in Egyptian history relating to tourism, was an abundant wealth of information, really making the past stories come alive. We also took a short 15-20 minute camel ride between the pyramids.
As you can see from my pictures, the air looks quite foggy. What you are seeing is actually pollution. Being known as one of the most polluted cities in the world, it was virtually impossible to get a good view of the cityscape from the pyramids, which are a bit higher than the rest of the metropolis. This even affected me physically; it burned my eyes and throat and clogged up my lungs! Otherwise though, I loved Cairo!
We spent the afternoon visiting the Egyptian Museum. A new museum, due to open in 2011, is currently under construction, and can’t be built soon enough, in my opinion! The existing museum houses over 150,000 artifacts but only has room for roughly half of that, so you can imagine how things are packed in! Hardly any of the relics were hidden behind plexiglass or another form of protection, let alone named or explained for the casual observer to understand there significance. We thankfully had the same guide we hired for the pyramids, because we wouldn’t have been able to survive without her. With her extensive expertise, I had one of the most enjoyable museums experiences of my life. It was incredible to be looking at pieces that are over 5,000 years old and understand the big picture rise and eventual fall of the Egyptian empire.
We spent the evening of this event-packed day at the Khan el Khalili, a lively and exotic souk that was established in the early 1300s in the heart of Islamic Cairo. This city-within-a-city has endless alleys to explore with an equally infinite array of products for sale: hookah, silver, jewels, spices, needlepoint, and pottery, fabrics, and most anything else under the sun. It is a place full of character, one where everyone wants your time, your attention, and your money. It’s a place where you can practice your haggling skills over a cup of the shopkeeper’s mint tea and leave with lifelong memories. The colorful artwork provides endless stimulation of sight, while your nose tingles with the scents of dozens of exotic spices, incense, and leather. The events of the day quickly caught up with me, however, and I was exhausted and trudged ‘home’ after just a few hours.
The next day we caught an early morning flight down to the city of Aswan. Here we visited the high dam, which, never being one to find water or hydroelectric power very fascinating, actually caught my interest. I won’t bore you with the details of it, but the huge benefits and drawbacks create quite an interesting story. The other piece of this dam’s historical significance is the part which the U.S. and Russia played in its coming to fruition. Again, I don’t want to loose half of my readers here, so I won’t go into the details, but if you’re interested I highly encourage you to Google the Aswan High Dam and read up on it!
In Aswan we took a boat to an island that is in the middle of the Nile to see the Temple of Philae. Constuction began in roughly 300 BC and additions were made to it for the next three centuries. For this reason, it’s quite an architectural wonder, with some aspects being of original Egyptian design as well as Greco-Roman influences, as seen through the columns. This temple was amazing, its hieroglyphics looking like they had been done a mere 100 years ago. Although it was made for Egyptian gods, the temple served as a safe haven and place of worship for Coptic Christians during the time of persecution and the Roman Empire. During their inhabitance, the Christians defaced a number of the characters in the hieroglyphics, drew crosses over some of it, and actually even created an alter for sacrifices. It intrigued me to experience such a culmination of cultures represented in one single temple.
The rest of the day was spent exploring Aswan’s other minor attractions. I escaped for some ‘me time’ in the evening and walked along the banks of the Nile at sunset, watching the feluccas (sailboats) drift lazily down the majestic river while the sun cast shimmering hues of gold and brown against the mountains of sand in the backdrop.
The next morning we rose with the sun and set out on a bus journey that would eventually deliver us to Luxor. On the way north, we stopped in the cities of Kom Ombo and Edfu to view the temples made for the Egyptian gods Sobek, Haroeris, and Horus. The astonishingly well-preserved hieroglyphics coupled with the symbolism and stories they told were enough to keep me as entranced as I am when in the middle of a suspense novel.
I enjoyed the journey from Aswan to Luxor as much, if not more, than I did the temples. Driving through all of the small towns along the way gave me a peek into daily like and culture that I would not have otherwise experienced. Many small villages were built into the sides of sandy hills. Donkeys replaced cars as a means of transporting both goods and people. While stopped at an intersection, I watched a father holding his young son on the back of a donkey, teaching him how to ride. I felt like an imposter, barging in on a sacred family memory in the making. The sandy backdrop made the doorways, painted vivid colors of blues and green, seem as if they were precious jewels. As we drove parallel to the river, I was rewarded with breathtaking views of the vegetation, thick and full of life. Crops of sugar cane and corn were in abundance as were palm trees and papyrus.
We stayed at a wonderful little hotel on Luxor’s West Bank. Its picturesque, Arabian architecture and décor soothed our weary traveling souls. They had a beautiful rooftop terrace restaurant which overlooked a garden in the foreground and, on the other side of the Nile, a sweeping view of Luxor Temple. Robin (a traveling companion) and I enjoyed a calm and relaxing Egyptian dinner as the sun set. Wow-what a life God has blessed me with that I can experience such things that many only dream of! I said a prayer of extra thanks that night. After dinner, Robin and I ventured to the East Bank and visited Luxor Temple after dark. The temple’s lighting against the starless night sky created a magical visit.
Early the next morning, a tour guide and driver picked Robin and I up from our hotel. Our first stop was the Valley of the Kings. Luxor, earlier as known Thebes, was the capital of ancient Egypt. The Valley of the Kings serves as the burial grounds for the kings and royal nobles during the Egyptian New Kingdom, including the recently discovered tomb of King Tutankhamun. This was an unbelievably wonderful ‘open air museum’ of sorts. There are 64 known tombs in the Valley of the Kings, each ranging from one – 120 room chambers! Only a select few of them are open at any one time though. Many are often closed for restoration or further excavation. While we were there I got to see archeologists at work, still uncovering artifacts! It was so interesting to see the tombs, each of them ornately decorated and painted with intricate detail and vibrant colors. The Valley of the Kings is in an ideal location, surrounded by mountains of sand on three sides, which helped to keep out many invaders. It is said that when discovered, many of the tombs were found nearly empty, already having been cleaned out by tomb raiders. Unfortunately, no cameras were aloud inside the area, so the only pictures I have were from the outside in the parking lot.
Our next stop was at the Temple of Hatchepsut. This place had a great history lesson attached to it, but I’ll spare those of you who aren’t really history buffs. Just check out the pictures. One interesting fact, however, is that a few hundred years ago the temple was nearly destroyed by an earthquake. The Polish have since come in and taken the rubble and what was left of the freestanding structure and rebuilt it. The old fragments of the temple have been pieced together with newer materials to give it a somewhat of a mosaic look to it up close. As you’ll see in the pictures, it does look relatively new.
The tour guide, Mohammad, suggested that we alter our plans slightly and stop at the Tombs of the Workers. At this place, he said, you can see the tombs of the artists and workers who made the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Trusting our tour guide more than our tour book, we decided to ditch our initial plan and go with his suggestion. WOW-I am SO glad that we did! The artistry, painted hieroglyphics, were more stunning than I saw even in the Valley of the Kings (maybe they did a better job because it was their own tomb?!). The colors were so brilliant and bright that I would have thought they had been painted a few years ago. The preservation of them was top notch. These tombs were built in the mountain right next to the structural ruins that were once their homes. Our guide did an exemplary job explaining the cultural history of the life of a laborer. Mohammad also talked to a guard who, in exchange for a couple of dollars, allowed us to climb to the top of the worker’s temple that was currently being restored. Here we saw a wonderful landscape of the Nile Valley.
Our day ended with a tour of the extensive Karnak Temple, the largest ancient religious sight in the world. I was a exhausted from the desert heat and my head was spinning with all of the history lessons from earlier in the day, so I would love to come back and visit Karnak again, this time with a bit more excitement. Nonetheless, it was an amazing, vast structure with enough beauty and wonder to excite even those who aren’t a lover of history.
After another wonderful dinner at the rooftop restaurant of our hotel, we packed our suitcases and headed to the train station, where we took a first class sleeper car the 12 hour overnight journey back up north to Cairo. I have always loved taking overnight trains. Little soothes me like the constant movement of a train along its tracks. Exhausted from a busy day, I quickly fell into a deep, comfortable sleep.
I spent the last two days exploring Cairo on foot. Half of the time was spent perusing the Khan el Khalili souk and the surrounding districts more, really getting to experience the life and culture of Egypt outside of the boundaries of tourist traps. The rest of the time was spent at the City Stars Mall, a seven-story shopper’s paradise. This was heaven on Earth for me. Bigger than the Mall of America, this was the largest mall in the world until recently when a larger one opened in Dubai. Having been in Africa for the last four months, it was wonderful to be a part of Western civilization again! Many of you will have a hard time believing this, but I really didn’t buy very much, just a few basic cotton shirts. I did, however, LOVE eating at chicken fajitas at Chilis and the salad bar at Ruby Tuesdays! Having filled my desire for modernism, I can now wait patiently another few months until I get to do it again in the states.
I know that this blog has been quite lengthy, and by now you’re probably wondering, “Is this trip ever going to end?”. Well, scroll down just a little more and you can see that I’m almost done-I promise! I wouldn’t, however, do a trip summary justice if I left out what I consider to be one of my most valuable learning experiences. The history was fascinating and the land was beautiful, but what arguably impacted me even more were the gender roles within an Islamic Middle Eastern country as viewed by me, a Western female traveler.
The separation of men and women is intensely obvious throughout the country, but it is more prominent outside of Cairo. In Aswan and Luxor the men and women were never seen together. They sat with their own gender at restaurants, rode with them in transport, and walked with them down the road. On one ferry ride a young man and woman sat very close to one another, and the woman affectionately had her hand on the mans shoulder. It was interesting to watch how many evil stares, whispers, head shaking, and finger pointing they received from the other Egyptians on the boat. The women seemed to vanish from view each night by the time the sun was setting. Tourists were left meandering down the roads while sheesha bars were full of men socializing and smoking hooka. Outside of Cairo it was predominantly men who were the shopkeepers, store clerks, and other jobs that interacted with people. In Cairo, however, we saw more interaction between men and women, especially at the mall where we even saw couples walking together.
I dressed conservatively by American standards, always wearing pants or long skirts, shirts with high neck lines and sleeves covering my shoulders, and often had a scarf around my neck. Still, my arms were bare and my head was not covered, causing me to feel more noticed than I do here in Dar. The Egyptian men could be annoyingly bothersome but gave no notion of harm. Like all children when seeing foreigners, it was cute to catch the kids’ stares, giggles, and whispers. Many women had a sense of curiosity that I had never before experienced. Through their stares, their eyes were filled with wonder and questions; I could see their thoughts going a thousand miles per hour-if only I could have known what those thoughts were! Women in Egypt seem to be more infatuated with the color of my hair than Tanzanians do. Quite a few times I had women come up to me and tell me how much they wish they had light colored hair. It’s always funny to me when this ‘grass is greener’ idea comes up with hair color because I am infatuated with their dark hair and eyes!
Ok, I think I need to just stop typing. I could keep going on about Egypt, but I don’t want to loose my audience! Thank you all for being so patient; I hope you enjoyed hearing about it. I HIGHLY encourage you to go to Egypt if you ever get the chance! Until next time…
HERE ARE PICTURES!
This first link is to see pictures from International Day and Halloween added to my Dar album.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2462010&id=5132789&l=529aedeff9
The next link features Egypt pictures.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2501069&id=5132789&l=c073aab1a1
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