perfect moment number 359

Walking back from Nathaniel's house boat, while I walked the bridge over the Nile that was reflecting all the lights of the Corniche and the green glow of the mosques, I looked up and saw fireworks exploding between the buildings. The explosions were muffled, I think through all the layers of smog and remnants of the sandstorm, so it was just explosions of light.

And that is what Cairo is. Little reminders of beauty and love, especially when you are least expecting it.

hamthrax.

Fact: There have been no confirmed cases of H1N1 in Egypt.
Fun Fact: That doesn't stop the government making poor decisions and adding to the international crisis of crazy.

The mandatory slaughter of Egypt's around 300,000 pigs was more than a step against the infection of the Egyptian community by this (common, highly treatable, blown out of proportion, other suitable adjectives inserted here) virus, and is a political move to reinforce the social, economic, and political marginalization of already poor communities within Egyptian society.

Egypt is a mostly Muslim nation, about 90% of the population, the remaining 10% are members of either Eastern Orthodox Christian Churches, Catholic, or Coptic. Now while the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Egyptians are, on the whole, fairly wealthy, Coptic Christians are split between the upper-echelons of Egyptian society and the absolute lowest, one of which is the zabaleen, the Garbage-Collectors of Cairo who live in a small section of the city called Menshiyat Nasr, or Garbage City. This community is by far the poorest and most disenfranchised in the entire capital, and it is often cited as a result of the members of the community being Coptic and raising and eating pigs, an act prohibited by Islam. The pigs serve as both assistants in the disposal of the organic waste that they collect, and a food source, and by killing the pigs they are only furthering the divide between Muslim and non-Muslim society, keeping the poor poor, and adding to the panic that people are facing on an international level. This targeting of this community creates a further mistrust in the State, which after all these years of being confined to a smaller and smaller physical space while participating in demeaning physical labor, is both expected and counter-productive. This community needs schools and opportunities to participate in the direction of their own development, not pig slaughters and police violence.

On another note, the Association for the Protection of the Environment, an NGO that I have briefly worked with during my time here, works within Menshiyat Nasr, providing a health center, a daycare, a primary school, and a craft center that uses recycled cloth and paper to make everything from embroidered tapestries to wedding invitations and handbags. And, randomly, these handbags are now selling at Marc Jacobs' flagship store in New York City. Though, in my opinion, they picked the ugliest ones possible.

The Island of Egypt.

I have to apologize for my lack of posting, communication, or understanding of global events for the past two days. The internet has not been working. And by not working, I mean nowhere. In the entire country. I'm not exaggerating for comic benefit - there was literally no internets in the whole of the country.

Imagine. A whole country. Removed from contact with the rest of the world. For two whole days.

Mabrouk, Masr. You are some kind of genius.

Prophetic Grounds

"Who broke your heart? Tell me this - I have to know."

He was spinning my cold coffee cup between his hands staring intently - alternating between me and my empty cup. He told me that he could see my heart - and it wasn't dirty but it was dark. Dark with burning secrets that I have carried for so long - on my winding path. One of the many paths that I had - some were short and easy and some were long and dıffıcult but all were true and clear. And there was a rabbit following a lıght. And two strong fıgures - a flame breathıng dragon and a horse - were facıng each other. It wasn't bad - but just two opposıng forces. Or people.
And on my saucer - after lettıng ıt drıp ınto the empty cup and whısperıng Turkısh over ıt - there was a crescent moon. He saıd that ıt was only for the Turkısh - but there ıt was. Sayıng that my wısh wıll come true - though ıt wıll be long and dıffıcult. Be patıent he saıd. But ıt wıll come.

"Tell me. Who ıs ıt that broke your heart?"

the Dream Invaders.

I have been having odd people pop up in my dreams of late, and in various situations. I don't know why, or how even.
It's an odd feeling that people are flying halfway around the world into my subconscious, although because of who they are, I guess I shouldn't be that surprised.

Now if I could just get them to visit in real life.

oh MohMoh...

Advice from dear Mohammed Saeed, who treated me to dinner the other night, on why I should not get an Egyptian beau, "It will just be bad sex and ugly babies, Maddie dear. Thelma and Louise deserve better."

That kid never fails to make me smile.

updates from Ma-Crazy.

there is a Drama-Llama invading the apartment.

Air-Conditioning

I think AUC has devised an air-conditioning system that will, if continued at its current frigidity, will not only cause a shift in weather patterns, but will eventually make my fingertips and toes fall off. It has already given me a severe cold. Imagine, walking in 100 degree desert heat into a building that might be at 55 degrees, in and out all day long. YEEEEEESH.

Another problem that is plaguing my morning - I can't tell if I am nauseous or starving. I guess it doesn't really matter - only 13 days until Eid!

the cardancers.

I feel a certain solidarity when I see the same strange behaviors I have in others. That, perhaps, I am not as strange and unusual as I think I am. That others enjoy the same oddities in their lives. Oddities like cardancing.

And it always pops up when I least expect it. Like in a pickup truck driving down GA400 with a large man rockin' out behind the wheel. I just wonder what he was listening to.

dirty Ginger.

Someone called me a dirty ginger when I was walking across campus this morning (though I think it may be an accident of mistaking me for someone else). As if that were not absurd enough, when I told my friend, he sent me this.

Redheads are said to be children of the moon, thwarted by the sun and addicted to sex and sugar. Redheads with green eyes are said to be favorite cohorts of the devil, and were often targets of witch hunts. Redheaded women are associated with seduction and the temptation of pure men, and evils such as Jezebel, the women of the island Lesbos, and Elizabeth Bathory are depicted as women with uncontrollable tempers and red hair.


No wonder that kid yelled at me.