Hosting a Jordanian Administrator October 1, 2009
Posted by bookncurls in Middle East.Tags: American Councils, Egypt, high school, Jordan, Middle East, NMELRC
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Abeer Harazneh, an administrator from Jordan, is staying with me tonight beginning her 10 day visit to Provo High School and Brigham Young University. She will later be staying with administrators from the high school shadowing them during the day. I’m to facilitate the cultural adjustments between Jordan and the US. I’m brushing up on my Jordanian dialect which is pretty weak after being submersed in Egypt for so many months.
Tomorrow she has an all-star cast to instruct her and take her around BYU, which houses a world-renowned Arabic program and the National Middle East Language Resource Center (NMELRC).
This is now the third program I’ve participated in with American Councils for International Education. This summer I participated in ISLI which took me 6 weeks to Egypt for intensive Arabic emersion. We are now involved with TCLP (Teachers of Critical Languages Program) by hosting an Egyptian teacher for a year, Mohamed El Naggar. This is the Host a Jordanian Administrator program. Our school and much of the valley has caught the spirit of the Middle East. Many are excited to have these visitors come into their classrooms and community meetings. Dr. Kirk Belnap and Dr. Maggie Nassif of the NMELRC have been very supportive and willing to help facilitate these experiences.
Airport Pickup and Name Plates at Dinner August 16, 2009
Posted by bookncurls in A Comment, Middle East.Tags: Arabic, Egypt, Exchange Teacher
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It’s been a while since I’ve had my name printed on a card locating my dinner plate. I was to sit next to our new faculty member on an exchange from Egypt. We, Provo High’s assistant principal and I, picked him up from the airport in Salt Lake, took a few pictures, and headed down south to Provo.
As we passed the Point of the Mountain separating Salt Lake County from Utah County, the whole experience became a little more real and honestly, my mind began churning the enormity of the year with some trepidation. I’m excited because I have a few ideas up my sleave about things we could do in the community with our exchange teacher. I shared a couple in the car. But as always, you’ll have to wait to find out what those things are until they take off. I’ve always got a few ideas, some of them work, some of them don’t. I’ve learned not to say what they are because there is a tendency for people to focus on what doesn’t work instead of what does.
We arrived at the home of the family our exchange teacher will stay with for the next couple of weeks or so. Their dining room windows overlook the valley and the sun setting. China dressed the table and name plates located their guests. Goblets for water. The father at one head of the table, our distinguished guest at the other. Dessert, some Middle Eastern food. It looks like we’re starting off well.
But we begin. Tomorrow, actually. Maybe not the students but their teachers will be there. This our chance to set the tone with my co-teacher for the year. The goal in my mind? We both need space and a chance to exert some creativity while working together. I have some fears, he probably has some. We gotta make tomorrow work so that the whole year can work. Deep breath. Let’s go.
Stories in Cairo August 12, 2009
Posted by bookncurls in A Comment, Middle East.Tags: Cairo, Egypt, Islam, Mosques, Naguib Mahfouz
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Naguib Mahfouz wrote stories about Cairo which won him in 1988 the Nobel Prize in Literature. I was in a bus driving through the streets of Cairo late the other night thinking about him. What makes the chaos and the dirt beautiful or nostalgic? It makes me want to investigate the not so obvious reasons people love the city.
I find the mosques of Cairo inspiring. They reflect a time when Islam was in its grandeur. Islamic codes were strict although bureaucratic. Cleanliness and order once elevated a society which its European neighbors lacked. These mosques have written their own stories in the walls and alcoves of a time past of power and sophistication.
In Sha Allah August 4, 2009
Posted by bookncurls in A Comment, Middle East.Tags: Arabic, Egypt, In Sha Allah, Luxor
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Knowing Arabic in Egypt makes the whole experience completely different. When the salesmen pester you about coming for a horse back ride, etc, you just say “In Sha Allah” which throws their whole culture back in their lap. They say to me, “No. Not ‘In Sha Allah’….’Akiid’.” (meaning Not ‘If God Wills’….’Be Sure.”)
Or, we just got back from Luxor. I remember going to Luxor and the men there keeping watch over the sites and listening to their broken English descriptions of Pharoanic times. This time we speak Arabic and they begin into a well informed, nuanced description of the relics they watch over revealing to me that they actually know more than I originally thought.
Speaking Arabic brings out the sophistication and the kindness in the culture I had not noticed as much before.
Crossing the Street August 2, 2009
Posted by bookncurls in A Comment, Middle East.Tags: Alexandria, Egypt
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Someone died the other day crossing the street. This is the second person I have heard about who died crossing the street in Egypt.
Every time I cross the street in Alexandria I imagine crossing in front of a herd of charging camels running through the desert. People cross the street with cars headed straight for them. One time I was with some girls who grabbed my hand to walk into the street saying they were afraid of crossing. I thought, yeah. If you cross when a bunch of cars are headed straight for you, you should be a little scared.
But there seem to be few rules and cars rarely drive within any lines. I am happy to be alive.
Fish in Paradice July 26, 2009
Posted by bookncurls in A Comment, Middle East.Tags: Bedouins, Egypt, Mount Sinai, Ras Mohammed, Sinai
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I felt like a minnow in a great aquarium trailing the reefs of Ras Mohammed on the Sinai peninsula yesterday. And drinking in the salt that will inevitably penetrate your snorkeling gear.
You know, though. Since it is almost impossible to describe an experience that takes your breath away, I thought I would comment on another thought I had driving through the Sinai. I wonder how the Bedouins live from day to day. I’m sure there’s a book about this or a study. As we drove past their camps I was struck that there is absolutely nothing around. Sometimes even if you read about them, it still wouldn’t make sense until you are face to face with it.
Also
We hiked Gebel Musa or Mount Sinai. It brought back a lot of memories of past climbs. People from all over the world were speaking languages. I spoke some Chinese to a group up there and Arabic to their tour guide. Really trippy trying to switch between the two languages that fast.
Funny English July 20, 2009
Posted by bookncurls in A Comment, Middle East.Tags: Alexandria, Egypt, Funny English, Siwa
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There is funny English all over the world so I thought I would steal a few of my favorites here. Hopefully I’ll add some pictures later.
“Ditck her. Take me.” Probably supposed to be ‘ditch’
“We buy everythings.” I think they want to make sure you know that everything doesn’t mean they buy just one thing-hence the ’s’ at the end.
“Life is too short for bad coffee.” I wouldn’t know, don’t drink it.
Take a read at this sign posted on a pole in the remote town of Siwa. The list has arrows pointing to the direction of where you can find these places: -New Star Cafeteria and Restaurant -Handicraft -Garden -Sitting beside the fire -Arab sitting (Do we need directions to find an Arab sitting??)
“With us alwas the Best” …except for your spelling.
“Wellcome to Alexandria” Is it really well to come to Alexandria? I still have a couple weeks. We’ll see. 
“To Swim Here you have to be a Good Swimmer” Tell me about it. It’s like a 10 foot deep spring in the middle of the desert with bubbles floating up and green stuff everywhere. You might even die of fear from what is beneath you. (Not really. I loved swimming in it.)
“Boombeen” This was on a pair of pajamas for little kids. Apparently a new term of endearment.
“Hannah Montana” Ok. Maybe not terribly interesting except it was written in the dust of a car in the middle of no where. What’s the world coming to?
“Believe in Love the Very Opposite of Truth.” This is so deep I don’t get it but it’s on someone’s shirt right now.
Other funnies:
It’s so humid here in Alexandria. I left a box of crackers open and I came back a few hours later to mush.
It’s so humid here in Alexandria. I have ringlets sticking out of my head all the time in odd places. Probably not the hottest look in the world but luckily I’m in Egypt and every guy here thinks I’m gorgeous. I just think it’s funny.
It’s so humid here in Alexandria. Clothes wilt.
It’s been fun. We go to Sinai and Dhahab/Sharm El Sheik in a couple days.
Near the Lybian border July 11, 2009
Posted by bookncurls in A Comment, Middle East.Tags: Desert, Egypt, Har Moot, Libyan border, Safari, Siwa
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This morning I woke up to the sun rising over the desert. We finished our desert safari last night sleeping under the stars on the sand.
They took us in 4 wheel drive vehicles on a desert excursion, climbing peaks and sliding down. It looked like one of my brothers’ video games only if we flipped, we probably wouldn’t get a couple more lives to live. We stopped a few times and I tumbled down one particularly steep mountain of sand and we watched the desert change colors as the sun set.
We were in an Oasis near the Libyan border called Siwa. We’ve been wearing swim suits all day the last few days because before we took our desert excursion we dipped into fresh water springs hot and cold all over the oasis. The idea of mirage seems so much more real now.
The Egyptians have a phrase they use, “Har Moot”. Har means Heat/Hot. Moot means Death. In other words, Death by Heat. But we didn’t die because I’m writing this and back in Alexandria and civilization again…not that I wouldn’t mind staying there for a while.
looking better July 5, 2009
Posted by bookncurls in A Comment, Middle East.Tags: Arabic, Egypt
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I didn’t want to leave my last post a downer so…good news: I’m feeling better. One of the expat families here suggested I take some medicine to get rid of bugs. So far it has worked and I’ve been feeling well for over 24 hours.
Funny:
When I get really tired at night, I start conjugating verbs 3 or 4 times before I figure out which one is right. Then I look at the Egyptian I’m talking to and they have this face like, “Are you done yet???” It’s really hillarious. I told this girl that the telephone died ‘mat, ymoot, matit, tmoot’ 4-5 times before she said, “ya Audrey. Ma famhimtish.” In other words, “Audrey, I’m not getting you, speaking English.” …but I won’t so it drives people crazy.
Becoming eGyptian September 29, 2009
Posted by bookncurls in A Comment, Middle East.Tags: Egypt
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When you’re in Provo but you’re speaking eGyptian half your day, signing up for a year-lon
g seminar on Egypt, co-teaching with an Egyptian, hanging out with Egyptians once in a while on your free time, and promoting Egypt in the community, you start to wonder if you’re not becoming eGyptian.
Don’t know how it happened but when I left on the plane for Egypt this summer, I knew this year would be eGyptian but I had no idea what that would really mean.
Incidentally, eGyptians don’t say “j” hence the capital “G” as in great.