Monday, August 28, 2006
Before I started formal Arabic and before I even had a language helper, I began my language-learning process in the streets. We lived in a wonderful neighborhood between Maadi and Dar il Salaam and I learned to really enjoy Egyptian culture. The souk (market) was very balady (authentic) and shaaby (very high population density). (Speaking of this, I just noticed in the latest Lonely Planet that Egypt has the highest population density in the world- as determined by dividing the amount of habitable land by inhabitants per square kilometer). To be honest though, at first I thought we had made a mistake in coming here. In fact, many Egyptians would come up to me and ask me, "What are you thinking? You’re from America. All of us want to come to your country- what are you doing here? Go back home!" But I explained that most Americans have an image of the Middle East largely gleaned from the media- and largely inaccurate. I mean, even my parents and many of my friends were really afraid for our lives when we first moved here, and perceived us as moving into a terrorist hotbed!
Anyway, I learned a lot from that first phase of language learning. I sat in a lot of ahwas, smoking sheesha and drinking tea, sahlab, hommous, etc. My two-year-old son loved life in that neighborhood. He is a very active boy, and he would often go out with me. We enrolled him in a hadonna and he loved that as well... That’s another thing I love about Egypt. People here love children. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been in a restaurant and our son has been going wild, but just before I could get too stressed out about it, a waiter would pick him up or start playing with him. In fact, there have been times when I myself was so annoyed with him, I simply couldn’t believe it when I looked around and saw all the other customers in the restaurant smiling at him and actually encouraging him to play and make noise! This just wouldn’t fly in America! As an example, when we were in America last year this became quite a problem, and I began to dread going out to eat at a restaurant. We got so many cold looks from other people in any restaurant- it got pretty stressful. We soon contented ourselves to McDonalds and Taco Bell.
(Side Note: I can’t resist adding in a little side note here on McDonalds. All of the McDonalds restaurants here in Egypt are very clean and comfortable. In general, they are even cleaner and more comfortable than most McDonalds in the states. I often take my laptop to one that is nearby- they have a free wireless service! Over time, I have come to realize that only higher class people go to McDonalds here. In fact, having the money to go to McDonalds can be quite a status symbol. When I compare this to the low-class stigma often attached to the word "McDonalds" in the states, it strikes me as pretty funny...!)
Anyway, I learned a lot from that first phase of language learning. I sat in a lot of ahwas, smoking sheesha and drinking tea, sahlab, hommous, etc. My two-year-old son loved life in that neighborhood. He is a very active boy, and he would often go out with me. We enrolled him in a hadonna and he loved that as well... That’s another thing I love about Egypt. People here love children. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been in a restaurant and our son has been going wild, but just before I could get too stressed out about it, a waiter would pick him up or start playing with him. In fact, there have been times when I myself was so annoyed with him, I simply couldn’t believe it when I looked around and saw all the other customers in the restaurant smiling at him and actually encouraging him to play and make noise! This just wouldn’t fly in America! As an example, when we were in America last year this became quite a problem, and I began to dread going out to eat at a restaurant. We got so many cold looks from other people in any restaurant- it got pretty stressful. We soon contented ourselves to McDonalds and Taco Bell.
(Side Note: I can’t resist adding in a little side note here on McDonalds. All of the McDonalds restaurants here in Egypt are very clean and comfortable. In general, they are even cleaner and more comfortable than most McDonalds in the states. I often take my laptop to one that is nearby- they have a free wireless service! Over time, I have come to realize that only higher class people go to McDonalds here. In fact, having the money to go to McDonalds can be quite a status symbol. When I compare this to the low-class stigma often attached to the word "McDonalds" in the states, it strikes me as pretty funny...!)
