Pyramids

So I finally visited the pyramids. They were big. It was cool. I liked how the entrance to go into the Pyramids is a hole carved straight into the rock. When you get inside, it’s clear that people were not meant to be down there because you can hardly breathe, and I don’t know why, but it’s incredibly humble. Everyone comes out sweating. There is not much set up to explain what is going on. I was kind of expecting some sort of sign to tell me how many bricks there are and how old people think it is, but there is nothing except the waves of salesman trying to force you to take a camel ride so you can pay them those sweet tourist prices. It’s worth seeing, the site itself is good, but there should be more presentation. I think the Egyptians are probably worried about other things than the preservation of the pyramids, like their own rough economic situation.

Classes are going, Ramadan is going, the monuments are going. I don’t have much time to explore. I think I may be studying a little too much. Next semester, I definitely need to take more of a break.

Classes have begun

Well, it’s been a while since I posted. Not that I posted much before, but still, I’m trying to be consistent. The main thing that has happened is classes have started, and boy do they keep me busy! I’m here in Cairo, and most people are doing the AUC regular, but I opted for the Intensive Arabic section, which means I will be doing all Arabic, all the time! I think it’s a good deal, there is no better place to learn Arabic than in Egypt.

I took the placement test to find out what level I should be in. Unfortunately, it was ridiculously difficult, not just for me, but for everybody. I’m pretty sure that most people just guessed, but somehow, the ALI used their placement magic to determine everyone’s level. There was a lot of switching the first week of class, which is all we get to try to move. I wound up in intermediate, which was good, but a little too easy. I came here to really learn to speak Arabic and I want to get the most out of my year here. I went into the director’s office, intent on switching my level to high intermediate. When I got in there, it turned out that there were no spaces left. “But,” she said, “We have a space open in advanced.” Oh really? The highest level you offer in the entire Arabic Language Institute, why not? So, here I am in the advanced class, alongside the people who I think of as Arabic speaking gods. I feel like I snuck into their class when noone was looking, and I’m just waiting for someone to realize I’m a fraud and kick me out. But, the week of shifting is up and, for better or worse, I’m in this class for the whole semester. Remember that comic strip “For better of Worse” That thing was terrible, never once made me laugh. Anyway, I’m getting sidetracked. So the real concern now is how will I do? I’ve been doing well in school over all, but this could kill my academic standings. I looked into it, and study abroad students can take no more than 1/3 of the classes as pass/no pass, which equals one out of the four classes I’m taking. The good news is the classes do exactly what I’ve always wanted to do with Arabic. They just turn on the news and listen or they open the newspaper and read. That is the level I want to be at. The only bad news is that I’m not at that level yet, but I’m in the class where that’s what we do. Thus, I am spending all my time playing catch-up, madly trying to become fluent in the accursed language before I fail out of college. But the good news is if I actually pull this off, I know that I have really done something with my year here.

And in other news, Ramadan is starting tomorrow, so hopefully I will have much to report, except I'll probably be studying.

The Wedding

I was a little disappointed because all the other American students here went on a trip to the Red Sea. I hear the ocean is gorgeous and it's only an hour away. I was only officially enrolled at the school here the day before everyone else left on the two-day excursion, so sadly my name didn't get on the list. They took off on busses that morning, and I had a fairly decent day on my own, until something made it extraordinary. I was invited to a Bedouin wedding celebration.

Now before I continue, I have to warn everyone that if some kid on the street in Cairo tells you he wants to take you to a wedding celebration in his village, you probably shouldn't go with him. They tell me it's dangerous. Anyway, so there I was hopping in the car of some strange kid, as we drove off to some unknown destination, with no idea how or when I would be back. But hey, I was told to "go outside my comfort zone" while I am here. It was a decent size village called Abu Sir and it was only about half an hour away. We pulled up to this outdoor arena at about eleven at night (not too late here for people who stay up late to avoid the heat). There was an awning set up covered in gaudy blinking lights like a flattened Christmas tree and the music was playing so loud it seemed like the speakers would burst at any moment.

The next point about a Bedouin wedding celebration, they are expensive to attend. The way it works is there is a live band playing on the stage. There are mostly percussion instruments with some accompaniment. The main attraction is the lead singer who is free styling it up on stage on behalf of the groom. He is singing in Arabic with no lines or set lyrics, but with sort of a repetitive, upbeat, sequence. The reason it is expensive is because people from the whole village keep going up to the stage and showering the singer with money. The money is for the soon to be husband and his bride, but the upside of this present is that the singer will sing your name repeatedly in front of everyone else. It's kind of a way to be a big man in the village, everyone sees your generosity, and the more you give the more he praises you. So a good singer is not just a party necessity, he is an investment. I was amazed to see these people with hardly anything giving what is considered huge amounts of money in Egypt, hundreds of Egyptian pounds as presents. Of course the way it works was explained to me later. They give the money now, and someday when they have a wedding they get it all back, and they can think of it more like a loan than anything else. Of course, if you are a tourist, and you will never be expected to collect anything back, they love you.

I went up an gave my ten pounds, and the singer praised me as "hello America" since Kevin actually has sounds not found in Arabic (I always thought my name was rather normal, but now it is mysterious and hard to pronounce). Unfortunately, ten was not enough and with others giving much more and me being what everyone else though of as a "Rich American" I wound up shelling out around 200 Egyptian pounds or the equivalent of $40 dollars. All in all, even at the wedding party the Americans get ripped off, but it was definitely worth the unique experience.

And as for getting back, I didn't and I starved to death in the desert (Or not, but it could have happened).