On Zagazig

I finally have some time to talk a little bit about Zagazig and my time here thus far. The town itself is fairly small but certainly not a village. I've read that there are around 200,000 people in the city, but that statistic is nearly impossible to verify. And in Egypt, any area that isn't Cairo (bustling with 18 million+ people) seems rather small in comparison. Regardless of numbers, Carl and I are the only Americans teaching at the university and quite possibly the only foreigners living in the town. To put the lack of foreign contact here in perspective, when we say that we are teachers at the university, the first question that people ask is "Which university?" because we certainly cannot be teaching in Zagazig. While many are puzzled as to why we would teach here and not in Cairo or Alexandria, they are always pleased that we're in Zagazig.

While on the topic of Zagazigians (Zagazigites?), the people here have been more than welcoming. Everywhere we go, smiles and handshakes greet us. Several meals and taxi rides have been free of charge or paid for by others. Everyone wants to show us around (but not in that awkward Cairo sense whereby profit often motivates the gesture) and introduce us to all the important aspects of Zagazig. I feel like a local celebrity. Sometimes when I'm out walking, I imagine that there's at least a few people who are recording the "white people" sightings. Probably not, but maybe. . .

Also, and thankfully, the Cairo hustle is endemic to Cairo only. In fact, no one here says anything to Carl and me when we're out walking. The first night we were here, I was actually a little freaked out because no one was talking to us or trying to get us to buy anything. Refreshing, to say the least. I think only one person has stopped us to ask where we're from and if it was possible to migrate to the US. Carl had a short conversation with him in French (random) while I tried my best understand. It didn't last for very long, and both groups parted amiably. I guess only one stop after more than a week isn't too bad at all.

The English Center where we work is also quite nice. It's conveniently located near the main government building in town, so getting there is never an issue. There are about 20 teachers all told, but only about half of them seem to be in the center consistently. This may change, however, as classes haven't really begun. (Clarification: The semester started about two weeks ago, but that doesn't mean much. The first two or three weeks appear to be only nominally part of the term, as people don't actually go to class--professors included. So in theory more teachers could show up at the center in the next couple weeks). Everyone is always super excited when we walk in the door, offering handshakes and coffee/tea. Pretty laid-back atmosphere where everyone is excited to hear us speak English (because we speak like a dictionary) and we're equally excited to hear Arabic. We pretty much just chill everyday from 10am-2pm, either chatting with people or sitting in on other classes.

We haven't started teaching yet. The lists of the top students are still being compiled, and it could be another week (or two). Here's what we do know: I am teaching conversation, while Carl is teaching writing. There will be one class from each of the five schools of the university (so five classes per person). We are not sure whether there will be five classes of 3rd years and five classes of 4th years, so in theory it could be ten classes per person. But that number just sounds outrageous, so we're hoping it's combined 3rd and 4th years into only five classes. That in and of itself will be quite the teaching load. As someone without true teaching experience, I'm already nervous to do lesson plans and whatnot. But I'm teaching conversation, so I'm just gonna slang it up. My classes gon'be bangin' fo reelz. Kids won't know what hit 'em.

Finally, Carl and I moved into our apartment a couple days ago. We really got lucky because the place is really clean and really big. Apparently the owner likes to collect European furniture, so all the pieces are pretty fancy. There are three rooms, one and half baths, and a large living room/dining room combo. Of course there is a full kitchen and a washing machine. Two balconies and air conditioning complete the package. Plus there's a mini-super market (more like carry-out) and a couple restaurants near us. The landlords have been more than accommodating, making sure we have dishes/pots and have even given us the names of some local restaurants. Couldn't have asked for anything more. Here are pictures of the apartment. Hopefully soon I will remember to take my camera with me to get some pictures of the town and the center.

Well, that about wraps up my sermon for the day. Make checks payable to cash.