Fayoum and the Valley of the Whales

Pictures from my trip to Fayoum can be found here. And here's some info about the Valley of the Whales. Highlights include whale skeletons in the middle of the desert, great landscapes, and the largest waterfall in Egypt (complete with kids jumping off it).

To get ya'll started, here's a picture of ship passing through the Suez Canal. Looks like it's floating on desert. While this ship was large, it was one of the smaller vessels I saw on the Canal.

Spain Pictures Part Dos

Here's a link to the rest of the pictures. Highlights include the Royal Palace and its neighboring cathedral, an Egyptian temple in the heart of Madrid, and Plaza Mayor. Plus some generally great views of the city and its architecture.

Spain Pictures Part 1

First set of pictures are of El Real Monasterio de El Escorio. It's a former palace/monastery about 30 minutes outside of Madrid.

Here's a link to the pictures and to the Wiki page for more info. I wasn't able to take pictures inside, except for a couple of spy shots in the basilica, so see Wiki for some insider shots.

More to come tomorrow.  

On Arab Models

I just got back from a week in Madrid, Spain. Needless to say, it was a refreshing experience. But before I launch into my exploits there, I think the public should know about my encounter with two Arab models in Zagazig. Let's begin.

Sunday: Halfway through a pretty lazy day, Carl and I decided to take a test drive in our co-worker's new car. We end up at Zagazig University in the Faculty of Arts for a round of tea and coffee with maybe every teacher in the building. We finally make it to the dean's office. While trying not to throw up from yet another drink, I notice two large posters in the corner. I discovered that the signs were advertisements for two models that would be coming to the university on Tuesday: one Egyptian-American and one Moroccan. Thinking that two models heading to Zagazig is pretty big news, I ask if I can go.

"No problem."

I feel relieved knowing the sixteen pounds of tea I just drank might have paid off.

Tuesday: After teaching a couple classes, it's now 11:00, the start-time of the lecture by the models. I find another teacher to see if he wants to go with me, and by 11:30 we head out. (Normally, I would be annoyed at having left so late, but I've clearly adjusted to Egyptian time because I wasn't concerned. And what is Egyptian time? It's looking at your watch and realizing that you've just wasted five seconds by actually looking at your watch).

So we stroll into the dean's office 30 minutes late. I'm a little worried because I didn't want to interrupt the presentation. Then I'm immediately confused why the models would be presenting in the dean's office. Answer: things are running "a little behind." The models are just chilling on a couch eating lunch.  They notice that my accent is a little off for the area, find out I'm American, and ask me to eat lunch with them. Right on time. Turns out that the Moroccan is from the town where I studied in Morocco. Small world. And the Egyptian-American lived in New Jersey for 10 years. Naturally. We chatted for a little while. They told me how they go around to different schools giving talks about how girls should act (like what to wear for a job interview) and how they can be both beautiful and conservative at the same time. Positive message, and both models seemed to be on point. A guy with a camera records some of our conversation. I apparently joined their campaign.

12:15 rolls around. Go time. We walk down a hallway, and the guy with the camera opens up a set of doors. They want me to walk in first. I step into the room, and in an instant 400 girls stop their conversations and turn their attention to me. Hilarious. I am given the middle seat in the first row. Unnecessary, but I didn't complain.

But wait! There's more!

What followed was a series of introductions. Of the dean. Of the dean's friend. Of the dean's assistant. Of the models. Everyone. Including me--but with a twist. The dean, bless his heart, began to announce me in this manner (in Arabic): "And we also have an American here today. He teaches English at the Center for English for Specific Purposes..."

And then, he couldn't remember my name. The teacher next to me shouted it out. The models each told him. Still nothing. The teacher shouted it again. And then he said it into the microphone. Now up to this point, each name was greeted with a large round of applause. But when my name was said, approximately three people from the back of the room began to clap. And not well. It was clapping of the lethargic, possibly sarcastic, variety. This was then followed by a round of laughter from the entire room. I couldn't help but crack up myself.

I listened to one of the models give her lecture, but because things got started to so late, I had to get back to the Center to teach another class. I waited for the first model to finish up, then told the other teacher that we had to go. Instead of just quietly walking out, he walked up to the panel of speakers. He then proceeded to tell the dean that I had to leave because I had to teach. The dean and his assistant got up and said some words and we all shook hands. But there were microphones in front of each of them, so this entire conversation was broadcast to the entire audience. AND while the other model was also beginning her speech. So awkward. Fortunately I looked at the Egyptian-American model and she gracefully shot me a look of "Don't worry about it. I understand, and it's not your fault."

So much for a quiet exit.

Upon leaving, the cameraman came back and asked me several questions about the talk and the models. And his camera was definitely on and recording the whole time. I'm sure the video will surface somewhere in their future presentations.  

So to conclude, there is no conclusion. Only going with the flow. Egyptian style.

The Friday Brief

It's been a while since I've posted anything new, mostly because life has normalized to the point where there simply isn't much to report. A couple small items:

One week ago I was supposed to travel to the Western Desert and visit the Siwa Oasis. The trip was sponsored by Fulbright and fully paid for, but unfortunately I didn't go. I believe a bad ful sandwich is to blame. About an hour after I arrived in Cairo the night before the trip, my stomach decided that it didn't like anything I had consumed in the last 24 hours. Fortunately, the fiancee of my former Arabic prof at AUC is a doctor. He checked me out and gave me a prescription that kicked in fairly quickly. Needless to say, I didn't go on the trip but instead returned to my apartment in Zagazig. Apparently Cairo hates me. Bad news: missed the trip. Good news: I made a full recovery. I think I won't eat anything for 72 hours before the next trip just to be safe. . .

And, thankfully, I now have a full and final teaching schedule. I have a whopping nine class and will be teaching Sunday through Thursday. Fortunately, I won't have to lesson plan for all nine classes because it's basically nine sections of the same class. I will probably have to make minor adjustments for some, but it shouldn't be too bad. And as it turns out, I will indeed have each section for a full hour of conversation. Yesterday was the first day putting the schedule to the test, and both classes showed up on time. I guess next week will be the true stress test to see if all will go according to plan, but for now, things are definitely rolling along here in Zagazig.

On the First Day

Yesterday marked the first day of teaching for me. It went just about as I expected e.g. it didn't go as expected. But it wasn't bad either. Allow me to explain.

7:25am: My alarm goes off. It's game time. I go over lesson plans in the shower (and that's not a double entendre). I was told there will be two classes today: one of third years and one of fourth years, both from the School of Specific Education. I ponder what exactly students in this school study.

8:50am: Carl and I arrive at the Center, prepped and ready for our first class (set to begin at 9). Too bad the center wasn't even open. Great start.

9:05am: There are about 10 students who have shown up. Carl and I remain downstairs, not sure what room the classes will be in or what exactly we should be doing. We decide to go upstairs to the room where the students are.

9:10am: We learn that the fourth year students have not arrived yet. (The original plan was for all the students to arrive at one time. I would take the 3rd years for a one-hour conversation class, while Carl would take the 4th years for a one-hour writing class. We would then switch). Considering this, we decide the best option is to co-teach the class. Of course, we have not reviewed each other's lesson plans, so we laugh, shrug, and begin class.

9:15am: Class begins (right on Arab time, I might add). Carl and I introduce ourselves, talking about where we live, where we went to school, what we studied, etc. The 9 students in the class (8 girls, 1 guy) seem to be understanding fairly well.

9:20am: We then ask the students to go around and say their names. I immediately only remember a couple of them, compounded by the fact that I'm still unfamiliar with non-Western names. Names are followed by a writing exercise in which the students write a paragraph about themselves and then read it to the class. At this point, two other professors have joined the class to watch/learn for themselves.

9:35am: Continuing with the introduction theme, we then ask the students to work with a partner to find out certain information (where they are from, family, hobbies, etc.). They are instructed that they will then introduce their partner to the class. As it turns out, the students had no idea what they were supposed to be doing (not their fault--I probably wasn't speaking slowly enough). After I went from group to group, though, they picked up on the message. Carl worked with the lone guy in the class. Hopefully another bro will join so he can practice with another student.

9:45am: Quick review session of common mistakes. Everyone sort of let out that "Oh duh!" noise when I brought up some of the errors. This was encouraging, as they immediately recognized their mistakes.

9:55am: Carl assigns homework since we won't see the class again for two weeks (thanks, Fulbright trip to Siwa Oasis). We did the whole, "Now what is the homework?" question to see if they really understood. They did. Check and mate.

10:05am: Class dismissed. Maybe a little early, but it's only the first day (technically it's the last day of the third week of the semester, but who's counting?).

10:10am: We learn that the fourth years will not be coming today but on Tuesday, insha'allah (God willing). Naturally.

10:15am: Carl and I figure out that we might be co-teachers instead of each taking a class. We sit down at the desks confused, as there was previously this overarching question of who would teach conversation and who would teach writing. Regardless, I'm glad I made it through the first day.

10:15-12:00pm: Chillin' like villains at the Center until we decide we can go.

So, the first day was fairly uneventful with only a couple small bumps in the road. We learned more students would likely be joining the classes (pushing numbers to around the 20-25 range). And maybe we might co-teach. Or maybe not.

We'll find out soon enough. Insha'allah.  

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.