So. Here we go. Lots of things about my life in Egypt.
A) Most Egyptian people (especially girls) are ridiculously nice. Now it's just a matter of finding places to meet them, cause although you can just say hi to people in the street, like in America, it's just a little bit weird. Hopefully church?
b) I hate hate hate hate hate men on the street. Not all of them, but a lot of them. They do stuff like whistle and hiss and say, "welcome to egypt" in english. Today a guy went by me driving a vegetable cart and said "I love you I love you" both in English and arabic. ick.
Ok, so I'm about to vent about my troubles a little bit now. The man thing is just one small part of something that has bothered me a lot since coming here. I like, really really, stick out. A lot. It's twofold, because I'm white and blue eyed, and because my hair is short, so some people here can't tell if I'm a man or a woman. And people turn and stare at me ALL THE TIME. in the tram, in the grocery, on the street, on campus. EVERYWHERE. I hate it. But I was wandering around the mall a couple days ago after getting money from the atm, and I realized that all the mannequins in the mall look more or less like me. slicked back short blond hair, blue eyes, white skin. obviously, i'm not as skinny. nor am i made of plastic. but you know. that was kind of a cool realization, but a little weird at the same time, since it means that the west is clearly glorified a lot here. america in particular. there's stores here with all sorts of weird names, like Demi Moore and Marilyn Monroe, and Mickey Mouse is everywhere. somehow i don't think that turns into like, a revulsion of their own culture, but I'm not sure how.
But, that aside, in general, I'm pretty happy here. I'm new, so I know my life is going to change a lot in the coming months, but I think it'll be ok. I'd like to make some more egyptian friends, and more friends in general, i guess, I've got a couple, not super tight, and I'm not like, desperate for friends or anything. Also, I've stopped pressuring myself to go out and be social since getting here. And I'm actually finding it easier to talk to people because of that. Maybe the limited vocabulary cuts down on the potential for awkwardness a lot. oh weird emma stuff.
Also, I miss America terribly, but I'm still happy here. It's just soooooooo unbelievably different, it's like Egypt and America occupy different parts of my brain. And there's things I really like, but at the same time, I feel in my heart America's my home. But I felt the same way about Barre when I went to Midd, so maybe that will change. It's so weird to try and find a balance between being happy here and being happy to go home too. I shouldn't worry.
Other things. Let's see. I went to the pyramids like, four days ago. Pictures above. It was amazingly cool, but very touristy. i don't think it will be my favorite thing to do here. but one life goal down.
um yeah. so in general, i'm happy. i just feel like i don't really know that much about living here yet. but i want to go out and explore this weekend. in sha' Allah. in sha' Allah.
alright alright. bye my loves. drop me a line if you have time.
e.
I'm not sure if you can do this as a woman (probably not), but I dealt with stares by staring right back at them. Maybe there's a better method for women...
ReplyDelete*hugs* i'm glad things are getting better. we'll skype soon enough :) miss you!
ReplyDeletenice photos :)
ReplyDeleteI know we never knew each other really well, but I hope you don't mind me reading your blog! (If so, tell me.) I'm curious as to your adventures and hope it gets better for you there! Those pictures are pretty cool, especially the light on the edge of the pyramid one.
ReplyDeleteAlthough not to that extreme, I've had a lot of that same problem from Italian men (although I guess it has been the worst with the Arab and North African immigrants, surprise surprise...) Looking someone in the eye who was already eyeing me made it a lot worse in that it increased their willingness to comment or follow me, so I don't know if Ali's method would actually be a good idea for you as a girl. Obviously, Italy is not Egypt, so the cultural norms are different and I can't give you really good advice.
The most effective thing to diminish unwanted attention was to have something covering my short blond hair, wear as un-stand-out-clothes as I could, and not look anyone in the eye and look down a lot of the time. Which is a terrible feeling, like you're just giving in to the social pressure and the male-dominated evironment, and is totally not like me in America. But it was the only sure way of really reducing the attention. The more I knew my way around the city and could look around and live life without looking like I was new and therefore a tourist or foreign, the less attention I got, too. Also, just looking focused and like I knew where I was going (even when I didn't) and belonged there, and avoiding all eye contact kept the attention down somewhat - or maybe it was just easier for me to not see or hear it when I was focusing on -not- like that.
So, hopefully you will either learn how to make yourself stand out less or will stop noticing it as much after a while, and that it stops being as much of a frustration. It's such a dirty feeling, being treated like that and stared at all the time, and I really hope it gets better for you! Good luck!