A couple of people left questions on FaceBook so here are some thoughts:
Does everyone walk around with mobile phones? oh, my yes. Bling-ed up, too. Even my uncle's phone has gold on it. And they are on them constantly. What I notice is that there is none of the manners and etiquette that we attempt in the states. People take calls in the middle of conversations during visits to other people's houses, and that is considered completely acceptable. They play on them all the time. Phones are interesting here. All of them are "unlocked" which means that the system they use here is very different from the US. You don't have a contract with a carrier, you purchase SIM cards. You can install any carrier's SIM card into the phone (this is what is meant by unlocked) and prepay. No one has voicemail here--they just return missed calls. However, switching SIM cards does have a downside--you can't take the number with you. My uncle's driver has one phone that takes 3 SIM cards, so it has three lines (and about 8 rings--the most interesting array of American music ever) that ring on it. This means also that it is very cheap to have a phone--for LE30, or under $5, my uncle set me up with an old phone of his and LE20 in calling time. So far I've used about LE3. It is mostly so family can call me.
Are people happy? Not so much as they used to be, I think. The economy is bad; politics are hard and unfamiliar and for those interested in change, not changing enough. The streets are not as safe as they used to be. People are having a harder time making ends meet as the government loosens controls or stops subsidizing basic items. For decades the government has controlled the prices of bread, rice, sugar, tea, cigarettes and probably some other things. Now it no longer has the money to do that, and prices are high for people who are poor.
One thing to know about Egyptians is that they love to laugh and joke and have a good time. It's one of their best qualities, I think, and something that sets them completely apart from other Arab peoples. The other night there was a gentleman on TV who spent 1.5 hours mocking the president and other people in power....well, they are doing things like our last president Bush (contradicting themselves, using words oddly, being inarticulate). They have a long tradition of mocking people in power which, I am sad to say, received a blow the other day. A group of conservatives attacked some of the TV studios and did a lot of damage.
Do they grow their own vegetables? Maybe in the villages, but I have seen no gardens or any attempts on balconies here in Cairo. Honestly it's hard. Everything is so dusty. There is nearly no open land for gardening or even just park space. It is dry dry dry--more so than Wyo or CO. And vegetables grown outside of Cairo are readily available and very very good. I love Egyptian cucumbers...and tomatoes...even my uncle and father always comment on how much better these are than US grown counterparts (they don't eat organic). They grow enormous cauliflowers and cabbages--they look like they are on steroids. My family just does not seem to eat much in vegetables and I really miss them.
Could you describe and/or photograph the street you are staying on? It's a small street, only about 1 block long, and about 2 car widths wide. There's a cul de sac off the middle of it. On one end is the kornishe el Nil (the Nile street which is 4 lanes of madness) and on the other is a street that is indeterminate. (By that I mean it is also two lanes wide, one of which is taken up by parked cars. It is unclear which direction it is supposed to be, but people go both ways on it, which provokes traffic issues regularly. It comes out onto another major street.) The street I am staying on is also interesting. Parking takes up at least one width. The cul de sac is full of parked cars--to the point where it can be a challenge to go inside the apartment buildings, as they park them about 1" apart. However, the street also serves as a pass-through for cars wanting to go between the kornishe and the other major street. People mostly drive on this street, although other streets have a lot of people walking on them.
But this brings up something else of interest. I never really noticed parking before this time, but parking is a little industry. On my uncle's street, there are a group of men, maybe 6, who manage parking. You pay something each month for this, and they also wash your car regularly (like every day or two). When you drive up, you leave the car somewhere with the keys in it and they park it. If you want to leave, you retrieve the keys from whichever guy is around. This way, they can move cars around as they are often parked 2 deep in the cul de sac. My cousin's building has the same system.
Does everyone walk around with mobile phones? oh, my yes. Bling-ed up, too. Even my uncle's phone has gold on it. And they are on them constantly. What I notice is that there is none of the manners and etiquette that we attempt in the states. People take calls in the middle of conversations during visits to other people's houses, and that is considered completely acceptable. They play on them all the time. Phones are interesting here. All of them are "unlocked" which means that the system they use here is very different from the US. You don't have a contract with a carrier, you purchase SIM cards. You can install any carrier's SIM card into the phone (this is what is meant by unlocked) and prepay. No one has voicemail here--they just return missed calls. However, switching SIM cards does have a downside--you can't take the number with you. My uncle's driver has one phone that takes 3 SIM cards, so it has three lines (and about 8 rings--the most interesting array of American music ever) that ring on it. This means also that it is very cheap to have a phone--for LE30, or under $5, my uncle set me up with an old phone of his and LE20 in calling time. So far I've used about LE3. It is mostly so family can call me.
Are people happy? Not so much as they used to be, I think. The economy is bad; politics are hard and unfamiliar and for those interested in change, not changing enough. The streets are not as safe as they used to be. People are having a harder time making ends meet as the government loosens controls or stops subsidizing basic items. For decades the government has controlled the prices of bread, rice, sugar, tea, cigarettes and probably some other things. Now it no longer has the money to do that, and prices are high for people who are poor.
One thing to know about Egyptians is that they love to laugh and joke and have a good time. It's one of their best qualities, I think, and something that sets them completely apart from other Arab peoples. The other night there was a gentleman on TV who spent 1.5 hours mocking the president and other people in power....well, they are doing things like our last president Bush (contradicting themselves, using words oddly, being inarticulate). They have a long tradition of mocking people in power which, I am sad to say, received a blow the other day. A group of conservatives attacked some of the TV studios and did a lot of damage.
Do they grow their own vegetables? Maybe in the villages, but I have seen no gardens or any attempts on balconies here in Cairo. Honestly it's hard. Everything is so dusty. There is nearly no open land for gardening or even just park space. It is dry dry dry--more so than Wyo or CO. And vegetables grown outside of Cairo are readily available and very very good. I love Egyptian cucumbers...and tomatoes...even my uncle and father always comment on how much better these are than US grown counterparts (they don't eat organic). They grow enormous cauliflowers and cabbages--they look like they are on steroids. My family just does not seem to eat much in vegetables and I really miss them.
Could you describe and/or photograph the street you are staying on? It's a small street, only about 1 block long, and about 2 car widths wide. There's a cul de sac off the middle of it. On one end is the kornishe el Nil (the Nile street which is 4 lanes of madness) and on the other is a street that is indeterminate. (By that I mean it is also two lanes wide, one of which is taken up by parked cars. It is unclear which direction it is supposed to be, but people go both ways on it, which provokes traffic issues regularly. It comes out onto another major street.) The street I am staying on is also interesting. Parking takes up at least one width. The cul de sac is full of parked cars--to the point where it can be a challenge to go inside the apartment buildings, as they park them about 1" apart. However, the street also serves as a pass-through for cars wanting to go between the kornishe and the other major street. People mostly drive on this street, although other streets have a lot of people walking on them.
But this brings up something else of interest. I never really noticed parking before this time, but parking is a little industry. On my uncle's street, there are a group of men, maybe 6, who manage parking. You pay something each month for this, and they also wash your car regularly (like every day or two). When you drive up, you leave the car somewhere with the keys in it and they park it. If you want to leave, you retrieve the keys from whichever guy is around. This way, they can move cars around as they are often parked 2 deep in the cul de sac. My cousin's building has the same system.
1 comment:
Cameilla, Thank you so much for taking the time to write so generously. It is a joy to be able to read your visions! So glad that you are having a good time. But do look forward to your return!
j
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