2012:10 - Doing Business

Daily business is always an adventure in Ma’adi. In all but a few shops that I frequent, bargaining is par for the course. Prices are often posted but even those are subject to change from day to day depending on the mood of the person behind a counter and their judgment of how friendly I am to them on any given day. I’ve learned that a smile and “good day” in Arabic goes a LONG way!

I’ve come to realize that when I’m bargaining, the difference is usually less than 50 cents and so while I want to honor the proprietor by caring enough to want to bargain for his goods, I try to keep in mind what the stakes are in real terms for me. I know that 9 times out of 10 I will pay more than an Egyptian for whatever I’m buying and I’m okay with that. I just don’t want to pay more than another foreigner would pay. I know I’ve not done well when a proprieter throws in something extra for “free!”

That said, I am still occasionally surprised! Badran Bookstore is my stationary store of choice. The postcards I send usually come from Badran and when I need pens, paper, folders or other teaching supplies it’s the first place I go. The other day I bought 4 postcards that should have cost me 6 pounds but the kind owner would only take five. Today I went in to by an envelope, an admittedly small purchase that probably wasn’t even worth 25 piasters. As I went to the counter to pay the owner saw my purchase and said, “nothing today.”

There’s a reason I keep going back!

2012:9 - Reactions

Just like many elections in America, people in Egypt are divided in response to the news that Mohamed Morsy will take the oath of office on June 30. After I wrote A President for Egypt in which I described a rather quiet response in Ma’adi, celebratory horns and drums increased for a few hours but all-in-all it was a quiet Sunday evening in our corner of Cairo. The scene in Ma’adi was relatively quiet and subdued compared to the one that played out in Tahrir. When I shared my observation with someone their comment was, "Of course. Ma'adi is not Egypt."

Last night at dinner I was greeted by one student who declared “the revolution is dead” and another who said, “I’m not worried. Maybe I should be but how I can worry? Egypt elected a president. I’m happy.”

A new day brings the same divided response. In the Coptic Catholic Mass that we pray each morning one prayer of intercession says: “Remember, Lord, those responsible for the affairs of our nation: leaders of government, soldiers and all who are entrusted with civil responsibility. Raise them up in every good work.” In the middle of the prayer a student added the words, “and for our president.” This is a first in my six years of worshiping with the seminary community. After the Mass was completed, the presiding priest told us we must pray for Egypt’s new president. “We must pray that he brings justice to Egypt, even if we are unhappy.”

In breakfast this morning one student told me that America (by which he means the US government) was happy that Morsy is the new president. When I asked him why, he offered words he had heard from others on television. I suggested that the US government was happy that the person who received more votes would be the president of Egypt and had that person been Shafiq, the US government would have been equally happy. My student did not agree with me.

Through bits and pieces that I’ve heard over the last few days I sense that some think that the US government was somehow involved in Morsy’s rise to prominence and ultimately in his election to the presidency. When I suggest that the US no longer wields that kind of power in the world the students look at me in disbelief. What I’d like to say is that if the US was really interested in choosing Egypt’s president they would have intervened in the first round of voting to ensure that two moderate candidates had prevailed. I’ll have to wait for the right opportunity to offer that possibility.

In the end I suspect that it may be easier to believe that a foreign power like America orchestrated Egypt’s election results than it is to believe that 13 million of your neighbors disagree with your choice for president.

There is no question that Egypt is divided. I hear it among my students and I saw it today as I walked to Road 9 for a morning at Greco. A man walking toward me looked across the street and saw a friend walking in the same direction as me. The man’s face beamed with a smile and he gave a thumbs up to his friend as he said, “Morsy!”

In this midst of this division my prayer for justice, peace and security for ALL Egyptians remains unchanged.

A Request for Readers of Amy-in-Egypt

I hope you're enjoying reading my Amy-in-Egypt posts this summer. I always appreciate the chance to reflect on what I'm seeing, hearing and experiencing around me. Sometimes writing a blog feels a little like preaching - you offer words and then wonder how they connect with people. I write for myself but I also write in hopes of engaging others in conversation. I'd love to know how you're receiving my offerings. Do you have questions about what you read from me compared to what you hear from other sources? Do you have questions about other aspects of what I do when I'm in Cairo that you'd like to hear more about?

I'd love to hear your questions, your comments, your reactions and responses to Amy-in-Egypt. Comment below, email me directly if you prefer, or send a message through Facebook.

I'm hoping to post another blog later today about some reactions to the announcement of Morsy's election. But first things first ...

Thanks for following along. I'm grateful for your time and attention.

Amy-in-Egypt

2012:8 - A President for Egypt

Around 4:30 p.m. local time today, a presidential election commission announced that Mohamed Morsy has been elected President of Egypt. Reporters talked about the thousands of people streaming into Tahrir Square to join those already gathered. I have no doubt that’s true. But in Ma’adi where I live, about 30 minutes south of Tahrir by Metro, there has been some celebratory honking of horns, but other than that the immediate response has been quiet. Perhaps when people arrive home from work tonight and the sun goes down (and hopefully the temperature too) the celebration will begin for at least some.

Many of my students were certain that Shafiq would be named president. Of those who voted, I think most voted for Shafiq as well. Their responses will be interesting in the coming days.

What was most striking to me, as I watched bits and pieces of the press conference on live feed through Al Jazeera English, was the methodical way in which the election commission painstakingly went through many of the vote challenges that each side had made against the other. In every instance that I heard, the commission representative identified the challenge that was raised, then highlighted the action that was taken and finally announced how the vote had changed as a result of the challenge and response. It seemed as methodical as it was sleep-inducing.

But in a country and a culture that is known more for a chaotic, make-it-work approach to life, this methodical, systematic approach to identifying vote totals seems noteworthy. The skeptic in me says all the attention paid to exact vote totals is simply a cover for the backroom deals that have been in negotiation since the election (or even before) to name the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate as president. But the optimist in me says that maybe we really just witnessed Egypt getting a lesson in the democratic process – the person with more votes wins, even when we don’t like the candidate and even when we’re worried about what the candidate will mean for our country and our way of life.

The horns are increasing on the nearby streets though I suspect the mood at dinner tonight will be somber. That will be a lesson in the democratic process as well – not everyone ends up happy in the end.

In any event I’m blessed to be here to witness history in the making. The civilization known for pharaohs and the intrigues of pharonic succession has elected a president. I continue to pray that the effects of this day will bring this country the peace, justice, security AND hope for which all her children are longing.

2012:7 - Rumors

It’s a fascinating experience to be living in a place that’s in the news. It’s one thing to read the news about Egypt from the safety of my home in America. It’s another thing entirely to read the news – American Press and English Egyptian Press – when you’re living in the midst of the news that’s being made.

From my vantage point on the ground I can tell you that rumors are rampant. And they take on a life of their own, whether or not there’s any factual basis for them. Students are a steady stream of content as they share the tidbits that they hear from a friend or family member. We Americans have our own sources of rumors as well as we talk with friends we know away from the seminary as well or overhear bits of conversation in coffee shops or on the street. “I heard …” quickly becomes, “If it’s true that …” which ends up as, “Here’s what’s happening …”

Our students look at the whole spectacle with seemingly bemused indifference, even as they care deeply about their country’s future. They shrug their shoulders and laugh as they tell us that at the same time last night one channel was reporting that Morsy has won the presidency, while another channel simultaneously announced the winner as Shafik. Some are more cynical – though even their cynicism is spoken through a twinkling eye. One breakfast comment this morning was that the SCAF has orchestrated the story of Mubarak’s near death to shift the focus off the presidential election.

There is a sense that people in power in Egypt are playing a very large and dangerous game of chess with no care or concern taken for how their moves will effect the lives of millions of Egyptians who simply struggle to make ends meet. You might argue that this is how politics is played in every arena, but it feels different here. Even when I don’t agree with politicians in America, I have the sense that they are fighting for a cause or values that they genuinely believe in. I’m not sure that anyone in power in Egypt believes in anything except maintaining their power.

For now we wait to see which rumors will turn out to be true and then wait for the new rumors that will inevitably come when some new piece of information is shared. Be assured that I am very safe and secure. We are all taking extra precautions in our travels and our wondering.

I hope you will join me in continuing to pray for peace, justice and freedom for all Egyptians.

2012:6 - The Morning After

The mood around the seminary is bleak this morning. Al Masry-Al Youm is reporting that Mohammed Morsy is the winner of the Egyptian Presidential election with just over 51% of the vote. I believe that this is the same outcome that has been announced on Egyptian television.

Before leaving on Saturday my students were virtually certain that Shafiq would win the election. They readily admitted that neither candidate was a good choice for Egypt, but in their minds Shafiq was less bad than Morsy. There’s also concern that none of this means anything if the military continues to exert control over the country which it appears to be doing.

My students and others I have talked to are deeply concerned by what Morsy’s election will mean for Egypt’s ability to move forward, stabilize its economy and create the kind of environment that will allow the youth of Egypt to have a future. Unemployment among youth in Egypt is extremely high which keeps them from being able to save the money necessary to marry and start a new home and family. They are also very concerned about what this will mean for Christians in Egypt. I have heard friends say, “if Morsy is elected I must find a way to leave, there is no future for me here.” How can it be that the land that welcomed the Holy Family and kept Christ safe from Herod so he could become the savior of the world would become a place where those who confess faith in Christ no longer feel safe?

Of course we don’t know how the coming days will unfold. Many say that with a divided popular vote, the parliament disbanded and the military council exerting greater power and control nothing meaningful will happen in Egypt. But Egypt must find ways to move forward economically and politically. There must be ways for all Egyptians to dream of a future with hope.

If this wasn’t enough to deal with, it’s also VERY hot. Weather reports say the high temp today (and in recent days) will be around 100, but the air is humid and thick with moisture. I was dripping wet this morning by the time I finished my 12 minute walk to Greco at 9 a.m. You know it’s hot when even Egyptians from Upper Egypt are complaining about the weather. It’s hard for anyone to think hopefully and helpfully when battling such heat.

In the midst of all of this I read Mark’s gospel for next week – Mark 4:35-41 – where Jesus stills a storm. I give thanks that in the midst of storms Christ is with us. I pray that Egypt will know Christ’s presence with them in their current storms as well.

2012:5 - The Street on Voting Day

 The streets around the seminary have been busy Saturday and Sunday as people are out, presumably to vote, but that’s not entirely certain. Last night I read in the Egyptian English press that voter turnout was low on Saturday. The French school about a block and a half from the seminary and is a polling place and both yesterday and today it was a buzz of activity. The seminary (on Road 15 pictured below) is located a half block from Road 87, a main east/west street that has been backed up with car traffic for two days. This morning as I walked passed the school soldiers and police were readily visible and people could be seen coming and going. For the last two days we frequently hear helicopters overhead. We read that they have been deployed to keep an eye on polling places. Unofficial results will begin trickling out in the early morning hours of Monday, but official results will not be announced for three or four days. It will be amazing to witness how the coming days unfold. 

Turning west on Road 87 and walking about 6 blocks brings you to Road 9 – the main commercial thoroughfare in our part of Ma’adi - we call it downtown. The street has a more international flair than it did when I first came to Egypt 6 year ago, but it remains a mix of common Egyptian businesses nestled side-by-side with high-concept restaurants, coffee shops and stores catering to foreigners and Egypt’s wealthy elite. Egypt is a country of paradox and that is visible along Road 9.

This morning, for instance, I stopped at a small tamayya (falafel) stand and got two tamayya sandwiches with salad and sauce in a pita. This stand caters to Egyptians walking from the nearby Metro stop to their various places of work. The menu is posted on the wall and is only in Arabic. Three men work in the shop. Two assemble sandwiches – tamayya and eggplant are my personal favorites – while a third works at a fry station set up on the sidewalk in front of their small store front which is about the size of a single car garage. Sometimes people purchase a sandwich and sit on a stoop outside to eat it. Others, like me, take our sandwiches to go. My two simple sandwiches set me back 2 pounds (about 34 cents). Yesterday when I took Hans to the stand to experience the goodness before he left we got charged 5 pounds for 4 sandwiches. Today I asked for and got the local rate.

I took my sandwiches to the Greco Coffee shop – my favorite place to buy air conditioning and coffee – where I got a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice and a small French press. In contrast this set me back 25 Pounds – about $2.75. The Greco has a lovely cosmopolitan atmosphere. People from all over the world gather here to meet friends, enjoy the air conditioning and relax. You regularly hear English (of varied accents) as well as French and Arabic mixing together. When I started coming to Egypt, Greco was one of the few places of this type on Road 9. Today it is one of dozens of restaurants serving coffee, frozen yogurt, desserts, Italian pizza and the like.

The contrast between Greco and the Tamayya stand illustrates what’s happening in Egypt today. Some in this country are hitching a ride on the global economy and demanding more and more of the opportunity and benefits that this can provide. Others want to live a simple life and be able to provide for their family and enjoy great, inexpensive tamayya. Most of my students would never consider spending 25 pounds on coffee, nor would they have the resources to do this if they wished.

The streets in Egypt are full of contrasts. It’s part of what makes them so fascinating to wander.

2012:4 - Weeds

Friday morning I will preach for the morning mass at the seminary. After breakfast Hans and I will take the Metro to central Cairo and I will preach at St. Andrew's Church, a congregation supported by the ELCA. What follows is the version of my homily that I intend to preach for my students tomorrow morning. I'm endebted to David Lose, Dear Working Preacher for a great image of the kingdom of God that I hope will be a word good news to my students tomorrow morning before they leave on Saturday to vote in the presidential election.

 

Mark 4:26-32

What is the kingdom of God like? Really what is the kingdom of God like? I want you to close your eyes and imagine for a moment. What do you see? What do you imagine?

 

Maybe you see a heavenly palace where all is beautiful and pure and those who are dead are at peace. Their sicknesses healed. Their earthly sins forgiven. Their life restored and whole. That is a good picture of the kingdom of God.

Maybe you see a world where peace and justice and security are normal. A world where governments are fair. Where all people no matter their religion, or the color of their skin, or whether they are men or women, have the same rights and opportunities in the world. Where people live freely without worrying about their safety. That is a good picture of the kingdom of God.

Maybe you see your own most perfect self. Your self filled with Christ-like love for others. Your self freed from temptation and sin. This is a good picture of the kingdom of God.

Maybe you see something different. And this is also good. It’s good to imagine what the kingdom of God is like.

Jesus used parables to try and teach his disciples about the kingdom of God. Today we hear two of them. I want us to focus on the second of Jesus parables.

“[The kingdom of God] is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs …” (Mark 4:31)

Think of what Jesus is saying – the kingdom of heaven is like a weed. Yes. A weed. What is a weed? It is a plant that is not welcome in a garden or a field. It is a plant that gets in the way of what we want to grow. It is plant that if it is not taken away has the power to take over and destroy the entire crop of a field. Or ruin the beauty of a garden.

What Jesus is teaching us is that the kingdom of God isn’t something we can control. It’s not completely safe. It’s especially not safe if we are satisfied with the ways things are. Rather, the kingdom of God comes to overturn systems, to take over, to forever change the kingdoms of this world.

The kingdom of God is not only up there, or out there, or in here – the kingdom of God is all of those things AND it is everywhere. At least that is the picture that Jesus wants us to have of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is a weed that is out of control, filling all the empty places of this world, taking over the neat and clean and organized systems that we create and turning them into something new. Maybe not something that is entirely beautiful. But something that is of God living and breathing in this world . . . and not of us.

Do you remember where you were on Friday 11 February 2011? I’m sure you do. It was the day that Mubarak stepped down as the president of Egypt. Every day from 25 January until 11 February I had reading everything I could see in the newspaper. I had been watching everything I could see on television. With you I had been watching and waiting to see what would come from Egypt’s peaceful revolution. And when Mubarak left, I cried with joy for you and for all of Egypt. And that night at a meeting I told the people with me – “Today the kingdom of God is closer to reality for Egyptians.” I believed that then. I still believe that today.

I know that the last 16 months have been difficult for Egypt, especially for Christians. Every day I pray that Egypt will become a place that is safe, peaceful and just for ALL Egyptians. As I listen to you speaking with me this summer I hear that you have questions about the future. Some of you say the revolution is over. Some of you say that the revolution has only begun. I try to understand, but I know that at the end of the summer course I will go home and you will continue to live here and try to make the best of the uncertainty that each new day brings.

It’s because you live with all of this uncertainty, with so many questions about what tomorrow will bring – that I think Jesus’ words today are good news for us, especially I hope for you. The kingdom of God is not neat and orderly. The kingdom of God is like a weed, taking over governments that are corrupt, destroying systems that are unjust, defeating rulers that only care about power. To say that the kingdom of God is like a weed – is to say that hope is alive for us! To say that the kingdom of God is like a weed – is to say that as disciples of God’s kingdom every vote we cast, every word we speak, every opinion we express, every powerful person or powerful system that we challenge, every injustice we stand against – is an act of helping the weeds of God’s kingdom to spread and change the world.

May it be so!

2012:3 - Desperation

My friend Michael who I usually teach with each summer is not here this year. When he read my last blog, he commented, “Desperation is a terrible thing.”

Indeed it is. It can make people do things that are entirely outside the norm. Such is the case at the seminary this year.

My friend Michael is a Franciscan friar and priest and so he normally takes leadership of pastoral responsibilities in the summer course, preaching and presiding at our daily mass. (Michael is a wonderful preacher and I am missing the opportunity to soak up his prophetic and challenging words this summer.) Because Michael is not here the priests who live and teach at the seminary are sharing the presiding duties. But preaching in a foreign language is a daunting task – especially when you’re proficiency in the language is not great.

Out of desperation, Abuna Bishoi, our lead priest for the summer course announced on Tuesday morning that I will be preaching the homilies every day until the students are prepared to deliver theirs.

I’ve preached before in the summer course – one or two times each year -- but the challenge of daily preaching is a new one for me. Day 2 was easier than Day 1. Hopefully Day 3 will be easier still.

There’s a lot of things I could say about this opportunity that are probably better left unsaid. What I will say is that I second Michael’s observation “desperation is a terrible thing.” I’ll also say the Holy Spirit works sometimes in the strangest ways!

2012:2 - Repeat Business

Hans and I have been enjoying several days of rest and relaxation in Luxor, ancient Thebes to students of Egyptian history. This is my third visit here, Hans’ second. We’ve returned because Luxor is beautiful – home to the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut’s Temple as well as the Karnak and Luxor Temples to name some of the best-known places. We’ve also returned because this city knows how to cater to tourists. The summer daytime temperatures are hot – routinely 105 or above – so the normal pattern is to wake early in the morning and hit the outdoor monuments and then return to your hotel by noon for an afternoon of relaxation by the pool. (Yes, everyday we’ve been singing, “It’s a hard knock life for us . . .”!) Tourist hotels take great care of their guests and we have been spoiled since Friday.

Here’s what we’ve noticed though these last few days. Tourists are hard to find in Luxor this year. The sites are not teeming with them. The poolsides have lots of empty deck chairs. The restaurants have few diners. Sure it’s low season, but there seems to be noticably fewer people hanging around. Those we have seen are predominately from England, Germany and Russia. Brief conversations with local drivers, shop keepers and the like have confirmed our observations. Tourism has taken a hard hit since the 25 January revolution. Those who are here are often repeat visitors, like us, not new comers. And those who come on tours are more reluctant to go solo on individual excursions.  

This makes life hard for local businessmen (they are mostly men) who try to make a living from driving taxis, piloting faluccas, guiding private tours and keeping shops and restaurants. In the midst of these lean times, everyone wants repeat business. We’ve received business cards from nearly early cabdriver we’ve hired.  One restaurant owner even scrawled out his contact information on a piece of paper so we’d have a way to contact him again. Everyone wants to  offer us something extra – a discount on dinner, additional day tours, anything we need to make our stay happy. Today as we returned from the Luxor Museum and made a brief stop at a Fair Trade store, our driver offered to take us anywhere in Luxor for better prices, nicer goods, ANYTHING we wanted.

To be fair, this is what you do when you’re trying to make customers happy and maybe it’s not so different from other times we’ve been here.

But if I’m not mistaken there is desperation in the voices that I’ve not heard before. The fun-loving, jovial nature that I’m used to is not quite so readily apparent. This desperation is likely born of uncertainty of all kinds – who will be elected president next weekend? When will some semblance of normalcy return to their beloved homeland? When will the tourists come back? In the midst of such uncertainty hustling for repeat business might be the surest bet there is.

2012:1 - Preparations

For over a week I've been working off four lists of tasks that I'm trying to complete before getting on a plane on Wednesday afternoon. I've gotten a lot checked off my lists. I WILL get more done tomorrow. My lists help me prepare to be gone for a month.

This year especially there is much I can not prepare for. I don't know how we'll find the situation in Ma'adi (our neighborhood) or in Cairo when we arrive. I suspect that we will find things more changed than we ever have before. I suspect that tensions will be running high in the streets and among my students at seminary. No doubt you've seen the news of the protests that have erupted since Saturday's sentencing of Hosni Mubarak and the acquittal of his sons and other former government officials. In addition, June 16 and 17 are the scheduled dates of the runoff presidential election. The two candidates are as polarizing as can be. While I'm eager to experience the election and the announcing of results first-hand, I know the results of the presidential election will likely lead to more violence.

Because of all the uncertainty of what's happening in the streets, sight seeing will probably be kept to a minimum this year. I hope to use that opportunity to spend more of my time and energy engaging with the people in our neighborhood and finding opportunities to listen to their stories - even when I can't always understand them because of my poor Arabic.

These are some of my preparations this year.  As always, I'm grateful for the prayers that you have and will continue to offer.

Thanks for following along and taking an interest in my journeys.

Amy(almost)-in-Egypt