Revolution

25 January (as Egypt’s revolution is known here) has changed the landscape of Egypt, but not in the expected ways. To walk down the streets of Ma’adi you wouldn’t know that 5 months ago my students were keeping vigil at night on local streets to protect their neighborhood. Except for the Egyptian flags hanging from houses and the stripes of red, white and black painted everywhere, there is little evidence of a change in this land. But it doesn’t take long in discussion with my students to hear how a revolution has changed them and their perspectives.

This is evident in small ways from a new desire to understand current events, to learn about governments and discuss freedom. But it is also evident in large ways. One of my students has been transformed by 25 January. Two years ago he was one of the angriest and most obstinate students when we tried to introduce students to their own Egyptian history and culture through field trips to museums. He had no time for Egyptian history – not even his own Coptic history. He saw no purpose in any of it and participated only in a grudging manner.

In conversations with me other teachers it is clear that he has a new outlook. In his words to my colleague Michael, “25 January and the revolution was the first time in my life that I feel like I am an Egyptian. I understand now why you have tried to teach us about our history and our culture. Before I could not accept this because I did not think it was mine. But now I am Egyptian and this is my history.” It’s hard to describe what a sea change this is for this student.

In another conversation he related to me that he now understands that one of the great challenges that he will face as a priest in a new Egypt is how to work with and relate to young people. “They have said no to the authority of the government. They no longer want to accept the authority of the church. How will I be a priest? I used to think that the greatest challenge I would face is celibacy. No more. The greatest challenge I will face is how to relate to young people.”

The desert still spreads from here to the Atlantic and sand still covers unknown treasures. But the peaceful revolution that unfolded in Tahrir Square over 18 days in January and February has just begin to change the landscape of this land and the lives of Egyptians who are building their new future.

Sundays

Sundays are usually lazy days around the seminary. For the students, an 8 am Coptic Mass is followed by breakfast and then free time until 8 pm. Because today is Pentecost, the students will celebrate Mass this evening with the parish that worships in the large church at the seminary. Students spend their Sunday free time in a variety of activities – some visit family or friends who live in various parts of Cairo, some spend the day sleeping or watching television, still other run errands or explore neighborhoods with their friends.

For the teachers of the summer course Sunday morning often begins at Lucille’s Kitchen – a restaurant on Road 9 in Ma’adi that specialized in American-style breakfasts minus pork products (sigh ☹ – beef bacon and beef sausage is just NOT the same). Pancakes, French toast, omelettes, hashbrowns are served up along with 70s and 80s era country and pop music. Breakfast at Lucille’s often feels like stepping into a time warp – except for the very modern western prices for food!

Today after breakfast we headed north in Cairo and visited the Museum of Islamic Art – finally open after YEARS of renovations. It was worth the wait. We saw a glorious collection of Egyptian and Islamic art – ceremics, tile mosaics, wood and stone carvings, carpets, weavings, textiles, and much, much more. It was a nicely edited collection that gave us a flavor for the various influences that have shaped Islamic art over centuries, but was not overwhelming as is sometimes the case with Egyptian museums where treasures are piled one on top of each other. There was one especially stunning carpet – maybe 10 or 11 feet by 18 feet – that I would have been happy to bring home! Don’t worry Hans, it’s still there.

On our walk to the Metro station after our museum visit we saw an armored personal carrier outfitted with soldiers and guns parked on the street. That is the first evidence of overt military presence that we have seen anywhere in the city. It was a little disconcerting to be sure. Somehow loaded automatic weapons don’t make me feel safer.

This Sunday afternoon was also a time for reading and a little rest. Tonight I will begin preparing for my classes which don’t begin until Tuesday.

It’s great to have the students back at seminary – though it would have been okay had they not decided to start rearranging furniture at 11:30 last night! I’m eager to begin my fifth summer English course. Starting tomorrow the days will go so very very fast.

Welcomed

It’s always a joy to be welcomed by friends when you return from a long absence. That is the welcome I have received over the last few days from priests and students who have begun returning to the seminary. It is another thing to be remembered and welcomed by acquaintances that I encounter less frequently. Those welcomes have also begun. On Wednesday afternoon shortly after arriving, Michael and I went to our favorite coffee shop. The folks behind the counter warmly welcomed me back to Egypt. Each day as we return, familiar faces see us and extend a warm welcome and greeting.

Yesterday when I attended St. Andrew’s, immediately members of the community greeted me and remembered my time with them last summer. After worship we gathered in the Guild Hall for coffee and cookies and those who remembered me came to say their hellos, and those who didn’t know me introduced themselves. Hospitality at it’s finest! Today I dropped some laundry off at the dry cleaners and the beautiful young woman who works behind the desk beamed a huge smile when she saw me and wrote “Ms. Emy” on my slip.

It is good to be remembered!

Cairo

Thursday (9 June) was a day for settling in. Along with three of my fellow teachers – Michael, Dea and Ian – we spent the morning navigating our way up and down Road 9 in Ma’adi to purchase some basics for our time here. We ended up at our favorite Greco Café for coffee and air conditioning – not necessarily in that order.

It was hot today. A dry hot wind blew hot air up and down the long halls of the seminary so that it felt a little like a furnace when you walked outside of your room. Baptism by heat, I guess.

Late this afternoon the four of us

made our way by metro to Sadat Station where we exited at Tahrir Square. My favorite picture (which I’ll try to post) was a graffiti-ed wall across the green from where we were standing that said “Enjoy the Revolution!” It was amazing to think of how over the course of a few weeks that relatively small stretch of green became the birthplace of a new Egypt – one that’s still struggling to be born.

What was most amazing to me today was the scene on the walls at the Sadat Metro station. As we exited the station there was a long hallway covered with pictures from the revolution. And another wall was covered with various paintings, photographs and other artistic expressions inspired by recent events. What struck me in this is that everywhere you go in Egypt you see references to history – usually ancient, pharaonic history. This is the first time that I recall seeing artistic reference to modern Egyptian history. It was quite moving. There was a palpable sense that people are very proud of what they’ve accomplished (and also that there is a long way to go).

In addition to our visit to Tahrir Square we strolled over to the bridge along the Nile and grabbed dinner in the city. By the time we started to make our way back, night had come and the energy and electricity in the city came alive! Cairo really is a remarkable, energy-filled city. It’s amazing to behold the juxtapositions of old and new, ancient and modern that are everywhere.

I hear the echoes of the final prayer of the day. It’s 8:30 p.m. or so local time as I write this. Time for me to clean up, read a bit and crash for the night. Hoping to worship at St. Andrew’s, Cairo in the morning. Always grateful for this opportunity.

Arrived!

Thought I’d share a few quick thoughts and impressions now that I’ve been on the ground for a full six and half hours! It’s nearly 10 pm in Cairo as I write this. It’s been dark already for 3 hours. Sunset came an hour earlier than in the past because Egypt has cancelled daylight savings time. That means that it’s dark by 7:30 and I expect it will be full daylight by 5 am!

I arrived in Cairo about 3:30 this afternoon a little later than scheduled. We had some drama on the plane departing from Amsterdam. As we were taxiing to take off a man in the back of the plane stood up and wouldn’t return to his seat when instructed by the flight attendants. After several stern warnings the flight attendant announced that we would be returning to the gate because this passenger would no longer be traveling with us to Cairo. At the gate two armed security men and others came on the plane and escorted the man off. We then waited for quite some time while they removed all the baggage from the plane to ensure that they had gotten this man’s bags and then refueled the plane. We finally left around 11:30 local time (2 hours after scheduled departure) and arrived in Cairo around 3:30. I had a pretty quick time getting through passport control and getting my baggage. Monsour, the seminary’s driver, met me and we were at the seminary by 5:30.

My friend Michael greeted me with the news that while his person had arrived in Cairo on Tuesday evening, his luggage had not. I put down my things (there was some confusion about rooms until after dinner) and we headed out to Greco for a little afternoon coffee. We also made a quick trip down Road 9 to the Mobilnil store so I could get my sim card and it gave me a chance to check out the main drag of our part of Ma’adi.

For the most part things in Ma’adi look pretty much the same as always. What we noticed in our walk were many houses (especially the large, fancy ones!) and businesses flying the Egyptian flag. This is a display of national pride that I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before. Every year I arrive in Ma’adi I notice that things have changed – businesses come and go – but usually things have a looked a little better each year. I’m not sure that’s the case this year. I noticed a little more garbage littering the streets and more yard waste. Who knows if that’s simply the impressions of a day or if that sense will stick over time. For the most part though walking around Ma’adi had the same feel as always: lots of cars on little one-lane streets, lots of honking horns.

My goal was to stay awake until 9:30 and my laptop now says it’s 10:06 so I’m off to brush my teeth, take my nighttime cold medicine and hope for a long, uninterrupted, deep night of sleep.

Thanks for you prayers and well wishes for a safe journey. I’ve grateful!

More to come!

P.S. My nighttime cold medicine worked the trick. I was out until 6 am!

Changes

I leave for my fifth summer in Egypt on June 7. I'm eager to get on the ground and see what impact a revolution, a regime change and sectarian violence are having on the people and places that I know well. I find myself thinking these days about the beautiful young women who work at the dry cleaners who always greet me and remember my name after an 11-month absence. I wonder how this year has changed them. Will I notice or have a chance to learn how the changes in their country are affecting them in their daily lives? I wonder how the growing sectarian violence is impacting my students as they prepare for their calling as priests in the Coptic Catholic Church.

I'm thinking also about the changes I've experienced in the past year: a new knee as well as my own personal and professional challenges and changes. I am not the same person returning to Egypt this year either. How will the changes that I've experienced affect me as I encounter this familiar, yet strange, place?

Some of you in asking about my travel plans have expressed concern for my safety. Please be assured that I have consulted diligently with people I know on the ground - Egyptians and westerners. I've been given multiple assurances that the area around the seminary remains quite safe. Of course, I will be on heightened alert and awareness this summer. I will be more cautious than I have been in the past. My fellow teachers and I have agreed that if any of us feel unsafe or uncomfortable in Egypt we will work to facilitate a prompt return.

While I expect to encounter many changes this year, what I don't expect to see changed are the warm smiles of my students when they return to the seminary. I don't expect that I'll see a loss of curiosity or an eager desire to learn to communicate in a new language. I don't expect that I will experience one bit of change in the great hospitality and kindness that I have come to know from the Egyptian people.

As always, I'll do my best to share some of my stories and pictures along the way. Your prayers are always appreciated!

Reflections on the News

I usually limit my blogging to my time in Egypt. But the abundance of news over the last 10 days related the the New Year's Eve bombing outside a Coptic church in Alexandria and the response that has flowed from that has been weighing on my heart and mind. Writing seems like a good way to reflect.

I preface my reflections by saying that I'm not an expert on Egyptian society, culture or history. But, as readers of this blog know, I've spent a month or so for the last four summers teaching English at a Coptic Catholic Seminary in Ma'adi, a suburb of Cairo. (A reminder to you, all Christians in Egypt are considered Copts, not all Copts are orthodox.) Over the last four years I have come to know a small community of Egyptian students and priests, and through them, a broader community of ordinary Egyptians. I have my own experiences of Egyptian culture from my daily life in Egypt, but much of how I see Egypt is shaped by the ways that I experience it through my friends.

For the last week I've been wondering what my Egyptian friends would say about the New Year's Eve bombing and the protests that erupted in Egypt in the days that followed leading up to the Coptic Christmas Eve celebration on January 6. Other than seeing a few Facebook posts in English, I've not had contact with my students. I've sent messages to let them know they are in my thoughts and prayers, but I've not had a chance to talk with any of them about these events.

The stories of Muslims holding candlelight vigils and serving as human shields around Christian churches celebrating Christmas Eve are powerful witnesses to what can happen when we recognize our shared humanity. They are stories worth repeating and holding up for others to see and be inspired by. I have no doubt this happened in Cairo and Alexandria - in larger more cosmopolitan cities. But I wonder what it was like in other cities and villages throughout Upper Egypt with Christian populations where ordinary people gathered to sing with the cymbals, inhale the incense and hear their priests proclaim that Christ is born!

I suspect that in those places stories of human shields are nice, but they don't change the reality that young people can't find work and so they are risking their lives to go elsewhere -- anywhere -- to try and make a life for themselves and support a family. They don't change the reality that Christians in Egypt must claim their faith on identity cards which then limit their access to schools, jobs and opportunities. They don't change the reality that the land where God sent Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus for safekeeping from Herod's wrath, is a place that verges on inhospitable to any but the "haves" who continue to have more and more.

Stories of human shields provide a powerful witness to what humans who recognize shared humanity are capable of. They are stories worth repeating. But they can't be the only stories we tell. In Egypt and across the globe, there remains a fundamental need for economic and social justice and equality for all people.

Human shields that enable Christians or Muslims or Jews or Buddhists or Seihks to worship in their chosen worship spaces for their given festivals are wonderful. But human shields don't change the fact that God's kingdom has not come when people are divided rich from poor, haves from have-nots, right from wrong.

By all means, tell the stories of human shields whose act of solidarity marked a shared humanity that makes us all pause. But don't stop there. Please learn where injustice exists in your own communities and in nations across the world and tell those stories. In so-doing, we can all become repairers of the breach and be bearers of a new day . . . a new kingdom.

Salaam