My new companion

Life has changed. I am no longer alone in the streets of Cairo. I found a companion at the German embassy who was looking for a new home, and after thinking back and forth, I finally (after a month or so) took him home with me. Of course I was a little hesistant at the beginning. Didnt know how I would cope here in the streets, but now that I am conqering the streets of Cairo with him - I feel great. He prevents me from the hassel with the taxi drivers, from the fight in the metro getting out of the doors, from spending most of my income on transportation. Well what shall I say, Rocky rocks!!! Even more, now that my dear flatmate Serene made sure we have the right music to accompany us. Thanks Serene!

Well, all i can do is invite you to join me and Rocky on our trip through the streets of Cairo.




Oy, the dent in the bumper was not caused by me!!! It is there to warn the other cars not to joke with me or Rocky!

Cairo III

Hmmm i was wondering whether i actually blogged since i am back in cairo for the third time. And I dicovered - NO. well this can not be.

How come i am back? well this i wonder myself every day. But to get down to the facts, although i was trying to concentrate on writing my thesis, I actually did accept a joboffer of the GTZ. Thus I am now working full-time in Cairo at the Children at Risk Programme of the GTZ/EU. This is where i did my second internship. Guess I must have made them quite dependent on me during that time - that they actually consider hiring me for a year and a half ;o)

Well now the winter is slowly approaching. This is actually quite funny, as the most obvious sign of winter, is the policemen changing their clothes from blended white to dark blue - or is it black? Well and slowly but surely the t-shirt weather is disapearing. Althoug... nevertheless we still are going swimming (open air!) and only during praying times, as it is actually a public pool in a not so posh area. But its 50m and kind of clean.

So now i have been here for two months. What have i been up to in this time???? i have to admit I was busy with getting used to work. Somehow i was really shattered the first few months. I now also come to the conclusion it has something to do with me ignoring my thesis - which still has to be written. But honestly no power at all. So i have been pretending that my thesis do not exist, and since then i am feeling a little better - i wonder how long this feeling will hold.

But for now I have a new companion... Rocky...

More about him next time.... have to go... its getting dark outside

4 years

Exactly four years ago - i packed my stuff in Frankfurt and moved to Heilbronn to start university

Exactly four years ago - Lino was born (Nadine's son)

Exactly four years ago - my brother went to England

Exactly four years ago - I was celebrating my fair well at the Museumsuferfest

Exactly four years ago - I was wondering if i am taking the right step --> going to university

Exactly four years ago - I was hoping to open new doors and travel and enjoy free time

Exactly four years ago - I passed by Heilbronn on my motorbike and wondered what the hell i am thinking of doing

Exactly four years ago - I packed all the office stuff (CIEE Office in Ffm) and sent it all to Berlin as the office was being shut down

Exactly four years ago - I sat by the river with Sunita and Laurence philosophing what life will bring

... well... and now - four years later - my stuff is still packed in boxes and i am sitting here in cologne (suposingly writing my thesis) instead wondering what will come next.

... i am sitting here writing my thesis

... i am phoneing friends who i havent seen for a while

... i am driving to frankfurt preparing my work contract

... i am flying to turkey to party

... well in general i can say i am trying to wrap up my last four years of university by finishing my thesis and parallel i am planning my new working career with the GTZ in Cairo

What happened in the last four years... well if i need another break from my thesis - i will write this down in my blog at least as far as my memory helps me

Back to Germany

Back to the roots...

Yesterday afternoon i finally reached the homy grounds again - I am back in Cologne. And to prove me so - I went out in the evening and found myself in a local bar full of bachlor/bachlorets celebrating their last few bachlor days. Quite a few were dressed up - or wore little crowns, selfe painted t-shirts, chains etc. but not only that - no - we also had carneval music running and transvestites walking around town, as it was Christopher Street Day today. Well what am I trying to say??? The world is up side down again. I left Cairo (45 Degree, veiled women, no kissing in public, no short skirts, no open alcohol) and arrived in Cologne (18 Degrees, public kissing (incl. gay couples, shorter than shorter skrits, dancing and drinking in the streets, couples kissing, men with earings etc etc.) So although I feel like I only was gone for a few weeks, I do have to admit - that life is very very different here than back there in Cairo.

But all is fine. I met up with friends - i talked for hours with others on the phone and had delicious food/ bread.

I dont have a new number until now - but as soon as i do - i will let you know.

Turkey Calling

The other day i got a call of my youngest uncle in Turkey, asking what i am getting up to on the 28th of July. Well of course my answer was: Writing my diploma thesis - just as every good student would answer. But then, when I heard what he had to tell me, I changed my plans in a second. I am flying to Turkey for a wedding - his wedding. Ata is getting married to Shukran (think you write her like this) on the 28th. What a great news. I am really happy for him. Great news - mabrouk atosch.

A friend of mine here would always tells me that i am very jumpy. I never really understood what he meant untill now i realise. Yes he is right i am jumpy and hyper flexible (as i would rename it). So should any one else plan to get married or plan a party - let me know... i am already getting two dresses tailored here in my last days in Cairo and i dont mind buying another one. Nadine - your wedding is already in my diary - so i am planning frankfurt in september.

The last week was really busy. I rented a car via a friend of mine and took my turkish mafia (Zuhal, Nihal + Mother and Oeznur) to the beach. Great time. Although the first day i was mainly sleeping. Second day was Oeznur´s B-day. So we had a smashing choco melon cake by the sea... what a lovely day.

Driving itself wasnt that bad - but once we hit the streets of cairo i just once again realised how bad egyptians drive - or should i say how different. So by humming to myself that i can drive however i want, I drove us home sound and safe.

Yesterday the girls left - all of them. So i am the only remaining German student here. Considering that i am leaving next week, i am now trying to see various people. Lets see if this works.

Schedule today:
- Wachs Lady 9:00 --> already got postphoned to tonight
- Furniture cleaner 11:00 --> Lets see if they come on time
- Meet Rascha Zakeria (Havent really seen her for a while - ups just got a text asking to postphone our meeting)
- Go for coffee with tati
- Go to fit on dress from Tailor nr. 1
- 9:30 second appointment for wachs lady

Tomorrow:
- Go to tailor nr. 2
- meet aida
- Actually had talked about meeting girls from work for lunch (not sure if it will work out)
- maybe go and buy cushion for amine and meriams baby in duesseldorf
- check out what kind of wedding present i can buy for my uncle

Tuesday:
- Meet the guys from University MIU around 6
- Go to After8 at night with Serene

Wednesday:
- go to pool
- Dinner with Tati in Taboule in Garden City

Thursday:
- if i find anybody - go to after8

Friday:
- Swiss Club with work (4-8)

Saturday:
- early flight off to Germany

I am sure i forgot the one or other thingy. Wow the days are short - time to make use of them.

Time to say good bye

Time is running and even if it is not me who is flying now, there are some other expats who are leaving the country. Paula, my flatmate, who has been here for 2 years left and the Schuhs (a lovely family) are also packing their bags.

Currently I have my two old friends here (Zuhal and Nihal) and their mother. So not only am i saying farewell to all but also doing the tour guide again. And it is soooooooooooo hot. I cant stand it. Of course the obligatory Khan Kalili was due yesterday and it killed me. My sweat was running down my body and i was getting more and more tense. I think my look made most people step back.

Tomorrow we will go to the beach again for 2 days - Moon Beach in Ras Sudre (Sinai). Cant wait to sit on the beach. The only prob are the Ritzer (fish with needles jumping at my feet - or my feet jumping on them).

Well and here is the other big news: I got my ticket. I am flying on the 7.7.2007 wow what a date. Yes i am going home earlier. It is too hot here and i ran out of money to travel. Sooo if anyone here in Egypt is reading this - make sure you meet me before i leave. And for the ones in Germany... get ready - i am coming back!!! The only thing is that i have 2 months to write my thesis... so maybe i wont be able to hang out as much as i would like to.

Thus I send you guys a big kiss from here - the city where the pavement is boiling, the air is vanishing and me... I am dying

Total Denial

Some actions in life make me realise that growing up is still far far away from me.
And the following phone call will prove that.

Background: A friend of mine lives with his mother (which is not unusual here ;o) and thus every now and then I call him at home. Usually he answers the phone or I just ask his mum to pass me Ahmed. No big deal one would think. But sometimes I do just put the phone down when she answers. Stupid I know - but it happened. And so it was last week. I dial the number - she answers and I put the phone down and focus on my work again.

Telephone rings (Conversation all in Arabic!!!):

- Good Evening (Nadia)
- Good Evening, Who is with me?
- Who is with me?
- You tell me who is with me, because you just now dialed my number and shut the phone
- No i didnt, who are you (turning red and feeling hot already although this is only the second sentence)
- Well you tell me who i am because you dialed this number
- No i didnt
- My dear lady tell me who you wanted to speak to
- Nobody
- Are you sure?
- Yes yes...
- whats your name?
- Fatma
- Fatma?
- Yes. Fatma.
- But you dialed this number Fatma. Who did you want to speak to?
- Well isnt this the number of Mohamed?
- Mohamed, no. Do you mean Mohamed or Ahmed(=her son)?
- No Mohamed.
- Are you sure? (Laughing) You dont want Ahmed?
- No.
- Tell me what number you dialed to reach Mohamed
- (Brain is working hard thinking what nr to give, coming to the conclusion that giving the right number is best... and so i do i tell her number by number)
- Well considering that that is this number here - I must be Mohamed
- He?
- I am Mohamed. You dont want Ahmed so you want Mohamed - so i am Mohamed (Laughing)
- (What does this women want?) No you arent.
- But you dialed this number. Where are you from my dear, you are not Egyptian (Background voice is telling her that i have an English accent and must be English)
So my answer:
- I am French
- Fatma from France?
- Yes yes Why?
- No nothing.So Fatma from France, you called to talk to Mohamed?
- Ahm yes (hesitating coz this is the longest chain of lies i ever had on a phone)
- laughing: Well i am sorry but Mohamed isnt here. I am here. So i am Mohamed. Where do you live Dokki or Mohandeseen
- (Damn how does she know this - denial denial it bangs in my head) Aguza (A district next to Dokki)
- Sure?
- Yeah sure of course
- Okay. Well...
- I am sorry
- Laughing... No i am sorry. Mohamed isnt here
- No problem, thats fine. Good bye?
- Bye my dear!

Wow... I survived this conversation in Arabic and then felt like getting drunk - what did i just now do? Why did i denial everything? And what did my brain do - take time off or what??? Come on... this women knows my voice and we have been talking on the phone many times, laughing coz we didnt understand each other. Ohhhhh my god. The most embarrassing phone call since i was 14 or ever in my life?.

Explanation: 1. I suddenly got all shy (dont ask me why) 2. I felt overrun by the sudden phone call and only could think of denying everything 3. My vocab in Arabic was too limited to just say i am sorry for the hassle 4. I dont know... my brain was switched off totally... And just to let you know... the women know exactly who i was the whole time ;o)

Well after laughing and turning red of embarrassment, I can now stand above it and share this beautiful denial conversation with you.

Another Nadia Action Day

Well before i get my guts together and start typing interview nr. 9, I thought I should give you a brief download on my day today. If i don't do it now, it will remain another one of these memories that is somewhere far far behind in my head. And we dont want that, right?

So, another visitor announced his arrival - Nadine, a dear friend from good old Frankfurt times. And she even brought another surprise. A little diamond on her finger and with that Christian - her new old boyfriend and now fiancee. But best of all she brought lots of goodies - champagne, sausages, bacon and gummibaerchen - yeahhhhh uhhhhh...

So today after sitting down and typing for 3 hours on the interview of this crap guy who speaks bad German with a southern German accent, I went off and met Nadine and Christian at the Citadell. Once buying my ticket (yeah i got it again for 2 Pounds - this is like a personal challenge every time to get through as Egyptian ;o) I showed them the beautiful little mosque far far back in the citadel compound. Beautiful paintings on the inner side of the mosque. Of course we had to check the Mohamed Ali mosque and then the Khan Kalili (Bazar). While looking for wedding rings, I of course couldnt resist buying leather sandals and pic up a nice necklace. Well of course we had to get food, so i took them to this old Egyptian restaurant in the Khan.

Well stuffed and tired of the people and dust, we then headed to the nile to take the felucca. As the taxi driver wanted far too much money - i made him do some shopping (water and pepsi) - which Nadine and Christian thought was great.

So once at the nile... we jump out of taxi and an inner voice tells me to check my bag. I stare into it for 3 seconds and then realise the reason why it is half empty is because i dropped my purse in the taxi. Throwing my stuff onto Christian and taking the flip flops off I start doing the sprint of my life (oh no - there was another one on the way to Marocco - remember tina ;o). I run and hope there is traffic - but of course for once in cairo the cars are rolling. I see the policeman and shout at him to stop the taxi. All i get is a hopeless look. I hear him whistle... and keep running. The taxi moves on and on... i cant breath any more. Well you all know that i am not a blessed runner. Again I think for a sec: Do i let my purse drive off or try to catch up??? Oh noooo i just lost my mobil - i cant also loose my purse. I continue running - barefooted and with full attention of the street.

The taxi stops and people get in. A motorbike drives past me - stop... take me and follow the taxi. The motorbikedriver sees my despair and offers help. Far down the road i see another guy stopping the car. I run and run and finally reach the cab. I shout my filus filus (and they understand that word!). The driver gets out - checks under the seat - the new passenger laughs at me and says how lucky i am and all i can think of is - damn no shoes and all the street is watching me.

So victoriously i walk down the street and show the asking people my purse!

For sure, i had to swallow a fly and choked for another half an hour on the felucca. And had to wet my pants coz this cough was sooooo bad. Even the felucca boat guy was continuously clapping my back. This fly is still in my throat.

Oh by the way - just to keep up the line of coincidences - on our way back in the felucca (=little nutshell) I suddenly saw this huge yacht pulling in at the same time and recognised my old office team. A big hello from one boat to the little nutshell. What a small world cairo is!

So time to stop coz little miss unhappy is next to me - telling me to stop.

The countdown started

or at least it started in my head... not that i already bought a flight ticket, or even started with my diploma thesis, but never the less my stay in Egypt is slowly but surely coming to an end as I now know that I want to be back home around the 12th of July. Amazing how time runs. Before looking to the future ,let me check what i got up to last week.

Well let me try to remember...

- My professor was here working in the project in the field of team building and org. dev.

- I went to the fabulous concert of Mohamed Mounir and after that joined Wust el Balad in the Jazz club (great night with nice people and lots of great music)

- Saw the same band in the Sakia (culture centre) on Thursday. Very cool - ppl sang along and it was a great athmosphere. The only thing i dont get, is how people can leave the concert with the last song and not even clap their hands as thanks for the band's entertainment.

- Friday, hmm friday what did i do??? Stay home and work??? think so. Sounds like me doesnt it??

Oh yeah, Saturday i had the pleasure of taking my professor shopping. Did some good bargaining which made him feel a little uncomfortable. Hihi. but hey, thats the way it goes here. After shopping for hours i went and joined ellen in the azhar park and once for a long time again, it was one of those days that you spend here with meeting frinds, drinking loads of ice chocolate shakes, and chit chatting.

I had some great and fun talks with my flatmates till late in the night and actually spent most of my time typing down the interviews. So that's what i have been up to...

All is fine...Big kiss to all of you

I am special

I believe i am special. But not because i myself am special but more because every day i look at the people around me, near or far, and state that this person is absolutely fabulous. People, friends, family, teachers, professors, neighboors, flatmates, relatives ... all seem sooo special to me. It is their smile, their talk, their support, their hug, their email, their sms, their phonecall, or even just the feeling that they are thinking of me and are friends of mine that makes me feel special.

It is amazing how these people can make me smile, how they can encourage me, how they can make me feel strong, make me feel loved... basically make me feel special again.

I am not sure if I let you guys know that you are special to me. YOu are all sooo different from eachother but then again I feel you are sooo close... well I guess you are close ... because you are close to me. I know that some I havent seen for years, months, days maybe only hours... but believe me - there is a part reserved for you in my heart.

I feel honored to have such a lovely family with great parents who think along and are encourageing me in my steps, a brother i can talk to for hours about bulloks, two beautiful sisters and a fabulous mix in the background called aunts, uncles, grandmothers, and cousins... - it has to be said, god knows when you will hear it out of my mouth hihi

Thanks for making me feel special coz I know i am not... but you are the one who makes me feel as such.

(Damn... what a mail... guess i am in this whiny phase... so i shall post it nevertheless - sorry guys)

Turkish Visitor - Guelsen

Last week my eldest aunt came and visited me from Turkey. We spent some lovely days together. Well most of the time we were actually dashing from one mosque to another and with that from one prayer to another. Still, after one week, everytime i hear the "Ezan" - Call for Prayer, I think that I have to run to the next mosque so that my aunt can pray. Well to put it in other words... i actually miss her a lot here. Was nice to share a part of my life with her and like that give my turkish family an insight to my daily life in cairo.

Although I wouldnt categorize my turkish family as highly religious, I have to admit that my aunt is. (Please bear in mind that i am a person who has nothing to do with religion) So suddenly i was on the side of a person who doesnt shake hands with men. Usually it is me, who gets totally upset when a man doesnt give me his hand to say hi - as he regards us women as unclean. Wow, what weird change. Now it was me explaining to ppl that she wont shake their hand and that i cant come at a certain time, as it is praying time. By having my aunt here, a totally new dimension was opend to me and this was really interesting. Until now, although i am living in a very religious country, it never had any influence on me - other that i more and more claim for secularisation. With my aunt here, religion became part of my day.

Considering that my aunt never traveled alone until now, I have to say that I am sooo happy that she came and spent time with me. She is unbelievably smart, calm, balanced, positive, generous, well hearted, funny, and a great conversation partner, so i really miss her here now.

Here you see some pics of the two of us on our sight seeing tour.

Ellen's Birthday

As it was my dear flatmate's b-day, we had a small party at our house and also went for a camel safari from Giza to Sakkara



Ups Ellen is missing on this pic... well... at least the party girls are on it (Tinaaa we missed youuuu) Serine(Libanese flatmate from Spain, Paula little Portugese princess, Meee and Sherifa our Egyptian counterpart hihi)

Let me look for ellens pic... our pretty party girl



Me and my buddy for the day... he left quite an impression that I especially felt the next day. Aouch... Ellen actually had to give me a massage ...



"Die Karavane zieht weiter, die nadia hat durscht, die nadia hat durscht, die nadia hät durscht..." und so zog die karavane weiter zum Swimmingpool im Sakkara country club. Oh wat a joyful day. ;o)

My felucca trip...

Here are some pics from my trip. If you want to see more, check this link http://de.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/nadiastudy/album?.dir=/8d3escd&.src=ph&.tok=phT0krGB7OIH1n74





Considering that i never made it to write you more about my felucca trip, i just want to add some pics for you to get an impression. It was one of the most relaxing trips i made in my life - just like camping... but just on a boat. The scenery is out of this world and the peace and harmony just had a great effect on me.

How to recognise summer in Egypt???

- sand storms ensure that the sandy feeling of the beach comes to your house

- Where in Europe the rain period stops, it starts here - buckets of water coming down whereas throughout the whole winter it didnt rain a bit

- White police uniforms!!! This is actually the best sign of summer here... Suddently u think the navy is in town, until somebody explains you that these are the same policemen that used to wear dark blue or black

- Tourists come in even shorter shorts and tank tops

- Egyptians become more collourful although they are currently still wearing winter clothing

- it slowly but surly is getting hot when having breakfast on the balcony

Damn i really want to escape cairo before the big heat wave comes... So see you in good cold germany in June/ July

and this is how a evening/ day ends in Cairo

Saturday 5:05 am

Today is Friday, which means, it is weekend. My plans initially for this weekend were to spend it with a friend and go swimming. Well, considering my spontaneous nature and the factor x (= Egyptian re-scheduling) my plan changed about 4 times by the time the weekend actually started. So yesterday (=Thursday) I spontaneously decided to join two colleagues of mine on a field visit to Alex. Very cool. Unfortunately i didn't sleep much the night before as it was Boogie night in Jazz club. So i slept most of the time of the trip (I know, I know, some of you will say it has nothing to do with boogie night, I always sleep in the car - too true ;o)
So after 2h drive to Alex we visited the NGO and then went off for fish. And of course the final obligatory visit to Carrefour has to be mentioned. What is it about Egyptians and Carrefour - damn everybody seems to love it and looks upon it as an outing... oh well... Once back in Cairo at around 10pm my friends from Dahab called and decided to drop by... thus we had a chilled evening at home and a more or less early night at around 2am.

So today i started my day with a nice chit chat and trying to help Paula a little with her English homework. Then i remembered that there is an exhibition of artisan from Upper Egypt. After 5 phone calls i finally found somebody to join me there. And it was really nice. Lovely stuff (e.g. wooden crafts, woven blankets, and wall art)

Arriving back home, i started thinking about the evening programm - do i stay home and work, or do i go to after8 where a friend is singing, or can i persuade a friend to come over for dinner??? Well considering the fact that nobody called and that the ones i called to go to a concert with me cancelled - I then decided to stay in and finish this freaking transcription which has been taking me hours and hours. And i actually finished it!!!! YEAHHHHHHH... So by twelve i actually felt like i could go to bed. But how unfulfilling is that??? My phone then beeps and the first message comes: 12:20 am - yalla jazz club (from Tati)
2nd one: Hey whats up - going to jazz club...(Begad)

well if two sms are asking me to go out... will i say no??? So off i went... sneaking out of the house at 12:45 and of course - how should it be - stumble and fall at the corner - kiss the floor - in front of the security of City Bank ... hurray hurray...

But then i arrived safely in jazz club and enjoyed the outing although i really don't like house music. At around 2 or 3 ppl start moving, and i just join in and jump into Dingo¨s car... uhhh wait a minute ... this ain't my house... ahhhh the party is continuing... so there we are ending up at some friends of friends house for drinks and food (which actually never came - or did we just not hear the doorbell from the delivery?)

After even more ppl arrive at the house at around 4:30 am I finally take the chance to escape and get a ride home ...

and there we are 5:05am, sun is rising, and i am sitting on my sofa all awake and think that this was once a gain such a typical evening in Cairo... ready for bed at 12 and coming home at 5 am.

Want an insight in my daily life?

I have been thinking for a while what part of my daily life I should describe to you so you know what I am doing here. Should I describe the morning routine of bargaining with a taxi and trying to get him to drive the way I want to go, or work life? Or party life? Or shopping???

Well today on my way home I decided to give you an insight on my way home. After fighting my way to work with the metro in the morning, I finally decided to stop this otherwise I guess I would have bitten my colleagues at work. Oh my was I tense.

So now I take the taxi in the morning, which takes me approx 20 min.

After working 7h work I then go back to the street life. Walking along the beeping cars (and here I have to say that I am not sure if the cars are beeping to the other car or beeping at me walking past). I am sorry - I know this sounds snobbish but it’s not meant as such at all. I am wearing dull clothes covering it all. And still while walking past the cars stuck in traffic I hear whistling, complements but also insults.

The closer I get to the Petrol station the worse it gets. More and more men are standing around, staring at me - and I don’t know why. Coz honestly there are some other girls walking round too. While walking past the little street boys, who are trying to earn a few pounds, I once again become all tense. Will they try to grab me? Will they ask me for money? Damn I feel sorry for them, but - hey please don’t get to close to me. And noooo... don’t ask me for money... shit. You know, this feeling on the one side, feeling sorry for the kids, wanting to help them (and sometimes I just give them chocolate) on the other side, I get all tense coz I don’t want these kids to get close to me. This is a new feeling for me.

When trying to cross the street, I then notice that the young grown-up guys are staring at me while passing the petrol station. They start walking behind me and I am wondering whether they are following me or if they are walking along the street to catch the bus. Once I see them jumping on the small bus, I feel relieved but at the same time anger comes up coz they turn their neck and stare at my boobs and between my legs while driving past. But they are gone. Instead another car slows down. I notice it and try to cross the street again. But he is faster and already did a u-turn to cut my road and asks me, actually in a polite way, if he may ask me something: Miss miss, please, may I ask you sth... (but even from this I feel totally harassed. Another 20m and I am in the Metro station.

Here I check the little ticket booth. Too many men around. Okay let’s wait a second before starting to fight for a ticket. Once I have my ticket and go through the machine, I keep to the left as the first two cabins of the train are for women.

And here it just continues. Girls sitting on the floor, women shouting to their kids, young girls squeaking to each other. Uff where is my music? The only way to blend out the chaos around me. After 6 stops I then have to switch trains. As the train gets into Sadat, I start pushing my way forward towards the door - just like everybody else. And then comes the moment of truth... doors open - women from outside start pushing... I get to push as 10 women want to get out at once. The prob is that I can’t lift my feet thus I just move in the crowd for 2 min until I am out.

but this aint the end of my story. Trying to get to the next floor of the metro station I try to pass the bunch of girls creeping in front of me. Don’t they know how to walk? After getting past most of them, I walk down the stairs and try to get past the guys blocking my way. Then again - the fight to get into the train with 25 other women - all through one door. And there I am squashed next to the door, happy that I am 1 head taller than the rest, as I have access to fresh air. 1. stop: Opera - nobody in - nobody out. 2nd stop: Dokki - more women in. We try to exchange positions ensuring that I get out the next stop. Finally Behoos- out I squeeze and then... last fight to get on the escalator and not to stand too close to a guy.

Finally I am up in the street and only have to walk past the men standing in the street. Not that they will do anything, but uff just the look they give any female walking past...

Then my house is in sight. I start speeding up. My bawabs (caretaker)s daughter comes up and asks for sth nice... dahhhhh.... all I can say is that I also want a nice present.

Finally one more flight of stairs, and another... and I am safe in my own 4 walls... ufff another day over...

Fire of Anatolia ... and where is the egyptian fire???

Twinkling stars and half moon shining on the pyramids and then the amazing sound of Turkey... yes I got a ticket for Fire of Anatolia and the setting was right in front of the pyramids and the sphinx on the right. It couldn’t have been any better place for such an amazing dance. Oeznur (my Turkish friend from Heilbronn) and I went along with the beat and even had a little traditional dance at the end.

But once again I noticed that the Egyptian crowd is one of the worst audiences to perform for. They just don’t honor the event. I mean, they do turn up with their little dimands hanging everywhere and high heels and 2h blow-dried hair, but they come in half an hour late, talk on the mobile, leave in the middle of the last scene and then their clapping is appalling. Damn, I think I would never want to perform in front of such a boring crowd. Well, we made up for them and were screaming from the top of our lungs. Gosh was it cold. Grrrrr... so I kept on screaming, clapping and dancing to keep me nice and warm.

Tomorrow is a major day for Egypt as there is the voting on a constitutional referendum which can have a major effect on the democracy in the country. Mubarak is trying to push this referendum under the excuse of fighting the terrorism (this excuse seems to be the only valid one that is used and abused worldwide).

Thus he is trying not to let parties founded upon religion be politically active. Furthermore the constitutional referendum would enable the government to violate civil liberties in the name of national security. Which of course is a huge scandal considering that violation and arbitrary already are a major problem of this state. In addition, and this is in my opinion the most ridiculous, the legislation would also allow the president to bypass traditional courts and to refer terror suspects to military tribunals whose rulings cannot be appealed. Plus judges would no longer supervise the elections in the country. come on - I mean we all know this is no democratic country, but this just boosts it all. Actually what is most frightening to me, is to see that the intellectual people I know, don’t even know about this referendum, or decide that they don’t want to know about it. Which in the consequence leads to the fact that actually nobody I know will go and participate in one of the most important human rights - which is voting.

Over and over again I get frustrated about how ignorant Egyptians are. I mean, they always talk as if they want their country to improve and criticise it all, but then when it comes to the most simple action that can be taken from the grass route level (and not the policy level that one of us could never reach) they don’t even fulfil their task as Egyptian citizen. Maybe it is education - well actually I think for sure it is education as for Germany we are educated to go and vote and use and raise our voice. Even if one is frustrated, I don’t think it is an excuse to say I won’t go and vote. That is the point where one should stand up and say at least I voted so I fulfilled my duty. At least one tried. But no. Even with 30 years most people have never voted. oh and then the best excuse: I don’t have an ID, so I can’t vote. And yeah. I actually don’t know where to get the ID from? Come on - there were presidential elections last year oh - no it’s even the year before. At that stage one should have already woken up and said that one wants to have a voice/vote.

This country is sleeping and consuming only and then topping it by complaining. Like in the Fire of Anatolia show, I go, listen, enjoy, and get up without doing my duty as an audience, which is as simple as clapping to thank the performers. In stead you only hear people complain on how cold it was.

Come on - get a grip. Do something for your country and at least vote. Where else do you think the changes will come from if you don’t even put in a little effort?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17758821/site/newsweek/page/2/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/egypt/story/0,,2038649,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12

Back from dahab

6:05 Arrival somewhere under a bridge in Cairo. Back in the town full of noise and emissions... oh boy was it nice, 8h away from this mega city - lying on the beach with the Sinai mountains in the background, breathe in fresh air, swim in freezing cold water and then shivering in the sun... ohhh wanna go back...

Well instead of heading back to peaceful Dahab, I will just change my clothes and head right into the old part of Cairo, full of people and some hidden treasure buildings. There is a tour around the Islamic area of Cairo organised by the MIU (university I used to go to here). Well and u don’t think I will hang around home recovering from an 8h night bus, do you??? No way... of out I go exploring more from this crazy city...

Once I get the pics from öznur, I will post them on the blog so you can get all jealous ;o)

Kiss kiss

Update

Well, carneval is over, my prof. has been here, we conducted all the scheduled interviews, I am exhausted from work, stoped partying, vegetating on the couch, and planning my trip to Dahab...

as you can see there was a lot going on the last month... I was wondering why i didnt update the blog... and decided that I was just too exhausted to write anything. But now that people are demanding an update from me... guess I should start writing again.

The last month was quite an up and down... My internship is exhausting me more than I imagined it would. Its not that the work is too demanding but I guess it is related to the working environment. My colleagues are really nice, but its difficult coz the space is very limited, and I dont have my own work space. Furthermore I feel that there is some negative spirit in the air and people are very stressed. And that has quite an effect on me. Last week I came to the decision that I need a break, and hopefully I will get it this weekend. I am planning to go to the Sinai - more precise Dahab. Looks like we will also be quite a group of people. Should be fun.

Oh just to complete the update... two weeks ago my prof. came to Cairo, to serve as moderator in the planning process of my programme, as well as Bettina Koester, who arrived for the interviews that I organised. these interviews are supposed to serve as research material for the project related to "Trust in german-arabic cooperations". Very interesting. I accompanied bettina to some interviews and must say that they were utmost interesting.

Trust ... what a word... its actually fascinating to think about it. How do I build up trust? well for me I came to the conclusion that I am a person who trusts a lot. And i dont wanna miss this trust. But the interviews showed nicely that germans who are of older age, seem to be more trustwrothy than younger guys. And I think that that is actually related to the fact that young professionals who come here for a specific mission, do not recognise the importance of personal relationships, and trust creating rituals. They rely more on contracts then on their opposite person.

Ups... see this is what happens ... once u get into a project u are stuck to it... but its really interesting and i cant wait to see what the result of the research is.

Soooo... guess I wrote more than enough. I shall add a pic of dahab so that u know where i am gonna spend the weekend.

Enjoy your weekend too...

Kölle Alaaf - its carneval time again

well this is the other side of being abroad - you are sooo far away to home and the special time of the year. Its carneval back home. and this is when i suddenly feel homesick. Well guess that the way it goes - unfortunately i cant just go home for 5 days. But in my mind i am partying with my dear crazy friends back home. Just good that there is web-radio nowadays so i can listen to my dear carneval songs here in cairo in 25 Degree - at least as long as my flatmates aint home. So going through my pics i found these ones here and post them in memory of last years carneval.

With this i send a big KÖLLE ALAAF home...

Please pity me!!!

Yes i am still sick - and now for once it is official - i went to the doc (germanspeaking - which is very luxorious) and he told me that i have all kind of infections - starting with a middle ear infection, a sinus (Nasennebenhöhlen) infection as well as a infection in the respiratory tracts. damn a wonder i am still alive - all the holes in my head have an infection (Ears, nose, mouth). So aint that a reason to pity me??? the thing is - that my body doesnt feel sick at all and as long as i am not tired i feel okay (until it suddenly hits me and i feel soooo sick - like now hihi).

so apparently me being sick doesnt stop... arghhhh hopefully this will change once the weather gets warmer again.

Ready to get married???

Well, being home at the weekend has the advantage that one starts cooking for oneself and the flatmates. And this is what I did. I have been exercising on soups for a while - too spicy, too peppery, too salty, too watery, ortoo thick - but for sure one day I will be perfect in doing soups. My favourite right now is doing potatoe-broccoli soup. The Minestrone aint bad either. Considering that I had this bad cold - soup was just right.

Well and today Paula (my Portuguese flatmate) and I proved ourselves worth marriage. We made a superb chicken in the oven. I even had to take out the inner parts of the chicken and cut of the neck. uhhhh... sometimes I wonder how our mothers learned to cook so perfect like they do. Well after 2,5 hours we finally presented our tasty chicken with sautéed vegetables and grilled potatoes to Shady - who ate without any complaints. Honestly - it was a perfect Sunday dinner (except that it is Saturday). So, any marriage proposals to be seen? - nope not yet - but will keep you posted if anything pops up.

Should you fancy some delicious soup or a lovely Sunday chicken - please do not hesitate to call or pop over;o)

Ahhh yeah - by the way - the soup is doing its magic - I am feeling much better now and my cough is slowly but surely disappearing. Sorry mum - wont go to the doc anymore

Sick sick sick

Poor me, am all sick, catched a cough and a cold that aint leaving me alone. Please dont hesitate to pity me!

Tears

I think i mentioned in the last blog that time is running sooo fast here. Well and with that the time of saying good bye comes too fast too. Today Eli and Claudi (two good friends from my study life is Heilbronn) left Cairo. Oh my - suddenly i couldnt control myself and starte sobbing soooo badly. Was surprised of myself too. Poor guys, who took us to the airport,they just didnt know what to do with me. Luckely i caught myself pretty fast. But still, i really miss those two. They are some really good friends for me, especially as we already spent some good time together in Heilbronn, and now had a special time in Cairo. Oh my - did we laugh, cry, talk, dance, study together. I guess this is how life goes - actually I should be used to have people coming and leaving my life. But it just becomes so obvious that now the time at Heilbronn is over and that a new part of my life is gonna start.

lets see what the next six months in my internship here in cairo have for me.

(damn - why is this stupid chinese porno site popping up??? any idea how i can get rid of it???)

Damn... itchy itchy itchy... my mind is turning all around itching... morning - day especially night - scratch scratch scratch... cant sleep - wanna cry - then wanna shower to take ich away the itch - but doesnt help. I thought i had an enlightning that it might be caused by the chili con carne - as i had the last itch after my b-day and 3 days of chili but then my dear flatmate took away the illusion and announced that my dear friend FLO the flea is back... Damn i thought i actually got rid of him a while ago and really was very very upset to realise that he is back. He is soooo damn annoying and just doesnt leave me. He wandered from one part of my body to another and finally has marked almost all bodyparts... How to get rid of Flo the flea in a couple of days? I CANT SLEEP. (itch itch, scratch scratch)

Washing clothes every day, hanging out blankets, spraying the matress and putting it in the sun, taking 2 showers a day all just doesn not help... please leave me Flo - go find another life!

Laziness in Cairo

Another week over - and with that my time at the MIU (Misr international university), here in Cairo, comes to an end - and with that also my time as a student attending classes and writing exams.

For sure my last two uni exams were kind of different. The exam on last Monday had the special treat for me that suddenly somebody’s question sheet - including short answers - was lying on my table - although there are like 3 guards over watching the exams. I had no idea where suddenly the paper came from - but was more than pleased as it contained the answers I required. As I found out half an hour later, the assistant must have accidentally taken the question sheet of one of the other students and left it on my table when I signed the attendance paper... oh what luck... of course I pretended not to understand a word of Arabic when suddenly a big cry started regarding to where the his question sheet with the answers is. Oh well... But for sure my student career couldn’t end too smooth with the last exam - as I somehow must have mixed up times and got a surprising call telling me that the exam was in 40 min. while I was still lying in bed sipping my tea. Considering the fact that it is a 1h drive to uni - I got there 20 min late - but still was able to finish the exam early - as my mind was empty... Well - so much for my time at uni here.

But that’s not all that happened last week - no - I also started my internship here at a EU project to poverty reduction concentrating on street kids, disabled kids. As I only had 2 days so far - it’s hard to give an overall statement regarding the internship - but it looks promising. My area will be within organisational development and capacity building of NGOs (non-governmental organisations). Let’s see how it will work out... for sure ill write a line or two to inform you...

Uhhh and then i went to the opera yesterday - Carmen ballet - very very nice. You know that is actually what I like about Egypt - cultural events are accessible to everybody - even if you have a low budget.

Uhhh and just to give you another insight in my luxury life here - we went grocery shopping - 2 trolleys full of stuff - including washing powder - cans of food - etc - and instead of carrying it home like donkeys - we gave them our address and they actually came 1h later carrying it up to the 4th floor. All we had to do is put it in the new fridge. And to top this - as we forgot toilet paper and milk, I just now (half past eleven in the evening) called the supermarket and asked them kindly to bring milk and toilet paper to our home - ohhh my life is sooooo amazing... and now that I even have the number of the vegetable guy and the pharmacy (not that I need stuff from there regularly) I don’t have to go out of the house any more... ohhh lazy lifeeeee....

Well if we think of it the other way round - I guess this is one reason why women get fat here faster - as they don’t have to move. Furthermore it is not only grocery etc that is being delivered - no even mc Donald’s brings you food 24h... now tell me - how are you supposed to loose weight in a city that has a 24h food supply and restricted moving/ walking possibilities? I mean - even to go down the road - you take a cab here. But no - not enough - even dry clean is picked up daily and brought back within 24h. Did I mention that not only delivery is a luxury aspect here but also having a cleaning lady that cooks for you.... well actually this part is a little restricted as the cooking variety varies between milk rice and mahshi (filled vegetables = dolma)

Well on the one side it is total luxury - but of course it has the negative side of not having to leave the house. Laziness is supported tremendously.

The start of a new era ... Nadia on the blog

Okay... lets see how this works... after hearing so much about blogs, and knowing that not everybody is happy receiving my long emails - i finally got the move to this blog ... if it works or not we will find out later...

Well actually this is the best alternive right now to distract me from studying for tomorrows exam... I already cooked, cleaned, showered, phoned, chatted.... so now its time for sth new...

With this i hope to keep track and share some of my memories and let you take part in them.

Lets get going...