Beirut

Where Hariri is buried. I went today and it was intense.

Somehow, it’s not what I imagined. I was thinking more along the lines of a mini-Dubai with decadent nightclubs on every corner (it’s all your fault Jad Shewery, you are your stupid Funky Arabs music video) but so far it looks just like any other small Arab country (Qatar, Jordan, etc).

It’s been so long since I took an EgyptAir flight, I almost peed myself laughing at the Egyptian TV version of the guy that walks you through the flight safety tutorial. Big moustache, big belly, etc showing you how to put on your oxygen mask, etc.

I’m here for a couple of weeks till the elections, and God is it going to be crazy. Spent my first night here intently debating Lebanese politics. And I’ve never seen so many ads for politicians running for office ever. Making fun of their slogans (especially the ones that tell you “don’t vote for the slogan, vote for the program) is vairy fun. Without even knowing who the parties are, I can say that the strongest ones are:

1) Vote for change. I vote Orange (Girl with orange lipstick).
2) We won’t bring them back. And the sky is blue.
We won’t forget. And the sky is blue. (Hmm, translation isn’t really getting the meaning across).

Anyway, it’s going to be an interesting couple of weeks. I don’t think I’ll have much time to write, so forgive me in advance.

Ants

My house is being overrun by huge ants that fly. It’s the grossest thing ever.

And it’s like they’re drunk—they keep weaving around in the air before falling onto their backs. I can almost believe that it’s a new species of ant that evolved in my house—you get the feeling the ants don’t even realize they have wings.

Ugggh.

Oasis

Makani

Went for lunch today at this gorgeous new place called Oasis, which is basically a compound with lots of restaurants and cafes.

I felt like I was chilling in Marina’s Makani restaurant. Low sofas, comfy cushions, beautiful breeze, and a very relaxing atmosphere.

For all you Cairenes, I recommend you check it out. It’s right near Fairmont hotel in Heliopolis.

Korba Peace Festival

Korba!

Always so much fun!

Korba is one of the oldest districts in Heliopolis. All these gorgeous old buildings. Sadly, it’s become extremely crowded and annoying, but on one day every year, it becomes a pedestrian street, and it’s true beauty shines through.

All the cafes set their tables outside, bands entertain us up on a stage, kids draw on the street with chalks, and companies fall all over themselves to market their products in the most innovative ways. Entertainment is varied: the traditional tanoura/ oriental dances, and then guitar/ jazz bands. It got way crowded at night, but still vairy fun,

Loves it.

I then went and caught the late screening of Angels and Demons. Neither it or nor the Da Vinci code are my favorite Dan Brown books (that would be Deception point), but it was interesting to see how it played out on screen.

The best part? The fact that the terrorist was no longer an Arab Muslim who hated all Christians and loved raping and killing white western women (real subtle of you there Dan). Instead, he was a Dane. Two thumbs up.

Loser that I am, I decided to google and see what people thought of this. And I came across this delightful piece by anti-Muslim zealot Debbie Schlussel:

“Over the years, I’ve written about the many movies in which Hollywood changes the villain or the terrorist in the original script or novel from a Muslim to something else out of politically correct deference to Islam, the religion of whiners (and ultimately, murderers). Now, Hollywood continues in this tradition. … I’m already learning that ['Angels and Demons'] has been ‘disinfected’ by Islamopanderers (director Ron Howard) not wanting to upset our dear friends in the ‘Religion of Peace,’ who might do something ‘peaceful’ if the movie had stayed true to the book.”

Sigh.

Abu Heidar Moves My Island*

Fun day today.

I sat and I watched the finales of Heroes, America’s next Top Model, and Lost. Soon: Grey’s Anatomy & American Idol. Been to busy this year to catch up with the four series I also follow (Project Runway, House, Prison Break and One Tree Hill) but I’ll be buying their box sets soon and having a marathon watching week.

(SPOILERS!)

Heroes: So sick of Sylar and his weird eyebrows. DIE already won’t you? And the cheerleader has the fakest eyelashes  I’ve ever seen. I can’t concentrate on the show when either of them is on. I keep staring at his eyebrows and her eyelashes. My favorite on this show is most definitely Hiro. Such a cutie pie. Didn’t really mind when Nathan died, since I really didn’t like him much. And can I just say, who changes their mind so often and so quickly?

America’s Next Top Model: Cannot believe Allison didn’t win. Her deer-caught-in-the-headlights eyes were amazing. And I cannot believe that I still watch this show. I hate fat Tyra (kettle. pot. I know) with her over-the-top scripted lines, her weird dresses, and the rigid format of the show. Sick of the judging panel. So over Miss J. My only excuse for watching would be that I’ve watched the previous 11 seasons. It’s kind of like reading a book you hate but are still reading it because you want to know the ending.

Lost: Ah, Lost. You have confounded, bewildered, and amazed me over the years. I am so glad next season is the last one because I am so SICK of the island! Finale was a cheap cliffhanger, but ok. Can’t get over the fact that the Jack-Sawyer-Kate-Juliet combo make these life-threatening, apocalyptic decisions based on their love lives. And hello, Juliet? The guy you’ve been with for three years looks at another women, so you decide he’s leaving you, and then decide it’s better to have never met him so you don’t go through that, and then decide you’d rather DIE than be dumped? Not cool. Kate seems to be a secondary charter now, she never really does anything.

I’m so glad though that we seem to be finally getting more answers than questions. But omg Locke! And the foot statue! And is it just me or was Jacob’s character a kind of let down?

Grey’s Anatomy: I’m guessing Izzy dies today. Bye Bye. Never really liked her much. The only two characters I really love are Bailey and her no-nonsense ways, and Christina, because man she has some serious balls. Total fierceness. I hate Meridith and her whiny commitment issues, ditto George and Lexie for seemingly having no spine.  (On that note, I cannot believe the actress who portrays Lexie just gave birth to her third kid last week. She looks like she’s 15). I’m on the fence with Carev and the two Mcdoctors.

American Idol: Chris’s rendition of Heartless was incredible. Even better than the original. I know I’m going to have that on repeat for a couple of days at least. But I still think Adam’sgoing to win.

* If you aren’t a Lost fan, or a fan of Jen and Liz’s ‘Lost Hour‘ over at the Washington Post, you won’t get it (man, how loser-y does that make me sound?). Abu Heidar is an amazing shawerma shop which, for some reason, also sells the best mango juice. I’m eating its shawerma sandwiches as I write this.

Non-Egyptian men

Met up with an old friend of mine today who’s back in Egypt for a couple of days.

He’s not Egyptian. Or Arab, even.

He semi-proposed to me once but I acted as if he was joking because I didn’t want to ruin our friendship, and he never mentioned it again.

His was the cutest, most touching, and heartfelt proposal ever. I almost cried.

Unfortunately though, it could never happen.

I’ve thought about this a lot over the past few years. What would it be like to marry a non-Egyptian?

There’s no denying that I am definitely more myself when I am with non-Egyptians, men and women. I don’t censor my thinking as much, I’m more easygoing, approachable, and funner. The things I think are most important about myself are shared–education, awareness of the world, smartness etc–and appreciated. My accomplishments aren’t diminished because I don’t have a hubby or kids.

A non-Egyptian (especially if non-Arab) is less likely to have the annoying personality quirks I hate in Egyptian guys: possesivness, jealousy, obsession with control, need to feel he is superior etc. Being raised to think women are equal, deserve to have their own life, and aren’t just there to feed your physical and sexual appetities and be incubators is rare in Egyptian men.

Then again, there’s always the religion and culture angle. I cannot and do not want to marry a non-Muslim. My faith is very, very important to me. As as much as I hate certain aspects of my culture, there are some things I love and cannot do without.

Oops, have to run, time for American Idol! Will pontificate more on this subject later.

Orisinal

Pulling an all-nighter tonight and, as usual, I’m procrastinating.

But during my random trawling through the internet, I came across Orisinal, one my favorite childhood game websites! Check it out here.

My favorite games were bubblebees and pocketful of stars. The music was always so soothing.

I’ve decided to share more information about myself, as per the request of madame fouad. Perhaps one random fact a week?

Random fact about me: I was in a European country recently, which was full of gorgeous lakes surrounded by mountains. I was out in a completely deserted boarding hostel in the middle of nowhere, and decided I could not go home without swimming in a lake. So I woke up at the crack of dawn, stripped down to my bra and underwear, and jumped in the freezing water. One of the most exhilarating moments of my life.

Have I mentioned that I love traveling? Away from the suffocating restraints of Cairo, I become a different person. Can’t wait for next week–Beirut here I come!

Bored

I’m getting kind of bored of this blog. I mean, it’s just me rambling on about my life. Which isn’t even that interesting. I go to work and then go home. And you don’t even know me, so why should you even care?

Then again, I could just be feeling blue. This week, I found out that I was a finalist in one of the most prestigious awards in my field. An award which has never had an Egyptian as a finalist before. And then I got invited to speak at one of the most intellectual events there is in a far off country. Neither piece of news made much of an impact with my family.

That’s the crux of the mutter–I’m just so misunderstood with my family. I don’t fit in. I want to be with someone who gets it. Someone who, when I tell them what I’ve won or who invited me, would instantly understand the magnitude. Not someone I’d have to explain to what this means. Which never really works; it’s like translating a pun. You either understand it or you don’t.

Sigh.

Other than the great news I got this week (which was made somehow not so great when whenever I told I family member I had news they immediately went: “there’s a guy!” As if there’s nothing else I could do with my life that could have meaning except find a guy), nothing much has been going on. I went fishing in Ain Al-Sokhna with some friends and got sunburnt, and I’m finally going sandboarding this weekend.

And now I’m just sitting in the middle of the night watching my new addiction, Britian’s got talent (did you hear the opera dude?!) and eating Nutella sandwhiches in fino* bread and baby’s butts**.

* I think it’s called artisan bread in English. In any case, it looks like a severely anemic baguette. When did the fino loaves get so small? I remember when one used to be enough. Now you need to eat at least two before you feel full.
**Baby’s butts = apricots. Just because that’s what they look like.

Belaaks

Just bought a fantastic new CD which is everything I love about Arabic and English music combined: the oriental beats and oud combined with Jazz and beautiful old-school French, English, and Arabic lyrics. The album can be bought online and you can hear three of the tracks here. Sheftou Men Be’eed (I saw him from far away) is my favorite, hands down.

Belaaks (The Opposite). By Jean Marie Riachi.

El Marg

Today I went to visit an orphanage in an area called El-Marg.

It’s strange how two worlds can be so close together and yet be so far apart. This area literally overlooks a posh Cairo neighbourhood. They can see each other, but they choose not to.

I watched the below 10-minute award winning documentary called Etegah El-Marg [The Direction of El-Marg] last year, and it impacted me. But being there and watching it are completely different things.

(If you can understand Arabic, watch the clip. It’s basically an AUC student riding the metro, and discussing how that one metro ride gives him an insight into all aspects of Egyptian society)

I parked my pretentious car next to houses made of cardboard. Literally, made of cardboard. I then stepped around a huge pile of rubbish to enter the tiny orphanage.

And then came the depressing realization that this orphanage was not like the ones I usually like to frequent, with little kids who are easily appeased with hugs, games, and biscuits. This was an orphanage for mentally handicupped teenage boys.

Visiting mentally handicapped children is hard. But at the same time, it’s not so bad, because when they’re kids you don’t feel that they’re that much different than other children, especially if they still don’t talk or walk.

But teenagers is hard. Especially since they were boys with beards for some reason. It was depressing and heartbreaking.

I thought visiting old people was bad, but this takes the cake.