Hello again,
Unprecedentedly boring post coming - be on alert. My apologies in advance, but it's kind of the point.
It is strange living in a country where 19 of your fellow countrymen are being tried for contributing to unrest in the country.
I won't say much about that, but before I do I should tell you this much.
I woke up this morning after only about four hours of sleep. I had taken things very easy on the weekend, so found myself very rested going in to the final night of the weekend. We normally work Sundays, but had yesterday off in honor of the Prophet Muhammed's birthday. We are the only school I know of that honored the day in this particular way, but a day off is a day off, so it was welcome. Being as I was caught up on sleep, I found as the night wore on I was both tied up in the midst of a good reading of a novel last night, and also caught up in the local and world news - including the Super Bowl - and was not much interested in sleeping.
I still woke up at 5:30 and caught the latest online news, had a bit of breakfast, and got ready for the day. It was an uneventful start to my day.
I hopped on the same bus I ride every day, and had many of the same morning conversations. Sports, school, traffic, weather; strangely enough the topics don't seem to change with the scenery - I could have been in Lincoln chatting over coffee at Village Inn.
I arrived at school, and found the same sights, sounds and smells of everyday. The halls were full of noisy students carrying backpacks full of books, usually the same backpacks that go home each night and return the next day unopened. (It's the same backbreaking exercise I remember in Nebraska. Middle Schoolers especially are buried under the weight of knowledge, and their spines are the biggest victims of this educational process.) Lunches were being scarfed down by young teenagers at 8:00 a.m., droopy eyed older teenagers were sluggishly making their way to class, prematurely clinging to coffee cups full of cocoa, latte's, or some other diluted version of the adult drink rightfully contained within.
Once in my room and at work, I found I was unusually unbothered. One student came in to ask a 30 second question and left about 15 minutes later. Other than that, I was able to work quietly for most of the morning, and it was a very productive one. I was happy to get more planning done in one day than I had completed all of last week. (Grades were due last week.)
I took a break for lunch and met with a few friends, then went back to work teaching a section of ninth grade English before I had a collaborative planning meeting with colleagues to finish off the day.
That was my day, much like every day. Nothing strange, nothing unusual.
Life here usually goes like that; and then you read the news.
Having taught journalism for a few years, I remember all the lessons about perception; truth. How it's not easy to get to the reality of things, and how many working on deadline just do their best to say it how it is. Today, when I returned to my apartment, I read about ten articles on how two governments have different versions of a story; how this has created a conflict, how both are pointing fingers and making threats to each other, and how people are taking sides.
Since last Wednesday's soccer tragedy when scores lost their lives, each day is a bit like this. I begin and end the day with the news, but everyday am disappointed that what is said is only such a small part of the picture.
So this brings me around to the main point. With everything that is occurring here, you should know that I am absolutely fine. I want for nothing, and have all the amenities of home. I work for a conscientious employer who takes precautions as necessary to ensure I am as safe as can be. I do live in a country that seems to be becoming more unstable by the day, but to date the overriding power of the average Egyptian to be a good and supportive person in the midst of government instability is the true power here. There might be 100 million people in Egypt: 99 million + are just like me. We eat, we sleep, and we enjoy peace and stability.
So for now I've returned to my home where I plan on finishing out a quiet evening. I can hear the children playing outside on the street, their laughter and energy exudes a calmness about the neighborhood. Other than that and the dull sound of car engines and horns running further off in the distance, it is very calm and quiet.
For my part, I'll likely order food in (or eat those leftovers that have been waiting for me) and fall asleep in the middle of a chapter again. Oh, and the news will probably be on in the background.
Unprecedentedly boring post coming - be on alert. My apologies in advance, but it's kind of the point.
It is strange living in a country where 19 of your fellow countrymen are being tried for contributing to unrest in the country.
I won't say much about that, but before I do I should tell you this much.
I woke up this morning after only about four hours of sleep. I had taken things very easy on the weekend, so found myself very rested going in to the final night of the weekend. We normally work Sundays, but had yesterday off in honor of the Prophet Muhammed's birthday. We are the only school I know of that honored the day in this particular way, but a day off is a day off, so it was welcome. Being as I was caught up on sleep, I found as the night wore on I was both tied up in the midst of a good reading of a novel last night, and also caught up in the local and world news - including the Super Bowl - and was not much interested in sleeping.
I still woke up at 5:30 and caught the latest online news, had a bit of breakfast, and got ready for the day. It was an uneventful start to my day.
I hopped on the same bus I ride every day, and had many of the same morning conversations. Sports, school, traffic, weather; strangely enough the topics don't seem to change with the scenery - I could have been in Lincoln chatting over coffee at Village Inn.
I arrived at school, and found the same sights, sounds and smells of everyday. The halls were full of noisy students carrying backpacks full of books, usually the same backpacks that go home each night and return the next day unopened. (It's the same backbreaking exercise I remember in Nebraska. Middle Schoolers especially are buried under the weight of knowledge, and their spines are the biggest victims of this educational process.) Lunches were being scarfed down by young teenagers at 8:00 a.m., droopy eyed older teenagers were sluggishly making their way to class, prematurely clinging to coffee cups full of cocoa, latte's, or some other diluted version of the adult drink rightfully contained within.
Once in my room and at work, I found I was unusually unbothered. One student came in to ask a 30 second question and left about 15 minutes later. Other than that, I was able to work quietly for most of the morning, and it was a very productive one. I was happy to get more planning done in one day than I had completed all of last week. (Grades were due last week.)
I took a break for lunch and met with a few friends, then went back to work teaching a section of ninth grade English before I had a collaborative planning meeting with colleagues to finish off the day.
That was my day, much like every day. Nothing strange, nothing unusual.
Life here usually goes like that; and then you read the news.
Having taught journalism for a few years, I remember all the lessons about perception; truth. How it's not easy to get to the reality of things, and how many working on deadline just do their best to say it how it is. Today, when I returned to my apartment, I read about ten articles on how two governments have different versions of a story; how this has created a conflict, how both are pointing fingers and making threats to each other, and how people are taking sides.
Since last Wednesday's soccer tragedy when scores lost their lives, each day is a bit like this. I begin and end the day with the news, but everyday am disappointed that what is said is only such a small part of the picture.
So this brings me around to the main point. With everything that is occurring here, you should know that I am absolutely fine. I want for nothing, and have all the amenities of home. I work for a conscientious employer who takes precautions as necessary to ensure I am as safe as can be. I do live in a country that seems to be becoming more unstable by the day, but to date the overriding power of the average Egyptian to be a good and supportive person in the midst of government instability is the true power here. There might be 100 million people in Egypt: 99 million + are just like me. We eat, we sleep, and we enjoy peace and stability.
So for now I've returned to my home where I plan on finishing out a quiet evening. I can hear the children playing outside on the street, their laughter and energy exudes a calmness about the neighborhood. Other than that and the dull sound of car engines and horns running further off in the distance, it is very calm and quiet.
For my part, I'll likely order food in (or eat those leftovers that have been waiting for me) and fall asleep in the middle of a chapter again. Oh, and the news will probably be on in the background.
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