29

So much to tell.

Thanks all who have continued to be in touch. It always makes my day to get emails, Skype calls, letters, anything from home. Cairo is great, but...you know.

I've been up to a lot, but mostly have been working. We just finished our first semester. I have to say, after a delayed start, surprise schedule changes, swine flu breaks, and a brief stint with live online classrooms, it was the most interesting semester I've taught in my life.

But work is work, and life is life. To overgeneralize, not a day goes by where nothing unexpected happens. (In case you missed that b/c of my late night affection for tinkering with grammar, that was supposed to mean something really strange happens on a daily basis.)

Highlights:

There's a roundabout called "Midan Victoria" near my house. Last month, Egypt won the Africa Cup for the fourth year in a row, a huge deal over here. I'd never thought about the name of the roundabout, just figured it was associated with the Victoria College or something. But, when the game ended, I decided to walk around town and see the excitement firsthand.

As I followed my instincts, I felt the crowds being drawn to that area. I didn't figure too many locals would associate the name with Victory, but either they did or it was an interesting coincidence for me to ponder while I ambled along amidst the throng making it's pilgrimage to the area.

At one point, I was standing dead center of the midan area - loving it - until a huge firework exploded too close for comfort. (You know those star burst shells that are supposed to look cool in the sky? They don't look as cool at eye level.) I figured I'd seen enough of the crowd, and guessed they had also seen about enough of me, so I split. It was cool.

Also, it was interesting to share the story with my Arabic class the next day. Turns out, as I was meandering and enjoying the evening - without much of a care in the world - my Arabic teacher was angrily trying to navigate a car through the masses. As she shared the story, I was smiling. She was not.

I attended a Cairo Chili Cookoff. It was really cool, and kinda nostalgic. I didn't make a chili, however. I still have not cooked in Cairo. (Unless you count toast on the green tray.)

I'm continuing to try to explore and trying to expand my roaming grounds. It can be difficult to stray away from the familiar, especially when the routine is becoming so comfortable. But in the last month I've made a more conscious effort to stray a little further from my well trodden paths. One such excursion took me to see the Nilometer - a cool column that was once used to establish tax rates. More water = more crop yields = higher taxes. Low water...you get the picture. It was a neat trip and a cool thing to see, I was able to visit an area of town that was new to me, and I got Koshary in a new restaurant. Thanks Kevin and Kai for being tour-guides! (Photos in Picasa web albums.)

I'm planning a trip to Cyprus.

The weather got cold - for about 3 weeks. Now, it's warming up again, and the students are prone to inventing temperature wars in school. One want the air conditioner on, the other just a fan, still others open windows, and of course, some still are wearing winter coats. I guess people are people wherever you go. It's about 60 degrees during the day now, and on warm days gets into the high 70's. Even at that, someone is always wanting something better.

Most of my days are filled with school and either Arabic class, coffee shops and restaurants, basketball in a league with friends from school, softball league (also with school friends) or catching up on reading.

For school, I'm currently re-reading "The Crucible" and just finished "An Inspector Calls." I'll shift to Sherlock Holmes detective stories and "The Hound of the Baskervilles" soon. For fun, I'm rolling through a few different works, including "The Count of Monte Christo" at the moment. I didn't realize how much I missed having the time to read like this.

I just met a man who MIGHT be printing the yearbook. I'm glad we finally met, but am hoping to schedule a meeting in one month to begin plans for 2011's book.

I'm also considering picking up an instrument again. (Have been hoping to do this since I got here, but am finally getting a bit more serious about it. Any recommendations?)

I still have a small number of friends, but many whom I consider very close. Almost all are teachers or employees from school.

I've updated the photos on Picasa, and the photo slideshow with captions is likely more entertaining and informative than this blog. Hope you enjoy the shots!

Until next time, say hi to anyone who cares...and point them to this blog!

Foster

25

3:30 a.m.

I'm curious. I've been watching CNN via satellite for the last 30 minutes covering the quake in Haiti.

It's not what I'm used to from my media.

They have been using Facebook and Twitter as primary image sources for showing the damage. Some guy is running around in the studio, dragging the camera man behind him, and asking the camera to focus in on different computers. As he is doing this, you can hear other computer operators beckon him to their station, where they have the next good photo, or the next good bit of news.

It's disorganized, unprofessional, and beautiful.

Never was a source cited, and there's no guarantee for the validity of the claims, but it's there - and I'm watching.

A little background info

Yesterday, I came home from school and crashed. Hard. A bad mixture of jet lag, exhaustion from travels, exhaustion from work, and stress from both my desire to be a good teacher as well as a good employee (unfortunately, two very different pressures) left me sapped.

I woke up (for the third time this week) at 3 a.m. and now, in what otherwise would have been a restless night,

I'm stuck to the tv.

5:00 a.m.

In the wake of this disaster, the first tools used to describe what was happening were interesting.

At first, all the photos shown by CNN were acquired via Facebook and Twitter.

Later, they began reporting the tweets from one man in Haiti. They showed up as text on the screen in the broadcast.

Eventually, they got a reporter in the room who knew the area. She gave a report about Haiti using Google satellite images. As she discussed slums and different areas within the country, they were surfing around on Google Earth and sharing it with the viewers.

Finally, a reporter finally showed up. How? Skype.

He mentioned that shortwave radio would have been used in the past, and halteringly admitted that ..."I guess, now we have this." While the news is bleak, and I worry for the citizens of Haiti, his claim made me smile.

Apparently, the telephones were down, and it was all being reported via the tools we know so well. No fancy cameras (They've just stared coming online as I write) and no large budget productions.

It was firsthand reporting, quickly accessible, and really pretty cool.

I don't quiet know how the Facebook photos and Tweets were acquired. Maybe they were actually photos taken by journalists and written by journalists (otherwise, I don't know how CNN was gaining such quick access...they must have already been "friends"...?) but it was still interesting.

I'm guessing maybe they were using laptop technology with satellite internet connections. If power went down, if phones went down...

Anyway, it's been an interesting viewing experience, in what otherwise would have been an otherwise sleepless night...

Now, I've got to go figure out that debate topic for my Animal Farm students.

24

Yemen

I was lucky enough to go to Yemen early last week.

Yes; Yemen.

According to recent news reports, nothing more than the country of Taliban and Al Qaeda.

The current whipping post of media, commanding a lot of media air time on CNN, BBC, and I'm sure in newspapers across the world.

I have 2 thoughts on Yemen.

1.) I'm wondering why. I know the attempted bombing of the Delta flight had links to Yemen. But I wonder why a plan so intricately contrived would result with the man failing in colossal proportions. Questions such as "Why not attempt to light the "bomb" in a bathroom?" for instance.

Yemen is a country on the brink of civil war. Their people are reluctantly ruled by any type of government. The mountainous terrain combined with the tendency to seldomly travel away from home has a culture not unlike the U.S. 200 years ago, or (from what I've seen) like the Appalachias of the U.S. today. People really don't seem to care much about events outside of their town. Not that they are ignorant of world events, but everyone I met seemed happy and content and prefer to be left alone to live their lives.

I just heard a claim on Wolf Blitzer that U.S. officials in Yemen were hoping for a U.S. military excursion into Yemen.

Ouch.

I think it's possible Al Qaeda is waging a media war, and I think the U.S. is already losing. Media exposure is like free advertising for Al Qaeda, and a war into an otherwise peaceful people in their homeland will not do the U.S. any favors.

Media creates panic, and if the U.S. responds to panic and reacts with forces in Yemen, Al Qaeda will get everything it wants. It's a serious mistake, and one I hope we avoid.

I know this is just another manifestation of the U.S. attempting to police the world, and I know Al Qaeda is an inherently evil enemy, who's anger against "The West" is only outpaced by it's cagey intelligence.

But Yemen. Really? This is a country who will very possibly be thrown into an internal civil war soon, and this alone will preoccupy the citizens in the country. Picking on Yemen is a strange (and in my opinion) ignorant reach for American military officials.

Why? There are bigger problems here, and I think Al Qaeda hides in Yemen b/c it can. Where Al Qaeda get their money, instead, and who really is supporting them are the questions that the U.S. should worry about. The countries that are responsible for financing and fundamentalist thought driving Al Qaeda from what I've learned are not Yemeni.

It's like trying to beat the Chicago Cubs by paying all your attention to their Spring Training camp in HoHoKam Park in Arizona, and by running down there and bothering all the people in Phoenix who probably don't care much for the Cubs. The Cubs only go there to train.

All you will do is piss off a bunch of Arizonians who didn't care before.

I know it's hard to fight an organization without a country. But why, if they don't have a country, do we continue to try to place them in one?

It's messed up, and Al Queda sucks and need to be dealt with. But until the U.S. understands the organization or their thinking, I wish they would think a bit more.

I don't have answers, but mostly have a lot more questions. I wish those questions would be answered before we went and started another war on another front with people who (mostly) don't deserve it.

2) Yemen is beautiful. I flew into Sanaa in the middle of the night, and was welcomed very kindly by everyone I met. Airport security, customs, employees, taxis, restauranteurs, civilians, and on and on the list goes. Everyone I met or encountered, to the number, was super nice and friendly. I've had far worse experiences in other places about anti U.S. opinion.

Now, yes, I was there for a few days only, but still it was great.

Sanaa is a busy capital city in the center of the country. It sits at about 9000 feet above sea level, and is slightly cold at night now. It's not snowy, and gets little rain, but winter is definitely there. I was glad to have brought more than just my sandals.

There were plenty of modern places, and most seemed to be influenced greatly by Middle Eastern or African cultures. There is a close tie between Yemen and it's African neighbors. Ethiopa and Somalia, especially, seemed to have strong influences and a fair amount of people there.

Gat chews are pretty common as well, especially in Sanaa and in the north. It's more common in the afternoon to see a man with a huge chuck of gat leaves in his cheek than not. It kind of chills the people out, and I compare their attitudes and lifestyles with gat to the beach bums of California. I have a difficult time imagining many of them joining forces for anything. They are really relaxed and fun.

In the South of Yemen, I went to Mukalla. It has to be an untapped resort town. If a tourist minded company went there to develop now, they'd be the first. They'd also be rich.

Mukalla is located on the south coast of Yemen on the Arabian Sea, in what used to be Soviet occupied territory. The people there seemed to have a hard work ethic, and the town of Mukalla reflected that. It was very nice, easy to get transportation around, and shops were bountiful and nice. Things were very organized, and it felt like I was being tracked the entire time. :) (The police called the family I was staying with to tell them my place was delayed and I should show up one hour later than I'd planned. Yes, THE POLICE, not the airline. They then called again while I was sitting in the airport telling me it was time to go to the plane and leave. I felt loved.)

Seriously, I don't quite understand all that, but I think they know exactly what everyone is doing, but not out of fear, just out of routines established historically by the Soviets that have carried through until today. I really didn't feel uncomfortable or afraid, but for a guy who loves independence it seemed weird.

While there, we ate mostly at the house, but went out one time and had 2 ice creams, 2 sodas, and one water for 60 cents (U.S.). I know they aren't familiar with tourism, otherwise inflation would have hit.

I heard there were two places there who would take SCUBA divers out. I'm planning on going back and giving it a try, b/c based on it's location it looks like the kind of place huge tuna, sharks, or other ocean fish may occasionally visit. And I'm guessing it won't cost much.

So, as I go back to work today from a long vacation, I'm very curious about the media, the news reports, and the ensuing actions that the countries will take in the next few months.

Unfortunately, I was stupid and didn't bring a camera, so no photos. Sorry, they would have been incredible.

Until next time,

Foster