130.1

This is me undermining my own blog by doing a "Hey, look over there" tactically placed on top of the heap.  

A move like some people have mastered when playing with two year olds; designing trick plays in sports; when mystifying crowds at illusionist or magic shows; or when running governments.

Sometimes, the focus is on the wrong things.

So, here in my vegetable picture, guess the cost to the nearest .1 of a dollar.  Winner gets nothing.

Hint - the price is between $0.10 and $10.00

130 - Detachment

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.

128

Hi all,

Life is funny sometimes, and often has a sense of sarcasm; of irony.  Or maybe just this English teacher sees it that way. 

Today, in school, I give a session on bloggers and blogging for what could be potentially an entire student body presentation - all high school students are invited.  In reality, it will likely be me, a few students, maybe a few teachers, and the crickets.  And, at least the crickets will be listening.

But in preparing for the presentation I have remembered quite a few things, some of which had to do with my original intent in creating this blog, and other things that are and always have been out of my control. 

When I arrived in Egypt, I decided I wanted to have a clear voice explaining to my family, friends, former students and others what the day to day realities were like of living in a foreign country in general, and living in Egypt specifically.  I hoped that sharing my experiences would give provide some with entertainment, others with knowledge and cultural awareness, and still others with courage to understand that the world isn't such a terrible place. 

That was 128 weeks ago, in 2009.  I started out pretty well, and wrote 28 entries over the next year. 

Then, something happened.

Part of my presentation today will reference the blogging and reporting of Khaled Saeed.  It is on this point I must take a moment to reflect, for his story has affected the course of this blog more than any other single event.  And his story today reminds me I should be a little more brave.

You see, I've been so afraid to write about anything bad for fear there could be ramifications (like bad people would come find me and hurt me) that to my discredit I have also stopped writing about the good. 

Since his death, I've written only six new blogs. 

I think of my childhood and adult lessons.  I think of what it means to speak or to maintain silence. 

Egypt can be scary.  If I believed every rumor, everything I read in the news, heard on the T.V., or even heard on the street, I'd have left long ago.  There are lots of speculators and lots of speculations, and many are nerve-wracking.

I live in a country that is changing, and change can be hard.  It can be especially hard if the people wrestling for power are corrupt, have selfish intentions, or are willing to take extreme measures to ensure they either gain or maintain that power.  This is happening here now.

And, it would be very easy for me to reprint many of those speculations here.  This is what Khaled Said did.  Published information he felt it was important for others to know.  In a world where we all now have a "veritable Guttenberg Press in our bedrooms" (thanks NETA speaker whose name I can't remember 2005ish) he decided to print in a blog what could not and would not be printed in government controlled media publications. 

Of course, worse things than what Khaled Said reported on happen here regularly, and they are generally not spoken about...at least not in open forums.  Of course, people discuss them privately and in confidence with those they trust.  Of course, most Egyptians are really kind, well intentioned people who want better for their families, their neighborhoods, their government and their country.  Or course, most are optimistic about that future.  But of course some are clinging to power and to the old ways of corruption, greed, and violence that have kept them in power for so long.

And of course, you don't read about most of it.

There are laws on the books.  One cannot say anything bad about the President.  One cannot say anything bad about Egypt.  And there are laws which cast a bigger net, so most people are cautious in choosing what not to say.

What we all see on TV, frequent camera shots of Tahrir Square in downtown Egypt is only the tiniest tip of the iceberg.  In the majority of Egypt people approach their problems with a very respectable quiet demeanor yet a steady push.  The majority of people I know are kind and warm hearted - they would never raise a hand against another.  Yet the power in the country rests solidly in the hands of a minority who put their own private interests over those of the majority of the Egyptian people.

This week marks the anniversary of the events of last year's uprising.  January 25th, formerly "Police Day" is still honored as a public holiday.  Most people are off work that day.  We can expect to see Tahrir Square again on the news.  Many people are staying home, yet a few still will again go to Tahrir to protest those things that are not talked about in print.  And, if those protesters push, the army will likely not sit idly by and watch.  It would not surprise if Friday the 27th becomes an important day.  As last year showed, if things go badly during the week, many people may choose to use Friday as a gathering day to show unity and stand up for their rights.

So, whether this week is peaceful (as the Egyptians say, "In sha Allah" or "God Willing") or if it takes a sad turn we will see.  In either case, the events of the next seven days will be a clear sign of the state of the state moving forward. 

With all intentions of blogging more frequently: the good, the bad, and the life,

Scott