First time I saw “Kasab” it looked like bamboo. “Kasab” is just sugarcane, they call it “ ‘Asab” in Ammiyah (their local language).

In Egypt they sell these on the street and make sugarcane juice. Sugarcane also very cheap like anything else in Egypt. The first time I drank sugarcane juice was when I first came. One of my Egyptian friends brought us to a juice shop. There we drank watermelon juice, orange juice, peach juice, and mango juice. All was good.  then our friend ordered the sugarcane juice.



We didn’t know what it was at first.  He gave it to all of us to try. My first thoughts were that it tasted like grass (you might ask how I know? but that’s another story for another time:) ). When I drank it I got disgusted and asked him if he was making us drink grass and if this was a joke, he laughed. He said that it was just sugarcane. I thought that I would never drink it again. My friend Hussam said that it gets better every time I drink it. So I decided  to drink it again. He was right, this time it tasted better. I drank one more time, then drank it again and again.  Now I like how it tastes. I am used it.



I even went a step further and bought a stick of sugarcane.  One of our Egyptian friends showed me how to eat it by peeling the outer skin with your teeth and biting and sucking on the sugarcane juice. It was like chewing on this bamboo, wood thing but you get greeted with a sweet juice instead of a wood taste. It might seem weird but you get used to it.

Just Bought…

Trying to gnaw sugarcane. If we can’t  we will fight with them.

To make the juice in juice stores they have special machines that squeeze the juice out of the green stalks. The machine is an Egyptian invented device, the first people to come up with the idea are Egyptians. This thing is very popular in Egypt and they drink it because supposedly Egyptian Islamic scholar Al-Shafi‘i (767- 820) said that sugarcane is very healthy .

Sugar cane juice is extracted by introducing the sticks into machine

Whether you drink it for fun or for health purposes “Kasab” is a very tasty refreshing drink and I would recommend it to anybody that visits Egypt.

I was sweating like crazy, but this time it wasn’t because of the heat. I was nervous for the final test in the center to see our level in speaking and our level generally in Arabic. All of us were nervous to be taking this test in front of many teachers.



We came to school as normal and had normal class until 11:30. At that time it was time for us to take the test and we went to the big conference room in the center. There we sat, as nervous as ever. When the teachers came they said that they’d listen to us in order of age, and since I was the smallest that gave me an advantage to listen to most of the things they were going to say.



After about a boring hour of just sitting and listening my turn came. It was time for me to show my Arabic skills. The teachers asked us to talk about America generally, and asked questions about the most beautiful places, the people, the schools, and many other things. In the end they asked us what we were thinking about the future and our thoughts about Egypt. I was lucky to be the last person because waiting and listening to my friends really took away a lot of the stress.



After we were done talking they gave all of us a certificate from the center and congratulated us.

We left that room happy and hungry, for we had missed our whole lunch break..:)

 
Something that you see a lot in Egypt that you don't see in America too much is stray animals. In Egypt there are groups of cats that live near garbage cans. If you are going by garbage you will most likely see a few cats. You can also see dogs in groups all over the place. The Egyptian people don't really like them, especially the dogs.

yesterday night I went to the market because the next day I was going to make breakfast. As I was buying stuff a puppy came in to the store. He was hungry and waiting for food. The owner of the store pushed him out with his foot. Later as I was heading back home the dog followed me. I entered the house while he waited outside. I brought him a piece of the bunny meat that we cut 4 months ago but still haven’t eaten. We weren’t going to eat it anyway so I gave him a piece. I went back up to the apartment and watched him from the balcony. A few minutes later a lady didn’t realize he was there and when he saw here she panicked. As she took steps back the dog walked up to her wagging his tail to play. The lady started throwing stones at the dog and he started whining. The front of the house is Marble and the dog went there. Later the late got a stick and roughly pushed the dog off on to the street.

 
The Egyptian life is different than American life. Everything from the houses to the people are different from America. Most of Egypt is city unlike America. The building are all a yellowish color which is different from the city’s in America. Also the Egypt is pretty dirty. The place where people throw their trash is a place in the street. There's big trash cans for the people but it doesn’t get emptied often, so when people see that it is full they throw their trash on the ground next to it. The garbage men use donkey carts with big baskets attached to it.



Stores in Egypt are also different from those in America. In Egypt stores sell one kind of item. For example, there's no store that sell clothing and electronics, all stores are separate. The only place where you can find stuff like this is in a mall. But the stores there are separate anyway. Also a owner of a store in America is usually pretty rich, in Egypt they are not too rich.



There is traffic everywhere, some places more than others. You can see a lot of traffic in America but Egypt’s traffic is really different. In Egypt there are no lanes so cars go down streets however they want. Also there are no stop signs or traffic lights so you have to be careful in the streets. There also aren’t any traffic rules. The only rule is use your horn, which is not official but it's what the people go by.
         

 

My family came to visit me in Cairo and they stayed for 4 days. I was excused from the classes to be with them and show them around. We went to the pyramids and rode camels, citadel of salahuddin, some historical mosques, we traveled to Alexendria, and did some sovanier shopping in the bazar in huseyniye. At the end of their visit they returned to Istanbul, my brother back to America, and my older sister stayed in Cairo to study arabic for two months. So right now my sister is also taking Arabic classes here in Cairo in the Nile center for girls. Their visit made me as happy as a kid given candy. I would also like to thank our tour guide who guided us all the way Mr.omar. 

The moving truck looked exactly like this except it didn’t have this many things on it.

Moving in Egypt is way different than moving in America. It is harder than moving in America (At least compared to Pennsylvania). The biggest reason for that is because most of Cairo is apartments. Once I saw these elevated platforms going up to the apartment and taking down couches and other furniture through the window.

So our old house had many problems: such as mice and mold and other nasty things. One day we got sick of these things and it was time to move. So we decided to move to a house on the same street but bigger and better.

We hired these guys which showed up in a big white truck and loaded our couches and tables to the back. Then they went to the other house and brought the things up to our new apartment. This was the first time I’d seen something like this, they were loading our stuff into a truck, with the back open.

We offered them juice and soda after we were completely done moving and they thanked us took their money and left. See in America  there wouldn’t be much interaction with the moving guys, but it also would be way more professional, they wouldn’t be using trucks and stuffing the furniture onto it. So there are good differences and bad differences.

Our new house

Our house is a pretty new house which was painted and cleaned right before we moved. However we noticed that whoever painted the walls didn’t paint them pretty well, the paint was good but it was splattered all over the ground.




I remember scraping off the dried paint from the ground with a knife, oh what troubles we had to go through to make our house good…

Our new house is great, bigger, better, cleaner. The only thing that I still haven’t gotten used to for the 3 weeks I’ve been here is the location. When I first came I didn’t get used to the place right away. This might sound weird, but I couldn’t get used to the calm surroundings. Our old house was in a more colorful and noisy surrounding however this house is in a more quiet and dull one. I already miss the sound of the steam from the ironers across the street that iron clothes the whole night, that is the sound we used to sleep with. The only thing I don’t like about this place is it’s calmness.



 

Other than the silence, our new house is way better and way bigger. There’s three good-sized rooms and three bathrooms. You can imagine what a delight it is having three bathrooms in a house of six students. We used to have only one in the old one and now the struggle of arguing for bathroom turns is over.



And yes it does get better than that, our new house is in 5 minutes walking distance from our house. You might be thinking why this this is better than the bathroom struggle, it’s better because it gives us 5 more golden minutes of sleep. This might not seem too important however a last 5 minutes of sleep for a student is like the last 5 minutes of a soccer game, it can make a world of difference before shooting that last goal and waking up.:)

 

After my entrance visa’s time expired I needed to go an get a tourist visa. To get a visa in Egypt you need to go to the government building in freedom square. This is where the protests happened in January 25.
  
Me and a friend went there on Saturday. We took a bus to the metro then with the metro to the freedom square. The square was full of police and solders. Every street leading to the square has guards and there is armored cars every corner. The inside of the building is also filled with officers.
  
Before you enter they check your bags and you go through a metal detector. The inside is really crowded. You could find people of any race in the building. The visas are given in the second floor. So after printing copies of our passports and papers we made our way to the second floor.

The second floor of the building without doubt is the most crowded place i have been in all my life. Everybody is trying to squeeze in and nobody cares who they bump in to. There is no line.

First we bought our stamps and then gave them to the place we were spouse to. They told us to come back at 1.00 PM eating we prayed and went back to get our passports.

My friend had done this procedure many times so he advice me to bush my way as far as possible and when they sah my name to say “aywa”. So i went up to the window and there was about 20 25 men. I squeezed my way in as much as I could and waited for my name. After few minutes the woman lifted my passport up and said Esad. As I am supposed to I said “aywa” and every one said too to inform the woman I was present. Then a man grabbed my arm and pulled me to the front and the woman gave me the my passport. After that I was happy to get out of there.

 

Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas, fava beans, or both. Falafel is a traditional Middle Eastern food, commonly served in a pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread. "Falafel" also frequently refers to a wrapped sandwich that is prepared in this way. Falafel balls may also be eaten alone as a snack or served as part of a meze tray (assortment of appetizers).

Falafel is a common dish eaten throughout the Middle East. The fritters are now found around the world as a replacement for meat and as a form of street food.

The origin of falafel is unknown and controversial. A common theory is that the dish originated in Egypt, possibly eaten by Copts as a replacement for meat during Lent. As Alexandria is a port city, it was possible to export the dish and name to other areas in the Middle East. The dish later migrated northwards to the Levant where chickpeas replaced the fava beans. It has been speculated that its history may go back to the pharoanic period.

Proverbs are simple sayings that you can use to express a sentence usually about truth or for advice. For example “The pen is mightier than the sword”.  These sayings are well known and there are many of them in many languages. In Arabic there are a lot of proverbs. I will now list a few and explain their meanings.

“Don’t play with fire”. This doesn't actually mean playing with fire. It means don't get yourself into dirty work, like smoking, alcohol, and gambling. It's like telling someone not to do something that can destroy his or her life.

“You returned with a different face then you went with”.  This one is self-explanatory. For example you have a friend that is going to see the principle for an unknown reason, and he goes in happy but comes out sad or mad. This is the meaning of this proverb.

“Strike the iron while it is hot”. This proverb is used for when you want to  tell someone  to do something soon which would be better for them than waiting for later. It's kind of like go for it while you have the chance.

Proverbs are used in many languages and cultures. They are used not just used in conversation. They can be found in literature, film, music, religion and many other resources.

 

This year we had many trips that we went to. They were all amazing and left memories that we can never forget. Two of the best ones were horse riding and atv driving in the dessert.

     
We went to horse riding in a place named Six of the  October. It took us about 2 hours to reach there. There was one big area for horse riding and near it was a pool and store. There were also little houses for rent but we didn’t stay I them.

    
 Once there we bought tickets for 30 minutes. After waiting a bit we finally went on the horses. It was mine first time riding a horse so I was pretty excited about it. We went around in a big oval for 30 minutes. Actually running. For me it was really fun and I enjoyed it a lot. Afterwards we took our stuff to next to the pool. We decided to buy an other ticket for 30 minutes. This time it was much more fun and we were able to make the horses gallop more. After eating we returned to the house.

    
 We went to ATV driving in Giza. A city an hour away from our house. There we rented ATVs and they took us to the dessert. For a while we went in a straight line. When we reached a hill we stopped to take pictures for both the pyramids and the city was visible from the hill. While their one of the ATVs broke down so the guide was checking that out. While he was working on the ATV me and the rest of the 5 went down the hill and started  racing. I was winning and we were pretty far away when the guide told us to stop. Afterwards we continued to drive around the dessert. We were there for an hour and half and returned to the house afterwards.

 

Air conditioners are one of the best inventions of mankind. I didn’t notice this until the last couple weeks in Egypt. When I was in America I thought that it used to be very hot and turn on the air conditioner but Egypt gave a new definition for the word “hot” for me.

Sometimes when I’m going back home from class it feels like I’m in some sort of oven. The sun doesn’t show itself through the dust and clouds however does make you certain of its presence.

Hot wind just blows on your face and you come home dripping in sweat. Sometimes I wake up in a pool of sweat, that’s how hot it is in Egypt. When we go to the Language Class there are air conditioners in every room however our teacher doesn’t let us use it because it’s normal for him, he says “you guys haven’t seen summer yet”. Before he said that I wondered if it got more summer than this, apparently it does.

A couple days ago, about last week: it was burning. Waking up in the night in a pool, dying in the center and then coming home and dying some more. I really feel bad for people that have to do anything outside in heat like this. I can say for sure that this is the hottest weather I’ve ever seen. I heard that in Indonesia the people say there are 3 seasons: “hot” season, “very hot” season, and “incredibly hot” season, and I think that Egypt’s summer is like that “incredibly hot” season:)

How to fight the heat

Other than using an air conditioning there are many other ways to fight the heat in Egypt. One way is drinking juice, yes drinking juice. There are places or sometimes people on the street that sell fresh squeezed fruits and you can get anything from mango to guava. The juices are really delicious and is definitely a must-try thing for one that’s visiting to Egypt. The juice not only tastes good but is very refreshing too.

Another way to stay cool is to open windows. Windows are good and let in wind and fresh air however sometimes isn’t a good idea. In “oven days” I would strictly advise not to open windows. These are but some ways to survive this desert climate.

Oh I almost forgot, There is also another way,  I leaf through the internet and see it. I named it simply “the box” method. You will see the details in the picture below. I think I should try this:)

 

Here in Egypt there are 3 ways a man without a car can go araoud. One puplic buses. Two taxis and three microbuses. Microbuses are vans with 3 rows of seats. The last seat of the first two rows fold to make a passage way to the back seats. These microbuses vary in models. The older ones being smaler and less comftable and the newer ones being more comftable and biger.

In Egypt microbus is an essential and often really useful. It is a cheaper and faster way of transportation. You can find one easily. For example if I were to leave my house I could find the right micro bus in ten minute.  

The way it works is, they have bus stops where many microbuses wait. When the microbus fills up the driver takes of. Usually going really fast and reckless. It stops when ever the person needs to stop and picks up some one if there is any free space. They directly go to their destination and there every one gets off. Then he collects new people and heads back to the station.

Of course there are bad sides to microbuses. For example it could take some tine to fill the micro bus and most micro bus drivers don't move without filling every seat. This usually makes the rides very uncomfortable and crowded. Some times getting in a microbus can be a problem. For example if there is a lot of people waiting for a microbus then as soon as one comes every one rushes. People can get injured or pushed out of the way.

In conclusion micobuses are really important in Egypt. Usually being chased over buses do to their direct routes and fastness. They could be crowded and small but at the end of the day they are the most efficient way to go somewhere in Egypt

 

This day was the best out of all because after breakfast my cousin tought me how to use a bow and arrow and afterwords we played soccer. The we went to the cinemas hoping to watch Captain America civil war, but it had already started and we had a curfew. So we whatched a Turkish comedy instead, and it was a bucket of laughs. The. We ate food outside and returned back to get our bags ready since I was returning to eygypt tomorrow morning. I was really both happy and sad since I was leaving Istanbul so early, but my mom, brother, and sisters was coming to Cairo with me to visit. Hopefully I will blog about my family visit to Cairo another time!

The end

 

We woke up early and got dressed. A bus came to pick some of us up to take us to the wedding place. The wedding program itself was shorter than I expected and honestly, I thought it was boring. At the end of the program the groom and the bride went to their new house and everyone split up going to their own homes. At the house we whent outside drank tea and ate sunflower seeds, and in Turkey that more than inof to have a long chattery conversation with family and friends. Honestly that was more fun than the wedding. Night fell upon us and we went inside to sleep.

After I woke up we had breakfast with all the family members, and afterwords my little brother who came yesterday my cousins and I hung out in the neighborhood. Then my brother and I visited our grandfather who live close by and stayed their until night. Before it was time to sleep we went back and got our stuff ready since the big day was coming tomorrow. We slept early so we could wake up on time.

 

A kills days ago I was in Istanbul, Turkey. It's was a 4 day visit for my aunts wedding. I landed in Istanbul around 4 o'clock AM so I was dead. My uncle picked me up from the airport and we arrived at his house at 6 o'clock AM. I fell asllep on a couch and when I woke up it was 2 PM. So I slept for 8 hours straight. At that time my cousin came from his school so we chated and hung around for a while. Then towards night all the relatives from other country's or city's came for the same reason that I did and we chated with them. At night when everybody went to sleep I stayed awake, not because I was jetlag there is only a 1 hour difference between Cairo and Istanbul , but because I already slept 8 hours that day.However still I fell asleep around 4 o'clock AM.

To be continued.......

 

Couple weeks ago we did a barbecue on the roof of a building. We all had jobs to do and my job was to sit beside the fire and coock the meat. I was glad not only because it's the most important part in a barbecue but because every time we did a barbacue the chicken wings were never clocked right.  So it was my chance to show everyone how it's done. The wings were grilled and everyone loved it so much, that we finished the plate as quick as a horse. It was a good night and good experience for me and I hope to try again some other day.

 

There are many rich countries in the world but unfortunately Egypt isn't one of them. There are rich people in Egypt but there are also many poor people. There are villas of the rich but there are also the ruins of the poor.

Twenty six percent of Egypt right now is in poverty. That is close to the poverty rate in America despite America being way bigger. Forty nine percent of Egypt cannot provide the basic food needs. The reason is because the salary of an average person earns around one hundred dollars per month but the cost of living is very high. This wage is very low when compared to the average salary of an American.

In Egypt I always see poor people everywhere. These people don't have anything. They don't have homes, good clothes or food. Poor people in Egypt tend to beg more than the poor in America. Next to my school there is a poor lady and her baby who don't let you leave until you have given them money. Sometimes even if you don't have money they don't let go. Once I was walking in the street and a little poor girl took my juice. I let her have it but I wasn’t used to having someone just take it of my hand. Hopefully things will change for the better in the future.

 

My adventures in Egypt all started when I landed in Cairo airport by myself. My friends had all ready came to Egypt and started there class a month before I came to Egypt. I came late because I was waiting for my visa approval. A week before my arrival we learned that Egypt gave visas to people 16 and under at the airport.
   
So there I was waiting in the line. My heart pumping faster than ever. I was scared. It was my first time traveling alone. There was a yellow line on the ground that no one was spouse to pass until it were there turn, but it seemed as no one payed attention to it because no one waited for their turn to
   
Done with that I was a little relieved. I continued my way towards the baggages. I got my baggages and made my way towards the exit. At the exit an officer checked my passport while another checked my baggages. After checking my baggages they let me go and I exited the baggage area. As soon as I took a step outside taxi drivers came up to me and started to ask me with their half and half English if any body was picking me off or if I needed a ride.
   
I knew that a man named Hussam was going to pick me up. So I told them that I did not need a ride. Not after a while came a taxi driver to me. In coincidence his name was also Hussam. I didn’t realize he was a taxi driver until he started to talk about his prices. After realizing that he was not the right Hussam I told him I had someone coming to pick me up and left him and went somewhere with less people. Their I called the right Hussam and after 20 minutes he picked me up.
   
He took me to the house I was going to stay with my friends. My friends were at the school. I rested a bit since I was tired from the 2 flights I had. After resting I went to the language school “Nile Center” that my friend were in. It was good to my friends again. I the first weeks I got used to my surroundings and got used to Egypt. After a while I reached up to my friends in Arabic. This was the beginning of my adventures.

In the middle of the semester our Arabic teacher said that will have a party at the end of the year where we are going to talk, sing, and show our Arabic skills. He said all of the teachers are going to watch you guys. Of course we got scared and nervous. Then one week ago the principle said that it will be a test where you guys will talk about America. I felt better but I was still  nervous to speak in front of all the teachers and the principle.       
 Today was the day we took the speaking test. It was at 12:00 which is our lunch break. We ate a quick lunch and then went to the presentation room. We waited for a few minutes until the first person came, then another, then the vice principal. We thought all the teachers were going to come but only five came. I was relieved to see only five teachers.
       
All the students went in order, speaking about America. It wasn't to hard and we talked about simple stuff like education and economy. After we were done they said that we all got good scores. This was the final test of the year.

 

One thing many people would think is that all of Egypt is all sand. Actually this is not true. It has deserts and it also has places with grass. The top of Egypt has more grass. Cairo is near the desert but since it is mostly city you can't see much sand. In new Cairo since the houses are far apart you can tell it's in the desert. When we went to shamoussa it was different. It was Sandy but since it was next to the ocean there were many palm trees. If you go towards the top of Egypt it is grassier than the bottom.
     

The Nile is the longest river in the world and go’s through Egypt. It starts around the equator and goes all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. Some parts of the Nile are very clean but some parts are really dirty. The Nile at Cairo is very dirty. At lower places like Aswan the Nile us clean and beautiful. Also the top of the Nile is a very beautiful place. It is green and the weather is beautiful

 

We went on many great trips but there are also trips that were not good. The worst trip that we went on was the trip to Giza zoo. Compared to zoos in America this one is not even comparable. After paying a pricey fee to enter you have to pay another fee to see the elephants, camels, and reptiles. It's a total rip off.

The zoo didn't have a lot of animals and the cages of the animals were unequal. By this I don't mean a bird should have the same amount of space with a lion. I mean the animals should have appropriate places. For example, the Lions were locked up in cells the size of a small bathroom. All of the Lions were lying down, without energy. The funny thing was that one giraffe had as much space as my backyard.

The pelicans also lived in a horrible place. They had a very large river leading to a pond but the bad thing about this pond is that it was basically the zoos trash deposit. Everyone threw their garbage in this pond. The color of the pond was a really dark green color.

That day we also ate a bad lunch. There's a very famous Egyptian food called koshery. It's a mixture of macaroni types. Usually it's very good, but this place did not make it very well. It probably wouldn’t have been as bad if it didn’t have an overwhelming amount of spices. Also the man gave me too much sauce so my lunch was basically a spicy macaroni soup.

Egypt is a big country with many places to go. We went to a few of them and there are still so many places to see. The first place we went to was hadigat El ezher, which is a huge Park. It's full of trees, fountains, and a large hill. It was nice to climb to the top and take in the view.

El Ezher Park

The next place we went to was the famous pyramids. In the morning we got our visas from tahrir square after waiting for two hours then we got lunch and then went to the pyramids. The pyramids were fascinating. After the pyramids we went on many other trips. Egypt is definitely a place with many places to go.


       
 In the future we are planning to go to Alexandria. We were supposed to go there this year but between our studies and other affairs we ran out of time. Hopefully we will go to Alexandria next year. I am looking forward for our trips next year.  My overall favorite trip was when we went to shamoussa. The trip was a boring three hour long trip but we were relieved when we saw how nice the place was. There were five swimming pools and the Red Sea. First we swam in the Red Sea but there were a lot of sharp rocks. Later we went to the pools. I tried every single pool in the place. After a tiring day we finally returned home. That night was a night I slept very well.

Shamoussa

These past 8 months in Egypt has been hard but it's almost over. Soon we are going back to America. I can remember when we went home for winter break 5 months ago. It seems like it went so fast but actually it lasts pretty long because we were supposed to go back to Egypt after 15 days but fortunately we stayed for a little more than 20 days.


     
When we came back to Egypt from winter recess the airplane was empty. I took up two seats next to the window and one of my friends had three seats all to himself. It was a comfortable ride. The ride to America was bad. It was crowded and the people all drank wine which didn’t smell pleasant. We will see how the ride to America will be after 20 days and I'm hoping it will be empty like it was when we came to Egypt.

I also remember how hot it was when we first came, it was very hot. When we came back from winter break the weather was good for 3 weeks then it became really cold. For around 2 months it was very cold.  Now once again it is really hot and is to get hotter. Some days are hotter than others. I can't wait to go to America and see the difference between the weather.

The first day we came to Egypt I remember us going to get juice. In Egypt there are little juice markets where juice is made fresh. The fruits in Egypt are fresher and juicier than in America. The first juice I got was peach juice. It was very good but when I got it three weeks later it was horrible. The reason was because peach season was out. The seasons really matter in Egypt. In America since a lot of the fruits come from other places you could find great fruit all year long, but in Egypt most fruits are raised in places near by. I once drank orange juice in the end of summer and it was very sour.


There are two Egyptian fruits that are hard to find in America. These fruits are sugarcane and guava. These fruits are found in America but not a good as the ones in Egypt. Sugarcane can be eaten full or can be drank as juice. Sugarcane is very healthy for you but the first time I drank it tasted like grass. After drinking it for a long time I grew accustomed to it and now I like it. I also ate guava a few times but I didn’t like it as much. Another famous fruit in Egypt is mango. The mango of Egypt is better than America too.



Another thing that is good about fruits in Egypt is that they are very cheap. You can get a lot of fruits for a small amount of money. This is why everyone in Egypt can afford and enjoy these fruits.

 

In Eygpt I saw lots of stray cats in the streets. I saw stray dogs too but there was a great number of cats especially around trash cans. I remember in history classes we learned how the ancient Eygptians counted cats as holy animals or something like that. I don't know if that has anything to do with why there is a bunch of stray cats in Eygpt, but it's a theory. Also I know that no one is doing anything about these stray animals. It's not rare to find dead cats or roadkills. Hopfully later on in the future someone would stand up and do something about this and save those poor creatures. 

The reason I came to Egypt, so far away from my home was for one reason: to learn Arabic. Arabic truly is a rich and beautiful language, and by rich I mean that this is a language where there is a word for “looking at someone weirdly”. I’ve seen some thick books translated into Arabic and they kinda lose that thick aspect. Arabic is a very enriched language.

When I first came to Egypt I didn’t know a single word of Arabic. Ever since that I really have advanced a lot and gotten better generally. And right now there’s less than two weeks left of Arabic classes. These last couple of days we’ve been going over the things that we did before and bow that I realize, Arabic grammar is just like math; there are “rules” and “formulas” to write and speak correctly.

The one thing that intimidated me a lot before I started taking classes was that Arabs read without “harakats” which are pretty much the vowels in Arabic. It’s like reading “rdng” as “reading”, or is it “riding”; the only way you can tell what a word is, is by reading the sentence around it or using the little amount of “harakats” given.

Despite how hard it is, it’s definitely worth it to learn Arabic, especially in an Arab country. Right now I understand almost all of traditional Arabic, notice that I said “traditional”. Every Arab country has their own “Ammiyah”, their own dialect. In Egypt they also have a dialect which most Arab movies and TV shows are in. However unfortunately for me I barely understand anyhing from Egyptian dialect. It’s almost as if they’re speaking another language. When I come back next year I hope to learn Egyptian “Ammiyah”. My biggest self-goal for next year is to be able to undersand and talk “Ammiyah”. As I said before Egyptians are nice people, and it is my role to understand them.

 

There are many things in Egypt that are cheaper than things in America, for example a bottle of water is around  2  Egyptian pounds which equals less than a dime.

1 dollar is equal to 10 Egyptian pounds. Most food items are cheap not passing 10 pounds.  A small chocolate bar is usually around 5 pounds and a huge bag of bread is also around that. As you can see many food items are cheap, but when you consider the average salary of a Egyptian everything is very expensive.  A teacher at a school doesn't get more than 1500 pounds a month. This is barely enough money for housing, running water, gas, food and family expenses. We may see  price of a chocolate bar at 50 cents while they see it at 5 dollars, but this is not it. Electronics are the same price as in America. Imagine buying a new smartphone for 10.000 dollars, that's what it's like.

Once we went to a restaurant in new Cairo. When I usually get a meal from outside it doesn’t cost more than 15 pounds. We went to this restaurant and the dish I got was 90 pounds. It was really cheap compared to prices in America but so expensive compared to other meals.

Everyone in Egypt keeps telling me the same thing, not Egyptians but other people older than me. They say “there are 2 things that goes fast while your in Egypt, those 2 things are money and time.” In my 7 months of living in Egypt I've come to a conclusion that this is true. Money runs out really fast and time goes by really fast.
     

 

Egypt Education System: An Overview

Egypt is known for its extensive education system as compared to other countries of Middle East and North Africa. In Egypt, education is offered for free and is also mandatory from grades 1 to 9th, in both public and private schools. Since the basic education is free and compulsory, there is an embedded consciousness on how education must be valued among the citizens of this country.

How it Works: Demographics

Egypt has both government schools and private schools. For government schools, there are two types: Arabic and Experimental language schools. The national curriculum for government schools is in Arabic but different languages are also taught in the primary and secondary level like English, French, Spanish, Italian and more.

For private schools, there are four types:

1. Ordinary Schools

2. Language Schools

3. Religious Schools

4. International Schools

First are the ordinary schools which almost have the same features as government schools but with increased attention to the students’ needs. There are also language schools which specialize in teaching foreign languages to students who wish to take up foreign studies in the future. There are also private schools which are identified as religious schools since they are run by religious institutions present in Egypt. The fourth type of private school in Egypt is international schools. International schools follow curriculums from other countries like the U.S. and the United Kingdom.

 

Levels of Education

The primary education in Egypt runs from 1st grade to 9th grade. For secondary education, a student can choose whether to pursue general education (high school) or technical (vocational track). The curriculum of technical education is centred on commercial, agricultural and industrial tracks.

As for Egypt’s tertiary education system, the country has also developed an extensive system because of the many public and private universities present in the country. Included in this list of universities is the Al-Azhar University which was founded in 970 AD and is the oldest running universities of today in the whole world.

Education as Top Priority

The government of Egypt consciously puts priority to the country’s education system. As of 2015, 6% of the GDP is allocated to the country’s education sector. The wealth gap is seen in how individuals have different levels of educational attainment because of financial status. With primary education free, the wealth gap will be of no crucial concern anymore because education is made accessible to everyone.

As compared to the US education system, Egypt proves itself to be more accessible especially in terms of tertiary education.The United States is known for its education sector to not be that accessible and wide reaching for everyone especially in the tertiary level.

As of 2010, more than two million students were enrolled in different colleges and universities in the entire Egypt. The government of Egypt is  continuously taking steps in further improving the education system in the country. In 2014, the initiative to reduce gender differences and disparity in education was introduced in order to make it more accessible to everyone, regardless of the gender. In order for improvements in the education sector to flourish more, the tension between government responsibility and academic freedom should be resolved.

The ancient Egyptians believed that it was important to record and communicate information about religion and government. Thus, they invented written scripts that could be used to record information.       
The most famous of all ancient Egyptian scripts is hieroglyphic. However, throughout three thousand years of ancient Egyptian civilization, at least three other scripts were used for different purposes. Using these scripts, scribes were able to preserve the beliefs, history, and ideas of ancient Egypt on the walls of temples, tombs, and on papyrus scrolls.
     
The three types of Egyptian scripts are hieratic, demotic, and Coptic. Some of them are easier to understand, for example in hieratic a star looks like a normal star but in the other writings it could look different.
         

The writings of ancient Egypt is truly amazing. After these amazing writings came a even more amazing script and that is the Arabic script used to write the Arabic language, which is commonly used in Egypt today.

We are close to ending our Egypt journey for this year; less than a month is left! I will miss a lot of things about Egypt when I return, especially the delicious food we eat here. I will also miss the way how the city never sleeps. In the beginning, when we came here, we couldn't sleep peacefully at night due to our house being close to a busy road. Whereas now to think to have a sleep in America feels weird due to the complete silence there. But I miss America too due to the silence.

When I go back to America, I will miss the way how a car is not required to go everywhere. You can walk or ride a taxi (very cheap!). At nights, I walk around and go to the markets to buy drinks and chips. The crime rate is really low which is why everyone is always outside. Egyptians enjoy their life to the full without any fear of crimes, theft or shoplifting. It is rare to see something like that in America.

Once I go back to America, one of the things I am going to do there is to get enrolled for a basketball team because I have not played for quite a long time. I will also take a nice walk in the park to enjoy the air and the greenery, which Egypt lacks a bit. Besides, I would love to be with my family again.

Before we came to Egypt to study the Arabic language we have heard that there was an old Cairo and new Cairo. Among friends we were debating where would it be better to stay in new Cairo or old Cairo. New Cairo is a calm and quiet suburban place with huge houses which are kind of like small villas. Old Cairo is loud and crowded and it's all city. A bad thing about new Cairo is that we would be 30 minutes away from school and the markets in new Cairo are really expensive compared to old Cairo. A good thing about old Cairo is that school would be 5 minutes away on foot and everything would be very cost effective. In the end we chose to live in old Cairo. 

 We stayed in a apartment with 3 bedrooms and one bathroom. We were fine until we came across a few problems. First of all we got mice in our house. When we learned about the mice we got mouse traps. We caught around 12 mice that month. Also another problem was having one bathroom. We were 7 people in that house and one bathroom wasn’t enough. Sometimes a few people needed to go in at the same time which made it a problem. The last problem was the kitchen. I think we had the smallest kitchen in Cairo because the walking space in the kitchen wasn’t much bigger then the surface of my bed. Also it got dirty really easily and the counters were always sticky for some reason.

In the beginning of this month we decided to move. Our new house has 3 bathrooms and 3 bedrooms. Also a spacious kitchen and living room. It is also closer to our school. We’ve been in it for almost 2 weeks and it's great. Another great thing that this house has a balcony, something that our other house didn’t have. Also, there is no sign of mice as long as one them from our old house didn’t try to sneak in one of our bags when we first moved.  I think we’re OK...