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.