A Bit of Miscellany

Salaam Alaykum!

I don’t have any specific experience or event to write about in this post, but a trip is about more than just things that happen and your reflections on them. Sometimes you also make a series of observations that begin to form part of a sort of coherent picture, and when that begins to happen, or doesn’t happen, I’ll probably file it under miscellany. That and anything else random I feel like sharing at the moment.

As a girl going to Egypt, one of my first concerns was dress. I knew I’d have to cover up more than at home and I was both annoyed and worried that I’d have to do this in 100-degree heat. First off, the heat is surprisingly tolerable. I know it’s going to get worse but I’m pretty grateful for that. Even with that aside, I really think that there’s something to be said for modesty. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for freedom of expression, and I think the institutionalization of something like modesty destroys much of the beauty in it. But we must remember that even without political or religious mandates, there are still social pressures on how people, particularly women, should dress. And these are just as prevalent in America.  Many women in the states feel compelled to show their bodies in the same way that they feel compelled to hide them here. At first I thought it was just the little traditional Pakistani in me talking, but a group of us girls were discussing it yesterday and we agreed that, really, no one wants to see women in booty shorts. There’s something delightful in the reserve it takes to want to cover yourself, though I think the feeling goes only as far as the ability to make the decision of your own volition, and that concept seems a little too idealistic to sit well with me.

On a perhaps less insightful note, while I may be covered, I still manage to remain constantly dirty. I know my mother is cringing in her seat right now, but honestly mom, I can’t help it. You get out of the shower and the moment you walk outside you get grimy again with the dust in the air and on the ground, air conditioning water dripping on your head from the buildings above, and your own sweat. It sounds horrifying, but you can’t fight it. You just have to give in to it, and once you do, it’s actually kind of nice. Perhaps that’s disgusting or something, but the situation is unavoidable, so you might as well let it make you a little more care free, if only for the time being.

Lastly, I suppose I should touch on the matter of safety. I’d feel safer in Cairo than New York- any day of the week. Probably even more than Chicago or Atlanta, and definitely more than Durham. We were all surprised. A woman chased after me in the metro because I accidently left my change of 25 piastres at the counter. That’s less than 5 cents. One of the guys in our group received an email yesterday in broken English from a taxi driver saying that he had his i-pod and should call him to get it back. You may have heard about the large amount of catcalling that goes on in Egypt, but not once have any of us been touched, shoved, or scared about our safety in any way (except, perhaps, because of the traffic). We’re always very cautious anyway, but it was indeed a pleasant surprise.

Oh, and one last thing. I ate Egyptian style McDonalds yesterday. It was quite possibly one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.

Ma’Salaama J