Zewak - Spring Break

Our first stop during spring break was in a village called Zewak, where at least 25 students from NUA live. It is in Upper Egypt, and it is very conservative. In Egyptian culture, a guest must at LEAST have a drink with the family that they visit and can't really reject food. If they do, it is taken very personally and is insulting to the family. We stayed in Zewak for only two days... and I don't think we could have survived any more than that. The people were wonderful. We learned a lot, and it really opened my eyes to where these students come from and why they think the way that they do. Here are parts of my journal entries. If I tried to just write about them in blogs, I would be overwhelmed with all the details that I would feel the need to include, and I would never end up writing anything.



Friday, March 25, 2010 between 7:30 & 8:30pm - Ashraf's living room
I am so full I want to die... and we haven't eaten dinner yet. Saeeda's house, Wael's house, Malak & Talat's house to Ibrahim N's house, to Wael's again, to Maged S's house and to Ashraf's. Next we will go to Romany A's.

3/26/10 12:04am -- on my bed at (student)'s house
Jessica ate so much she literally almost threw up. (Student)'s mom gave us mahshy when we came back from from Romany's dad's coffee shop. I found a fingernail in mine. Krista told me... (something personal) ... We laughed and then stopped ourselves because girls shouldn't laugh (or even be outside) in public. The Christian women stay inside all day--when Maryam opened the door for Beth and Krista, she hid behind the door--and when they do have to go out, they wear this giant black burka-looking thing. They pull it over their heads and grab two corners, which they hold open just enough to be able to see. It's almost scary looking. I never want to hear them criticize Muslims about covering themselves. Never. It angers me that girls are trapped inside all day. The police keep talking to Wael and bothering him for our information. If he pays them, they will most likely leave us alone.



At Ashraf's house, Michael said, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no potatoes." It sounds dumb, but it couldn't be more true. I was SO full. It was miserable. And every strawberry, cup of Tang (mixed with tap water), or anything else questionable that we had to eat, we prayed for God's blessing. I pray that no one gets sick.

...I am so full.

I almost stepped on like 20 dead birds just laying in the roads today.

This reminds me of Maryam M's village, but I like how they treat women there much much better.

I feel like if I married a Zewakese guy and then came back to visit his family it could easily be "Not Without My Daughter II." The men get custody, and who would help me if my husband says not to? It was really scary to think about. The people are so sweet, but this will never be my home. ... This is rooted and ingrained in [them]... The man is in control. The woman cooks and cleans like there's no tomorrow and stays inside... I'm glad I'm here, and I hope to always be grateful for everything. I hope to never be the next Sally Fields. Oh God, please be with these women and young girls.

Sunday, March 28, 2010 9:45am - on the train on the way from Zewak to Luxor
I'm sitting across from poor Krista who just threw up in a bag. She threw up right before we got on the train right next to a bench. Mina was with her holding her stuff. They were all so sweet. They offered to let her come back with them and then to take her to a hospital. I went and got her a Sprite. Mina told us to not let anything happen to his mom. (He calls Krista "Omee" and "Ma," and she calls him "ibnee." It's so funny.)

Jessica and Michael had gotten sick on Friday night/Saturday morning. Poor things. We told (student)'s family that we didn't want any breakfast, but they made a ton and tried to force her to eat. Jessica was so good and made herself eat cucumbers, but they kept pushing. We finally told--Break. Krista just threw up again. Poor thing.--We finally told them that she threw up that morning... it didn't make a difference. (Student)'s mom said that she would feel better when she ate more. I downed Jessica's sweet hot milk (along with other juices throughout the day). Finally I got almost mean because I was straightforward in saying, "No, she cannot. She will throw up again if she eat or drinks anything. No." They didn't get it, and it was actually starting to make me angry. She'll get better if she eats more?

We went to Sabbath school at the SDA church. There was hardly anyone there. It was really sad. They need help down there. ...

Yesterday after church we went to Gad's, Mina F's grandma/relative's, Adeeb & Adel's, Benjamin Z's, Wagdy's, Mina E's, Wael H's again (which was like home base for us), and Shagia's for lunch and Mina S's for dinner. Shagia's was fun. There were tons of neighborhood kids that we played w/ and took pictures w/. We rode their horses, and Krista and Beth rode camels. It was fun.





We drank more Tang and Coke/Sprite than ever. At least 10 yesterday. I wanted to die.

I loved all the animals and students, but I could never live there as a woman...

I made a little boy cry yesterday when he hit me and I told him no, so he started to bite my hand. I grabbed his arm and tried to take away his palm branches (for Palm Sunday), and he cried and held a grudge against me... This four(ish) year old told Mina F that he was going to kill me outside. I was trying to make peace with him by showing him pictures on my camera. Then Mina told him to tell me no, so this little boy started to remember his grudge against me. I got mad. Mina had said to me, "But he's only a child," I said, "Yeah, and kids are smart. If you don't teach them to obey when they're young, they don't listen later." Me and the little boy made peace--I'll finish writing this later.

Field Trip to Alex

Monday, March 29, 2010 12:39pm – in the van on the way to… I actually don’t know where.

It’s spring break, and it’s just us seven SMs now travelling around in Upper Egypt with a tour guide who drives a really bumpy bus. That would be pretty fun except half of us have gotten sick this break so far, so it’s an uncomfortable ride for us. Poor Michael—he’s the worst right now.

On Wednesday, we took a school field trip to Alexandria, and we visited the famous Bibliotheca Alexandrina (which gets cooler every time I go.) I read a book about genetics and there was some super racist quote from Winston Churchill, which was just astounding. I also read part of Martyrdom and Rome from which I learned that martyrdom was pretty much unheard of prior to Christianity. Most Egyptians do not like to read (at all!) which has been quite evident throughout this year, so the library was a little much for some. Next we drove down to the beach and ate lunch. It was kind of cold out, but some of the maguneen (crazy people) went swimming. They were hilarious. They were running around and playing like little kids by burying themselves in the sand and running and jumping into the water. I like that they are really playful because they are adamantly opposed to being compared to “children” in any way. I have realized that in America, we really value children. We have been taught that it is good to be a kid when you are a kid. We’re not in a huge rush to grow up and become “men and women.” But here, there are eight year old boys working in the minibuses to count the money and hang out the window yelling the name of the city that they’re going to. They don’t eat suckers because suckers are for “sa children.” Cartoons are “for sa children.” It’s kind of sad. But ironically, many of the things that we consider to be behavior of children are found in the adults here—such as taking extreme offense from impersonal insults (like “None of your father’s business,”) and having incessant need to have the last word in an argument. I’m not saying that my ways and understanding are better, but those are what I understand and those are what I have seen.

We stopped at the beach in Alexandria and ate lunch there. The students had a really good time running in and out of the water—despite the cooler temperatures. They’re so much fun. They were burying themselves in the sand and throwing each other into the sea.

Oh, I forgot to mention that whenever we leave the school, everyone goes all out and dresses up. The girls go shopping for new clothes and do their hair. I can’t tell much difference with the Egyptian guys, but the Sudanese guys are all dressed like they stepped out of an MTV music video. They’re wearing big baggy clothes with a matching wide-brimmed baseball hat and bling around their necks. It’s just so funny to us SMs because they are nothing like anyone we’ve ever met who dresses like that. It’s kind of sad at the same time—that they idolize those famous rappers who stand for things completely contrary to what these students believe. These students, dressed like thugs and gangsters, wouldn’t hurt a fly and are some of the most respectful young people I have ever met in my life.



That night we went to this mini carnival/amusement part type of deal. Some of the rides were really fun, but there was one that made me feel like I was going to die. We sat on this circular bench with a back, and then this thing started to turn in a circle and bounce up and down. After a while, people were flying off the benches and sliding across the circle. They were bouncing around and landing on top of each other. Michael said that he was enjoying it until he saw the terror in my eyes. Haha. People were landing on my feet, my camera flew across circle, my jeans caught on this thing, I was clinging to the bars around the outside for dear life, and the ride finally stopped when one of our girls hurt her head and we motioned to the guy to stop the ride. I just laughed about it later thinking that there would be so many lawsuits about that crazy thing.



On the way back, our bus broke down, so we had to wait an hour and a half for another bus to come, and then we had another two hours to drive. We ended up getting back to the school at 3:30am. I have always been interested in personality types—especially the Myers-Briggs 16 types. Learning about the different personalities has helped me in America with how to deal with certain kinds of peoples, but fortunately that has carried over to Egypt despite the cultural and language barriers. Learning more about these has helped me in figuring out how to teach and how to deal with certain issues. It has also made me more aware of who I am and what kind of people I connect with well and the reasons for that. Most parts of the personality types are complementary (extroverts click with introverts, thinking with feeling, and perceiving and judging), but the ones that don’t really fit are the sensing and intuition because they are whole different ways of looking at life. That’s the conclusion I reached on that bus trip.

I have so much to write about from spring break… later.

Started but never finished - 3/23/10

I almost beat more students yesterday than any other day since I came to Egypt. In my tenth grade class, we were reading over and discussing answers to the chapter questions for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Every two chapters they have a quiz, and I was making sure that they understand everything. One student, who by very specific circumstances is supposed to be mature and honest and responsible, sits in the very front row. His desk is pushed up against mine. I looked down, and I saw him with another girl's paper, copying the very questions that we were answering from her paper. Right in front of my face. I snatched the papers away, put them under something on my desk, and continued to talk as to avoid making a scene

I never finished writing this one.

Apparently the only time that I get to write blogs is during "Love Comes Softly" movies. Everyone dies and everyone falls in love. They enunciate clearly and say corny and fluffy things to each other. Here I am, sitting next to my husband Michael, and we are enthralled. This creep is sitting behind "Mrs. Lahaye," and I would like him to go away because I'm not over "Willie's" death yet.

Next Wednesday, we are going on a school trip to Alexandria. We're going to the library, the citadel, and some other place. We will also be able to go swimming. (I wonder how that's going to work out because swimming times for girls and guys at the school are different.) I'm looking forward to it. On Thursday night, we're starting our spring break by leaving for Zewak, which is the village in Upper Egypt where about 20 of our students live. I'm really looking forward to going because it will be so different from anything that I have seen. The guy SMs went to Zewak in November, and they came back with a lot of stories and new experiences. The students are SO excited for us to come, and I am really looking forward to see where they come from. Some of them... like Ashraf... I would just love to see where he comes from. He is the most sanguine ninth grader who is always smiling (and talking) who will one day be a smooth-talker, except for his grammar. He reminds us of one of those cute hyper little dogs that you can't help but love. He is one that just astounds me sometimes. I will be in the middle of teaching something, and Ashraf will come right up to my desk with a specific question on his homework that was due three days ago. Seriously? If he's talking too much during class and I subtract points from him, he says, "God forgive you, Miss." There's no point in trying to logic with him and convince him that God is not going to do whatever he wants God to do. I just love Ashraf... and all the rest. If I tried to explain these students to you... it wouldn't work, and it makes me sad. I'm so grateful to have other SMs here that understand. We joke about how we will just be able to text each other "Dawood" or "Chaleng" or any other student's name and we will crack up. Oh, I never want to forget.

Blunt ramblings about cultural differences I think are ignorant

I would like to vent. One of the girls told me that they were told in dorm worship that they shouldn't open their legs more than what looked like a 40 degree angle because then they might not be virgins anymore. Excuse me? They might not be virgins anymore? Man, I would hate to lose my virginity to... stretching or playing basketball or riding a bike... or accidentally falling down. (Was that too explicit/blunt/just rude/completely inappropriate?) You are a virgin until you have had sex. Oh goodness. I would like to thoroughly educate the world about hymens and how easily they can tear. Beth was telling us that during her rotation in OB, a baby was born with her hymen not in tact. Do not teach these poor girls that they are unfit to be married because they tore their hymen while running too fast. In very traditional Egyptian places, the parents come the morning after the wedding night to see the bloody sheet. Excuse me? Mind your own business. What is our way of determining his virginity? There is none. But I guess it doesn't matter what he does because it's not his fault if the girl is "asking for it." Leave the poor girl alone, and go home because you cannot see the sheet. I'm planning on talking to Pastor Tom about having a time when we can divide the girls and guys and just talk to them about certain things. I will tell Alec exactly what I want the guys to know. I want it very clear that a man determines the sex of a baby and that unstained sheets don't convict her of harlotry. I would like to speak very directly about hymens, anger management, physical and sexual abuse, female circumcision, and many more things. Oh poor girls. I've felt like such a feminist today. No... I feel like I'm just realistic. These girls are flabby and in terrible health because they "might not be virgins" if they actually move. Seriously?

I have come to see that a lot of people who are considered "good people" seem to believe that their goodness is allowed to be dependent on others' goodness. One girl told me that a guy was being inappropriate, and this guy is--so it seems--is one of the most upstanding guys in the school. She told him to leave her alone, and his response was something to effect of his actions being okay because it was her. That made me sick. I was absolutely infuriated. I vented and lectured whichever poor students were around me, and I ingrained in their minds that if they EVER EVER EVER EVER hit a girl, I would come back to Egypt and beat them. I was thinking that the only reason to ever get violent is because the person has no other way of controlling the situation. "My wife won't do what I want her to do or say what I want her to say, my boss yelled at me at work and I have no control, so let me hit my wife." I made it so clear that only weak men who don't know how to get control hit people weaker than them. (At least I made it clear that that was my opinion.) One of those guys asked me later to tell my class what I told him today. It gets me so worked up. I also considered that if a man is incredibly protective of his wife/girlfriend out on the streets, so protective that he would rip off his belt and beat someone for calling her a moza, and then he goes home and hits her, then his protection for her in the first situation was really only about himself. It was for his pride. No one should ever call his woman a disrespectful name. They had better not believe that he is weak enough to let someone do that. It reminded me of what I read in my book on Egyptian culture that my dad gave me to read before I got here. It said women should not sit in the front of a taxi. If they do, it is basically giving the cab driver permission to touch her leg because "no respectable Muslim woman would put herself in that place." I'm sure that not every guy feels this way, but it was just incredibly disappointing, and it makes me so very protective of my girls. I don't really get angry when it comes to things about myself, but if it concerns my sisters, my campers, my students, anyone who is "mine," oh... you'd better look out.

Tina is coming in May, and I'm so excited. I gave a worship thought on Proverbs 31:30--"Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." I said that the pretty girls will one day be hags, and when you've had a bad day at work and come home to screaming kids, would you rather have a beautiful wife or a best friend? When you're too old for sex (I didn't say this part) and you just want someone to talk to you and encourage you, will it matter if she was pretty when she was twenty? As soon as I finished talking about this, I said that I was so thankful that Tina is coming to visit. The first thing that they shouted out was, "IS SHE BEAUTIFUL?!?!?!?!" Ya merari.

Much love to all of you. :)

Resenting Jessica while watching some other tacky movie

Jessica is gone with her family, and we didn't feel like we could watch the next "Love Comes Softly" movie without her, and we are quite resentful. So it's some other Christiany/Inspirational movie. I have not paid attention at all so far. I see a lady jogging on the beach, and she looks distraught. She's watching a funeral. There's another girl with fuzzy red hat.

We took Wael to the airport on Wednesday night, which was really Thursday morning, because he was leaving for America to be with his wife. He has been a really good friend to me and has taken care of me and of my family while they were here. It was... sad. We rented a minibus and all went to meet him at the airport. He is from Alexandria, and he had a small group come to bring him to the airport. The farthest we could go was just to take him to the place where he checked his bags, and then we said bye to him quickly. I watched his mom. Then I watched his dad and his friends. I just wanted to cry for them because he's going to start his new life in a new place, and who knows when they will see him again. The weekend before he left, I was in Alexandria, and he and I stayed up until 5:00am on Saturday night just talking about the differences between America and Egypt. I told him everything from how they give everyone water at restaurants to how people in America see it as feminine when men cross their legs the way the men do here. I said that the police can get involved if a man hits his wife because the only reason for someone to hit another person is that they can't gain the control that they want. I told him about canned foods and how the hand motion that means "wait" in Egypt means absolutely nothing in America. I pray that everyone will... be okay. I just mourn for his parents and his best friends. Mourn--that word sounds so... Biblical and sad, but it feels right. (I overanalyze my word usage.)

I love sitting in his family's shop and watching them work and the people come and go. The guys who work that joke around and laugh and tease each other. Friends come and are greeted with kisses on the cheek and then are invited to take a seat by the small table with Wael's dad. Some little kids come to buy things for their families, and just about every man above the age of 10 buys a pack of cigarettes. I've sat in that shop for many hours, and have drunk MANY cups of tea, Nescafe, cappucinos, and most recently Turkish coffee. (Alec and I drank some while we were there, and he said, "Huh... you can almost chew it.")

By the way, Alec narrated my life during that trip. Everything that was happening he would narrate in a deranged and chauvinistic and even Michael Scott-ish kind of way. I would be drinking my water, and he would say, "Sara slowly sipped her water, congratulating herself on her wise choice of beverages knowing that she, above all, did not need any more sugar in her diet." I looked at him angrily and said, "She also practiced self-control..." He finished my sentence by saying, "...by choosing to drink water instead of sugary drink." So cayad. I don't know how to spell the word "cayad" in English, but a "cayad" person is a troublemaker or someone who likes to make people angry. The students always call Krista "cayada" because she's tough. I have become quite fond of this word and now use it all the time, especially describing Abanoub, one of my 9A students that I like to joke around with.

I plan for my classes and grade papers in the morning from 7:30-10:30 when I have my first class, and one of the student workers is named Peter. He is in 9A, and he has an amazing work ethic and loves to learn. If we use a word that he doesn't know, he asks us how to spell it and then goes to look it up later. His class was watching "Gifted Hands," a movie of Ben Carson's story while Jessica was gone with her family, and he actually took notes and is going to write a report on it--for fun! Oh, we just love him so much. He's quite a breath of fresh air from the "I-don't-really-feel-like-putting-the-last-letter-on-the-end-of-most-words-because-I'm-careless-and-anxious-to-write-my-next-word" kind of students and the "I-was-run" kind of students. ("I was run." Hmm... really?) Peter is a younger student (Alec compares his voice to that of Mickey Mouse) and he is just the sweetest thing. Anyway, Jessica and I taught him to call us "woman" in a really demanding voice (like an ignorant chauvinist) because it was so out of character. Krista was helping him with his math homework during study hall, and I told Peter to ask her, "What's my homework, woman?" She then whispered something, and he turned to me and said, "Make me a sandwich, woman." I busted out laughing so hard. No woman in America wants to be told that her only place is in the kitchen. That's so ridiculous that its only slap-worthy or laugh-worthy, but nothing else. Some of the students heard that, and though they don't understand why it is so funny to say that, they still do. For some it sounds hilarious, and for some it sounds a little to close to something they might actually say. :)

I haven't really gotten to the point of what I wanted to say, but I'm exhausted, so goodnight.

I'm forcing myself to stick with reading Jeremiah. I have tried to read it, but then I have felt overwhelmed by my lack of knowledge and then quit. The more that I read in one sitting, the more it makes sense to me. I read about Manasseh in Jeremiah 15 and then turned back to 2 Kings 21 & 23, and it's really interesting. Try to read a lot in one sitting.

Rain

It rained today. Normally when I would say that I would be referring to five drops on my shirt that I took a picture of to prove that it happened. No, it rained. There is no drainage system because it rains on average less than a centimeter a year, but the streets were full of puddles and were so muddy. We had gone to a students' birthday party in Ain Shams, and I almost wiped out every three feet on the way back to the metro. The metro was shut down because of the rain, so when they finally started running again, they were super crowded. As the metro approached, I felt a wave of heat and humidity billow out of the window, and we pushed our way on without any room to breathe. It was like a giant group hug, and the poles on the train felt wet from all of the humidity and body heat. It took a long time to find a minibus back to the school, and we were wet and frizzy and covered in mud. This was just so weird today.

Jessica's family is here. It has been really nice. They got here on Tuesday night and then on Wednesday Dr. Weaver and Justin (who is almost finished with dental school) checked every students' teeth. The Weavers brought a toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss for each student, and I am just so grateful for that. Some of them had some really bad teeth and complained that they were in a lot of pain, and they were so appreciative. Some students had been looking forward to the free dental check up for months. Most of the Egyptian students hardly brush their teeth, whereas the Sudanese have much better dental hygiene. Dr. Weaver didn't bring equipment to fill cavities, so he is giving the reports to Mrs. Peggy (the nurse practitioner) who will take them to get their cavities filled. Today, a lot of teeth were pulled, and the students seemed kind of proud of it. They were trying to talk with a mouthful of gauze, and everyone ask them questions excitedly. Funny. Mrs. Weaver brought a ton of jump ropes for the students to use. We NEED to get the girls moving. I am so worried about them because they do not move at all. Jeanie said that the students need a "good pair of shoes," and it's really important for the girls to have "a good sports bra." Well, good luck with that. :)

Jessica's grandpa is a retired cancer surgeon and worked with people who had problems related to smoking. He has also done clinics to help people stop smoking for over forty years, so he gave a presentation on Wednesday during our assembly. He showed a really graphic video with many interviews, and I hope that it scared a lot of the students. He offered to talk to anyone who wanted help quitting smoking and assured them that there would be no punishment. One of my friends asked me to come with him because he was nervous about going by himself. He is high-school age and has smoked for the past six years. Poor thing. So now I am a "support person," and I am responsible for talking to him at least once a day and holding him accountable for being honest. Hardly anyone went to talk to Jessica's grandpa about smoking, and I was disappointed about that. I know that there are tons of students who smoke and just don't get caught. They either don't want to quit, or they don't want to lose face by admitting that they smoke. Anything to save face. It's kind of sad.

I love it here.

Tina might come. I am including this in here so that she reads it and feels obligated to come.

Another "Love Comes Softly" Movie

Well this is the third movie of the series. Here I am between Krista and Michael watching this corny Christian love movie that has a new actress playing the girl. It's like with Home Alone... except worse (because at least all the characters were new in "Home Alone 3")

This past week... I don't remember right now. Hmm. Well, I discovered that many of the students in 9B can't write sentences. I've been teaching them grammar. I feel like I've been working so hard and forcing them to write and write. I've used so much repetition, but now when I have them do some other writing activities, and they can't formulate sentences. "Why did you go to Hergada?" "I is like to swimming." Ya merari. (Ya merari is an expression that they say here out of frustration and self-pity. They don't know what it means, but I know that "merari" means "bitter.")--Oh, this movie is almost painful. I can't tell if this antagonistic cowboy is trying to sound threatening or seductive. Anyways, I don't know what to do with 9B. The class has gotten a little smaller because some people have been moved out (up to 9A and down to ESL), but it's still such a mess. I feel like if they can speak proper English, they will write it, but oral activities are so hard with them. We have these Side by Side workbooks, which remind me of my old Spanish books, and they have many oral activities. They give an example and then new information to plug into the conversation. They don't know how to do it. It is a disaster. I need to keep working at it, but when it takes a student 234 hours to do one of them outloud in front of the class, I do some on the board and then have them try to speak them by rows. It's a rather egregious cacophony because the ones who get it try to show off and say it faster than everyone else and some kids just repeat the same word the whole time. It's a mess. They will not be ready for tenth grade at this rate. Is it my fault? Partly... but mostly not. I would usually blame myself, but not this time. Most of them don't put in the fffort. The ones that do are actually improving.

Tenth grade is going really well. After we split up the class, some of the students in my class came up to me and said that they were so happy and they felt like they were really going to learn this semester. They said that the class was so big that they never got the chance to answer. Now the really shy ones and the ones that felt self-conscious about the possibly being wrong raise their hands and try to answer all the time. And the ones that have a really difficult time reading seem to like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I have so much more control in my tenth grade class now that there are 17 as opposed to 38 last semester.

On Thursday night, our drama class performed a bunch of funny skits for the students. They were so cute. We did the statue skit, "My son/daughter is dying," the doctor's office, and some others. We also did one of those skits where there's a curtain and one person's face show but with another person's arms. We had two guys who were getting ready for school, and in the end they "ran" to class with their notebooks. It was so funny. They did a really good job. I noticed that none of them were very eager to get messy. The guy who was the statue in the skit shoved what he could in his mouth but only took a few bites of what he could. The guys in the hand skit didn't use toothpaste when brushing their teeth. It was just funny to see the differences.

After the skits, all of the girls came to our apartment, and we gave them chocolate chip cookies and juice while they watched "Mulan." We were encouraging their feelings of feminism and girl power, and they really loved the movie--even the ones that couldn't understand it. We're going to work our way through girl power movies and then hopefully work our way up to "Enough" (the movie where Jennifer Lopez learns to fight and ends up killing her abusive husband). That won't happen, but we like to joke about it and fantasize about making the girls feel empowered. I'm not one of those uber-feminist girls that thinks that she can build a house better than a guy and can do more push-ups, but we are of equal value and deserve to be treated like it. And I want to make these girls aware that there is a different way and that they are allowed to speak and actually leave their houses. I don't want them to be just like Americans--that's not my purpose in coming here, but I want them to feel beautiful and important and validated.

So all of the girls know how to do their cultural hip-shaking dances, though they would nearly die if the guys heard that they could. But before we started the movie, some were making some rhythms against the table, and some girls started to dance. Then they pulled some others in. I couldn't even begin to move my hips like that. haha. I thought it was just the funniest thing. There's a reason why I couldn't marry an Egyptian man--I would feel self-conscious of my pathetic hip-shaking dance skills. He wouldn't want me. I think that I'm just sounding confusing.

I really like Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. It is very practical and good. It has helped me in my spiritual life, and I recommend it.

I'm clinging to Egypt for dear life. My time here is slipping away so quickly.

Adding my own commentary to "Love Comes Softly"

Beth, Krista, Jessica, Michael, and I are sitting in the Deckers' living room watching the second "Love Comes Softly" movie. Krista is obsessed with these movies, and we drag Michael over here and assure him that there will be kleenex for him. These are very predictable Christian love stories written by Janette Oakes. Katherine Heigl is actually in the first two. So we're sitting here, eating incredibly healthy cereal that probably cost this wonderful family a fortune from Royal House. Krista and I are making jokes about Kimmy Gibbler from "Full House" and raspberry cordial from "Anne of Green Gables." I am incredibly entertained by detail-oriented people like her. I joke with Michael that he and I are married, and I've gotten good at making jokes where I am concerned about our relationship's health or possessive of him. I don't joke like that in frnot of the students, but one girl came up to me the other day and asked if he and I were dating. I laughed and laughed and said no. Then she asked if one of the students and I were dating. I laughed and said no. Then she asked if I had a boyfriend in America. haha. "Ruth, where did you hear these things?" "I don't know. People in the dorm." So the same people are saying all three. haha. I am quite amused. I think Alexi, Pastor Tom's daughter is annoyed with my commentary about the movie, so I will try to control myself, but this movie is just asking for it.

Tonight at vespers, Jessica played the piano (for the first time at song service!), Michael played the guitar, Trei played the djembe, and I sang with a senior girl named Mary. One of the students' favorite songs is "Every Move I Make," and they get really into it. It's so cute. I always help lead that one, and all the Sudanese guys clap from side to side. We also sang "Holy is the Lord," and I watched some of the Sudanese guys who are in the hand choir do all the motions that they remembered from before. I just love watching them. Pastor Tom gave an excellent sermon to the seniors tonight about love. It sounds generic, but it was so good. He said that he asked for preaching advice from this little old Dutch man who really surprised him with his skills, and the old man told him, "If you love the people, you will never preach a bad sermon." We dedicated all the seniors and gave them a pin with the NUA label on it.
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My prediction is that the quiet man who just stole the plow from the daughter is good, and the nice-seeming guy who works on the train is a creep. We'll have to see. I was just told to shut up. Oh, this one is called "Love's Enduring Promise." I just compared the daughter to one of those hillbillies that refuses medical attention because the guy who she will eventually be in love with just told her that her pa could lose his life, and she said, "You're not touching my pa." Dumb. This girl looks like she's wearing a du-rag. I find this young country lad named Nate quite strapping. Hopefully Michael doesn't get jealous.

Tomorrow we are having a potluck for the students, and each of the staff members is going to bring something for them to try. We're making grilled cheese--very simple and very American. We spent an embarrassing 64 pounds on cheese.

Last night we had our Valentine's Day social, and the students went on a scavenger hunt and then signed giant hearts for each other. (These people are running away from bees, and my prediction is that the guy is allergic and will get stung and die from them just like Macaulay Culkin in "My Girl." Michael and I like Nate better than this guy with a bowtie.) On Sunday we're going to have the girls over and give them chocolate chip cookies. They don't really have cookies here, and chocolate chips are very hard to find. My parents brought me them when they came to visit.

On Sunday, we're going to start reading "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." We're splitting up tenth grade because they are at such different levels. Beth is going to take the more advanced students, and I'm going to take the ones that have more difficulty. I am really happy about this because I really want to get in and nail the bad grammar. I'm just going to have some trouble. I feel like I would do things so differently if I was coming back for a second year. I feel bad for these kids who get all these first-year teachers who have no idea what they're doing until the second semester. (If this guy in the movie lived near me and was actually a nice guy, I would sneakily work my way into his life and marry him. For sure I would. That just reminded me that the students always say, "For sure she will like it." "For sure no." "For sure I will." They also always say, "As you like." I love it, and I've picked this up from them.)

We're having some problems at the school. Some guys were caught smoking. Smoking is a huge problem here--just about every guy here in Egypt smokes, so the school's rule has to be very strongly opposed to it. If they get caught, they're supposed to be kicked out. That rule started last year. (This bowtie man is so corny. He even talks in a really crisp voice like he would wear a bowtie.) So the guys are suspended right now until further decisions can be made. I really feel like the school is the best place for them to be, and I want them to be here so badly. I really feel like they need to be here, but I want to trust that God will allow whatever is best for them to happen. During the times when we feel like everything is wrong and we have nowhere to turn, we find that life does go on. We learn so much about ourselves, others, God, and life itself. So if they need to be at home for their characters to be shaped and molded, then sobeit. I just worry about them so much. Please pray that whatever is best will happen. I have noticed that the people here have a very difficult time taking responsibility for their actions. It's not so-and-so's fault that he got kicked out. It's Pastor Tom's... because Pastor Tom made him steal/cheat/lie/whatever he did. Taking responsibility for one's actions is one of the best things a person can learn to do.

Speaking of learning lessons, I need to learn some from this movie... maybe. Goodnight.

Egypt is normal to me :)

I haven't been writing too much lately because I have become "accustomed" (10th grade vocab word) to so many things that I feel like there is nothing to say. I don't really hear the prayers from the mosques anymore. Braying donkeys don't steal my attention. Cold showers are nothing to complain about. :) Guys holding hands with other guys doesn't seem weird to me. Some things, however, are still a little unusual.

There were a couple students in ninth grade whose English was just not at the level where the other students were, and they got moved back to ESL. These students could not keep up with the classes, and everything was just becoming more and more over their heads. To keep them in ninth grade would be a waste of everyone's time. Of course there was crying from the students, but one student's family got really involved. We reconsidered the move when we heard that the father hit the wife and was blaming her for her kid's problem--because I'm sure that none of it had to do with him.

Haha... right now I am in our apartment, but I can hear Krista counting down from 10 because by the time she gets to zero, they have to have their homework on her desk and be seated. The counting system is super effective. I feel like I treat them like middle schoolers, but hey, if they respond, then what's the harm in that? :) I found out that one guy, who I thought was 16 or 17 is actually older than me. Krista, Jessica, and I were laughing because we treat them like they are so much younger, when in reality they are about the same age as us. Sometimes we play student charades. (Shh...) We ask, "Who am I?! Who am I?!" and then dash up to an imaginary board and start doodling in the middle of our imaginary class. Alec is the best at impersonating people. We don't do it in a mean way, but it's just hilarious because their personalities are so distinct, and we would have never expected to encounter students like these. There was much less structure in the government schools, so they don't really know that it's not okay to get up in the middle of class and ask a specific question about their homework. Now? Really?

I've discovered that the best punishments are taking off points, marking people late, and giving the students sentences to write. I send tenth grade outside if we are doing a creative writing assignment or working in groups, and if I come around and see them working on something else, I say, "Minus one," and they freak out. Life is over. If they talk while I take attendance, they are late. "NOOOOOOOOOO, ya Miss! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" Sentences are so fun. Alec and I share the ones that we make them write to humor each other. "Oooh! You made him write that he will not 'peruse' around the class?! Good one!" (Alec is hilarious.)

We have a vocabulary unit test over five chapters tomorrow, so I chopped up paper to make flashcards if the students wanted them. I also gave out rubberbands. I forgot that I was teaching some six year olds. One guy shot another guy right in the face with his rubberband, and I told him that that was not okay and to give me the rubberband. "Why, Miss? ... But why? ... No ... Why? What's the problem, ya Miss?" He kept backing away and wouldn't give me his rubberband. I said, "Come on. It's not a big deal. Just give me the rubberband. If you don't, I have to write you up to Pastor Tom for insubordination." He still refused, so I have a discipline referral sheet to write. Haha. Are you kidding me? Give me the stupid rubberband.

I have class in a half hour. I am working on vocab sentences with 9B today. On those days, it seems like the ground breaks open and all hell breaks loose. I love them so much though.

Have a good day!