I am a celebrity

You know you’re absolutely beautiful when…

•        Groups of guys mutter “moza” as you walk past
  
•        An ice cream man asks you for your address and then asks two of your friends for it when you refuse.
  
•        Slick-haired men tell you that you are wonderful as they walk by.
  
•        You get followed around the library in Alexandria by a man with dark sunglasses
  
•        People you have never seen in your life shout, “I miss you so much!”
  
•        Fourteen year old boys say, “Hello everyone!” only to you.
  
•        People pull up chairs to watch you.
  
•        Someone pinches your butt as you ride up the escalator and sneaks off into a group of people (It happened to Jessica, and you better believe she would have decked him if she knew who it was.)
  
•        Someone asks, “What is your name, my beautiful queen?”
  

Meaning of Honking

In America, honking one’s horn primarily expresses two things, “I almost just hit you because you’re a terrible driver,” and “I’ve been waiting at this green light for five seconds, and you need to move it.” I’ve probably honked my horn three times in the last four years, but now that I am in Egypt, my eyes have been opened. Honking a horn could mean a number of things:

•  I almost just hit you because you’re a terrible driver.
  
• I’ve been waiting at this green light for five seconds, and you need to move it.
  
• You’re in my way.
  
•  Does anyone within a kilometer radius need a ride?
  
• I’m here.
  
• I’m bored.
  
• Hello foreigners.
  

and

• Sorry I just hit you with my car, Chim. 
  

Lots of Rambling

I now understand some of the difficulties of being a teacher. It is 1:55 am, and I have to teach my first class in five hours. I’m making worksheets for my ESL class and trying to figure out what to do tomorrow. I’m trying not to plan useless things that would take up 80 minutes, even though that’s a great temptation for me. I feel a lot of pressure because I am teaching them the very foundation of the next four years of their life. I’ve realized that some of the students don’t know how to write their own names. One girl’s name is Kristine, and she has been writing “Krsten” on her papers. George keeps writing “Goreg” on his. Oops… I probably should have gotten to that sooner.

Speaking of names, out of 137 students, 400 are Egyptian boys named Mina, 600,000 are Egyptiangirls named Maryam, and 12 million are Sudanese students with the first and/or last name Deng. It’s slightly confusing. I have Deng Garang Deng, Deng Pal, and Deng Mayol Deng in my 9A class. I’m not sure who is who, and they use that to their advantage. Funny kids. We also have several students with the names Magdy, Wagdy, Peter, Shagia, Abanoub, Mahmdouh, and anything that begins with Nya-. AH! I just took a break from writing this, and I saw a list of students with their pictures, and the Dengs switched names on me yesterday! I am so confused!

In ESL, I am using techniques that I learned in Spanish in fifth grade. I am making them do motions with me to help them remember words. To learn the word “supermarket,” I make them do “The Shopping Cart” (one of the best dance moves of all time).

Spiritually, I am doing alright. I have been feeling so blessed and really appreciative of what I have. I hope that I grow here. I know that I will learn a lot, but I want this year to be what I had hoped for it to be. Change doesn’t necessarily happen, but many times it is a conscious effort. People argue that they haven’t stopped doing things that they consider wrong because it hasn’t been easy, so they must not be too convicted to do it. Are you kidding me? Self-control requires conscious effort for any Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, or atheist.

These kids are so normal. They have questions and they are really searching, and I think that’s great. I really don’t have the opportunity to discuss these things with my own students because the only English they know is “How are you?” and “Fine, thanks,” or we just don’t have time in class. I think Jessica is doing such a great job teaching grade 10 Bible. I’m kind of jealous of her. Maybe I’ll put tap water in her water bottle so that I can take her class for a few days.

Homeleave begins this Thursday after classes. Instead of having several homeleaves for a couple days, we now have longer homeleaves less often. The SMs are planning on going to Alexandria.

I have been greatly surprised by the place that I feel most impressed to reach. It makes me very nervous to think about the influence of this “area”, and I never really expected for it to be a problem. Sorry for my ambiguity. I am not big enough or wise enough to do what needs to be done.

Ramblings and Details:

I’m paranoid that my students watch my arm fat wobble back and forth when I write on the board as I did with my elementary school teachers.

I’m also paranoid that I smell like body odor. I get huge whiffs of it quite frequently, and it makes me really nervous. I try to subtly smell myself, and then I tell myself that it’s probably not me because I hadn’t had that problem before I came to Egypt. I then consider that even if it was me, they probably wouldn’t care here because they’re the ones that don’t seem to notice.

I didn’t come here to watch movies. I didn’t come here to eat American food. I didn’t come here to live in a five star hotel. I didn’t come here to be comfortable.

Conserving toilet paper has always been an innate skill of mine, but I am getting so much better at it. We went without toilet paper for about five days in our apartment, so we had to walk to the staff bathroom.

The doorknobs here don’t turn. On the one side of the door, it’s used to pull the door closed (I guess) and on the other side it’s just a decoration.

I don’t like running here very much. Running in the sand around the perimeter of the compound works my legs much more than my heart, and I would jump rope in my apartment instead if I didn’t feel like I would quit too soon. I’m grateful for the P.E. class that I teach, and I love teaching Taebo. I told my students to call me Dominique Wakefield from 6:00-6:40am… just kidding. Maybe Billy Blanks would suit me better.

We just got hot water in the shower… I don’t know how to turn it on though. But it’s available, I guess. It’s actually unavoidable in our washing machine. It boils our clothes—literally. Luckily I haven’t done laundry since I left home (yes, I’m a dirty person) because Krista’s stuff got tie-dyed from the hot water. The washing machine makes the bathroom so hot. My conditioner was sitting on top of it, and it was hot when I put it in my hair.

Ants are crazy. They are everywhere and in everything. If there’s even a crumb left on the counter, they’re all over it. We opened up a drawer that we had put Ramen in, and ants abounded. They’re the really tiny ones that aren’t scary, but I don’t like them because they can crawl under my fingernails very easily. Kuny is a 12^th grade Sudanese girl here, and she is the sweetest thing. Sabbath morning she left us a note outside our apartment door with beautiful red flowers on it. I looked at it an hour later, and ants were crawling all over it. Really? You’re going to eat flowers?

I eat way too much bread here. Way too much. Sometimes we find small rocks in it. Hardly ever though.

I don’t know what’s with cheese, but we have tons of it. John, a former student who just left for LaSierra University, took us grocery shopping when we first got here, and he loaded us up with cheese. Everyone else who has fed us has given us tons of cheese. It’s not normal, hard cheese… it’s more like cream cheese. Oh, there’s also this lie of a vegetable that looked like dark lettuce. I ate it and tasted the most intense… taste (for lack of a better word) in my life.

Korrollos, a tenth grader, said to me yesterday, “Miss Sara. You do not look as beautiful with glasses.” Hahaha.

Chim is staring at me and chewing mustard-flavored potato chips loudly. I’m supposed to write all about him.

I already want to come back to visit after I leave.

LOVE YOU!

Dear Mom,

I just thought that you should know that one of the students I am friends with is named Ibrahim.

Love,
Sara

I LOVE EGYPT

Right now I am in Heliopolis, which is where the Field Office for the church is. Tonight we're staying with an SM named Ana who teaches preschool here. The internet at the school does not work, so I can only get online probaby once a week. Women aren't allowed to go to the internet cafe in Gabel, the town where we live, so we have to take a minibus and train to Heliopolis. A bunch of little Egyptian girls chased us and waved yelling ,"Hello! Hi!" at us. They are so cute. We stand out quite a bit. To be honest, I kind of like it. (But I don't really like it on the crowded metro, however. Yesterday I went to extend my visa, and Alec leaned down to me and whispered, "Nose bleed's eyeing you." I looked over and a man was pressing a kleenex against his nose and staring intently at me.)

Before I forget: Don't mail me packages or anything without telling me first. The postal system here in Egypt will not let a lot of things through. I can't even send mail other than typed cards.

I am teaching Grammar and Writing ESL, grade 9A (more advanced), and 9B, each for two periods a day. Krista and I are also teaching a 6am P.E. class for girls only. We're teaching them taebo-kind of things--Mama Weave, you should be so proud. They get exhausted so easily... which is kind of funny, but it makes me so grateful to teach the class. The second half of the period, we walk and then run for one minute, and they are drenched with sweat. They're so cute. One girl thanked me profusely for our class because she saw the boys in "Mr. Michael's class running and running and running." haha. In ESL, we sing the alphabet song several times a day. I'm teaching colors, numbers, letters, and extremely basic expressions. I didn't have a translator until today, which made things kind of rough at first, but the students are understanding me. I jump around, draw pictures, and use an absurd amount of expression in my voice if I have to. I am really stressed out by my grade nine classes because I don't really have a textbook to follow. I am really good with English grammar, but it is really hard to explain it to kids whose first language is Arabic and have a small English vocabulary. I'm really being stretched--and that is what I asked God for. My character could use shaping, and I won't be given anything I can't handle.

I love my students. Many people look down on the culture in this part of the world, but I have never met a more respectful group of kids in my life. The guys love to tease us, but they don't ever cross the line. We are really hard on them right now so that we can gain control of the classroom. "Excuse me. Next time you talk you're going out in the hall." I say that countless times a day. They listen too. I refuse to tell them how old I am because I don't want to lose any authority. Some of the guys were trying to trick me into telling them, I told them that I would tell them at the end of the school year.


Our apartment is nice than I thought it would be. We're picking up on the quirks--I turn off the shower before conditioning my hair to let the water drain so that it doesn't overflow all over the bathroom. The stove is now working, and the toilet is now fixed. We used to have to dump a pot of water down the back in order to flush. I'm still not drinking the tap water, but I use it to brush my teeth. I will slowly start to drink it. I'm just not too anxious for King Tut's revenge. I think it's inevitable though.


I don't really know where to start in my attempt to describe Egypt. It's incredibly dry and sandy, and there is tons of garbage in the streets. Most people don't have cars, so we take minibuses and the metro to wherever we need to go. People pack into those things. It's crazy. I have a feeling that I will be the first SM to get hit by a car... Well, either me or Alec. People will drive literally within one inch of another car. I've seen some drive the wrong way on busy one-way streets in order to get where they are going faster. Crossing the street is an art. I'm honestly impressed.


The principal and his wife, Tom and Gladys Decker, are my favorite people in the world. Gladys is an English teacher who has her masters in ESL, so she has been absolutely amazing. They have really raised the standards for the school, and they have been such a help to us. NUA is not accredited by the Egyptian government, but the students receive an American diploma, so the standards have to be high. Cheating is so commonplace in Egypt, that we have to enforce a really strict policy against it. Apparently in Egypt, the teachers will write the answers to the tests on the board so that the students do well and the teachers can keep their jobs. Cheating is just "helping" each other. NUA is a new experience for them. The staff members are also competing for who can collect the most cell phones and mp3 players in the Ad Building. I think Krista is winning. She's a beast. I feel like I'm at GLAA. I guess I would be a very awkward version of Ms. Rosas at this point. I'm working on it.


Just about everyone has tattoos. The Christians get them on the underside of their right wrist or between their thumb and index finger of their right hand. The guys have tattoos all over their arms, and I have seen some on their chests (they wear v-neck shirts). I am used to the calls to prayer, and the silence seems kind of weird.

I'm sharing my testimony tonight for vespers, so pray for me please.

There is so much work to be done here and so much potential. These people have lots of questions and are looking for answers. I'm jealous of Jessica because she gets to teach grade 10 Bible. :) I miss everyone, but I am so happy to be here. I can't wait until my parents come to visit and can meet everyone.

Once again I am upset with the disorganization of my blog entry, but I don't have time to fix it. May you see God in a way that you never have before.


One of my favorites: "They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed." -Psalm 34:5

Finally online...

I wrote this on September 2, but I haven't had internet access for a while, so I am posting this and then going to update the rest.

8:27 pm September 2, 2009

Sorry it has been so long since I have update this. I have been so busy, and the internet here is very unreliable. Jessica and I left Hoogeveen on Sunday and met up with Krista at the Amsterdam. We spent the day wandering Amsterdam, which is a beautiful city with 3409583 bikes, tiny cars, and interesting people. We bought lunch and ate by one of the canals… and a crazy man almost hit me with his car, and then a swan tried to eat us. Swans… I’m telling you! They are evil!

Pastor Tom Decker, the principal at NUA picked us up at 2:00am from the airport. Arabic sounds like a very angry language, even if the people are having a pleasant conversation. Jessica and I decided that Holland smelled like black licorice and cows, and Egypt smells like… onions and body odor, but not too strongly. I’ve really liked it here so far. We have an apartment attached to the administration building that everyone refers to as “Upper Egypt” because it is in the direction of upper Egypt. Jessica and I share a room, and Krista and an Egyptian girl named Huida (?) share a room. We have a bathroom, where the water floods all over the floor if we don’t turn it off at some point in the middle of our shower, and a kitchen. Everything is much nicer than I expected. We got back at about 3:00-3:30, and the city was really alive. It’s Ramadan now, so the people don’t eat or drink during daylight hours, but we were told that that is how the city always is, which I am guessing is because of the heat. There is no garbage… system (for lack of a better word) in Egypt, so the people just throw their trash on the sidewalk, and it continues to pile up. Pastor Tom said that the guy SMs cleared off the sidewalk in front of the school, which included dead animals, used pads, and dirty diapers. We thanked them.
There are at least four mosques surrounding the school, and they turn their speakers toward the school and play loud moaning music periodically throughout the day. I don’t really mind it because it’s kind of funny. There are seven of us student missionaries here this year, and we have a really great group. There are the three of us girls, and then Chim (pronounced “Cheem”… which I am sure is short for something) who is teaching history, Paul teaches computer classes, Michael teaches P.E. and does maintenance, and Alec is teaching science.

There are about 140 students this year—110 boys and 30 girls. There are sixty more students on the waiting list. This is amazing because a few years ago the school almost shut down because the enrollment got down to about 30. We registered students today, and I did their medical history vision tests—there’s one nursing thing that I get to practice. The Snellen test is required because some students would never tell anyone that they needed glasses. Most of the students have never been to the dentist, and the ones that have went because of a major problem. Their vision was surprisingly good, and I think that that has to do with the fact that they hardly read any books, especially as little kids. The boys in general seemed better educated than the girls. The students are very friendly, and the guys make a little more eye contact than I am used to. Jessica, Krista, and I need to make sure that we are firm in our authority. Jessica told them strongly, “Miss Jessica.” And they responded, “Miss Jessica. Not Mrs. Jessica, right?” When we went into Cairo the other night we weren’t grabbed or anything, but some guys walked too close and grazed our butts as they walked by. Under normal circumstances we would have considered that accidental, and it wasn’t enough to turn around and punch them in the temple, otherwise I definitely would have. Some little kids came up and said, “Hello! Was your name?” So I talked to them for a little bit, and as I walked away they asked for a tip. Haha. People here tip for everything. I need to remember that so that I’m not a jerk.

I just saw a group of new students sitting together quietly. I guess I forgot that this was a real school with real people.

--

And I guess I left off there without finishing...

Holland-ness

Hello everyone! Jessica and I are in Hoogeveen in the Netherlands right now staying with Linda, Iwan, Iwan's parents, and his brother Edwin (who picked up an Australian accent a couple years ago). This place is beautiful! They live out in the country, and there are cows everywhere. Trees line the roads on both sides, and the roofs on the houses are very steep. Everyone rides their bikes everywhere. I never thought that a toilet could have such an interesting flusher, and I stop and consider the lightswitches before entering or leaving a room--not because I like to ponder them, but because some are confusing. There are two separate rooms for the toilet and shower. I figured out how to use the shower, but when I turned the water cold to rinse out my conditioner, the water pressure went up and the shower head shot to the side and soaked my towel. The food here is very good, but apparently they love rye bread, black licorice, and other things that taste like those... which I abhor. I am willing to try everything, and I tried really hard to keep a straight face when I ate their super intense black licorice, but they burst out laughing at me. Must be an acquired taste. I'm not too anxious to acquire it though.



There was a change of plans, so Therese and I ended up taking the Metra to Union Station (on which a European couple displayed the epitome of eros love) and then a five-hour Amtrak to Ann Arbor. We stayed at the Weavers' house for a night and then flew out the next afternoon. I'm so happy that Therese came with me, not only because my friend, but because she helped me lug my awkwardly large suitcases onto trains. Both of my suitcases ended up weighing 49lbs each--and the limit was 50lbs. (Thank you, Dr. Weaver!) People had told both Jessica and me that we should watch the movie "Taken" before we come here. Neither of us had gotten the chance until we dared to see it on the plane... so we have decided to be very careful and to not share a cab with an attractive guy named Peter who invites us to a party. No way. Peter--back off. We checked our two suitcases and brought our backpacks and guitars on the plane. Someone asked Jessica if we were musicians, and she didn't understand what he said right away, so she said yes. Oops. I'd like to say that the reason I didn't sleep at all on the plane is because I was very excited, which is true, but I also love airplane food and didn't want to miss it if I fell asleep. Plus, by the time we finished "Taken" it was probably 5am (11pm in Michigan), and I just couldn't miss the sun rising over England. Jetlag owned us for the next two days. We then lugged 234098lbs of luggage around the airport in Amsterdam until we found lockers in the basement where we checked everything except our backpacks. We took the train from the airport to Hoogeveen (which we had no idea how to pronounce). Jessica kept pointing to her ticket to the guy across the aisle to ask if we were there yet. It feels good to feel independent and know that we can take care of ourselves.

Linda, Iwan, and Edwin have been so much fun, and they've been such great tour guides and chefs. On Thursday Edwin took us to a small town in Germany about a half hour from here. I don't remember the name of it, and if I did I probably couldn't pronounce it. We wandered around through the stores and noticed that the American brands are a billion times more expensive. We then went to a town in Holland called Emmen, where we also looked around (I would say that we went shopping, but we didn't buy anything) and ate lunch. In the afternoon, we all went on their boat down this... my words are escaping me... man-made body of water smaller than a river that opened up into a man-made lake that connected to a canal to Little Venice. In Little Venice, the streets are, of course, water. Eventually we got food and ate it in the boat, and a family of swans came and chased after us for probably a half hour. They kept craning their long necks into the boat trying to take our food. It must have looked pretty funny because some people at a restaurant we passed took pictures of the wannabe pirates and us. I kept trying to convince Linda, who was very nervous, that we should just feed them and they would definitely go away when they got what they wanted. :) One of the swans actually bit Iwan's arm really hard, and it didn't go through the skin but it broke some of his capillaries. They said that swans are very strong and that their wings could break someone's arm. Linda, Iwan, and Edwin are so much fun. Edwin is really funny, and we're actually teasing Jessica right now.

I love hearing little kids speak Dutch, and I am so astounded by them, thinking, "Wow! Those kids are so smart. They speak Dutch!" and then I remind myself that Dutch is their first language, just as English is mine.

Apparently Dutch has that hacking/coughing sound too, and everyone here has reaffirmed that I need to work on that before even attempting to learn Arabic.

Sunday we're planning on meeting up with Krista, another SM who is coming from Southern, and then going to go around Amsterdam. We're planning on visiting the Anne Frank Huis and hopefully some other places before we catch our plane to Cairo. It hasn't really sunk in that I'm not coming home soon. It will probably hit me in a month or two when Egypt becomes moderately normal. I'm looking forward to spending this year alone with God--there's a lot I have to learn. When better than when I am 6100 miles away from home and away from everything and everyone I know but Jessica?

Feel free to read Jessica's blog as well: jessiejean.blogspot.com

Sorry this blog is so sporadic. Thanks for the prayers. I love you guys!

Oops

The reason that I wrote the last post was to thank people and maybe mention a few other things. I mentioned a few other things... and didn't thank people. I wanted to tell everyone that I am sincerely grateful to whoever donated toward my trip. In all honesty, I couldn't go if it had not be for your generosity. Thank you so much! Thank you for your prayers as well. May God bless you and your families.

Pre-Egypt Thoughts

Hello! I figure that I should give some background information about my trip. I am going to be teaching ESL among other things at Nile Union Academy until the middle of June. I'm not that brave--one of my best friends from high school (Jessica) is coming along. I guess she's not "coming along" to keep my company, but she's teaching ESL as well. On Monday, the 24th, my super duper friend Therese is driving me to Detroit, and we will spend the night at Jessica's house. Jessica and I are leaving on Tuesday and flying to Amsterdam, where we will spend a few days with Linda and Iwan. They are a young couple who lived in my grandparents' basement apartment while Iwan was in the seminary at Andrews. They just moved back at the beginning of the month. I'm so excited because they said they live five hours from Paris, an even shorter distance from Luxembourg, and an even shorter distance from Belgium and Germany. I'll be able to say things such as, "Well when I was in Paris..." or "Yes, but in Luxembourg..." which will automatically make me the coolest person in the room. I just reread this paragraph and think that it is painfully awkward, but oh well. :)

I am trying my hardest not to overpack, and I think that my only motivation for doing so would be because I am scared that my sisters will take everything I own. Seriously. Whenever I come back from school/camp/wherever, I check their rooms and come out with armfuls of my stuff--clothes, jackets, purses, and even hair products. I am considering writing a list of everything in my closet that I care about so that I can check and see if everything is still there when I come home. Maybe taking a picture would be better. I know I sound crazy. Oh sisters... maybe Brazilian foreign exchange students are more trustworthy... or at least they don't feel that they are entitled to wear my clothes and shove them in a crumpled wad in the corner of their closet.

The only warning that I have gotten about Egypt (from people who have lived in the Middle East) is to not fall in love with an Egyptian man and to just watch out for the men in general. "Nearly two-thirds of Egyptian men admit to having sexually harassed women in the most populous Arab country, and a majority say women themselves are to blame for their maltreatment, a survey showed Thursday." http://www.reuters.com/article/email/idUSL1732581120080717 Creepy. I think that I'll be fine because I've been listening to Pimsleur's Egyptian Arabic lessons on my iPod, and I know how to say, "No, Sir!" I will just yell that many times. It also taught me how to say things like "I do not speak Arabic," "How are you?" and "You are (not) American/Egyptian." Why would I want to tell someone that he is not American or Egyptian? haha.

I don't feel prepared yet, but if I waited until I felt prepared to do everything, I would probably do nothing at all. I have so many things that I feel I need to study. I've been reading Acts of the Apostles and 1888 Re-Examined, and I am all pumped about the Holy Spirit and really feel a burden to move into action. I'm also studying the book of Daniel again and attempting to memorize more. "Hundreds, yea, thousands, who have heard the message of salvation, are still idlers in the marketplace, when they might be engaged in some line of active service. To these Christ is saying, 'Why stand ye here all the day idle?' and He adds, 'God ye also into the vineyard.' Why is it that many more do not respond to the call? Is it because they think themselves excused in that they do not stand in the pulpit? Let them understand that there is a large work to be done outside the pulpit, by thousands of consecrated lay members" (Acts 110-111)

Predictions for Egypt:

• Lots of sweat.
• Tan face, tan hands (possibly forearms), and feet (with tan lines)
• I will probably match my clothes a total of four times, and I'm already okay with that.
• I will have frizzy hair and bushy eyebrows and learn to embrace them.
• I will be surprised by people's generosity.
• I will not learn as much Arabic as I want to, but probably more than I expect to.
• People will read my blog quite often at first and then hardly at all toward the end of my trip. (I'm not being pessimistic--just realistic.)
• I will not read all 2340928 books I am bringing.
• I'm going to stick to exercising six days a week... or maybe three.
• I will eat many mangos while they are in season.
• I am not even aware of the little things that I will later appreciate about home... like soft toilet paper and random things like that.
• I will learn more about myself, people in general, and the character of God. I think that that is what I am looking forward to more than anything. Any time that I have ever had an issue with God, I have later realized that I had not seen the whole picture and God has been right all along. But He's big enough to handle our anger toward Him.

I'm listening to "Oh My God" by Jars of Clay. The bridge is incredible. And no, it never plays the actual chord of the key it is in--intentionally.

I considered apologizing for making this so long, but I can't say that I won't do it again. God bless you and I love you--even if you are some random person who found my blog through a Google search.

Send me love notes:
P.O. Box 12
Heliopolis, Cairo
Egypt