week 3

Update:
 (this is getting really difficult with the computer situation here, but I'll try to remember key points since the last post)

-We have now gone on another group field trip to Anafora, a Coptic Christian retreat center a couple hours from Cairo.  It was absolutely beautiful.  The entire compound is the brainchild of Bishop Thomas, the "top guy" there, which includes the designing of all the buildings, gardens, etc.  They are fairly sustainable with food, growing all kinds of fruits and vegetables organically there in the compound. We picked fresh dates right off the trees outside our guest rooms.  The buildings are mostly all made of straw and mud/plaster materials, most with dome shapes and skylights and stairs leading up to the roofs... I loved it! I shared a guest room with one other girl in my group, and we each had separate bedrooms complete with double beds, high ceilings, and princess-style mosquito nets (which are not actually as awesome to sleep under as I imagined as a child! Unfortunate.)  
While there at Anafora we were able to end the evening prayers and the morning mass, which was very different from my past church experiences.  The Coptic church makes up about 10% of the population of Egypt, and their liturgy is often spoken in the Coptic language, which is a mix of Greek and ancient Egyptian.  It's really amazing that they are still so tied to the ancient Egyptians, and most Copts consider themselves the original population of Egypt--as opposed to much of the Muslim population, which has more mixed Arabic descent (I'm doing a terrible job of summarizing Egyptian anthropology, but that's one part that was really interesting to me!)

-This week our field trip is a 2-day excursion to Alexandria, where we will get to visit the library of Alexandria and swim in the Mediterranean, among many other things I'm sure.  This will be the farthest we have been outside of Cairo so far, until our trip to Upper Egypt in a couple weeks.

-I feel like I should include at least one little anecdote about life in Cairo, but it's hard to narrow that down... but yesterday I had my first real interaction on the metro, which was exciting! Summer and I sat down in a corner of the women's car on the metro, and suddenly the women across from us said "Welcome to Cairo!!" and presented us with a tupperware container full of sweets.  We took a couple and ate them, then spent about 5 minutes trying to come up with any sort of response besides "shukran" (thank you). Finally I managed to formulate the phrases to ask her if she had made the sweets herself, and what they were each called.  We talked in really broken Arabic-English to each other until the end of our ride, and I really did feel welcomed. With the gender issues here on top of our limited language skills (I am definitely improving but still only know how to speak in past tense) it is difficult to strike up a conversation with just anyone, but any little bit is really encouraging. Every day the time here seems to go faster and faster, as we get more immersed and comfortable exploring the city.

Update about the Alexandria trip coming soon... :)