Last week we celebrated Sham El Nessime. Basically, Sham El Nessime welcomes spring. Translated, it means "smelling the breeze." Egyptians spend the day out with family and friends, enjoying a salted fish, Ringa (seen on the right) and another type of fish called Faseekh, which has a heavy smell, like rotten fish. I myself, eat Ringa, which is what we in America call sardines or kippers. I pass on the faseekh. The day can be spent with family at our clubs here in Cairo, on a felluca cruising the nile, or at a cafe. It really doesn't matter as long as your enjoying the day outside. Emad and I went to Hurghada during this Eid, and I enjoyed my time there very much. I love upper Egypt more than the north coast. I wouldn't mind retiring in this area. Hurghada is a small city located on the Red Sea. One can live, work and enjoy the sea at the same time. I still have Ringa in my fridge, which I am sure we will be snacking on for the next 3 weeks.The thing about Sham El Nessime is that we never really have a spring here. We go from winter to summer here in Egypt, with some sand and dust storms thrown in the middle. One can always be assured to enjoy all the tastes and textures of Sham El Nessime in Egypt, rotten fish and all.

Until next time,

A Woman of Egypt

These ladies are part of the nursing staff at one of Cairo's hospitals. Medical staff here in Egypt do not make that much money. It is not unusual for them to ask you to buy foul, tamea and some salad for breakfast. The problem is not buying this group breakfast, as the cost was probably no more than $1.50. The problem is that as soon as you leave your home, you have someone on the street asking you to give them money, the garage attendant has a sad story, you sit in traffic and people come to your window to ask for money, you drive up to your destination and the person at the gate, door, parking attendant..needs some money. You go inside the building and it is the same thing. I read a newspaper article last week on inflation in Egypt. In 2006, the average cost of goods increased 160%. That includes, bread, milk, fruits, vegetables, etc. The article also mentioned that in the past 14 years, cost had only risen 50%. I knew my household expenses had increased, and that my one frivolous expense of getting a manicure and pedicure twice a month had increased 25 LE per visit. I have since decided to whittle that down to once per month. I cannot pay 160 LE a month for a manicure and pedicure, when most Egyptians make this as a salary for the month. I am not one that spends a lot of time pampering herself, or spending money in a foolish, silly manner, but if I can feel the impact on my personal expenses, I can only imagine how the average Egyptian must suffer. The same newspaper article had statistics for malnutrition, children suffering from anemia, and the stats on those living in squalor. The numbers are overwhelming and sad. I love Egypt, but I do feel sad when I think about her future. I sat down with my husband the other day and we averaged out how much we "could" spend on daily handouts for all the poor on the street, at work, in transit, etc that approached us on the street. Together we could spend 1, 500 LE a month on daily handouts. That is more than my husbands salary at the hospital, and more than I allocate for my personal and household expenses for a month. I don't know what the answer is for the vast socioeconomic problems that we have here in Egypt. My solution is to take care of those in my neighborhood, my workplace, my building, and my home. I never throw food away, I pass out clothing when possible, and I try to do what I can for those around me. I think if every home in Egypt did the same thing, it may make our lives a bit better. I keep reminding myself that things could be worse, that some people live in more difficult circumstances. Many times I get tired of the begging, and I give them some tough, harsh words. I then feel guilty..it is a vicious cycle. I think this is one of the reasons why I love living here so much, everything in this country is tangible. You "feel" your life everyday here in Egypt. Maybe not always in beauty and harmony, excitement and adventure, but in the end it is all tangible.

Until next time,

A Woman of Egypt

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Everyone, meet Ahmed. Ahmed is the most important man in our building. He is our bowab. Ahmed is married and has 5 kids. He lives in the basement of our building. I can't imagine my life without Ahmed. He runs all the errands that you do not want to. He goes to the vegetable market, the grocery store, the meat market, he pays our phone bills, he gets our newspapers, he takes care of my street cat, he deals with the trash people. Basically....Ahmed keeps my life running smoothly. Not every building has a bowab like Ahmed. Ahmed has been with my husbands family for the past 21 years. You can trust Ahmed with your house keys, money (large amounts), family members and pets. He always takes care of my birds, guinea pig and fish when we go on holiday. When my mother-in-law had heart surgery 3 years ago, she introduced Ahmed as the owner of our building. We are lucky to have him. Most bowabs don't stay that long at buildings, and they do nothing but sit at the door all day. I think one of the major reasons why Ahmed is so awesome is that he is from Upper Egypt. He is decent and loyal compared to some educated Caireenes. Ahmed doesn't read very well, he is like the majority of the poor here, illiterate. Once my sister-in-law caught him outside of the door of our building with my English newspaper in hand. She said he had it open right down the middle and was acting as though he could read it. She said "Mmmmm, next time check the pictures to make sure it is right side up, ya Ahmed." We all got a laugh from that, but illiterate or not, we love Ahmed very much and are happy to consider him a part of our family. Ahmed is also well known in our neighborhood. He knows all the information, tid bits of gossip, breaking news, comings and goings, businesses opening and closing and everything in between. He is primary source of information, the news has nothing on our Ahmed. We always laugh when we talk about moving back to the US.."Ok, but there is no Ahmed in the states!!!" So true.

Until next time,

A Woman of Egypt