We are midway through September, and I felt that I needed to take some time to reflect and assess my progress after my Mind, Body and Soul Mission Summer 2008. So far, I have completely lost the focus on Mind, Body and Soul. It only took 15 days, and I am totally off track. I am not sure what happened....perhaps returning to school, the change in rythm due to Ramadan...it could be any number of things. Perhaps I am unable to manage being one with Mind, Body and Soul. It seems that working with one variable is enough for me. My small "household" experiment turned out exactly the way I assumed it would. I am still picking up and putting away. The gym bag in the hallway was there for at least 3 weeks, and the bags around the trash can just kept piling up. It seems that I am the only one bothered by a mess. Perhaps I need to learn to relax and let go. Maybe I need a year long Mind, Body and Soul Mission. A year in Tibet might be good.

Until next time,

A Woman of Egypt

A friend of mine sent me this article in an e-mail. I thought it was profound and decided to share it. You can read the whole article in its entirety at:

http://www.economist.com/

With most of its people struggling, and reform blocked, Egypt faces an uncertain and possibly dangerous future. EGYPTIANS have long excelled at putting a good face on things. Four millennia ago they built temples whose towering facades and grand doorways hid dark and cramped interiors. Relief carvings depicted giant pharaohs smiting dwarf-like enemies, and showed the Nile teeming withfish and waterfowl. In reality, ancient Egypt was often invaded. Ruinous famines punctuated its years of plenty. Today, a blinkered visitor might choose to see nothing of Egypt but posh beach resorts and gleaming factories, and hear of little but strong economic growth and a stable, secular government committed to reform. In the Smart Village, a campuslike technology park on Cairo's western outskirts, construction cranes glint in the mirrored glass of office blocks bearing multinational logos such as Microsoft, Oracle and Vodafone, as well as those of fast-expanding home-grown IT firms. Beyond its perimeter, past a strip of hypermarkets, fast-food outlets and car dealerships, stretch thousands of acres of new suburbs, complete with gated communities, golf courses and private schools. Twenty years ago, the highway that stretches 200km from there to Alexandria ran through empty desert. Lush fields now line the entire crowded, six-lane route, many planted with drip-irrigated garden crops for lucrative European markets. But remove the blinkers, and the flood of impressions could be starkly different. A glance down one of the narrow, rubbish-strewn alleyways of brick tenements where half of Cairo's people actually live may reveal a crowd of head-scarved housewives pushing and cursing in an early-morning queue for government-subsidised bread. Such daily humiliations are punctuated by bigger tragedies which, all too often, prove to be the consequence of government negligence. Earlier this month a cliff collapsed on the eastern edge of the capital, hurling giant boulders into a warren of flimsy slum dwellings that had been erected, illegally, in defiance of dire warnings that the site was unsafe. The rockfall buried dozens, perhaps hundreds, of residents alive. Locals complain that long-promised alternative housing had been given to friends and relations of government officials, rather than the needy. The fact is that most of Egypt's 75m people struggle to get by, their ambitions thwarted by rising prices, appalling state schools, capricious judges, a plodding and corrupt bureaucracy and a cronyist regime that pretends democracy but in fact crushes all challengers and excludes all participation. The visitor might well conclude that by damming up the normal flow of politics, Egypt's rulers risk bringing on a deluge. Given rising resentment against the government and a generation-long resurgence of religious feeling, and given the simple fact that Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's president of the past 27 years, is now 80 years old with no clear successor, it takes little imagination to conjure up an Islamic-tinged revolution sweeping away the autocratic state created in the wake of Egypt's last big dynastic upheaval, the officers' coup of July 1952 that overthrew King Farouk. Considering Egypt's position as the most populous, politically weighty and geographically pivotal Arab state, the ripples could spread wider, too, upsetting the region's already fragile power structure. Such visions seem to be common these days. A recent book in English carries the subtitle "The Land of the Pharaohs on the Brink of Revolution". Another, in Arabic, simply titled "The Final Days", sports a scowling caricature of President Mubarak on its cover. "This regime is clinically dead and we merely await its funeral," writes the author, Hamdi Qandil, a prominent Egyptian journalist and critic of the regime. "All paths for peaceful and gradual change are blocked," he concludes. "The only course left is civil disobedience." Many Egyptians appear to have adopted this advice of late. Spontaneous protests have erupted with alarming regularity, ranging from factory strikes to land disputes to urban riots over food prices that have risen even faster than the current, unnerving overall inflation rate of 23%. So far such outbursts have remained disjointed and localised, allowing the government to parry them with a mix of carrots and sticks. Brutal policing has silenced some activists. Wage increases--such as a 30% rise for government workers in May--and a promised widening of state subsidies for essential goods have soothed a few tempers. Yet the common refrain in Cairo salons is of how similar the mood is to the pre-revolutionary atmosphere of 1952. Then, as now, the gap between a very rich few and the teeming mass of have-nots seemed to yawn ever wider. Then, 2,000 vast estates occupied half of Egypt's fertile land, while millions of illiterate peasants toiled as sharecroppers. Today, 44% of Egyptians still count as poor or extremely poor, with some 2.6m people so destitute that their entire income cannot cover basic food needs, let alone other expenses. Yet ranks of private jets clutter Cairo's airport. The flower arrangements at a recent posh wedding, where whisky flowed and the gowns fluttered in from Paris and Milan, were reputed to have cost $60,000 in a country where the average wage is less than $100 a month. THE BAND OF BROTHERS Lurking in the background then, as now, was the shadowy force of the Muslim Brotherhood. Having helped prepare the ground for the 1952 coup, the Brothers may have expected reward from the army officers in charge. Instead they were hounded and imprisoned, and allowed to resurface in Egyptian politics only 30 years later. Their suppression radicalised some Islamists, helping spread jihadist ideas such as those that inspired al-Qaeda. Yet the core of Brotherhood supporters remained committed to a strategy of peaceful change. Since the 1980s the Brotherhood has emerged as the strongest force in a political opposition mostly made up of tiny, fractious parties. It captured a fifth of parliamentary seats at the last elections, in 2005, and would have taken more without blunt police intervention at the polls. That success so irked the government that, in the interim, it has moved again to squeeze the Brotherhood. Aside from changing the constitution so that it formally banned parties based on religion, it has mounted repeated campaigns of arrest and harassment, including confiscation of business assets. Having postponed municipal elections scheduled for 2006 until earlier this year, the regime simply disqualified all but a handful of Brotherhood candidates. The ruling>National Democratic Party ran unopposed in 80% of districts, winning all but 1,000 of the 52,000 seats. Voter turnout was reckoned at less than 5%, reflecting widespread disgust with the charade. Yet the Brotherhood displays some of the same flaws as its oppressors. Its leadership is also ageing and opaque, and has proved slow to respond to events. Recent changes in its hierarchy, arranged behind closed doors, have seen the promotion of conservative ideologues at the expense of younger reformers. Perhaps more important, the Brotherhood's diminishing capacity to deliver benefits to constituents has prompted pragmatists, the probable silent majority in a country with an incomparably long and justifiably sceptical political memory, to look elsewhere for patronage and> > protection. And there is another clear obstacle to the Brotherhood's progress. The 10% Coptic Christian minority, made nervous anyhow by sporadic outbreaks of sectarian violence, wholeheartedly rejects the Brothers, while fear of further sectarian unrest makes many Muslim Egyptians wary of them, too. But if most Egyptians appear to prefer evolution to revolution, there is no clear trajectory. The government itself, a behemoth with 6m employees, appears divided. Its ministries sound like those in other states, but many are run like medieval fiefs. The army, police, secret police, justice, the lucrative petroleum industry and foreign relations fall under the purview of the presidency, which tends to view all of them through a prism of state security and regime survival. This relegates to the hard-working prime minister, Ahmed Nazif, a diminished portfolio restricted to economic and social policy. Since his appointment in 2004, Mr Nazif and his team of technocrats, many of them Western-educated businessmen, have enacted long-delayed economic reforms. A dramatic slashing of tariffs and taxes, along with crucial changes to investment rules, has helped push the overall growth rate from below 4% to above 7%. Exports have more than doubled, from $9 billion in 2003 to $24 billion last year, with trade volume growing from 46% to 66% of a GDP that is expected to top $150 billion this year. Revenues have been boosted not only by high oil prices and the coming on stream of sizeable gas exports but, more significantly, by a doubling of income from the Suez Canal, a surge in industrial exports and a doubling of tourist arrivals, which reached a record 13m last year. With Cairo's stock index soaring (at least until a recent> > summertime slump, in line with the rest of the world), with exchange> > rates holding steady and property values booming, foreign direct investment has also accelerated, reaching $11 billion in 2007--five times the 2004 level--and a probable similar amount this year. CARS AND BREAD Many complain that while Egypt's industrialists have profited mightily, new wealth has failed to trickle down. Unskilled wages do remain dismally low, yet plenty of evidence points to broadening prosperity. Sales of private cars, for instance, have quadrupled since 2004 as a whole new class of Egyptians has taken to the ever-more-clogged roads. Franchise outlets sprout not only in wealthy parts of Cairo, but in dowdy provincial towns where state-run department stores once offered the only dusty glimpse of glamour. Amid a claimed fall in unemployment from 11% to just over 8% between 2003 and 2008, shortages of skilled labour have rapidly boosted white-collar wages. Indeed, some businessmen reckon that the biggest damper on growth just now is the dismal quality of Egypt's university graduates. Although statistics in Egypt are notoriously wobbly, there are signs that some pressing social tensions have eased. Ten years ago, for instance, 63% of Egyptian men remained unmarried at 30, a frightening indicator in a tradition-bound society where marriage is seen as a prerequisite for independence and adulthood. That figure fell to 45% in 2006. This shows that the cost of marriage, which typically includes the purchase and furnishing of a house, remains prohibitive for many, but it also suggests that the level of youth frustration may be dropping. Crucially, too, for a country whose inhabited area is barely the size of the Netherlands, the rate of population growth has slowed, from 2.3% a year in the 1980s to 1.9% today. And although Egyptians moan, with reason, about accelerating inflation,consumers have been spared the sting of global commodity-price spikes. Bread, the staple food, is still widely available at a subsidised price equal to one American cent a loaf, a fraction of its real price. Bottled cooking gas sells at one-sixth of its cost to the government. And despite a recent hike in petrol prices, a litre still costs one-eighth of its average price in Europe. Prices for other goods are still surging, but the government, made jittery by the ugly public mood, does try to help. To pay for May's 30%wage rise, it raised taxes on non-essential items such as cigarettes and luxury cars and put up energy costs for power-intensive industries. A proposed new property tax will exempt most householders, targeting only the relatively well-off. In an effort to hold down local prices,> rice exports have been banned. WHITTLING AT FREEDOM But the government's relative nimbleness on the economy has not been> > matched on other fronts. The crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood comes in the context of a broader shift towards greater authoritarianism, and in direct contradiction to promises of political reform. Before he started his fifth term in office, in 2005, Mr Mubarak promised more democracy. But despite some advances, for instance in allowing a more critical, privately owned press to flourish, his regime has systematically whittled away civic freedoms. In May, for instance, the government abruptly extended for two years the official state of emergency, saying that new antiterrorism laws were not yet ready. The emergency laws, which are meant to be applied only against violent threats to the state, have in fact been wielded against every manner of dissent. In one form or another they have been in force for all but three of the past 50 years. More recently, in an effort to tackle the indiscipline and deaths on Egyptian roads, the government passed a traffic law that applies stiff fines and prison sentences for minor infractions. The public is outraged at the higher bribes that police now command. Despite the occasional disciplining of officers, the regime's security forces operate with scant accountability. Charges of torture are commonplace. Court action is slow, and subject to both manipulation from above and bribery from below. Citizens therefore resort to private vendettas and the state resorts to security measures, such as sending in riot police, rather than social policies to make things better.In May the American president, George Bush, raised hackles by declaring, in the resort boomtown of Sharm el-Sheikh, that Egypt had disappointed hopes that it might lead the region in democratic reform. "Too often in the Middle East," he intoned, "politics has consisted of one leader in power and the opposition in jail." His host disdained to listen to the speech, and even many of Mr Mubarak's Egyptian critics bristled at being lectured by a singularly unpopular Western leader. Yet many admitted, too, that Mr Bush was on target, especially considering that Ayman Nour, a young, secular politician who was the distant runner-up to Mr Mubarak in the 2005 presidential election, has languished in jail ever since, on flimsy charges of forgery. The displeasure signalled by Mr Bush reflected another fact. During his administration Egypt's relations with the United States have sunk to their lowest point since the 1973 war with Israel. This reflects not just a shift in American attention towards other parts of the region,and American ire at Egypt's ugly human-rights record, but also Egyptian annoyance over policies such as the invasion of Iraq and the Bush administration's uncritical embrace of Israel. Diplomats on both sides downplay differences, ascribing recent bitterness to the kind of sharp words exchanged between friends. Yet Egypt now has few supporters in Washington. Its influence in the region is also diminished. Egypt has recently struggled simply to effect a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist party that seized power last year in neighbouring Gaza, or to calm the squabbling Palestinian factions. Since he has been in office, Mr Mubarak has cleverly used the occasional sign of difference with America to bolster his nationalist credentials, while using Egypt's regional weight to please Washington. Such LEGERDEMAIN is no longer possible. What concentrates both American and Egyptian minds just now is not what Egypt's president will do, but what happens after he goes. This, understandably, is a staple of Cairo conversation. Government spokesmen point to rules that call for elections within 60 days of the presidential office being vacated. The constitution's finer print stipulates that candidates can come only from parties that are legal, have held parliamentary seats for at least five years and can garner signatures from hundreds of elected local officials. The only party that can easily fulfil all these criteria is Mr Mubarak's National Democratic Party, which might then choose, for the sake of window-dressing, to endorse a few rival candidates from the handful of weak secular parties. There is little doubt who the NDP would choose for its own presidential ticket. The party's vast patronage network, which began as a legacy of one-party rule in the socialist 1960s, has been slowly taken over by a newer breed of businessmen loyal to Mr Mubarak's 44-year-old son Gamal, who chairs its policy committee. A MURKY SUCCESSION Yet although the younger Mr Mubarak has been an earnest champion of economic liberalism, the word among Cairo's chattering classes is that he lacks popular appeal, representing precisely the business elite that ordinary Egyptians have come to loathe. More important, it remains an open question whether Gamal Mubarak has the support of the army, police and intelligence services. Some assert that this "deep state" would not countenance an inherited presidency, preferring instead to promote a more trusted figure from within, in a Putin-like shift to ungloved control. As yet, however, no such person has developed the kind of public profile that might be expected of a likely contender. Indeed, one of the reasons for the elder Mr Mubarak's endurance, aside from his aversion to risk, has been his skill at sidelining potential rivals and playing the various security branches against each other. In another country, the murkiness of the succession, at such a time of> > severe social strain, would be a cause for grave alarm. Many Egyptians are, in fact, worried. Yet the consensus is still that, in line with previous transitions between Egyptian presidents, serious unrest is not likely to accompany the change, whether it is brought about by the rules, or in breach of them. The security establishment, assuming it remains unified, is large and ruthless. The frailty of Egypt's economy, with its reliance on tourism and foreign investment, makes a powerful argument for pursuing continuity rather than taking radical departures. And the mix of Egypt's geostrategic importance with its weakness suggests that it could continue to rely on generous foreign patrons. The country's future administrators may be tempted to make populist gestures, and would likely reap a quick reward of loud public relief, after too long under familiar rule. They might even opt for a tactical alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood. But the fact is that, whoever runs Egypt, the task of housing, feeding and schooling all those millions, let alone overhauling the country's myriad crumbling institutions, will leave little energy for other adventures. No wonder that most Egyptians, when asked what is in store for their country, tend to use the open-handed shrug with which they meet life's daily mysteries, and invoke the protection of God.

See this article with graphics and related items at http://www.economist.com/email/confirm.cfm> > > > Go to http://www.economist.com/ for more global news, views and analysis from the Economist Group.> > > > - ABOUT ECONOMIST.COM -

We have all complained about having to pick up after our family members. We pick up socks, shoes, dishes, glasses, bags, and a multitude of other items that would take too long to list. I have decided to conduct an "unofficial" study of the behaviors and habits of the occupants of my home. I want to see just how long it will take for them to notice these items and "if" they respond by A) picking it up (and/or) B) leave it for me to pick up. I have collected four forms of evidence that I will be "tracking" over the next few days.
Evidence Exhibit A) In the photo above you will notice that our "family/tv room" is well used. It is always occupied and a place for computer games, school work, watching tv, eating breakfast, snacks, drinking tea, eating biscuits, talking on the mobile, and gathering. If one wishes to take an afternoon nap, it would be much more comfortable for HIM (and us) to sleep in the BEDROOM and leaving the rest of us to eat, snack, talk on the mobile, watch tv, play computer and gather in peace.







Evidence Exhibit B) This is a basket where I keep prayer rugs, blanket throws, and the days newspaper. As you can see, it has now become a catch all for empty plastic bags. As you may see, to the immediate left is a TRASH CAN. Go figure?!

Evidence Exhibit C) A gym bag has been thrown on the floor in the hallway in front of a bedroom door. This is a high-traffic area and this bag needs to be stepped around to enter and exit the bedroom. It is also sticking out a little from the wall inside the hallway and one could possibly get tangled up the handle and fall into the outer doors which happen to have glass, thus injuring themselves. Mailesche, what is a cut or two?





Evidence Exhibit D) A towel used after the shower has been left on the bed. I am sure the person will bring another tomorrow to join this one. Never mind that it is all wet, and crumpled.







Now, I have other exhibits...tea cups, cookie wrappers, dishes and other items I could include. Socks, that is a whole blog in and of itself. However, I will track these few items over the next few days and we will see what has transpired. I am sure that I will be the only one bothered....but I am willing to let my need to control everything around me to go for this experiement. Stay tuned to the updates over the next several days!
Until next time,
A Woman of Egypt

In the past couple of months two members of the Nedi Gezira (Egypts version of a Country Club) have had heart attacks and died on the way to the hospital. One at the squash courts and one in the mens locker room. My husband was in the vicinity of both of these emergencies, along with several other doctors, and neither one of these men lived. Our club has an ambulance which is located on the club premises. Basically, this ambulance is a microbus. The ambulance contains a stretcher, 2 air tanks, and the drivers. On both of these occasions, only one air tank was working and it seems that it had critical air flow problems. Every single physician that attended to both of these poor men felt that if they had a decent ambulance with the neccessary lifesaving equipment that perhaps both of these fatalities may have been avoided. Egypt has recently implemented much more stringent traffic laws. I am hoping that they will consider equipping their ambulances with the things that one needs to save lives here in Egypt as well. Training for personel and basic life saving support is a must.
Until next time,
A Woman of Egypt

Only a few weeks left of my summer holiday and my Mind, Body and Soul Mission Summer 2008. This summer has been spent in reflection and introspection and I do believe I made progress towards a higher level of personal awareness. I finally acknowledge that I dislike living in a classist society and that I will never really FULLY integrate into the mindset of those around me. I am relieved on one hand to know that my moral compass is strong, but burdened knowing that my moral compass and the society around me will always live in conflict together. I understand now that I will battle this personally whether I am in America or here in Egypt. I finally recognize that I have an innate sense to understand people around me and what makes them tick. I believe this comes from a deep capacity to feel empathy at many levels for others. This is also taxing, as I find myself putting myself in everyone elses shoes, which leaves me little time to stand in mine and also leaves room for me to loose myself in others issues. I have zero tolerance for racism and social injustice and at times see these complex issues in black and white. I also view the world now as a whole, not broken up into continents, countries, or cities. I see people pluralistically, instead of through nationality, race, gender, religion, etc. I hear the news and I can relate to the place and/or subject. Take Georgia for instance, a five hour flight from Amsterdam to Cairo, during which I had a lengthy conversation with a gentleman from Georgia. I thought of that man every time I watched the news this past week. I wonder about him, his family, if he is ok, is he displaced, does he need medical help. It is real to me now. Sudan's Darfur is real, I have a sudanese maid....I often wonder what he has been subjected to in his life and I wonder about his family. Iraq, Afganistan, Japan, Spain, everything is real to me now. I will continue my efforts over the next couple of weeks to improve my level of awareness and hopefully implement my new personal knowledge about myself to create a better life. I am still working on the same character defects and personality issues that I have been working on for 20 years, these may never change. I am happy to be able to declare that they exist and own them. I find serenity in the understanding that you never live one minute longer or one minute less than what God has deemed for you to live on this journey in life. I also find peace in the affirmation that we take nothing with us when we leave this world, but we are responsible for what we leave behind. There is great power in that knowledge and with great power comes great responsibility. I hope that I will be able to move forward in my adult life as a faithful steward to the people and issues that I care about. I pray that when I leave this earth, I will leave the people and the places that I have visited a little bit better from having known me.

Until next time,

A Woman of Egypt

I read an article online yesterday about middle class families in the US turning to food pantries for help feeding their families. The article had a photo of the family standing in front of their kitchen cabinets with the doors open. The cabinets were sparsly filled, a few packets of macaroni, some salt, maybe a couple of cans of some unknown item. The mother of this family was very embarrased to have to resort to such methods in order to manage her families day to day food needs. It seems her husband was injured in a work related accident and they are now living off of disability. I felt for this family, but I cracked a smile because that is exactly how my kitchen cabinets look. I guess my kitchen resembles a needy family, too. My fridge has milk, eggs, cheese, bread, tomatoes and cucumbers...my kitchen cabinets have some macaroni packets, tuna, beans, and some oatmeal. I only cook meals with meat or chicken twice per week now. We eat a lot of pasta, beans, tuna and salad, and I never throw food away. We have really poor people in Egypt so I always give any leftovers to my bowab and he gives it to a poor person on the street. Food costs have risen to international prices in Egypt over the past few months. On an average, my husband and I spend at least 900 USD or more, depending on the month, for household expenses, and our home and car are paid for. For Egypt, this is a lot for two people. I have friends here, who have several maids, drivers, and kids and they are spending 3,000.00 USD on household expenses. That is not including their private school tuition, traveling abroad, and other similar expenses. The world is expensive now, and Egypt has not been spared. I am always looking for ways to cut expenses and save money, and I have no problem with my cupboards looking the way they do. I know that a lot of other families in Egypt and around the world are living with less. Reading that article made me feel sad for my fellow Americans who need to learn to live within their financial means and perhaps be happier with less. It is always good to check into reality.

Until next time,

A Woman of Egypt

My Mind, Body and Soul Mission Summer 2008 got a little off track over the past 7 days. My husband decided that we are moving to North Carolina next summer. This is great, but I had to spend some time getting organized, like filing TAXES, 6 years worth to be exact....who knew you have to file US taxes when you earn a foreign income?? Once I have a task to complete, I have to do it and finish it. The problem was my undertaking took several days at home on the PC and I put on 3 pounds. My summer mission has really been insightful. Not only have I learned that I need to start working on my negative attitude and that I have taken on the identity of the city I am living in, but I also have a problem eating when I am bored. If I am engaged in an activity that is keeping me busy, I don't snack. Over the past few days at home working on my PC, I probably spent most of that time standing in front of the fridge with the door open, as though something new has popped in since the last hour. I hate to acknowledge all these negative attributes about myself, but if I am going to get real and work my own self-improvement program for the summer, I have to be honest. It is hard to realize that I am picking up some really bad habits, and exuding some really negative vibes. I read in Eckhart Tolle's book, A New Earth that "I am doing just fine, thank you" is a role the ego plays more commonly in America than in certain other countries where being and looking miserable is the norm and therefore more socially acceptable." When I read that my mouth dropped to the floor. That is such a profound statement, and so true, for myself as an American and as an Egyptian. No wonder I am in such a flux, as an American I want to fake it and smile and "be right", and as an Egyptian I want to ventilate and "be right." Either way, I want to be right about everything and to be validated that I am right, and then have a snack. Yep, it is difficult working the Mind, Body and Soul Mission Summer 2008 program. Perhaps I don't need to know myself that well.....to much knowledge about ones self has to be detrimental to your mental health.
On that note..
Until next time,
A Woman of Egypt

As an elementary school teacher, I above many others realize how powerful a picture can be. I couldn't help but wring my hands together when one of the most liberal magazines in America, The New Yorker, used this cartoon as its cover. I understand that it is giving the proverbial "stick that in your pipe and smoke it you bigoted, racist, ignorant, lack of education and understanding American idiots." The problem is, I am not so sure the rest of the US voting population will "get it" nor will the international readers of this magazine be able to filter the humor from the picture. With that said, aside from my "paid" job as an elementary school teacher, I also represent the United States of America on a daily basis. This job is non paid and on a volunteer basis, but I am commited nonetheless. Every day is a challenge in the classroom, but I find working as a representative of America more difficult. Explaining a democratic society to some of the places I have traveled to in the world can get rather dicey, especially when some of what we put out to the rest of the world is a bit messy. For example, the word "Freedom"...when I explain freedom to non English speakers and non westerners, I say.."My freedom ends when and where your rights begin. That helps create the basis for a democratic society of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, tolerance, acceptance, cooperation and compromise for all people, regardless of race, gender and sexual or religious affiliation." Now, unbenownst to The New Yorker, they have just expanded my volunteer efforts in my "non paid" job as a US representative not only abroad, but in the US as well. In all honesty and let's cut "through the fat" as we say in the south, tolerance, acceptance and religious freedom for anyone ín the US depends greatly on who is on the receiving end. Let's take Barak Obama for example since the cover was about him. I personally beleive Barak Obama is "quintessential Americana" as its best. He is half white, half black (by the way, the half black is PURE black African with a father from Kenya, we all know that the white part is not PURE American, since we cannot trace his roots back to the NATIVE American Indians which were the TRUE and RIGHTFUL inhabitants of America before the Queen kicked out all the lackeys and drunkards from the jails of England to America and Australia to expand her territories) his first name Barak is a popular Jewish name, I know 3 Isreali's with the name Barak, his middle name Hussein is a popular Middle Eastern/Islamic name, and of course his last name is Obama, his family name. His father was unavailable for parental duties, his mom did her best with what she could, and eventually he was raised by his grandparents. he went on to graduate from some of the most prestigious schools in America. Well, what do you know, that sounds like the life story of most Americans, one mixed up, jumbled up, messy, dysfunctional American family. In my most humble opinion, regardless of whether you support Barak Obama or not, every American should be offended by this deragatory picture of A) An American family B) The American political structure and C) the blatant display of disrespect that only serves to encourage prejudice and anti-American sentiment around the world. If one wishes to invoke his/her rights to freedom of speech, then perhaps he/she needs to consider the responsibility of those rights. If any American wishes to use satire to ridicule or scorn another American or for that matter, other people of the world, then have some self respect and at least let it be thought provoking, insightful, and open lines of communicaton for discussion or debate. America needs to start cleaning up its own backyard and consider the fact that with great power, comes great responsibility.We don't even respect, appreciate or understand our own basic democratic society, how should we propose to continue to extole its virtues around the world.

Until next time,

A Woman of Egypt

As part of my Mind, Body and Soul Mission Summer 2008 the dreaded dental visit was a part of the plan. I realize that caring for your mouth is good for your overall well being. I just have a problem with the whole idea of "the dentist." The anxiety I feel as soon as I smell the dentist office is too much. I scheduled my dental work, sticking true to my plan of working my mission for the summer, and my dentist told me I had to replace one filling that was cracked, have two root canals and one implant. The was just wonderful and I was soo excited. Thankfully, my root canals ended up being fillings and my implant can be put off...as in indefinitely. I had my teeth cleaned and scaled and the only thing left to do was have two of my fillings covered with crowns. Life was looking so much better. I have no idea why I have such anxiety in regards to the dentist. By the way, my dentist is super and I will include his information for anyone living in Egypt. He works with several different doctors in a very clean, professional clinic.

Esha Integrated Dentofacial Center

Dr. Tamer H. Farahat

154 El Nile Street

3-761-0288

3-336-3345

They speak Arabic and English and are very helpful.

Until next time,

A Woman of Egypt

In retrospect, I have come to realize that my attitude and general unhappiness over the past year is my own doing. I returned from my summer holiday last year in Europe with a heavy heart, and I have felt burdened since. I did not want to come back, and that has been reflected in my attitude towards myself and others over the past year. I thought that if I made a spiritual journey, I would come back with my batteries recharged and a new prospective. My trip for Umrah was set up for failure on my part, because I expected something which did not thappen. I don't know if I thought I would hear harps playing, see Angels, have a personality change...I have no idea. I do know that I "got it" once I returned from Saudi Arabia. I realized that when I came back to Cairo last summer, I actually did not want to be here. I wanted to be with my husband, I missed him and loved him, I love my job and I wanted to return to work, but I did not want to live in this city any longer. If I could take my husband and my job out of the city, I would be very happy. I resented in some small way having to come back, and as soon as my flight landed in Cairo from Italy, I was primed with a grievance. That grievance snow balled over the year, and as a consequence I reacted to anything and everything with negativity. I was charged and what compounded my problem is that the other 28 million people in the city are charged in the same negative way. The moment you step outside of your home in Cairo you encounter a struggle. Everyone is struggling for space, air, recognition, money, peace of mind....you name it, we are struggling. I had lost my perspective, and I had become part of the problem. I was finding fault with everyone around me. I had comepletely lost my identity and absorbed the ones around me. I became a living, breathing, aggressive, defensive, argumentative whiner that was taking everything around me personally. I can't tell you how many times I told my husband that the taxi drivers know me now, and I have to argue with them all daily or otherwise they don't pick me up at all. That is incredible, and I have no idea how I came to that informed idea as we have millions of taxis in the city alone. I am sure in retrospect they do not know me personally. I had taken on the crazy, chaotic lifestyle of this city as my identity, and I was not handling it well at all. I was not optimistic and/or looking on the bright side of anything or anyone. I viewed everyone and all ideas with sarcasm and derision, I was not a happy camper and I did not like myself. That is one of the reasons why I decided to work on Mind, Body and Soul during the summer holiday. My trip to Umrah was a part of that experience, and my dissatisfaction had nothing to do with my trip. I needed to change my perspective.
Until next time,
A Woman of Egypt

My time in Mecca got better after I realized that I had to toughen up and forget about the behavior of others. I made my prayers and supplications as I wanted and I learned to look past the people that were around me. I had been warned that the weather would be bad and the toilets even worse. I can't complain about either. Living in Egypt had already introduced me to both and the weather in Saudi Arabia was super. We made a second Umrah on our last night there, which was much better than the first and I completed everything I wanted to do during that time. I felt better, but was still happy to be headed home the next day. I met some truly nice people, like Heba's sister-in-law Sahar and her kids, God bless her and her scarves. She was a God send, and I had lots of hugs and greetings from people I don't know and will probably never meet again. We were able to meet an Egyptian who works in Saudi Arabia as a school director and her intervention with inquiries in regards to my nationality were greatly appreciated. Thanks so much to her and her quick wit. I had two little boys around 7 or 8 ask me if I was from Palestine (that was a new one) and they even turned around to double check my answer. I guess they couldn't beleive I was American, living in Egypt and speaking Arabic. My husband was about to crack up. Our flight home was beyond any comedy show you could imagine. We flew on some Phuket Air/Thailand Sky airbus, that had first come- first serve seating, no A/C, staff that was terribly ill-equipped to deal with a bunch of hot, irritated, tired, fed up, and frustrated Egyptians after a 1 and 1/2 hour delay in departure. I truly felt we were flying in a chicken coop with wings. I was not sure the poor aircraft was going to make lift-off, and lots of things were swinging in the air, seats were flying back (thank GOD, we made it home) but only after some major laughing. My husband lost his temper with one of the cabin crew (I just kept fanning him with the airline safety brochure, no need to interrupt a free movie) people were complaining about the A/C, the flight crew took off their jackets and they were WET with perspiration, food trays were being thrown in the aisles, and a general air of unhappiness and discontent was present. I personally was over the top THRILLED with the whole scenario and to me it was the best part of the trip. I have never laughed so much during air travel. Once we returned to Cairo my sister-in-law Soheir and my brother-in-law Sameh came over and asked me how I liked my trip. I replied that "I didn't" and they didn't know what to say. I realized that my response was negating everything about the act of pilgrimage not only for myself, but for them as well. I felt quilty, and I started asking myself why was I so negative all the time. I think the lightbulb went off in that moment for me and I started reflecting on my experience and the reasons for my disillusionment.

Until next time,

A Woman of Egypt

After the Umrah the night before, and my disappointment with my inability to feel the "moving religious awakening" that I thought would miraculously appear, I had no idea that the next day would be one of my breaking points. Perhaps it was due to exhaustion, maybe it had even more to do with the fact that I was on day 12 of a hormone to delay the onset of my menstruation, only God knows...but I know that I was ill equipped to deal with the events of the next day. After finding a spot to pray (it was very busy at the noon prayer) in the middle of my supplications that I could not make the night before, I felt some slight fiddling around my ankles. I looked down, in the middle of "God, please give everyone clean, safe drinking water".... to find two women investigating my white galabaya, pants, and socks. I could not beleive what I was seeing, they were actually lifting it up and looking at the stitching of my pants and socks. I was so flabbergasted, I did not know what to do. How on earth could I pray about preserving and taking care of our natural resources when the people in the mosque needed some serious supplications themselves. I completely lost all train of thought and eventually they noticed me looking at them and they gave my galabaya a good tug, as though to straighten it out, and started looking forward. The mosque was really starting to fill up and I ended up praying on top of my bag that held my shoes and all the while someone else was poking my feet from behind to get me to move, as though there was any room to move. When the prayer ended, I got out and met my husband and I was in tears. I told him the whole experience was terrible and I was ready to leave and come back home to Cairo. He looked crestfallen and did not know what to say. I only wanted to get out of that area and go to my room, and NEVER leave it again until our flight. He made me stop in the grocery store (against my will) and we made some purchases. I was in such a state, I could barely contain myself waiting for him to choose which deodorant he wanted. We finally paid and he asked me to wait while he went back in to look at something else. I was so irritated, tired, and frustrated and I was just biting my tongue to not start crying. I have never felt so torn inside. The spiritual awakening I had anticipated for my Body, Soul and Mind Mission Summer 2008 was not panning out. I hated the crowd, I hated praying in a jumble of people, I hated the whole mess and now I was standing outside of a grocery store, against my will, waiting for my husband to look for a tea kettle. I wanted to go back to Cairo and sooner, rather than later. We had purchased some cold pepsi's and water and so I took one out of the bags I was holding and opened it and took a swallow. In that moment, a woman wearing a niqab came by and pointed to my Pepsi and my hand. I asked her in Arabic what happened, and she responded in English that I was drinkng out of the wrong hand, and how long had I been a muslim and I had a lot to learn! Well, that was it. I walked off, left my husband, went to the room and I swore I was never coming back out till we left for the airport. Heba, my colleague (my Umrah guide and companion, God bless her) came in with some Baskin and Robbins and we had a good laugh about people's behavior and she told me that I had to get strong, toughen up and get with the program, it was my personal Jihad (struggle) to deal with everything and I had better get my mind straight. She was right, and I was able to get my program back on track. I think that what I expected of Mecca was different from what I found, and I was disappointed....not from the place, but from what I had expected it to be.
Until next time,
A Woman of Egypt

On our way to Mecca we had to stop at a certain place and make our Ihram (our intention for Umrah) before continuing on our journey. The place to wash yourself was very crowded as was the area for prayer. I was seriously trying to keep it all together, but doubts were creeping in as to my ability to keep my temper in check on the way to my Umrah. I couldn't understand why we left a 5 star hotel only moments before, showered and clean, and then had to go and wash ourselves in an area that was overly crowded and dirty. I was seriously thinking that my Mind, Body and Soul Mission Summer 2008 was severely off track. Nevertheless, I made my intention, I prayed and we returned to the bus. Our trip into Mecca was without incident and we were all very hungry when we arrived. We ate around 11:30 p.m. and then returned to our rooms to shower and perform our Umrah. The whole area where the Holy Mosque is located is really overwhelming beautiful. I couldn't help but think of all the history surrounded by large, towering skyscrapers. It is a sight to behold. We entered the Mosque and the first thing you notice are the people. That whole area is full of people, day and night. At night, there is enough lighting to make you feel as if it is daylight outside. We pushed our way down to the main area where the Kabba is located and we started our Umrah. Thankfully, we were able to complete our curcumbulations around the Kabba very quickly. The only problem was that you could not be focused on your prayers or supplications due to the people stopping in the middle of everyone, to pray, supplicate, or to just stand in awe of the Kabba. Emad wanted me to get closer to the inside area of the traffic to see everything, but I prefered to stay on the outside lane. Wheelchairs and their drivers were hissing and bumping into people, bodies pushing and shoving, random persons stopping to pray in the middle of your stride, people pressing their bodies up to the Kabba to wipe clothing, even themselves on the Kabba. I felt I constantly had to look out for what the other person was doing, step around or over someone, and to keep a look out for wheelchairs behind me that might knock me down. When we moved onto the Safwa and Marwa, I was disappointed, as I had a whole list of what I wanted make supplications for and to show gratitidue for while I was in the Kabba area, and I never got to do one. I never knew that the next feat would prove to be impossible. With all the construction, the area for Safwa and Marwa was very hot and congested. I think I ran the whole seven rounds and at one point was almost lifted off the ground and pushed through by the crowd. We completed our Uhmrah and I had not made one of my supplications. We prayed the morning prayer and went back to our room. We were thoroughly exhausted and we managed to get some rest and went to pray the noon prayer in the mosque. I do beleive this prayer for the noon prayer was my breaking point.

Until next time,

A Woman of Egypt

When you go to Saudi Arabia on Umrah, one needs to be covered. I found wearing the higab a bit uncomfortable and itchy. I takes time to adapt. We arrived in Medinah and checked into our hotel late in the evening. The weather was not bad. It was much better than Cairo which was humid and hot. Medinah was hot during the day and relatively cool in the evening. This was my first time to pray in large groups at the mosque and I found the whole thing a bit disconcerting. The early morning prayers were enjoyable, as it was not so crowded and you could find a place to pray with ease. The prayers during the day were more crowded and for the noon prayer and afternoon prayers, I found it easier to pray outside of the mosque in the sun. I realized that I could not focus on my prayers and worship when I was getting pushed, shoved, stepped on, and jostled. During my time in Medinah, I was able to visit an area where the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) and two of his companions are buried. There is also an area where you can pray and make your supplications. The area is quite small and they allow people in during certain times. You are moving within a group and you have a leader who speaks that language. Egyptians with their group, Turkish with their group, Iranians with their group, Malaysians with their group, etc. There are signs and workers to keep you with your group. I have seen things during this time period which I found completely incredible. Women were hugging and kissing the pillars, one group of women knocked down a portable dividier to keep an area segregated. Female workers were hanging from pillars shouting out directions to get people to move and stay in a certain area. It was complete mayhem. My husband told me about an incident where a Saudi man slapped a Bangladeshi man because the Bangledeshi man would not move and allow the Saudi room to pray. This first visit for Umrah, for these first few days started to put seeds of doubt in my mind of having made the right decision to go to Umrah. This was not what I had signed on for...I thought I would go and have a spiritual awakening, a renewal, a feeling of serenity and peace. I found the opposite happening, a niggling of doubt about what I was doing, who I was worshipping with, was I EVEN able to worship with all that chaos and confusion?! How could I, or anyone else for that matter, focus on my prayers and supplications when you are constantly interrupted due to other people's behavior?! This is not what I thought the religion was about. Bad behavior, disregard for people and place, ignorance, and body odor were rampant. I had no clue as to what I was in for when I left Madinah and moved on to Mecca.

Until next time,

A Woman of Egypt

My Mind, Body and Soul Mission Summer 2008 is still in operation. My quest for inner peace and tranquility comes on the heels after a year of feeling emotionally disconnected, some personal dissatisfaction, and the general malaise of living in a city with 28 million people (according to a tour guide at Christmas) as my neighbors. I decided that since we were not planning to travel during July and August, I would spend this summer trying to reach a level of spiritual awareness to improve myself over the summer. This would be achieved by exercise, reading books on health and wellbeing, and watching my diet. During the planning stages of my summer mission, a friend of mine told me about a trip to Saudi Arabia for Umrah that she and her husband would be going on at the end of June. She invited us to join her family, and of course my husband was thrilled with the idea about going to Umrah. We took the decision to go and our plans started from there. I was very excited about the whole prospect, since this would go along perfectly with my Mind, Body and Soul Mission Summer 2008. I went to have the shots, applied for the visa, bought all the galabeyas, abayas and higabs, worked out all the details, and prepared my list to make supplications or "dua'" for all the people who are important to me. I felt I was on the right path towards my spiritual journey of the summer. I readied my mind, I prepared my heart, and I was all set for the journey. I was still working out daily at the gym, meeting all my goals for physical exercise and I felt primed. On the day of our departure, my house was ready, my bags were packed, and we were set to go. All was going as planned. My husband was experiencing some stomach discomfort, but other than popping some medicine to alleviate that, everything was going well. We arrived at the aiport late as usual, we never get to any international flight on time. We boarded the plane and we were off, higab and all. Ready to begin my spiritual journey, ready to be moved into a larger awakening, a different level of conciousness. I surely needed a different frequency than what I had experienced over the past year. I encountered even more than what I expected, although I am not sure exactly what it was I expected. My next blog entries will be about what I experienced and learned during the beginning of my summer mission.

Until next time,

A Woman of Egypt

Summer time...school's out.....no early morning alarms......no lesson planning....just me and some peace of mind. I have decided that this summer is going to be about mind, body and spirit! I put my watches away in my jewelry boxes so that I will not feel so tied to the element of time. I am trying to push my control boundaries, let's see how that works. I am going to work out faithfully at the gym at least 6 days a week, and will attend my aerobics and pilates classes on a regular basis. All I need now are some good self-help books and I will be on my way to a healthy summer holiday! I will keep you posted as to my arrival in zen.
Until next time,
A Woman of Egypt