...More clothes?

(This post has been edited because I rethought some things and learned new info.)

Today I was thrown into a state of disarray when a teacher at the center turned to me in the middle of a conversation and said "malabis", which is 'clothes'. "What?" I asked him, and my friend D. turned to me and said, "You need to put your coat on."

-"Why? I'm completely covered."
-"It's your form. You need to cover it."

In my state of shock, I mumbled about how I've seen other girls in tighter clothes than what I was wearing, but no one commented or validated my observation.

I put the coat on.

Granted, we were in the street walking to a nearby men-only, falafel place that wasn't keen on having women around. Fine. But we ended up standing about 20 feet away from it while D. went and got the food anyway. So, what's the point?

My real problem with this is that the teacher was imposing his own sense of propriety on me. Guess what, teacher friend? I'm not here so you can tell me what makes you comfortable! I've seen PLENTY of girls on the street covered from head to toe in SKIN TIGHT clothes. What I was wearing was completely appropriate.

When people go to another country, the best thing to do for most involved is to adapt as necessary. After catching the flow of what's expected, life is much, much easier.

But guess what? I didn't come here to follow the status quo, and it seems the flow I've caught is still not enough for some people. In allowing this country, people, religion and culture to change me, I too, will change it. If I want to walk down the busy streets on a hot day without my coat, then my god, if I feel comfortable then I'm going to do that! If people think that I'm a slut because my forearm isn't covered... well? Who's problem is that?

And in case you didn't know, western women are considered slutty. (Russian & German women specifically have a bad reputation here.) It is quite likely that any time an Arab man looks at me, he is probably thinking that I'm thinking about sex.

Thank you American television!

If I went by the ignorant American stereotype of an Arab, I would have never come here in the first place. Like the ideas that they are all potential terrorists, cult-like in their praise for Allah and fine with suppressed women. I don't think that, obviously, nor do I think that every/most/even one Arab man that comes near me is likely to kidnap me and cut my throat.

I have bent so much already because I want to catch a flow here, but I'm not going to keep covering, covering and hiding myself to make everyone comfortable.

"Why cause a fuss?"

....because I'm not Arab and I'm not going to pretend I am. Please, let's just pretend we came here to start changing the world around us. If I don't interact with the common people in ways they don't expect, how can new thoughts, feelings and ideas ripple through?

Feelings are definitely working their way through me right now; maybe they'll work their way to you.

And please, please... trust me in my ability to know what boundaries to push, and which ones not to. I've test the waters.. I know what I'm doing, thanks.





I'm not going to keep covering up. I'm comfortable the way I am. If that makes you uncomfortable, good luck with letting it keep you awake at night.


With peace,
Candiace


Ps- It's quite possible that my 'teacher friend' told me to put on my coat because we were going to pick up sandwiches from a place where the men were rude. If that's the case, he did it so I would be more comfortable, but unfortunately it wasn't explained to me like that. I was told by D. it was because my form, and explained that I should never go myself because I shouldn't cause a fuss. (.....)

Hijabs

In Cairo, the hijab is expected if you're Muslim. Some women don't wear one because 1) they aren't Muslim or 2) they're family doesn't care. For most women, it's used for fashion purposes. You can get these things to look FABULOUS. I think I've mentioned people's maddd style here.. While you might not consider this to be crazy stylish, it is quite fashionable for a hijab.

People also don't stare at me anymore. Yay!



If I went into a more conservative neighborhood, the easiest thing to would be pinning the tail to the other side of my head.

I look stuffy... suffice it to say, I don't like this look.




Enjoy!


Love,
Candiace

Alexandria

A post - finally!

A little over a week ago I went to the wonderful, wonderful city of Alexandria located off of the Mediterranean coast. It was a 2 1/2 hour trip by car (we could have taken a bus) driven by our wonderful friend Amr. I'll write about him later!

Before we left we stopped and had some Egyptian pizzas...(mmmm) Here is our fellow pizza maker getting the dough ready for us:

We each had one sweet one with honey, sugar, nuts and raisins, and another with egg, bell pepper, onion and mushrooms. YUM-MY.

We talked for a bit, but since most of us only had 2-3 hours of sleep the night before, we slept mot of the way there. <3

Right when we got to the Mediterranean, what's the first thing we see? ...A regular car with fresh fish in the trunk. Those shrimp were still MOVING. The man reached down, grabbed one and tried scarring us with it... I didnt get scared off though, I just took a rad picture.

The waves at one point were HUGE. Right after this pic, A. and I got soaked.

It was cold, too. :(

In this area we had tips of land stretching around and in front of us on both sides. You can see the tip of the other stretch of land on my right. It was awesome.

Here is D. in front of the docks. I do not know how people get on their boats way out there...

My head is over a small tunnel that went underneath and into a room in the Citadel of Qaitbay. The air didn't smell so nice, but I was willing to sacrifice breathing for a bit to get a good picture.

The place had the most AMAZING lighting. We took a series of photos in one particular area because we repeatedly got amazing results.

Here is A., H. and me doing 'see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil' on the wall of the Citadel and in front of the Medertarrian. We're dorks...

Did I say we're dorks? Oh, my goodness. D. is also in this picture. Hahahahaha....

This pillar might not look that big, but it's HUGE. I wasn't that impressed when I took this picture, but when I got close to it.. I was in complete awe. I can't begin to express how intense the feeling was to look at this 2,000 year old GIGANTIC pillar standing.

Along with the pillar, two small Sphinxes were dug up as well.

Here is a small fish stand, one of the many seen on the streets.

This is NOT sand. This is broken shells and dead coral, with not a PINCH of sand. It was one of the most amazing things I've seen here. I forgot the name, but this stuff makes up the entire beach we were on at the time.

We originally went to this beach to see the sight of an old lighthouse that was used in ancient times. Only the original base stands... Below is a picture of me climbing around on a dead coral reef, most likely the home of the broken shells that constituted as 'sand'.

I did, in fact, eat fish that night. It is not possible for me to be vegan here, so I'm not. I have been known to eat fish for special occasions, and that day was one of them. Who gets to eat fresh fish caught in the Mediterranean? Not anyone I know..

The restaurant was AMAZING. They brought us out 13 PLATES of sauces (you can see some in the pic) and two baskets of bread. OMG. We got to pick the fish we wanted them to cook (they were already dead) and rice or pasta. I have some wonderful pictures of one of the staff de-boning my fish... pretty interesting/gruesome stuff. >_<

Of the many things we did that day, some of which aren't pictured, we ended our trip at the 'Women's Market'. All they sold here were fabrics and hijabs. I bought 8 beautiful hijabs which I'll post pictures of later.

Eventually, I will post all of the pictures on flickr. I just have to wait for a good internet connection!!

So, when are you going to visit Alexandria?

Love,

Candiace

Inside my place!

Alright! Now, for the tour! We start in my bedroom, which is most definitely the 'childrens room' in the apartment. It has three beds, and HUGE windows. I picked the room because it had huge windows.. I thought the sun would look mighty fine coming through them.

You'll notice everything used, used, used. Furnished apartments do not come with newly bought, only-for-renters-furniture. All of it is used by the landlord or his family.. and then when they had enough of it, recycled into our apt.


So, this is the bathroom that I loathe. The shower doesn't work and the sink takes foreverrrrrrrrrrrrrrr to drain. Hahah. I wash my hair every two or three days in that sink. I also transfer hot water from the sink to the tub so I can take a bath. Oh, baths! How I love thee!!


The door leading out to the clothes line.


These are my clothes hanging out on the line. It was midnight when I took this picture, so you can't really see the building that would normally be in the background. Those are A.'s clothes.

We have to hang the unmentionables to dry in the living room. Lmao.


The left door is my room and the right is the bathroom. That table was carried in my A. & me so we could heat that tiny room with our baby heater when it gets cold. Did I mention it was winter here?


Pfft. This kitchen is smaller than my closets at home. WHY?! If this is supposed to be a family apartment, why can the kitchen fit only ONE person at a time?~!?

Oh yeah.... only one person would be in there... >_<

A. and I are afraid of the cupboards, so we leave everything on the counter.

Same little room again. On the left is the kitchen, and through the right sliding door is the the living room/dining room/sun room/another room that we tragically NEVER go into.


Our living room. Weird decorations, eh? We think it's funny. hehe.


Notice how the curtain goes across the entire wall. ../?


This is the nicest part of the apartment. Here you can see the surrounding windows for what I call the sun room and the sitting room. Yes, the chair on the left is where we dry our unmentionables.


Here is the ridiculously long dining room table we never sit at. Most of our friends are boys here - and they aren't allowed over - so we have never entertained any guests. This entire area would be great for parties.


And finally, we arrive looking at the front door.



Visit sometime, perhaps?


Love,
Candiace

The outside of my place!

Walking up to my building from school:

They would say I'm on the third floor because they don't count the first floor.. but really, I'm on the fourth floor:

Looking outside my window to the right:

Looking outside my window to the left:

All of my lovely pictures that keep me going in rough times!:

My apartment is pretty nice. The only problem, and it's a big one, is that the shower doesn't work properly. The hot water lasts for a long time in the bathroom and kitchen sink...... but not in the shower! WHY?! I'm talking about less than a minute.... Lol.

Our landlord is very kind and his wife kisses me once on each cheek when I come over. We have a doorman who can get us vegetables in the morning, and who we call if we need anything. He speaks absolutely no English, so when we're having trouble he gets the landlord's son who translates for us.

Hilarious stuff. I think the landlord's son gets high because when he comes over his eyes are blood shot and he won't stop giggling. I think he is around 16 yrs old, although he might be younger. Apparently, people really smoke it up here... I saw a car with a marajuana sticker on the window... Lmao!

I should have the internet at my place within the next week or two. It is SO HARD to get on the internet, even though there is an internet cafe right by my school! Ever since the internet went down in the Middle East over a week ago things have been slowwww going. Maybe someday I can post with frequency!!

Tomorrow:

-Go to American Embassy

-Study

-Wash all white clothes & hang to dry

Friday:

-Study

-Put clothes up

Saturday:

-Take my FIRST EXAM!!! Ahhh!

I'll let you now how it goes!!

Peace,

Candiace

Guess what?!?!?!

EGYPT WON THE AFRICAN CUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1-0 OMG!@

Going outside is NOT ADVISABLE. Crazy, eh? I am waiting out a RIOT in a coffee shop.


.... Why are they rioting if they won? I do not know, my friends. I do not know.


I met some new people from Canada tonight, one of whom is going to my school. I, and some other girls, are going to be staying at her place tonight. I can't go home. People are looting, the streets are on FIRE and people will be up until dawn.

No. Going. Home.

I am walking on clouds.


Lmao.

(I'm safe. We're cool.)


Oh, and today I've been here for EXACTLY one month. What a way to celebrate!!



Peace!
Candiace

Ps. Really, I am safe... or I would be scared and unable to write this email. <3<3

Because they got high?

I'm sitting at an internet cafe in Cairo's nicest mall (which is the most beautiful mall I've ever been in) and blasting from the shelf stereos is 'Because I Got High' by Afroman.

OMG.

Oh, and they know what it says....