I have a feeling that enough time has passed, enough new experiences have accumulated, that it is the "right time" to write some more about the life of a tall, blond, Canadian young man in Egypt.
I think I have yet to mention in these journals that I have had the good fortune of obtaining a bicycle from Abouna Youssef! Oh, it's wonderful. Not only do I feel exceedingly more independent as I have the ability to make the rounds of both Beni Suef and New Beni Suef, but an opportunity for exercise is welcome for my body and mind. It's kind of humorous to me when I mention to those who ask that I bike into town from the retreat centre (about 15 minutes), and their eyes widen in shock! "How do you perform such an incredible physical feat?" they ask. I try to explain how I used to get around by bicycle in Canada all the time and really enjoy it a lot, but we just don't seem to experience the same joy in such exercise.
My favourite part of any journey I take with my trusty little black bicycle (it is kind of little by the way: my knees almost hit the old-school handlebars that are shaped like a big "C" and the seat only goes so high) is the bit from the retreat centre to the main road, which runs through agricultural land. During the daylight hours I am sure to run across a variety of animals sharing the road with me, whether donkeys or camels carrying people or vegetation, small herds of sheep, or a fellow leading 2 or 3 cows or water buffalo. At night the sky is often clear, lights are scare (and so is traffic, so don't get too excited), and it is quiet. I have a few minutes to experience the beauty of nature outside the city with some serenity, moments that are hard to come by for many, many people here in Egypt. I feel very blessed.
I must comment here, while I'm thinking about animals, that Beni Suef is truly a unique city in my eyes. It's small in land area, but still feels very much like a city to me because of the many high buildings lining the streets and the crowds of people. It is also surrounded by agricultural land. So it is not uncommon for me to bike across the busy bridge into town to be passed by a huge transport truck on one side while I pass a donkey-cart or somebody riding a donkey on the other. It always makes me smile. Or that I have dodge, every now and then, a man leading his water buffalo with frayed ropes across a major street in town, as do the taxis, cars, and carts. I'm also not used to watching where I step in town quite as carefully as I do here.
I also see foxes running through the fields outside Beni Suef, or stopping in the middle of the road to watch me approach before scaling a nearby stone wall or disappearing into the bushes. I enjoy that as well.
Keith and Sofia have started calling me "Cinderella" because I am bound by the closing time of the retreat centre. The impenetrable doors are shut till morning at 10:45. I am always having to run off from my friends before the evening feels finished, or else I suppose I would have to sleep in the bushes, or scale the wall of the centre. The closing time is earlier now that "winter" is here (more on this later) than it was in summer. During the transition I totally forgot one fateful evening and arrived home at about 11 to find everything locked and barred. I was seriously taking a look at a section of wall, trying to decide how I could scale my way in, when somebody heard me goofing around and opened the door for me. I try to be on time now.
Now, the change of season here is worth talking about a bit. I couldn't believe just how quickly this transition occurs. It really is as if God decides one day to turn Egypt to "winter" and it's done. One day I was sleeping with only a sheet, enjoying hot, hot sun during the day, and two days later I woke up a little chilly, and needed to eat breakfast with my fleece and toque to comfort me. The days are still what I would call hot after the sun has done a bit of work, but the mornings and evenings are pleasantly cool, especially when there's a wind about. I'm enjoying it quite a bit. The staff at the retreat centre gave me some extra blankets, and I feel 30 times cosier at night now that I can actually use them without getting heat stroke in the night.
The other interesting component of this seasonal contrast is how it is reflected in what people wear. As suddenly as the weather changes, so do the outfits. Now I see jackets, sweaters, toques and scarves, sometimes in amusing combination with gallabeyas. The fashion sense around here definitely leaves something to be desired. The sweaters all make me think of something from the movies, when a kid gets a sweater from aunt what's-her-face and refuses to wear it. Funny patterns, nasty colours, etc. etc.
I had a bit of an adventure this past weekend that started at the Friday morning mass I go to at the main Coptic orthodox church in new beni suef. Abouna Youssef asked me spontaneously after the service if I wanted to go with him to Cairo with him to try and buy a used car. He had recently sold his old one and is getting tired of walking around and relying on taxis. "Sure". It turns there are 5 of us going, so we cram into the car and drive the 2 hours to Cairo, enjoying a view of the desert all the way. Abouna wanted to go to a used car market that is held every Friday and Sunday, but in typical Egyptian fashion, didn't know exactly where it was. After a few "excuse me, where is the car market?" followed by some directions that would take us a few turns in the right direction before having to ask another random person, we arrived. We had pulled up beside a sidewalk running just on the outskirts of the market, and as I looked up I was rather stunned. I had expected something like a large car lot, perhaps something like what I would see in Edmonton, but I had not expected the red sea of cars. Seriously, almost as far as I could see there stretched endless rows of car hoods and roofs, shining in the sun. On and on and on.
We spent all day wandering around, buying roasted sweet potatoes from the vendors who walk around with a cart with a stove on it, eating foul (bean) sandwiches and drinking tea, while Abouna and his friends chatted with the odd car seller guy. People bring their cars to this place to sell them themselves, so in almost every car there was man, a couple friends, or a whole family chilling out waiting to chat with somebody who showed some interest. I enjoyed walking around, taking in some cars I had never seen before (like "skoda") and looking at the people around me. Surprisingly for me I got no funny attention, and felt like I was out with some friends looking for a car.
Riding back to Beni Suef was like a family road trip, but with me the kid in the front and the adults in the back being noisy and engaging in the odd argument. It was a unique feeling for me, to hang out with these grown men speaking Arabic all day, but most of whom I knew a little bit and still felt included.
While a student at the UofA I really valued having opportunities to get together with other Christian students to pray and have Bible studies. This had not been possible here until just recently, and I was missing it a lot. Let me share two stories of meaningful times for me.
The first is an Egyptian guy I met at the retreat centre. He had come for a personal retreat to get away from noisy, crowded Cairo to have some time to think, pray, and reflect. We got to talking one evening and had a great chance to share our own experiences with the church, me in Canada and him in Egypt, and ask questions to learn more from each other. We were able to share our desires to see more unity between Christians around the world, shared some of our own struggles, and prayed for each other, me in English for him, and him in Arabic for me. It was very special.
The other experience was when another Egyptian friend of mine invited me to a church meeting that he goes to where most of the people are students or young working adults. They met in a hall-like room on the third floor of a building in a part of town I had not seen yet, and began by singing songs together, telling stories of saints and other short anecdotes. My friend asked me if I would be willing to talk a bit about my church and Christian experience in Canada, and I agreed. He translated for me, although I think many understood most of the English, and I was able to share a bit of my experiences. They were all keen to hear more, however, and asked lots of questions. We had, what seemed to me, a very positive time to share and learn from each other. My friend was very pleased with the evening and invited me to come again sometime. He also translated the sermon for me. It was a very rewarding night.
Finally, as I talk about friends, I must also mention Thomas, who is from Germany. I think we are to many people here like clones. We are that same height and build, both sporting blond hair, and both English teachers here for a year. He died his hair black to fit in a bit better, but I don't think I'm going down that road (his eyebrows aren't white). Anyway, we've had some good times hanging out in his room, watching movies, listening to music, hanging out at a coffee shop with some young Christian Egyptian guys, and I think encouraging each other. I look forward to getting to know him better.
Time is up! I'll just toss in quickly that I still enjoy teaching, both in the school when I get the chance and in my evening classes. I feel like I am deepening in my friendships in both places and learning more about what it means to teach. I am heading in to Cairo this weekend for a farewell get-together for one of our MCC guys who is ending a three year term, and very much look forward to seeing all my MCC chums again.
I continue to enjoy hearing from you as well! Enjoy the beauty of the winter in Canada.
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