I am learning so much about myself here- I absolutely can be a good listener but it is definitely I have to work on daily. Today I went to a lecture on Ramadan- To understand Ramadan- obviously lol because I fasted for a while. I learned the reason for the abstaining from food, water, alcohol and sex. It is an extremely sensible reason, admirable. From my understanding, the rejection of "fleshy" things helps you to focus more on spirituality- instead of spending your time eating, drinking, etc. Fasting helps you to focus solely on being a better person, being calm, peaceful and concentrating on listening to your soul. ie, your soul controls your body as opposed to your body controlling your soul.
I learned self control is a huge part of Islam- something not as clearly emphasized, in my humble opinion of course, on the Protestant end of Christianity. Muslims pray five times a day- making God an everyday part of life, whereas I feel that most Christians lead a Sunday-Christian lifestyle. (With many exceptions, obviously. But, the most admirable being my parents: who devote themselves so fully to others and what they are truly passionate about. I have never met people who give as selflessly as my parents- and are so devoted and continually happy in what they devoted their lives to. I hope to be like that oneday :) )
Anyways, I have now had several classes- and I absolutely love immersing myself back in the Arabic language. My teachers are awesome and the people in my classes are pretty cool. eccentric, but cool. As for Egypt, I lvoe this little big city full of pollution, crazy taxi drivers, cats, great Arab bread, and a million other intricacies only a city like Cairo can produce.
The Other day (saturday night 9/5/09) we went to the cotton market- which reminded me of an explosion of a giant Goodwill. We walked around for hours. We were the only foreigners there- which was really cool. It was my first experience with poeple coming up to us and being nice- saying welcome and asking where we were from, if we were students etc. Even though my Arabic is currently atrocious, it was so nice to communicate, even if only minimally with people. We had Ifhtar (breaking of the fast) at this awesome resteraunt! We ate so much food it was ridiculous. The sad part was in this part of the city, we saw such rampant poverty-like much of Cairo. There were so many adorbale children just standing there smiling at me. They would run up and shake my hand and then run away or just plain stare, but in a curious- who is this blonde girl kind of way; which happened to be the case with most adults as well.
A Few nights ago I went out to dinner on this stand on the 26th of July street- I had kofta and rice and liver with tehia- it was actually very good. Not a huge fan of liver, but I'd eat it. We hung out and talked about random things families, marriage, love which ended up really freaking me out. I am only 20 years old and here we are having a conversation with the realization in all likelihood in the next 10 years I will be married or engaged or something. So incomprehensible right now. lol. (Dont worry mom and dad- I don't want to get married for a long time :) !! haha).
Oh- and today I found out my school is cancelled until October 4th. It is currently the 16th. Why, you may ask? What else but the freaking Swine Flu. Seriously?!? So we are planning trips to take up that beautiful time and see some amazing things.
Off for the night tonight.
Love from Cairo,
Sarah
"Happiness is the journey, not the destination."
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