Category Archives: Two minute read

Jul 06 2011
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Anecdotes, Modern Life, Two minute read

Welcome to the Twitosphere

Some of you more technically savvy folks may have heard about twitter, a site that allows you to share 125 character statements with people who “follow” you or subscribe to your posts. It can be used for a variety of things: political activism, awkward online flirting, finding out about steals around town, stalking celebrities from far away, being overwhelmed by the amount of newspaper articles you will never read, sharing too-intimate and/or banal details about your personal life, etc. Others of you may roll your eyes disdainfully and proudly state that you do not tweet since you don’t think highly enough of yourself to assume others would want to know what you have to say; you are probably correct. Others, of course, simply have not had cause or time to enter the twitosphere. Regardless of my, your, or Mrs. Ackerman’s opinion on the site, it has become a pillar of the social networking age.

Tonight I had the great pleasure of sitting round a table at a roof top cafe in posh Zamalek with some twitter activists. During the revolution of Jan. 25, both twitter and facebook were used extensively in order to organize the protesters and avoid the regime’s arm of political oppression that could shut down and monitor cell phone networks and other traditional forms of communication with ease. It remains one of the preferred ways to communicate  current political or other events and there is a community and shared culture among the activtwits, or twitter activists. That word is not real–I just made it up. Feel free to use it but please cite me.

Last Tuesday, there was a tweet-up party where people  known only by their handle (name on twitter) gathered with their fellow tweeters avatar to avatar and twittered the night away, presumably talking Egyptian politics, etc. I was not present, so I only speak on what I heard through the grape vine. Ironically, or perhaps fortuitously, that very same night the clashes broke out randomly in downtown, so the whole gaggle of activtwits rushed down and did what they do best: tweet and avoid being hit by cans of tear gas.

Speaking of tear gas, one of the gentlemen present apparently recently acquired some gas masks from the trunk of a guy’s car out in Ataba, in preparation for the big demonstrations planned for Friday. He said we were welcome to come, but I think I may have made plans to sleep in and stay at home already. Alaa al-Aswani said that he was going to be there too.

The entire world of twitter and activtwits remains completely unknown to many Egyptians however. I hesitate to use numbers or “facts” because I’m unaware of them (see blog post by someone more knowledgeable), but it is my perception that there is some degree of separation between the activists of the revolution and the average Muhammad who is getting tired of the unrest. There is also the issue of class, as not all are wealthy enough to access the internet readily or tweet from their blackberries, so it remains to be seen how these two currents in Egyptian society will interact with one another.

I’ll be watching the tweets roll in from Tahrir on Friday.

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Jul 06 2011
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Two minute read

I’m not sorry

Grocery shopping can be an adventure, and Lord knows I do love a good adventure. But sometimes, I just want to know

They look like this--perhaps you've seen them

what to expect and know where it will be and that no one will shove me in the process of obtaining the good that I want and that I won’t have to touch anyone else either. Sometimes, it’s nice to know that there will be music and air conditioning instead of car horns and exhaust, price tags instead of repeating endlessly  “how much does this cost?”

This is what supermarkets in Egypt are for.  A relatively new phenomena, there are many different supermarket chains,  not unusual for a city of 20 million people, and for the most part they are not much different from ones in America except generally they’re not Wal-mart size and might be a little bit more crowded and/or have peculiar scents. Out of all the ones I’ve visited here so far, Alpha market is by far my favorite as well as the most expensive. Whereas you’d be hard pressed to spend 50 pounds anywhere else (almost), at Alpha, you could drop a 200 and not even blink. However, Alpha is also free from crowds, has wide spacious aisles, and generous selections of everything from tea cookies to different brands of chocolate hazelnut spread. You know you’re part of the upper class when you buy your brown bread at Alpha.

Despite the fact I feel slightly guilty at times when going to Alpha simply because I know it is kind of a cop out on the whole “Egyptian” experience, I have to say that I’m not sorry. There are plenty Egyptians who frequent the store seeking the same calm and air conditioning I seek, as well as the freedom from offensive scents, and let’s be real—my monthly stipend of 3200 Egyptian pounds is twice (maybe more) what a taxi driver makes in the same amount of time. I’m not embracing elitism/classism, but I’m not going to deny there are differences in the amount of money people live off of and I’m not going to guilt trip myself into giving up tasting every single kind of tea biscuit there is in Egypt, all available to peruse at leisure in Alpha Market.

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Jul 05 2011
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Anecdotes, Two minute read

This day is our day

Yesterday was the 4th of July, America’s main national holiday and the date on which the Second Continental Congress unanimously adapted the Declaration of Independence, announcing the colonies’ separation from Great Britain. I happened to be out of the country, but I could still smell the patriotism roasting from across the pond.

In celebration of America, I partook of my first McDonald’s food since I’ve been here: a chocolate sundae that cost roughly 99 cents. I had no regrets and I have a feeling I’ll be frequenting the McDonald’s 100 yards from my house slightly more often now that I’ve tasted the simplicity and reliability of soft serve ice cream and chocolate syrup. In addition, I and some fellow students sang patriotic songs like Born in the U.S.A. and God Bless America before another failed lecture on security that did more to anger and confuse than assure anyone. Later on that evening I savored some non-local beverages as well as non-local pork ribs grilled to perfection while singing more songs, campfire style, without the campfire. The night ended appropriately with tribal dancing on a carpet wall from a bedouin tent in southern Iraq.

One of my favorite moments of the day, however, was when I and 2 other CASA students were sitting on the shaded lawn inside the campus of AUC Tahrir having a boy scout/hippie dippy moment while singing “Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine. Less than 200 yards away from us, on the other side of the wall, lay Tahrir square, the locus of current unrest complete with sit-in tents, non stop traffic, and general pedestrian mayhem. The two worlds could not have been more different, though it might not be impossible to mix them.

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Jul 02 2011
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Anecdotes, Humorous, Two minute read

I’ll take the sidewalk on the left

After staying inside almost the entire day and immersing myself once again in the Yacoubian Building/other Arabic homework pursuits, I finally left the apartment in the late afternoon in order to purchase credit for my phone.

At the store, I boldly greet the employees and declare I would like to buy a sidewalk. They chuckle and look at me…and I say it again, “you know, sidewalk, like for 50 pounds” and then one of the employees helpfully says “a sidewalk is the thing you walk on” and then it finally clicks. Oops. The word for credit seems eerily similar. Unfortunately, I’ve since forgotten the proper word for credit but will remember quite clearly from now on “sidewalk.”

My next errand was scoping out the selection of a different grocery store for their selection of off-brand Nutella since I’m trying to discover the most delicious and cheap hazelnut chocolate spread. The store’s selection proved disappointing, but on the way there I saw 3 children in tae kwon do uniforms sitting with an older man wearing a black shirt with a dragon on it and smoking sheesha at a cafe. I imagined that after an unimpressive performance by the kids in tae kwon do class, he decided to give up on them and smoke a bit before their parents came back to get them.

I’m touring Coptic Cairo tomorrow, which is sure to be exhausting especially since I leave in about 6 hours and still need to take the long night-nap before then. Also, my feet are incredibly itchy. See my recent tweet.

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Jun 30 2011
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Anecdotes, Two minute read

It’s like a snow day

Tahrir without protestors

Late-ish last night bloody clashes between protesters and policemen began once again in Tahrir square, the focal point of the Revolution of Jan. 25 and also a place I pass through daily on my way to class. From what little I understand (and it is very little), some families were protesting and/or sitting outside some government building in rememberance of sons or daughters that had perished in the revolution. I think the police tried to dispel them by force and then the situation escalated from there.

All through the night the clashes continued, and over 1000 people were injured according to the most recent numbers I’ve seen, most of them from tear gas. Here’s an article about what happened. And here are pictures (not mine). Much of the action took place on the street that directly borders AUC and in some of the pictures you can see the building I usually attend classes in. Those classes were cancelled today of course due to the unrest and we’re still waiting to hear whether or not we have class tomorrow. Part of me hopes that we don’t since I’m not as prepared as I could be even though we had a snow day: there was a lot of facebooking, Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement watching, Moroccan food cooking, and Mohandiseen exploring to do today in addition to the homework I didn’t quite finish yesterday.

But the other part of me realizes I’m not fully comprehending the political situation here in Egypt. What else is new? It’s hard to appreciate the impact of the Egyptian Revolution on people who had been living under the Mubarak regime for 30 years and to feel the pain of people who suffered at the hand of the previous regime when I grew up in a society where most people have never been tortured, beaten, kidnapped, or killed for their political beliefs. And now, the slow pace of transition, the lack of clear change between the way the old regime dealt with people and the way the Supreme Council of Armed Forces is dealing with people, and the continuing economic crisis are all causing increasing levels of frustration especially among the original perpetrators of the revolution. Essentially the main causes of the revolution itself have not yet been addressed, and the clashes between the riot police and the demonstrators were just another example of the lack of change.

I’m no political scientist….just a mere college graduate with a penchant for 30 rock, but to me it seems that oftentimes a post-revolutionary community desires an unreasonable pace of change, leading to hastiness and unstable foundations for the future. Where is the balance between transition and meticulousness? How do you rebuild a society that has the same problems as it did 6 months ago or even worse because of the economic situation and security vacuum? Anyone with answers can  sent them to coolchieftantawi@hotmail.com.

How hard could it be to build a just society in Egypt?

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