Randomness and Riyals

When I was in high school, my psychology teacher told me about an exercise called ‘free write’, to get all your thoughts out on paper without any self-censorship. When I was having a hard time focusing and processing in Cairo, I attempted this exercise. This is what appeared in my notebook:
Overweight people. Female circumcision. Food. Hooka. Dirt. Pastries. Cabs. Holes. Police follow. Homosexuals. “America is our Godfather”. Looks. Stares. Faces. Frowns. Poverty. Child sleeping alone at station. Man standing. People laughing. Groups of boys. Car accident. Blue collared shirts. Smoking. Talking. Games. Bowtie shaped crepe. “Good French schools here”. TV stations. “Only rich women can have sex”. Learning Arabic. Trash land. Zebeleen. “They are not all poor, just invest money differently”. How is that possible.

We have now dealt with 3 different exchange rates. 5.6 Egyptian pounds to the dollar, 46 Syrian pounds or lira to the dollar, and currently in Qatar it is 3.5 Riyals to the dollar. All of this math makes me desperate for my calculator (or my friend Chelsea who is a math major) at home, the one thing I should have brought. Otherwise, I can safely say now that I packed very well and I have been complimented on how little I brought. I was also thrilled to be able to donate some clothes in Syria, hopefully they will go to Iraqi refugees.

On TV right now in my hotel room is coverage of Obama’s visit to Saudi Arabia. “I want to create a better dialogue” he said in an interview earlier this week. This is why I voted for Obama. How appropriate for our program and what a perfect conclusion for our trip to see what he says tomorrow at his speech in Cairo.

My view on Inauguration Day in DC.

I feel like I could give Obama a little advice at this point: Continue to change the dialogue-stop automatically labeling “terrorist”, what we call terrorist groups can be freely elected political groups. Try to feel the pain of being occupied by Israel, and understand their reluctance and skepticism about creating a viable peace. Stop unconditional support for Israel with real consequences to back up requests like “stop building settlements”. And, remember the diversity of the Middle East, or Arab world. I found it somewhat strange that he is addressing the “Muslim world”, considering that there are many Arabs who are Christians, Druze, non-believers, etc.

Things that blew my mind:
-    A high up at the Arab League saying many would consider a bi-national state for Israel-Palestine. How on Earth.
-    The Mayor of Quneitra explaining the trauma of occupied life for Syrians in the Golan Heights “Would any human being who enjoys a particle of morality accept this?” he asked us.
-    A journalist at Al-Ahram explained hatred of America. “I look at it differently; it has to do with the cultural mythology of American society. It was established and created as a transitional society for Israel before the state of Israel was created. And this affected the culture, especially the political culture. I try to tuck this in the back of my mind. I think the US is really very much a part of Israel.” I do not deny that Israel has historically had an enormous amount of influence/lobbying in the US government. However, to assert that the US was created as a transitional society for Israel is absurd.

Specific revelations I have had:
1)    The Arab-Israeli conflict is truthfully, wherever we went, the number one concern for people of many classes and backgrounds.
2)    Almost everyone is ethnocentric, or believes that their country is the best. Even if they are aware that they have less political freedoms than others.
3)    My dad was right about talking to people- just ask them about themselves. People love talking about themselves and their family.
4)    I feel like a lot of problems we have between east and west is due to language barriers. The majority of Westerners do not know Arabic to the extent that Arabs know English. If we cannot even learn the language, how can we expect to communicate openly and productively? The languages are really different, but definitely not impossible to learn.

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