Yesterday I hit a wall, figuratively. I had the day off as a result of the adjustment in my schedule. My new friend, Malek, came to teach me Arabic. Before we began, we talked about the differences in how addiction, homosexuality and other important issues are viewed in Egypt versus America. Homosexuality is in no way accepted in Egypt. Not in any circles, at any time. Malek, however, understands the debate well and we related it to the discussion of women in the church pulpit, among other things. Then we began:
"SabaH el khayr, izzayik ya Christa?" I reply, "kowaysa el Hamdo lillah."
He left me a few hours later, after which I ate dinner and ventured forth on my first lone attempt to ride the metro. The metro was quiet as I sat in the women's car (men and women are separated on the metro, except as families or during rush hour when there is more mixing). I traveled down to Maadi for a recovery meeting and met a few folks that spoke English and shared their struggles with addiction. The meeting ended shortly after "break fast" which is the time of day when fasting for Ramadan ends and Cairo comes to life. At 10:30pm I took a packed train back to Zamalek where I am staying. It was the difference between night and day on the subway. I grabbed a cab from the Opera stop to the guest house and did a last run out to see if the ice cream shop I had heard about was open. Surely, at 11pm at night, it must finally be open and serving ice cream...and it was.
As I walked home eating my delicious mandarin and blueberry ice cream in a cone, I felt no peace. None. All I could see was filth, dirty kitties, trash, poverty, decay...and I am in an upscale part of town, equivalent to Manhattan in NY! I knew I had hit a wall. For me, this is typical after five days of travel. I have seen this play out with tour groups as well. Five days seems to be a saturation point for many. The amount of energy it takes to do something in Egypt is monumental, at least, to this American. But, this is typical to an Egyptian. It is hard for me to understand and process as life in the U.S. is geared towards making everything easier and the quality of life better.
Today I need to take care of myself, re-gather emotional strength, and hit the streets. God has been so tremendously good and provided every step of the way. This morning, Beverly and David came back to the guest house after travel. They are Canadians who work the guest house and Sudanese refugee ministry out of the All Saints Cathedral across the street. Beverly talked with me about some ways to find normalcy in a city that is anything but normal, to an ignorant American. She did comment that most Egyptians are content, despite her own experience of seeing exceptional poverty within homes she visits. Beverly received her call in India where we both agreed the poverty is "in your face" whereas in Egypt it is more hidden.
I am relaxing this morning, drinking coffee and practicing my Arabic. I look forward to seeing the women at Maadi Girls Rehab again where I spent most of Tuesday talking with the director about addiction, and then spent an hour with a woman who is struggling with acceptance. This won't be for another week, however, since I go to Wadi ElNatroun Rehab next week. In the meantime, I gather strength from God and look towards my visit to the Pyramid Garden Rehabilitation Center with Bashar tomorrow and Saturday's meeting with Dr. Ehab.
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