Feb 12th - 18th
This week's post is dedicated to my beautiful mother who turned 62 on February 12th!
Like any female child, I fought against her attempts to help and advise me while growing up, but as I've gotten older and more mature over the years, she has become a true source of strength and inspiration in my life. I look up to her and admire her and value her judgement and opinion above most others. She is the most humble person I have ever encountered. She works incredibly hard at all things and yet never complains. Her family is her top priority and she loves and takes care of us and her friends, who she treats like family, without question. She makes me laugh and pushes my sister and I to be the best possible versions of ourselves that we can be. She doesn't tolerate unkindness and is a highly sensitive soul. In today's world sensitivity is not a coveted or even largely respected character trait, but she feels with her entire heart and loves all unconditionally. She has taught me that kindness is the greatest form of power.
Thank you Mom. It cannot be said enough! You bring such light into the world and inspire me to be a better person than I am. I love you!
Growing up, my mother used to always say how much she would love to go to Cairo one day. She fantasized about seeing the pyramids and going to King Tut's tomb. She had introduced me to the film "Cleopatra" starring Elizabeth Taylor and she delighted in watching and re-watching Steve Martin's famous song he performed on SNL about "funky Tut". She is a sincere history buff and surely I have never seen her read anything that isn't non-fiction. So you can imagine her joy at discovering, when I was a senior in high school, that my softball team was scheduled to travel to Cairo for our final tournament. Since our team had done so well all season and because this was a fun and exciting destination, she came on the trip with my father (the assistant coach), my sister and I! It was such an exciting and memorable experience, full of beautiful sights, intense softball games, poolside lounging, my first time smoking shisha, and of course, gold medals and a first place trophy. I must admit, however that the trip was tainted for me by the fact that I was suffering from a stress fracture in my right leg and couldn't help my team win our title. I still shudder thinking about it. It was a terrible moment of weakness for me. I felt so helpless and my confidence in myself was almost shattered. As proud as I was for my teammates for pulling together and winning gold, I couldn't help but suffer with the thought that I was unnecessary.
Fast forward 9 years and I find myself in Cairo once again. This time, however, I am filled with joy, love, a strong sense of self, and confidence. I flew to Cairo this past weekend to meet up with my childhood best friend of more than seventeen years. We met when we were children in Saudi Arabia and though we have grown up apart over the years, we have remained close and have developed into very similar spirits. We differ in a lot of ways, but our cores are the same. We both love traveling and trying new things and pushing ourselves out of our comforts zone and shaping our own rules. I love this woman as a sister and she constantly inspires me.
Friends are family to me. Growing up overseas away from my blood relatives in Massachusetts forced me to seek comfort and support among my friends. My friends have seen me at my best and my worst and they love me unconditionally. I am not a perfect person, as I have tried to repeat and shout out to the world over and over again in recent months, but true friends love you for all your imperfections and failures. True friends pick you up when you've fallen apart and will give you space when you need time to heal. They are there. I've always loved that quote about friends being like stars, for as an international traveller, I find it perfectly describes the power that friendships have in my life,
I have a great number of very strong, inspiring and empowering women in my life. They take the form of friends and relatives, but also students, teachers, parents, acquaintances. Though I suffer from feelings of loneliness at times, I know that I am loved. I live a life of incredible fortune and privilege.
Being in Cairo this past weekend was a very humbling experience. As Krisztina and I were driven through the city's dusty side streets, shaded by the leaning cement awnings and balconies of partially constructed apartments, I couldn't help but think about how good I have it. Having spent the past two and a half years here in Riyadh, I almost forgot what real poverty looked like. Most of Cairo is painted over with a layer of sandy grime, trash is stuffed into every crevice and is sprinkle like confetti along footpaths and alleys. Most buildings and mosques seem as though they are all falling apart ever so slightly at the seams. Yet the people are kind, open and giving. Citizens walk around wearing worn caps and sweaters and shoes splitting at the heel. Though the temperature there hovers around the mid-fifties, Egyptians are as bundled up as New Englanders preparing for a Nor'easter. Beggars clad in oily scraps of fabric sit in the middle of sidewalks, arms or stubs outstretched in hope of receiving a single coin of charity. Tourists stick out like sore thumbs and are feasted after like juicy steaks to stray dogs.
I felt ashamed remembering that mere days ago I was curled up on my couch feeling sorry for myself as I scrolled through pages of New York City real estate thinking, I am going to be so poor next year.
"So poor"? Poor because I won't have a rent-free two bedroom, three bathroom villa all to myself? Poor because I won't be making a tax-free salary? Poor because I won't be able to travel to Cairo or Dubai on my weekends?
I bowed my head in shame.
On our second night in Cairo, the manager of the hostel Krisztina and I were staying at treated us to shisha and dessert. We drove out to a little cafe on the Nile and were the only people there save the waiters. For two hours we sat across from one another, sipped fresh mango juice, inhaled the sweet vapors of apple flavored sticky tobacco and talked about politics. The Egyptians love talking politics. Krisztina and I bombarded Atef, our kind host, with question after question about life in Cairo: the revolution, the military, sanitation, recycling, religion, family, dating, sex, marriage, tourism, Russia, the US government, Hillary Clinton and on and on and on. The whole night we were enraptured by his thoughtful and sincere responses to our questions. We learned so much and I gained a deep sense of appreciation for my upbringing abroad. I was amazed at how well-informed and knowledgable Atef was. He knew the names of so many world leaders and their positions with regards to Egyptian affairs. He recalled the days of the revolutions in 2011 and proudly shared that he "was there". He was one of the faceless men in the crowd holding and waving flags and banners, screaming at the top of his lungs in the middle of Tahrir square. I wondered if I had unknowingly seen him on TV.
"How could I not be there?" he exclaimed, "it is my country!" He smiled as he joked that his vocal chords have only just now started recovering. The hostel he owns, that Krisztina and I called home for three nights, is just a few steps down the street from the famous apex of the revolution.
"You couldn't avoid it if you tried," Atef cooly replied when I asked if it was frightening being so close to Tahrir square.
He then assured Krisztina and I that, as tourists, we had nothing to fear in Egypt.
"This is Egyptian against Egyptian" he asserted.
Sadly, this information hasn't made it's way to the majority of the Western world yet and Cairo's tourism industry has taken a big hit.
"I've lost approximately 3 million pounds" (the equivalent of around $400,000) Atef admitted to us when we asked about how badly the revolution has affected the tourist industry. Cairo is a city full of multi-lingual, well-informed, passionate and proud people who make their living by providing driving, touring, and informational services to foreigners. Now most of them are unable to secure work for months at at time. As a tourist, I definitely felt like everyone was trying to rip me off, but truthfully, that is true in any third world country. It was certainly true in Egypt before the revolution and it will remain to be true in years to come.
Overall, this weekend was one of incredibly joy and excitement. Krisztina and I spared no expenses in making the most of our time in Cairo and we did so by hiring local drivers, eating in local eateries and of course, contributing to the tourism industry by renting camels and being guided by locals around the famous pyramids. Every cent we spent was worth it. We tried to stay as off the beaten path, experiencing the realities of Cairo life, as best we could -- 25 cent falafel pitas every morning, copious amounts of tea and broken Arabic expressions and words of gratitude on our lips at every moment. There is truly no better way to see the world.
This week's post is dedicated to my beautiful mother who turned 62 on February 12th!
Like any female child, I fought against her attempts to help and advise me while growing up, but as I've gotten older and more mature over the years, she has become a true source of strength and inspiration in my life. I look up to her and admire her and value her judgement and opinion above most others. She is the most humble person I have ever encountered. She works incredibly hard at all things and yet never complains. Her family is her top priority and she loves and takes care of us and her friends, who she treats like family, without question. She makes me laugh and pushes my sister and I to be the best possible versions of ourselves that we can be. She doesn't tolerate unkindness and is a highly sensitive soul. In today's world sensitivity is not a coveted or even largely respected character trait, but she feels with her entire heart and loves all unconditionally. She has taught me that kindness is the greatest form of power.
Thank you Mom. It cannot be said enough! You bring such light into the world and inspire me to be a better person than I am. I love you!
Growing up, my mother used to always say how much she would love to go to Cairo one day. She fantasized about seeing the pyramids and going to King Tut's tomb. She had introduced me to the film "Cleopatra" starring Elizabeth Taylor and she delighted in watching and re-watching Steve Martin's famous song he performed on SNL about "funky Tut". She is a sincere history buff and surely I have never seen her read anything that isn't non-fiction. So you can imagine her joy at discovering, when I was a senior in high school, that my softball team was scheduled to travel to Cairo for our final tournament. Since our team had done so well all season and because this was a fun and exciting destination, she came on the trip with my father (the assistant coach), my sister and I! It was such an exciting and memorable experience, full of beautiful sights, intense softball games, poolside lounging, my first time smoking shisha, and of course, gold medals and a first place trophy. I must admit, however that the trip was tainted for me by the fact that I was suffering from a stress fracture in my right leg and couldn't help my team win our title. I still shudder thinking about it. It was a terrible moment of weakness for me. I felt so helpless and my confidence in myself was almost shattered. As proud as I was for my teammates for pulling together and winning gold, I couldn't help but suffer with the thought that I was unnecessary.
Fast forward 9 years and I find myself in Cairo once again. This time, however, I am filled with joy, love, a strong sense of self, and confidence. I flew to Cairo this past weekend to meet up with my childhood best friend of more than seventeen years. We met when we were children in Saudi Arabia and though we have grown up apart over the years, we have remained close and have developed into very similar spirits. We differ in a lot of ways, but our cores are the same. We both love traveling and trying new things and pushing ourselves out of our comforts zone and shaping our own rules. I love this woman as a sister and she constantly inspires me.
Friends are family to me. Growing up overseas away from my blood relatives in Massachusetts forced me to seek comfort and support among my friends. My friends have seen me at my best and my worst and they love me unconditionally. I am not a perfect person, as I have tried to repeat and shout out to the world over and over again in recent months, but true friends love you for all your imperfections and failures. True friends pick you up when you've fallen apart and will give you space when you need time to heal. They are there. I've always loved that quote about friends being like stars, for as an international traveller, I find it perfectly describes the power that friendships have in my life,
"True friends are like stars, you can't always see them, but you always know they're there".
I have a great number of very strong, inspiring and empowering women in my life. They take the form of friends and relatives, but also students, teachers, parents, acquaintances. Though I suffer from feelings of loneliness at times, I know that I am loved. I live a life of incredible fortune and privilege.
Being in Cairo this past weekend was a very humbling experience. As Krisztina and I were driven through the city's dusty side streets, shaded by the leaning cement awnings and balconies of partially constructed apartments, I couldn't help but think about how good I have it. Having spent the past two and a half years here in Riyadh, I almost forgot what real poverty looked like. Most of Cairo is painted over with a layer of sandy grime, trash is stuffed into every crevice and is sprinkle like confetti along footpaths and alleys. Most buildings and mosques seem as though they are all falling apart ever so slightly at the seams. Yet the people are kind, open and giving. Citizens walk around wearing worn caps and sweaters and shoes splitting at the heel. Though the temperature there hovers around the mid-fifties, Egyptians are as bundled up as New Englanders preparing for a Nor'easter. Beggars clad in oily scraps of fabric sit in the middle of sidewalks, arms or stubs outstretched in hope of receiving a single coin of charity. Tourists stick out like sore thumbs and are feasted after like juicy steaks to stray dogs.
I felt ashamed remembering that mere days ago I was curled up on my couch feeling sorry for myself as I scrolled through pages of New York City real estate thinking, I am going to be so poor next year.
"So poor"? Poor because I won't have a rent-free two bedroom, three bathroom villa all to myself? Poor because I won't be making a tax-free salary? Poor because I won't be able to travel to Cairo or Dubai on my weekends?
I bowed my head in shame.
On our second night in Cairo, the manager of the hostel Krisztina and I were staying at treated us to shisha and dessert. We drove out to a little cafe on the Nile and were the only people there save the waiters. For two hours we sat across from one another, sipped fresh mango juice, inhaled the sweet vapors of apple flavored sticky tobacco and talked about politics. The Egyptians love talking politics. Krisztina and I bombarded Atef, our kind host, with question after question about life in Cairo: the revolution, the military, sanitation, recycling, religion, family, dating, sex, marriage, tourism, Russia, the US government, Hillary Clinton and on and on and on. The whole night we were enraptured by his thoughtful and sincere responses to our questions. We learned so much and I gained a deep sense of appreciation for my upbringing abroad. I was amazed at how well-informed and knowledgable Atef was. He knew the names of so many world leaders and their positions with regards to Egyptian affairs. He recalled the days of the revolutions in 2011 and proudly shared that he "was there". He was one of the faceless men in the crowd holding and waving flags and banners, screaming at the top of his lungs in the middle of Tahrir square. I wondered if I had unknowingly seen him on TV.
"How could I not be there?" he exclaimed, "it is my country!" He smiled as he joked that his vocal chords have only just now started recovering. The hostel he owns, that Krisztina and I called home for three nights, is just a few steps down the street from the famous apex of the revolution.
"You couldn't avoid it if you tried," Atef cooly replied when I asked if it was frightening being so close to Tahrir square.
He then assured Krisztina and I that, as tourists, we had nothing to fear in Egypt.
"This is Egyptian against Egyptian" he asserted.
Sadly, this information hasn't made it's way to the majority of the Western world yet and Cairo's tourism industry has taken a big hit.
"I've lost approximately 3 million pounds" (the equivalent of around $400,000) Atef admitted to us when we asked about how badly the revolution has affected the tourist industry. Cairo is a city full of multi-lingual, well-informed, passionate and proud people who make their living by providing driving, touring, and informational services to foreigners. Now most of them are unable to secure work for months at at time. As a tourist, I definitely felt like everyone was trying to rip me off, but truthfully, that is true in any third world country. It was certainly true in Egypt before the revolution and it will remain to be true in years to come.
Overall, this weekend was one of incredibly joy and excitement. Krisztina and I spared no expenses in making the most of our time in Cairo and we did so by hiring local drivers, eating in local eateries and of course, contributing to the tourism industry by renting camels and being guided by locals around the famous pyramids. Every cent we spent was worth it. We tried to stay as off the beaten path, experiencing the realities of Cairo life, as best we could -- 25 cent falafel pitas every morning, copious amounts of tea and broken Arabic expressions and words of gratitude on our lips at every moment. There is truly no better way to see the world.
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| New Donkey Friend at Sakkara |
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| Beautiful architecture in Khan el-Kalili (downtown souk) |
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Mokattam village, also known as "Garbage City", is where all of Cairo's trash gets dumped, but it is then sorted and recycled by the villagers who live among it.
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| Shisha and tea break with our lovely driver, Mohammad and magnoon (crazy) guide, Amir. |
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| Sunset camel ride by the pyramids |
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| One of my favorite pictures of the trip....camel serenity |
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| A beautiful end to a beautiful weekend. |
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