the big day

Ok so today is the big day. My sister's engagement party is gonna take place at our home this evening...we've been working for weeks trying to make this day as good as it can be and since she didn't want to have it at a hotel (too formal), it wasn't as easy as we imagined. The tables, lights, flowers, music, camera men and food are all issues we had to deal with. We actually live in a villa with a spacious garden which will supposedly be hosting most of the event.

There are two things I'm terrified of happening tonight. If it rains its gonna be a catastrophe. There simply isn't enough space inside the villa to take 150 guests. If they were just gonna stand there then it's fine, but what are we gonna do when its time to eat? I know it hasn't rained yet in Cairo (except maybe at dawn once), but it is December. Hopefully the weather is gonna be as expected in today's forecast (sunny with a little wind).

The other thing i'm dreadful about is dancing. I'm the worst dancer on earth. Any type of dancing, but of course it's the arabic songs with fast beats that really give me nightmares. I had to beg the DJ not to put the infamous dance anthem today, "el3enab" (the grapes) in his playlist. The problem is that all my relatives know that i suck at dancing and hate it. They'll be setting up pranks days before any wedding or party just to see how i'm gonna react when i'm on the spot. I can't remember any recent wedding where they hadn't pushed me in the middle and then instantaneously made a circle around me while clapping to the damn music. Every time i fall for it. And there always has to be someone recording it on video. When i try to pull someone to dance with me, as to attract some of the attention, no one wants to. Aaaaaah i hate it!!!

ok so lets be realistic, its my sister's engagement party...can i really expect that they won't try to make me dance? it's double the amount of relatives i have in any wedding (both parents this time), and they'll all be teaming up on me. I can't just disappear when it's time to dance. i mean dancing is gonna be a big part of the program... I don't know, maybe i'll fake a broken leg or something.

the problem with our education system

My school in saudi was the best a person could ask for. All its staff were either american or british since the school was funded by the american army (it was right after the gulf war and the number of americans in saudi was greatly increasing which required them to have their own schools ofcourse). Also, almost all the students were either fully or half american, except for a small percentage (including me) which had to find a really good "wasta" to let them in. This great number of foreigners around me was what really taught me the english language.

The school itself was amazing. I was recently watching old video recordings of me practicing a presentation i had to do infront of my class about "Chicago, Illinois"and how it was one of the most important cities in the USA. I was doing that presentation in the 2nd grade! Doing a presentation infront of 20 students and my teacher, learning how to talk out loud and not be shy when i'm only in the second grade...that's good education. Forcing the kids to attend Sports Day every year, where they had to run one whole mile in less than 10 minutes (i remember once almost beating the record of 6 min 20 sec) is good education. Making the kids take part in school plays where the students do all the acting, choreography, decoration and music (teachers only wrote the script and directed the plays) is good education. Giving the students the chance to be in a school band once they're in 5th grade where they learn how to play a "classic" instrument (the clarinet, flute, trumpet, saxophone, trombone, etc...) is good education. I remember actually passing the test and being picked to learn the trombone when i reached 5th grade. Only a small number of lucky students got to be in this school band and all the students dreamt of joining it. I was foolish enough to quit after 3 weeks, and the funny thing is, i don't remember why.

The curriculums themselves were really educating and beneficial. They resorted to teaching methods which required creativity, not memorizing, for a student to succeed. I remember once we had an assignment in science class that required us to build a miniature submarine that floats and sinks upon request without touching it. I happened to get the best grade in class in that assignment after i used a drinking straw to blow air into the submarine, which increased its weight and therefore made it sink....that was in the 4th grade.

I've got uncountable memories in that school making me feel happy and sad at the same time. I feel sad because I doubt the regular egyptian boy will ever get to experience this kind of education in the near future. This is the kind of elementary school Egypt needs. Screw high school...screw college... no one learns anything in them anyways. The egyptian government should spend as much money as it could to provide the education that will really make a difference in its childrens' lives. I'm not sure if all american schools are like this or not, but i'm sure that a great deal of them are of this high standard of education, and i'm guessing most european schools are like that too.

The government should force people to pay big money in college (unless you have exceptionally high grades) and put some of that money in funding the elementary schools. No more free education in college. No one is learning because of it, poor or rich. Our "governmental" universities are pathetic and useless, and its mainly because of this stupid idea of providing their services for free. This results in having absolutely no equipment at all... can you imagine studying architecture without a computer lab for God's sake?!!! We're still using T-rulers and compasses in college when everyone knows you won't see them again once you graduate...all architectural firms in egypt and around the world are using computer software to generate their drawings, why do architecture students learn it the old fashion way? no money, that's why! The professors don't work full time because their salaries wouldn't feed a dead chicken, so they have to rely on their own firms for money.

So if people paid alot of money in college, the educational system will improve greatly... those who do not have that kind of money should either earn scholarships by getting high grades in school, or not get into universities at all, they could enter intitutes or other lower educating places. yes its unfair. but having 1 person learn right is better than having 2000 not learning at all.

Ok, so what i'm saying here is that elementary schools should remain free for everyone, but their educating quality should increase greatly. There should be no such thing as private schools and governmental schools...they should have the same teaching standard and quality. The government should cancel the "free university education" program and put that money into elementary schools. People should pay extra money if they want their kids to attend universities.

Now i know that this only solves the financial part of our educational system's problem, but that's actually a big part of the whole dilemma. Also i know that we already have private universities that have high tuition rates, but that money doesn't help the whole system in any way...i'm talking about the government saving money from the "free education system" program in its universities so that it could provide better education in the elementary level for the whole public.

trying to be perfect

A few days ago I was feeling a strange urge to be on my best religious behaviour. On my way home, while listening to a religious lesson by Omar Abdelkafi, I decided to visit an orphanage for the first time in my life. I had just taken some money from the bank so I was willing to make a small donation after I play with the kids. When I finally got there, the receptionist looked surprised to see me. I asked him if I could take a look at the kids and he asked if I was adopting any of them and after I told him that I didn't he told me that I would have to wait five minutes or so before he could tell me if I could see them or not. It turned out that I couldn't see them since Friday is the only day reserved for visits which made me give them my donation and go get in the car. I usually pull the seat belt as soon as I get in the car but I don't know why I didn't pull the belt this time. I got to the Hosary Square at the end of the road and I was stopped by a police man asking me for my driver's license. I quietly handed him my driver's license…

Police Man: "Why don't you have the seat belt on?"

Me: "I'm sorry, I'll put them on right now, I just came out of the parking slot…I was at the orphanage over there"

Police Man: "What were you doing at the orphanage?"

I gave him the "it's none of your business" look

Police Man: "Do you work there?"

Me: "No"

Police Man: "Then what were you doing?"

Me: "I was visiting the kids and stuff"

Police Man: "Visiting them, eh? Hmmm…that changes everything. Here's your license back"

Me: "thank you"

As soon as I left I felt like I've been cheated off of the good deed I just did. Did I tell him that I was in the orphanage so that he would think I was a good person and leave me or did I want him to know that I was parking my car real close and had no time to wear the seat belt??

I've heard before that God doesn't like to share any of the good deeds you do with anyone which means that when doing a good deed do it for God's sake only, not for social purposes for example.

I was mainly pissed because when I finally decide to do some charity work just for God's sake the police man comes and ruins it for me. I was actually ready to go back and ask him to take my driver's license so that I would take full credit for the good deeds I have just done!! It does seem ridiculous, even to me now while typing this. Thank God I changed my mind after seeing him being bribed by a couple of guys who have also broken the traffic laws in some way.

saudi vs egypt

i used to live in saudi until 1997.

Is living in Saudi Arabia better than Egypt? It’s a tough question and it's been going in my mind since I was a kid. When I was with Kariman's friend in Cilantro we were talking about the differences between here and there. We finally came up to the conclusion that Saudi Arabia is a safer place, but that's only because you're locked up in the same compound so you have very limited experience. Also, almost all of your interactions are with foreigners so you're basically meeting more civilized people. In Saudi you're more up to date with the rest of the world, and you're also speaking two different languages on a daily basis. When you return to Egypt in the summer it's always a big deal and people appreciate you more and you try to make the best out of your time by going to movies and plays …etc

But to live in Cairo, that's a totally different story. The loud noise and crowded streets are what make it special. Egypt has a much richer culture than saudi, and maybe anywhere else in the world for that matter which makes the sense of loyalty to the country grow inside you gradually i guess. I guess the main difference between Egypt and Saudi is that here you interact with people more. Self independence is more possible and effective in Egypt, but it also comes with responsibility of course.

Overall I prefer Egypt, but it’s a close call.