What should come first? Friendship or your reputation?...A trick question that I was faced with today. Briefly as possible, this is what happened:

The reputation of one particular female member of our group of friends is under fire. Meaning that she was seen simply standing with members of the opposite sex, including myself. Her parents found out and made a huge deal out of the issue after the entire campus starting to talk about her blasphemous behavior.
The solution to this problem to savw what's left of her reputation is to sever all connections with her male aquantances.

My question is this: despite the obvious fact that the problem from its core is rediculous and should not even be an issue, what should be done. It is the unfortunate fact of life that girls are under this kind of pressure from society, however, should they put their reputations before their friendships with the people they are about to ignore? Of course, a person's reputation amoung his or her peers is of utmost importance, but is it so wrong for people to defy the norm and simply continue with their actions despite the horrible things that would be aid about them behind their backs or even to their very faces?

Personally, I think that her course of action is the easy way out. To simply comply with society's demands without a fight to preserve her reputation as a respectable girl. On the other hand, to defy society is to sign your own death dertificate - meaning that if she does so, she could kiss marriage and a normal life goodbye!

So what is to be done in this situation? Put yourself in her shoes and think of what your course of action would be.

It's a GLOBAL economic crisis!

Just the other day I took a taxi to the medical campus because I was running late. As is the habit of most drivers, this one struck a conversation with me out of thin air. Therefore I decided to write this post as a response to his nonsense because I know better than to start a debate with someone as uneducated and as small minded as an Egyptian taxi driver.

The first putrid breath he uttered was: "America's gonna be broke! niahahaha!" which I later learned was a reference to the economic crisis, the 'great bailout' and whatnot. Ahmed the taxi driver has a theory saying that the 700 million dollars (I decided not to correct the sum) of the bailout would do nothing to save the American economy and that the treasury would become depleted and America would cease to be a world power, etc...

What is the appropriate response to a theory as ridiculous as that? Seeing it best not to aggravate the situation, I simply agreed with the theory while my insides boiled with anger and disgust. Has hunger driven people to become THAT stupid? What is this person's excuse to actually believe beyond any reasonable doubt that the lunacy that is his economic theory is anywhere near reality? What he, as well as flocks of Egyptians, seem to have missed is that this is a GLOBAL economic crisis which has affected and will continue to effect all corners of the globe. This young unsuspecting taxi driver doesn't seem to comprehend that as the situation continues to deteriorate in the US, the already on-the-verge-of-crumbling Egyptian economy will be directly affected as a result.

Instead of arguing I simply nodded and agreed with how "what goes around comes around" and comforted myself with the fact that his idiocy would eventually get the better of him. And sure it did...

Yesterday, the world witnessed a 27% increase in prices. Everything from the wheat we plant to the coca cola cans have increased in price. That includes, as I was kind enough to point out to the taxi I took, gas prices! To my surprise, I was not at all upset that the fare from my house to the campus had almost doubled. All I wanted was to see the look on that driver's face when he went to fill his tank at the gas station. Apparently, America wasn't the only one affected by the crisis :)

Back to School :'(

In just four days I shall embark on the first day of my second year at university (college of dentistry to be exact). What makes this year more significant than the last is simply that now I'll be going to the actual medical/dental campus instead of being a freeloader at the college of Science. This is when I can actually become a part of the so-called dental community that I'm supposed to become a part of eventually.

As exciting as the academic part of my transition is, there is a reason more compelling for me which makes this transition all the more exiting. In the past year, I've come across some of the older classes and gotten an idea of what the next years of my college life will be like in terms of both academia and socially as well. I'm looking forward most to meeting the older classes whom I've been told are a lot more open that my own class in terms of who they allow themselves to mingle with/talk to, etc...in other words: people who are more "free" than my own class [refer to previous post with the title "free" for more information..lol]

Now allow me to be sarcastic...can it be that there are female members of my society out there who willingly shake hand and look into the eyes of the opposite sex? Do they dress so provocatively as to allow one to imagine what they would look like under suck clothes which still cover every inch of their bodies?? Is this all possible?...

Anyway, I'm simply hoping to find people with a higher level of sophistication and intelligence than the people to whose company I've been unwillingly subjected to for the past year.

Ramadan: A month of worship?

It's been nearly a month since my last post, therefore I apologize. But in my defense, I've been quite busy (that and the fact that I had begun to run out of material.)
However, with the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan (during which Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset) I've found myself with more spare time than I would have liked. As always, one would expect that during this month that society become a utopia, since people should (the keyword here being: should) refrain from cursing or swearing of any kind, sex in any way shape or form, or any action that would be considered sinful or wrong in any way. Although it may sound good on paper, the reality of the matter is that as hard as people might try, it never works. In other words, people just don't practice what they preach. In fact, I hear more swearing and derogatory secual remarks during fasting times than any other time of the year, and when you tell that person what they're doing wrong, a typical answer is: "well, if she cared about religion then she wouldn't dress like that in front of a man." or anything similar.
Then of course there's the issue of praying in the mosque. People who are supposedly going to the mosque in order to worship a holy God simply go there to get into fist fights with other worshipers to get to stand in the places closest to the Imam.
Ramadan has become a sales pitch for many businesses nowadays, where a casino that offers prostitues and wine on one night will offer you a copy of the Holy Quran on the next. Not to mention the endless parade of cheap soap-operas that flood the satellite television during the month of purity and fasting.
In the end I just wanted to ask you a question. Is Ramadan actually the month of worship, or has it simply become the month of hypocracy? you decide...

Afterthought....

As an afterthought of the post about the 3 idiots I mentioned 2 posts ago, I just wanted to say that I saw the movie I said I would see (the one with the thick-haired Ahmed Mekki was in).
Perhaps I judged him a little prematurely. The movie was mediocre enough for me to not want to leave early, and was quite funny as well. Despite the few parts that were incredibly lame and boring, it was an okay movie. However, too much of the same thing isn't good either.
I mean, his predecessor, Mohamed Sa'ad, made six consecutive movies with the exact same story line and plot - eventually, and to my relief, people got bored of it, so as funny as this movie was, I don't want to see it over and over again.

Update

About the whole message from the girl thing...

At first I thought it was some kind of moral dilemma she was going through, since she's known to make such a big deal out of absolutely nothing at all, but now I realized the reason was far more pathetic than that, if it can actually get any more pathetic.

A few days ago, a mutual friends, who happened to be male, made a few sarcastic comments on her photos in retaliation for a few comments that she had posted on his (The fact that she posted pictures of herself on her profile is enough to make me think she's not as simple minded as the rest of the girls I know, which I soon found to be completely false.)
After reading the comments, the girl posted this on his wall:

"Why don't you just stop commenting on my photos because I'm not amused, and I'm starting to get sick of you!"

note: in my opinion, the comments were perfectly respectable, and didn't deserve such a post.

The mutual friend then posted on her wall:

"Thank you very much for your decency. I wouldn't have expected anything else from a girl like you!"

Then he blocked her. After that, she sent us all the message that I posted below.
Knowing how petty and incredibly childish she is, I came to a conclusion: She did it simply to save face. To say that she deleted all the boys from her profile, instead of saying she had a fight with one and he blocked her first.

What surprised me most wasn't how stupidly ridiculous this quarrel is, but the fact that exactly two months ago, the same girl went absolutely ballistic when another mutual friends "embarrassed" her by posting in public that he disapproved of her posting his picture without his knowledge. If it was such a big deal then, then why did she post on the guy's wall like that? I don't get it.

I'm glad I found out what was going on because frankly it was driving me nuts, haha! But there's no way in hell that I'm getting between these two after all those fights I've seen from the sidelines. I'm definitely sitting this one out (Which is going to drag on all the way to the next academic year because we won't see her till then).

An update on my previous post: Since I'm only allowed to message the girl for things concerning college stuff, I can't ask her through the internet. And since, of course, I don't have her number, I won't be able to contact here. So I'll wait till september 20th when the new year starts to ask her what's going on in her head.
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Has it ever occurred to you that in a society as far behind in everything such as that of Egypt, people are so easily manipulated. Especially by the media. I mean, every once in a while a new fad comes along that EVERYONE is obsessed with, and imitates all day and night long.

For example, about two years ago the infamous "actor" if he could be called that, Mohamed Sa'ad (BOTTOM PICTURE) emerged out of thin air to captivate the ignorant minds of millions with his moronic display of complete idiocy in what he dared to call "movies". Something out of a two-bit TV horror flick, Mohamed Sa'ad managed to penetrate the homes of every lowlife in the country. Within days of his first "movie's" release, he skyrocketed to stardom, with everyone copying lines from his films, and imitating his "comedic" gestures which resembeled that of someone who should have been put into a straight jacket long ago.

Next came the worst of them all, the singing "sensation", the "king of our generation", Tamer Hosny (MIDDLE PICTURE). Anything he says is immediately transformed into religious doctrine. Teenage girls seem to worship the toilets he sits on, and his movies, no matter how boring and rediculous, always become amazing successes. He is called the "role model of all Egyptian teens"...well, if an ex-con, plagiarizer is what Egyptian youth is supposed to be, then so be it. It makes me sick to my stomach every time some stupid simple minded girl talks about how cute he is, or how amazing he is - when in fact he's nothing than a hairy gorrilla who insists on exposing his chest and underarm hair to the world.

Last but not least, Ahmed Mekki, (TOP PICTURE) a newcommer, whose new movie was just relesed today. Since he's new, I don't have much to say about him. I'm going to see his movie tomorrow with friends to see for myself. But I'm sure that once the Egyptian youth find the next idiot to worship, he'll be put on a distant shelf with the rest of the lowlifes like himself.

Does it have something to do with the economy? Do people's intellects simply evaporate into nothingness because of poverty? What has made us so gullible and stupid, so easy to manipulate, so willing to mindlessly imitate everything someone else does or says as if it were something sacred?

I recently received this message on my facebook account:

"el msg di lkol el shabab elly homma dmn my friends 3al facebook
ana karart ykon profily "GIRLS ONLYYYYYY"
ana msh 3yza 7ad yz3al mnni,di ra3'bty w wallahy msh waraha dafe3 sha5sy 2tgah 2y 7ad fikom
ento fe3lan kolokom nas mo7taramien w kan sharaf lya enny 2t3araf 3alikom..
w blnsba lzamayly fil college ana 3'ayart el privacy w t2daro tb3atoly msgs low fi 7aga b5sos el drasa
ana bgd 2sfa :(
bs ana shaifa enno da 27san lya
nice to know u all w salam :) "

roughly translated:

"This message is to all the boys who are on My Friends on facebook. I've decided to make my profile GIRLS ONLY. I don't want any of you to get upset, and I want you to know that it's what I want and that I harbor no animosity towards any of you. You're all very respectable people and it's been an honor knowing you.
As for those of you who go to college with me, I've changed the privacy setting to allow you to send me messages about anything concerning our studies.
I'm really sorry but I think it's better this way, nice to know you and salam!"

I have one question. What's up with that?!!! I mean, this is the same girl who deactivated her facebook account a few months ago for the same reason. If it's such a big deal then why keep making new accounts? I just don't get it. And she also said that we're all "very respectable" so why the sudden change of heart? Plus, her profile is visible only to friends, so I don't see how any "unrespectable" guys could do anything.

I'm just at a loss of what to think, haha. This was the last person I thought would do something as weird as this. I don't even want to ask why the hell she did that because I know she'll turn it into this huge dramatic, moral dilemma. So if anyone knows what that was, please tell me.

What's in a bargain?

I've always been amazed by the concept of bargaining. I used to find it hard to believe that some people are able to bargain down prices to half and sometimes even quarter the original price. It even has its very own language with phrases recognized by everyone, at least over here. Like "Is that the final price?" or "How low are you willing to go?"

Some businesses are so tired of having their profits bargained away that a lot of them have signs that read "Bargainers NOT allowed here!" or something of the sort. And yet, when if you leave without bargaining, they call back to you and ask how much you want it for. Is there something wrong there?

I've always thought that there should be certain places in which bargaining shouldn't happen. For example, I hate it when I see people bargaining at an Adidas or a Nike Store, or at a Jeweler. It's just not very nice to look at. Places that you're good to go are the souks, markets, and the less fancy-looking places in general. You should bargain down the price of cabbage, not diamond.

However, there are expensive places, or the "high" areas as they call them here, that should always be bargained at. Like Khan Al Khalili, where I see tourist being scammed into paying 6 or 7 times more than what something is really worth. So if you're ever there, you can bargain down a price all the way to quarter easily.

(The above picture was taken in Khan Al Khalili, the best and worst place to bargain. Where a plane T-shirt can cost up to 60 or even 70 US Dollars, when in fact it cost like 15 Egyptian Pounds to make - about 3 dollars.)

The fact remains that bargaining an Egyptian pastime. Something that such a divided nation can actually agree upon. It's engraved in culture all the way back to the ancient Egyptians in their togas and stone money.

I love the concept of bargaining, but would never do it myself.

Back too soon..

I'm back! and in case you didn't get the title, I'm back a little too soon.
To tell you the truth, I had no idea that Egypt had such beautiful places like that, not to mention the amazingly beautiful coral reefs (i couldn't get enough of those!). The only downside was the looooooong 12 hour ride back!

Other than the fact that I realized that Italians are alot more conservative than most other Europian nationalities, two things really stood out.

First, while sitting peacefully on the sand sun-bathing (or rather shade-bathing, because my skin is pretty sensitive to the sun) I noticed a group of Egyptian teens of about 17 like myself sitting a few feet away from me. Beer and cigarettes in hand(as long as you have money, being underage doesn't matter), talking trash about every woman who passes by. I know, since I'm their age and know what they think, that they're merely trying (very hard I might add) to westernize. I think that the difference between westerners and us is that the former live what the Egyptians try to imitate on a daily basis, so they know their own limits, but when we try it, we take it to a whole new level. The three Egyptian teens looked wasted at only 2 PM and were coughing like crazy after all those cigarettes (30 pounds a pack too!).
As for their stares and comments about the girls passing by, I found that to be pretty ordinary behavior - they don't need to be drunk to do that, although I would have liked them to do it with local girls instead of the fireigners; it gives them a really bad impression.

Another group of people sitting close to me, only older, was also interesting to watch. There was nothing wrong with them per say, but it was just my first time to see something of the sort. Three woman, all local, were approached by three local men, strangers, I assumed. Within 15 minutes they were getting drunk and playfully cuddling. All I could think of at the time was: "Someone's getting lucky tonight!" - which they probably did.
Of course, to each his/her own; and I'm not one to stick my nose into other people's business, but I found it appalling that people could get so close without even knowing each other at all. Or am I thinking too much?

One last thing I noticed was that I was a lot more comfortable around the foreigners. Everyone was minding thir own business and I didn't have to think twice before doing anything because of the things that people might say. The foreigners didn't seem to care about what the teenagers were doing, and simply walked by without a second thought. However, the Egyptian women seemed intent on hiding from me; looking or moving away, hiding the beers bottles, etc... which is what people around here do on a daily basis. I wonder why people can't just mind their own business? (It's pretty hard to do that when the people around you are so loud about their business, so sometimes I can't help but at least eavesdrop.)

Anyway, sorry about the long post. Hope you find it interesting...

Sharm Al Sheikh

Well, I'm not going to be here for the next 4 days. I'm going to a sea-side resort in Sharm Al Sheikh (as much as I hate the beach, I couldn't refuse a full board 4 star hotel, haha). Well, I'll be in the haven of all that is unholy - even surrounded by hundreds of foreigners from all over the world, the local "conservativism" prevails, yet it's not as strong as in any regular city - so I guess I'll have some interesting stuff to talk about when I get back.
I just hope it doesn't get cancelled like last time and I end up looking like a complete idiot on my own blog. Well, see ya!

Today at an on-campus birthday party, I was overcome by a feeling that I don't understand. I was peacefully eavesdropping on two of my non-guy friends who were attending a party when I was unfortunate enough to hear an extremely unpleasant conversation. I think that I was bothered by the fact that I found this to be a perfectly normal conversation.

The girl's brother found a saved MSN messenger conversation between a guy with us in college and herself. She feels like she's betrayed his trust by speaking to a guy outside the walls of campus, and now she's devastated that he thinks of her in a new light. but here's what I found interesting: She has no problem with the whole thing. I mean, the fact that she actually did talk to him on the internet isn't an issue for her. She just thinks that now he'll never look at her the same way again. In other words, she's not convinced with what she's doing, but she's really just doing it out of fear of being labeled as something she's not.

What made me more certain of that conclusion was that when the girls were picking a place to go have lunch, they joked that we should go with them, but stay a few tables away from them. In other words, they were trying to be sublte about thinking of ways to go out with us. However, the stigma of being seen with members of the opposite sex was too much for them to handle, and the idea was aborted. (Even when we were all on our way to the main road to go home, they sped up ahead of us so as not to be seen with us)

The conclusion I've drawn from these stories is simple. The issue isn't that the girls feel that what they are doing is the right thing, and that to remain respectable within the community they have to do what they do. The only reason they do all that is because they've been fed all of it since they were too yound to remeber, so it really becomes an everyday thing for them. That plus the fact that everyone else thinks in the same way makes them too afraid to defy the norm and be labelled as "free" girls. But what I find most unpleasant is how this way of thinking has found its way into the internet. If they're afraid that their parents would find out about their relationships with guys, then the internet is a safe place for them where the parents can't find them. And if they really want to be safe, then they shouldn't save the online conversations.

But my greatest regret was being forced to pay 30 pounds for a present that was so unbeleivabley ugly. They'd better not get me anything like that on my bithday. :)

Overboard

When it comes to the opposite sex, I'm clueless. Especially the Egyptian type. There are so many things that baffle me when it comes to their personalities, thoughts, and everyday interactions. Not to mention the fact that they know nothing of moderation. Let me elaborate:

It's not uncommon for most of them to not have any contact with the opposite sex, thinking that it would be damaging to their reputations. Many of them refuse to shake hands with a male, and are not afraid to embarrass you if you hold out your own hand. They have an unnatural phobia of being photographed, which is understandable in many cases, however, if you're fully clothed and not in a compromising position, I don't see what the problem is. Am I wrong? Here's something that left me both confused and frustrated at the same time. It was a friend's birthday party (which was held inside campus because the girls didn't want to be seen with us boys outside the university walls) and alot of pictures were taken. They absolutely refused to let us leave until all the pictures were transferred from the cell phone of the guy who took the pictures to the phones of the girls. Am I wrong in thinking that they went a little overboard with the whole chastity thing? Or was that reasonable? Naturally when I asked them if they trusted us with the pictutures or not, they had nothing to say but "um...err..."

There is one thing I know for sure. They are not in the least convinced that what they are doing is the right thing. They only do it because it's all they know how to do, and because that's what their society dictates. They never have a clear-cut answer to anything. For example:
Me: "What exactly is the big deal for you to be seen with me in the street?"
Her: "Um..well...you know.."
Me: "No, I don't."
Her: "It's just...not propper."
Me: "why?"
Her: "......."

I think I can sum up this post in a few sentences. Egyptian females are petty, and can't think for themselves. And I feel sorry for them.