The mindset I find here is that if something doesn't happen, it is because God didn't will it to happen, and if it isn't God's will than there must be a reason for this. (Now I know there is a big theological debate about this in the US, I am simply stating what I observe to be the belief that is apparent here.) I think my landlord said it best last night when she said in her broken English, "We leave what happen to God, he do a better job of it".
Time has such a different feel here. Even when I am in a hurry, I feel as though I am in a time warp moving at slow motion. I live in a city of 20+million people, and it has all the hustle, bustle, noise, pollution, etc that one would expect from a city that large (St. Louis is 3.5 million, and Wichita 350 thousand roughly? to give some comparison) and yet the busyness of it feels so unfamiliar. People walk faster here than anywhere I have been in the world, partly because so many people walk at least 5+ miles a day here (and I climb over 300+ stairs a day here), but even with the fast pace of walking, there is a lack of urgency in the steps. There is an attitude of I will get there when I get there, no hurry. (Maybe this is one reason my nickname for Cairo is the city of contradictions.)
On the other hand, once you leave the city limits of Cairo and cross the threshold onto the Sinai Peninsula, time evaporates and ceases to exist. You arrive in Sharm, Dahab, Basata, etc and you forget there is such a thing as a clock or watch. Even when you have an appointment (like boarding a yacht or getting your diving gear from the diving center) a watch is not a governor demanding your obedience, but simply a device that gives the slightest hint of what exists outside of your current world; time.
so to finish up the mosh pit, here are a few random facts, or funny instances that I wanted to share....
1) I was riding a bus with 12 Egyptians and 1 Sudanese guy on my way to Dahab for a weekend. When a cell phone began "ringing" with a unique ringtone...it was President Obama's voice and a clip from his inaguration speech "America, it is time for change. Answer this call" LOL! I died laughing the first time I heard it. The owner of the phone (an Egyptian) would look at me and say, one sec I need to take this call to change America...LOL!
2) I have been interviewing a Dr. who works with an NGO here in Cairo. He was born and raised here in Egypt, spent some time studying in England and married a British woman. He has been living here in Egypt again for the last 50 years. His English astounds me, and I learn new English vocab every time I meet with him. I was going to post one of the words, but I can't remember them right now.
3) Another thing I have learned is hope much of an impression JFK made on the world. One person here said "He gave hope to the world, not just the US." That is definitely not a viewpoint I was taught in school. Regardless of political party affiliation, I can never get over how active Egyptian people are in seeking out information and being involved in American politics. (I think more of my friends here have memorized President Obama's inaguration speech than friends in the US.)
4) okay and last little tidbit of mosh pit for today...a quote from a recent interview that I am still pondering..."Dictators are established out of love. People are so captivated and dependent on them as leaders that they force the person to higher and higher levels of power. Saying "we can't do this without you. You can't quite we need you. There is no one who can do this as you can." It is this dependency/love that gives them the power to dictate." Not sure what I think about this yet, but it is an interesting perspective to think about.
Alrighty, I am off to grab some Cinnabun and coffee for breakfast :-)! Enjoy your day! (Oh and I have more pics for the slide show, but I have to upload them. They are on Facebook already if you want to see them now.)
The phone call story was my favorite bit of mosh. On dictators: I think it's really true. People respond to relationship.
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