Refocusing

           Last Thursday marked the start of our first home leave here at NUA. Most of us had been surviving our classes instead of teaching them so it was a great opportunity to reflect on our first couple weeks and begin to develop a game plan for our classes. Friday was our first full day of vacation and the administration went all out for the SM's and scheduled massages for everyone. Definitely something I was not expecting this year but i'll take it. And Diana if your reading this, you are still the best. Saturday was a chill day and around 8:30 we packed up and headed to Alexandria. A student went with us and actually set up all of our transportation and lodging for us. The ride up was definitely an experience. The only thing that compares to the driving on US Highways is the speed. In fact they may drive even faster here. Now imagine driving 80 miles an hour on a road with no lanes, ok I take that back there are lanes but nobody uses them, and it's so bumpy that by the end of the trip you have: hit your head on the roof 20 times, your butt feels like you've been sitting on a tractor for two hours, and your upper body feels like you've been weed eating for that same amount of time. Ok enough complaining, it's all about the experience.

    

              Alexandria was a breath of fresh air. There's something about being next to the ocean that just makes you feel refreshed. We were able to relax and see some pretty cool historical sights. The Library of Alexandria definitely topped everything else though. The architecture was just amazing, inside and out. Our tour guide said that they have enough space to hold at least 8 million books.  How's that for an afternoon of reading? They also had a couple of museums that held pictures and artifacts from Alexandria back in the 17 and 1800's. One photo that really caught my attention was one of the town square. Ok I guess it wasn't the photo but the caption underneath it that shocked me. I'm not sure who he was but I think he was an important visitor at that time and his comment was, "The streets are so clean here in Alexandria that you could eat off them". Needless to say this hasn't been my experience. Yes it was a lot cleaner than our town of Gabble and I did actually see a dump truck at one point, I almost fainted. But it was still probably dirtier than an NFL stadium after a game. It's sad but I'm adjusting to it. On Tuesday afternoon we went to an open air cafe right on the ocean. I will admit this is the first place I've been in all of Egypt that I could sit outside without sweating. The breeze from the Mediterranean was amazing. So amazing that I even ordered a Nescafe, which is a hot drink and one of the best drinks in Egypt. And no it's not like Nescafe in America.

              Alexandria was a blast and it really helped me refocus on why I'm here in Egypt. I'm beginning to leave stage 2 behind and except that this is where I am, this is where I live until June 16, 2010. Yes I love to keep up with my friends lives back home, my cousin is getting married for goodness sakes and I'm probably gonna miss it. (Unless she changes the dates.......) I love to here about what's happening at Union and who made or didn't make the basketball team..............  But that's not why I came here. I didn't come here to live my life in front of a computer screen watching everyone else live theirs. I came here to help this school and to witness to these students. I came here to test myself and to give myself a clean slate. Nobody here expected me to be or act a certain way because they didn't know me. Nobody here judges me by how I played basketball in high school. Or by how I did anything in high school for that matter. I guess it's just nice not to here, "Yeah man before you came to Union I thought you were a jerk". "Why?" "Well mostly because Campion just wins everything so we love to hate on you". It's ok I'm over it now. (Back to the point) I like the fact that I can be known for my calm presence in staff meeting (thanks pastor Tom) or by my grueling PE class (thanks to all my students). Now this may surprise some people. Ever since about 4th grade when I started playing competitive sports I have been defending my reputation as an athlete. Whether it be on the playing surface or off. (These are the thoughts in my head) "I am an athlete, therefore I must perform at a certain level to protect my reputation as a soccer player, as a baseball player, as a basketball player, as a tennis player, as a volleyball player, as a _________ player", you get the point. I'm not just a person that likes  sports, I eat and breathe them. For example, we went fishing in Alexandria. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate fishing. But yet in my head I had to catch more fish than anyone else. I found myself trying to find the best possible way I could cast my makeshift bamboo fishing pole into the water as to catch more fish. And  I don't even know the first thing about fishing. Why do I do this? Cause I'm An Athlete! If they show it on ESPN I better be good at it. Now in some ways this isn't all bad. Giving your best to everything you do is not a bad thing but you need to be ok with it when it's just not your forte. I'm learning.

                
                I'm refocusing. I'm focusing on Egypt, my class, my students, and my responsibility to give them the best education possible. They receive an American Diploma from this school by the way. Which means they get the same credit I got in my Dad's PE class. Except now it's My class. Scary eh? I'm focusing on sharing and being patient. Be it, letting others use my internet or letting Sara try a bite of my food........ I'm focusing on God. Making sure that I surrender to his will everyday, and doing my best to follow his lead. Easier said than done but I'm making an effort. If I learn nothing else here in Egypt, that is what I want to take home with me.

     

Stages

Monotonous: [mo-not-o-nous-]
: lacking in variety, tedious, humdrum, boring, dull.

I am officially a stage 2 missionary!! Now for those of you who

 have no idea what I'm talking about let me explain. Yesterday was a rough day. It started off slow and ended slower. As I was going about my afternoon work supervision it hit me, "Am I really going to do this for the next 9 months?!! Am I going to wake up and do the exact same thing everyday?!!"  Now later that afternoon during supper I asked Jessica these questions. She began to laugh hysterically and asked me if I remembered anything from my student missions class. I decided to be humble and give her my honest answer of "not really........" She loudly blurted out "Your In Stage 2"!!!!! She explained that the first couple weeks of missionary life is called the honeymoon stage where everything is new, exciting, and fun. You are very intrigued by the new culture and everything is so interesting. Then everything comes crashing down. You realize that you do mostly the same things everyday. You can't just get up and go places like you can in America. You can't just pick up your cell phone and call someone. You can't just say "hey Rich let's go play some one-on-one over at Calvert". You become depressed and wonder why in the world you are where you are. Supposedly the length of this stage varies from person to person. Stage 3 is when you begin to accept where you are, the culture, the way of life, and also the monotony of it all. It becomes your way of life and you actually may begin to enjoy it. I'm working hard to get to this stage.
    

Hope the ankle is healed and your ballin outta control bro.

        

      Now who ever thought that learning people's names could be so hard. I forget names just as much as the next person but for the most part I can remember the names of people that I see every day. I have come to the conclusion that if I know the Deng's and the Mina's I'm in good shape. I think at least half the school is comprised of these names. Now this is an obvious exaggeration but try putting different faces to all these names in your class: Deng Deng, Deng Francis, Deng Mayol, Deng Pal, Deng Garang Deng, and Deng Mayol Deng!!!! Easy enough you say. But that's not all. How about: Mina Beshara, Mina Emile, Mina Farid, Mina Helmy, Mina Mahewae, and Mina Samir. (Those are all boys names by the way) I know at some point this semester one of them is going to get a grade that was meant for someone else.

        I have come to some very important conclusions since I have been here. I was feeling very lost when it came to my spiritual life before I came here and I won't deny that being here has tested me even more. I do feel though that God has been talking to me a lot through other people and situations. I am a very "feelings" oriented person. This gets me in trouble a lot because feelings can change at a moments notice. When someone pours the foundation for a building, is that foundation going to change weather it's hot, cold, loved, depressed, sick, healthy, or just plain sick of life? No. Yes it may shift if the ground beneath it is not stable. Or it may be uprooted in a tornado and shattered into a million pieces. But it's still just concrete. Whether it's a block or a million pieces it's still just concrete.       My beliefs are my beliefs. They are not changed by people, circumstance, or my feelings at a certain moment.    God is God. He is not changed by people, circumstance, how I feel about him, or who I think he is at a single point in time. He is there when I "feel" he is there and when I don't "feel" he is there. God is not understood or figured out. He's just God. You either believe he is there or you don't. Because if you only believe God is there when you feel he is there than you will end up feeling the way I have felt for the past couple years. I could count the times that I have truly felt God's presence in my life on one hand. Does that mean I'm less of a christian or that I don't believe in him? No. Now I will say that I have been through situations and events where, after the fact, I have looked back and seen how God led me and guided me. I have seen how he has worked in my life in the past. But even if I don't see him working. Even if I don't know why my life is going in a certain direction or taking this path, I will still believe. Because what life would you rather live? A life full of worry, distrust, and wondering if he's really there until the day that it's too late? Or a life that may not always give you the answers, it may not always be easy or understood, but because you believe full heartedly in something greater, something that is all powerful and will give you the desires of your heart, you will have peace. You can live of life peace knowing that you don't always need to understand. You don't always need to have the answer. All you need to know and believe is that he is there and he wants to be a part of your life. 

Good Luck at La Sierra Germeen

Starting To Understand

INTERNET!!!! I never thought I would miss this so much. Now it's not that I miss the internet really but more so what I can do with it. I could live without ESPN.com or anything like that but the fact that I can't use skype to call my parents or use email to talk to my friends really was frustrating. But with a little money and the help of an Egyptian friend I now have internet anywhere I go in the entire country for the next 9 months.
      So this last week was pretty eventful in that it was the first week of school and we were also invited to a lot of events. We were invited to a family's house on Saturday where they cooked a massive meal for us. They were so kind to us and a lot of fun to be with. I will admit the food was really good but I ate way too much. Plus the fact that it's rude to not eat a lot when you go to a house because they prepared the food just for you. About the time I had eaten all that I thought I could eat, her mother would come around with more food and just put it on your plate. And if that wasn't enough, finally when we thought she knew we were full, her father would pick up food with his hands and come from behind you and stuff it in your mouth!! It was the weirdest thing I have ever experienced and yet it was hilarious. At least when it happened to someone else. After that they invited us to go on a tour boat of the Nile River that night. Now this wasn't your normal tour boat. It was basically a boat with a lot of lights on it and they blare loud music while everyone dances for about 1 hour. Now anyone that knows me knows that I'm not the most fleet footed person but I think I started to hold my own at the end.  
         The day after that we were invited to an engagement party for an alumnist of the school. Now here in Egypt people don't just propose and get engaged. They have a ceremony similar to a wedding just to announce their engagement and then later they have a wedding as well. It was about a 2 and a half hour drive through the desert in a tiny mini bus packed full. Now I have gotten used to just being sweaty and gross all the time but this was pretty unbearable. We finally made it just in time for the party after the ceremony. And as you can probably guess, there was dancing. I finally got the picture about 2 hours in that dancing is the only reason they have the party because that's all they do. Everybody smells terrible and is sweating like pigs but no one cares. We left around 1 a.m. and they were still going strong. It was crazy.
        Then we had our first week of school. It was pretty hectic trying to help all the kids figure out where they needed to be because I guess the schedule is very different from last year. I have enjoyed my first couple classes though and the kids are a lot of fun. Some of them I'm sure don't like me much because I'm the first teacher that has made them run but most of them don't complain too much. I also have a Sudanese student who is about 6'4 and is really built. He loves basketball and wants to play at an american college someday so I'm going to be working with him in the mornings now. That made my year!!
         I'm starting to understand the culture more day by day. They live very care free lives considering all that they must go through to survive. They don't really stress about much because everyone is just happy. If something doesn't work out, it will work out next time. If someone bumps you or almost runs you over with their car, it's ok, that's just how it is here. I have seen a lot of situations where confrontation could have occurred between two people and they don't so much as glance at each other. They just go about their business. It's a very different place. More different than anywhere I have ever been. I only hope that I will be able to reach out to them as much as they have reached out to me.  

Students

                          

 Today we had registration. I was assigned to help at the financial desk, collecting money and writing receipts. I had another girl working with me that spoke Arabic so I wasn’t completely lost. I was actually very surprised at how much English the students already know. 95% of them could probably carry on a good conversation with you. The rumor that Egyptians are very warm and kind people is no longer a rumor but a definite reality to me. A lot of them wanted to shake my hand, find out my name, what classes I was teaching, where I was from, and how I was doing so far. I also found there is a lot of diversity within the students. There were obviously a lot of Egyptians but we have almost just as many Sudanese kids who are refugees. One thing I was really not expecting was that almost every Sudanese kid that came through wanted to know if I played basketball!! Apparently that is their favorite sport so I was super excited. I guess that answers everyone’s question of whether or not they play basketball here. I’m excited to see how they do in P.E.

            After all the day’s activities Alec (another SM) wanted to go to town to get some church clothes and asked if Paul (another SM) and I wanted to come along. An Egyptian offered to take us since we still don’t know how to get around. Now another Sudanese kid came with us because he doesn’t live in the dorm and he was going home. I got to talking with him and asked if he had always lived here. He said no and that he moved here in 2001. He hasn’t seen his family since!!! Now I’m not gonna lie I miss my family terribly right now and I have been gone for 4 days!! Imagine 9 years!!!! He even paid for our bus ride to the train station and refused to let me pay him back. It’s just amazing to see people who have so little who are willing to do anything for you.

            Once we got to the market it was complete chaos. People are everywhere!! Just to give you an idea, Cairo has 7 times the population density as New York City. Now we’re not in Cairo but it’s definitely still bad. It’s like walking down and normal size street at home but every single person in town is on that street, cars are driving on it, vendors have to periodically shift their carts just so cars can get through. Oh and don’t forget the ever present mountain of trash that is everywhere!! I will say though that if I owned a used car dealership I would hire an Egyptian to stand outside and get people to come in. They yell constantly!!! One guy who was selling purses had completely lost his voice so he just started banging them together, while still trying to yell!! I have never seen someone who wanted to sell a purse so badly. He would swing them around and even nailed a lady in the head with one (she didn’t buy it).

            Over all, I love Egypt already. Yes it’s loud outside the school. Yes it’s the dirtiest place I have ever seen in my life. And yes, it’s probably going to be the hardest year of my life. But the people make up for all of it. Not just the students but the people outside the walls. It seems to be a very giving culture and a very peaceful one. Some people may think I’m crazy and I may get tired of it at some point but I love the call to prayer. It’s like being in a scene from Black Hawk Down every time they start praying. Ok that’s not the only reason I like it. I guess it just sounds really cool to me. 

Making The Trip

I have to admit that I am a little ignorant. As i took off from Denver International Airport I had no idea what to expect when I got here. When I landed in London for my layover I came to a conclusion, based on the people there and the little scenery that i could see from the airport that being in a foreign country really was not as different as I thought. Except for the fact that I was in England where all the signs were still in English, the people spoke English, and the fact that i was in the AIRPORT!!! You can't see a whole lot of culture change in an airport, especially in one that is much like an american airport. Now I don't know why i thought this because I have been to other country's before and they are very different. None the less my theory was obliterated when i landed in Cairo. It was midnight and here I am trying to read the signs, and wondering if I would ever find the person who was picking me up. I managed to get my visa, find my bags, and find my ride all in about 10 minutes!! We made it to the school regardless of the insane driver who i swear was centimeters from hitting side mirrors with another car. One awesome thing though is our room has A/C!!! Not bad for my first experience here.