pushmi pullyu

Ever read that story about Dr. Dolittle?  Remember that strange creature, the pushmi pullyu?  That's how I feel about Egypt: sometimes it pushes me away, sometimes it pulls me in.  Especially in the last couple of months in Alexandria, I am trying to evaluate my experience here, and in my mind I have drawn up a list of pros and cons to spending a year in Alexandria as a foreigner studying Arabic.  There are two sides to every coin: often we can see particular situations in a positive light or a negative light, and both viewpoints have equal validity. 

Here are some things I like about my experience:

1. Being by the sea.  Alexandria has a road called the Corniche, which runs along the sea shore.  Not only is it a nice place to take a solitary walk, it is a place to see the sea's changing colors and moods.
2. You always know what fruit is in season.  At Aseer Mecca, a juice place at the Sporting tram stop, they only make juice from what is in season at the moment.  In the summer you have to try the mango juice, apricot juice, and plum juice.  And if you're feeling adventurous, asab or sugar cane.
3. The comforting sound of the adhan, or call to prayer.  It punctuates my day, and at noon on Fridays I know to expect the khutba or sermon being broadcast from the mosque near my apartment.
4. Egyptian Arabic is awesome, in my opinion.  It's fairly easy to pick up if you listen carefully, and they have tons of colorful expressions and great slang.  Plus, it's much nicer to listen to the music of Abdel Halim Hafez if you can understand his beautiful lyrics!

And there are some things that I don't like so much.  Mainly, it's really stressful to be a foreigner, at least at first.  (It feels a bit like when I first moved to America, but at least then I could speak the language even if I didn't know all the lyrics to the songs that everybody had known since they were in their diapers.)  People tend to think we're tourists, even when you're in a dodgy part of town buying groceries-- clearly not a tourist activity!  did you see me arrive in a tour bus?-- and most people are bewildered to hear a foreigner speak Arabic.  They don't really get why someone from America, the dream destination of many Egyptians, would come to Egypt to live there and learn Arabic... doesn't really make much sense.  It's discouraging, and you really have to love Arabic in order to keep having these conversations, justifying your presence in Egypt and the nature of your occupation as a student of the language. 

But on the bright side, no matter how awful your experiences are, you can always be certain that, after the initial shock has worn off, you will have a very interesting story to tell.