Month 3

Today we have been in Cairo for three months, and yes, this is my first post in the blog since we've been here. I don't think anything I write can do justice to the incredible experience we have had here, but I'll try anyway. 

So, basically, I love it here. I think I love it the most out of anyone else here, and by far. I feel like I'm home here. The rest of my family have taken issue with some of the things here like the trash, cars and cultural differences, but for me that's just small stuff compared to the beauty of this place. The first day we got here, Dad took Aisha, Ameer, Siraj and me to a little restaurant that serves some really good traditional local Egyptian dishes and has become one of our favorites, to get some take out. When we got there, one of the chefs that I often see, had a prayer rug spread out on the floor and was praying in the middle of this very busy restaurant and people were walking around him (but not in front), shouting orders, talking loudly and laughing, and he was so focused on his prayers, he could have been in a cave in a mountain hundreds of miles away from the next person. I had never seen anything like that, it was so natural and commonplace here. No one looked at him or asked him what he was doing or told him Jesus loves him afterwards, it was totally okay. After he was done he got up and made us our food. From then I loved Egypt. 

I saw a white-ish looking guy the other day, who I thought might speak English, and so I asked him where the Metro was. He was French and kinda spoke English. As he showed me the way, he asked me where I like to live better, here or America. I told him I love it here, I love Egypt, and he looked surprised and asked me why I would like to live in Egypt more than America, everyone wants to go to America. I told him how here, we can be Muslims so easily, in totally and complete peace. Here we are encouraged to be Muslims, without being or feeling oppressed by a government or society. We don't have to do anything here, but we are gently encouraged to. We have the freedom not to, and the freedom to, but here we have a real freedom to be Muslims. We are never made to feel anything but good and welcome for being Muslims here. In the US, it's different. He said Ahh, thought for a moment, then he said, "America is you know what they call, the land of the free" he said in his thick French accent, "but in Egypt, you are freer." Exactly. 

I like not having to explain my hijab or prayer schedule, or self to the ignorant. I think this is something that has affected me more than anyone else in my family, I think I was more sensitive to that, and it's a large part of the reason I like it here so much. I feel like here I can be who I am and want to be freely, but in the US, not so much. In the US many a time, I felt like an outsider where I in no way should have been, I felt unaccepted and apart from the group, just too different. Alot of you reading alhumduillah have had the amazing opportunity to live in large, vibrant Muslim communities where you could meet and interact with other Muslims and share things common to American Muslims and have Muslim friends, but we have always lived in very small Muslim communities, and only up until the last few years, have not been a part of an active Muslim community. Only at our last masjid were we able to meet and make friends with Muslim girls our age, and did we. It was such a blessing to be able to have other girls at the masjid we could have the privilege of calling our friends. We miss you. Before, other girls like this simply were not there. We were isolated Muslims in a Christian land. We have never, ever been made to feel unwelcome here in Egypt, something I only wish I could say about the US. We are foreigners here, we are outsiders, but you would never know the difference. To them, we do belong, and I love that. 

The Egyptians are interesting people. They laugh and touch alot. I love it when I see them holding hands. I saw two police officers walking hand in hand the other day, I tried to take a picture, keeping all of you in mind of course, but it was too dark. lol, I know some of you are thinking, oh gross, but really it's not. It's sweet and heartwarming, you don't see this kind of love and affection between friends in the West. When they smile, it's sincere and their whole face smiles. There are no polite smiles, or smiling just to be nice, or because you have to, and I've never seen an Egyptian smile when they don't want to. When they smile, it's because they want to, it's sincere and full of emotion. They touch for no reason, just to be close. When they joke around and play, which they do alot, it's a little, or maybe alot, rougher than we're used to. I was chatting with a lady and made some joke and then was startled by a hard slap on my leg as she threw her head back laughing. It hurt. We call this assault in America. I was talking to a guy, Muhammad, who works in one of the nearby stores, when a boy around 13 or 14, who also worked there came in and asked if he could have 60 LE early, and Muhammad laughed, yelled La! and then grabbed the boy and punched him hard in his stomach, and then laughed some more. The boy doubled over and groaned in pain loudly, and then got up, now laughing, and charged at Muhammad, jumped on top of him and punched him back, everyone laughing and thinking it was a riot the whole time. I was like, you punched the boy! but everyone around and involved thought it was funny. 

The city we live in was a good choice. There are lots of expats here and alot of people speak some English, or at the very least, are used to dealing with foreigners. The Egyptians are so welcoming. They are always eager help in any way they can and act like nothing is an imposition. We took a road trip across America and found that America is filled to the brim with good people, and now we are finding so is Egypt. I suspect it's a worldwide thing. That whole thing about them wanting to rip off foreigners, we have found it to be generally untrue. People are fair and honest with us and there seems to be more trust in the good of mankind here. It's a good feeling. Egyptians are also alot more open with their affections for you than people in the US. We have gotten told, "I love you" hundreds of times here. It's cute, in Arabic there is no differentiation between the words like and love, it's one in the same, so everything is love. I love this, I love that, and I love you. They like to say I love you, and we hear it alot. 

I'm in love with Egypt. I think I might just want to stay here forever.