Smog, cats, and plain life in Agouza

Wow. I can barely keep up with the plain old-busy life here in Cairo that has slowly become the norm. Yesterday was a phenomenal day. Our group of 29 caught a brief glimpse of what being a Muslim entails, as we visited and participated in an Islamic service about 30 minutes away from home. Some brief observations from my sociological side:

My presuppositions and inherited images of a mosque's physical appearance were quickly blown away as I stepped inside. Instead of a huge, elaborate, and ornately structured building, this was an ordinary house of worship made from basic materials, built for both rich and poor; lower, middle, and upper class. In many ways it resembled a regular Evangelical church from back in America. Upon entering the worship sanctuary, I found numerous Muslims, some extremely devout, who were sitting upon the carpet, awaiting the start of the service and the ensuing prayers of the day. Without abandon, my friends and I joined them. Muslims continued to filter in until 2:00, which was the time of the beginning of service. By this time, many of my friends had made their way into the auxillary area outside - a place for overflow wherein Muslims can worship in the comfort of a 95 degree day. However, one friend and I decided to stick it out and see what it would be like to participate alongside these fine Egyptian men.

Although I could not understand one word, yes, not ONE word, it was an interesting and altering experience. To avoid making a blanket statement, I would venture to say that many Muslims are devout and consider religion / faith to be an extremely important part of their lives. As the time arrived for group prayers - a sight that may have been shown on Western television before - all believers stood together in unity (not by hands; here, Egyptians linked feet by their toes). As the priest called out prayers, believers would simultaneously rise and fall to their knees and touch their head to the floor in repetition. The sense of community triggered by this processing is actually quite riveting.

Disclaimer: I do not attempt to confuse people with my praise of certain aspects of Islam. I am simply pointing out certain qualities of the sense of community, triggered by certain aspects of unified worship, that are interesting and noteworthy contrasts from certain sects of Western religion.

Today, I did a lot of walking around the area of Agouza. A countless number of markets exist, and in order to know them better, groups of 2 of us were sent off with a map and a list of things to see and buy. Interaction is still very tough, but I am picking up small phrases such as shokran (thank you). I find it kind of silly, however, to communicate everything in English and sign language, to that climatic ending of "thank you" in Arabic.

In other news, the mangoes here are absolutely amazing. They are so, so soft and sweet. The mango nector produces at the local juice bars is just as good I cannot stress this near enough: you have not had mangoes until you've tried an Egyptian mango. Many apologies to my Cuban family and friends...

Tomorrow I will be joining some friends from the flat at the soccer fields. So I hear, it is like a local pool hall. An absolute hotspot, they say, and a perfect place to practice some Arabic.

I come across so many things I could write about, but always fail to remember them by this time of night. So I say goodbye for now. Shokran for reading...