It's been a while.

Our exodus* is little over one month away, and of course, it occurs to me that I have not been terribly attentive to this bloglet of mine. I've had terribly many things to write about, and many sources of inspiration, but not enough discipline to commit my thoughts to shape and words. I won't attempt to draft up any intensively remedial writing projects in our remaining time here. Rather, I'll simply say that I hope to etch out many of the things I've wanted to illustrate and haven't yet. And, as I mentioned in my first post, I intend this space not to be limited by the borders of the country I am currently in. Verily, that would be quite a shame considering the plentitude of countries I will soon be in! And, while I can't say I will update this blog with any degree of consistency over the next four months, the duration of my travels until I return to the States, I will write when I can, trying to capture the spirit of the moment, the local(e)s, and the tea. Oh, so much tea is ahead of me. 

More about this soon, worry not!

A rainy view from an airport shuttle. Wishful thinking?

This is the eve of yet another historic election in Egypt's history--the first (hopefully) free and fair presidential elections in thirty years. A standard greeting here has become good morning, and who are you voting for?-- launching all parties into perpetual dialogue and speculation as to what would be best for Egypt. Suffice it to say, I have no idea what to expect, though I wouldn't be surprised if it comes to a run-off between Abou el-Fotouh (a moderate Islamist) and Amr Moussa (formerly a Foreign Minister in the old regime). Most people seem convinced that either option will not be terrible, and really what everyone is looking forward to is the ability to know that in four years, they can elect someone else. This level of political uncertainty is something I've never experienced, given America's comparatively stable (and often stagnant) political transitions.

Hurriya - Freedom (made of cilantro)

Street art in progress.

One might expect that with all this, my Arabic vocabulary is expanding to include political terminology. While this is somewhat true, much of my Arabic these days has for some reason become focused on Egyptian proverbs, which are endlessly delightful to me. For example:

1. ما يعرفش الألف من كوز الذرة (ma ya'arafsh al-alif min kooz al-dura) - "He doesn't know the letter alif from a corncob." He doesn't know anything.

2. خنفسة شافت ولادها على الحيط، قالت لولي وملضوم في خيط. (khunfisa shafet wilaadha fil Heyt wa qaalat looli wa malDoom fi kheyt) - "A ladybug saw her children on a wall and said 'my string of pearls!'" A mother always thinks her children are beautiful (regardless of what they look like). 

3. الأقرعة بتتباها بشعر بنت أختها. (al-aqra'a bititbaaha bisha'ar bint ukhtaha) - "The bald woman boasts of her sister's daughter's hair." People always want to associate themselves with greatness, especially when they lack the qualities they are boasting about.

Clearly, I need to work on my translation skills, as I can't think of comparable proverbs in English (though, this isn't surprising to those who know me well-- I frequently stumble through them). What are your favorite proverbs, in any language?

* I fondly like to refer to our leaving Egypt as such, owing to the similarity of our trajectory (Egypt - Israel) to that of the Israelites-- only, instead of crossing the Red Sea by foot, we'll travel by plane. I guess we're not thaaaat epic.