Cairo, Egypt - a Ramble

I really miss Egypt. I wasn't there very long, but it was incredible.

The friends I had made - irreplaceable. The experience - unfathomable. The lesson - immeasurable.

This image is what the demonstrations were like a year ago. When I was there, it was much more like this... And I was part of that crowd.

I saw things explode, people getting beaten, buildings on fire, bodies in the street, teargas, and firefights. It went from fantastic vacation with the prospect of school beginning, to a nightmare in less than two weeks.


I wanted to post about Egypt for a two reasons. 1) I would have been coming home by now had I been able to stay there for the semester. 2) There is a great deal Americans do not understand about the rest of the world.

Basically, when I was going to Egypt, I had no idea what it looked like. I thought it would be like Aladdin painted in a slightly modern-esque overtone. I felt that it would be riddled with thieves and magic. That the people were namely hostile if you were not Arab. That nothing was safe to touch, drink, or smell unless it came from a supermarket.This is all a load.

Basically, I want to say that like History class growing up, so is our image of the the rest of the world. In History class, you learn about Lincoln, China, and Europe. As you get older, and branch into high school, you learn about how what you were taught before wasn't exactly the truth, but a slight augmentation of the truth. Then by the time you take these classes again in College, you find out that everything was a lie. The heroes we praised as kids were just lucky people with even more amazing people behind them, ensuring their success. Or that people had more diverse realistic cause for their disputes than what was printed on the page. We learned that most of the people that shaped us growing up, did not know a whole lot to begin with. Not only were they censored but they also did not know the facts - which makes all those arguments between teachers and students substantiated.

Likewise, is the world. We learn things in pieces, constantly feeling a little bit more secure in our knowledge. Then some phenomenal even happens and we don't know how to react. We have to put ourselves back into what life is and how we interact with all those other lives. It is truly a web. Politically, we are sheltered. We thrive on a democracy, but it is one supported by big businesses pooling money to favor their ambitions. There is an incredible amount of red tape put down so that we catch ourselves making mistakes and keep every action legal. However, it seems that there are times when this is a blessing and a curse. Sometimes, the best thing that needs to happen, is action. Or just a change that gets people to reevaluate what should come as a result of those minor changes.

I guess what I am really trying to say is that Egypt changed me. It put me in a new frame of mind and scope that I can never put on level with anyone else. There is simply no way to explain what it is like to see political strife and fight the battle. Granted, there is much worse, and there is much better. There are atrocities going on in Africa right now. There are also simpler activities taking place in my home community that are also of a serious nature.

My best hope is that there is a day, within range of my lifetime, when I am able to go across the world economically and efficiently so that I can show my friends the world they are missing out on. Strangely, I believe this starts back home in the states with a bullet train system. Our public transport system is atrocious and there are too many people corrupted in positions where changes can happen. If it costs only $50 to fly most places within Europe, then why is it $300 to fly to Florida? We are doing something wrong in America...

And I am rather sure it starts with our media. Our advertisements, or culture, or lifestyle, our conception of the world, is too self centered. We are too individualistic. Not community based.

This blog post, I realize, didn't really have any conclusive theme or tied thesis. It just kind of rambles. I needed this... helps me get my mind over things.