Conversations with Cab Drivers (and Others)

Heavily edited, fuzzily remembered,but presented in earnest – newer entries nearer to the top.

Nov. 6th

“Izayak”,* huh?

Yeah – that’s pretty common, isn’t it?

Hah, yes – best couple of words in the language, probably. Where are you from?

America.

Oh, man, oh, man why did you have to go and get me upset for?

Not a fan of America?

No, no. I can’t stand America – why are they going around killing so many Muslims?

The wars?

Yes, the wars – Iraq, Afghanistan, millions of Muslims!

Well, if you look at history, we don’t have anything particular against Muslims. I mean, a while back it was people in Asia more, in the 60s. But that’s the government. I mean, I’m not exactly thrilled by the wars going on, and it’s not like everybody in the U.S. is in favor.

Yes, yes, that’s true. Definitely a difference between the two.

I think a lot of the problem is that people in America really don’t know about the Middle East, don’t understand. So if a war happens, it’s not like it affects them, right? It’s just something the U.S. government has to do to people far away.

Right, since people mostly know about what’s going on through the media and politicians. People in the U.S. don’t really know us – they only know the picture that the media and the governments have put together.

Yep. And that’s part of why I’m studying here. Since I figure if I try to learn something about life here, and manage to bring that back with me, then maybe people in the U.S. will have a different picture of the Middle East.

Good. I’m still not certain about America, but you’re a pretty nice guy. What about Obama, though? He lost a lot in the elections, right?

Yeah, I think it was the largest loss in elections since Truman, in the middle of last century. So now there are a lot more Republicans in the Congress.

Ah, Republicans, like Bush, no?

Yes, but different. A lot of them are part of a new group of Republicans, and they’re a lot less, well, orderly. Sort of extremists. They want a much smaller government, fewer services to people, that sort of thing.

Ah, yes. Ugh, the government here. Who’d want Hosni Mubarak to be the face of Egypt?

I think that’s part of the problem too – people know the Middle East mostly from the governments. And most of the governments here don’t really represent the people. I mean, did you ever help choose Hosni Mubarak? But its hard to tell the difference in the media. People seem to know only the governments and groups like the Muslim Brotherhood. There was an article in my local paper about how mosques were sources for extremists and terrorists to settle into society, and that’s just crazy. I wrote back and I said, look, do you see a whole lot of terrorists springing up across America? Because there are mosques across America, but we’re not seeing terrorists across America. And what would they prefer? That Muslims in America have a safe, stable place to meet and pray and learn, or that they’re all on their own for worship with no source of learning except some crazy living in the mountains who has no connection to the outside world.

Right, right. I want to thank you, because I think you understand where I’m coming from, but at the same time you’ve helped me understand where you’re coming from. And now we both understand better. I mean, look, here’s Muslims and here’s Christians – nothing between them!

Right, that’s what I’ve seen here. On the whole, Muslim-Christian relations are better than some places you might see in the US.

Yes – I’m a Muslim, but if it’s Christmas and I meet a Christian friend, I say “Merry Christmas!” and if he sees me during Ramadan he says “Happy Ramadan!” There’s some extremists, but then there’re always the extremists…

Important to look at the big picture before you focus in on the small details, like that.

Yes – and since you’re studying the life and the language here, you can show that picture to people back home, since most people are looking at the picture created by the Jews and Israel and the media.

But, just to point out, not all the Jews support Israel. There are plenty of Jews in America who aren’t okay with what’s going on in Palestine, and many who are learning about the Middle East because they want to find a solution too. Even in Israel, there are a lot of people against what the government is doing, but their voices don’t really get out much because the media here doesn’t really care about that.

True, true. It’s a problem with all of the governments in the area. Look at our government. Maybe he’s try to do something, try to work for a solution, but he just concerned about sitting in his own seat. 30 years in the same place, and what has changed? Whenever somebody gets power he hold on to it, and so there’s no change – no difference.

Yes – oh, head straight here for the Dorms.

Right.

I get what you’re saying, though. And the problem keeps going – somebody else gets power, thy’re going to want to hold on to it for the same amount of time.

Yes – right here good?

Yes – thanks for the conversation.

No problem.

 

*i.e., “How’s it going?”

Oct. 27 (Literature Teacher)

Alexandria used to be much more liberal – 15, 20 years ago it was far more liberal than Cairo. But now you’ll see just about everybody wearing a head scarf or even a niqab here, since the entire city has become a lot more conservative. Things like this come and go, but right now its partially because of the Muslim Brotherhood – you know the Brotherhood? The government passed a decree a few years back that forbade any activities from the Brotherhood in the capital, so they all moved on to other cities – one of them was Alexandria. In addition, there’s a very large Christian population in Alexandria, so there’s more conflict between the Brotherhood and the Christians. And Christians here for the most part are very traditional – many of them are probably even more conservative than the Muslim population. The city has gone downhill in the last 10 years – the last governor who was here put a lot of work into improving the city, but that was a while ago. He was the one who built the Corniche (multi-lane highway along the coast) and brought in a lot of other improvements, but since he left things have begun to stagnate. There used to be a much larger foreign community as well – French, Italians, Greeks – but a lot of that is gone now. There’re a few remnants, like the Greek club near the Qaitbey fortress, but not much...

Oct. 24 (MSA Teacher)

… to be honest, I want to move to America. I’m in love with the, the personal freedom that you all have in America. Even more than that, I love the sense of privacy – here, any time I walk out of the apartment, there are five or six people saying “Oh, where are you going? What are you doing today? Where have you been?” and I really can’t stand it. At the same time, I hate American politics. Absolutely hate all of it. And I think that’s the opinion of a lot of people here – you know what the average person thinks about September 11? Hmm? [person form the class volunteers: "That the U.S. government carried it out, or Israel"] Yes, that’s pretty much the general opinion here. Me?… I don’t know. I’d just say it was a terrible tragedy and leave it at that…

…I used to want to live and work in France, learned French all though high school, but then I worked at the French consulate for a time, and I found out that I absolutely hate the French. You know the word”maghroor”? Meaning somebody who thinks they’re above everyone else, ah, yes, arrogant. That’s my impression of the French. In their eyes I’d always be a second class person and Egypt would always be a second class culture…

…I think a lot of the problems Westerners have when they come to Egypt are with the culture, not with the language. For example, there was a girl I knew form France (and she was so nice – I though “How can you be from France?”) who got really upset whenever she heard the word عاهرة in the street. عاهرة? To westerners studying Arabic, it means a girl you pay for sex. But in the culture, the same word is used for any girl who has had sex before marriage, regardless of whether there was any money involved. And people here watch Western films – their image of what girls are like is formed by what they see on the screen. And based on what they see, nearly every Western girl has had sex before marriage. Thus, they are free to use the word…

Oct. 22 (with others in the same taxi)

How are you doing this evening?

[In halting English] Oh, do you speak Arabic?

[In Arabic] Yes. How about you? Do you speak Arabic?

Hahah, a little, a little – still learning, you see.

Nice. I’m learning at Alexandria University. Where are you studying?

Oh, you know, around the place… But that’s great, that you’re studying Arabic. What do you think – is Arabic hard, or easy?

Eh, I’d say it’s hard but not… impossible. It’s probably one of the more difficult languages for people in the US to learn, though. That and Chinese.

Chinese?

Yeah, the language from China.

Ah, ok. I used to study English, like you’re learning Arabic. A while ago, in high school… but it’s difficult, if you don’t use the language. I knew it pretty well when I graduated, but now…

Yeah, it’s hard if you don’t use it. I used to live in Europe, and I learned German, but then I went back to the US and didn’t use it at all.

[interlude in which the driver, Mohammed, learned the names and guessed the nationalities of everyone in the cab]

Ah, nice, great, all of you learning Arabic. You have to learn from the street, pick up sayings. You know, all those sayings that we have that aren’t really in the books.

Yeah, I mean, we studied FusHa in the US for 2 years, but it’s a completely different thing learning here.

You want the library, right? I’ll turn off the Corniche here.

Great, thanks

…

Wonderful – have a good night!

No, don’t worry about it (refusing the money).

[I threw the money into the taxi anyway.]

Oct. 18th (in a taxi with another student in the program, who is Jewish)

[This one is a bit difficult, but I'll do my best]

Then what’s the solution?

Yeah, the solution. What’s the solution for Israel?

The solution, the solution… the land belongs to the Arabs. Look at you bag there – if I take that bag from you, you’re going to want it back, right?

Yes, yes…

Well, the same thing.

But the problem is that the land wasn’t taken yesterday, so it’s not like the people who were on the land or who took the land in the first place are still there. Now it belongs to the children and grandchildren of those people, and after awhile they forget where things came from. I mean, it’s one thing if you take something from somebody, but harder if it was givcen to ou by somebody else.

Yes, yes, but still… You know the Quran, the holy Quran? It talks about Israel…

[There followed an exchange for several minutes that I didn't fully understand, involving Egypt and an army with soldiers, planes, tanks, along with the US in some capacity, and Israel, along with a large battle that will take place at some point)

It says in the Holy Quran: "Children of Israel, you will cause trouble twice" and then says that God will come to deal with Israel. Just as God made you and God made me he will deal with Israel. And the children of Israel, they are the Jews, and the Jews are the children of Israel, so the same thing.

(Other student): No, no, no, that's a mistake, a big mistake. Jews - people and religion. Israel - a political state. They're not the same thing.

But all of the Jews still support Israel...

(o/s) No, no yet another big error. there are Jews in America who don't agree with the Jewish government, there are Jews in England who don't agree, Jews in Canada, Jews in France, JEws in Germany, even Jews in Yemen.

Ah, and even in Egypt as well...

(o/s) But it's not the same thing. The Jewish people are not the same thing as the Israeli government.

But it says in the Quran* the people of Israel, not the religion. the Jews are a religion and a people, but the Quran talks about the people of Israel, so all of them will suffer for this. Look at that tree out there - it's as if the Jews took the fruit from that tree without asking. Now they will have to answer for it.

Perhaps...

Why is there still war, then? Why is there no peace? There needs to be peace, for the children, for the next generation. Ah, here is the College of Medicine.

But we're going to the College of Arts...

Ah, it's very close, you can walk from here.

(the College of Medicine is maybe 1/2 km from the College of Arts. Not a short walk)

*A reference to Sura 17, verse 4 and thereafter, which refers to God warning the Children of Israel that they have caused trouble twice already on the earth, and that further disobedience will be returned in kind - generally taken to refer to the 2 times the great temple was destroyed, or the two exiles. Like most Quranic verses, open to a wide array of interpretation.

Later on Oct. 16th

How's the night been on the streets?

Hot - a lot of humidity.

Oh, yeah, I saw the sky earlier. Pretty muggy out.

Some rain too.

Ah, I didn't see - I had classes from 9am until 6, so I didn't really see much of the sky except this morning.

Haha, I guess you didn't. Where are you studying?

College of Arts - I'm studying Arabic.

Why are you studying Arabic?

I feel that there aren't many people back home who study or know Arabic, so much of what they know about the Middle East is about the government or people who can speak English - need to learn Arabic to speak to most ordinary people. Especially the colloquial, since it's a bit different from Standard Arabic.

Is Arabic considered a hard language to learn?

One of the hardest, at least that's what people think. Most people learn Spanish, or French, occasionally German. European languages, that sort of thing. If they learn a foreign language. Probably Arabic and Chinese are considered the hardest.

Oh, Chinese, yes.

Yeah, a friend of mine at a different college studies Chinese, so we occasionally talk about which language is harder. Each with our own opinions, etc.

...

We have elections as the same time as you do, right? Both in November?

Yes, November.

How do you feel about the government?

Ugh. They don't see that (points forward, out into traffic) and only see this (points at himself).

They only think about themselves? They don't think about the people?

Not that. They don't think... forward, they don't look forward, to the future. They only think about now, and only about themselves right now. Not a good way to run the country.

Ah. I worry about people in the United States like that sometimes - not all of them, but the people who say things now without thinking about how it will affect people down the line, because they don't understand the Middle East, or Islam, or Egypt, or things like that. They understand a little, but that's more dangerous than understanding a lot, you get what I'm saying.

Oh, yes. But look. I was working in Kuwait a while back. I worked for an American General, and a French Engineer, and a Japanese Engineer... and most of them, they were fine most of the time, but every so often, there would be, it would be difficult, and, well...

What was the problem?

Oh, there was no problem, no problem really, but... The thing to remember is that the world isn't all good and it isn't all bad. There will always be a part of it that's good, and there will always be part of it that's bad, all at the same time. Ah, here's the gate for the dorm.

Ah, ok. Thanks.

Oct. 16th

How do you say that in Arabic? "Transmission by Hand"? As in automatic, but that's not automatic.

Yes, there's automatic as well, but this is a standard transmission*.

Do most cars in Egypt have standard transmission?

Some, but definitely not all. If you have a nicer car, a luxury car, that'll probably have an automatic transmission.

But all of the taxis have standard transmission?

Yes. An automatic car - probably has only one owner, so it's not getting used all of the time. The automatic transmission is great, but it's weak. Standard transmission is much stronger - very strong. So, maybe this taxi is carrying two or three drivers every day - 24 hours a day. You need a strong transmission with that. Can't afford a breakdown.

Which do you think is better - standard or automatic?

Oh, automatic by far. You don't need to worry about any of this (mimes shifting the gears), so it's a really comfortable ride. Everything's much smoother.

But can't you accelerate faster with a standard transmission ( I tried "can get much faster, faster" whereas automatic "get faster, but slower)?

No, the automatic can pretty much do that as well. Takes care of everything for you. Driving a standard all day - really tiring on the arm, to keep shifting gears all the time. Automatic - no problem.

Cool. I like the taxis in Alexandria - same colors as New York, yellow and black.

And which is your favorite - the taxis here or the taxis in New York.

I think I like the taxis here better.

Hah, no you don't - you're lying.

Well, I don't know for sure - I've only been in a New York taxi once, but I'm in a taxi here almost every day.

...

Cigarette?

Ah, no thanks.

*i.e. "by hand" versus "tomatik" in Arabic

Oct. 13th (at a restaurant in Siwa, part of a group)

AUC, I mean the students there probably wore more name brand Western clothes than anybody your family does back home. Abercrombie & Fitch, Forever 21, American Eagle...

(later, part of a short lecture form Ali, the owner )

...the Siwi language is completely different from Arabic. Nothing is the same between the two.

Where did the language come from?

It comes from the Berbers... the Tamazight language. Everybody in Siwa, all of the Siwi people speak Siwi at home - no Arabic. Arabic in the schools and Arabic at work. There's no writing, no written language, so we use Arabic for that.

And when do the people here start learning Arabic?

At the schools, around 8 or 9. Before that, only Siwi at home, and still Siwi at home after that. But in the schools, the teacher speaks only Arabic - no Siwi.

Do their teach standard Arabic in the school system?

Oh, no, only the colloquial.

Strange...

...

Where are all of the women in Siwa? I know the women keep to themselves, but I barely see any of them around.

When the Siwi women marry, they stay at home...

Don't any of them go out to work? Is there no work for them in the city?

There is work at home - crafts, embroidery.Marriage is pretty young here, and afterwards, maybe a Siwi woman will leave for a wedding party, of when a child is born in the family, or to visit a relative.

What's the youngest age for marriage?

The government says 18, but here... 17? 15, 16, 17...

...

All of the children are taught to swim at age 4 or 5.Everybody is afraid that his child might drown, s0 he makes sure that all of his children know how to swim not long after they can walk.

Oct. 12th (among several people in the Taxi - I didn't speak until one of the other Americans claimed I had 20 significant others at the same time)

So, you have one girlfriend?

Yes, but she's in America right now.

So, in America, if the two of you are, you know (mimes making out), the police, do they say anything?

What? Oh, no, they don't say anything. They're just like "Oh, good evening" and then just keep walking. No problems.

Hah, nice. Yeah, the police here, they'd probably say something else.

Oct. 8th (Train to Luxor, woman sitting next to me until a seat opens up by her sister)

Are you going to Aswan as well?

Oh, no, I'm going to Edfu, which is almost as far. Are you going to stop at Edfu?

Ah, no. We only have a small break from school, so we took a few days to see the temples in Luxor and the tombs and temples in the West before we go to Aswan for a day.

Oh, we have a temple in Edfu as well - the Temple of Horus.

Oh, I read about that earlier. I'd like to visit, but I'd probably need a few months free to visit every place I'd like to stop in Egypt - maybe someday I'll be able to spend a week here, a week there. Do you live in Edfu or work there?

Oh, I work in a clothing store - clothing for men, women, children, all kinds.

Hah, just like Macy's... oh, a large store in the U.S.

They have the same kind of stores in the U.S.?

Most of the time - sometimes there are more specialized clothing stores for weddings, for suits, or only for men, for example.

Let me give you the address in case you ever stop by - Tahreer Street, behind Khalaf 3mri fandi, at the corner of Karim Street. You're studying Arabic at a University?

Yes - I've only been here for a month, though.

Ah, I just started too - at an Islamic school in Edfu, in Literature and Writing. Here's the e-mail address for it - www.amrkhaled.net.

Thanks - I'll check it out when I'm back in Alexandria, since I don't have my laptop computer on me.

(*As I later found out, Amr Khaled is one of the leading Muslim televangelists in Egypt).

Oct. 8th, 2010 (Hathor Hotel)

I have a question - Aswan is... different from a lot of the other cities I've visited in Egypt. There's not a whole lot of traffic, but it seems a lot more built up and modern, especially around the Corniche area along the Nile and in the souq.

I don't know for sure, but maybe because most of the monuments and temples and ancient sites around here are quite a ways away from the city, the city government wanted to make sure that people came back to spend money here.

Smart thinking.

Oct. 7th (speaking with a guard in Luxor Temple)

Muhammed Yusuf.

Ah, my name is Andrew. Are you from Luxor?

Nah, I'm from Minya, you know it?

Up further north towards Cairo?

Yes, where the weather's nicer. It's too hot and dry here.But you speak Arabic very well.

Eh, so-so. I'm studying at Alexandria University, Faculty of Arts.

Oh, Alexandria. I've been a few times - I love the climate.

Yes, I do as well. It's not too bad here, especially at night, but in the day... Do you meet many foreigners who speak Arabic?

Not many at all.

Yeah, there'r probably a lot more Egyptians who speak English than Americans who speak Arabic. Probably because Americans don't ever need to learn another language.

What do you mean?

Well, when Americans, or most English speakers go to another country, they tend to expect that somebody speaks English. But if somebody from Egypt went to the U.S. ...

He'd probably need to speak English. Yes, English and some of the other languages are very important for jobs here, especially tourism. There are big schools around some of the larger cities that teach English and Arabic. But the schools are smaller around here, so there aren't many classes for English.

Oct. 4 (Post Office)

Amriki, eh? President Obama, a Muslim right.

Hah, oh no, not this again...

No, his father was a Muslim and his mother was a Muslim, so he's a Muslim, right?

I think his father was sort of a Muslim, but his mother was atheist Christian.

No, he's a Muslim, his father was a Muslim, I know his Mother was too.

Whatever. Know if there'r any stamps for sale?

9/25

What do you think of the Egyptian government here?

Well, Mubarak's been in power for almost 30 years, right?

Yes, yes - 30 years next year. Do you think he'll win again?

Well, I think it's probably time for a change. I mean, I know Hosni Mubarak is pretty powerful, but he's getting into his 80s. His son will probably take over if nothing else - then somebody younger would be in charge.... What do you think about President Mubarak?

[Mimics drawing knife across throat] I’d kill them.

All of them? Everyone in the government?

Yes.

And who would take their place.

Somebody new, somebody different.

I see…. oh, there’s the gate up on the right.

9/22

[After a long silence]

A lot of traffic on the Corniche tonight.

Yes, always. Where are you from?

From America – the state of Virginia.

Ah, ok. What do you think about President Obama?

Well, as far as the Middle East is concerned, he seems to be talking a lot but not doing a whole lot. And I feel like there might be a problem if people keep expecting him to do something and it looks like he’s just talking. What about you? What do you think about him?

Eh, talks a lot, doesn’t do a whole lot. But he’s a Muslim, right?

Er, no. A lot of people in America think he’s a Muslim, but he’s a Christian. I think his father was a Muslim, but his mother was an atheist Christian.

But didn’t he say “Salaam Alaykum” when he came to Cairo to give that speech? We all thought he was Muslim because he said that.

I think he was just trying to be polite – trying to use the greeting most people use here.

Ah, ok. What do you think about the Egyptian government?

I think Mubarak’s been around for a long time – 30 years pretty soon, right? Aren’t there elections soon?

Yes, but they’re just for show.

His son will win?

His son will be the next President – the elections are just a game.

Ah. Oh, you can let me out here- there’s a lot of traffic.

No worries – the Sayyid Darwish theater is on the way.

Thanks. What’s your name?

Saeed (in Arabic, means “happy”).

Hah, and I bet you’re always happy.

Hah, you’re right – here’s the theater, no?

Thanks. Have a good night!