We planned to take off today. Allah (swt) did not plan it as so, so we’re still here. InshaAllah (God-willing) we’ll head back out tomorrow. Between the shady immigration and visa policies, baggage checks, and special “random” full body pat down and search of ALL our belongings we ran late…literally ran, by 4 minutes and our flight was on the runway.

Why do airlines pretend to have some wack-o policies? We were first told they couldn’t do anything because

1. It was not through them directly (partner airline) and the partner airline was solely responsible. Even after we asked is there ANYTHING you can do, they said “no”

2. It is an “e-ticket” not a paper one. They insisted that it was physically impossible for them to arrange anything because of that.

3. It doesn’t matter if we were kept by security, its our fault.

Then, they break “policy” 1, 2, AND 3. That works out in our favor, but why don’t they help people upfront instead of giving them the run around by pretending to be incapable of helping?

Alhamdulillah ala kulli hal, we did have a couple well-mannered and helpful people there. Anyhow, while we were trying to get this sorted out, I had a fantastic conversation with an Italian woman. It really melted away the frustration. “Ma’am, you musta eensist dhey haylp you. It was nowt your fault. Et es they’re responsibility” (think exxagerated Italian Bertolli commercial). Her accent was so thick, at first I really didn’t understand her. But it was great once I understood what she was saying. Granted she couldn’t do anything, but Alhamdulillah for little blessings that kept me sane.

New crayons and Lunch money

pictures

As Fall approached and the heat of Summer subsided most us were filled with a combination of dread, saying good-bye to long summer days of playing and cold drinks, anxiety, of the new teacher, students and work, and excitement, of friends and maybe a little learning. Almost as an opening ceremony of going back to school, we shopped for new crayons, pencils, books, backpacks and clothes. Laying them out, putting them together the night before the first day of school. Even though we were a messy and unorganized the rest of the year, the first day was special.

How many of us were filled with fear, that our parents wouldn’t be able to afford sending us to school that month or year, that we would be wearing old clothes, or have no new supplies? How many of us went hungry because although we were sent to school, there was no lunch money?
We probably haven’t thought of these things because they are so common, so inexpensive and so prevalent.

There are those who do worry about that…even if a month’s tuition is only $10, even if a new box of crayons is only $1. Although inexpensive to us, with a few children in the family and incomes being equally low, many families struggle to send their children to school.

There is a small school in the city of Thatta, Pakistan. It was built about 6 years ago by my uncle to help increase education and literacy in the impoverished area. Children from ages 3-15 attend the school where basic subjects like Math, Science, English, Sindhi, and Islamic Studies are taught. The teachers are given training sessions a couple times a year. There is a great deal of hard work and effort being made to make this school a nurturing and rich learning environment for these students.

I will be going there soon and I would love to help those families who are struggling. Please donate and be a part of this change! There are no international organizations, benefactors or celebrities promoting the education of these children. There are struggling parents and eager children who would be filled with gratitude knowing that if even for one month, they would be able to breathe a little easier.

InshaAllah the plan is to divide the funds into two parts: tuition scholarships and a resource fund. The scholarships will be distributed to the families with the most need and the students who have high achievement. The resource fund will go to buying books on practical education methods and techniques and putting together a two day workshop for the teachers. Please check out my album for more photos of the school and kids

Please let me know if you are interested.This is an opportunity where even the smallest donation can make an enormous effect. Donations can be sent through Paypal (zremmas@gmail.com) or mailed in. If neither of those is convenient please message me and we can arrange something.

So lately, I’ve had alot of ideas to blog about. Ramadan in Egypt, the stark contrast (I love doing stark contrasts as opposed to dull ones) of Mississippi…both which could definitely follow the theme of this blog. However, increasingly I find myself thinking and wanting to writing about things that really don’t have much to do with Egypt or Cairo or studying arabic at all.

It would be alright to post various things here except i named the blog, sammer in egypt. So, in light of this, I’ll  be making entries on my old blog sammerai.blogspot.com

Enjoy =)

Haneefah asks:

i want to know how much in total does it cost to live and study (private classes) at Cairo, Fajr.C. I keep hearing different prices, some say £2000 other say £3000+, also can one live modertaly well on this money, or basic?

The Fajr Center rates have gone up. They also are different from one branch to another. If you start at level 0 and go through level 13 at Medinat Nasr branch with private study (no summer or winter intensive) it will cost approximately : 3500$. (250$ times 14) This does not include any student discount. So, that is the approximate cost. It is also possible to finish a level in less than 75 class hours which can reduce some cost. It also doesn’t account for testing into a higher level. That’s just tuition. About 300$ /per month is a comfortable amount if you share a flat with someone. (Food, bills, transportation)

Whilst studying, do you get time to enjoy and explore Egypt? Or is it really intensive…
There is definitely time to take a break and relax, get away to Alexandria for a weekend or even go on a Nile Cruise. However, each of these things should be well planned out (although be flexible). Having trips arranged by the center is also a good idea. Usually you will have a native Egyptian with you in that case who will be looking out for you. Although its more expensive than going it alone, I think you save by not getting cheated on things like cabs, beggars, and other various things. If nothing else, getting away to local parks or Al-Azhar Park will make you feel like you are outside Cairo. Also a quick trip to the Nile between Asr and Maghrib can melt away tension and stress from studying.

And, what if one goes alone, is it easy to meet sisters and have a good relationship with them?

I would recommend going with someone you already know very well and trust, someone you may have lived with before or a relative, or meet up with someone trustworthy over there. It is incredibly easy to make friends there. You can meet sisters from all over the world with varying backgrounds and yet find the common love of the Arabic language as a strong bond. People come from very different up-bringings and backgrounds, so be flexible, learn to learn new things about others and yourself. They can be your home away from home and the support group you need. They will be the people to turn to if you have problems or questions, they will be your Eid party, your friday halqah and maybe even your bridesmaids That’s the rosy side; but everyone is away from home, studying, going through changes and friction or tension can occur. Proceed with caution. These experiences are the ones that teach you about yourself, others and how to make relationships work…it can make your friendships strong. Also keeping yourself in check with Islamic etiquette no matter how close you become will ensure that you get the most out of your friendships.

In general tread cautiously because we always want to think the best of people, however, some people may not be as honest or trustworthy as we think. So, although its nice to completely trust someone with everything to deepen a friendship, remember to protect yourself and your personal things. Things may also get sticky when it comes to mixing finances. Tie your camel =). Remember to be yourself, give yourself time to study, and socialize and keep a happy balance. Most sisters create friendships that they cherish and miss very much once they leave.

Is it do-able to study Arabic (private classes) as well a bit of Tajweed on the side… ?

Yes, it is. =) That doesn’t mean its easy, but definitely do-able.

What to do…?

Abu Muhammad asks:

I justed wanted to ask, how are you maintaining the arabic you have learnt, and is it much difficult now your back in the west.

Inshalllah ill be going Egypt soon, ill be doing private with fajr and plus both summer and winter intensives, would you recommend this, and would I be able to finish all 13 levels in a year using this method.

One last question: How much is the average rent price around Nasr City, would it be easy to find a place for 1500 Egyptian Pounds around January (and keeping that same price ona 1 year contract), and isit easy to find a person to share with, if you are coming alone.

1. Maintaining Arabic: I can answer how I am actually doing and how it should be done. I live in Mississippi, I know that’s my lame excuse for not doing so many things, but its not conducive (or encouraging) to doing many things which require some resources. Nonetheless, putting that aside, yes I am finding it difficult to speak, listen, and practice my Arabic. There are many sites on the net which provide lectures in Arabic. InshaAllah will list those another time (or better yet, find a list already made). But I see language as a social and human element and therefore prefer live interaction. i recommend listening to live lectures (khutbahs), interacting with Arabs and maybe even a book circle. Working on grammar and the finer technical points can be a solitary or group thing depending on what floats your boat. Ideally finding a teacher (sheikh with some free time) and spending a couple hours a week working on some literature or classical works would be ideal.
2. Yes, inshaAllah doing private classes. However, they usually take like one week breaks between the normal group classes and sometimes it makes it hard to keep your teacher in between these breaks. The teacher has to be dedicated to not taking a week vacation while everyone else is, and this one week times 9 levels (outside the intensives) is about 2 months of your time. So, be upfront with them that you need a teacher willing to give up their vacation. Its not a must to have the same teacher the whole time, it gives you diversity in methods and really checks your comprehension, so if you have to change teachers, there are benefits to that. However, only change at the end of a level and after covering a chunk with the teacher. I switched teachers a few times in the middle of levels and it always was detrimental to the study and the time. For anyone else…working within the regular group class schedule it takes 16 months to complete the 13 levels.
3. Fajr can arrange to find you a roommate. However, be cautious because your roommate situation can make or break your stay. If your personalities clash or you like each other too much, you may spend your time stressed out, or having too much fun with them. Secondly, 1500 for a flat is average, shop around…the next place might be better. Getting that price throughout the whole year is difficult though because prices often go up in the summer. However, its all at the discretion of the landlord. Perhaps if you agree beforehand and sign a contract it’ll stay the same the whole year, but make that clear up front and get it in writing. Staying a full year is usually attractive to landlords because they want people long term, so they might negotiate more on pricing. Also, if there is anything that needs repair, or need a hot water heater, or AC or whatever the case may be, get it BEFORE you move in. Otherwise, get used to hearing “bukra” (might need to get used to it anyway) which means, “tomorrow.”

Hope that helped. I wanted to make a post out of it, mainly because I’ve heard those questions from others as well, and I need more ideas to post about here…

May Allah make the journey easy for you and make you successful, ameen. Give them my salaams when you get there… =)

Better than central AC and chunky peanut butter…

So now that I am back in the states, everything reminds me of Cairo.

My brother asked me why I would choose to give up the AC, having a personal car, and all the other luxuries (chunky peanut butter) that come with living in America for Cairo…where there are definitely some challenges. To those who are living and experiencing them right now, that is an understatement. To outline a few: firstly, you have the congestion and traffic and noise that comes with being a gigantic city (very different than suburbia where you can hear nothing for hours). Then there is the heat, and everything is strange and new. People are different and their culture & attitudes towards things are not what I knew as the norm. All these things take time and going through some rough experiences to learn. Figuring out how the system (the what?!) works is a challenge. Throw in the fact that everyone is speaking a foreign language, even different than the one you’re learning, and you have the ingredients for an amazing, horrible, crazy, entertaining reality show. So, he’s right…why choose that frustration and hassle when you can live comfortably?

Cairo is a place where I felt like a normal human being. I wasn’t gawked, oohed and aahed at and no one called me (mean) names from across the street. No one asks why you’re wearing that “thing”, and when people ask,”Where are you from?”, they are genuinely curious (not threatened). They don’t prejudge me and deny me a job based on my ethnicity and religion. They get to know me first. They hear me out, they make friends based on personality. I felt like I belonged there in one year more than the past 10 years in Mississippi or 3 years in Pakistan and even the 7 years as a kid in NYC. I gave up the “luxuries” to satisfy a basic human desire, to belong and have a place.

He made an observation though, that I don’t get many of those things primarily because I live in the dirty south and that I could find that sense of belonging in other parts of the country. Well, point well taken and I am optimistic that he is right.

Oh books left behind…

I still wake up thinking about how I could have reorganized my luggage to get the maximum amount of stuff. How I shoulda/coulda stuck that other book into my carry-on or carried a backpack or bought a smaller bag that the mean airline man wouldn’t have made me put away. I flew Air France, but now from some other traveling I have done…all airlines have become quite strict about weight limits.

The problem , you see, is that when packing at home everything seemed important. Even when I emptied out the unimportant things, I was left with a major dilemma…too much stuff. In retrospect, the best option would have been to pay 153$ and take one extra piece of luggage. However, I had not planned for that well enough and ended up leaving about 75 kgs worth of books.

So take heed from my experience and do not be left in the airport emptying out and leaving behind your most important belongings in front of strangers at 1 am: entertaining and hiding your grief by playing with Arab puppets as you give those away as well. Either take an extra piece of luggage or arrange to have your belongings shipped.

Dar us salaam provides a book shipping service. 50 ginnay (roughly 10$) per kg (2.2lbs ) for a shipment under 50kgs. If your shipment is over 50 kgs the price is 35 ginnay (roughly 6$) per kg. The administration is very polite and can organize, pack and ship your books to your local airport. However, they are obviously quite pricey.

There are some other shipping companies that will ship cheaply, but they take their time. I will post up info about them once I find out more about them, InshaAllah.

Finding a Quran Teacher

Finding a Quran teacher for men is very easy in Cairo. They are also about 1/2 the price for the men as well. Many are in the Masajid, however you may not be able to have class in the masjid as there is a new law which only allows the masjid to be open 10 minutes after every salah. The government is taking precautions against the gatherings of um…youth in the masajid. But once you find a Quran teacher, you may be able to have him come to your home. The going rate for someone who is a hafiz with Ijaza or a student at Azhar, is about 10-15 ginnay an hour. Although I never sat with these male teachers, when I’d go to my neighbors house, nearly on every floor, I could hear recitation of the Quran that can make you forget where you were supposed to be going. The male teachers are also more consistent with the classes, because women teachers may have responsibilities of kids and family.

For women, put the word out early. Let people know as soon as possible that you’re looking for a female teacher. There are hafizas with Ijazas available. Don’t be shy to ask about their qualifications. It doesn’t matter if they are from Azhar or Ain Shams, as long as they are qualified in recitation. It does help to have someone who has experience teaching. Also be patient in working with someone who doesn’t speak English. Some teachers do, but remember that you have to sacrifice a bit. Besides it’ll help you in learning Arabic. You may go through a few teachers until you find the perfect match. Traffic is insane and most people travel 1-2 hours one way to get from home to work. So if your teacher is late… expect that. Obviously patience is needed. Female teachers that come to the home can run between 20-35 ginnay.

Another route is to go with a center that has Quran classes. Fajr and Cairo Institute offer tajweed and private hifz classes. Diwan center offers tajweed classes. Fajr’s group tajweed classes are the most affordable. However, look around and test each one out.

The most important thing in making progress with your hifz or tajweed… consistency!! No matter how busy, tired, sleepy, sick you are.. pick up the Quran and work on it.

Some dreams…

His name is actually Isaac. Strangeness!

Why not cook Bhujia and Karahi Gosht everyday?

So today, we had off from our Arabic class. For lunch I made Aloo Bhujia and for dinner we had Karahi Gosht. This was the first time in the 10 months we’ve been here that I’ve cooked either dish. Now, neither one took hours to make, but they did take more time than a sandwich. Why not have these everyday? Well, when Shazia handed me “The Value of Time,” (Shaykh ‘Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah) it was a quick read and a great motivator with many examples of the volumes that the scholars of the past wrote and read. Most of them accomplished in one day that many of us wouldn’t accomplish in a year.

One of the more extreme examples that I saw was that instead of eating bread with water, a scholar would mash it up and basically swallow it to save time from chewing. Although I’m not suggesting bread soup, it definitely resonates with many of the students here. We eat to keep going. So a diet high in protein and fast on time is ideal. Between studying new words, new grammar, new lessons, and new life lessons from Cairo… there’s not too much time for food. Many students end up ordering out almost daily and that comes with a price – paid in too many trips to the bathroom and developing a face to face personal relationship with “the John.” Alhamdulillah I haven’t had any serious incidents, but its more than common amongst students used to the clean FDA regulated products in the States and Britain.

So that is why it is important to take a few safe, clean, fast food items and use them to their full potential.

Sammer’s Desi-Egyptian Fool (13 minutes)

2 cans of Fool

1 onion

1 tomato

1 bell pepper

3 tbsp of tomato puree

Olive Oil

Salt, pepper, red pepper

Lime/Lemon

In a pan heat the oil, add chopped onions, stir until translucent, add chopped bell peppers, and tomatoes. Stir and add spices. Drain Fool and mix into the pan. Stir, add tomato puree and stir… let simmer. Eat with warm Lebnany or Shamy Bread.