2-12-10
I spent last night dancing around the bonfire with a Siwan band until the wee hours of the morning; liberated from doubt, discomfort and displacement.
I spent the morning at a young man’s house in Siwa sitting on his floor listening to the ins and outs of Siwan culture. We heard about Siwan traditions, strict gender roles, history and the current effects of increasing tourism on a town/village or 9 families and 25,000 people. Once the guys in our group left the Siwan women came out and did homemade henna for us and gave us the chance to ask questions about what it means to be a woman in their culture and engaged at age 8.
I spent the afternoon at Nustar Café eating couscous, eggplant, hummus, and aish (bread). When we finished there was no bill brought out to us, but rather an honor system so to speak where we were encouraged to leave what we thought the total should be. It definitely made us all release our hesitance to tip a few extra pounds. Later I rode my bike around Siwa with another girl, had tea with a shopkeeper, tried on traditional Siwan wedding attire, and bought some bread baskets handmade by the women in Siwa. We all met back up at 5pm and biked into the desert to watch the sunset and swim/FLOAT in Siwa’s great salt lake fed entirely by natural springs. We biked back and stopped at a fresh water spring where we were able to rinse off the white salt that completely covered our bodies as it dried. Despite how good it actually felt to rinse off I can guarantee that if it hadn’t been pitch black outside and I had seen all that I was actually swimming with I wouldn’t even have considered it! We biked back in utter darkness and faith through sand pits, rocks, and self created paths as the desert stars shined for our only light. Our bus driver, who is half Ethiopian and half Egyptian cooked fuul (beans) and aish for dinner outside by the fire when we got back to the “hotel.” We ate at about 10pm and as soon as we finished the band began.
2-13-10
The Desert Rose Hotel proved to be true to its name despite not having any electricity. Ali drove me and 5 others on our desert safari. Words, pictures, and stories cannot even begin to do justice to the natural beauty we witnessed and authentic Siwan culture we touched on the dunes of the Sahara. After we let some air out of the tires we drove about an hour into the desert and finally stopped on the top of a steep dune to sandboard-aka strapping yourself to a snowboard and riding down the dune. The trouble comes with climbing back up! We did sand sledding as well with two people sitting on the board. After sand had entered every unknown and unwanted place we could imagine we piled back into the jeeps and drove to a freezing fresh water pond. We didn’t last very long there but proceeded to drive around the dune to a natural hot spring complete with orange dying sulfur. We drove further and stopped on the top of some dunes to get out and watch the sunset and take pictures. Our drivers made a small fire and made us Siwan tea (from Libya) and passed out fresh dates stuffed with almonds grown in Siwa. Finally, we drove another 30 minutes in the dark of the desert to our “camp.” Our camp consisted of huge colorfully printed canvas tents, open bonfire pits with floor seating around each one, and a “snack shack” to purchase tea pots and cups to make over the fire. Dinner was served to us in our tent on two long wooden tables (always very low to the ground because everyone sits on the floor) set with a feast of rice, chicken, vegetable soup, tomato and cucumber salad followed by tea. After barely surviving arctic temperatures during the night we drove back to the Desert Rose to have breakfast and scrape whatever sand we could from our bodies. We spent 30 minutes in Siwa before our final departure getting snacks for the road (dates!) and last minute souvenirs. Despite the 24 hours we spent on the bus in travel to and from Siwa it was my favorite part of Egypt thus far.
Lets recap:
Untouched Siwan culture, dates!, biking through the desert, floating in natural salty springs, dancing with a Siwan band around a bonfire into the morning, desert safari, sandboarding/sledding, tea, stars, sunsets, SIWA! Arguably the best weekend of my life- oh and I turned 21 somewhere in there :)

February 6, 2010
Starbucks, Egypt!!
Three other girls and I braved the journey in attempts to find the comfort of coffee. A 30 minute taxi ride across Cairo pulled to an uneasy stop and…we found it! As I sit in one of two Starbucks in Egypt I am thankful for the instant security of shallow familiarity.

February 7, 2010
"To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget.- Arundhati Roy
I wonder because I think. I think because I am curious. I am curious because I feel. I feel because I see. I see because I go. I go because I hear. I hear because I listen. I listen because I care. I care because I am.
I am because He says I am. He is because He says He is.
“Then I knew where I should be- not living in comfort, but back in the place where villages and churches were being reunited, where schools and community centers and spirits were being built up, where, amid the terrible noise of violence I could hear the whispers of the Man of Galilee, saying, Behold, I make all things new.” Elias Chacour, Blood Brothers
I have never been persecuted for my faith.
Yesterday I looked into the eyes of a community that is.
The Coptic Christians in Egypt shared their struggles with us through an entire day of interactive interfaith dialogue at a beautiful Christian monastery/retreat center outside of Cairo. I looked into stares of defeat, hearts of hope, spirits of sacrifice, and a body of believers tightly knit together to fight for their rights. Hearing stories of systemic oppression, the pain from recent incidents like Nag Hammadi (where 6 Coptic Christians were killed coming out of Christmas Eve mass), and a technical break down of their doctrinal beliefs left me deep in thought regarding my own faith. We spoke of what freedom of religion looks like in America and what it could or couldn’t look like in Egypt. We spoke of values, sacraments, rituals, faith, and ultimately what it means to be a Christian in this world. The Bishop honored our group with an extensive devotion (2 ½ hours) ending with a time of questions and discussion. In response to the current pain in the Coptic community he highlighted three specific people who represent collective identities that he hopes the Coptic community in Egypt will stand for. Those identities were Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and Eleanor Roosevelt. Through active pacifism, empowerment, love, and work, justice will come. He said “you must incarnate what you believe. Work as peacemakers, I think that is what we are made for.” The Bishop stressed the importance of making a stand and not being afraid to talk. He said fear is the most dangerous thing to man and asked a man in the crowd “Can you read my mind?” The man responded by saying “If you talk I can read your mind.”
As a member of the international community of Christians I asked the Cops what they needed from us knowing that the answer is not with politically charged plane flights to Egypt with plans to protest. Their response was prayer, and to “be our witnesses all over the world. Tell people we are here, and tell them of our struggle.” This seems to be a common response. A young girl went on to say “If your dad is the President and something bad happens you don’t run and tell the police, you go to your dad. God is our father; we must run to him, not to America or the UN or anyone else. God can make the impossible possible.”
The worst disease in the world is hate, and the cure for hate is love. When you say a pray for those you love, say a prayer for humanity.

February 2, 2010
I went to prison today.
It was a victory in itself to make it through the final frisk and massive metal doors that shut out my intentions last week. After traveling to the prison via mini bus for 30 minutes, waiting outside in the women’s line for an hour to go through the first security check/aggressive pat down, waiting an hour and a half in the waiting room sipping tea and practicing Arabic with wide eyed children until our prisoners’ names were called, moving to the metal doors and guards that monitor ultimate entrance for 30 more minutes until our names were called once more and then passing through another security check/pat down I was taken to the visitors cage where the prisoners awaited. Some men wear white signifying less severe crimes (commonly immigration) the rest wear blue. Blue means life in prison. Michael wears white. Michael is a 22 year old Sudanese prisoner who will soon meet his one year anniversary on February 20th while still awaiting a court date. He is from Southern Sudan and fled to Libya where he stayed for 6 years because of the war and violence in his village. He is in prison because he beat up a man very badly and “broke almost every bone in his body.” Michael loves hip hop, (especially Kanye West and Jay Z), football (soccer), and recently found God in prison. He is eager to return to Sudan after he is released to reunite with his older brother and family he hasn’t been in contact with for years. In talking with the Sudanese prisoners I couldn’t help but be reminded of my friends at Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles that are also ex-convicts and realize how the same issues transcend countries, culture and context. Some prisoners just need a visit to be reminded that there is hope. Today I was empowered by men who are slaves to a system they didn’t create but came to know through poor judgment, false information, and sacrificial opportunities.
There is a Sudanese man who has been sentenced to life in prison and has taken the initiative to start weekly bible studies, accountability, prayer, food sharing, and hope for the younger guys who come in feeling defeated. He gave me the privilege of hearing his story from drug dealing in Sudan to daily gratitude in prison and made me promise to “tell the outside world that their brothers are across the world in prison loving Christ just as they do.” He thanked me countless times for visiting and said he knew we loved Christ because Christ’s love is what told us to come visit them. Lastly he said “I don’t like prison, but I have joy. God loved me enough to take me away from drug dealing and into prison so I could be close to Him, for that I am thankful.”

February 3, 2010
U.S. Foreign Policy
Scott Hibbard spoke to us this afternoon about U.S. foreign policy paying specific attention to the Middle East. He is currently in Egypt teaching International Relations and Foreign Policy at American University Cairo while on a short term Fulbright scholarship. He lives in Chicago and teaches at DePaul University after receiving his PHD from John Hopkins in Washington, DC, working at the U.S. Institute of Peace in DC and completing the religion ethics human rights program there. For nearly 2 hours Scott spoke to us about America’s real interest in the Middle East and shared inside information about the current state of the region. He spoke on US ideals, actions and motives while formulating an open ended discussion for questions about the future concerning countries like Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and of course Israel. Despite common talk of the relations between the US and Middle East, Scott highlighted the role of religion in politics especially dealing with Iraq and the tensions between the Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds who occupy the country with individual aspirations for ultimate control. I clung to Scott’s every word while struggling to find a balance between ethics and politics concerning the east and the west. Although I am absolutely fascinated and intrigued by both past and present political actions I feel myself holding tightly to the micro capabilities performed through relationship, community, and solidarity. I am quick to sign myself up for Capitol Hill (as I spoke with Scott about after) yet not equally as quick to sign away my God guided ethics. We shall see how it all plays out. I can guarantee that Capitol Hill will see my face :)

Interesting notes:
EVERYTHING runs on oil.
“We want Democracy, but are afraid of what it will bring”
Theoretically we are all about democracy, but when push comes to shove what are the ultimate interests?
The nature of America’s current Obama administration: “to promote incremental reform through liberalization rather than democratization.”
“There is no compromise without sacrificing the essence of who you are”
“Currently there is no exit strategy” (Iraq and Afghanistan)
Everything is related to everything else (!!)
One country’s freedom is at the expense of the others (Israeli/Palestinian conflict)
How can we use religion as a common ground in politics instead of a breeding ground for division?
2/3 of the world’s oil is from 5 countries: Iran, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia
China’s negative presence in Africa, (specifically Sudan). Oil money feeds the dirty hands in the Darfur conflict.