Returning Home (Home?)

I've been back in Cairo for 4 days now. It is hard to explain to outsiders, but as much as things have drastically changed, things are oddly similar to how they've always been.

I was greeted at the airport by men giving out flowers, saying "welcome in Egypt." They had signs saying they were from Egypt tourism. The general feel on the street is that Egyptians are happy to see foreigners (their livelihood) coming back. This is especially the case in Ma'adi. Mohamed the fruitman gave me strawberries for free last night saying, "thank you for coming back."

The youth of Egypt amaze me. There is such a sense of pride and civic duty which did not have to be taught in school or preached about. They have taken to the streets, painting and tidy-ing up. There are signs posted in front of various buildings in English and Arabic, requesting that people use trash cans and don't make a mess.

There are murals everywhere (pictures coming soon) of the Egyptian flag, and also of beautiful religious symbols showing the Muslim crescent with the Christian cross.

At school things are also back to normal. We have 90% of our children in class, some are gone for now, some are gone permanently. The principal spoke this week to the students about "now what" and what they can do right now to be agents of change. As I listened, I realized that for the first time his words might actually be true. These children of privilege have heard all their lives that they are the future of Egypt and will have power to change it, but for once, it actually could be true.

Children I teach now can actually really dream of being the president/elected leader of this country.

Of course, not all the change has been so positive. When people are on emotional highs, sometimes they do things with their energy that is not wise. Another foreign teacher from another school had her purse grabbed from her by a moving car in Ma'adi the other night, which is completely out of character from Egypt. Yesterday there were further problems because a police officer shot a micro-bus driver. These things remind us that not all is as happy as it seems, and caution and street smarts are a necessity. One of our own bus drivers was involved in an incident where he hit another car, was pulled from his bus and beaten up. Again, it happens, but it is not the way things normally are now.

My neighbourhood is fine. I am never home when the electricity and gas man collect fees, and then they started to think I was gone for good. Yesterday I was chased down the street by the gas man, who saw me and didn't want to miss me again. "Madame, madame, he yelled. Please, madame, the gas."

My natural gas bill for 4 months? 35 LE. ($7)

Yes, it is good to be back in this country.