Ole Abroad (Dan): Ras as-Sanah al-Hijriyah and Thanksgiving in Cairo!

This week in Cairo was certainly eventful. As most of you know, Cairo and Egypt have gotten a bit crazy lately. The revolution has really begun again. It pretty much all started last Friday, when the Islamists (Salafis and Muslim Brotherhood) took to the streets in protest of recent government actions taken against them. This was definitely evident last Friday, especially in Tahrir Square. After the protests, things got even more tense as the rest of Egyptians began protesting against the government as well.

Specifically, people were protesting against the military rule under the SCAF (Supreme Council of the Armed Forces). People feel that little has changed since the revolution that took place and the overthrow of the Mubarak regime in January and February of this year. Many Egyptians feel that the SCAF has done little to meet the demands of the revolution that aimed at reversing many of the problems that are occurring in Egypt. But, where I live it seems that I am living in a completely different country because you cannot sense anything that would make you think that there is a revolution.

With me things have been generally much calmer than in the rest of the country. I enjoyed my first Thanksgiving outside of the US. I was with a great group of friends which included four Egyptians, my Venezuelan friend, Mexican friend, and then two other Americans. It was really nice to see them all. 

[This picture is right before we ate all of the food that Ammar’s mother (an amazing cook) prepared for us!]

We enjoyed some of the typical dishes such as Turkey, mashed potatoes, and apple pie. Alongside these typical Thanksgiving dishes, we had lamb and countless other traditional Egyptian dishes. Such as stuffed grape leaves with rice, lamb, pickled lemon and bean salads. It was an amazing cross-cultural experience that I was able to share with a great group of friends. 

 

On Friday, it was Ras as-Sanah al-Hijriyah or the first day of the Islamic Calendar. I spent it with the same group of friends as well as people who came to join the party. It was a great time and it was a chance for me to meet new people and for me to practice my Arabic. It was also nice to spend time with my two close Latina friends Valentina and Cristina because I can speak Spanish with them, which really makes me feel at home. Most of the people that came to the party were Egyptians friends of my four Egyptian friends (Ammar, Khaled, Morad, and Abou). It was a fun time and a great way to top off the fun weekend that I had enjoyed with this group of friends. 

 

Till Next Week! Ma’asalama

Dan

*Daniel Sacerio ’13 is studying at the American University of Cairo in Cairo, Egypt  for the whole year. He majors in  Sociology/Anthropology and Middle East Studies.