Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone! Hope the holidays were fun and enjoyable. Wish we had pics to post, but we seemed to have misplaced our camera cord. Luckily there are tons of Kodak stores around here so we probably can get another if it really is lost.

Everything has been going pretty good here in Egypt. The other day Casey and I decided to go to the pyramids...kinda last minute since the morning had passed and we were trying to figure out what to do with our day. We took the metro all the way--about 35min then took a couple micro-buses and we were there. It was fun. Last time I went with AUC but Casey was sick, so she missed the pyramids and the baptism in the Red Sea..sad. Well she wasn't sick this time! Since we weren't on a big tour and were just roaming around we had lots of people trying to make a buck off of us and it worked out in our favor. A security guard said 'merry christmas you can go in the pyramid with your camera today' we got lots of fun pictures crawling around inside then he tried to rip us off for some money. Luckily we arn't easily baboosled these days and we gave him a little to be nice, but not much. Then, another man got us on his camel after I repeatedly told him in English and Arabic I didn't have any money with me. After the ride and photo session(he actually took some of the coolest pictures we have) he wanted a ridculous amount of money. I will have to give hime some credit---he came up with some rather funny lines. One was 'i make you happy with the pictures you make me and the camel happy--some pay 20$ some 30$' then I laughed at him and told him that we told many times we don't have money and wouldn't pay him. Then, he got rather mad and we negotiated and ended up paying him the same as the first guy. We only spent $2 for pics and crwling around in the pyramids w/our camera. EVERYTHING in Egypt is neg. We are not mean to rip them off. At touristy places the locals pray on the guilt of travelers and there poor skills a converting money. It's fun to go back there now and get the better end of the deal. They must make a crazy amount of money off of travelers per day with there cleaver tricks of the trade. It's funny that everyone wants to make a buck even the police. The day was very nice. We packed a lunch and ate on one of the foundations stones of the big pyramid and it felt like a day at the park then we took a 30min taxi ride home.

The taxi ride is something to note about Egyptian Economics. Since I'm becomeing more and more able to understnad people I'm figuring our their stories and lives. It's very interesting to me. The taxi driver home from the pyramids works at the Ministry of Commerece. After he gets off work he drives a taxi all evenning and night then works during the day. He was very educated, but is able to make more driving a taxi than in his gov't job so he does both. He is not the first one we met. Another taxi driver we had we a doctor and had to quit b/c he was not being paid enough and could make more driving a taxi. He had an interesting view on life that I've heard elsewere in Egypt. He said Americans, Jews, Egyptians, British, French etc... are all good with eachother and we all loke eachother fine, but our gov'ts are no good. He went on about driving people of all nationalities and they talk and laugh and it's all good, but gov't are not good, corrupt, and start all these wars etc...it was fun talking to him--one of my favorite taxi rides.

it's interesting in Egypt. I just finished reading 2 biographies on President Nasser, the 1st and most famous Egyptian President(1960's), he wanted to develop Egypt independent of imperial power or egyptian dependency of imperial nations. He did a great job in some instances and play some very intellegent politics btwn US and Russia so he didn't have to pick sides and get involoved in the mess and propoganda of the cold war. Anyways, there were some specifics problems created by the supper elite of the 'old egypt' which he needed to rid the nations of. He wanted to make the social classes more equal so a middle class could be created and other reforms necessary. As Egypt moved towards socialism and Nasser moved more and more authoritarian Egypt became more of a welfare state dependent on the gov't for social services. The next president tried to reverse the direction but it didn't go over well and he was assisnated. Naturally when people are given priveges they don't want them taken away---like gas susudies, rent caps, income caps, state imposed pay raises for the poor, job security, taking land for the supper elite and giving it to the popele working the land etc...On one hand it was necessary, on the other it made citizens dependent on the State and made them uncompetitve in work efficentcy. there is lots to be said on both sides. Today reforms have been made, but SLOWLY. It was just last month the word socialism was removed from the constitution, Nasser's land reform from the 1960's was just reformed in 1997. The effects of Nasser's socialist policys take a huge economic toll today. For instance, it's a law that anyone who grauates from Cairo Univeristy is guaranteed a job upon graduation and if he cannot find one then he will be employed by the gov't. First, Cairo Univeristy is free of charge, so there is a huge amount of college educated citizens and not such a huge amount of job so everyone. People in the gov't are underemployed and underpaid. For instance, a Professor at Cairo university today makes only 3,000LE a month! b/c the gov't fits the bill for everyones education through college, gived subsudes on gas, and other types of social services 50% of gov't spending today is on soical services w/o a high level of taxation(virtually none). There are also vialble arguments on the otherside about what is the gov't responisblity toward it's citizens. Since citizens have been granted these rights since the 1960's it's very difficult to take them away.

There are lots of challenges and I don't know enough to anylyis. I love to learn about them thought and it's so interesting to talk to people about them like taxi druvers, colloege professors, and people on the street. I guess I got carried away in politics again---ooops. Sorry if you are bored of my rantings. I really was going to try and stay off the topic and just talk about exciting life, but everywhere around us here is life and reasons behind why life is the way it is and it's facinating to me to learn about the inter-working of the world and talk about it.

I guess this entry is long enough. I do love Egypt and the time we have had to spend here. It's been fun for me to continue on with Arabic with my tutor over the break and I'm excited for classes to start again. There are lots of great people here. Even though some of my entries are about life and politics many time I feel like that taxi driver when he siad gov'ts are bad and people all get along. The people I have met in Egypt love America and American, they don't like Bush, but they love America and they say it just like that. It's fun to speak with them and we have made some great friends. I don't feel in danger of anything here.

It will be great to see you guys when we return home