I have never known an astronaut personally but I suspect there is a moment when returning from space…you know right at the last minute when they pull the rip cord and go sailing into the ocean. Surely, it feels like a bizarre mixture of relief meets hitting a brick wall. It’s gotta be like when you are going 50 mph on a roller coaster and it suddenly comes to a “full and complete stop…thank you for riding the Brain Scrambler at Paramount’s Kings Dominion and have a great day”. Anyway, this is a feeling that all humans share…be it going back to work after a week at the beach, or that first day of post-Christmas diet…getting a credit card statement. Today, I got my turn. Yep, ya just swallow it and try to keep moving forward. So it was with our first official “return from summer leave”.
I have been warned of the difficulty of just such moments. Returning from 2 months of fun in the sun would be difficult on anyone. However, I, like most ex-pats, am surprisingly self-absorbed about every little difficulty in my charmed life. I will say though that 24 hours never seems longer than when spanned over 3 continents and human species virtually unknown to each other except by tenuous ex-pat threads such as our own. I spent what could have passed for an eon at Raleigh/Durham airport crying my eyes out about how much I’d miss my family. I felt comforted that the kids were crying too…they’d miss the sunshine, and the toads hopping around at my parents’ house…and then I figured out they were faking it to make me laugh. Despite the overcrowded airport, people began to slowly back away from us. Yes, we are the ones crazy enough to live in Egypt.
We made the connection in England with all the speed of a socialist official reforming health care…clunky, with lots of prim looks and virtually no help. I don’t understand Anglophiles at all.
Arrival in Egypt was hot (predictably), chaotic (predictably), crowded (predictably), frustrating (predictably) and filled with cross-cultural gaffes (should have been predictable). There was the woman in line ahead of us at baggage claim who refused to acknowledge a clean, upper-class, and well-intentioned Egyptian family who followed her around yelling “you are welcome in Egypt”. I explained to her that in Arabic “welcome to” and “welcome in” mean the same thing. She looked at me as if I had two heads (oh crap! Was I speaking in Arabic or English?) and told me “yeah, I just couldn’t understand her broken English”. Oh boy! I feel pretty bad for her tour guide already. “This is zee Sphinx. “Oh, it is ‘ZSPINX”…I thought it was just called ‘the Sphinx”. He already looked haggled with about 10 such travelers. I should have given him a little appreciatory tip just for existing for Americans like that. I didn’t. Because I am American and cheap like that.
We checked the maximum amount of luggage allotted to our family size-8 suitcases of 50lbs each and 8 carryons. Sixteen in all! One checked bag was lost in transit. It is always about the one that got away isn’t it? I can’t help but think of all that bag could have contained (World peace? Whirled peas? Which would I want more here in the land of stinky Pharaoh food?) While Joe was filling out a missing bag report (joke) and trying to figure out who to bribe to go look for it (truth), I took the kids to meet our driver. Once we located him, we sat ourselves comfortably beside a large family who looked to simply be picnicking in the airport for the day. If they were waiting for anyone, it wasn’t obvious to us. With the family sat a boy about 10 years old who sheepishly looked quite interested in the many bag of books and activities that my thoughtful mother packed for our journey (thanks mom!). I handed the boy a “Where’s Waldo?” or “Waldo feyn?”) book to look at with Aedan who at this point was over the airport seats making himself comfortable among the caftans. Naturally, everyone in the airport encroached to take paparazzi style photos of my little 6 year old blonde wonder “oh my…he is reading a book”….”look at that, he walks to his mother to ask for a Kleenex!”. Virginia was off in her own starlet-world receiving kisses on the cheek from TSA official (NOT kidding! Aren't they supposed to be protecting travellers?). I wondered for the millionth time how my kids would do with all the attention and blinding flashbulbs in their faces. I need not have worried. Aren’t all kids programmed to be adored?
Two minutes before Joe arrived with the fateful news about our missing bag, the leader of the caftanned group asked me (in Arabic) if he could take “EEEEEdan” (Aedan) to “my country”. To buy myself time to keep from screaming “are you INSANE”, I politely asked where his country was. After all, it had been a long flight to be a mother of a small child and maybe Australia wouldn’t have been too bad. Just kidding! Anyway, once convinced that I would not allow Aedan to travel without one of his parents, Grandfather Caftan asked us all to dinner at his place (in "his country" which turned out to be Egypt). This was not a joke nor is it uncommon in Egypt. I think that Egyptians fantasize about having a blonde child to their house (more paparrazi photos and without the annoying problem of running out of battery charge!) the way I fantasize about running into Gloria Steinem in the airport and inviting her for a Starbucks. Anyway, his offer was totally sincere and despite my rational, logical, politically-correct training, I started getting a little panicky. “Well”, I reasoned to him, I really would LOVE to come with my husband, but you see, we were just returning from a long journey and I needed to return home to ready our home”. “AHHHH, okay” opines a patient Grandfather Caftan. “Take my mobile number so we can do it tomorrow. I will cook many chickens to welcome you in Egypt”. “Thank you Thank you” I say, trying to avoid an international incident before ever technically stepping on Egyptian soil. “I will try to call”. Just then and with the timing of a stand-up comedian and the attitude reserved only for daughters to their mothers, Virginia says to me “Mooooom. Didn’t you know that Pinocchio’s nose grew when he lied!”. Whoops! Time for a nose job!
Yes, welcome in Egypt indeed!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Time (for a) change!
So I was woken up at 4am for the 5am call to prayer. The time is supposed to change here (although it was somewhat in question because Ramadan starts in August this year). Yesterday was the Egyptian celebration of the first day of spring. So a time change makes sense, right? Surely I would know if the time was changing, right? Well, yes and no. Because this is Egypt.
No one really knows if and when the time changes. Apparently it is still up for debate in the Egyptian government. This is just one of the many things that it is driving me crazy right now. I mean, I have to get the kids to school and myself on a bus to work which theoretically runs on a timetable. I should know what time it is right? I don't read arabic so I guess I won't find out via newspaper. I will just figure it out when I figure it out. According to "worldtime.com", time change is next weekend. Who knows?
Our washing machine is broken (yes, for the 5th time this year). According to the repair man, I have had to replace the motor twice now due to "bad water". Are there quality differences in the Nile water between myself and the neighboring apartments? Huh?
Finally, we stayed in a hotel this past weekend and forgot to return the room key. We have received no fewer than 3 frantic calls in the 12 hours since we left. They don't have a spare room key. What hotel doesn't have a spare room key?
Apparently my patience for the idiosyncrisies of Egypt lasts approx 9 months. I can't wait for a summer in the US!
Never one to leave off on a sour note (even if I feel REALLY sour right now)....something from a good friend of mine who called above-mentioned hotel to inquire whether she could bring her 4 month old puppy with her to the hotel:
> Ramada: You need reservation?
> Friend: No I have reservation.
> R: When?
> F: This weekend.
> R: We have no rooms this weekend.
> F: I have a reservation. My friend made it.
> R: Dr. Ashley? Or Dr. Marcy?
> F: Dr. Marcy.
> R: Okay and you want to find out about dog?
> F: Yes, I want to know if I can bring my dog.
> R: What kind of dog is?
> F: It's a small dog. 3 kilos.
> R: Small dog? What color is?
> F: White.
> R: White?
> F: Yes, white.
> R: Not black?
> F: No, not black.
> R: And you are wife of Dr. Marcy, friend of Miss Mary?
> F: Yes.
> R: You can bring dog.
ARGH! I think I am going to have to eat McDonald's for lunch today!
No one really knows if and when the time changes. Apparently it is still up for debate in the Egyptian government. This is just one of the many things that it is driving me crazy right now. I mean, I have to get the kids to school and myself on a bus to work which theoretically runs on a timetable. I should know what time it is right? I don't read arabic so I guess I won't find out via newspaper. I will just figure it out when I figure it out. According to "worldtime.com", time change is next weekend. Who knows?
Our washing machine is broken (yes, for the 5th time this year). According to the repair man, I have had to replace the motor twice now due to "bad water". Are there quality differences in the Nile water between myself and the neighboring apartments? Huh?
Finally, we stayed in a hotel this past weekend and forgot to return the room key. We have received no fewer than 3 frantic calls in the 12 hours since we left. They don't have a spare room key. What hotel doesn't have a spare room key?
Apparently my patience for the idiosyncrisies of Egypt lasts approx 9 months. I can't wait for a summer in the US!
Never one to leave off on a sour note (even if I feel REALLY sour right now)....something from a good friend of mine who called above-mentioned hotel to inquire whether she could bring her 4 month old puppy with her to the hotel:
> Ramada: You need reservation?
> Friend: No I have reservation.
> R: When?
> F: This weekend.
> R: We have no rooms this weekend.
> F: I have a reservation. My friend made it.
> R: Dr. Ashley? Or Dr. Marcy?
> F: Dr. Marcy.
> R: Okay and you want to find out about dog?
> F: Yes, I want to know if I can bring my dog.
> R: What kind of dog is?
> F: It's a small dog. 3 kilos.
> R: Small dog? What color is?
> F: White.
> R: White?
> F: Yes, white.
> R: Not black?
> F: No, not black.
> R: And you are wife of Dr. Marcy, friend of Miss Mary?
> F: Yes.
> R: You can bring dog.
ARGH! I think I am going to have to eat McDonald's for lunch today!
Monday, March 23, 2009
A day on the “Magic Planet”!
So, it is the kids’ spring break…I differentiate this from the parent’s spring break which is not until April. Joe actually brought up the point that by definition, parents never have a true “spring break” but alas I digress….
So, the S-Rs are hanging out and saving money for their windsurfing trip to Ras Sudr next month. Nonetheless, we can’t go the entire week without an event worthy of mention in the much feared “what I did on my time off from school” kindergarten writing assignment. Maybe it was like this when I was a child, and my super-parents were immune to the weekly guilt trip. However, it seems to me that “how I spent my weekend/spring break/summer vacation/etc” writing assignments are Satan’s reminder of how horrific of a parent I am. This pressure is only ramped up at an international school when mere weekend plans often involve cross-cultural travel, semi-famous people, and infinite hyper-educational cool-ness. I mean, how many times can Aedan get away with saying “I watched Tom and Jerry and went to the park with my sister” before the bad-parent police call me in for questioning…..
Again, I digress….
So, in the attempt to provide my children with a noteworthy spring break, I plan a Cairo amusement park getaway (ok not so educational but definitely enviable from the perspective of another kindergartener). It seems that Cairo hosts several amusement parks and one is particularly recommended by a good friend as being safe AND clean (you don’t usually get both here). So, I foolishly announce plans to the kids. Then I find out it is across town (2 hrs+) and at least a $50USD cab ride each way. So much for saving money. Oh well….let’s live it up. Then, we all wake up with colds. I can’t even imagine holding a shrieking Virginia on the flying saucer with a head cold…as insufferable as it is normally. So, I do what every mother with kids young enough to get away with it does….bait and switch. Throw in a sugary treat and switch plans to something less cumbersome…
Mom: Aedan, we are going to the amusement park called “Magic Planet” tomorrow!
Aedan (unenthusiastic): Isn’t that the small arcade attached to the grocery store?
Mom (fake confused): Oh, I guess it is….but they have ice cream!
Aedan (now truly excited): Cool!
So we arrive at “Magic Planet” (all the cool things in Cairo have English names). I am feeling full of myself because I have pulled off the scheme so well… But, this being Egypt, there is a little snag….the reloadable money card for rides doesn’t work and it will be fixed “en sha’ Allah” (literally, “God-willing” but in reality, whenever the guy feels up to it after 3 cups of tea, 4 ciggies, and a long chat with his mom on the mobile”). Seeing my displeasure, he offered to let the kids on the playground for free. Now, this was a REALLY cool playground and they had the whole area to themselves. Eventually, all of the S-Rs wore themselves out and we went for Pizza Hut dippers (does pizza come with KFC BBQ sauce in the US these days?) and ice cream. Really, what goes better with cheese pizza covered in ranch dressing than “ba-ba-ba-blueberry mango surprise” sorbet? To borrow a phrase from my cousin….”gross me out the door” Virginia!
What a day! The kids loved Magic Planet and we even managed a bit of shopping before the kids (and their parents) dropped from exhaustion. Our best find was the fresh squeezed sugar cane juice. Again, maybe I am showing my ignorance here but I was totally amazed that a person can stick an entire bamboo-like shoot into a blender and come out with juice! It was so delicious (like savory but light sugar-water if you can imagine it) that we ordered a liter…..23 shoots later (yes, we counted), we were outta there but not before Joe and I got a chuckle out of the mangled-English “thanks for try our supper jooce….it’s nice and it’s hygienic!” Oh good grief! I didn’t even consider the hygiene….probably best not to do so.
The cab ride home was “so Cairo”….High speeds on semi-paved roads weaving in and out of skanky looking street dogs and large hunks of concrete. Naturally, reggae singer and 1990s American phenom Shaggy came on the radio “how could I foooooorget that I had given her an extra key. All this time, she was standin’ there she never took her eyes off me!”. Cabbie groovin’ out and singing at the top of his voice….kids stifling major attack of the giggles in the backseat. Hopefully Virginia had no idea what she was laughing at. The cab driver had no idea what he was singing…and of course it was the “nasty edition” of the song (I looked it up on i-tunes when I got home).
After a near miss with the neighborhood Coptic Christian trash collector who dared make the Egyptian-idol wannabe cabbie hit the brakes, I demanded that the cab slow down. Cabbie responded by slowing down, yes, but turning up the bass just to spite me. So, I started dancing in the back of the cab and he turned on the strobe light….It was a house party in the backseat of a cab.
Only in Egypt….only on the day of the Magic Planet….a real spring break to remember. Wonder how much of this makes the kindergarten paper!
So, the S-Rs are hanging out and saving money for their windsurfing trip to Ras Sudr next month. Nonetheless, we can’t go the entire week without an event worthy of mention in the much feared “what I did on my time off from school” kindergarten writing assignment. Maybe it was like this when I was a child, and my super-parents were immune to the weekly guilt trip. However, it seems to me that “how I spent my weekend/spring break/summer vacation/etc” writing assignments are Satan’s reminder of how horrific of a parent I am. This pressure is only ramped up at an international school when mere weekend plans often involve cross-cultural travel, semi-famous people, and infinite hyper-educational cool-ness. I mean, how many times can Aedan get away with saying “I watched Tom and Jerry and went to the park with my sister” before the bad-parent police call me in for questioning…..
Again, I digress….
So, in the attempt to provide my children with a noteworthy spring break, I plan a Cairo amusement park getaway (ok not so educational but definitely enviable from the perspective of another kindergartener). It seems that Cairo hosts several amusement parks and one is particularly recommended by a good friend as being safe AND clean (you don’t usually get both here). So, I foolishly announce plans to the kids. Then I find out it is across town (2 hrs+) and at least a $50USD cab ride each way. So much for saving money. Oh well….let’s live it up. Then, we all wake up with colds. I can’t even imagine holding a shrieking Virginia on the flying saucer with a head cold…as insufferable as it is normally. So, I do what every mother with kids young enough to get away with it does….bait and switch. Throw in a sugary treat and switch plans to something less cumbersome…
Mom: Aedan, we are going to the amusement park called “Magic Planet” tomorrow!
Aedan (unenthusiastic): Isn’t that the small arcade attached to the grocery store?
Mom (fake confused): Oh, I guess it is….but they have ice cream!
Aedan (now truly excited): Cool!
So we arrive at “Magic Planet” (all the cool things in Cairo have English names). I am feeling full of myself because I have pulled off the scheme so well… But, this being Egypt, there is a little snag….the reloadable money card for rides doesn’t work and it will be fixed “en sha’ Allah” (literally, “God-willing” but in reality, whenever the guy feels up to it after 3 cups of tea, 4 ciggies, and a long chat with his mom on the mobile”). Seeing my displeasure, he offered to let the kids on the playground for free. Now, this was a REALLY cool playground and they had the whole area to themselves. Eventually, all of the S-Rs wore themselves out and we went for Pizza Hut dippers (does pizza come with KFC BBQ sauce in the US these days?) and ice cream. Really, what goes better with cheese pizza covered in ranch dressing than “ba-ba-ba-blueberry mango surprise” sorbet? To borrow a phrase from my cousin….”gross me out the door” Virginia!
What a day! The kids loved Magic Planet and we even managed a bit of shopping before the kids (and their parents) dropped from exhaustion. Our best find was the fresh squeezed sugar cane juice. Again, maybe I am showing my ignorance here but I was totally amazed that a person can stick an entire bamboo-like shoot into a blender and come out with juice! It was so delicious (like savory but light sugar-water if you can imagine it) that we ordered a liter…..23 shoots later (yes, we counted), we were outta there but not before Joe and I got a chuckle out of the mangled-English “thanks for try our supper jooce….it’s nice and it’s hygienic!” Oh good grief! I didn’t even consider the hygiene….probably best not to do so.
The cab ride home was “so Cairo”….High speeds on semi-paved roads weaving in and out of skanky looking street dogs and large hunks of concrete. Naturally, reggae singer and 1990s American phenom Shaggy came on the radio “how could I foooooorget that I had given her an extra key. All this time, she was standin’ there she never took her eyes off me!”. Cabbie groovin’ out and singing at the top of his voice….kids stifling major attack of the giggles in the backseat. Hopefully Virginia had no idea what she was laughing at. The cab driver had no idea what he was singing…and of course it was the “nasty edition” of the song (I looked it up on i-tunes when I got home).
After a near miss with the neighborhood Coptic Christian trash collector who dared make the Egyptian-idol wannabe cabbie hit the brakes, I demanded that the cab slow down. Cabbie responded by slowing down, yes, but turning up the bass just to spite me. So, I started dancing in the back of the cab and he turned on the strobe light….It was a house party in the backseat of a cab.
Only in Egypt….only on the day of the Magic Planet….a real spring break to remember. Wonder how much of this makes the kindergarten paper!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Get me out of McArabia!
Cultural Adjustment....
Every 2cent psychology textbook quotes this sort of accepted theory that cultural adjustment comes in phases:
Honeymoon: "Life is PERFECT here!"
Crisis: "Calgon, take me far...far....far...away!"
and Adjustment: "Things here are just as peachy as they are anywhere else"
When I studied abroad in England my Sophmore year of college, I went through these phases in a matter of weeks. Joe reports his adjustment to the south as taking a mere matter of days (who wouldn't like it down there?). Apparently, Egypt takes MONTHS to cram it all in....
So, when I first got here, I studied arabic like a madwoman, I visited every historic site I possibly could, I never ate the same meal twice. So, now I am back to reality. Who knows what triggered the change but I can definately note it. I am no longer enamoured with the "fun" bargaining over 30cents at the souk. The dirt doesn't seem "charming" anymore. I even stooped to the ultimate low.....I ate at McDonalds.....several times.
I have to say that the fries here are better but ya sure gotta work for them. Ordering fast food here is like shoving your way into the New York Stock Exchange. Fries! Fries! Fries! 5LE! You think Egyptians wait in lines? Maalesh! (Egyptian colloquial for "fuggedaboutit!"). Same exact scene though. Same scary clown advertisements. Same evaporated onions and Egyptians are actually honest that these things are FAKE. Same scanty 2 pickles (if you are lucky). Same delicious coke through the big straw. Same stick-in-your-throat buns... So pretty much all is the same...except when it is different. A few interesting twists....Big Macs comes with chicken patties (and special sauce). I think this will be great...once I get up the gumption to try it. Also, I have never seen the McArabia on the US menu. It is 2 patties of kofta I guess...beef sorta. I wonder how that tastes with special sauce?
I can't help but wonder if my new obsession with McDonald's has a deeper meaning in me trying to reconcile the US-Ashley with the Egypt-Ashley. How much of me is "special sauce"? Conversely, how much of me is hard-to-swallow no matter what culture? And....will I ever learn to like a McArabia?
:)
Every 2cent psychology textbook quotes this sort of accepted theory that cultural adjustment comes in phases:
Honeymoon: "Life is PERFECT here!"
Crisis: "Calgon, take me far...far....far...away!"
and Adjustment: "Things here are just as peachy as they are anywhere else"
When I studied abroad in England my Sophmore year of college, I went through these phases in a matter of weeks. Joe reports his adjustment to the south as taking a mere matter of days (who wouldn't like it down there?). Apparently, Egypt takes MONTHS to cram it all in....
So, when I first got here, I studied arabic like a madwoman, I visited every historic site I possibly could, I never ate the same meal twice. So, now I am back to reality. Who knows what triggered the change but I can definately note it. I am no longer enamoured with the "fun" bargaining over 30cents at the souk. The dirt doesn't seem "charming" anymore. I even stooped to the ultimate low.....I ate at McDonalds.....several times.
I have to say that the fries here are better but ya sure gotta work for them. Ordering fast food here is like shoving your way into the New York Stock Exchange. Fries! Fries! Fries! 5LE! You think Egyptians wait in lines? Maalesh! (Egyptian colloquial for "fuggedaboutit!"). Same exact scene though. Same scary clown advertisements. Same evaporated onions and Egyptians are actually honest that these things are FAKE. Same scanty 2 pickles (if you are lucky). Same delicious coke through the big straw. Same stick-in-your-throat buns... So pretty much all is the same...except when it is different. A few interesting twists....Big Macs comes with chicken patties (and special sauce). I think this will be great...once I get up the gumption to try it. Also, I have never seen the McArabia on the US menu. It is 2 patties of kofta I guess...beef sorta. I wonder how that tastes with special sauce?
I can't help but wonder if my new obsession with McDonald's has a deeper meaning in me trying to reconcile the US-Ashley with the Egypt-Ashley. How much of me is "special sauce"? Conversely, how much of me is hard-to-swallow no matter what culture? And....will I ever learn to like a McArabia?
:)
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Some final wonderful bios from my AUC students....
Responses to my first posting about my new experiences with AUC students were so overwhelmingly positive that I decided to post just a few more gems....This is a combo of amazing, sweet, and downright hilarious. In academics where obfuscation seems to be the cultural norm, their honesty was like an oasis in the desert....
again each paragraph is a new student...all from my Psych 101 class:
---------------------------
My first name, (name withheld), has two meanings. The first being a loyal friend (the description sounds too similar to man’s best friend), which is the meaning my parents had told me. The other, meaning a drinking buddy, which I learnt from my French teacher in school and from a Facebook application. I like to think I live up to the first meaning.
--------------------
(Note from Ashley)-This student wrote several pages so I have excerpted below…
My full name is (name withheld to protect confidentiality). My parents are originally from Iraq (Kurds), I was, however, born in Sophia Bulgaria in the year 1985. My parents had escaped the horrors of war and tyranny in Iraq, in hope of a more prosperous life in Europe. However, when I was only five months old my family emigrated to Denmark. Thus I have lived in Denmark virtually all my life.
During my years in public school I grow up in a neighborhood, most people would classify lower social class. Crime and drug abuse were only among the few evils that lurked around the corner of the building blocks constituting our home. I was however among the few of my peers who actually made it to upper secondary school (equivalent to high school). I hope my engagement in the psychology department at AUC might help me to accomplish my goal to enter a Phd program in the US, after completing my undergraduate here. My aim is to return to my country one day, and be able to say I managed to escape the shackles of low social class, and thus being able to inspire other people to make the world we live in a better place.
-----------------
I'm in my third year, graduated school in 2006. I'm a sophomore and I'm majorless intended mechanical engineering but would seriously think of intending psychology major if promised an A in this class. I honestly signed up for this class because it's one of the electives i have to take and psychology sounded more exciting than sociology or other classes. I hoped to learn how to hypnotize people but was told by a friend we are not going to learn such skill. Moreover like to learn how the human mind works. My hobbies are mainly sports, I play soccer, tennis and swimming. There is nothing specific about the way I learn but I'm not a good learner under pressure, I love pictures they stick to my mind quickly.
--------------
First of all, my name is (name withheld to protect confidentiality); I am Egyptian coming from a middle-upper class. My credits put me between freshman and sophomore; my intended major is Architectural Engineering. I signed up for this class because I heard that this type of courses is totally beneficial for one’s social life. A friend of mine took this class in the winter session and he was so amused with the enormous block of information he knew after he finished the course with a letter grade B (Ashley’s note: Joe taught this class. When the student says “amused” he really means “ticked off about his grade”). My first impression about this course was that it would be so boring because I thought that the content of the subject is limited. But, when I bought the selected book, I was overwhelmed by the real positive impact this class will provide me with at the end. My hobbies are somehow complicated; for instance, I play soccer for a club called shooting club since I was a kid. Moreover, this class will increase my passion in continuing playing soccer just because most of the elder people oblige me to focus on soccer besides college. By taking this course I hope I could be able to understand the others and know where I stand at this moment in which I could distinguish the fake facial expressions from the real ones. Last but not least, it is my great pleasure that I had an opportunity of taking this course and I hope I can learn every single word you say Dr. Ashley.
-----------
Wow! I sure have my hands full preparing for these students.
again each paragraph is a new student...all from my Psych 101 class:
---------------------------
My first name, (name withheld), has two meanings. The first being a loyal friend (the description sounds too similar to man’s best friend), which is the meaning my parents had told me. The other, meaning a drinking buddy, which I learnt from my French teacher in school and from a Facebook application. I like to think I live up to the first meaning.
--------------------
(Note from Ashley)-This student wrote several pages so I have excerpted below…
My full name is (name withheld to protect confidentiality). My parents are originally from Iraq (Kurds), I was, however, born in Sophia Bulgaria in the year 1985. My parents had escaped the horrors of war and tyranny in Iraq, in hope of a more prosperous life in Europe. However, when I was only five months old my family emigrated to Denmark. Thus I have lived in Denmark virtually all my life.
During my years in public school I grow up in a neighborhood, most people would classify lower social class. Crime and drug abuse were only among the few evils that lurked around the corner of the building blocks constituting our home. I was however among the few of my peers who actually made it to upper secondary school (equivalent to high school). I hope my engagement in the psychology department at AUC might help me to accomplish my goal to enter a Phd program in the US, after completing my undergraduate here. My aim is to return to my country one day, and be able to say I managed to escape the shackles of low social class, and thus being able to inspire other people to make the world we live in a better place.
-----------------
I'm in my third year, graduated school in 2006. I'm a sophomore and I'm majorless intended mechanical engineering but would seriously think of intending psychology major if promised an A in this class. I honestly signed up for this class because it's one of the electives i have to take and psychology sounded more exciting than sociology or other classes. I hoped to learn how to hypnotize people but was told by a friend we are not going to learn such skill. Moreover like to learn how the human mind works. My hobbies are mainly sports, I play soccer, tennis and swimming. There is nothing specific about the way I learn but I'm not a good learner under pressure, I love pictures they stick to my mind quickly.
--------------
First of all, my name is (name withheld to protect confidentiality); I am Egyptian coming from a middle-upper class. My credits put me between freshman and sophomore; my intended major is Architectural Engineering. I signed up for this class because I heard that this type of courses is totally beneficial for one’s social life. A friend of mine took this class in the winter session and he was so amused with the enormous block of information he knew after he finished the course with a letter grade B (Ashley’s note: Joe taught this class. When the student says “amused” he really means “ticked off about his grade”). My first impression about this course was that it would be so boring because I thought that the content of the subject is limited. But, when I bought the selected book, I was overwhelmed by the real positive impact this class will provide me with at the end. My hobbies are somehow complicated; for instance, I play soccer for a club called shooting club since I was a kid. Moreover, this class will increase my passion in continuing playing soccer just because most of the elder people oblige me to focus on soccer besides college. By taking this course I hope I could be able to understand the others and know where I stand at this moment in which I could distinguish the fake facial expressions from the real ones. Last but not least, it is my great pleasure that I had an opportunity of taking this course and I hope I can learn every single word you say Dr. Ashley.
-----------
Wow! I sure have my hands full preparing for these students.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Teaching Egyptians
Many of you have asked what it is like teaching at American University Cairo (AUC)and whether I have noted any cross-cultural differences between my NC State Students and my AUC students. I think I can best answer this by giving you a snapshot of my first assignment. My AUC students were asked to tell me their major/minor, what year they were in school (freshman, sophomore, etc), why they are taking Intro to Psychology, their hobbies/interests, and anything else about themselves that they though I should know. Here is what a few of them said...I think it gives a sense of who they are as people and what incredible personal histories must have led them to the honor of higher education. As you can tell, I am very fond of them already...they are strikingly honest, very personable, and occasionally totally hilarious! Please cut them some slack on the English. For many of them, English is a third or fourth language. Each paragraph is a different student:
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I, like most people have many obsessions and interests; for instance for leisure I enjoy traveling, camping in the desert, listening to music, dancing, beaches and islands, and watching TV shows especially the genre drama. I believe I have a short concentration span this is why I took the class Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday (as opposed to Monday/Wednesday) as the classes are shorter
My main hobbies are simply sport! I love playing and watching all sports, but my favourite sport is football (soccer to Americans!), and have been playing it all my life, as well as playing for a team for the past few years. I don’t have any particular hobbies that I continually do, other then sport and surfing the internet, as my hobbies change from time to time, but the one thing I always try to do is have a good time! So that usually involves going out with my friends on a regular basis doing anything we find fun! On the other hand I find reading boring, and only do it when I have to for college work.
I hope that I will learn to be able to know things that my enemies would hide of me. Also, I hope to learn when are people lying to me and when are they saying the truth.
I can’t say that I have any specific interests or hobbies, I’m not an artistic person, I pretty much chose a major just for a good career because I don’t really have a passion for a specific topic.
The only method that does not work with me when studying is memorization. I have experience with that, as studying for (name deleted to protect confidentiality) exams is based on memorizing and I always had a problem with that, so ultimately the subjects I did well in were those no memorization was needed, like maths and statistics
For a long period, one of my dreams was to become a psychiatrist and have my own clinic in the future and be able to delve in it. But I had never really been interested in medicine as a college. As a child and growing up, I didn’t know that I had to join medical school from the very beginning to be able to reach my former ultimate dream. Thus, I could say that joining this class is making up for my dream of learning what had intrigued me for so long…. Taking this course is really exciting for me and I just hope to be as good at it as I’ve always dreamt.
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I am very honored indeed to have been given this challenge.....It appears that expectations for Psychology 101 are quite high!
:)
-Ashley
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I, like most people have many obsessions and interests; for instance for leisure I enjoy traveling, camping in the desert, listening to music, dancing, beaches and islands, and watching TV shows especially the genre drama. I believe I have a short concentration span this is why I took the class Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday (as opposed to Monday/Wednesday) as the classes are shorter
My main hobbies are simply sport! I love playing and watching all sports, but my favourite sport is football (soccer to Americans!), and have been playing it all my life, as well as playing for a team for the past few years. I don’t have any particular hobbies that I continually do, other then sport and surfing the internet, as my hobbies change from time to time, but the one thing I always try to do is have a good time! So that usually involves going out with my friends on a regular basis doing anything we find fun! On the other hand I find reading boring, and only do it when I have to for college work.
I hope that I will learn to be able to know things that my enemies would hide of me. Also, I hope to learn when are people lying to me and when are they saying the truth.
I can’t say that I have any specific interests or hobbies, I’m not an artistic person, I pretty much chose a major just for a good career because I don’t really have a passion for a specific topic.
The only method that does not work with me when studying is memorization. I have experience with that, as studying for (name deleted to protect confidentiality) exams is based on memorizing and I always had a problem with that, so ultimately the subjects I did well in were those no memorization was needed, like maths and statistics
For a long period, one of my dreams was to become a psychiatrist and have my own clinic in the future and be able to delve in it. But I had never really been interested in medicine as a college. As a child and growing up, I didn’t know that I had to join medical school from the very beginning to be able to reach my former ultimate dream. Thus, I could say that joining this class is making up for my dream of learning what had intrigued me for so long…. Taking this course is really exciting for me and I just hope to be as good at it as I’ve always dreamt.
--------------
I am very honored indeed to have been given this challenge.....It appears that expectations for Psychology 101 are quite high!
:)
-Ashley
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