Ain Sokhna, Egypt

Jordan and I took a day trip to Ain Sokhna which is really one of the top places to visit in Egypt and conveniently an hour and thirty minutes away from Cairo. We had a great time exploring the Movenpick Resort and getting lost driving back to Cairo.

A Little Taste of Cairo

This is a video of us driving around on the weekend. There have been so many times where I've said, " I wish I had my camera!" Now I take the camera everywhere we go. There is never a dull moment in this city so hopefully we will be capturing it for your viewing pleasure. On this particular trip, we drove to Maadi (the place we stayed at in April) and got a rug for our hallway and a glass candle holder. Maadi is full of these really crafty, hole-in-the-wall shops with all sorts of interesting things! Maadi is also where a lot of foreigners live, so it has a different standard. You can go out and walk around in shorts and a T-shirt and be fine. Maadi also has a decent community church and lots of cozy coffee shops and restaurants. Down sides to Maadi are there aren't a lot of sidewalks, there is a lot of trash on the ground, and it is closer to the city and the Nile which means more smog and noise. It was a good day trip for us! I enjoyed running into people I work with.

I have a voice and this is what it says:

Time for me to be brutally honest about the situation in Egypt. The reason for my honesty: I put up with it every day, I read articles in the local magazines and attend seminars, 70% of my conversations are about this, and for those that are visiting, like family, it is important to be informed and keep in mind that this will drive you crazy, but there are things that you can do about it! What am I talking about: Sexual Harassment.

Search any current news about Egypt and this will be at the top of the list. Sexual harassment is on the rise in Egypt. There are many factors that are causing this and mostly it has to do with the media that comes in from the west portraying images of women that are sexual and this is leading to a misunderstanding that foreign women, young and old, are loose in terms of modesty. Also, in a place where there are rigid roles between the sexes, in Egypt's case a male dominant role, women are the more vulnerable sex and are subjected to sexual violence and harassment.

Although, foreign women have seen more of a percentage of harassment, even Egyptian women who dress modestly or wear a head covering receive almost the same percentage of harassment. I actually saw a completely covered woman being harassed by a man while passing her on the streets of Cairo. Unbelievable!

Here are some things that I am doing to avoid situations. If you will be visiting, I suggest you take these precautions too.
1. Avoid crowds (especially large groups of men...they are everywhere)
2. Be in a group or with a man if you are a woman.
3. Dressing modestly helps, even the man should be wearing long pants instead of shorts as to not draw attention. Blending in, as hard as it is, helps a lot.
4. Do not share a taxi with anyone. If you are a woman sit as far away from the driver as you can and do not engage in conversation.
5. If you are a man, have good eye contact with an approaching group of men. If you are a women, look down, avoid eye contact, move away from them, and keep walking.
6. Learn short phrases in Arabic like no, go away, or shame. Say them loud and firm and walk away without looking.
7. Fight or flight...pick one and stick with it. If you hear sexual comments, just walk away. If they touch or grab, be ready to fight with strong words or physical violence.
8. Be aware of your surroundings at all times. If you are a women, know how to avoid people crossing behind you. Try to keep your distance.
9. Find help from store owners, guards, and other women if you are being harassed. The police are not helpful, they are usually the ones harassing, so avoid them.
10. Be prepared in how to defend yourself against a physical attack. Keys in hands and go for the eyes.

Yes, even taking all these precautions, I have still been harassed. The first time was during rush hour on the metro when Jordan and I entered onto the train and a man got in front of Jordan and groped me. I screamed "haram", pointed, made a scene, but nothing was done to report it. Another situation occurred as I was walking behind Jordan with another girl and a young man jumped to my side and kissed me on my cheek. I pushed his body away and caught up a few paces with Jordan. I have had sexual comments and gestures from boys (1o years old) which Jordan quickly defused and scared the daylights out of them. I have even been harassed twice at school by high school boys making kissing actions towards me and cat-calling. On a daily basis, I leave my apartment and get harassed by the workers whistling and screaming out inappropriate remarks. Even driving in the passenger seat of my own car, I get looks and whistles from buses full of men sitting in traffic on the streets.

The speaker from the US Embassy made a good point: The only way to avoid the constant unwanted attention is to move back to the US. You can't fix 80 million people! You can talk about the situation, share, and learn from others.

So if you are brave enough to visit us, and I hope that you do, just be prepared. Oh, and Mom and Dad, mace is illegal, so cross that off my Christmas list.

Baby Shower Egyptian Style

Jordan and I attended a baby shower this weekend of an Egyptian couple we are friends with. It was quite the experience. We walked into a room full of family members, maybe 30 people that were all taking turns holding the newborn baby. There were chairs all along the wall, so most everyone was sitting except for the new mom and dad and their mothers. A couple of the younger girls were serving drinks and passing out candle sticks. By the way, the drink was a vegetable based drink with crushed nuts and coconut and it was delish. The music that was blasting the whole time was an Arabic rhythmic music. Some of the older women started to ululate in this high-pitched voice. I've heard this before from the women who are all covered, so I didn't realize it was traditional to all of Egypt. That started the official celebration and another older woman took a metal mortar and handle, placed it on the ground and started banging it to the rhythm of the music(this was louder than a cow bell but same metalic sound). Then they lit the candles, place the baby on the ground, sprinkled what looked to be lentils or something on the baby's head, and then the mother stepped over the baby 6 times as the crowd walked around holding the candles. Then, an older woman took the baby that was in a basket and tossed and shook it to apparently bring the bad spirits to the surface and rid of it. So the baby was literally being tossed around which was scary to watch, but fascinating because the baby slept through all of this. Then after the tossing, the baby was put in the middle of the room while people walked by and touch it. A huge amount of food was served and by that time, Jordan and I were looking at an hour ride back to our apartment so we left. As we were leaving we both looked at each other in amazement that we had just witnessed that. Jordan was having fun watching my reaction to everything. It was so out of my element, but very cool to be a part of.

Are You a Bulldozer or a Landscaper?

I love when God wants to get a point across in my life and speaks so clearly I feel as if He is in the room. Usually this happens when I am exhausted at the end of the day. I get comfortable in bed, find just the right spot on the pillow, close my eyes, start to drift off…then… BOOM, God speaks! This has happened three separate times, each with the same exact jolt to my senses just before falling asleep, and each with a different message. I am very grateful for this clarity, but very jolted every time…must be a "PAY ATTENTION-alarm clock" from God. This particular time, God asked me if I was living my life as a bulldozer, ripping at the things and people around me leaving destruction in my path, or if I was living my life as a landscaper, leaving the places I come from better than they were before.

Honestly, I have been living more like a bulldozer lately than a landscaper. Trust me, God reminded me of every bulldozing situation like a trailer for a movie…the highlights of my destruction. It was horrible and painful to watch. I also saw that for me, living like a landscaper would take incredible strength, strength that I do not possess. A landscaper would have something to leave behind, something that is beautiful, pristine, and something that will last.

So, how do I become a landscaper? I have no strength for the job. I have little talent or skill for such a job. Even if I relied on my own capabilities and tried to landscape, it would be so artificial that underneath, the land would rot away and my attempt would be futile. My initial remorse quickly turned to denial, defensiveness, and finally I was convincing myself to give up, shouting FAILURE, you will always be a bulldozer. You are not fit for the job, so just go on, forget landscaping and do what you do best which is living for yourself.

When you have a moment like this with God, it's not a matter of being suitable, but being called. God provides strength. He provides opportunities and puts those skills to the test. God will mold us and he will shape us to be more like Christ. He will have harvest from the land that he has sown. Christ will be glorified and that is God’s promise.

My challenge is to let God be in control, use me as a landscaper and for this to glorify Jesus, the perfect landscaper. By his grace, by him alone will I be successful in this calling. Please pray for this. I need it! Also, pray that God reveals areas in your life where there is a need for some landscaping.

BE A LANDSCAPER!

-Kristina

Funny how God brings up memories

About 6 years ago, I took a trip to Galveston to serve a local church for a week. The night I arrived, I had the worst case of pink eye I have ever had. I literally was blind out of one eye! I showed up around midnight, stumbled my way to my room, passed by a mirror, stood there trying to figure out what happened to my face, and then started to panic a little...ok, alot. A woman that was with the church reassured me that I was going to be fine, and started to call her friend who was a doctor (in the middle of the night!). The doctor called in a prescription to a 24 hour pharmacy and within 2 hours of arriving in Galveston, I had medicine on my eye. Last night, I was reading about good works(fruits of the spirit) and faith(belief in the saving grace of Jesus) and this past experience came to my mind. It became clear that the people helping me were serving God through serving others and that with my complete inability to see, I had to have faith in God that He was going to provide. Blind faith...couldn't resist:)

I guess I'm writing this to remind myself to serve others for God's glory and to hold tight to faith. It is only by His grace that we can become fruitful and love others and it is only by His grace that we can understand faith. It's funny how God brings up memories that remind me of His love.

Kristina: What language is that? Jordan: It's a fake language, sometimes referred to as Finnish.

Finland

• The first thing you will notice are the people and how kind and helpful they are. Literally EVERYONE we met was friendly to talk to, always had a smile, and took time to really get to know you.
• The food. The Finnish really know how to eat fresh, healthy meals. The specialty: berries, all kinds and you can even buy them at the train station. If you eat in any of the outdoor markets, which I highly recommend, you will see lots of grilled fish and veggies. DO NOT eat any form of Tex-Mex food. My bean and cheese burrito consisted of green beans, stewed tomatoes and goat cheese.
• The Saunas are popular in all of Scandinavia. Beware: Nudity is no big deal to these people, so if you are the least bit modest, bring a swimsuit...or an eye patch!
  

Estonia

• The boat we took to Estonia was more like a mini-cruise ship with stores and restaurants and even a casino on board. (Tallink was the name of the ship) It took about 3 hours to cross over the gulf of Finland (Baltic Sea). Not bad for a trip to a completely different country. I entertained Jordan with my Scandinavian pirate accent!
• The Old Town was so charming! If you have been to small towns in France or Germany, then you have an idea of the cuteness!
• We were warned that shop owners in Estonia have a tendency to be rude to customers, so I made it a point to walk in, make eye contact, ask them how they were doing and then look around their shop. The reaction I got was in this order: shock, smile, giggle, helpfulness. :)
• The food was also amazing! I recommend Olde Hansa restaurant. They serve dishes from the 1400's authentic to Tallinn, so what you see on the menu is what they ate back then! There is no electricity, so they use candles everywhere, even in the bathrooms (hard to see, but I made it without dropping anything in the toilet). The best part is the original paintings on the walls of vines, painted 700 years ago and enjoyed by the wine merchant who lived in the house.

We have really enjoyed our time of getting to travel together. It has been such a blessing! :)