When it's no longer the beginning...

Well well well. A LOT has happened since the last post. So read on my friends.

Housing:

I have a place! It's the apartment of my relative that lives abroad. She has agreed to let me have a roommate. Here's how I found my roommate:
I was getting out of the metro once and though I didn't need to cross the street, I decided to cross it in search of something I needed to buy. After crossing, I realized I really didn't need to cross the street to buy what I needed. So here I was looking like a fool that just crossed the street and is now returning. Then, I saw a girl that looked incredibly familiar, like a girl I used to intern with at the Carter Center. I looked at her a couple of times, but after creepily staring, I realized it wasn't her.
But then she looked at me.
"Lydia? Do you remember me?"
"Umm, hi?" It WASN'T the girl I interned with! But turns out I know her from a long time ago from my extended family's church. We connected and found out she needed a roommate in Cairo (perfect), She works towards women's rights with an NGO associated with the UN (also perfect).
Long story short, we now live together and it's awesome :)
Let's not mention though the huge amount of cleaning and repairing my dad and I had to do on the first day of moving in (thanks dad). The place didn't have a fridge and till now we don't have a working one. Just today our neighbor downstairs decided to bring a man to my apartment to fix the leaking water dripping on him from our toilet. So no, it hasn't been an easy move in. But hey, I got my three requests 1) AC 2) WiFi 3) close to the best Metro station!

Orphanage:
I've been having so much fun getting to know the kids more and tutoring them English. We had an awesome man/supporter visit from Atlanta. We went out with him and 20 kids to a store near by the orphanage to buy snacks. He made a deal with them to buy ten chocolate bars and give them to strangers on the street. I added a twist of asking those strangers if there's anything they need prayer for. The kids were THRILLED and ran to strangers and gave them chocolate bars. They told us the people's prayer requests: a woman needed help for an eye surgery, a man wanted a wife (haha), some homeless kids needed a place to live...etc. It is truly a blessing to give!
When I saw that, I realized- why not make this happen more often? So I contacted a friend of mine that owns a nonprofit in a slum near by the orphanage. This nonprofit helps plenty of handicapped kids in the area. I asked the orphanage girls if they would be willing to serve there twice a month and with cheerful hearts they said YES! So on Saturday, we will be going. Hoping it will be a good time and experience :)

Documentary:
Yes, it has begun! We got a team now of three, and two will be added. We have decided to film a documentary on random complaints about the Egyptian society, then highlight heroes and folks that are already doing work to better the country and reverse the pattern of what is wrong. I am really excited for this project. Our first meeting was yesterday, and I'm ready to start! Please pray we would enjoy the process rather than stress over it. Also pray for protection, police don't normally enjoy the idea of cameras on the street...

Random story:
Being here, I really like to talk with people I barely have anything in common with. I have little adventures of mine, they're so simple, but so worthy to me. I was trying to get from downtown to the mountainous areas of Cairo/where the orphanage is, which is pretty far. I took the metro to a random stop, then got out and walked on a random street. Took a taxi to a random bus stop, and talked with the lady next to me. Old woman, wrinkled face, fallen teeth, so simple, so poor, complaining about how 2 LE ($1=7.3 LE) is too much to pay for a bus ticket. There was one line she said, I won't forget "my daughter, I feel dead, but no one cares." Her sorrowful eyes looking into my soul. Dead? Why so and how? I've began to see these sorrowful eyes in every Egyptian's eye, in mine too. There is a president a lot of people love, and he's trying to bring economic growth, but there is still wrong happening, there are still people imprisoned simply for opposing his rule. He's turning off foreign funding for any civil or NGO society working and dealing with the rights of humans. There are still those in death penalties, and ones on hunger strikes gaining no medical attention. There is still a law against protesting, and major fines and penalties against journalists speaking against the regime and being activists. I can find myself, also with eyes of sorrow and death when I look at these things. We walk and we eat and we go to work, and few of us have looked up at the sky recently to see that there is goodness. There is God and there is love and there is beauty. We are so weighed down by things here, the food we can't find, or the country and security we think we lost, the stories of yesterday we thought would change, there's a sense of hopelessness and the worst- numbness. Numbness to what hurts or even what brings life, coldness and bitterness towards what makes a human feel- like he's a human. It's something my words can't explain, but if I can dare to simply point up, and hope that I before anyone else can taste and see there is right and love and hope and peace right HERE in God, and if those around me can look up too, then we will truly be living. Then, we won't be dead.

With that said, I'm glad to be here! I'm glad to be trying to look up.
I'm glad to be no longer a beginner in Egypt. I'm now in the beef of my trip. The good part.

Making the most of things!

Well, those of you that have read my last blog post, I got a bit of news for you.

Housing: 
The housing did not work out. I scheduled a meeting with the Guest House lady and went to see the place. First, it surprised me that it was not close to the metro like I had imagined. I took the metro to the nearest station, then had to take a taxi for a good 15 minute drive to the place. In addition, the price was not what was agreed on on the phone conversation. Yes, a bit frustrating. So I decided to look elsewhere.

In the struggle of looking elsewhere, I searched three more places. One of which is the apartment of a relative that does not live in Egypt any longer. She agreed on me having other roommates and renting the place together; things were going pretty solid, until she changed her mind and decided its risky to bring in strangers in her apartment. Given that I can't be in an apartment alone (family does not agree), I'm back to my search. Not sure where it will end up being, but I'm hopeful? I have decided to let go of my need for an AC wherever I end up living. The weather should calm down soon, right? And also, I've decided to higher my budget. But it's still a struggle finding a suitable place, mainly cause it's temporary and also cause I want a place near the Metro so I can be able to go anywhere anytime for 1 LE, and also mostly cause I'm a girl, and Egypt isn't the safest place.
Pray :)

On another note, I've started my work at the orphanage and another nonprofit.

Orphanage: 
it has been amazing getting to know the place more. Though my dad started it and I used to go there as a child, I really have been clueless on how the place actually runs and how many kids are there/what they are like. There are a handful of kids that I've known since I used to visit here and there throughout the past ten years, it's really great seeing them grown and actually taking care of the little boys and girls now.
I am taking a focus on counseling along with teaching English while I'm there for the coming three months. I have sat down with their counselor and we decided to create a day of training for the five staff members taking full care of the kids along with other staff at the place that only come during the day. The purpose of the training is to teach them about teamwork along with essentials and basics for taking care of children that come from harsh backgrounds/ how to discipline them in a healthy manner.
Lately, I've been stressing having an organized schedule of counseling for each child. I feel they really need to be heard and given one on one time. I found out one of the girls has schizophrenia, yet has never been treated. The reason for that is the lack of a person to take her to a professional psychiatrist weekly. I volunteered to help out with that, and tried to get her to simply talk with the counselor at the orphanage. "But I don't like her, I heard she talks too much!" she said. After much convincing, she went, and as I joined in on the session, I realized...she was a bit right. More talking was done by the counselor than listening. I am confident that the counselor is knowledgeable and has more experience than I do when it comes to children, but I feel listening is crucial as well. I hope to be able to share that with her wisely. She's older and the culture here really respects the idea of "older=more authority/always right". The session was still good regardless, the girl benefited from some Bible stories the counselor said and we ended with prayer.
I also got to know three kids that just recently joined the place. Their father left them a year ago and their mom barely makes an income working at a sewing company. The 14 year old girl was working at a nursery to try and help provide for her 4 siblings and mother. But it was too difficult, so three out of the five siblings were brought to the place. It's not uncommon at all for kids to rigorously work in Egypt to help their families with income.
My dad and I were getting a smoothie at a sit down restaurant (oh yes, my father is here for a 12 day visit). One of the servers was really short and looked like a kid. we decided to ask him how old he is:
"I'm 12."
"So do you work a couple of days a week?"
"Every day, 3 am to 4 pm."
"How much do you get paid per day?"
With a big smile he says "30 LE" ($4.2)
No days off, nothing. His brothers were with him too, working hard.
So when the 14 year old girl that just recently joined the orphanage was telling me she worked at a nursery to get an income, I wasn't surprised. It's awful. But it is reality. A reality I hate.

The other nonprofit: 
I've been attempting to find them new donors and grants. They are a nonprofit that has multiple programs that help the poor/rural workers create their own projects through micro loans and generate an income in order to become self sufficient. I've only been going once a week, but the environment there has been extremely welcoming. Egyptians really care about giving you a cup of tea and talking about life. Though I'm used to just getting down to business when in a work environment, I've found that that's simply not how things go around here. So I'm learning to lay back a little.

The third nonprofit:
This is a nonprofit that deals with sexual abuse in Egypt. It aims to teach children how to avoid it and how to not inflict it as well. I'm in charge of writing them newsletters and also training their volunteers that will soon go to schools (I think in November) to teach the kids against sexual abuse. I have yet to start working there because their internet was down for a week, and also my "boss" was going through a personal situation. I start on Monday.

Friends: 
I've been meeting with old friends I had made while in AUC and AIS (my semesters in Egypt during high school and college). It's been refreshing having friends that speak English and eat sushi. I treated myself for sushi the other day, and I was the happiest person alive. I also met a girl through a mutual friend who was born and raised in the USA, but is in Egypt for a semester or two to get to know the culture. It's been nice talking to her and showing her around. It makes me feel like I know this country more than I thought I did.
I've also met other random people and new friends and heard their life stories. I love listening and learning from people's experiences.
I am trying to also get to the place where I too talk and share about my side of the story, but for some reason I'm finding a difficulty doing so. I share little things here and there, but for some reason I seem to be more comfortable listening. Maybe it's a seasonal thing.

Five Little Things and Stories:
1) I was standing outside a store under their shade for 5 minutes waiting on a friend to come by. The man in charge of the store came out:
"Do you want a chair ma'am???"
"No thanks I'm good"
"I'll get you a chair" off he runs inside.
Two seconds later, with a chair "here you go, sit! sit!"
And I sat.
I mean, who does that?

2) Some of you may be familiar with the amount of street "hitting on girls" harassment that every single Egyptian woman encounters daily whenever she's walking the streets. I am told the best way to deal with a man calling me hot or telling me he wants to take me home or whispering things I can't hear or whistling or honking, is to simply look down and ignore him. Act like he's not there. Mind you, this is the method that has been used for years by most women, and I'm sorry- it's not working. So I am trying something new.
I was walking to the orphanage. A guy in front of me had his neck bent and his face staring at me for a good five minutes, I really prayed something would show up in front of him and he would bump into it and get hurt (bad prayer). He was whispering some stuff and kept looking at me. I yelled "Look in front of you!" He was shocked and I think started cussing me out. Thankfully I was in a public area and people were everywhere, so I actually kept saying "look in front of you!" until I took a turn to stay away from him (though I didn't need to take a turn). That was my first time feeling in control of who looks at me and who says inappropriate things to me. I'm a woman and I have a voice and I am not an object, and it completely strips me off my dignity for a man to think he can look at me and stare at me all he wants and say all he wants. So I have every right to tell him to stop, and I will take advantage of that right.

The next time this happened, a man made some remarks at me. I ignored him. But then he kept following and making comments. I stopped, looked him in the eye and yelled "ENOUGH". Another shock. I like it.
I'm trying to be VERY wise when I do these types of things. I've been told a man can kick me in face if I yell at him, or he can think that my responding to him means I like what he's doing and am asking for more (what kind of logic that is, I'm not sure). But I am tired of being silent. You would be too, trust me.

3) I went to church the other day. I usually go and come back by taxi, takes around 12 minutes (yes, I'm very exact...). After church, I like to walk to Tahrir Square (home of the January 25th Revolution). I like to walk by it and remember what people did three years ago, how they didn't mind dying for the sake of freedom . The other day, I decided to walk home from Tahrir Square instead of taking a taxi. Beautiful walk. Some of you may have seen my facebook post about it :)

4) My grandma has been trying to get me a gift, I'm not sure why (she says it's for my birthday, which is in December...). But I told her all I want is popcorn. The next day when I got home from work, I found a bowl of popcorn on the table. You guys don't understand how loved I felt. Really. I didn't even take off my shoes. I took the bowl, sat on the sofa, and ate that bowl up.

5) The little 6 or 7 minute documentary video that y'all wanna see is still not available. As in, I haven't been able to get a copy of it yet. But once I do, I'll post it on here.
Meanwhile, I want to make a short 30 minute documentary with a Music Tech friend of mine. She'll be in charge of the background music. I'll be in charge of other things. I want to record the lives of five completely different people here in Egypt. From young to old, rich to poor. Nothing special they do. Just what they do on a daily day, their commute, their conversations. How will all this happen and when? I'm not sure. But I really want to do it, which is why I'm writing it on here, so you guys keep me accountable.

This is about all I can squeeze out of me for now! Thanks all for reading, there's always a whole lot more going on, but I can't type it all. I type what sticks out.
Blessings to all who actually read all this post. I know I said a lot. Also, some of you send me replies that are so encouraging, they make me cry. Thank you so much for this love and support!