The Cairo Gyro

The weather is beautiful, masha’Allah! Remember that scorching heat I described before? It’s pretty much gone now. Fall weather is slowly coming in with windy days and very cool nights. Though the sun is still shining all day it’s less harsh. Here’s a pic I took of the beautiful morning sun shining through the bedroom window…

Thursday night we rolled our clocks back one hour, so we hear the Maghrib athan at 6:00 PM now. Or should I say 18:00? I’ve been practicing time on 24 hour clocks since that is what is universally used. As an American I feel ashamed to have never been taught 24 hour time. Growing up we always referred to it as “Army Time” or “Military Time” because only the military uses it. Later on in life after traveling quite a bit I came to know that the entire world uses 24 hour clocks apart from us! For anyone still unfamiliar with it, here’s an example of a 24 hour clock:

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I am officially registered with both Diwan and Fajr Center. I’ve decided to go with Fajr center for a number of reasons. The first of them having to do with convenience, location, and class timing availability. Another major reason I chose Fajr Center is because the certificates they offer are officially stamped by the government and therefore hold weight in various Universities in the west. I went down the Fajr Center in Ma’aadi (the one we’ll be going to insha’Allah) registered and took my placement test. The test was easy for the most part alhamdulillah except for some grammar questions that I’ve long forgotten. It’s in all Arabic and you have to be familiar with following instructions in Arabic to even have the slightest clue about what to do. The guy who was in the office at that time was somewhat unprofessional and just handed the test to us as we’re sitting across from him in the reception chairs. Luckily we had our own pens (none were offered to us) but I had to get up and help myself to a hardcover book off of the office book shelf because there was no way I was going to attempt to write on the test paper on my lap!

Upon completing the test we waited awkwardly until we were told we’d have to come back another day to take the oral exam and have our tests graded. I went in by myself a couple days later while my roommates were at work. I met the woman who I’m guessing will be my teacher (she speaks very clearly and she put me at ease *phew*) she spoke to me in Arabic only and I soon realized that was my oral exam! She did have me read a brief passage from the book and evaluated my reading and understanding within minutes. Then, to my surprise, she asked me which book I’d like to study from: Kitab al-Asasi or Al-Arabiyyah Bayna Yadayk. I told her maybe I’d like to start with Bayna Yadayk and strengthen my vocab and speaking skills and she suggested I could do that but then move onto Kitab al-Asasi quickly to drill in those grammar skills. I agreed and that was that. 

She took me to the mudeer’s (headmaster’s) office after that and we discussed payment and class timings. Private lessons are a lot more expensive but it’s my only option really. He told me I can begin my classes Monday, September 17th at 11:00 AM. I was a little disappointed that it would be an even longer wait but from what I’ve been learning so far, living in Egypt and dealing with Egyptians is going to require tons of patience. Insha’Allah..

In the meantime I’ve been reviewing the book and getting well acquainted with the exercises. A friend of mine here who is on level 3 comes over and we go over her homework together, she teaches me the latest lessons she’s taken. Last night we studied a clock diagram and she taught me the right way to state the time in Arabic(which, by the way, is VERY precise!). I’ve been using her notebook to jot down notes and to draw charts. I feel horrible because I’ve forgotten so much of the grammar I’d once learned in High school Arabic. My parents did a beautiful thing, putting me into Islamic School. If only I’d realized the importance of Arabic back then…may Allah forgive me. 

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With Ramadan just a few days away these decorative lanterns are being hung all around the city. You can purchase them from a vendor on the side of the road. At first sight during daylight hours I thought they were tacky, but at night my opinion of them changed…they’re actually really pretty.

I’ve been told that during Ramadan people can be seen carrying Qurans with them out and about. Even on the micro buses and metros people sit and read Quran. On Friday I saw shop keepers, guards, and random people reading from the Quran (most likely Surat al-Kahf) and I was deeply impressed even with that.

We’re still living in Madinat Nasr and we won’t be able to move into our new house for another 10 days, insha’Allah. We’re not complaining at all though, it’s been great staying here we’ll miss it. Our plan is to go to a different masjid each night for Taraweeh for the first week of Ramadan. If anyone has any suggestions of where to go please leave a comment and let me know.

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