Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Cidade de Deus

I went to see City of God last night at AUC. Boy am I glad I live in Cairo, not Rio de Janeiro. Although I really wouldn't mind switching Egyptian girls (as well as football players) with Brazilians. Seriously, anyone complaining about Cairo should go watch that frickin' movie.

I went abit early to AUC, so I went to catch the Maghrib prayer at the musalla on campus. I was surprised, the tiny musalla is almost a complete little mosque now. Didn't I say that AUC has transformed. I then went down to the platform area and watched all the Americanized students hanging around. Was fun to watch.

The movie theater was packed, mostly foreigners, mostly Americans. I wondered again; what are all those foreigners doing in Cairo?! (I think I'll write about that here soon).

I went to AUC straight from work, so I decided to get a bite to eat. For some reason I felt like eating McDonald's. I haven't been eating there for something close to 3 years now. Wasn't boycotting the place or anything. If you know anything about me, you should know that I love food, and I'd never politicize it. Hell, I love bagels. Toasted with cream cheese, yummy. Isn't it originally Jewish or something. Well, they (Israelis) can take all my land and exterminate my family, I'm still gonna eat bagels (only if I can find it in Cairo). So why did I stop eating McDonald's for so long? Oh, its just lousy food, and not just because its fast food. It actually tastes like slime, and even smells terrible, and I don't know what they put on their fries, sugar or fat, its just all very disgusting. Their meals really have nothing to do with food. You read how they do their food, and then you're really done with it. Can't even think about it anymore. What I can't understand is how they're spreading like wild mushrooms everywhere! even in Egypt!! Egyptian food just rocks, and I can't imagine why Egyptians would endorse such a low standard of food.

4 comments:

Mohamed said...

True ofcourse, depends on where you live in the city. But having only seen the movie (I wish I can make it there sometime), there is not a single area in Cairo that I cannot walk in, while its obvious from the film that I wouldn't dare walk in an area like that "City of God".

Note: Egyptian Sally apparently saw that movie yesterday as well.

Mohammed said...

I've had the movie on my computer for almost a month now, but I didn't find enough time to watch it :(

Anonymous said...

Mohammed-

I haven't been to Euro Deli in Zamalek in awhile, but I know the Beirut location carried a very diverse selection of quality bagels. They deliver.

As for the hordes of American Arabic students (I'm one) in Cairo, the majority are wannabe journalists and academics. Most of the others are just kids spending a semester abroad - hey they've been going to Barcelona and London for years - why not Cairo. There are a few who are probably seeking military careers or alphabet-agency careers, but don't worry about them.

There's a right-wing American girl I know who went to study in Amman for a semester. Before she left, she was also touting the "What's Wrong with Islam" books and mass-market paperback about some princess or another who lived a terrible life in Saudi Arabia. Now back, she spends half her time defending Arabs and Muslims - although she'll still probably end up in the military.

I'm working on a story on Egyptian bloggers for Cairo Magazine. Will be in touch - anonymity assured.

Anonymous said...

Hey wannabe journalist (or are you something else?), thanks for the Deli reference. I'll make sure to check it out.

I'm not worried about the foreigners spending time here. Don't get me wrong. I'm glad to see some different faces around. I'll explain more when I post about it. I think I'll try to categorize them like you've done, but I'm sure I'll miss some, so make sure to pitch in.