Pronouns, Hotels, and Brooms.

Guilty by Pablo Nerrrruda (trill the rrrs for Sauleha's benifit)
I declare myself guilty of not having
made, with these hands they gave me,
a broom.
Why didn't I make a broom?
Why did they give me hands?
What use have they been
if all I ever did was
watch the stir of the grain,
listen up for the wind
and did not gather straws
still green in the earth
for a broom,
not set the soft stalks to dry
and bind them
in a gold bundle,
and did not lash a wooden stick
to the yellow skirt
till I had a broom for the paths?
So it goes.

The poem that I had a hundred million times during the Kiwanis Festival last year came back with stunning force today. The floor of our apartment, already covered with dust, was being layered with a fine layer of gingersnap crumbs, pepsi straws, dirt, dust, and some more dirst. It would have made Tasneem pick up a jaru. (For those readers who do not know about Queen Tasneem, suffice it to say that she was a ten year old cleaning maid in Pakistan who managed to drive an entire household crazy.) Anyways, Ameer and I decided that this was a little too much. While he was at class, I walked over to Sirag Mall (actually Siraj Mall, but they can't say j (dz)and they have no clue what I talk about if I ask directions to Siraj Mall, so I will suffice to the inevitable and call it Sirag Mall. Thus, I will also use this moment of submission to Ameeah to say salam to Khaltu Suad, Aubyii, Uncle Rekieh, and Asim:).

At Sirag Mall, I picked up two bottles of Dasani water, 10 eggs (what happened to a dozen in Cairo? They have 8, 10, and 20. No 12! Forget about baker's dozen!), and a broom. At that moment, I realized something important. How on Earth am I going to walk down the street of Cairo with two bottles of water, ten eggs, and a broom. Luckily, the clerk there, a nice man by the name of Khalid, took it off my hands. Ever since he heard that I have come (forgive all grammar mistakes. I spend 5 hours a day breaking down all my grammar rules. Do you know that in Arabic, you can have a sentence without a fi'l? Major brain freeze, even for a guy who never studied grammar.)

"Brother, if you walk down the streets like that, you will get robbbbered. You don't know how Cairo is, brother. Welcome to Cairo, brother."

Without more ado, he picked up the broom himself and took it and everything else to the apartment. He tried to refuse a tip, highly untypical here in Cairo. Many Cairenes have a passion for baksheesh and...

~Mustafa

(Assalam u alaikum. Mustafa had to go because Ammi was online and she wanted to see his face. I don't have much to add. My lesson today was about vegetables and fruit, but I don't think it will help me much because I am certainly not about to buy Lady fingers or asparagus or cabbage. My teacher was in full form today. He has a very subtle sense of humour that is accentuated by his delicate Arabic. I am very ashamed, however, at the number of simple mistakes that I make. You'd think that I'd learn, but no...well, as Ustadh Ibrahim says, "Shay'un shay'a" bit by bittt!
~Ameer )