Mnday, February 12

On Saturday, Denny, Pat and I went to a dentist. The dentist was a former student of Schutz who received her dental training back in the states at the University of Minnesota. She has taken over the practice of a prominent long time dentist who passed away a couple of years ago. The office was located downtown on the Cornich with a beautiful view of the Med. The building, while very old, was in pretty good shape and solid as a rock. There are no dental hygienists in Egypt – the dentist does all of the cleaning. To give an indication of the cost of education and salaries in Egypt – the dentist is married to a college professor who teaches at the University in Beirut and she also teaches at the University in Alex in addition to her practice yet they cannot afford to send their two children to our school. It would cost approximately $10,000 each and that is beyond their means.

On the way down, we took a taxi and in one block not far from the campus as we drove along the tram tracks, we saw a 4 car tram loaded to the brim, of course cars bumper to bumper, a horse pulled cart, a donkey pulled cart, a man on a bike and men pushing wheeled carts filled with fruits. The word “liability” which is so prominent in the states is virtually non-existent here. There is always construction going on and building sites are not fenced off, workers are not in hard hats and everything is right out in the open. If something falls on a pedestrian, it falls – no lawsuits, things would be settled privately if any settlements are made. The same holds true for traffic accidents – things are settled without the threat of lawsuits. We usually walk on the streets and not on the sidewalks in spite of the heavy traffic. The sidewalks are often uneven and you never know what might come down from above. We saw a man recently walking on the sidewalk who was drenched with soapy water that was coming from someone’s apartment window!

The most common phrase that we hear in Alex from the native Egyptians ia "Inah-Allah" which means "God Willing." Many sentences end with that phase. For instance if I say to someone, "I'll see you tomorrow." They might answer "Yes, Insha-Allah." Another phrase that one hears frequently is "hamdulillah" or "Thanks be to God." When we ask someone how they are, the response might be "Fine, hamdulillah." It is usually the older Egyptians who use these phrases, it isn't too ofter that we hear students. There is a real sincerity when using these terms. In Egypt there is a certain acceptance to what life has to offer because of their strong religious convictions.