Christmas Cards to Heaven

It’s Christmas again, well Christmas eve, and I’m sitting at the airport in Cairo waiting to board my plane to take me to Istanbul. Today, I’ve been thinking a lot about the people I left in San Francisco. Clearly I’m having an unforgettable time, but it’s the holidays and the airport soundtrack is full of the most damn nostalgic songs. Ok enough with the Sinead O’Connor Cairo International, really.  Briefly I want to wish everyone I love in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Kentucky, Indiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Maryland, Florida, Australia, Egypt, and everywhere else in the world where you may be, a very Merry Christmas. If I were home you would be getting another one of my traditional Christmas cards, with a lovely picture of me and one very pissed off Bruiser in reindeer ears. However, since that isn’t happening this year, this is the best I got. Also I wanted to, more importantly, write a note to the people who are not going to receive my Christmas card this year.

Dear Dad, Adrian, and Gregor,

        HI! How’s it going? It’s been awhile since I made an attempt to speak to you, I’m sorry for that, but I assume you are following my every move. To me this is evident through circumstances of my life in this moment, and every moment of the past year. I wish you were here so I could tell you all about my adventures in 2010, and how through your influence I was brave enough to accept all challenges. Did you know I moved to the Middle East to become a teacher? I know, random…but I think if you saw me in my element you would be proud.

Dad, I remember all the art lessons you gave me as a child, well my students love them. Every morning when I look in the mirror, and I see my dark brown hair and prominent ears I see a product of you. Thank you for giving me “Garcia” and somewhat Hispanic appearance, nothing makes me more proud than to call myself your daughter.  Our last Christmas together you gave me a tradition Native American dream catcher. I curse the 13 year old girl who carelessly lost it, but it’s O.K because now, as I get older and witness the products of my manifestations, I see you’ve made sure that that dream catcher has been over my bed the whole time.

Adrian sometimes I pretend that you are sitting in bed with me and I look at you and tell you about the crazy things I’ve been doing. You always look back at me, smile and say “well of course why do you think I picked you”. You are the reason I started traveling, and are the reason I continue. I choose to sail in the Caribbean and scuba dive in the Red Sea because you can’t. I honor you and our relationship by living through your memory. Thank you for allowing me to do this.

Gregor while having a tequila induced conversation with you we began discussing the places of your past 6 months of travel. You named of Mexico, Brazil, London, and Chicago ….I said “I want your life” and you replied (in very typical Gregor fashion) “Darling, I want you in my life”. Done! You were awesome travel buddy. Completely experienced, yet unpretentious.  “Plane tickets are the easiest things in the world to buy”, you told me once. I think about this statement all the time, and how it continues to shape a lot of spontaneous decisions.

Up until now you three have been the men of my life. Thank you God for making me deserving of this. It’s completely true that the encounters of our past, good and bad, pave the path we are presently walking.

It's that time of year again, where we should indulge in happiness. Christmas has that wonderful way of making us forget about sadness, and remember what is truly important. Tomorrow, I hope everyone hugs those who you love, and maybe even those who you don’t. So like always, I’m sending lots of love from Africa. Have your-self a very Merry Christmas. All my love,

     Tobie.

And in the words of Gregor. “say hello to ya mutha for me”

Arabic 101

Arabic has definitely been an interesting and challenging language to learn. It has a completely different script and sentence structure than Western languages. When I first got here I was teaching myself to write, and I was slowly starting to read signs and menus. You write and read from right to left, except for number they are written/read left to write. Really, I’ve become quite dexterous. Also, they only use the vowels e, u (pronounced eeeeeew), and i. So I’m not Mrs. tObie, I’m Mrs. tUbie (teeeeeeeewbie). Also they don’t have P in their alphabet, so anything with P is replaced with a B. Would you like a Bebsi to drink? Where is your Baba (dad)? I think the native speakers have an extra voice instrument in their throats, because there are such harsh pronunciations on some letters, which is nearly impossible for me to say without looking like I’m dry heaving. Also there are hundreds of different dialects in Arabic, but the Egyptian dialect is the most widely spoken because of the cinema (Cairo is the Hollywood of the Middle East). There are even smaller dialect differences between towns in Egypt, even differences between the West Bank and East Bank. So I learn a new word, and then five minutes later being corrected.

I’m writing these words the way they sound to an English speaker, NOT THE WAY THE ARE CORRECTLY SPELLED. So any Egyptian friends who are reading this, I’m so sorry for butchering your language.

Salaam                                                                    Hello

Salaam Alaykuhm                                                 Hello, peace be with you

Ma’Salaama                                                         Goodbye

Ahlwa                                                        yes (also naa’m, but not in the same context)

 La’a                                                                           No

Shukran                                                                  Thank you

Afwan                                                                        You’re welcome

Lo Simaht/lo simahti                                                Excuse me (m/f)

Min Fadlak/ min fadlik                                             please (m/f)

Saba al Khayr                                                       Good morning (literal translation            

                                                                              the morning is good)

  „         „   ful                                                                (the response)-flower

                  Asal                                                           honey

                  Noor                                                          new

                  Helwa                                                       sweet/nicel about

                  Lebon                                                     milk

Dispa al Khayr                                                        goodnight

So in the morning when I pass people on the streets they will say Saba al Khayr, and my response is Saba al ful. I don’t believe there is a word for good afternoon, so you say saba al khayr until about 5 in the evening, till you switch over to Mesa al khayr.

Kay Falhad                                                        how was your day?

Kulu tamom                                                      everything fine?

Kulu kwais                                                            Are you good?

Humdulila                                                            Fine (response)

Mia mia                                                                     perfect                   

Nos nos                                                              50 50. or ok ok

Tabana                                                                   tired

This is generally how people greet each other informally. I say this to the kids a lot. “Enti kwais habibi” translates to “Are you doing O.K my darling”

Ana                                                                          I

Enti                                                                      you

Fi                                                                         Here

This is how you ask for something. When I’m looking for one of my students I say “fi Mohamed” “Is Mohamed here?”or if I walk into a restaurant and I want a soda I say “Fi Bebsi” “Do you have Pepsi?”

Fin                                                       Where?

Bekam                                                 How much?

Malish                                                   Sorry

Mafish                                                   Unfortunately

Mafish mashkila                                 unfortunately not here

Faka                                                   Change (as in money)

You say “fi faka” When you buy something and the person doesn’t give you your change. “Where’s my change”

Hisap                                                         Check in a restaurant

Halas                                                   Stop! Finish! Quit! Enough!

Again, another word I use almost everyday with the kids

Vas                                                enough (used in terms if someone is pouring a drink)

Yalla                                                  Start! Lets go! Hurry up!

Imshi                                                       Get away

Ya zefta                                                  You piece of shit

These are very disrespectful words, so I only use then when necessary. It’s usually followed by some big verbal altercation, or total shock that a foreigner knows this lingo. Thanks Roujy.

Mumkin                                                        If Possible

Mish munkin                                           Not posible

Isma                                                                Listen

Busi                                                               look

Habibi/habibti                           (term of endearment) My darling, my sweet, my love

I love this word. It was one of the first words I learned in Arabic, because I spent a lot of time with a German couple who had been living here for about 6 months, and she called her husband Habibi. I say this to my students a lot and the animals. We finally named our cat Habibi Zefta (my darling piece of shit) you can imagine the reaction from neighbors when we call her in at night.

Helwa                                                        good or nice

Magnun                                                    crazy

Another term I use with the kids. “Enti magnum” “you’re crazy!”

Owi                                                                   a lot

Hena                        here (When looking for little Mohamed, I usually get an answer                

                                  from the kids “Mohamed hena” Mohamed’s here

Ana ishi hena                                           I live here   

Ami                                                                   Uncle

Khti (sounds like Hoti)                                 Sister

 Ahuya                                                           brother

Culture point : In the Quran everyone is considered your brother or sister and should be treated as so. So these are also terms of respect. If I really like someone, say a man that runs the fruit shop, I would call him “ya ami”. If someone on the street was very kind, then I would say “Shokran ya ami” “Thank you my Uncle”  

Also this is interesting because in Tagalog sister is atti and brother is kuyo, I read somewhere that there are a lot of Arabic influences in many other languages.                                                 

Shwia                                                               Slow down

Tini                                                                  more! or again!

Chamel                                                            turn left

Yamen                                                         turn right

A la tool                                                      keep going strait

Mudarisa                                                      Teacher

Madessa areman                                       German school

Amrika                                                              American

“Ana Englizi mudarisa medessa Areman” “Im an English teacher in the German School”  (not grammatically perfect, but they get the point)

Wahashtini                                                   I miss you!