Collisions and Contradictions

Perhaps one of the most intriguing things I have seen thus far in Cairo is the total collision of the developing and developed world. The other day, Amy and I were walking down a tree lined street (somewhat less littered with trash than others) on our way to a friend's house. We were chatting about something or other, and in the middle of a sentence Amy added, "hey donkey" and then kept talking. And although I have only been here three weeks and generally call myself an observant person, I simply did not notice the donkey on our right in the midst of all the cars along the block. But there he was, just kind of chilling out on the side of the road. I have come to expect the random donkeys, not just in the midst of the trucks piled high with trash bags in Garbage City, but among the nicer sections of Cairo too.

But this is the interesting thing I am noticing about Egypt. Perhaps there is an element of this in many developing countries - collision of worlds in a way that becomes somewhat expected. A donkey on the right side of the road and a Mercedes on the other. An Egyptian woman completely covered in the full length, black hijab in the midst of a crowd and an incredibly stylish, uncovered Egyptian woman behind her. I spent all day yesterday in Garbage City with the orphans and Egyptian youth, and then came home, showered, and dressed up for Halloween. As I sat on a beautiful balcony overlooking the skyline of Cairo, enjoying the slight fall chill in the air and talking with other Americans and a few Egyptians, it was pretty easy to forget that mere hours before I had been playing with babies who might never leave Garbage City. At the party we ate cupcakes (a decidedly un-Egyptian treat), we carved orange bell peppers (due to a lack of pumpkins here? Not sure, but I found it very creative...),we laughed at each others' costumes, and we generally interacted like any other group of young 20-somethings I have been around. One could have easily missed the fact that we live in a developing country.

At the orphanage, one the babies' favorite things to do is look out one of the two large windows. The windows are high, so it requires one of us picking them up to actually see anything. Each window has long, vertical bars spaced just a few inches apart, so one little toddler leg can fit in between each bar. Last week I looked over and Amy and a high school girl who had come with us had put four babies up on the window ledge. Now I know all you mothers out there are struggling with this vision, but it is completely safe, trust me. =) And they love it. We just sit those little guys up there, they hold on to the bars and we hold on to them, and it works. From the window, the view is three-fold. We first see the vine-covered, clean courtyard of the orphanage, then the tall, rickety apartments of Garbage City - brick boxlike structures that often appear to be simply stacked one of top of the other - and beyond that the skyscrapers of downtown Cairo. When I stand there holding the babies up, watching them so obviously delight in the breeze and the open air, I often wonder how to pray for them. That they can go past the courtyard, past the trash filled G.C. streets, even past the polluted mayhem of Cairo itself? Is that even the bottom line here - to get them out? I am not entirely sure, but somehow I doubt it.

As I ponder the intricacies of that question, I can only be thankful for days filled with cupcake moments and orphanage hours. In terms of my personal growth here, I know both aspects are crucial. Other than that, I will simply turn up my observational skills and attempt to learn from the many worlds surrounding me....