When the Egyptian greeter who met me at the airport this summer asked me where I lived he commented, “If I were an American coming to live in Egypt, I wouldn’t choose to live in a neighborhood with other Americans.”
I can see his point. It might seem kind of an odd choice. Hard to get to know the locals. But I wonder if he’s ever traveled? Wherever you go in the world there’s a reason that most large cities have a Chinatown, a Little Italy, an Arab quarter. It’s because there is a certain comfort in being among your own.
Aside from language barriers and differences in religion, there are other cultural barriers to getting to know the local people. One big hurdle for me is the difference in schedules. One of our Syrian acquaintances once commented that “Americans are sleepy people”. The fact that we go to sleep at what seems to him an early hour (before midnight) and sleep the entire night through is just plain odd. He thinks nothing of sleeping from 2am to 6am then taking a nap from 4pm to 8pm. Perfectly normal.
I do have Egyptian friends. Many of whom I’d like to know better, but for reasons of scheduling our lives rarely intersect. They are late night people and I am…not. I am up and about early in the day when they are either out working or still sleeping. Birthday parties that start at 6pm? My kids are melting down about then and filling them with sugar never helps. They are in bed and asleep before the party really gets going. Weddings that start at 11pm? Show me the pictures later. I’m going to bed.
My husband and I were invited to a wedding a few days after Christmas. In spite of everything I know about weddings and night life in Egypt, since the invitation said it began at 7pm I thought it was safe enough to accept.
The couple were getting married in a Greek Orthodox Church downtown and was a black tie affair. Since I don’t have a fairy godmother, I borrowed items from several of my friends until I came up with an appropriately sparkly ensemble.
I felt a little over-the-top in my velvet top and beaded shawl, but I fit right in. Most of the men in attendance wore dark suits rather than black tie but you should have seen the ladies! There was a range of attire but many wore floor length evening gowns and fur. The younger women mostly wore knee length cocktail dresses and lots of makeup. It was a very nice change from the usual baggy clothes and head scarves you see on the street here. We could have actually been in Greece.
The church ceremony started nearly 40 minutes late and went on for about an hour. We then went from the church across town to a five star hotel where the reception was being held which took another half hour. By the time we arrived at the hotel it was nearly ten o’clock. I was starving but with no bride and groom in sight, there was no dinner either. The tables were set with bowls of nuts, mezza snacks (hummus, grape leaves, tabouli, bread), water and an entire bottle of Chivas! I speculated the Chivas was to encourage dancing, but another guest who has lived here longer said that Chivas is actually the dinner drink of choice in Egypt (go figure!). As soon as the parents of the bride and groom arrived the main bar opened as well. So we made do with snacks and drinks until the main attraction started.
The bride and groom arrived with much fanfare. They appeared in silhouette behind a white screen, did a little slow dance and a dip with a kiss before coming out on to the dance floor. They danced first with each other, then with their parents, then invited others to join them. They had a live band with a singer, and much of the music seemed Latin inspired, even his version of “Endless Love”.
The first course – a seafood plate – wasn’t served until midnight. The bride and groom danced on. My husband and I ate. They were only just preparing to open the buffet at 1AM when we decided that we needed to leave. The whole scene was fascinating to watch but we were tired and had our children, sitter and driver to think of.
I’m not at all sorry that we went, but next time we get a wedding invitation I’m eating dinner before I go!
On a side note, it was really interesting to see that the traffic in Cairo never gets any better – just as thick at 1am as it is at noon!
