Egyptian Engagement Parties

Tim and I with the happy couple.

The young lady at the hair salon. It is a very special day for her, so she wants to look her best. BTW, this is my hair dresser Osama.

The women's room.

You are never too young to dance.

All over the world, I'm sure that all little girls like to think about getting married in the future. From what I've seen, this is an understatement in Egypt. Marriage is considered one of the most important, if not THE most important event in a person's life. Little girls are taught from a very early age that their goal in life is to be a wife and a mom. Now, I am not saying this is wrong, but to plant the idea in a little girl's head that she will amount to nothing unless she is married is wrong, and this is exactly what they are taught.

While I am no expert on the subject, I am writing about what I have observed since being in Egypt. You have probably heard yourself that most marriages are arranged. Arranged marriages still do go on today, mostly in the villages and among the poorer and more conservative people. From what I understand, things have changed some, and young people now have a little more say in the matter of who they marry. It is still a very strict routine though of how they go about this. If two young people start to have an interest in each other, they are not allowed to date, at least alone that is. They may go places with a group of friends, but you would hardly ever see them holding hands or even sitting close to each other. Usually the girls stick close to the girls and the boys stick close to the boys. (This is changing somewhat though as Westernization slowly creeps in and among the wealthier and more liberal.)

When they are old enough, and the young man has purchased a place for them to live, the parents of the young man go to the house of the young woman to get her family's approval to begin wedding preparations. After this meeting, the young couple is considered engaged. Usually a big engagement party is held with dancing and very loud music. For the most part, men and women are separated into different rooms for this, but there is a little intermingling allowed depending on how conservative the family is.

We had the privilege of attending one of these engagement parties while in Egypt. It was definately an amazing, cultural experience. While it was amazing, I don't think I would want to attend many of these. First of all, this particular engagement party was held in a small apartment on around the 5th floor. (Some are held in hotels or clubs.) The apartment was packed to what would probably be considered over capacity. It was hard just to move because of the number of people. Secondly, the music was very, very loud. Finally, the party went on till the wee hours of the next morning. Now, I don't mind being around people, but I am not a fan of anything loud, and I am not a night person. Needless to say, we left before the party was finished, and I do have to say I had quite a headache when we left.

More of my Favorite Things

Aren't they adorable? These kids live in a very poor area of Cairo called "Garbage City". I've done a post on this city before. It is an area that is predominantly Christian, and the people here are the garbage collectors of Cairo.

This picture was taken right outside of the gates of an orphanage in this poor area. The kids are used to foreigners coming into this orphanage to volunteer their time. Volunteers come in and just spend time with the orphans. Volunteers come in and play with the toddlers, or they can help with the babies. Unfortunately, I have only been to the orphanage once. I helped with the babies. When you help with the babies you can hold them, help feed them, and then help with changing their diapers before they go down for their nap. I was not even aware of this orphanage until a friend took me there this past year. Hopefully this next year I will get to go back many times and I will be sure to take pictures and do a post on this very special place.

Back to the kids in this picture. Even though I love to stop and talk to kids like this, one has to be careful in this area. Not because it's dangerous or anything, but if you stop, pretty soon you could find yourself overwhelmed by the number of kids that will be surrounding you. These kids were asking for "hagga helwa", or candy. I had some mints and was handing them out. I had to do it quickly and discreetly so as to not draw too much attention to myself.

What I love about the kids, or even the adults, in this area is that they don't seem to let their circumstances get them down. The people in this area are very poor, but they are always happy and very friendly. Just goes to show you that money and riches are not what it takes in this world to be happy.

A Few of my Favorite Things

My 3rd grade class from last year.

Me, with my 2 nieces and a friend's 4 daughters.

Some of the "special needs kids" I worked with.

The kids from the daycare in Egypt.

One of the cuties at the preschool I work at now.

Another cutie from the preschool.

No matter where I am in the world, one of my favorite things in the world is kids. If you know me at all, you know this to be true. While in Egypt, there were several things I did to work with kids. I taught the preschool class at our church. I worked with special needs kids in a very poor area of Cairo. My husband and I helped some friends start a daycare, and I taught 3rd grade last year, which I will be doing again this year.

While in the States, it is no different. I try to spend as much time with my two nieces and another friend's daughters as possible. There are six of them, and they are all 8 years old and under. Also while here, I am working at a preschool with two-year-olds. I am only working 2 1/2 hours a day, but it gives me the "kid fix" that I need.