katie in cairo, egypt

The dynamics of the Egyptian classroom here at AUC are slowly but surely becoming much more clear to me. In what I will say about this, however, in no way do I intend to pass any sort of judgment on the other students at the university, namely the Egyptian students, nor about Egyptian society as a whole. I am simply here as an observer, and whether I think the system here is 'good' or 'bad' is really irrelevant. We all have our cultural biases, and act and think ethnocentrically, and I truly am trying to avoid them as much as possible. However, because I come from a different culture and society, much of the normal day to day interactions and attitudes come as a shock to me. But I suppose this is what I am here to discover. So all value judgments aside--

I am currently enrolled in four upper level, 300, 400, and 500 level courses at AUC (I dropped one course because it was extremely boring, I wasn't going to get home university credit, and it took time away from doing other things). Additionally, I am studying with a private Arabic tutor one to two times per week and teaching English classes to refugees two nights a week.

1. Political Economy of the Gulf
2. Development Studies Seminar
3. Classical Arabic Literature on the Theme of Love
4. Islamic Philosophy

From doing a little research on my own as well as just talking to people in Cairo, AUC is supposesdly considered one if not the most prestigious universities in Egypt. It certainly is the most expensive for Egyptian students. When I walk on the campus, which is situated in the crux of downtown Cairo, there is an immediate environmental transformation. The noisy, loud, and dirty streets with broken sidewalks and women begging on the streets disappears, and a beautiful and plushly landscape surrounded by stoic buildings comes into sight. And the young hords of people crowded all about, hanging in groups, smoking their cigarettes, laughing carelessly--certainly no Cairo. The first thing that's different is the AUC college girls. While I myself always make an effort to dress appropriately on the streets, i.e., no short skirts, no tanktops, nice clothing but not revealing, the Egyptian girls have purely rejected this concept. For example, in the so-labeled "Gucci Corner" of the Greek Campus, usually stands flashy dressed girls sporting (real) Prada, Versace, Fendi, etc, etc, etc, with tight tanktops, low-cut tee-shirts, and of course fully accessorized. Not that this is anything different from what I would see at my home rich-kid university in Washington DC, but here in Egypt, this sight is much more of a shocker. Additionally, while on the streets it seems as if about 90% of the women cover their heads with a scarf or hijaab, a very small percentage of the AUC females practice this. Though some do dress quite conservatively, these are much more the exception.

Appearances aside--the majority of the Egyptian students, who are basically the upper upper crust of Egyptian society, treat school with a slightly different attitude than I would expect from a top university. For one, they can never seem to arrive to class on time, and always seem to escape the classroom at least 15 minutes early. Ten minute mid-class breaks turn into half hour coffee and cigarette socials, but don't think that they don't always have a reason or an excuse explaining their absense. Attendance policies at AUC range from very strict (from those professors trying to solve these well known problems) to being ok with missing as many as nine classes a semester. Clearly, getting the students to come to class, on time, and stay in class, is one of the most difficult problems on campus.

While there no doubt are motivated students who work tremendously hard, overloading on coursework, and working in graduate studies as well, it seems as if most the students, at least in my classes, don't share this work ethic. For example, in an upper level seminar class which is supposed to be centered around class discussion, the professors will usually assign quite a bit of research and literature to prepare. To be expected for a senior level class. Yet students seem to always arrive to the class having had "trouble" locating the articles (haven't they been here for four--or more--years now?). Or they "just forgot." Or they "didn't understand it." Anyways, I think it's pretty funny how the study abroad foreign students come into class, backpacks stuffed full of reading materials and full notebooks crammed with their writings on their desks, while many of my Egyptian friends whisk into the room with only their sunglasses and mobile phones. Not even a pen.

Maybe it's partly the language barrier (although most of these students have gone to prep schools that were taught in English), maybe it's that their "shy," but getting students to discuss a single theory of International Development is painful. And the professors know it. They joke about it.

Good example. Yesterday while in my Development seminar class, I was sharing a basically one-on-one discussion (actually closer to argument) with my radical socialist economics professor, whom, despite our clear differences in opinions and perspectives, I really respect and admire. I was trying to get her to explain to me why she so adamantly despised World Bank/IMF policies on all levels. Basically, she explained that Egypt is still a pre-capitalist society. Even in the private labor force with simple factory jobs, labor is not held by organized contracts of productivity or obtained through skill level or training, but rather every job someone gets is through nepotism. Even if they aren't productive. But why wouldn't the owner of the factory want to make more money? Well, this doesn't matter, because he has connections too. And these connections go all the way up. And the worst culprit--the government. People don't elect Parliament leaders because they will vote on legislation, they vote for them because they can grant them favors. Which brings back the whole concept of democracy. But didn't they just have a "democratic" election? Sure, "Egyptian style" democracy. Fancy that. You're only kidding yourself if you think it's one man one vote. It all goes back to the family. And consider Egyptian families. So then it's more like...one family....9,000 votes! And who votes? If the head male of the family says to vote, then you vote. And you vote for whoever he tells you to. Now, this is democracy.

So how does this relate to AUC. Well, for one, the students attending this university did not get there because they had great SAT scores. I'm sure they did well, but then again they have been educated at the best private schools in the country. So they went to great schools, learned a few things, and well, they can pay the tuition. And for Egyptian standards, AUC tution is $$$$$.

Going to AUC gets them a degree, so long as they graduate in time. And that's all they need. A degree. Their families will take care of everything. Whether they end up working for their fathers, uncles, cousins, or whatever family friend's friend's friend of a friend, they are guaranteed a comfy position in Egyptian society after they have their required credentials. So why bother with class?

I know I'm sounding very very harsh, but these are my truthful observations. I'm not saying that I don't see this every day at American University in Washington DC, which is the ultimate "JAP" (jewish american princess) school on the east coast. But things in Egypt are on a grand scale. There are very intelligent students here who care about their studies. Perhaps they're just not in my classes. And it's not that school is a waste of time. The professors who work at AUC are all outstanding. Most have been educated in many places around the world, have published extensively, and are truly fascinating to talk with and learn from. And they keep assigning work, even if no one except for a few students complete it.

My own complaints aside though--this really does say something seriously about the society here. Egypt is considered one of the "most developed 3rd world countries." What then must the others farther down the scale be like? Even though Egypt seems very advanced from the outside--everyone carries cell phones, internet cafes crowd the streets, every home has satellite tv, etc., things operate at an entirely different level on the ground. Tourism is not REAL development. It puts money in pockets and fancy cars on the streets. But it ends there. There are changes in this country, even what I would call progress. The elections for example. 23% voted--a whole 23%! And there was more than one candidate! But if we, as foreigners, as Westerners, as Americans, think we can give the Egyptians an easy prescription to "eliminate" this so called "corruption," instate capitalism, and let the economy and democracy take off from there, we are only fooling ourselves. Whatever change is going to happen here is going to have to come ala Egyptian style. It will have to come from within. And of course, this takes time.

posted by Katie Warren @ 7:06 PM