Nice Egyptian fella poses for us in one of the cafes at Imbaba
I decided to post parts of my essays from my time as an undergraduate. This is specifically from my Rhetoric class (RHET 102), which I took during my first semester, because they seem to be interesting. Reading it now, I realize how different I was then and how different everything in life was to me. I loved my professor and she was the perfect professor to start with when traveling to a country for the first time. Dr. Wafaa Wali, oh how many have complained of her but there were others like me who just loved her method of teaching. In my semester, Dr. Wali decided the theme to be based on Egyptian Identity, and one of our tasks was to explore Imbaba, a small and maybe poor area. She assigned each team with different assignments. Our group of four (which I led) were to explore cafes and small stores, in turn recording some of the commodity prices. After Imbaba, we were to walk to downtown Cairo.
And regarding dates, we had to do this I think in November of 2009. Been quite a while.
Imbaba
In our first assignment we had to take pictures of interiors of eight coffee shops and five plots of empty land. We had to see how they decorate their shops and ask neighbors what happened to the plots of land. We also had to sit in one of the coffee shops, order something and check out the prices; buy certain foodstuff and list the fruits in the local market.
We went to six coffee shops : (unknown), Taj il Dewal, 3alaa il Deen, Tony, ma2ha al a9diqa2 and (unknown).
All the interiors looked pretty much the same. Usually brown tiled with shisha as the display behind the counter. Most of the coffee shops had religious sayings like 'Inshallah' hung over the entrance or just as display. They were very friendly, and some actually posed for the pictures! Some shops looked neat, some looked dirty. Many of them constituted mostly of men.
We sat in 3alaa il Deen. The man was very friendly to us. He got us chairs; he switched on the fan and TV. He cleaned our table and was nice. We ordered tea, water and coca cola. We asked for the prices which were:
- Tea : 1.00 pounds
- Soft Drinks : 1.75 pounds
- Shisha Coal : 0.50 pounds
- Coffee : 1.25 pounds
- Sa7leb : 2.00 pounds
We got pictures of three plots of land:
- House that collapsed years ago; no one did anything about it and it is being used for rubbish.
- House that collapsed and another house is built in the middle of it; people are living in it.
- Old storage place that got burnt down.
Foodstuff:
- Macaroni : 1/4 kilo for 2.00 pounds
- Greens: 2-4 types for 1.00 pound
- Black plastic bag for 0.25 pound
- Fruits available : Guava, Orange, Grapes, Pears, Apples, Pomegranate
Our professor still thought we got ripped off ..
Downtown
Our second assignment was pretty simple. After exploring Talaat Harb Mall, we moved on to our task. We had to walk down Kasr El Eini Street, find Vienna Coffee Shop and have a cup of tea. We also had to check the price which I happen to forget to record. *tehe*
We actually did walk all the way instead of taking a cab. It was pretty simple but just a bit long. You just have to ask around until you finally reach. It was a very small coffee shop right inside a corner infront of a cinema. It was pretty much the same as any coffee shop at Imbaba. What I distinctively remember was that the tea was only 0.90 pound, which was 0.10 pound less than the one at Imbaba. Our order was a glass of water, tea and coca cola which all together cost 3.00 pounds.
And that was our assignment.
And regarding dates, we had to do this I think in November of 2009. Been quite a while.
Imbaba
In our first assignment we had to take pictures of interiors of eight coffee shops and five plots of empty land. We had to see how they decorate their shops and ask neighbors what happened to the plots of land. We also had to sit in one of the coffee shops, order something and check out the prices; buy certain foodstuff and list the fruits in the local market.
We went to six coffee shops : (unknown), Taj il Dewal, 3alaa il Deen, Tony, ma2ha al a9diqa2 and (unknown).
All the interiors looked pretty much the same. Usually brown tiled with shisha as the display behind the counter. Most of the coffee shops had religious sayings like 'Inshallah' hung over the entrance or just as display. They were very friendly, and some actually posed for the pictures! Some shops looked neat, some looked dirty. Many of them constituted mostly of men.
We sat in 3alaa il Deen. The man was very friendly to us. He got us chairs; he switched on the fan and TV. He cleaned our table and was nice. We ordered tea, water and coca cola. We asked for the prices which were:
- Tea : 1.00 pounds
- Soft Drinks : 1.75 pounds
- Shisha Coal : 0.50 pounds
- Coffee : 1.25 pounds
- Sa7leb : 2.00 pounds
We got pictures of three plots of land:
- House that collapsed years ago; no one did anything about it and it is being used for rubbish.
- House that collapsed and another house is built in the middle of it; people are living in it.
- Old storage place that got burnt down.
Foodstuff:
- Macaroni : 1/4 kilo for 2.00 pounds
- Greens: 2-4 types for 1.00 pound
- Black plastic bag for 0.25 pound
- Fruits available : Guava, Orange, Grapes, Pears, Apples, Pomegranate
Our professor still thought we got ripped off ..
Downtown
Our second assignment was pretty simple. After exploring Talaat Harb Mall, we moved on to our task. We had to walk down Kasr El Eini Street, find Vienna Coffee Shop and have a cup of tea. We also had to check the price which I happen to forget to record. *tehe*
We actually did walk all the way instead of taking a cab. It was pretty simple but just a bit long. You just have to ask around until you finally reach. It was a very small coffee shop right inside a corner infront of a cinema. It was pretty much the same as any coffee shop at Imbaba. What I distinctively remember was that the tea was only 0.90 pound, which was 0.10 pound less than the one at Imbaba. Our order was a glass of water, tea and coca cola which all together cost 3.00 pounds.
And that was our assignment.
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