glass of tea...

I have come to really enjoy the rituals that I have developed working here. To say the very least, working with poor artisans in Egypt is the polar opposite environment from working in corporate America. Day-to-day interactions include lots of tea, no emails, no credit cards and the satisfaction of being surrounded by people who work with their hands and produce beautiful items. Don’t get me wrong, people in Egypt with more corporate jobs might as well be in NYC, LA, DC or London. Their days are filled with meetings, conference calls, emails, etc…but their offices usually have a view of the Nile. ;)

I now drink a minimum of about 5 cups of tea ‘shay’ a day. I actually enjoy the cup of shay and the ½ hour before each meeting which usually involves questions about my marital status and my parents. I have also gotten numb to being looked at as if I have three heads. The question is evident on their faces: why would someone come to work with poor artisans out of choice? They don’t see what I see. They don’t see the beauty that is created out of very simple and poor lives, and they don’t see the potential for employment. I have also become accustomed to telling everyone from cab drivers, to distant relatives to the artisans themselves: yes I am Egyptian, yes I moved from the States, and yes I love it here! And ½ an hour later, yes I was born here, and yes BOTH of my parents are Egyptian. And no thanks, I don’t think I want to meet your nephew. ;) ;)