Mrs. A's Class - City of the Dead?

Cairo, even after a few days have been a hard experience for me. It faces so many problems, and has no way of fixing them. My program has brought a really unique view to the city. We aren’t just seeing the tourist sites; we are living in the Cairo downtown for a month. We are studying politics, economy and history in order to see how the city has become what it is today. I think there isn’t one word that can possibly describe this to me; it has to be many: frustrating, heartbreaking, and insane. The city today has become so overpopulated that there are possibly 30 million people living in the same size area as the twin cities. This population has been so out of control that they are “illegally” building houses on the most fertile soil in the world. These houses join what is known as the slum ring, a massive grouping of houses that encloses the entire city, and has extended along the ring road towards the great Pyramids of Giza. It is predicted that within the next 20 years or so, the Pyramids will not be mostly encircled with desert, but will be ancient monuments surrounded by housing. What makes this worse is the state of trash and pollution in the city. Cairo is one of the most polluted cities in the world. There is so much smog that staying one day in Cairo is the equivalent of smoking one pack of cigarettes. The air currents above the Nile Valley don’t reach the Nile floor, so any pollution released into the air just sits there, forcing the Egyptians to sit in their own exhaust. To make matters worse, the Egyptian government recently privatized the garbage collecting industry. Once Cairo had one of the top programs in the world, collecting the waste of the city and recycling more than 80 percent of the materials gathered; now it is one of the worse and there are piles of garbage on every corner of the street. This includes the wealthy neighborhoods. The worst example of this is what is called the City of the Dead. Not only is it extremely ironic thinking of the Egyptian history, but it is really sad, as it literally is a city built on a land fill that is flowing with trash. The City of the Dead extends to the great graveyard of the city. The need of housing is so great that people will live in the small huts built on family graveyards.
It is hard to watch, because there is not much effort being done to stop this. Instead of trying to improve the city, the rich and powerful of Cairo are moving away. In the Sahara desert, there are miles of mansions being built, water pipes being brought in and plants, trees, and grass being imported. In the desert, the air is clear and there is room to spread out. Meanwhile there is a giant wall being built between the Egyptian upper-class and middle and lower classes as the inner city and the rest of the Nile Valley falls further into chaos and disrepair. These gaps will continue to grow as the city becomes worse.
What can I do? A outsider. A westerner. A student without power or influence. How do you help them help themselves? This are questions I don’t have a definite answer to. So I am going to ask you a couple of questions…
What do you think you Cairo could do to solve their housing crisis?
What do you think that can be done to solve the trash or pollution problems in Cairo and around the world?
What do you think that you as an individual can do to help people with issues like these?
Also can you figure out what kind of government the Egypt has? and who is its president? What are 2 more major cities of Egypt other than Cairo?
I also have a challenge for you if you are up to it. Can you find the URL for an article about the trash collecting industry in Cairo?
I hope you are all having a great start to your year!
Chase

Taking classes in the world

Hey everyone!
I am sorry for making this my first post, it has been awhile and I am just starting up. So far it has been an amazing 10 days filled with much experiential learning because we start our first classes tomorrow. Everything is different, and in different ways, and both of the city's (Istanbul and Geneva) have their own personality. Geneva was a very laid back, in a typical European way. We for the 4 5 days explored the shores and mountains of the surrounding area, as well as visited the UN for two days of seminars. Me and three others (Luke, Lindsey and Julia) spent a night in Chamonix France and climbed Mt Brevene, a 2525 m peak. From the top we had a perfect view of Mt. Blanc, the tallest peak of the Alps.
After our times in Geneva we flew to Istanbul Turkey. Here we have had a tour of the old city, including the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. We met up with the Term in Middle East Olaf group for a night on the town and also watched the National Basketball Championship final of US vs Turkey in the main city square. Otherwise we have enjoyed the culture, and touring both the city of Istanbul and the city of Bursa.
Two experiences that have really stood out to me. First was the performance of the Whirling Dervishes, and second was attending the morning prayer at the Blue Mosque. The prayer experience was amazing. I witnessed the prayer the day after Ramadan was over. I say the devotion of thousands as they communally participated in a religious activity. It was both humbling and challenged my own view of what it means to be religiously devoted. So far I have been having a blast and will try to keep everyone more updated as I move onto Cairo tomorrow.

Chase