Egypt

     I will tell you what I know about Egypt: nothing. I will tell you what I know about Arabs: don't know any. I will tell you what I know about Arab Nations: I thought that was called the Middle East. This was me when I was a teenager. When I was a senior in high school, the United Nations was having its 50th anniversary. This was when I moved to Boise and the students were picking a country to study. I chose Egypt. 

     About a year prior, I wrote a paper about Cleopatra. I once thought she was fictional. Perhaps, it was because she was so romanticized. I had friends who were into hieroglyphics. So, I decided to pick Egypt as a topic for Government and Economics. When it comes to knowing about other countries, I am completely ignorant. I knew random pieces of information about Russia and Japan, but not the Middle East.

     I began collecting news articles about Egypt and writing papers. Just about everything I came across was a tragedy or something of religious significance. I read an article about a horrific train wreck. I read an article that described evidence of Jesus Christ.

     There was a paper I had to write about the leaders of Egypt. I knew and found nothing. I cannot remember who the leader of Egypt was at that time. I probably did not know at the time for that matter. I knew Egypt was a democracy. The only thing I understood at the time was that Cleopatra was the last queen of Egypt. King Tut was somewhere in there. Needless to say the list was not plentiful.

     I began my collection of Middle Eastern music. For Middle Eastern week, I cooked an awesome Egyptian dish. That was when I became addicted to Middle Eastern cuisine. I wanted to hire a belly dancer, but the school did not approve. So, she leant me a video tape instead.

     At the time, there were a couple of foreign exchange students. People gathered around them to ask them questions. The students began saying that they were sent there by Saddam Hussein. When I mentioned it recently, Rami scoffed at that. You would have to realize that this was in 1995 and it was a couple of kids. For all we knew, they were talking smack and trying to scare everyone.