Its Corn Season in Egypt, Do you know when corn season is where you are???

I guess since the last couple of weeks have past I have not been written on the blog so here it goes.

Work has been going full speed ahead since I returned from my trip to India. We are headed towards the end of the project and time has just speed up because of the need to get as many appointments done before people start taking their summer holiday and leaving Egypt.

On an interesting note it is corn season in Egypt. (Maybe for that matter the rest of the world) that being said its corn season. I don’t really think that I have been as aware of a fruit or vegetable season as I have been here in Egypt with corn season. And it is not just because my driver Magdi apparently grows a lot of corn on his farm. But because everywhere you look there are people selling corn. And its not just like buying it by the pound. There are little stands where they sit there on coals and roast it, and they keep fanning it by hand to keep the coals lit. Typical Egyptian Entrepreneur attitude.

( stopped writing the blog so now a couple of days later it has started back up)

I have got to admit (like you weren’t already aware of it) I have gotten spoiled in this job. First off its my job as a International Business Analyst, to ask questions and therefore there is no question that is off limits, as long as I preface it by saying, “now you don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to but off the record”……or take the living in a hotel, if that concept is not enough….I remember watching some movie not to long before I left to start this job of how this guy owns this hotel and so he ends up living in it but he doesn’t like to tell people he lives in a hotel being a bachelor and all because of it looking just too sleazy, then take the fact that my laundry is sent out and I don’t ever drive cause my company has a driver here for me.

The reason why I am saying this is that I have gotten really oust to not having patients or to have to wait on anything. Really I mean the typical Griggs is already not know for patients to begin with but combining these things is not the best. But I am reminded of this two or three times a week when I go to the grocery store. Right down the street of the great neighborhood I live in is this really American style grocery store. The only problem is the cashiers are nothing close to Americans, in fact if I was to put the typical Egyptian in the dictionary I would put a picture of one of the cashiers in this grocery store in the picture.

It is always at the Egyptian pace, which is usually backward moving, but even when its not its always an issue, the machines out of ink, they don’t have change or its just time to switch shifts. So I say this for all of those wondering what Chad’s going to be like when he comes back that yes I have been spoiled, but don’t worry there is a team of cashiers in the grocery store in my neighborhood who always are teaching me their own bit of patience.

Speaking of my Neighborhood, I love it, it really is a big city neighborhood. I live on Zamalik a tinny island in the middle of the Nile in Downtown Cairo. The island is said to have over a million people of the upper class living on it. From the Ambassadors the Presidents son is about to buy a place to business executives, but this is not all that you see or what you love about Taher Hussien street Zamalak, by Fondo (Hotel) New President (my home here in Egypt).

What I love about it….the same people are always always sitting outside every time no matter what time of day it is they are there. Right next to the stairs of the internet café there is this old man who trys to sale tourist souvenirs Who always says hello and always wants to know how my day has been. Funny enough this is the same man when Ophelie moved out of her apartment he tried to charge her, when she asked what for…he replied because I said Hi to you every day. Oh it might be an interesting day when I tell him I am leaving.

Or the Police, there are both uniformed police, secret police and army guys in total there are usually 6 or so. More government beacuracy at its finest not that they are actually needed but more because it gives more Egyptians a job. But its one reason why I love it cause it makes my streets one of the safest one in the world.

Or how about the dry cleaners, every time I walk in there about every night they call me….Cheed….even though I have told them a million times its Chad….it doesn’t matter….its always Hi Cheed hows its going….!

Or the woman who is always whereing the (Abaya – the black full dress covering for the women) she is always sitting on the corner with different trinkets, tissues, corans, prayer beads and the such, every time I walk by she always starts trying to sale me something, this is every night, and every night I tell her Me Masri (I am Egyptian not a tourist)….

This is just a little glimpse into my neighborhood I love, no matter how tired at 5 o’clock (the end of a normal workday) it always makes me smile, to know I am in a place that I belong in this crazy crazy city of Cairo.

All for now,

Cheed

Bombay on yahoo.com

I found it interesting just days after returning from Bombay, India what do I see but a news article on Bombay. If you read it, it starts off pretty harsh talking about the slums of Bombay, but if you get down far enough it goes onto talking about some of the ways that Bombay is seen as the city of dreams and part of that character that I hope will some day bring up the lower income. I will post it below or you can read it at:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/india_slum_enterprise_dc;_ylt=AvbPLUKkW5SEZf4at9KxQdbq188F

By Krittivas Mukherjee Mon Jun 11, 3:06 AM ET

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The first sight for anyone flying into India's richest city is a sea of corrugated and tarpaulin-covered roofs beside a narrow, filth-choked river.

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It is an aerial view of Dharavi, considered Asia's biggest shantytown, two square km (0.8 square miles) of open sewers, muddy lanes and ramshackle tenements that is home to almost a million people.

But strip away its squalid veneer and Dharavi bares a unique entrepreneurial spirit, and multi-million dollar micro-businesses, that breaks all the stereotypes of a slum.

Past scavenging crows feeding on dead rats, past children scampering through trash, one arrives at the plastic recycling factory of Nisar Ahmed.

Here, half a dozen men toss plastic boxes into massive grinders that chop them into tiny pieces and melt them down into multicolored pellets, ready to be cast into, perhaps, cheap plastic toys.

"Dharavi has a huge plastic recycling industry, and we are one of the biggest," Ahmed told Reuters sitting in his soot-blackened, one-room factory with a tangle of electric wires hanging from the roof.

"There are other industries as well like chemical, pottery, soap-making, leather goods, electrical equipment and many more."

A RICH SLUM

Arguably the most prosperous among the world's biggest shantytowns, Dharavi has about 5,000 single-room factories and hundreds of cottage industries that together have a turnover of around $1 billion.

Practically every home here produces something to sell - incense sticks, poppadoms, pickles, soft toys and candles among the many crafts.

"Most know Dharavi as a slum where poor people live," said Abu Khalid Anjum, president of Dharavi Businessmen's Welfare Association. "Not everyone knows how productive this place is."

In Dharavi, leather is the main product, much of which is exported to the Middle East.

Then there are the foundries, which make everything from buckles to brass fittings. Gold jewelers sit next to people making junk-metal ornaments, bakers and potters, clothiers and cobblers, motor welders and paint makers and countless other craftsmen.

There is, however, a dark side as well to Dharavi's entrepreneurial spirit -- a thriving black market for drugs and fake fashion goods and electronics, run by some of Dharavi's disaffected youth organized into gangs.

A FISHING VILLAGE

Until the end of the 19th century, this area of Mumbai, then known as Bombay, was a mangrove swamp inhabited by Koli fishermen before migrants from southern and western India arrived to seek their fortune in the country's financial capital.

Over decades, Dharavi's "jhoparpattis" or slums became the first port of call for dispossessed workers and penniless Mumbai newcomers, resulting in the most diverse of neighborhoods in India's most diverse city.

Dharavi had once been on the northern fringe, but an expanding Mumbai sprawled toward the famous slum, eventually surrounding it and turning the once malarial swamp into a real estate goldmine worth an estimated $10 billion.

In recent years, prosperity has been trickling down to Dharavi's residents. There is 24-hour electricity and running water, and 2006 research shows 85 percent of households have a television, 56 percent a gas stove and 21 percent own a telephone.

But Dharavi has its problems as well. Residents are only too aware of the basic lack of necessities: health care, sanitation, education and even a lack of toilets which force many to suspend their dignity and squat without privacy on the roadside.

Many plans have been made for Dharavi's redevelopment, the latest a government move to tear down the slum and resettle 57,000 families in high-rise housing close to their current residences.

Each family is entitled to 225 square feet of housing, with its own indoor plumbing. In exchange for erecting the free dwellings, private firms can build for-profit housing and commercial space to be sold at market rates which rival real estate prices in New York and Tokyo.

But residents are not happy because they say their new apartments can't be turned into workshops and factories.

Authorities say under the new plan owners of small businesses will have to settle for smaller, alternative plots.

"They can keep making plans, but Dharavi will never change," said plastics factory owner Ahmed. "Are we to run our business from cubby holes?"

The head of India's National Slum Dwellers Federation says it could be years before the winds of change blow in Dharavi.

"Whatever it is Dharavi's micro-businesses will have to be saved," federation head Jockin Arputham said.

India in depth!

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Goa and more from Bombay In...

I arrived this morning safe and sound back on the ground in Egypt. Amazed at how good the weather felt (as shocking as that may sound) compared to the amazing humidity that exists currently on the West coast of India. As of the last post I was just about to head to Goa. The flight from Bombay to Goa was a little over an hours plane ride due South. Goa is a city where the Bombay and for that matter the rest of India’s elite go to for a quick break for R and R. And is currently beginning to be heavily developed by hotels. Of course we were greeted by a car to pick us up from our flight and Wisk us off to the Park Hyatt Resort and Spa. On the way to the hotel we are winded through mountainous roads, reminded me of a jungle and the simpler way of life. After giving Ammo such a hard time about not seeing any cows on the streets on Bombay, sure enough they started appearing in Goa.

The hotel itself is beautiful, reminds me of something you would find in Bali. Lots of ponds and water lilies throughout the property with lush gardens. The suite was amazing looking out into the beach and massive in size. We started out by getting a taste of the local “Goaan Cuisine” as Goa was originally controlled by Portugal there is a large Portuguese influence. I had a the Peri Peri Chicken which was actually a whole chicken massive in size and extremely spicy.

The beach itself is amazing, it is actually the second longest beach in the world, the first also being in India. They have plush lawn chairs and impeccable service on the beach bringing fresh towels and drinks. The next day we had a car pick us up in the morning to go and explore a little bit of what Goa has to offer. We ended up meeting up with Ammo’s real-estate man their and he showed us the site of the new hotel. It is an amazing site with beautiful views of the ocean and will me a world class destination once the hotel is complete. On the way back from exploring it started raining and this is no mist that’s for sure. It truly showed us the power that the monsoon rains can have and imagining that they can last for over a month could make for some pretty soggy land.

Although once we returned to the other side of Goa where the hotel was it was no longer raining. As I decided to go to the beach and enjoy. After about an hour or so, I looked around and noticed that I was the only person on the beach besides the hotel security guard. It was for sure a cool feeling being the only person enjoying the world’s second longest beaches that I could see. We took the flight back to Bombay and Ammo had the driver take us to explore the new Four Seasons hotel. It is a little behind schedule but will open very shortly. We went straight to the roof top which will not be open to the public, on the 34^th floor and it with out a doubt had the best views of the city, especially considering that it is right in the heart of the city so both from the North and South. It was right at the perfect time to watch the sunset on the Arabian Sea.

On my last night in India we went and had another great Indian meal. I honestly did get a little well little isn’t the word to describe it, but anyways heart burn. I am a true lover of Indian cuisine. Although like is always the cases with other cuisine. It’s a little different in the home land, and that being said in India the food is hot. The curry is hot and it brings lots of flavors. After now faithfully eating Indian food for over a year now, I found out that Curry isn’t a type of spice, as I assumed, although knowing that it comes in different colors and flavors. Its actually a mixture of spices together which is what makes curry therefore making every dish a little different.

I had an amazing time in the end exploring India and all that it has to offer. But as Semester at Sea taught me I think it is important to educate and cover topics or issues honestly. Looking at India and Bombay in particular there is great poverty. Now this is seen in a lot of different ways. Like other great cities people are attracted to Bombay as a city of opportunity. Therefore people not affording to be able to have a place to stay in the city simply sleep in the streets every where. For example I was shocked on my last night there out extremely late. We saw all of the taxi cabs with the drivers actually all sleeping on the hoods of the trunks. Don’t ask me why, Ammo thought that it would be cooler then sleeping in the car which is probably true.

Which leads me to the next point, India is striving at great lengths to get the infrastructure up to the level that is needed. Infrastructure in all senses of the word. But you combine this with the great resource of the people and the amazingly strong economic growth. Hopefully all of the Indian citizens will soon enjoy the benefits of the growth that the country is experiencing.

I give many thanks for Ammo and his hospitality and playing tour guide for my week in India. It was fantastic and I encourage all of you that get the opportunity to go and explore incredible India as the government tourism promotional board has dubbed it. And it is simple that.

Chad

Incredible India!!!!!

New pics at http://community.webshots.com/user/chadgriggs

After arriving in Jordan an hour or so late from my flight from Cairo I rushed to rent a car. I was able to get a car and get into the city in record time. Although shortly there after my car was leaning towards one side and ended up getting a flat tire. This was interesting not only because I was on a very tight schedule but also because I had never changed a flat. Surprised at what I had remembered as amazing Jordanian hospitality, the little stand selling fruit or at least the two guys that worked there had no interest in helping me out, rather point to the end of the street and to the right that must have been a tire shop. Anyways, in less that 10 minutes I am proud to say I had the tire changed and ready to go.

It was amazing being in the city and exploring all that felt like a little piece of home that I had left several months back. After spending so much time in Egypt now I was struck with the better way of life people in general are accustomed to in Jordan. I guess in the end it is no different than that of the United States compared with Mexico, not to say there are those from both countries that aren’t enjoying the finer things of life. Which brings me to the question of Egypt’s prime resource that everyone talks about is the 75 million people that make up the country this young large population one in which Jordan has little in comparison. Which makes me ask the question now sitting in India how do you take full advantage of this resource of human capital. Is it simply empowering the people, or what is it that will take Egypt to that next level. In my role as international business analyst for Asia Business Channel I guess that is a lot of the question that has been presented to me in a way one in which I look forward to looking into deeper in my travels throughout India and as I return in a week’s time to Jordan then back to Egypt.

Anyways, back to Jordan I was able to do my worldwide trip throughout the capital of Amman and see everything and catch up on everything that I wanted to although some of my favorite people were not there, Francisco has gone back to Italy, and Basel just happens to be headed to Egypt on the same day that I was going to be passing through Jordan, what are the odds.

My flight to Bombay was with Royal Jordanian, another symbol of Jordan’s success a truly world class airlines that has recently become a part of the one world group and was on a brand new plane. The flight was half empty and I was lucky enough to be in exit row with no one else sitting to the left or right of me so I had more room then if I were in First class.

My flight arrived early in the morning, 4:45am on time. I step off of the plane and am immediately reminded that I am now in India. What does this mean to you reading this I wonder…..Some may go to the bad the heat, the unknown, the surprise, the poverty that some think of…. No to be what made me realize that I was back in India was the amazing amount of people everywhere, and I am just talking about being in immigration. It was like a small little world if you will, mostly Indians, but a small parcel of all different nationalities and of course as I look to my left a Chinese flight crew of about 20 stewardesses and the 4 pilots. Reminding me that India and China are a force to be reckoned with now and in the future weather we like it or not.

As soon as I pass through customs and get my bag, each of which are scanned by customs as we exit the airport. And of course I am greeted by a driver and butler with a big sign with Hyatt and Mr. Griggs. The car was steps away and just a short drive to the Hyatt Regency Hotel http://mumbai.regency.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp . The hotel is very new and modern, as I got there at about 6am I was really tired and told them to be sure and wake me up if Ammo called and I was still sleeping. I didn’t sleet but until noon as if I felt I hadn’t slept at all on the 6 hour flight. The drive from the hotel to Ammo’s apartment is about 45 minutes to the heart of the city right on the coast with amazing views of the water crashing up against the shores. We meet up with his friend from college who was back in town for my first chance of a great Indian meal which I had been looking forward to ever since I had left on the MV explorer over a year before.

I let them take the lead in ordering and so they did, I think we had not only our table but the table next to us covered in food, every dish you could imagine and it was amazing both the veg and non veg as they call it dishes.

As Bombay by and large is not a tourist destination as I came to learn, it is more of a business center, or a LA of India if you will. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the city and then in the evening we went to the roof top of the Intercontinental hotel which is a short distance from the apartment. It has a great view of the bay and surprisingly enough we ran into two of Ammos friends who had been in Padre with us over Spring Break about a year ago.

The next day we explored the city and then headed to the hotel to enjoy the Spa. Once we arrived one of Ammo’s cousins had the presidential suite so we went up there to explore. It was massive with several bedrooms, living rooms and the likes. The Spa was first class, I had a deep tissue massage that was great for getting all of the kinks out of my back from the flight and general stress from work. Complete with a rose petal bath, and then the Jacuzzi and work out facilities. It for sure ranked up there with the best massage I had ever had. We stayed in the apartment for dinner, having his cooks fix a traditional Indian meal for us.

The next couple of days were filled with spicy Indian breakfasts (a real change from the cereal and toast) upon completing my first Indian breakfast I came to realize that the way I would describe the difference between real Indian cuisine and American food. Is that Indian food is all about the flavors, general a little spicy to really spicy depending on how you tell them to prepare it compared to the American quantity of food…. This is of course different if my mother is cooking which has both…..I love you mom!!!!

One of the nights I think it is note worthy to say that we had dinner and drinks at the Taj hotel, one of the most famous hotel chains in India. Very refined and traditional Indian hospitality, with great service.

Today I spent the day exploring the city, Ammo got one of the drivers from the hotel to pick me up and show me around town. We started out with a stop at the Gate of India which was built for when the Queen and King of England first visited India. We also went to the historical sites and buildings including the House where Gandhi stayed at when he lived here. Kind of interesting to see, but reminded me a lot of the Ann Frank house in Amsterdam, just a random big house in a neighborhood. One of the more interesting things is the washing area as they call it. It is a huge area outside that have cement water holders kind of like an endless array of small pools where there are men banging clothes, sheets and towels on the cement and washing them.

Well, I better run. We are flying to Goa tomorrow. It is a beach town off the Western coast just South of Bombay so I am looking forwarding to spending the next couple of nights there. I will do a full review of my trip once I am back.

Chad