Hi AUC students!

I have a question for you guys. I'm researching the impact of the "green" (environmental) fashion trend across cultures, and I'm wondering if you could help me by telling me a bit about what you have experienced in Cairo. In America, being "green" is currently somewhat of a fashion trend: lots of people wear shirts that promote recycling or "going green," and many celebrities have begun to endorse environmentalism. This has led me to wonder, however, if the trend has to do more with fashion than actual environmental function.

What do you think? What is the "green" trend like in Cairo? Do you feel that it is important to appear environmentally-conscious? If so, does this pressure influence your choices as a consumer? And what is your perspective on the "green" trend in the U.S.?

I would love to read your comments. Thanks for your help!!

-Kelly

1. To what extent do ads in your society portray ideals to be attained?
2. If so, do you feel that in your society sexual undertones in advertising make the product more appealing?
3. To what degree do you feel women’s appearances are venerated in your society (specifically in ads)?
4. Is sexuality considered a strong component/reason for pride?
5. To what extent are traditional religious values esteemed & do you think they play a role in advertising? Do they reinforce or shape your values?

Thanks so much I really appreciate it!!
-Rachel

How much processed food does the population eat?
How much processed food do you have access to?

When I conducted some internet research on the amount of processed foods that the Egyptian population ate, I found out that the results varied depending on the item consumed. For example, the percentage of Egyptians that consume processed vegetables witnesses an increase of 20% each year. Despite this increase, there are still many people struggling to obtain vegetables due to government regulations and policies that affect vegetable prices, which are in many cases for the disadvantage of the Egyptian citizens. In terms of tomatoes, Egypt primarily relies on its domestic production of fresh tomatoes. However, the harvesting of tomatoes has been affected due to poor handling and packaging, which reduced the available amount of tomatoes for Egyptians. Despite there still being prolific amounts of tomato, yet Egypt imports tomato sauce. As for milk, the majority of Egyptians receive fresh milk, yet the few Egyptian businesses that are involved in dairy processing import dried, skimmed milk. Researching about these facts made me consider how much processed foods I eat on a daily basis. I'd say that I eat some processed foods such as baked chicken. However, I consume fresh vegetables, such as broccoli, which I preserve in a refrigerator and not a freezer. I also consume fresh fruits, depending on the season such as oranges, apples, bananas, and watermelon. I am very grateful for the fact that I am capable of affording fresh fruits and protein foods such as meat, in addition to fish and chicken. In Egypt, many of its citizens cannot say that are as fortunate. Many poor families sleep at night worrying whether they will have enough money in order to buy some vegetables the next day. Thus, many families end up only affording to buy rice and macaroni as inflation continues to progress and affects all food areas, primarily meat and chicken. Since the poor cannot afford to pay for these "luxurious" foods, their diets consist of sources of fat, which leads to many of them becoming victim to diabetes. Furthermore, it is the custom of many families during Islamic religious holidays such as Ramadan (month of fasting till sunset each day), Eid el Fitr (celebration after Ramadan), and Eid el Adha to provide food for those in need. Those in need look forward to receiving the foods that they cannot afford and do not eat during most of the year. Finally, one point I would like to note and I think is interesting to consider is that since the wealthy class can afford foods that the poor cannot afford, many from the former group are constantly dieting. The profession of dieticians is widely popular in Egypt, and many of those who can afford a vast variety of different foods visit these dieticians in order to lose weight. Recently, during the past couple of years, many from the middle class can be found at different diet clinics. However, the same cannot be said for those of the poor class. All in all, Egypt over the past 6-8 years has gained awareness of the dangers of unhealthy food and how they affect one's health. Thus, more citizens are being cautious when it comes to what they eat.

What is going on now with the bread shortage?

Half of the population lives on less than 1 dollar a day; prices have been constantly increasing while salaries are still constant. While poverty increase and difficulties to buy food are increasing, more and more people are turning to subsidized bread. The government then struggles to meet this increase demand and it becomes the target of extreme anger and incomprehension from the population. The problem is that Egypt cannot afford to subsidize bread as this is more costly to them then the national budget of health and educational system! Approximately 50 million Egyptians rely on subsidize bread every day. Bakeries cannot provide enough bread to the increasing population who needs it. Therefore, people begin to queue for bread at 3am. As people wait for such a long time, frustration and stress come along leading to fights and even death. In February, a man was shot dead in a quarrel over a place in a bread queue. Another lady was deathly stabbed outside a different bakery. Moreover, witnessing people dying of heart attacks while waiting in the queue under terribly high temperatures happens very often. Also, due to high food prices many families eat a meal a day and this meal is mainly composed of bread. If bread is not available then what is left for those people to live on? As things are going bad, Egyptian president Mubarak ordered police and army to bake bread for the starving population but it is not enough as they fulfill only 1% of the population needs. Moreover, the government enlarged the list of bakeries or stores who could receive subsidized bread which helped in the availability of bread to the poor. The bread queues have decreased but the prices of all other food are still very high so the problem is actually very far from being solved.

History of bread subsidization:
Subsidized bread today represents a huge problem in Egypt. Its shortage has led people to queue for it at 3:00 am. 45% of the population lives under the poverty line and hence survives on subsidized bread. The government started subsidizing staples, mainly bread and rice, right after World War II. Then when Abd EL-Nasser's government overthrew the monarchy, subsidies where heavily relied on in maintaining social order and promoting a socialist economic model. In 1977, there was an attempt to cease bread subsidy; one which was highly faced by riots. Consequently, the bread subsidy persisted. More reserves are being spent today on bread subsidy than on health or education. However, acquiring bread remains a brutal affair because of the highly inflated prices of food that accompanied the rise in oil price. This increase in prices of staples forced more people to rely on subsidized bread and drove the demand up. While 50 millions loaves of subsidized bread are needed to cover the demand, only 2.5 million loaves are produced daily.

Today in class, we had a special Halloween party! We were encouraged to come to class in costume, and we had food (a whole variety- bananas, candy, granola bars, cupcakes, apples, pumpkin bread, and apple cider). It was great to be able to hang out, talk with each other, and generally relax during an otherwise stressful time. This is definitely just one more reason why we love Stanford!

The topic I chose for my paper is urban literature. I have always been interested in urban literature because of the number of African American people that praise the genre. This is an interesting topic to talk about because it deals with a whole bunch of issues that is not written about in other books and if it is mentioned in other books, it is not done so explicitly as in urban fiction novels. I have no clue what I want my thesis to be. There are so many aspects and issues involved in this one subject and I have not the slightest idea of how I will narrow it down and come up with my own thesis. I am focusing towards how black women are represented in urban fiction novels. In this paper I want to explore both sides of the controversy that exist within this topic. I want to figure out the true nature of this genre and see how it has change the world of literature whether it being for the better or worst.

Here, we have the eye-catching Gladiator sandals. Why are they on the top-of the AUCian fashion list? Well, they have their unique styles which as you can see can reach the ankle line and therefore be hidden under the trousers as well as be wrapped around them. Not only are they found in various colours that range from astonishing pinks, explosive purples, electric blues, calming whites to classical blacks, but also, they are surprisingly comfortable since they are usually made from comfortable materials such as leather. In addition to the sandals, we have the head bands which are seen an important accessory to the diverse AUCian outfits. What makes them that famous is the “hippy” look they provide as seen in the photo above (right figure).

Speaking of accessories that are related to one’s profile face, are the Ray-Ban sunglasses. Whether they are in their classical shapes or modern ones, they definitely suit both sexes as seen in the above left picture. Nevertheless, when it comes to skinny trousers either cotton or jeans, they are worn by males, yes, males and not just females unlike what is usually perceived by many.

Leggings”, a word that indeed can’t escape an AUCian female closet. Why? Because it goes well with all seasons; summer, winter, spring and fall. They are called leggings since they actually customize the leg’s shape. Despite the fact that they might be of a thin textile, they are astonishingly warming during cold days. Although in the above pictures the leggings’ colour is black, you can find them in cheerful colours like red, purple and even yellow. Oh! Here we find again the Gladiator sandals spicing up the leggings and the skinny jeans as well.

We just can’t forget about the books and that’s where the cross bags come to take an essential part in our clothing. It all started simply as laptop bags and with their enormous spread over the AUC campus, they became a desirable trendy look. They can be plain casual like Vans or with classical designs such as Louis Vuittons. Speaking of classical style of clothing, the classical shoes come along as seen in the above pictures with Kareem wearing the brown and Youssef wearing the black.

Those were just few of the AUCian trends that largely depend on the ongoing global changes in the fashion industry. However, being an AUCian, means you just have to be yourself whether you follow these looks or not. In both cases, you are still going be an AUCian...

Mirna Awad and Amr El Abd

In the minds of many, Egypt has always been the land of the pyramids, Cleopatra, king Tut, "the mummy "and " the mummy returns". The mystical appeal of the ancient Egyptian civilization has lured many to try and know better about it and study it more closely. And where closer can one ever study it that in the land of the pharaohs itself! The American university in Egypt is one of a selected few (probably one of two) of American affiliated universities that offer an Egyptology major world wide. Among the different departments of AUC, Egyptology is considered one of the most unique and interesting departments. The department presents a wide variety of courses concerned with the dawn and development of the Egyptian civilization. Students study different topics such as construction, hieroglyphic language, medicine, religion and many other aspects of this great civilization. For its uniqueness, the department attracts Egyptian and foreign students alike who share the passion of studying ancient Egyptian culture and history.

Greetings from across the Atlantique! If any of you guys ever came to Cairo, you probably noticed that it’s a polluted city. Where else would you see a bus blowing more smoke than a big fire? In order to avoid polluting our city even more, the American University in Cairo developed an environmentally friendly campus. Other than classrooms, meeting halls and buildings our campus also has a lot of greenery. There are 1,216 date palms such as the ones shown in the photo and a lot of grass areas. Being surrounded by this kind of environment is a pleasant experience when you live in a crowded and polluted city such as Cairo.

YOUSSEF Youssef (This is actually my first and last name, I didn’t write my name twice)

Source: http://www.aucegypt.edu/newcairocampus/Pages/default.aspx