Cairo, the 16th October, 2009
“Weird things about me ( which Egypt has helped create or enhance!)”
It’s known to anybody to has ever met me for five minutes:
I am a totally “out of the box” kind of person.
“Weird things about me ( which Egypt has helped create or enhance!)”
It’s known to anybody to has ever met me for five minutes:
I am a totally “out of the box” kind of person.
It’s not even something I cultivate or cherish though it’s stronger than my will. Being an alien is part of my nature and I know for a fact that “education” or, should I call it, domestication against nature never worked with me.
My mum always knew what she was talking about when she called me a wild horse or the “daughter of a gipsy” (terms that were supposed to impart a slight critic but always sounded just great to my ears).
I often wish I was more “normal”, I wish I fit into this material crazy world expects from me, I wish I was a little more stupid and less sensitive and even correspond to the image most people have of myself. A bit of normality, please…so that I wouldn’t feel like a fairy for most of my life.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE WEIRD THINGS ABOUT ME (which Egypt has helped create or enhance!):
1. I have become supersticious since I ‘ve arrived to Egypt which is something strange coming from a sceptic and often rational person like me. After having contact with the effective power of envy and even witchcraft, I have learnt since then that protecting myself from it is as important as an health insurance.
As my spiritual Mothers well know, I am a kind witch myself and I’m protected – Thanks God – against external evilness but the ones around me – maybe weaker or simply unaware – are the ones who pay for it (plus the downside of all evilness you send or do to others that, ultimately, returns to you like a boomerang).
2. I don’t own a television. I’ve never been a television addict but I have reached a point – when I moved to Egypt and then, to my new house and by myself – that all superficial, empty gadgets that fill most people’s empty lives make no sense in mine.
I listen to no radio. I see no television or read magazines/newspapers with the “small news” about celebraties and such. When I want to know about a specific subject, I search for it on the internet and spare myself the mental garbage most people consume on a daily basis.
3. I didn’t become a “shisha” lover ( the water pipe so common in Arabic Countries and seen all over Egypt in coffee-shops and restaurants) and I simply hate all kinds of drugs and cigars, EXCEPT for a high quality Cuban cigar (“Romeu e Julieta” is one of my favourite “cubanitos”) shared with the right person.
Smoking a great “cubanito” is not a lonely pleasure for me. It has to be shared with a man, never a woman (I have no idea why!) and the possible list includes:
My man (my love).
A good male friend who understand the subtleness of a “cubanito”’s flavour, texture and odour. A very special man, for sure.
If the Cuban cigar and the companion are inserted into a “Salsa” night, the cherry just lands on the top of the cake.
4. I am a compulsive reader who never starts devouring her current book without smelling it to the core first (weird, weird, weird…I know!). The pleasure of smelling books (an often disturbing one to occasional observers) is an old one but the compulsive way of my current reading – another courtesy of Egypt or effect it had on me – is something extraordinary and, I admit, weird.
I read in the bathtub, in the elevator, taxis, while walking in the street, pretty much everywhere. Books – in Portuguese, Spanish and French – have become a source of evasion, pleasure and endless fountain from which bits of knowledge and LIGHT pour into my mind, heart and SOUL.
5. I became a bigger and stronger admirer of women even – or because of – when I see how the feminine side of society is still treated like a second class of humanity created by God to SERVE the man, his needs, desires and will.
By contrast, I have become a full supporter of all feminine causes and, obviously, an even greater fan of Oriental Dance – or my dear BELLY DANCE – which is the major example of ALL that a woman should not be, according to local (and even international) standards:
Powerful from within (not the kind of temporary, weak, illusory power of most men in this world but a power that comes from her spirit and pride in her body and soul);
Sensual from the her core and to herself (not to seduce or please any man);
Creative and independent in her choices (she’s totally herself and what she expresses is what she REALLY thinks and feels and not what her father, brother, husband or society tells her to think);
Sensitive, emotional and feminine and yet strong and in control of herself and her environment.
Egypt, with all its fascinating treats and contradictions, with all its condemnations towards my ART has enabled me to LOVE and RESPECT even more Oriental Dance and ALL that it represents.
6. I drink tea ALL the time. Water and tea. Tea and Water (EVIAN, EVIAN…this enterprise should sponsor my shows!).
This habit also came from Portugal but was maximized in this country by the force of availability and traditions. Egyptians drink black coffee – often Turkish coffee much appreciated by “coffee lovers” from all the world plus my mum – and tea all the time.
Like most of them, I also don’t drink anything with alcohol but, unlike most of them, not for religious or moral reasons. I simply hate the smell and taste of alcohol like the one of common cigars or any kind of drugs. My body says NO to those and I listen to it. Simple as that.
My mum always knew what she was talking about when she called me a wild horse or the “daughter of a gipsy” (terms that were supposed to impart a slight critic but always sounded just great to my ears).
I often wish I was more “normal”, I wish I fit into this material crazy world expects from me, I wish I was a little more stupid and less sensitive and even correspond to the image most people have of myself. A bit of normality, please…so that I wouldn’t feel like a fairy for most of my life.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE WEIRD THINGS ABOUT ME (which Egypt has helped create or enhance!):
1. I have become supersticious since I ‘ve arrived to Egypt which is something strange coming from a sceptic and often rational person like me. After having contact with the effective power of envy and even witchcraft, I have learnt since then that protecting myself from it is as important as an health insurance.
As my spiritual Mothers well know, I am a kind witch myself and I’m protected – Thanks God – against external evilness but the ones around me – maybe weaker or simply unaware – are the ones who pay for it (plus the downside of all evilness you send or do to others that, ultimately, returns to you like a boomerang).
2. I don’t own a television. I’ve never been a television addict but I have reached a point – when I moved to Egypt and then, to my new house and by myself – that all superficial, empty gadgets that fill most people’s empty lives make no sense in mine.
I listen to no radio. I see no television or read magazines/newspapers with the “small news” about celebraties and such. When I want to know about a specific subject, I search for it on the internet and spare myself the mental garbage most people consume on a daily basis.
3. I didn’t become a “shisha” lover ( the water pipe so common in Arabic Countries and seen all over Egypt in coffee-shops and restaurants) and I simply hate all kinds of drugs and cigars, EXCEPT for a high quality Cuban cigar (“Romeu e Julieta” is one of my favourite “cubanitos”) shared with the right person.
Smoking a great “cubanito” is not a lonely pleasure for me. It has to be shared with a man, never a woman (I have no idea why!) and the possible list includes:
My man (my love).
A good male friend who understand the subtleness of a “cubanito”’s flavour, texture and odour. A very special man, for sure.
If the Cuban cigar and the companion are inserted into a “Salsa” night, the cherry just lands on the top of the cake.
4. I am a compulsive reader who never starts devouring her current book without smelling it to the core first (weird, weird, weird…I know!). The pleasure of smelling books (an often disturbing one to occasional observers) is an old one but the compulsive way of my current reading – another courtesy of Egypt or effect it had on me – is something extraordinary and, I admit, weird.
I read in the bathtub, in the elevator, taxis, while walking in the street, pretty much everywhere. Books – in Portuguese, Spanish and French – have become a source of evasion, pleasure and endless fountain from which bits of knowledge and LIGHT pour into my mind, heart and SOUL.
5. I became a bigger and stronger admirer of women even – or because of – when I see how the feminine side of society is still treated like a second class of humanity created by God to SERVE the man, his needs, desires and will.
By contrast, I have become a full supporter of all feminine causes and, obviously, an even greater fan of Oriental Dance – or my dear BELLY DANCE – which is the major example of ALL that a woman should not be, according to local (and even international) standards:
Powerful from within (not the kind of temporary, weak, illusory power of most men in this world but a power that comes from her spirit and pride in her body and soul);
Sensual from the her core and to herself (not to seduce or please any man);
Creative and independent in her choices (she’s totally herself and what she expresses is what she REALLY thinks and feels and not what her father, brother, husband or society tells her to think);
Sensitive, emotional and feminine and yet strong and in control of herself and her environment.
Egypt, with all its fascinating treats and contradictions, with all its condemnations towards my ART has enabled me to LOVE and RESPECT even more Oriental Dance and ALL that it represents.
6. I drink tea ALL the time. Water and tea. Tea and Water (EVIAN, EVIAN…this enterprise should sponsor my shows!).
This habit also came from Portugal but was maximized in this country by the force of availability and traditions. Egyptians drink black coffee – often Turkish coffee much appreciated by “coffee lovers” from all the world plus my mum – and tea all the time.
Like most of them, I also don’t drink anything with alcohol but, unlike most of them, not for religious or moral reasons. I simply hate the smell and taste of alcohol like the one of common cigars or any kind of drugs. My body says NO to those and I listen to it. Simple as that.
7. I question everything and make uncomfortable questions. This is seen as “weird” by most people around here. A woman, and specially, a DANCER is not supposed to think so much and “bother” men and their structured reality with questions that expose incongruence and ignorance.
I have been told by an Arabic man whom I considered intelligent and educated that “I had to think and agree with him because…TCHAN TCHAN TCHAN TCHAN… HE’S THE MAN!”
This is not fiction, it’s reality indeed and I lived in on my skin.
I am accustomed to be taken as a “dumb blond” for a long time and that has been used – by me, the dumb one – in my favour more often than I would like to admit.
Listening to me talking about any subject – besides cloths and make-up which seems to be the main subject in local women’s minds – has been, I have been told, some of the most shocking (and, sometimes, interesting) experiences most men has had when meeting an alien like me.
I am, simultaneously, extremely emotional and rational although these seem to be antagonists. I speak my mind off and never allow anyone to disrespect me or fail my dignity on any level. That has cost me LOTS of troubles and enemies everywhere (never forget I am a “RAKASAH/DANCER”) but I don’t seem to be able or even wish to change.
I am proud of myself.
8.There must be so many other weird treats about me but my consciousness cannot grasp anything more for today. Will keep you posted in case any other weird feature comes to light.
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