Monday, 9 February, Alexandria [الإسكندرية]: In the wee hours of morning, we went out to al ‘Araby restaurant on Mohammed Koraiem Street. It was extremely inexpensive, and only locals seemed to be present at the time. We stayed out so late and then slept so late, we had no time after eating at Kadoura to visit any tourist site while it was still open, so we toured the neighborhood of Anfushi, seeing the Mosque of Abu ‘Abbas al-Mursi [مسجد أبى العباس المرسى] and presumably Busseiri Mosque and others, then went to Fort Qaitbey and only saw it from the outside. (Polly and I had been inside it in 2002.) However, our time spent on the Eastern Harbor was very relaxing. There’s also a beautiful mural with which Polly was not enchanted right near the fort. Afterward, we went to an ice cream parlor wherein the workers started dancing in front of me as if they wanted me to join in. (I didn’t.) While sitting in the little café in the Cecil Hôtel, we were lucky enough to encounter a wedding procession entering the hôtel with much fanfare, including lit torches, North African trilling (zaghradah) and a lady with ripped nylons.
Tuesday, 10 February, Alexandria, Cairo [القاهرة]: Again in the wee hours of morning, we went out to another bellydance club. We saw a singer with great hair, but the seventy-five pound minimum worried us. We left before experiencing a replay of the events of the Miami club in Cairo. After sleeping, we managed to see a fair number of sites, but had to go on another long, unexpected (although beautiful) trek due to an idiotic taxi driver which drove us right past a pet store where puppies were kept in a fish tank. We saw Pompey’s Pillar and the Serapeum, the Catacombs of Kom ash-Shuqqafa and the souq [سوق]. No cameras were allowed in the Catacombs, so on that magical day I finally post some vacation pictures somewhere, you still won’t be able to see them. Therefore, please visit the Catacombs yourself if you have not already. We must have left a hefty gratuity at Kadoura the day before, because upon our return, they treated us like queens, giving us both toasted and untoasted pide, free rice (much to Polly’s delight), and plenty of tissues which were standing in for napkins. Again, Muhammad [محمد] was our waiter.
Wednesday, 11 February, Cairo: I swear I’m like a celebrity at the Metro supermarket in Zamalek [الزمالك]; every time I go in, I’m greeted by three or four people—Hani [هاني] is my favorite—saying “Hello, Musa [موسى]” who then insist I videotape them and show them the results. Today, we went to the brand new Insomnia Snack Bar in Zamalek so Miss Understood could get coffee, but we were all treated to all the sexy workers there. (Rami was the sexiest, but Willy Tawfik the friendliest.) We then returned to Islamic Cairo and re-explored the souq just south of Azhar Street, including an area with wonderful fabrics that made Polly and Miss Understood drool, and a visit to a popcorn cart. Within the Khan [خان]: We bought peanuts from a nut and seed cart where the merchant also had some product called “Evaculax”; Miss U bought bellydance costumes and accessories from salesman Nur [نور] in ‘Afifi [عفيفي] in the Khan; she and Polly bought beautiful embroidered “jackety things” in the Libyan style in Atlas Silks. We then had drinks at Wly el Ni‘am Coffe Shop where we met a couple of newlyweds at the next table after the groom sneezed and I gave him a tissue. The bride was the only one who could communicate in any semblance of English, and I couldn’t figure out if they were Syrians living in Sa‘udi ‘Arabia, or Sa‘udis living in Syria. She was very concerned about the image Americans had of Muslims.
Thursday, 12 February, Cairo, Giza: (Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.) We intentionally made this a busy day as Miss U would be leaving for America the following morning. We returned to the Insomnia Snack Bar (Zamalek) before seeing the Phara‘onic Village (in Giza [الجيزة]), the Egyptian Museum (in Central Cairo) and took in a Nile cruise on the M/S Aquarius. The Village is a funny theme park with scale models of Egyptian monuments, bored teens, whom they call “actors,” in ancient costume, and old mannequins, which they call “statues,” also in ancient costume. Miss U did not get to see any of this though, because we left very early to allow sufficient time to view the Egyptian Museum. The Egyptian Museum was incredible. We had a great guide and saw a lot, including mummies, sarcophagi and what he called “King Tut’s condom.” A cute guide named Ayman met us at our apartment building and brought us to the Aquarius, where we saw a long show (two dancers and numerous musicians), and had another all-you-can-eat buffet. The singer of course brought me onstage (if you could call it a stage), and the buffet almost closed before I got dessert. I met two sweet young workers named Yassir [ياسر] and Khalid [خالد] and danced with them in the buffet room. Afterward, we had drinks—Miss U’s and Polly’s alcoholic!—at l’Aubergine back in Zamalek.
Friday, 13 February, Cairo: (Friday, the 13th, and my brother’s birthday on the Gregorian calendar.) And then there were two: Miss U left early after Polly and I stayed up all night with her while she packed. I think this was the day an Arab man who works for Osama [اسامه] put a blade to my throat. Yes, I was shaven at the glamorous Salon Osama here in Zamalek by an Egyptian man with very pretty eyes. If my mental timeline is accurate, Polly and I returned to le Peking for dinner, then went out to the Khan (Islamic Cairo). We had drinks at the mashwiyyah next to ad-Dahan (al-Qadim), also called “ad-Dahan” (Ulad Yusuf), where they serve hamam (pigeon). There I chatted with waiter Ahmad, and was escorted to the hammam (bathroom) by Sa‘id. (Why are the words so similar?) This may also have been the day we first explored Gamaliyya, although it may very well have been the following. Although there’s not as much as there used to be (so far as I know), there is still significant scaffolding and (re)construction work even twelve years after the 1992 earthquake.
Saturday, 14 February, Cairo: (Valentine’s Day.) Polly and I ventured to the island of Rhoda. Most of the women were indeed wearing şmates [שמאַטעס] on their heads, but we saw no statue of Valerie Harper. First, we visited the fabulous Umm Kulsum [أم كلثوم] Museum. At the front was an exhibit with her trademark scarf and sunglasses. There were lots of pictures of her, as well as her most glamorous gowns and shoes. (It seems she had small feet.) Again, no video was allowed within, so you should see the museum for yourself. Oh, and we also saw the Nilometer and the outside of Munasterli Palace. We returned to Atlas Silks in the Khan (Islamic Cairo), so Polly could be fitted for the Libyan-style “jackety thing” she was purchasing. It came with adorable flared sleeves, but Polly requested straight sleeves instead. The owner tried to discourage that choice because the straight sleeves were on the women’s “jackety thing,” and were supposedly more feminine. An intersection of Badestan Road was badly flooded, and Polly and I chatted with our old friend Ekramy from 2002 rather than attempt to traverse it. For dinner, we returned to l’Aubergine (Zamalek).
Sunday, 15 February, Cairo: When the workers at the twenty-four–hour Ritz Dry Clean [ريتز دراي كلين] in Zamalek asked if I were Muslim and I said I was Jewish, I was informed the owner is a Jew from Old Cairo. I expected his name to be Hebrew or Arabic, but instead they said “Alan” or “Alain” or “Ellen.” Polly and I posed for pictures by the statue of Umm Kulsum conveniently located only blocks from our apartment building. (Abu al-Feda Street turns into Umm Kolthum Street near the 15th of May Bridge.)
We walked almost all the way to ‘Ataba Square (Downtown, Central Cairo) to al-‘Aray’es Puppet Theatre to see a surreal musical puppet show of Cinderella in Arabic, and Cairo is not pedestrian-friendly. The evil stepmother puppet reminded me of Joan Rivers. The show was fairly amateurish, but diverse in the sense they used stick puppets, hand puppets, a full-body costume (à la Big Bird and sport mascots) and beautiful use of black light for flowers, birds and a caterpillar changing to a butterfly. The bunnies dancing in Cinderella’s home were absolutely manic! (If I understood the sign correctly, the music was by Tariq Mandur, the lyrics by Sharif Nur.) Afterward, we had tough, chewy şişkebabı and salty pickles at el ‘Agaty [العجاتي], although the menu had offered us the option of ordering “lamp meat” and “grilled lamp chops.” The owners are Moroccan (from Casablanca) and are named “‘Agaty” because the family used to be in the ivory trade there. Hu-ha [הו־האַ].
15 February 2004
08 February 2004
First week in Egypt [مصر، מצרים], 2–8 February
Monday, 2 February, Cairo [القاهرة]: We saw little except for the airport, thanks to Miss Understood. She’d left her passport at home and was detained in Cairo International Airport for about nine hours. The U. S. embassy or consulate bent over backwards to allow her to stay in Egypt when we all thought she’d be sent back to America. We met a friendly and patient taxi driver named Mustafa at the airport. Exhausted, we plopped ourselves in the Longchamps Hotel [فندق لونشان] in Zamalek [الزمالك].
Tuesday, 3 February, Cairo: We saw numerous apartments in Zamalek and settled on a lovely three-bedroom flat in Qasr (or Asr, with Egyptian pronunciation) Abu al-Feda [قصر أبو الفدا], at No. 9 Abu al-Feda Street, with a lovely view of Kitkat Square (Imbaba [امبابة]) and the houseboats (dahabiyyas) on the West Nile.
The view from the opposite side of the apartment is just a mess of Zamalek buildings, most shorter than ours revealing all the discarded construction materials on their rooftops. Beyond that, we can see the tallest of the Bulaq buildings: the Conrad International, the National Bank Building, the Foreign Ministry building and the particularly ugly Radio & TV Building. Only one minaret can be seen, presumably that of the Mosque of al-Qadi Yahya (the more recent one, not the older one on Port Sa‘id Street). We couldn’t wait and went right to the Khan al-Khalili [خان الخليلي] bazaar [بازار] in Islamic Cairo. There Miss Understood met Polly’s and my friend from 2002, Ahmed Mostafa [أحمد مصطفى], in his new store Bazar el Ekhlas [بازار الإخلاص]. In fact, he and Miss U got quite friendly while she tried on şmates [שמאַטעס] with coins on them, prompting her to say in her best George Burns impersonation, “I’ll wear this for you later.”
Bazar el Ekhlas images: Click on the thumbnails to see the full-size images.
“Later,” however, Polly, Miss U and I took a nice stroll along the Nile [النيل] discussing, among many other topics, bowling on the Nile. (I don’t remember if it was this first time returning to the Khan, but on some day there I bumped into two dear old friends from 2002, Mohamed el-Wardany [“Hamada”] and Dahab.)
Wednesday, 4 February, Cairo:
Polly Grip got her coiffure tended to in the glamorous Salon Osama in Zamalek. Then, Polly and I went to Doqqi to see the Nadim mashrabiyyah workshop, but we couldn’t find it before the skies opened up and rained all over us. Meanwhile, Miss Understood got herself a new passport. We all met at ad-Dahan [الدهان] restaurant back in the fabulous Khan al-Khalili (Islamic Cairo).
Khan/Muski shopping images: Click the thumbnails to see the full-size images.
We visited a wonderful store for bellydance costumes and accessories we had visited in 2002, various other shops with both friendly and unfriendly merchants, and had drinks in the second-story Abu Hamza Caffe Shop [أبو حمزه كافي شوپ], which gave us a beautiful view of Hussein Square.
We got to see the umbrellas open at the Mosque of Sayyidna al-Hussein, something we never saw in 2002. To the best of my knowledge, we also went to Central Cairo and walked around the area of Tala‘at Harb Square, where numerous pedestrians seemed drunk although they weren’t.
Thursday, 5 February, Cairo: We returned to Islamic Cairo and toured the souq and other parts south of Azhar Square, including seeing but not entering the Mosque of al-Azhar, the Khan al-Zarakisha, the Mosque of Abu Dhahab, the al-Ghuri Complex (al-Ghuriyya, comprising the Mosque & Madrassa and Mausoleum of al-Ghuri), the Wikala of al-Ghuri [وكالة الغوري], the Mosque of al-Fakahani, the Sabil-Kuttab of Tusun Pasha, the Mosque-Mausoleum of Sultan al-Muayyad, the Wikala and Sabil-Kuttab of Nafisa Bayda, and Bab Zuwayla (Bab al-Mitwalli). Our guide also showed us all over the stunning House of Gamal ad-Din al-Dhahabi [جمال الدين الذهبي] including seeing the panoramic view from the roof. (See my virtualtourist travelogue about the House of Gamal ad-Din al-Dhahabi for some of my pictures.)
We had drinks at the Mashwiyyat ‘Id [مشويات عيد] on Hussein Square and saw a lady dressed more like a drag queen than like any average Egyptian.
Friday, 6 February, Cairo, Giza [الجيزة], Saqqara: Polly and I had seen Giza and Saqqara before, but returned via Mustafa’s taxi so Miss Understood could see them, and of course we saw things we hadn’t seen before. In Saqqara, we saw Zoser’s Funerary Complex including the Step Pyramid of Phara‘oh Zoser, the Pyramid and Causeway of Unas, and a tomb of two very close male friends (Ni‘ankhkhnum and Khnumhotep) our otherwise unintelligible tour guide made sure we understood were not homosexuals. (We weren’t necessarily convinced.)
Perhaps for anti-gay reasons, no photographs or video were allowed within the gay tomb, so I have no record of its interior.
In Giza, we took photographs intentionally emphasizing an optical illusion to make it appear we were kissing the Sphinx (Abu al-Hol أبو الهول).
Saturday, 7 February, Cairo: Along with our guide Diaa M. Abd elLatif from Hamis Travel [هاميس للسياحة], we saw numerous sites in Old Cairo (Masr al-Qadima مصر القديمة), including the Mosque of ‘Amr ibn al-‘As [جامع عمرو بن العاص], the Roman Towers, the Hanging Church (Kineeset al-Mu‘allaqa الكنيسة المعلقة), the Church of St. Sergius (Abu Serga كنيسة أبو سرجه الأثرية) and the Ben ‘Ezra’ Synagogue [בית הכנסת בן עזרא]. Then we moved on to Islamic Cairo and went to the Citadel (al-Qala‘a Salah ad-Din قلعة صلاح الدين), entering its Mosque of Muhammed ‘Ali [مسجد محمد علي], and seeing (but not entering) its Mosque of Sultan an-Nasir Muhammed [جامع السلطان الناصر محمد], then visiting the Sultan Hasan–Rifa‘i compound which comprises the Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hasan [المدرسة ومسجد السلطان حسن] and Rifa‘i Mosque [مسجد الرفاعي], where the Shah [شاه] of Iran [ایرا] is buried. We ate at the all-you-can-eat buffet of Soirée. Afterward, I was anxious to visit a store labeled “book shop,” but disappointed to find it was a gift shop disguised as a bookstore. Miss Understood didn’t much care and bought earrings there. I believe this was the day our vehicle passed a boy on horseback going in the opposite direction who shouted “Hello, veryone!”
Sunday, 8 February, Cairo, Alexandria [الإسكندرية]: In the wee hours of the morning, we went to the Palmyra and Miami clubs somewhere Downtown, Central Cairo, both located in the same complex. One performer in each club brought me onstage, probably at least in part due to my unconventional clothing. We didn’t pay any admission fees and saw some lovely musicians and Oriental (belly) dancers, but we were subjected to overwhelming demands for bakhshish [بخشیش] from all the workers. (Actually, the hostess took it upon herself to distribute our change to various workers rather than give it to us.) We wound up spending far more than we had anticipated, but still far less than at a comparable New York club. After our housekeeper Marwa left, we ate at le Peking in Zamalek and then set off for Alexandria. We arrived fairly late and went walking along the Corniche after an unwanted trek in a taxi, and we passed and marveled at the enormous Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Miss Polly checked into the spiffy Cecil Hôtel on Sa‘ad Zaghloul Square, but Miss Understood and I checked into the cheap, nearly substandard Hôtel Normandy [فندق نورماندي] on Gamal ad-Din Yassin [شارع جمال الدين ياسين] for about US$3 per night. (The bathrooms were in the hall.)
Tuesday, 3 February, Cairo: We saw numerous apartments in Zamalek and settled on a lovely three-bedroom flat in Qasr (or Asr, with Egyptian pronunciation) Abu al-Feda [قصر أبو الفدا], at No. 9 Abu al-Feda Street, with a lovely view of Kitkat Square (Imbaba [امبابة]) and the houseboats (dahabiyyas) on the West Nile.The view from the opposite side of the apartment is just a mess of Zamalek buildings, most shorter than ours revealing all the discarded construction materials on their rooftops. Beyond that, we can see the tallest of the Bulaq buildings: the Conrad International, the National Bank Building, the Foreign Ministry building and the particularly ugly Radio & TV Building. Only one minaret can be seen, presumably that of the Mosque of al-Qadi Yahya (the more recent one, not the older one on Port Sa‘id Street). We couldn’t wait and went right to the Khan al-Khalili [خان الخليلي] bazaar [بازار] in Islamic Cairo. There Miss Understood met Polly’s and my friend from 2002, Ahmed Mostafa [أحمد مصطفى], in his new store Bazar el Ekhlas [بازار الإخلاص]. In fact, he and Miss U got quite friendly while she tried on şmates [שמאַטעס] with coins on them, prompting her to say in her best George Burns impersonation, “I’ll wear this for you later.”
“Later,” however, Polly, Miss U and I took a nice stroll along the Nile [النيل] discussing, among many other topics, bowling on the Nile. (I don’t remember if it was this first time returning to the Khan, but on some day there I bumped into two dear old friends from 2002, Mohamed el-Wardany [“Hamada”] and Dahab.)
Wednesday, 4 February, Cairo:
Polly Grip got her coiffure tended to in the glamorous Salon Osama in Zamalek. Then, Polly and I went to Doqqi to see the Nadim mashrabiyyah workshop, but we couldn’t find it before the skies opened up and rained all over us. Meanwhile, Miss Understood got herself a new passport. We all met at ad-Dahan [الدهان] restaurant back in the fabulous Khan al-Khalili (Islamic Cairo).
We visited a wonderful store for bellydance costumes and accessories we had visited in 2002, various other shops with both friendly and unfriendly merchants, and had drinks in the second-story Abu Hamza Caffe Shop [أبو حمزه كافي شوپ], which gave us a beautiful view of Hussein Square.
We got to see the umbrellas open at the Mosque of Sayyidna al-Hussein, something we never saw in 2002. To the best of my knowledge, we also went to Central Cairo and walked around the area of Tala‘at Harb Square, where numerous pedestrians seemed drunk although they weren’t.Thursday, 5 February, Cairo: We returned to Islamic Cairo and toured the souq and other parts south of Azhar Square, including seeing but not entering the Mosque of al-Azhar, the Khan al-Zarakisha, the Mosque of Abu Dhahab, the al-Ghuri Complex (al-Ghuriyya, comprising the Mosque & Madrassa and Mausoleum of al-Ghuri), the Wikala of al-Ghuri [وكالة الغوري], the Mosque of al-Fakahani, the Sabil-Kuttab of Tusun Pasha, the Mosque-Mausoleum of Sultan al-Muayyad, the Wikala and Sabil-Kuttab of Nafisa Bayda, and Bab Zuwayla (Bab al-Mitwalli). Our guide also showed us all over the stunning House of Gamal ad-Din al-Dhahabi [جمال الدين الذهبي] including seeing the panoramic view from the roof. (See my virtualtourist travelogue about the House of Gamal ad-Din al-Dhahabi for some of my pictures.)
We had drinks at the Mashwiyyat ‘Id [مشويات عيد] on Hussein Square and saw a lady dressed more like a drag queen than like any average Egyptian.Friday, 6 February, Cairo, Giza [الجيزة], Saqqara: Polly and I had seen Giza and Saqqara before, but returned via Mustafa’s taxi so Miss Understood could see them, and of course we saw things we hadn’t seen before. In Saqqara, we saw Zoser’s Funerary Complex including the Step Pyramid of Phara‘oh Zoser, the Pyramid and Causeway of Unas, and a tomb of two very close male friends (Ni‘ankhkhnum and Khnumhotep) our otherwise unintelligible tour guide made sure we understood were not homosexuals. (We weren’t necessarily convinced.)
Perhaps for anti-gay reasons, no photographs or video were allowed within the gay tomb, so I have no record of its interior.
In Giza, we took photographs intentionally emphasizing an optical illusion to make it appear we were kissing the Sphinx (Abu al-Hol أبو الهول).Saturday, 7 February, Cairo: Along with our guide Diaa M. Abd elLatif from Hamis Travel [هاميس للسياحة], we saw numerous sites in Old Cairo (Masr al-Qadima مصر القديمة), including the Mosque of ‘Amr ibn al-‘As [جامع عمرو بن العاص], the Roman Towers, the Hanging Church (Kineeset al-Mu‘allaqa الكنيسة المعلقة), the Church of St. Sergius (Abu Serga كنيسة أبو سرجه الأثرية) and the Ben ‘Ezra’ Synagogue [בית הכנסת בן עזרא]. Then we moved on to Islamic Cairo and went to the Citadel (al-Qala‘a Salah ad-Din قلعة صلاح الدين), entering its Mosque of Muhammed ‘Ali [مسجد محمد علي], and seeing (but not entering) its Mosque of Sultan an-Nasir Muhammed [جامع السلطان الناصر محمد], then visiting the Sultan Hasan–Rifa‘i compound which comprises the Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hasan [المدرسة ومسجد السلطان حسن] and Rifa‘i Mosque [مسجد الرفاعي], where the Shah [شاه] of Iran [ایرا] is buried. We ate at the all-you-can-eat buffet of Soirée. Afterward, I was anxious to visit a store labeled “book shop,” but disappointed to find it was a gift shop disguised as a bookstore. Miss Understood didn’t much care and bought earrings there. I believe this was the day our vehicle passed a boy on horseback going in the opposite direction who shouted “Hello, veryone!”
Sunday, 8 February, Cairo, Alexandria [الإسكندرية]: In the wee hours of the morning, we went to the Palmyra and Miami clubs somewhere Downtown, Central Cairo, both located in the same complex. One performer in each club brought me onstage, probably at least in part due to my unconventional clothing. We didn’t pay any admission fees and saw some lovely musicians and Oriental (belly) dancers, but we were subjected to overwhelming demands for bakhshish [بخشیش] from all the workers. (Actually, the hostess took it upon herself to distribute our change to various workers rather than give it to us.) We wound up spending far more than we had anticipated, but still far less than at a comparable New York club. After our housekeeper Marwa left, we ate at le Peking in Zamalek and then set off for Alexandria. We arrived fairly late and went walking along the Corniche after an unwanted trek in a taxi, and we passed and marveled at the enormous Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Miss Polly checked into the spiffy Cecil Hôtel on Sa‘ad Zaghloul Square, but Miss Understood and I checked into the cheap, nearly substandard Hôtel Normandy [فندق نورماندي] on Gamal ad-Din Yassin [شارع جمال الدين ياسين] for about US$3 per night. (The bathrooms were in the hall.)
31 January 2004
23 January 2004
22 January 2004
04 January 2004
17 December 2003
My friend Charles’ birthday by Mayouko [麻悠子], Wednesday, 17 December
After my first day of work at my new job, I went to Mayouko’s apartment. She’s wonderful. This is the second time I’ve been to her apartment when she cooked a big dinner for someone’s birthday. She said she’d been preparing all day for it, and the food was great.
There were far more vegetables than I’m used to as either American or Jew. The Japanese food had an interesting meat/non-meat relationship. In the West, meat is generally the center of attention and supplemented with non-meat (e. g., seasonings, sauces, garnish). Mayouko served big slices of daikon [大根] radishes covered with a chicken sauce reminiscent of egg drop soup. She also served an appetizer of vegetables wrapped in slices of beef. Then she cooked for us right at the table. I loved eating her cooking, but I adored listening to her laughter. (You should hear it.)
There were far more vegetables than I’m used to as either American or Jew. The Japanese food had an interesting meat/non-meat relationship. In the West, meat is generally the center of attention and supplemented with non-meat (e. g., seasonings, sauces, garnish). Mayouko served big slices of daikon [大根] radishes covered with a chicken sauce reminiscent of egg drop soup. She also served an appetizer of vegetables wrapped in slices of beef. Then she cooked for us right at the table. I loved eating her cooking, but I adored listening to her laughter. (You should hear it.)
11 December 2003
Co-op City Jewish Community Council Hanukkah Gala at Young Isra’el of Co-op City
Co-op City Jewish Community Council Hanukkah [חנכה] Gala at Young Isra’el of Co-op City, Bronx, Thursday, 11 December
A neighbor telephoned and tried to “Shanghai” [上海] (his word) me into volunteering at a local Hanukkah party for Jewish pensioners at an Orthodox temple here in Baychester. I had a time!
There was a lot of work to be done, but there were fifteen or more volunteers for fewer than a hundred attendees, and we tried to have a take-charge attitude. I helped to set up. During the affair, a group of Jewish high school students from Riverdale did most of the serving, so I helped fill the platters, although I did later run around serving coffee, hot water for tea, and pensioners’ miscellaneous requests. And of course afterward, I helped clean up, clearing tables, then collapsing them and rolling them on edge and lifting them to the top of the growing table stack.
Well, my experience was quite different from, say, the last Desilicious party (see below). There was a great feeling of camaraderie amongst the volunteers. I was on quite friendly and humorous terms with them, including one (Ronnie from Rye) with whom I danced to the delight of the assembled pensioners and ourselves. A handful of attendees complimented my clothing and dancing, others were pleased I could communicate in rudimentary Yiddish [ייִדיש], and others were just thrilled to receive free food or drink from me. I even enjoyed the şnorers [שנאָרערס] who couldn’t wait and complained because they weren’t served at precisely the same time as the first table. One lady, after finishing her meal, came up and asked for seconds by asking, item by item, for another complete meal. When she finished her second meal, she came back up and got a third for the following day, telling me she’d think of me when she eats it. It was a mexaye [מחיה] watching the seniors dancing. I got a free top-notch meal and free mediocre entertainment. And to top it all off, I met two sexy male volunteers, one of whom gave me his telephone number. Hu-ha! [הו־האַ!]
Afterward, Lynn Levine the volunteer organizer said she’d never had a better group of volunteers (although she probably says that to all of them).
A neighbor telephoned and tried to “Shanghai” [上海] (his word) me into volunteering at a local Hanukkah party for Jewish pensioners at an Orthodox temple here in Baychester. I had a time!
There was a lot of work to be done, but there were fifteen or more volunteers for fewer than a hundred attendees, and we tried to have a take-charge attitude. I helped to set up. During the affair, a group of Jewish high school students from Riverdale did most of the serving, so I helped fill the platters, although I did later run around serving coffee, hot water for tea, and pensioners’ miscellaneous requests. And of course afterward, I helped clean up, clearing tables, then collapsing them and rolling them on edge and lifting them to the top of the growing table stack.
Well, my experience was quite different from, say, the last Desilicious party (see below). There was a great feeling of camaraderie amongst the volunteers. I was on quite friendly and humorous terms with them, including one (Ronnie from Rye) with whom I danced to the delight of the assembled pensioners and ourselves. A handful of attendees complimented my clothing and dancing, others were pleased I could communicate in rudimentary Yiddish [ייִדיש], and others were just thrilled to receive free food or drink from me. I even enjoyed the şnorers [שנאָרערס] who couldn’t wait and complained because they weren’t served at precisely the same time as the first table. One lady, after finishing her meal, came up and asked for seconds by asking, item by item, for another complete meal. When she finished her second meal, she came back up and got a third for the following day, telling me she’d think of me when she eats it. It was a mexaye [מחיה] watching the seniors dancing. I got a free top-notch meal and free mediocre entertainment. And to top it all off, I met two sexy male volunteers, one of whom gave me his telephone number. Hu-ha! [הו־האַ!]
Afterward, Lynn Levine the volunteer organizer said she’d never had a better group of volunteers (although she probably says that to all of them).
07 December 2003
Opening night of Desilicious at the Pyramid Club, Manhattan, Saturday, 6–Sunday, 7 December
I braved the snowstorm to have a sort of contradictory time mixing euphoria and depression. The music was fabulous, and there were lots of cute guys there, but they all found it extremely easy to ignore me. I had gone to two prior Desilicious parties at which I fairly easily made friends and dance partners. Saturday, however, was more like the last time I attended a Habibi [حبيبي] party. I don’t understand how someone dressed so noticeably was so thoroughly ignored, but nobody wanted to dance with me for more than a few minutes nor introduce me to any of his friends to integrate me into the socializing. Sadly, I suspect I’m just not good-looking enough for people to even be polite to me or take notice of me when they have the sexy boys on their minds.
I saw someone introducing one of his friends to another, but nobody was willing to do that for me. After a few minutes, all my dance partners found excuses to walk away (or walked or danced away without even making excuses) and leave me alone and friendless on the dance floor.
Case in point: I met a cute man who had moved here from India only a month ago. I actually knew more people there than he, we made conversation easily, and we were both friendless, so I thought we should stick together and help one another out. We danced together near the wall. I suggested we move into the crowd, but he didn’t wish to do so. Soon he was facing away from me and towards a good-looking white guy near the wall. Later, I again asked him if he wanted to dance, but he said he didn’t like the song; soon afterward, a sexy South Asian guy asked him to dance, and he accepted. Because he was cute, he made numerous friends while I spent most of my time by the wall neither talking to nor dancing with anybody. While I was dancing with someone else, he did actually come up and join us, but very soon both of my partners were dancing one-on-one with others, and I found myself alone again (naturally) to retreat to the wall. Despite seeing me alone at the wall, he was later dancing one-on-one with a black man and couldn’t introduce me to him. (I mention the people’s ethnicities primarily to emphasize the diversity of his new friends, to show he didn’t ignore me because I wasn’t of an ethnic group he hadn’t intended to meet. You know, some South Asians will attend looking for other South Asians, while others specifically look for non–South Asians.) When not dancing, he sat or stood around chatting with those he’d met, or alone watching the dancers, but he never came to chat with me again unless I made the first move, nor did he introduce me to even one person he’d met. At the end of the night, he left without saying good-bye to me.
A Gujurati guy I had met at Habibi danced with me for a few minutes, then left me with the excuse he wanted to throw away his bottle of water. Soon after, I saw him sitting on the other side of the room with his water bottle. He had done a similar thing at Habibi, telling me he enjoyed dancing with me and that he wanted to return to his friends. It either didn’t occur to him it might be nice to introduce me to them, or he thought they’d be horrified by my company.
I don’t want to give the impression there weren’t any first-rate people there. For example, a queen named Mohammed [محمد] invited me onto the dance floor and danced with me and others. I had fun dancing with a guy named Steve (the above-mentioned black man to whom I had to introduce myself) imitating Bollywood moves. I “re-met” comedian Vidur Kapur whom I’d met at Laffalicious (15 November) and Debanuj Das Gupta of APICHA whom I’d met at the Queer Asian & Pacific Islander Film Series (23 November). And disc jockey Ashu Rai is always friendly to me. I plan to attend again tomorrow; we’ll see if I can get more into the swing of socializing. Wish me luck. (And sorry for the long rant.)
I saw someone introducing one of his friends to another, but nobody was willing to do that for me. After a few minutes, all my dance partners found excuses to walk away (or walked or danced away without even making excuses) and leave me alone and friendless on the dance floor.
Case in point: I met a cute man who had moved here from India only a month ago. I actually knew more people there than he, we made conversation easily, and we were both friendless, so I thought we should stick together and help one another out. We danced together near the wall. I suggested we move into the crowd, but he didn’t wish to do so. Soon he was facing away from me and towards a good-looking white guy near the wall. Later, I again asked him if he wanted to dance, but he said he didn’t like the song; soon afterward, a sexy South Asian guy asked him to dance, and he accepted. Because he was cute, he made numerous friends while I spent most of my time by the wall neither talking to nor dancing with anybody. While I was dancing with someone else, he did actually come up and join us, but very soon both of my partners were dancing one-on-one with others, and I found myself alone again (naturally) to retreat to the wall. Despite seeing me alone at the wall, he was later dancing one-on-one with a black man and couldn’t introduce me to him. (I mention the people’s ethnicities primarily to emphasize the diversity of his new friends, to show he didn’t ignore me because I wasn’t of an ethnic group he hadn’t intended to meet. You know, some South Asians will attend looking for other South Asians, while others specifically look for non–South Asians.) When not dancing, he sat or stood around chatting with those he’d met, or alone watching the dancers, but he never came to chat with me again unless I made the first move, nor did he introduce me to even one person he’d met. At the end of the night, he left without saying good-bye to me.
A Gujurati guy I had met at Habibi danced with me for a few minutes, then left me with the excuse he wanted to throw away his bottle of water. Soon after, I saw him sitting on the other side of the room with his water bottle. He had done a similar thing at Habibi, telling me he enjoyed dancing with me and that he wanted to return to his friends. It either didn’t occur to him it might be nice to introduce me to them, or he thought they’d be horrified by my company.
I don’t want to give the impression there weren’t any first-rate people there. For example, a queen named Mohammed [محمد] invited me onto the dance floor and danced with me and others. I had fun dancing with a guy named Steve (the above-mentioned black man to whom I had to introduce myself) imitating Bollywood moves. I “re-met” comedian Vidur Kapur whom I’d met at Laffalicious (15 November) and Debanuj Das Gupta of APICHA whom I’d met at the Queer Asian & Pacific Islander Film Series (23 November). And disc jockey Ashu Rai is always friendly to me. I plan to attend again tomorrow; we’ll see if I can get more into the swing of socializing. Wish me luck. (And sorry for the long rant.)
27 November 2003
Thanksgiving by KayLynn, Manhattan, Thursday, 27 November
After my Thanksgiving plans fell apart at the last minute, KayLynn graciously reopened her invitation to eat and şmues by her. Each guest had a different topic written inside his folded placecard, so we sat around the table telling stories. I got to tell the story of my grandmother’s kugl [קוגל]. (Stop me if you’ve heard it before.) K. L. is a marvelous cook who presented her juicy breast to the assembled guests. Her potatoes and gravy were top-drawer. The only things that could compare to the fabulous meal were the fabulous desserts (pecan/bourbon and pumpkin/ginger pies). More chitchat and belching followed. Finally, we strolled and swung in Carl Schurz Park. A lovelier time could not have been had. Thank you very much, KayLynn.
23 November 2003
Queer Asian & Pacific Islander Film Series at Cinema Classics, Manhattan, 23 November
I had a great time watching seven different shorts on queer South Asian and Near Eastern themes, meeting the moviemakers and bumping into people I’d met before. I even unexpectedly saw an old friend in one of the movies (Lisa Winters in Magnetic Attractions, by Hima B.). Plus there were bananas, cake rusk and other snacks. And it was all free for nothing! I hear more are scheduled for next month, and I plan to be there. The event was co-organized by the Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Project of APICHA (Asian & Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS) and Sholay Productions (who also organize the soon-weekly Desilicious events). Were you there?
Afterward, I ate with Miss Kelly Webb and Frank at Panna II Indian Restaurant.
Afterward, I ate with Miss Kelly Webb and Frank at Panna II Indian Restaurant.
Then after that, I met with my friends the playwright, cast and crew of FTM at the Pyramid Club.
22 November 2003
06 August 2003
05 May 2003
Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) reading of Motion and Location, Greenwich Street Theater, Manhattan, Monday, 5 May
Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU)
The 5th Annual TRU Play Reading Series
Motion and Location, by Lorna Littleway: “A coming of age comedy about a teenage African American girl obsessed with baseball, her aunt who gets it and her mother who doesn’t.”
Cast: CeCe Antionette [sic, Cecelia Antoinette], Kaci [M.] Fannin, Audra Polk, uncredited narrator
The 5th Annual TRU Play Reading Series
Motion and Location, by Lorna Littleway: “A coming of age comedy about a teenage African American girl obsessed with baseball, her aunt who gets it and her mother who doesn’t.”
Cast: CeCe Antionette [sic, Cecelia Antoinette], Kaci [M.] Fannin, Audra Polk, uncredited narrator
16 April 2003
27 March 2003
15 March 2003
Flea market at Visitation School; lecture at New York Public Library, Kingsbridge Regional Library, Bronx, Saturday, 15 March
New York Public Library
Kingsbridge Regional Library
“The Three C’s of the Bronx: Comedy, Comic Books, and Commercials,” a lecture presented by Professor Victor Mastro
Kingsbridge Regional Library
“The Three C’s of the Bronx: Comedy, Comic Books, and Commercials,” a lecture presented by Professor Victor Mastro
19 February 2003
Concert of Indian music and classical dance, Bronx House, Bronx, Wednesday, 19 February
Kali and Krishna: The Power of Shakti in Indian Dance, Odissi and Kathak Classical Dance Styles [کالی اور کرشنا: اوڑیسی كتھک اور کلاسیکل رقص…]
Upon my arrival at the Bronx House Jewish Community Center [برانکس ہاؤس کمیونٹی سینٹر according to the flyer], the woman at the front desk thought I was a performer. I was wearing my dark green shirt with the dark green, almost fatigue-looking trousers and bright green long necklace. When I arrived downstairs in the gymnasium with its outlandish echo, I met Diana Vayserfirova [װײַסערפֿיראָװאַ] who instructed me to go into some room to meet so-and-so. When I indicated I didn’t know who that was, she indicated she too thought I was part of the talent. I took a seat in the audience, but I of course attracted attention. Diana asked me how I heard of the event, and I showed her the Bronx newspaper page I had brought with me. She asked me why I hadn’t therefore attended the other Bronx House events “advertised” on the same page. I hadn’t even noticed them, but later realized they were religious events that were probably attended by too many children. In fact, a black child entered the room, ran in front of everyone, and ran in a circle stomping his feet very loudly and creating a deafening echo. Then he left the room. No one else seemed to have been annoyed by this, but I guess I just hate children. A handful or two of other audience members arrived, almost exclusively senior citizens. There were two videocameras, both operated by what appeared to be one Bronx House personnel member. Diana’s friend there, also on Bronx House staff, took still photographs. Only one of the four performers (Bani Ray [بانی راۓ on the flyer]) was actually Indian. Can you believe it? This is not to say they weren’t all fine performers. Osundara Mayuri [اوسندارا مایوری on the flyer] was a black woman dressed up in Indian costume. Explaining a Hindu myth she’d be reenacting, she tried to get us to relate to the story by comparing it to what might happen in church. She didn’t seem to understand she was in a Jewish cultural group and the audience was primarily Jewish. The instrumental performer just didn’t look Desi to me but East Asian. When he was introduced as “Prasant Kumar” or some such name, I thought I must have been mistaken. However, the accent he revealed to us during his verbal introduction convinced me he was pinoy. Plus, he uttered a Hindi [हिन्दी] or Sanskrit [संस्कृत] word, but didn’t use that typical Indo-Aryan v/w pronunciation. I really enjoyed the two dancers, particularly Bani. All the narration and introduction was done in English, and by Diana also in Russian. While leaving the gym, I noticed a flyer for the event in Urdu [اردو]! Believe it or not, I actually caught at least one error in it. Diana had actually seemed disappointed that not one Desi person was in the audience. However, it seems the only outreach to the local South Asian community was the one Urdu flyer. It was wise in the sense that the local community is almost exclusively Muslim, but doomed to failure because the event was so decidedly Hindu. Perhaps if the flyers had been in Hindi, Gujurati [ગુજરાતી] or Bengali, some few Hindus might have found out about the event and possibly attended. But since the entire outreach for such a Hindu event had been done exclusively to Muslimun [مسلمون], I’m not surprised.
I missed the bus just as I approached the stop, so I had to sit while it was snowing on me waiting for the next bus. I think any other events at Bronx House, particularly during the daytime, would probably have far, far too many children present.
09 February 2003
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