We Have the Bonus
We Have the Bonus
Riham Salah, Mai Ahmed & Norhan Abd-el-Rahman
Third Year
When a person keeps thinking only of his own, as well as his society’s disadvantages, then s/he’s driving herself/himself mad. If this is the case of just one person, then what would it be like if a whole nation thinks in the same way?! It’s a fact that recently we have been focusing a lot on our weaknesses more than on anything else. Well, do you think we have reached this state, that we aren’t good anymore?! If you think so, then we will try to make you change your mind through presenting some of our positive sides.
One of the most important advantages of Egyptians is their sense of humour. This quality has existed in our society from ancient times and up till now. An evidence of this is that we retain a lot of our ancient funny proverbs, such as: “kontie fein ya la2a, lamma 2oult ana ahh” or, “‘No’, where were you when I said ‘Yes’,” which is said when one regrets having agreed to something very quickly and unthinkingly. We also crack new jokes everyday, even in ‘hard times’. Jokes have been told through many generations but with differences. In the past, jokes used to be like: “etnien 2or3 beyt5an2o 3ala mesht” {two bald men are fighting over a comb}, whereas, nowadays, they are affected by the technology revolution as: “marra el computer kan 7arran ra7 fate7 el Windows” {a computer felt hot, so it opened the Windows}. In addition, there is the new anti-language with its new vocabulary used by the youth nowadays; for instance “gonoud” is used instead of “money”. There is also the word inversion as “yeba3bar” instead of “ye3abbar”. Mel Akher, an Egyptian can be described as a “farfoush” person.
Moreover, this idea of creating new words shows us that the Egyptians are creative, not only in language, but also in their whole life-style. According to Edward Lane – one of the English travelers who lived in Egypt from 1825-1828 and 1842-1848 – in his book, An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians (1838), “the Egyptians are endowed with some of the most important mental qualities, quickness of apprehension, a ready wit and a retentive memory.” All these gifts always activate our minds to find new legal ways of earning our living. For example, there are the Kiosks that are found everywhere selling candy and sweets. Another one is the “Toktok”, the latest means of transportation – especially found in Upper Egypt – which looks like a motorbike with three wheels carrying three or four persons. In short, we are “faltah”.
Last but not least, generosity is another positive quality which we are famous for. This quality is apparent in both country people and townsmen, but with differences. In the countryside, people are used to inviting any passer-by to have tea or lunch with them. In the city, generosity is shown among families, neighbours and friends. Our generosity extends to manners; for instance, when an old man falls in the street, lots hurry up to help him. Another feature of the Egyptian character, which cannot be separated from generosity, is co-operation. A clear evidence of this is that our co-operation and kindheartedness were the key words and secrets of the success of the Children’s Cancer Hospital 57357. To sum up, we are people “tayebeen fa7t”.
Finally, we are obliged to mention one of our disadvantages, which is that we always take good care of our weak points and forget about our positive ones. We do this, thinking that we have become completely bad, but it is completely the opposite. We mean that having one or two negative qualities, which become dominant in society, does not mean that we have lost all our positive sides. We must have confidence in ourselves and believe that we still have positive qualities and will keep them till Doomsday. What we should do now is to start thinking of developing our positive qualities and through doing this we would be able to get rid of our weaknesses.
Riham Salah, Mai Ahmed & Norhan Abd-el-Rahman
Third Year
When a person keeps thinking only of his own, as well as his society’s disadvantages, then s/he’s driving herself/himself mad. If this is the case of just one person, then what would it be like if a whole nation thinks in the same way?! It’s a fact that recently we have been focusing a lot on our weaknesses more than on anything else. Well, do you think we have reached this state, that we aren’t good anymore?! If you think so, then we will try to make you change your mind through presenting some of our positive sides.
One of the most important advantages of Egyptians is their sense of humour. This quality has existed in our society from ancient times and up till now. An evidence of this is that we retain a lot of our ancient funny proverbs, such as: “kontie fein ya la2a, lamma 2oult ana ahh” or, “‘No’, where were you when I said ‘Yes’,” which is said when one regrets having agreed to something very quickly and unthinkingly. We also crack new jokes everyday, even in ‘hard times’. Jokes have been told through many generations but with differences. In the past, jokes used to be like: “etnien 2or3 beyt5an2o 3ala mesht” {two bald men are fighting over a comb}, whereas, nowadays, they are affected by the technology revolution as: “marra el computer kan 7arran ra7 fate7 el Windows” {a computer felt hot, so it opened the Windows}. In addition, there is the new anti-language with its new vocabulary used by the youth nowadays; for instance “gonoud” is used instead of “money”. There is also the word inversion as “yeba3bar” instead of “ye3abbar”. Mel Akher, an Egyptian can be described as a “farfoush” person.
Moreover, this idea of creating new words shows us that the Egyptians are creative, not only in language, but also in their whole life-style. According to Edward Lane – one of the English travelers who lived in Egypt from 1825-1828 and 1842-1848 – in his book, An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians (1838), “the Egyptians are endowed with some of the most important mental qualities, quickness of apprehension, a ready wit and a retentive memory.” All these gifts always activate our minds to find new legal ways of earning our living. For example, there are the Kiosks that are found everywhere selling candy and sweets. Another one is the “Toktok”, the latest means of transportation – especially found in Upper Egypt – which looks like a motorbike with three wheels carrying three or four persons. In short, we are “faltah”.
Last but not least, generosity is another positive quality which we are famous for. This quality is apparent in both country people and townsmen, but with differences. In the countryside, people are used to inviting any passer-by to have tea or lunch with them. In the city, generosity is shown among families, neighbours and friends. Our generosity extends to manners; for instance, when an old man falls in the street, lots hurry up to help him. Another feature of the Egyptian character, which cannot be separated from generosity, is co-operation. A clear evidence of this is that our co-operation and kindheartedness were the key words and secrets of the success of the Children’s Cancer Hospital 57357. To sum up, we are people “tayebeen fa7t”.
Finally, we are obliged to mention one of our disadvantages, which is that we always take good care of our weak points and forget about our positive ones. We do this, thinking that we have become completely bad, but it is completely the opposite. We mean that having one or two negative qualities, which become dominant in society, does not mean that we have lost all our positive sides. We must have confidence in ourselves and believe that we still have positive qualities and will keep them till Doomsday. What we should do now is to start thinking of developing our positive qualities and through doing this we would be able to get rid of our weaknesses.
posted by Happy-Go-Lucky @ 9:32 PM
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