Wasn’t Cartier an American President?

Gucci. Versace. Burberry. Lacoste. Georgio Armani. Chanel. Cartier. Louis Vuitton. Prada. Dolce & Gabbana. Rock and Republic. Chanel. Fendi. The first thought that pops into your mind when you think these names is Rodeo Drive, Fifth & Madison Avenues, or even Friendship Heights (a stretch, I know, but it proves a point). Here in Cairo, these names don’t describe mannequins facing Mohammad Mahmoud Street, but rather it describes the outfits of four individual students standing in the self-proclaimed “Gucci Corner” at the American University in Cairo. I was immediately warned of where “hangouts” are for all students: nerdy international students hang out in between the tennis & basketball courts on Main Campus and cool international students congregate in the fountain courtyard on Main, while nerdy local students sit on the library steps on Greek Campus, and the cool locals hang out in the Gucci Corner, or courtyard on Greek campus. (Upon hearing this, I was glad that I typically sit in the fountain area, if solely not for the reason that there is a man serving juicy lemonade there, my friends usually end up talking there while waiting for classes).

To test out this theory of where all the cliques hang out, on the first day of classes, I was dressed in my best (as most students usually are their first day back) and waltzed onto Greek campus. Already on day one, the Gucci corner was stuffed with designer bags, huge sunglasses, and wardrobe insurance policies more valuable than my home. Defeated, while wearing my linen pants (Armani Exchange) and a slim-fit polo (Banana Republic) I retreated to the fountain area where I felt more at home, away from the snobs and hanging out with my international friends who could stomach my less-than designer choice of outfits.

Snob is a bit harsh, as I look back, so I’m going to affectionately call these prideful members of the Gucci Corner “Guccis,” so as to distinguish between the people with money and the people with money and those who raise their noses upon seeing you, as some snobs here tend to do. So back to the Guccis… as I have been on campus more, I tend to see exactly what differentiates them from American Guccis. Money. Not that anyone in the U.S., or for that matter, at American University (where much of my bias lies because it is the only university I have experienced), isn’t rich, but here when I say rich, I mean RICH. Like Warren Buffett or Bill Gates or even Oprah (haha) rich. The inhabitants of the Gucci Corner primarily come from rich families, and rich usually means old money here. Yes, their fathers are doctors, lawyers and bankers, like in the U.S., but their grandfathers, uncles, or even fathers, own oil wells, run countries and have towns (or Metro stations) named after them. This is a new breed of wealth that I have never been exposed to, although it does exist in the U.S., the sheer concentration in the form of the Gucci Corner simply blows my mind away.

The quotation of this post comes from a very friendly, but airhead-ish Egyptian girl (a Gucci) in one of my classes. While discussing peace in the Middle East with a few other international students, the topic of Jimmy Carter’s book on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict arose and the girl leaned over to me and said (as her diamond draped neck leaned ever-so-close), “Wasn’t Cartier an American President? Now, I know he designed great jewelry, but wasn’t he also elected as President?” After almost removing my non-designer flip flop and hitting her over the head with it, I replied “Well Jimmy Carter was a President. I assume Cartier did some great work with jewelry but they are two separate people.” Man can I only wait to hear her comments this upcoming week.

Without trying to bring in intellect, the income disparity between the rich and the poor is relatively apparent in the form of the American University in Cairo. In Egypt, dressing Western is a symbol of social status. As a Westerner, I am seen as wealthy, despite my J. Crew, Banana Republic and Ralph Lauren wardrobe not being good enough to hang out in the Gucci Corner. Outside the gates, a woman is always selling tissues on the street or a young boy is selling delicious pancakes with sugar for 50 piasters (about $0.08) to scratch on by, while inside the gates, the wealth is flourishing in the form of designer belts, messenger bags, and shoes, by students who probably don’t even know what a piaster is (it’s what we call cents – 100 piasters to every Egyptian Pound), let alone the value of it.

Good Read in WSJ International

And you thought that Iran didn’t like the Jews…

A common misconception worldwide (especially in America) is that everyone in the Middle East doesn’t like anyone else, especially Jews, Christians, Americans and Israelis (they may not like the last group too much). But as I have learned in just two short weeks, most people here are accepting of other people, they just don’t really care for the governments. Give this article a quick read:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118912609718220156.html