Letter from Dora Giffen to her family, February 1, 1921
MLA Citation
Giffen, Dora Eunice, 1897-1982. “Letter from Dora Giffen to her family, February 1, 1921.” Digital Gallery. BGSU University Libraries, 31 Mar. 2023, digitalgallery.bgsu.edu/items/show/41474. Accessed 15 Feb. 2025.
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Title | Letter from Dora Giffen to her family, February 1, 1921 |
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Subject | Giffen, Dora Eunice, 1897-1982 |
Women missionaries--Correspondence | |
Missions--Egypt | |
Protestant churches--Missions--Egypt | |
Presbyterians--Egypt--Correspondence | |
Egypt--Church history | |
Christianity--Egypt | |
Missions to Muslims--Egypt | |
Egypt--Description and travel | |
Description | Letter from Dora Giffen to her family in New Concord, Ohio, in which she describes the process of settling into her new home as a missionary in Egypt as well as the lives and activities of other missionaries stationed with her. |
Creator | Giffen, Dora Eunice, 1897-1982 |
Source | Dora E. Giffen papers; MS-0309; Center for Archival Collections; University Libraries; Bowling Green State University |
Date | 1921-02-01 |
Rights | |
Format | Correspondence |
application/pdf | |
Language | eng |
Identifier | ms00309_b001_f002_i00018.pdf |
https://digitalgallery.bgsu.edu/items/show/41474 | |
Is Referenced By | https://lib.bgsu.edu/findingaids/repositories/4/resources/1425 |
Spatial Coverage | Cairo (Egypt) |
Type | Text |
1) 45 Faggala, Cairo Tue., Feb. 1, ‘21 Dear Family: We are started on the second month of this new year. Time does certainly go fast, even out here in Egypt, and it seems that I get nothing done. I have not been doing as much Arabic study as I should, but from now on I will have a greater incentive to study and I really must do it. Tomorrow our schedule is to be changed again, and for a time at least now Avis, Clarice, and myself are to have the best teachers in the Study Center. Our great rejoicing is over the fact that now we are to have Gindi Effendi for a Grammar teacher. My schedule now is “class conversation” with Sheikh Kurajjim at 9:30 A.M., Grammar Lesson with Gindi at 11:15 A.M., and private lesson with Sheikh Mustupha at 2:00 P.M. At this time of the year I do not particularly need my afternoon sleep and have been doing without it, so that to get all my classes over by 3:00 P.M. suits me fine, for then I will have my afternoons free. Of course when warm weather comes, our hours will be changed. In the afternoons Avis has her private lessons at Esbekiyeh, and Clarice and I have ours in our own house study-room, which means that we don’t have to go over to Esbekiyeh any more for lessons. We new ones are now supposed to begin spending three hours a week at some special thing that will give us practice in the use of Arabic. I am spending mine in calling with Mrs. Coventry in the native homes. On this week we go out on Thurs. afternoon. Yesterday afternoon we were out to the McQuistons for tea, this afternoon at Saleem Bey Hanna’s, tomorrow we may possibly go to Bishop McInnis’ union prayer meeting. No rest for the wicked! But I have been cutting out social teas, etc., as far as possible. Mr. McQuiston is head of the Agriculture Dep’t in Cairo Univ. He graduated from Ohio State. In a group picture on their wall I recognized Margaret Lawrence Copeland’s picture and Mr. McQ said he roomed with Copeland at O.S.U. for a short time. We had a lovely tea at their house, - a fire in an open grate made the room so cheerful. The last few days we have been having a great deal of cloudy weather, with rains interspersed. Of course you remember Saleem Bey Hanna. I had such a nice talk with him this afternoon. We discussed Switzerland for a little while. He is in the Central Cairo Post-Office and has a nice family – two boys and two girls. The oldest boy is an engineer, - a very fine fellow who is very much interested in Christian work. And Flora, the oldest girl, seems to me to be more 2) like an American than an Egyptian. She is quite clever and refined, too. While we were at their house, Mr. Hanna’s niece and her husband called. The husband (I don’t know his name) is a graduate of the Esbekiyeh School. He said he knew Mother, and afterwards he told me that when I was introduced to him he almost called me Mrs. Giffen instead of Miss, because I looked so much like my mother. But, do you know, I never know how much of these Egyptians’ talk to believe. Poor Mother, if it’s true. In my last letter I mentioned getting some furniture for my room. Today some of the girls invested in six straight backed chairs and I relieved them of one. They were seventy-two piasters apiece and very nice-looking chairs with leather seats. Clarice and I priced some chairs in a second-hand store a few days ago and none of them went below a pound, and you can’t jew these store-keepers down as they say they used to be able to. Slowly I am getting my room fixed up. I am planning to spend all of Saturday working on it, and so am in hopes that I will have it looking more like a room when Association convenes the latter part of next week. (I think I made a mistake in my last letter and said that Association was this week instead of next.) The carpenter is to come this next Saturday to fix up my book-case and to tighten the springs of my little single-bed. It is a very nice little bed and looks as if it would be comfortable to sleep in. Last Saturday was my day to help with the cleaning of the drawing room, dining-room, and study-room upstairs. Two of the girls do that work every Sat., and we take turns. Mrs. Coventry helped us and we waxed the drawing-room floor, - quite a task. As we planned, several of us attended the Jessups’ Farewell Reception at the Y.M.C.A. House in Esbekiyeh Garden last Wed. afternoon and were privileged to see the Lord and Lady Allenby. Gen. Allenby gave a nice little talk, as did some others, then we had tea and our pictures were snapped with the General and his wife. Not many were there. I got to speak with W. L. McClenahan there for the first time since arriving in Egypt. I had seen him several times but had not spoken to him. I have yet to see his wife. They live in Maadi. Since last Sabbath was Mrs. Coventry’s birthday, we celebrated on Friday night by having a nice supper for her, followed by stunts of different kinds. Miss Cullen was our only guest. Our flat downstairs was asked to put on “the Courtship of William the Honqueror,” which we had prepared for 3) Xmas night, and then were too tired to give (it). It was rather a silly little drama of our own concoction, but it made our little audience laugh, and that was all that was needed. In the course of the drama, in the second Act, I believe, the hero and heroine (Clarice and myself made a thrilling escape from our pursuers, (Miss Hosack and Evelyn), on a donkey, (Lucia Dwight). We were able to fix up some rather striking costumes, which of course could not help but impress our onlookers. Your daughter, sister, etc. is also appearing in public as a soprano. The boldness of some people’s relations! Special music was requested for last Sabbath night service by Dr. Zwemer, so a quartet, composed of Fay Ralph, Mr. C. Cland, Mr. Maud, and the soprano, sang (the) “For God So Loved the World” from Stainer’s Crucifixion. Then this next Sabbath night, the soprano again has to sing a little solo appearing in the anthem. Wonder of wonders! I am sure you think that I must have improved greatly since coming to Egypt. After preaching Miss Hamilton came to me and said that there was a young man, whom I used to play with, at the back of the church, and it proved to be Fahmy Khalil. I think Fahmy was his name, at any rate he was the second Khalil boy in Assiut. He recalled several experiences and he seemed like a very nice young man. He is teaching school somewhere near Cairo. I don’t know whether he knew me or not, but his face looked familiar to me. But here I am, writing to you all this stuff that would hardly interest you. I would like to say, though, that I am feeling fine and dandy. I hope that you did not put yourself out at all to get something to send with Dr. Finley, Mother. I don’t really need anything and if you have any spare time, you do need to rest. I certainly would like to drop in on you sometime and help with the cleaning. Although from the little that I helped this last summer, it would seem that I had forgotten how. One of these times I am going to write to Latimer and have him send to you the money for my New World Movement pledge. I am taking it out of my tithe. How did that matter with Dr. Kelsey about my pledge come out? I was sorry to hear of Georgia Bradshaw’s death. A piece of that steak would taste very good tonight, but you folks would look better. I hope you have rec’d that package that I sent with Mrs. Rankin, even tho it did not contain much. Word has come to me that Mrs. Rankin has sent the different packages entrusted to her. The letter that you sent on Thurs., Jan. 6, arrived here on Thurs., A.M., Jan. 27. I am so glad to hear that the furnace is doing so well. And Susannah’s rug is nice too. That extra graduating cap, I knew was there but I don’t exactly remember just where it came from. I thought once last summer that it might be Susannah’s but I hardly think now that it is. The girls at McKeowns did some little exchanging of caps in June 1919 so there must have been some mistake somewhere. Please remember me to “Fort Sheth” and all other friends that might ask. Just the most love ever from me, Dora. |