Egypt

Written last week and a little delayed, but it is the thought that counts:


I've officially been in Egypt a week and it is hard to believe that one can actually manage to do this many things in such a short period of time. Of course, absolutely no sightseeing has occurred considering it is typically around 104 degrees during the day and even after dark the temperature will remain in the 90's. Everything they say about the heat and the pollution in Cairo is true.

Of course, many things people have warned me about don't really seem to be particularly true. My roommates and I get fairly little harassment when we're dressed appropriately. The call to prayer is hardly a three a.m. wake-up call. Cab drivers only try to rip you off a third of the time and as long as you know the correct fare, you're typically good to go. The city is surprisingly cleaner than I expected and usually not that smelly. I was warned that Cairo would be the filthiest city I'd ever seen, but Tanger wins hands down in the stinkiest city competition. All in all, Cairo has been a nice surprise.

Our apartment is located on Zamalek, one of the two islands in the middle of the Nile. The island is genuinely a paradise compared to the busy streets of downtown where the school is located. The streets are lined with trees, making the pollution and the heat nearly bearable at midday, dispite being only minutes away from the bustle in downtown. Wearing teeshirts and calf bearing skirts is common and sometimes we'll even see a tank top or two. There are plenty of decent restaurants (by Cairene standards) nearby and all in all is a pretty ritzy part of town (also by Cairene standards). There are drawbacks to our idyllic location. We live on an island of expats and embassy officials and many Cairenes can't afford to live here. It feels a lot more Manhattan than Middle Eastern. However, I have to say after fearing for my life every time I cross the traffic at Tahir Square in downtown, our relatively quiet little Island is a wonderful place to come home.

So far, Cairo seems fairly livable compared to Tanger and Tunis. However, I think I just have a special place in my heart for the metropolis. 15 million people may mean pollution, overcrowdedness, and perpetual honking of horns but 15 million people also means sushi, wifi, and grocery stores. Nothing is quite like home, but the little things of convenience and consumerism make the transition a far more pleasant experience.

This weekend the international students have a mandatory study abroad orientation at a Red Sea resort. The schedule mostly calls for "fun and sun" or "breakfast/lunch/dinner" making the "mandatory" part of the orientation pretty redundant. After that, classes start up. I am only allowed to take 5 classes and I think it will be a relief after the scholastic rigor of the past year. I'm registered for Modern Standard Arabic, Egyptian Colloquial Arabic, Macroeconomics, International Relations, and a seminar on Modern Political Islam. All in all, things seem like they will all work out just fine.