Week 1 in Review:

I’ve decided to write a section at the end of each week and express some of things I’ve noticed and my thoughts on the subject. I’ll also use this to explain and elaborate on things I don’t think I’ve explained well.

Fashion: Fashion in Egypt is very different that the USA. I’d say the style here is very similar to European dress. The men wear jeans or khakis year round and long sleeved shirts are more common that short sleeves. In an attempt to better blend in Evan and I have been doing similar. I don’t know how they do it! Its sooooo hot and jeans aren’t helping.

On the other end of the spectrum is the men who wear the galabia which is a full length robe. I’d say a fourth of the people wear them when you get into the residential areas. Similarly the women Egyptian women are always covering their bodies. Some more than others. I’d say most cover their hair and some their entire face. It’s interesting because it’s such a different culture from ours here in America.

Food: I didn’t expect the food to be bad; however, I never expected to like it so much. For example the liver that I had today was excellent! The sandwiches are good in any variety and the fool is equally as good. I can’t wait to try more rare dishes.

Poverty: In America it is not uncommon to see homeless every so often. Those in La Jolla know what I’m talking about. However, the level of destitution there is nothing like it is here. Women on the street practically forcing a small Kleenex pack into your hand so that you’ll give them 1 LE. 1 LE!! They will sit on the street all day trying to make their living off of Kleenex sales because they have no job and desperately need the money. The difference between the rich and the poor here is simply astounding. I feel horrible being so blessed and seeing so many people that are not. Many sleep on the street because they nowhere else to go.

I found out today that the average salary in Cairo is 600 LE a month. To put that in perspective that’s 120 dollars a month, an amount that I with my on campus job could make in less than twelve hours. It’s crazy to see the transformation in the city as you take the bus to the campus in New Cairo. You drive from downtown which is middle class through a ghetto where the buildings are dilapidated and falling apart and end up in New Cairo, which is filled with mansions and golf resorts.

My heart breaks to see the people who live in such conditions and yet smile and greet you so warmly on the street. I was happy to see some clubs on campus that provide outreach to the needy in Cairo. Time permitting I am hoping to get involved with one of those.

Pollution: With all the cars in the city it is no surprise that the cities air is heavily smoggy. However, without having visited Cairo I expected there to be basic sanitation such as trash cans on the street. This however is not the case. There are very few trashcans and they are very rarely used. The common practice is to throw your trash into the street or onto the sidewalk. For a native it doesn’t even faze them. For a clean freak American I was shocked. The result is piles of trash around the city. Store fronts are kept clean but in the back alleys one could find small mounds. Just one difference that caught me by surprise.

Final thoughts: It is amazing that I have been here such a short time and yet feel so enchanted with this city. There are many obvious flaws; such as greedy business men and pollution. However, I cannot help but find myself loving the simplicity of the people here. The average Egyptian enjoys the simple things in life so much more than the American. They can sit in a café or on the street for hours and talk to strangers and enjoy life in the moment. Not always looking ahead and worrying about the future. I find it strange that after one week I can truly say I will be torn when I leave. One part of me wants to see my friends and family and get back to the daily grind. The other part loves the beauty of simplicity and the kind hearted Egyptians who live it every day.

Day 6:August 30

UGH its early… woke up at 8 today (yeah I guess not that early but still). We have to get to the buss stop by nine thirty or ten to make it to campus by eleven. Evan has orientation for EAP and I decided I was going to try to sit in and see if there was any useful info. We ate breakfast and left for the bus stop. We arrived shortly after nine thirty and joined the already growing crowd awaiting the bus.

The nine thirty bus never arrived and the ten bus was late. We got on the bus and were rolling at 10:30… we arrived on campus at 11:15 and entered the desert metropolis. Following the signs to EAP orientation we walked to the upper campus and into one of many auditorium buildings. We entered a small class room marked EAP and were greeted by 15 other EAP students sitting at desks with name tags… it was about that point that I realized I couldn’t sneak in inconspicuously and turned around.

I spent the next hour and a half walking around campus, exploring and taking pictures (which can be found under the AUC album on my smugmug http://dyehard47.smugmug.com/ ). The campus is gorgeous. Mostly sand colored bricks and tile adorn the campus. The architecture makes use of straight lines and geometric shapes giving it a very modern feel. Across the campus are many fountains and trees making it feel as if you are in an desert oasis.

I later overheard a campus tour guide say that the campus was designed in a fairly straight line with openings to funnel air through the campus and create a breeze. The 27 fountains around campuse were then added to cool the air as it passed over the water. Cool huh?

Anyways I figured it was time to find the ALI section of campus and check in. I arrived near 12:30 and found that there were signs posted saying to arrive between 9:30 and 10:30 (oops, that wasn’t in the email). I walked in and registered without to much of a hassle. They then sent me to get my ID card at the library.

At the library there was a line of about fourty people ahead of me. And according to one estimation it took about five minutes per card. I got in line behind another ALI student and we started talking. Brian graduated from a University in New York last year and plans to spend the next year or two studying Arabic in Cairo. Turned out to be a really nice guy and talking with him and other students helped to pass the time. two hours later the I received my card. This was fortunate because the ID center closed at 2:30 which was in another five minutes. It turns out that everything was closing at 2:30 so that people could catch the bus home to prepare for Ramadan.

Brian and I exited and went to the bus stop. We discovered that we were staying near each other and would be taking the same bus home. On the way back I napped. Upon arrival Brian and I decided to grab some lunch at a nearby place called Falafel. This is a chain Arabic restaurant and was not nearly as good as the hole in the wall places by our hostel. However, I was starving and wasn’t about to be overly picky.

Walked back to Talaat al Harb, a nearby square, where Brian and I parted ways. I continued to walk towards my apartment when I realized that I didn’t have the key to the hostel… Turned around and walked back to Tahriir square and called Kevin to come meet me.
Hung out with Kevin until Evan returned at 5. We then left to meet up with the apartment broker. Got bad news concerning the one we both liked with the balcony. We were told that it wouldn’t be ready for another month. We decided that was to long and he agreed to show us some more in downtown. Saw a building a few blocks away from the square that had two, two bedroom apartments for rent. Very modern looking furniture and well kept. Has internet and Air Conditioning which is a major plus. We are supposed to meet up with the owner later to discuss the price.

Headed back to our apartment to drop off our bags and then left for fattar. Took a different side street hoping to find some new food and got stopped by a local restaurant owner who guaranteed we’d like his food. He gave us a sample of some delicious meet and then surprised us by telling us it was liver…. Well I could have gone without knowing that but it was delicious. We decided to get some despite our hesitations. I had two pita filled liver sandwiches (called kibra) with some pita chips and hummus. It was really, really good. Possibly the best meal so far. After dinner/fattar we stopped at a juice stand to complete the meal.

We had decided to meet up at Eight with Nour so we could go and inquire about the price. We arrived at Eight and waited till Eight Thirty to call him. He told us he was nearby and would only be a few minutes. He kept calling with the same story and did not show up till ten. He actually arrived as Evan and I were leaving. Lucky for him.

He took us to the same apartment building where we discovered the price had increased from 2500 LE to 3000 LE within the week. Nour said it was because the owner new AUC students were coming to town. We also discovered how much Nour’s commission was. 1 months rent. Both Evan and I were shocked by this. It seemed really steep. Evan and I asked and he took offense really quickly which wasn’t very comforting. We were able to talk him down to three quarters rent but we still feel tentative. By the end of the night we had agreed to book (ask them to reserve) one of the downtown apartment until Wednesday for us.

Neither, Evan or I felt good about the way this turned out and are a bit skeptical. We think we are going to look around some more before Wednesday to see if Nour is overcharging us. We also heard of a site called cairoscholars which is supposed to help students find affordable housing. We’re going to look into that and ask around campus to see how much people were paying for their broker and rent.

We headed back to the hostel. Evan has to be at campus earlier tomorrow because he wasn’t able to get his ID or register. I don’t need to be there except for my oral placement so I decided to stay up and upload pictures/write in my journal. I also got to make my first call using skype. I called Sara and talked for an hour. It was getting near two in the morning and I decided it was time to call it a night. Took a shower and fell asleep.

PICTURES AVAILABLE

pictures are now available at my new smugmug account.
check them out clicking the link. Hope you enjoy!
http://dyehard47.smugmug.com

Day 5: August 29

Woke up early again. This time at around 8:30. Called the agent that was going to show us some apartments. Apparently he meant 9pm tonight not 9am. So fell back asleep. Woke up at around 11 and went down to get breakfast. Two girls from Germany were eating at the same time and we conversed together briefly.

After breakfast Evan had to take the placement test online so I studied and did the writing section. After that I found myself with some free time. I called up Kevin who was planning on visiting the Citadel. I decided to go while Evan opted to stay and finish the test and study some more.

Met Kevin by the Karl’s Junior in Tahriir Square. From here we caught a taxi and headed into Old Cairo (Which is sometimes referred to as Islaamic Cairo). Got to the Citadel at 3:30. Unfortunately we found that the Citadel is only open till 4:30… so we decided we would save the 50 LE and come back later when we could have more time to enjoy it.

We knew that nearby was the El Hussein Mosque so we decided to walk. A few stops for directions and thirty minutes later we found ourselves in front of El Hussein Mosque. The Mosque was built by Sultan Hussein and is enormous. Unfortunately during Ramadan non-muslims are not allowed in the Mosque after three so we had to walk around the outside. However, the outside was still gorgeous. The Mosque sits adjacent to another massive mosque, which together tower over the surrounding courtyard and streets.

After fighting off a few hopeful tourist trappers Kevin and I continued on toward Khan El Khalili. Khan El Khalili is the section of Cairo known to have the most open air vendors. Street after street was filled with goods ranging from your daily produce, to carpet, to clothes, to souvenirs. If you could think it, then it could be found in Khan El Khalili.

Neither of us really wanted to purchase any goods but the atmosphere was delightful and we spent the next hour and a half walking through the main streets watching and absorbing our surroundings. Dividing the humungous bazaar is the Bab Zawayla gate. This gate was is a mosque and used to divide Cairo. Now it is known mostly for dividing Khan El Khalili into its more touristy side and its more Egyptian side. This split was apparent because one side focused more on food and clothes whereas the other focused on souvenirs and trinkets. At the gate we met with a local named Adam and talked about sports. Adam loved soccer and we talked about soccer in Europe and Egypt for a good while. He asked us to tea which we refused (fearing a trap). He did, however, give us his number with what seems like no strings attached so we may take him up on his offer later.

We did have one unfortunate encounter while in Khan El Khalili. We were followed down the street by a man who insisted that we should go into his shop for tea. I was feeling sick of being harassed so tried less subtle methods of getting rid of him. When he told us he was from American I just laughed and told him he wasn’t, and that we didn’t want to hear his story or buy anything. He continued to follow us and we continued to tell him we weren’t interested.. At one point he took the lead and we ducked into a stall to lose him. Unfortunately we ran into him a few minutes later (not surprisingly given the nature of the small streets..). At this point he asked us why we were afraid. I just laughed and couldn’t think of an appropriate response. Kevin piped up in Arabic saying that “We’re not afraid you’re just not nice.” Perfect.

The man stopped looking dumbfounded as we continued on our way. We emerged out of Khan El Khalili a while later and found ourselves in a part of Cairo neither of us had seen. We asked the local traffic cop who sent us down a busy main street. Twenty minutes later we were still hopelessly lost, however, we did meet a kind Egyptian who saw us and asked us where we were going. He then directed us and refused our tip (again renewing my faith in Egyptians). We followed his directions to another large main street but still lacked a sufficient knowledge of the city to find our way back. We decided that taking a taxi might just be easier.

A 7 LE cab ride later we were near my hotel and walking back to meet with Even. In an attempt to better understand the culture Kevin has been fasting for Ramadan. This includes not drinking or eating from sunset to sunrise. I felt a bit guilty drinking water around him so tried my hardest to abstain. Got me thinking about fasting and that I may want to do it for myself more when I get back to the states… We stopped at the juice place near the hostel and got Kevin’s first meal of the day (2 glasses of Mango Juice).

We then retrieved Evan and went to go grab dinner. We decided to try a new place called GAD. It was decent although allitle more commercialized than the others. I got the Shish Kabob Sandwich. It’s a grilled steak sandwich with cheese and peppers. I don’t know about you but I’m getting confused about the differences between these sandwiches… whatever. After our dinner we stopped by a local bakery to try some Arabic deserts. We all tried three pastries. One was like a deep fried doughnut hole, another was a flaky crust cream filled triangle, and the last was a molasses walnut pastry in the shape of an eggroll..

It was drawing near nine so we headed to Tahriir Square to meet with Nour, the apartment broker. We met in front of KFC at Tahriir Square. Apparently he meets his clients here because everybody knows where KFC is. He then took us to check out two places in Garden City (a mile or so south) and one located downtown (a few blocks east).

The first two were located in the same building and cost 2500 LE. They were nice but nothing super out of the ordinary. Most apartments in Egypt come furnished and I personally preferred the furnishings in the first while Evan liked the balcony on the second. The third that we visited in downtown was closer to the bus to AUC and in both our opinions far superior. It was a one bedroom that could possibly be converted into a two bedroom. Had a large balcony and was really nicely furnished. The room that could be converted was off the balcony but was currently being used by the owner for storage. The owner was asking 3000 LE for it as a double… a bit pricey but still within our asking range.

We really enjoyed spending the night with Nour and his partner Hassan. They were both really down to earth Egyptians. Hassan was 21 and Nour a bit older. Hassan played for the Zamelek football club which is one of the best in Egypt and competes internationally. Nour is a musician who has long hair and is about as close as you can come to an Egyptian hippy. We all enjoyed coffee together near the end of the night and hope to meet up again to hang out socially.
At the end of the night we decided we would meet up the next day to look at a few more places and discuss finalizing any offers. Evan and I walked back and prepared for our first day of orientation…

Day 4: Aug 28

Woke up early again this morning. Don't know why but I can't go back to sleep. Last night was a blast but I definitely want to avoid buying anything I'm never gonna use from now on... Decided to use this morning to catch up on my previous journal entries. If you couldn't tell already I've been writing them a day behind. Well now I'm all caught up.

Evan woke up at around 9:30 and we both went down to get breakfast. After breakfast we decided it would be a good idea to find the American Embassy and let them know we were in Cairo. We left and headed toward Tahriir Square. We decided to try a new route to see if it was any faster. As always 30 minutes later we were lost somewhere near downtown.

Seeing our predicament a local Egyptian walked over to see if we needed any help. He spoke some English and was able to tell us the direction of downtown. Pulling us to the street we needed he pointed us in the right direction. We thanked him and talked for a few minutes exchanging the normal pleasantries. We thought that we had managed to meet another friendly non-money seeking Arab. Turns out we were wrong because we were quickly ushered into his store and offered drinks (sound familiar). He insisted on us giving him our home addresses so that he could send us Christmas cards... we both lied and gave him fake last names and addresses. Soon he was trying to pawn us oil and essence. This particular store owner was particularly pushy and would not take no for an answer. We eventually had to push our way out and were followed down the street by screams of "BYE BYE MICHAEL! BYE BYE MICHAEL!"

At least he pointed us in the right direction... we found our way back to the city center within 5 minutes and were on our way to the embassy. Of course the embassy was closed on Friday which is the Muslim holy day (shoulda thought of that sooner). Either way we know where it is at least. We explored the near by surrounding and found the massive British Embassy. By the way there are police and military police everywhere and it is not uncommon for them to be carrying AK-47s. Kinda weird.

We decided to walk back toward our hostel after stopping to admire the Nile. We stopped at the same cafe as yesterday hoping that we would get a waiter that wouldn't charge us as much. We got overcharged again and will not be returning there again. Once back at our hostel we continued our search for apartments via the Internet. We found a couple good looking places in both Zamelek and downtown Cairo. We have contacted the owners/brokers and are waiting to hear back. We do have one appointment for tomorrow at 9pm to look at a few places owned by the same guy downtown (keep your fingers crossed). Evan continued to study and I decided to take a nap.

I was awoke by a call from a mutual friend of Evan and mine, Kevin Ward, who was in our Arabic class at UCSD. He is currently living in Cairo and we have been trying to get in touch. We decided to meet up and go out for dinner/fattar. We met near the old AUC campus and followed him south towards his apartment and a few restaurants he liked near there. We ate at a place called Abu Shoka. I tried the Kofta sandwhich. This was very similar to the Shwarma the day before except that it had lettuce and a different spice blend.

Afterwards we went to Kevin's apartment to see what a apartment looks like for 2500 a month. He lives in a 2 bedroom one bath which is well furnished and taken care of. This was good for both Evan and I because now we have a good gauge on what someone else is getting for the same price range we are looking at.

We all left Kevin's place and went towards where we were supposed to eat Aman. We arrived a few minutes late and he was not there. This didn't greatly surprise Evan or myself because all three of it had left it as a maybe which in Arabic culture is often a gracious 'no'. Either way we showed Kevin around Emad Al-Din which he had never seen before and he accurately described as "busy like times square." We decided we were still hungry and got a snack/second dinner at the fool place from two nights ago. We decided to split some fool and try the falafel which the waiter insisted was good. He was right and we all left more stuffed and pleased than before.

After this Evan decided he was going to go back and get some sleep while Kevin and I went to see the Nile at night. I had heard it was gorgeous at night and was not disappointed. It reminded me of the Vega strip. The main Strip of the city brightly lit with neon boats sailing up and down. It was gorgeous but both Kevin and I were getting sleepy. We walked back to Tahriir Square and parted ways, him going south myself north. I arrived back at the hostel and quickly fell asleep.

Day 3: August 27

Today is the third day and we decided that it would be a good idea to find where the shuttles are that run from Cairo to the new campus. The new AUC campus is located in what is called ‘New Cairo’ a quickly growing city located about an hour bus ride east of downtown Cairo. There are two shuttle stops near our hostel that run to the campus. These are located in Zamelek near the student housing and downtown near the old campus. We are significantly closer to the old campus and decided we’d go check out the old campus then try to catch the bus to the new campus.

After breakfast we set out towards downtown. On the way we both stopped and purchased new bags that better matched the fashion of Egypt, thinking that we won’t stand out as much this way (who are we kidding). We both settled on a messenger bag/man purse. However, I (like Allan from the hangover) will henceforth be calling it my satchel because that is way more manly. Anyways the price on the tag was 600 LE but we both got ours for 55 LE which is just under 11 dollars.

The walk to downtown took us approximately 25 minutes and we arrived with little incident, however neither of us knew exactly where the old campus was located, we just knew the general area. One would think that finding a college campus wouldn’t be to hard right? Boy were we wrong. In Cairo all the buildings are big making the campus blend into the city. After an hour of searching we found the entrance near a row of American Restaurants. Ironically we had both noticed the KFC, Karls Jr. and Pizza Hut early but didn’t connect that they would be right near the American Campus.

Unfortunately our endeavors where quickly foiled. Upon arriving to campus we were turned away because we did not have student IDs for AUC. Additionally, the busses to new campus don’t run until the day of orientation…. So we were unable to see either new or old campus. Following the disappointment we headed back toward the hostel to find a café and get some tea. On the way back we ran into another Egyptian trying to sell us perfume. However, we turned and fled upon hearing the word business card.

We stopped at a café near the hostel that had been recommended to us earlier. We both got the mango juice, some water, and tea/coffee. After talking with the employees for awhile (mostly about Ramadan, this is the third or fourth time I’ve had Ramadan explained to me…. It seems that Arabs love to tell westerners about Ramadan) we decided to get the bill and leave. We were both shocked when we got the bill and saw that our tiny glasses of juice cost us 10 LE each. We were a little disappointed that they would charge so much considering we could get a glass twice that size for 3 LE down the street. We payed and left feeling a bit slighted.

Arriving back at the hostel we had an hour or two to kill before fattar and decided to do some studying/reading. I finished my Isaac Assimov book. A short nap later we were up and out the door looking for food. We ended up in the same area as last night and stopped at a local sandwich shop. Both of us got the Schawarma which is a sandwich filled with lamb or chicken and cheese, onions, and peppers. It reminded me of Philly cheese steaks back home. After dinner we decided to walk around and soak in the festivities associated with Ramadan.

Our hostel is located on Emad Al-Din which is considered by many to be a very traditional family oriented area. As such it is the heart of festivities in the area. All the side streets around us are packed with open air vendors and stores. People by the hundreds are walking up and down every side street stopping to socialize or shop. We found ourselves wrapped up in the wave of energy that surged through this small area as we walked about conversing with the locals and taking in the sights.

After some walking around we started talking to another traveler from Gaza. We decided to go have some tea at a back alley café. The man spoke both English and Arabic and seemed very social. Ten minutes into the conversation the man opened up and started telling us that his family and house were recently destroyed in a bombing and that he had no money or friend here in Cairo. He then went on to explain that he had a friend in Sydney that was going to transfer him some money but it would take two days and he could really use some help…. Especially from his two new friends…. This is when the red flags started to go off.. He explained that he had been kicked out of his hotel and had to keep his bag in a locker. If we would only loan him 15 dollars (75 LE) he would go get his bag, put us in his hotel, and meet us back here in twelve minutes. After which he would show us around the city and we could meet up tomorrow so we could give him more money to cover the last day. Two days later he would give us the money back…. Or disappear I muttered under my breath.

Till this point I was unsure if Evan had figured out we were being played, so I was delightfully surprised when he told the man that he would only help him if we could go with him to get his bag and go to the hotel. The man of course refused and insisted that it would embarrass him and that it would be unheard of for Americans to be seen helping a Muslim. However, Evan and I insisted. After trying to convince us some more Evan and I told him that we couldn’t trust him and that we would have to part ways.

This was a disappoint experience for the both of us. Evan and I have been attempting to interact with the locals as much as possible but so far all the ones who we get into long conversations with only want our money. It seemed to us that many in Cairo were artificially nice in order to get money out of travelers. However, karma owed us and this stereotype was soon to be broken by a 62 year old software developer named Aman.

We ran into Aman shortly after leaving the café. We decided to explore more south east of our hostel and set out with no destination in mind. Ten minutes later we were walking down the street and joined by Aman. We walked together for four or five blocks talking in Arabic. Out of the blue, Aman asks if we would like him to show us some of the city. We agree (myself somewhat skeptically) and head into the unknown. Aman takes us first to the original post office and shows us around then to one of the old commerce buildings which is now surrounded by an open air market/bazaar.

After walking around the bazaar for a bit Aman tells us to wait and disappears for a minute. He returns bearing sandals and asks us if he should buy a pair for us because he can get us the Egyptian price. We decline he leaves and returns and asks us if we want any hats, clothes, Egyptian full robes, etc. It was funny in a cute way because he really wanted to help us get the Egyptian price not the foreigner price.

Finally we exit the area and stop at another café. We get some tea and converse about Cairo’s history and family. Aman tells us he wants to show us an area of Cairo that is 1000 years old. We agree and are taken via cab to Old Cairo. We get out and are greeted by the original walls to the city. Walking along the wall we came to an old mosque. As we approach Aman tells us that when we enter we should say “Sallam alaykoom” (peace with you). Obediently following Evan and I find ourselves without shoes inside a gigantic, gorgeous mosque. The floors were marble and the courtyard was surrounded with pillars. We proceeded to get shown around by Aman, who at this point told us that our names where Mohamed (me) and Mahmud (Evan).

Within ten minutes we are approached and asked to leave. Aman inquires as to the reason and we are told that Evan and I don’t walk like Muslims…. Apparently all the gawking gave us away. We exit the mosque and proceed down a side street on a tour of downtown. We are led to a historical house inhabited by an old merchant. It was gigantic and elaborate. A mansion hidden in the middle of small houses and apartments. Alabaster courtyards, and gold where everywhere. I wish I had my camera with me on this little adventure to record some of what we saw because words cannot describe the beauty we witnessed in the mosque and this house.

We left and continued through old Cairo, stopping at shops and talking to locals. Aman greatly enjoyed introducing us as Mohamed and Mahmud and seeing the expressions of disbelief on the store owners and locals. Asking us to wait outside a store Aman left us to talk with a few locals who of course wanted to know how we got our names. This conversation lasted approximately fifteen minutes and was really awkward (in hindsight funny also). When Aman returned he had purchased us a sheesha (hooka) for our new apartment which we had told Aman we were looking for. We of course paid him back, however, neither of us some sheesha… oops.

At around 2:30 am we took a taxi back to our hotel and thanks Aman for the wonderful night and agreed to meet him for dinner the following night. All in all we spent just under 400 LE between the two of us for 2 taxi rides, a sheesha, and a few ‘free’/bribed tours. Not bad.

Showered then slept.

Day 2: August 26

Woke up early today despite the sleep deprivation of the past few days. Was awake at 9am local time and Evan and I went downstairs to have our breakfast. Breakfast at the hostel includes 3 pieces of bread (similar to bread sticks), a hard boiled egg, and tea. The staff are friendly but it feels odd to be receiving your morning meal from a Muslim who is fasting for Ramadan.
After breakfast we dressed to go out and headed towards downtown and the Nile. The ‘downtown’ section of town is located about a mile and a half southwest of the hostel through a maze of streets. After some searching we found Talaat al harb. Which is the kinda like the main square in Cairo. Located on the square is the Egyptian Museum and nearby is the old AUC campus.

From here we crossed over the Nile on one of the many bridges spanning across it. Crossing the bridge I could not help but be reminded of Dublin, a city also divided by the river Liffey. Both rivers are simply breathtaking due to their size and importance to the culture.

Once over the bridge Evan and I found ourselves in the Zamelek region of Cairo. This region is a small island in the middle of the Nile. In Zamelek is the student housing for students at AUC. Evan and I decided that we should check out that area for apartments so that we could be close to our fellow students without paying the 10k required by AUC. However, the island had other plans and we ended up following a seemingly straight street 180 degrees and ended up on the wrong side of the Island. This of course we only noticed when we got to the Opera House located on the south side and where wondering how in the world we had gotten off track. Our second attempt proved to be a success, and by keeping the Nile on our right we were able to make it up to the north side of the island and into the more residential district of Zamelek.

We had lunch at an Arabic Pizza place which was one of the few restaurants open due to Ramadan. After lunch we explored the surrounding area and stepped into the local vodaphone store. At the store Evan and I were able to purchase phones and pay as you go plans so that we can contact people in Egypt.

Walking back proved to be adventurous as we played human frogger through the crowded streets back to downtown and our hostel. The always crowded streets are subject to a constant flow of people attempting to cross. Many of whom jump and weave to make it safely across. Evan and I found ourselves stuck doing likewise due to the crazy traffic conditions. Luckily nobody was injured although I thought we were going to get run over on more than one occasion. By the time we returned to our hostel we had a full days worth of jay walking under our belt and had become seasoned veterans ready to take on any street in Cairo.
On the way back we ran into an elderly man who asked us if we were from America. Evan and I had been using our Arabic as much as possible and even conversed amongst ourselves primarily in Arabic. We assumed that we either looked out of place or sounded out of place so told the man that yes we were indeed Americans. He then happily explained that he had a son in Texas and wanted to ask us some questions about America. We agreed thinking it would be a nice way to speak with an Egyptian. A few questions in he asked us if he could give us his business card, and like fools we accepted…. Once inside his place of business the man asked us to be seated and proceeded to show us pictures of the places he’s been and the people he’s met through his business. He offered us drinks which we declined, he insisted, we declined, he insisted on the basis of hospitality, we acquiesced (although we never received them..). Pretty soon he is talking about the ‘essence’ a fancy way of saying oil or perfume that he sells that is made from papyrus or other flowers. Offering again and again samples and small bottles despite our attempts to decline and leave. Finally Evan and I decided to drop formalities and made our exit. Alive but barely…

The long day in the sun and the new sleep schedule took its toll on both Evan and myself as we returned to the hostel. We both decided that a nap was in order and lay down to catch a few z’s. Seven hours later we awoke to find it near midnight. We decided to make the best of it and attempt to stay up late like the locals who stayed awake late in order to eat during Ramadan. During Ramadan Muslims cannot eat, drink, or smoke until 6:30 PM. After this time they eat a meal which is called fattar( which is where we get the word breakfast from… to break fast) and latter before they go to sleep they eat the sharoor. We went down to the local shops and proceeded to eat our dinner or fattar. We ate at a small shop which sold fool, a bean dip which can have meat or vegetables added, and is eaten with flat bread. We got a lamb and tomato fool which turned out to be delicious. The crazy part is combined we payed 13 LE or two and a half American Dollars.

After walking around some we returned to the hostel and joined in a meal with a few of the hostel employees. This turned into a conversation about both Arab and American culture. After our snack/their meal we went up to our rooms and did some studying in preparation for our upcoming oral exam. Soon thereafter both of us where passed out.

Day 1: August 24/25.

So today is my travel day. Needless to say, it has been a really, really long day. I woke up at around 10am pacific time and spent the morning packing while watching the end of the Hunt for the Red October. After lunch my dad and I ran out to the store to buy a few last minute items (med kit, etc). After throwing in the last few items it was off to the airport.

My first leg of the flight was from San Jose to Phoenix where I had a family of four sitting behind me in three seats. The mother and the 2 or 3 year old son where directly behind me and I got the brunt of his kicking and screaming in the small of my back. This went on for two hours… None-the-less I got some Arabic studying in and read some in the Science fiction book I am reading, Earth by Isaac Assimov.

The next part of the trip was the long one. Nine hours from Phoenix to London Heathrow. The Flight wasn’t very crowded so I had an entire row to myself. There was a French school trip sharing the plane with me. A good group of people. Sang and kept the rest of us entertained throughout a good portion of the flight. A good selection of in-flight movies to keep myself preoccupied. I watched X-Men Origins, I Love You Man, and Monsters vs Aliens. Tried to sleep as well but woke up after an hour and did some reading instead.

Once in Heathrow I had to go through security again and got chosen to be the random bag and body check. Got frisked by a 60 year old guy…. Anywho I spent the next four hours waiting for the last leg of my journey. Tried to sleep but was to worried I’d miss the plane.
Heathrow to Cairo was a four and a half hour flight. I sat next to an Egyptian business man and talked about Cairo and Ramadan with him. Also saw Star Trek. Still good after seeing it three times.. Took another short nap.

Finally, after what seemed like forever I arrived in Cairo at 11:45 PM local time. Stepping off the plane brought me into another world. As an American in Cairo I felt like I was being thrown to the wolves. Egyptians love Americans…. Because they are gullible and/or have money. This isn’t to say that they aren’t nice but many will try to take advantage of the fact you are foreign. I payed for my visa and went to pick up my bags where I was assaulted by 10-15 cab/limo drivers who wanted to be the ones driving me to my hotel.

As tired as I was I decided to give in and take the offer and get it out of the way. I payed 15 American dollars for a ride to my hotel located near downtown. I feel this was probably a bit expensive however I was too exhausted to argue. I got in the taxi and got ready for the ride of my life. Drivers, especially taxi drivers are insane in Egypt. There are no lanes and nobody follows the traffic rules. The rules of the road seemed to be honk allot and drive as fast as possible. It actually reminded me of walking through the halls at Valley during high school. Very crowded with lots of pushing.

After a few stops to ask the locals for directions the driver found my hotel and dropped me off. I was able to find my way inside and Evan was waiting near the front desk. The hostel is small but has all the necessary accommodations. Additionally the staff seems very friendly. The manager’s name is Mohamed and was very warm and helpful upon my arrival.

Once my bags where in the room Evan and I went out and hit the streets. Evan showed me around the immediate vicinity and we stopped at one of the local shops to get some of the fruit juice. It was amazing. We tried the Mango juice which is really think, and very fresh. I have no better way of describing it then to say it reminded me of a smoothie but better. After walking around for awhile we returned to the hostel at around 2:30. I took a cold shower which felt wonderful given the outside temperature of 71. After my shower I got my first real sleep in 32 hours.