Walk Like an Egyptian

and by that, I mean dart across 5 "lanes" of traffic that may or may not include the following: a taxi with no mirrors or seat belts and a ridiculous "meter" that hasn't functioned in 25 years (because you SHOULD know the price... and if not, be ready to negotiate), a camel, a horse-drawn wagon, and an exhaust-spewing bus with Egyptian men hanging on to the side. Needless to say, moving around this city is interesting. Driving is madness, but as one of my interviewees described, it's "ordered chaos." Apparently there is an unwritten code that minimizes the number of fatalities. My outsider perspective has deemed this about the code: hand signals out the window are crucial, the horn is absolutely invaluable (3 quick burst honks is a polite move, then there is the "get the f*%$ out of the way" honk), and the headlights are only used to indicate aggravation or that you are about to pass someone (leaving them on at other times wastes battery power, which is in short supply on a 1976 Peugeot. The rest of the code remains indecipherable, perhaps to be lost to the sands of time like the hieroglyphics on a temple wall.


But enough about the driving and walking in Cairo. I arrived on Sunday night and my is Africa a change from Europe. My ride from the airport showed up an hour late because EgyptAir switched its flights to a new terminal that day and didn't let anyone know. Once we found each other, we had a good ride from the airport into Zamalek, an island in the Nile that is known as one of Cairo's posh suburbs. The hotel I was at was on a nice tree-lined street just down from the main drag. I asked for the cheapest room, and yes, you get what you pay for. I had no A/C (it was 83 at midnight), a single bed, a towel (a nice luxury), and a shared bathroom in which the shower was a faucet over the toilet. I can't complain TOO much because there was hot water, it was just kind of odd to see it warmed next to your head by two open bunsen burner-like contraptions. But then again, I didn't even really need hot water because I was sweating so much! I went to bed after buying a big water bottle to brush my teeth... luckily, I squeezed the bottle I got out of the fridge because it had been slit and probably filled with tap water. I kindly grabbed another intact bottle and the shopkeeper looked at me sheepishly.

Day 1 in Cairo was spent wandering Zamalek and getting my bearings. I bought a massive map (what better way to advertise my tourist-ness) and had some drama getting an Egyptian SIM card. I also found a new hostel to stay at because I was tired of being overcharged for staying in a nice suburb when I was melting and having terribly unsatisfying showers. That night, I met up with a bunch of Princeton and AUC kids who are studying here for the summer. We went to a cafe/bar that serves Egypt's finest brew... Stella. No, not Artois. Just Stella. At 9.50EGP for 0.5L, one can't complain, but it did make me miss the nice Czech brews of a few weeks ago. The AUC kids were a bit late to arrive so I sat down and made friends with two Egyptian guys: Mohammad and Mohammad (easy enough). We had a very interesting conversation about politics and why Americans don't like Arabs. I told them that they don't understand the differences in the Arab world, but that many people don't understand the differences in America either. The ignorance goes both ways. It was a conversation that would have made my anti-Americanism professor proud!

Today I had a meeting outside of Cairo at Microsoft. It's located in a place called SmartVillage, which is one of the nicest office parks I've ever seen! It had glass pyramids (the Lourve is probably upset about that) and manicured lawns. Apparently the Egyptian government subsidized development in the hopes of creating a huge IT/telecom cluster. Very interesting just to walk around and appreciate the steps taken by policymakers to invest in their future competitiveness.

After my meeting, my gracious host even dropped me at the Pyramids. Upon stepping foot outside the car I was immediately assailed by men who posed as workers and were going to sell me a ticket. Luckily, my host warned me of this, and I kept my head low, waved my hands and repeated "La Shukran" (no thank you in Arabic). I didn't have to bust out "imshi" which apparently is a much more forceful way of saying back off (to those Arabic speakers out there, I apologize if that is a rude word). After buying my ticket, I walked through the gates and was greeted by the MASSIVE pyramids. Everyone probably says this, but they are freaking enormous. One brick comes up to about my chest/shoulders. I climbed up a bit of the way, but it was about 105 degrees out so climbing wasn't the best activity in my interview attire. After strolling around the pyramids and dodging offers for camel rides (though I was tempted), postcards, and other made-in-China trinkets, I got to the Sphinx. Now, it is gorgeous, but a lot smaller than I expected. It was kind of link the Mona Lisa; you admire the artistic feat but are still feeling underwhelmed. Regardless, it was an awesome site to behold. To the first Europeans to set eyes on them, I can't imagine what they thought. They really do rise out of nowhere.

Dinner was with a friend from Princeton who is working for the American Embassy in Egypt (which is the largest permanently staffed American embassy in the world... who knew). It's so nice to hang out with people who speak Arabic! I've learned a few words, but realize that my European mantra (know how to say thank you and cheers) is insufficient.

Off to sleep for me. I've never appreciated air conditioning so much. Hopefully my clothes are dry by tomorrow morning otherwise the day could prove a bit of an adventure.

Oh and I wanted to start doing this in all of my posts:
Day: 15/72
Distance from New York JFK: 5603.96 miles
Current mood: exhausted but exhilarated
Current music: Royksopp