Argh…whenever I start my blogging bonanza I have no idea where to start. Paul and I have been adventuring around the winding alley’s of Cairo the past few weekends, and we’ve seen so much stuff it’s making things difficult…in a good way of course.
School has been the usual. It’s still terribly scattered and unorganized, but I’m feeling much better about my teaching abilities. It’s funny though, I thought that once we started working out of the workbook I’d like it better since the pressure would be off me. Wrong. Many of the kids are still grasping how to hold a pencil and they really don’t get the concept of following directions. This is probably partially due to the fact that they don’t understand a word I’m saying. I’m pretty sure I’ve become the grand master of charades.
So about the workbook thing…my classes keep getting larger; I have about 25 in each. Once I start to pass out the workbooks the kids start opening up and tearing up each others books. Then come the pencils, I get about halfway around the room before they start beating or poking each other with them. Then once I give them an idea of what they’re supposed to be doing (like writing the letter ‘B’) they do one little thing and all start crying “mees, mees, mees” (“miss, miss, miss”). If I hear one more “mees” I think I might explode. I’ve tried to make it like a follow the leader game by drawing the book stuff on the board and having them copy me, but I’m still not having much luck. They do seem to really like the sound effects I’ve given them for the letters though. ‘B’ for example, I’ll start at the top and say “DOWN, Down, down, down, down….STOP! Woosh, Woosh.”
On the weekends, I have a routine that’s working quite well for me. Thursday (which is like Friday for the rest of you) everyone gets all dolled up and we head over to a friends house, and then out to whatever new club we've decided to go to. I mentioned Mojito already, which we’ve been continually frequenting, but we recently went to another place called Absolute which sits right on the Nile. It has a beautiful garden and inside they play loud Latin music. Upstairs is another bar called Sangria which is supposed to be pretty classy as well, but we haven’t made it there yet. I miss the dive bars though. Music isn’t my fave. Lots of house/trance/techno stuff. Good news is my roommates and I have invested in a pretty decent set of speakers, and with Paul’s dance selection we’re set for a real party. Then on Friday we spend the day recovering, maybe going out to an ahwa to smoke sheesha, and on Saturday we get up, hail a cab to Midan Tahrir and start stumbling about the windy bustling alleyways of downtown.
Midan Tahrir is basically a central square downtown. The Egyptian Museum is only a few blocks away and there are shops everywhere. Awhile ago we went to the museum, but it was excruciatingly hot and there is so much to see we’ll definitely have to make another trip. The experience itself is different from other museum experiences I’ve had in the States. It’s basically a giant building with rooms and rooms of stuff. There aren’t many signs for anything, so Paul and I were smart enough to invest in a Lonely Planet Egypt which has a section that helps guide you through the rooms giving you an idea what things are and where they’re from. Things are displayed in a kind of haphazard way in big wood and glass boxes protected only by the tiniest of padlocks. Often they are dusty and covered with fingerprints. I was also surprised by the complete lack of security. I feel like whenever I’ve been to a museum in the States there’s always a guard in every one of the rooms. As for what’s in it…everything! I’ve seen more mummies now than you would believe. I’ve even seen a crockadile mummy!
One of the most amazing things I got to see though was the infamous King Tut mummy mask. They also have oodles and oodles of the most beautiful jewelry you’ve ever seen. Unfortunately photographs are forbidden. Well they say forbidden, but what they should say, is for a price. Faye decided to sneak a few pics since security is pretty lax. Busted! A guard simply walked up and took her camera…oops. She followed him around apologizing until the guy turned around and said “don’t you know how we do it here…Baksheesh!” so she gave him a few pounds and successfully retrieved her camera. They have a scanner when you get in and supposedly check for cameras in your bag, but didn’t happen to find any of ours. Our theory is that they let you in with the camera so you’ll take pictures and they can collect when they catch you. So tip: when in the Egyptian Museum, feel free to take pictures, just be prepared to pay.
Once you’re back on the square, if you cross the street people start accosting you with “what are you looking for, I know the best ________. Don’t worry I’m not a guide.” So, they may not be a guide, but they work for whatever store they’re taking you to. Paul and I humored these guys twice. Basically they talk to you and tell you about themselves and ask what you’re doing here, and then once you’re in the shop, they disappear to the back so the guy up front can sell you stuff. In our case it was perfume. Perfume is quite popular here; it’s basically essential oils that you can use in a bunch of different ways and they sell beautiful glass bottles to store it in. The first guy that stopped us took us to his family’s perfume shop which has apparently been around for more than 130 years. Typically I’d think it was a load of bull, but the store itself and the furniture inside looked more like artifacts than stuff you should actually sit on. We were offered tea and cigarettes which is all part of Egyptian hospitality (you really wouldn’t believe the absolute genuine generosity you experience here). The next guy that snaked us in took us into a less enticing shop, but the guy was entertaining. He made sure we were anti-Bush, and was really excited to show us his Obama sticker on the store front. He also had some fun pictures of him hanging out with Mohammad Ali (Cassius Clay) in his shop. Paul and I smelled like a conglomeration of every scent you could imagine with ancient names like Cleopatra, Papyrus, Lotus, and Amber.
After that we made our way through the windy back alleys all the way to Attaba. Each area is sectioned into districts. There’s an entire street dedicated to shoes, one for car supplies, another for chandeliers, and another for carpets, watches, clothes and so-on. It’s less about displaying items in an aesthetically pleasing way, and more about “how much stuff can we cram in one place.” It’s difficult to shop though since it’s sensory overload. There’s colors everywhere, tons of people, people shouting and going “tssssssk, tssssssk”, along with carts with donkeys, bicycles, taxi’s, trucks, scooters, and people carrying large baskets of stuff on their heads. When we were tired of walking we stopped at an outside ahwa (café) to “people watch” and recoup. While we were sitting there, I had to chuckle when two shepherds wearing traditional galibayas walked by herding a flock of about 20 sheep.
After a lot more walking and gawking we hailed a cab and I handed him the address for Abu Tarek which the gentleman at the perfume shop had given me. Abu Tarek is a famous Koshary place that claims to serve the best Koshary in Cairo. It also has a sign on the front that declares it has “no other branches” which I thought was funny. We ate on the fourth flour in an entirely too ornate room. They only serve Koshary so your waiter simply asks you what size you want. I don’t want to go into entirely too much detail as to what Koshary is because I’m planning on dedicating an entire post to Egyptian street food, so for now I’ll just tell you it’s really cheap and really tasty!
That's all for now. Salam Alaikum!
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21 October 2008
07 October 2008
Photos from Marsa Alam
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Swimmin' and Boozin'
So we just made it back from Marsa Alam which was fun but not quite what I was expecting. When I think beach I think palm trees, sand, fancy hotels, tourists…this was not at all like that. First off, in typical Egyptian fashion the bus arrived hours late and instead of two there was only one; this meant that 25 seats had to fit 34 people. Cramming people into cars and cabs is typical in Egypt, but the trips are usually short...this was a 12 hour trip. Anyway, it all worked out, people took shifts standing and sitting on the floor.
When we finally arrived instead of two person huts with high class amenities, we stayed in clay mosquito infested boxes with 4 beds. Paul looks diseased at the moment. He has 78 mosquito bites on one arm (yes, I seriously counted). Poor thing tried to use his sheet as a mosquito net, but alas, to no avail. Really not so bad though, most of our time was spent at the beach anyway.
So minus the bus ride and the bug bites, Marsa Alam is a pretty interesting place. I would describe it as ecotourism. When you looked out from our porch the scenery was nothing but desert and sea. And when I say desert, I mean nothing but sand and dust. I’ve never seen such an expanse of nothing. You would not believe the wind! I was in charge of carrying our flippers for snorkeling, and for a minute or two, I seriously thought I could use them like wings and take off.
There was a really beautiful sunset the first night we were there. The Red Sea is the bluest body of water I have ever seen. Paul and I kept arguing over whether or not it was Jesus or Moses who supposedly parted it. I’d look it up on the net but I’m pre-typing this because the net is not available from home (oh internet how I miss you!). Looking out from shore you could sea the dark squiggly outline of the reef we swam around. On the shore there were piles that looked like small pebbles at first glance, but if you scooped some up, it was like you had a handful of hidden treasures; bits of coral, tiny seashells, polished stones. While on the beach I acquired a really beautiful shell collection and some great pieces of driftwood.
Snorkeling was loads of fun. We went twice a day bumbling around the house reef. It was nice because you didn’t need a guide or a boat. You just went to the beach and got in. Paul really liked swimming with the fishes. On the last day we were there we saw these really long fish with attenuated snouts resting at the bottom of the reef. I immediately dubbed them creepy and swam as quietly as possible over them which was smart since we later found out they were Barracuda. Apparently even the not so big ones could chew your arm off pretty quick. The rest of the day we spent napping in hammocks or on beach chairs.
At night we would stumble back down to the beach bar to hang out. I immediately befriended Monty the bar owner who proceeded to give me a 50% discount on whatever I ordered. I tried the infamous Egyptian beer Stella….not great, but still beer…the first beer I’ve had since I got here. It’s weird, the only beer you really see around in Egypt is Stella or Heineken and they sell it by the can. And get this, while you can buy booze around town, we’ve been told the best way to get liquor is to have a dealer. A booze dealer? Really? Bootleg booze is cheaper I guess.
On the last day in Marsa Alam our bus decided not to show up, so we ordered 3 vans to take us back. I thought driving in Cairo was crazy, but it’s a walk in the park compared to the road from Marsa Alam. There's literally a road called “the road of dangerous curves” which the drivers insisted taking at lightning speed. Needless to say I left claw marks in the headrest in front of me. Also, along the way they have check points where the police usually just wave you through…that is, unless you’re toting a bunch of foreigners. We tried to sit all the Egyptians in window seats which worked on the way there, but we got busted on the way back. We had to give them our passports and do a lot of waiting in the hot desert sun. Weird part is they decided to give us an escort all the way back to Cairo. My conversation with Nour went something like this:
Katie: why do we need an escort?
Nour: To protect you guys.
Katie: from who? You guys? (referring to Egyptians)
Nour: Haha. No, to protect you from the other guys.
Katie: Who are the other guys?
Nour: haha. Ummm…no one really knows who the other guys are.
Speaking of booze, Ramadon is officially over. Thank Allah! So yesterday night we went to Raf’s and celebrated. Cocktails were made, glasses were clinked! Eventually we made it to a sweet club called Mojito which is a classy joint on the roof of a building in the middle of downtown surrounded entirely by glass walls. So while you’re doing your funky thing on the dance floor you can look over the city. We had a great view of the Cairo tower decked out in all its purple glowing glory.
Well I’m pooped and school starts tomorrow. My students are counting on me. I wouldn't be surprised if they've forgotten everything we learned over vacation...I mean, I always did :)
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When we finally arrived instead of two person huts with high class amenities, we stayed in clay mosquito infested boxes with 4 beds. Paul looks diseased at the moment. He has 78 mosquito bites on one arm (yes, I seriously counted). Poor thing tried to use his sheet as a mosquito net, but alas, to no avail. Really not so bad though, most of our time was spent at the beach anyway.
So minus the bus ride and the bug bites, Marsa Alam is a pretty interesting place. I would describe it as ecotourism. When you looked out from our porch the scenery was nothing but desert and sea. And when I say desert, I mean nothing but sand and dust. I’ve never seen such an expanse of nothing. You would not believe the wind! I was in charge of carrying our flippers for snorkeling, and for a minute or two, I seriously thought I could use them like wings and take off.
There was a really beautiful sunset the first night we were there. The Red Sea is the bluest body of water I have ever seen. Paul and I kept arguing over whether or not it was Jesus or Moses who supposedly parted it. I’d look it up on the net but I’m pre-typing this because the net is not available from home (oh internet how I miss you!). Looking out from shore you could sea the dark squiggly outline of the reef we swam around. On the shore there were piles that looked like small pebbles at first glance, but if you scooped some up, it was like you had a handful of hidden treasures; bits of coral, tiny seashells, polished stones. While on the beach I acquired a really beautiful shell collection and some great pieces of driftwood.
Snorkeling was loads of fun. We went twice a day bumbling around the house reef. It was nice because you didn’t need a guide or a boat. You just went to the beach and got in. Paul really liked swimming with the fishes. On the last day we were there we saw these really long fish with attenuated snouts resting at the bottom of the reef. I immediately dubbed them creepy and swam as quietly as possible over them which was smart since we later found out they were Barracuda. Apparently even the not so big ones could chew your arm off pretty quick. The rest of the day we spent napping in hammocks or on beach chairs.
At night we would stumble back down to the beach bar to hang out. I immediately befriended Monty the bar owner who proceeded to give me a 50% discount on whatever I ordered. I tried the infamous Egyptian beer Stella….not great, but still beer…the first beer I’ve had since I got here. It’s weird, the only beer you really see around in Egypt is Stella or Heineken and they sell it by the can. And get this, while you can buy booze around town, we’ve been told the best way to get liquor is to have a dealer. A booze dealer? Really? Bootleg booze is cheaper I guess.
On the last day in Marsa Alam our bus decided not to show up, so we ordered 3 vans to take us back. I thought driving in Cairo was crazy, but it’s a walk in the park compared to the road from Marsa Alam. There's literally a road called “the road of dangerous curves” which the drivers insisted taking at lightning speed. Needless to say I left claw marks in the headrest in front of me. Also, along the way they have check points where the police usually just wave you through…that is, unless you’re toting a bunch of foreigners. We tried to sit all the Egyptians in window seats which worked on the way there, but we got busted on the way back. We had to give them our passports and do a lot of waiting in the hot desert sun. Weird part is they decided to give us an escort all the way back to Cairo. My conversation with Nour went something like this:
Katie: why do we need an escort?
Nour: To protect you guys.
Katie: from who? You guys? (referring to Egyptians)
Nour: Haha. No, to protect you from the other guys.
Katie: Who are the other guys?
Nour: haha. Ummm…no one really knows who the other guys are.
Speaking of booze, Ramadon is officially over. Thank Allah! So yesterday night we went to Raf’s and celebrated. Cocktails were made, glasses were clinked! Eventually we made it to a sweet club called Mojito which is a classy joint on the roof of a building in the middle of downtown surrounded entirely by glass walls. So while you’re doing your funky thing on the dance floor you can look over the city. We had a great view of the Cairo tower decked out in all its purple glowing glory.
Well I’m pooped and school starts tomorrow. My students are counting on me. I wouldn't be surprised if they've forgotten everything we learned over vacation...I mean, I always did :)
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20 September 2008
View From Space
View Larger Map
Here's a quick post before I go to bed. This is the Nasr City, Cairo with markers for our apartment.
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17 September 2008
Yay! Pictures!
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16 September 2008
Daily News
So today, the day before school starts, I got my class list and a syllabus with a lot of persistence. I basically asked the same three people for stuff all day over and over again until they just couldn’t ignore me anymore.
I’m almost a hundred percent sure tomorrow will be a disaster. Everyone keeps saying “God be with you”. The students are apparently going to spend the whole day crying, and it’s my job to make them comfortable…
One of the things I didn’t get today is a schedule. I have two classrooms, and I have no idea exactly where I’m supposed to be in the morning (ahhh!). I asked Mrs. Jane, the principal, where I should be, but she just said “whatever room you want”…does that confuse anyone else? Good new is, the kids are only going to be at school for a few hours so they can get the feel for the whole thing. This way I'll get to kind of ease into it. The staff has designated a whole 2 hours to get them all on the right buses which I think is hilarious.
Other than school, things we’ve been doing pretty much consist of café, café, café, and so on. Apparently it’s the only thing to do during Ramadan. I don’t mind so much, sheesha and good company is always fun.
Anyway, café’s are everywhere…take a step in any direction and ta-dah! Café! Café’s always serve sheesha, coffee, and juices. Paul’s favorite drink is mango. He’s been drinking so much of it he’ll probably turn orange. I’m pretty sure they make the juices by simply pulverizing the fruit; the drinks are really thick and scrumptious. Sheesha is delicious too, and since it’s everywhere, the streets are perfumed with the smell of it.
Getting around is relatively easy. Everybody drives it seems and usually whoever we’re with at the time is happy to tote us around. Cabs are everywhere. There are two kinds, the yellow cabs, which are new and air conditioned and come complete with a working meter. Tourists usually take these since you don’t have to haggle over a price. Paul and I have never ridden in one. We prefer the black and white cabs. These are usually really, really old cars often decked out with flashing lights and a furry dashboard. They have meters, but they’re just for show in case they get pulled over, so this makes prices negotiable. Paul and I have discovered that you should never ask how much, simply get out of the cab and hand them whatever is reasonable. It's easy to be taken advantage of as a foreigner. Sometimes they’ll tell you “more”, but you just have to be firm. Fortunately a majority of the cabbies haven’t given us any problems.
Also, although Cairo is one of the biggest cities in Africa, it’s also one of the safest. It has a lower crime rate than the US and the UK. Everyone walks around really late at night. As a female you have to be a little more careful. As a foreigner you get a lot of attention anyway, and guys like to make kissy sounds at you constantly, its obnoxious, and all the other guys we’ve met apologize for it constantly. But everything is tolerable. In a conversation with a Russian teacher at school, she was telling me that if you get even in the slightest bit of trouble, you just holler and hundreds of people will come out of nowhere to help you…cool right! I haven’t seen a single cop car. Apparently they only hang out at the tourist spots.
Paul and I are going to try cooking at my place tonight. It'll be an experiment; our appliances are pretty finicky. Our apartment kept blowing a fuse for no apparent reason today. It’s only pasta so we’ll manage.
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I’m almost a hundred percent sure tomorrow will be a disaster. Everyone keeps saying “God be with you”. The students are apparently going to spend the whole day crying, and it’s my job to make them comfortable…
One of the things I didn’t get today is a schedule. I have two classrooms, and I have no idea exactly where I’m supposed to be in the morning (ahhh!). I asked Mrs. Jane, the principal, where I should be, but she just said “whatever room you want”…does that confuse anyone else? Good new is, the kids are only going to be at school for a few hours so they can get the feel for the whole thing. This way I'll get to kind of ease into it. The staff has designated a whole 2 hours to get them all on the right buses which I think is hilarious.
Other than school, things we’ve been doing pretty much consist of café, café, café, and so on. Apparently it’s the only thing to do during Ramadan. I don’t mind so much, sheesha and good company is always fun.
Anyway, café’s are everywhere…take a step in any direction and ta-dah! Café! Café’s always serve sheesha, coffee, and juices. Paul’s favorite drink is mango. He’s been drinking so much of it he’ll probably turn orange. I’m pretty sure they make the juices by simply pulverizing the fruit; the drinks are really thick and scrumptious. Sheesha is delicious too, and since it’s everywhere, the streets are perfumed with the smell of it.
Getting around is relatively easy. Everybody drives it seems and usually whoever we’re with at the time is happy to tote us around. Cabs are everywhere. There are two kinds, the yellow cabs, which are new and air conditioned and come complete with a working meter. Tourists usually take these since you don’t have to haggle over a price. Paul and I have never ridden in one. We prefer the black and white cabs. These are usually really, really old cars often decked out with flashing lights and a furry dashboard. They have meters, but they’re just for show in case they get pulled over, so this makes prices negotiable. Paul and I have discovered that you should never ask how much, simply get out of the cab and hand them whatever is reasonable. It's easy to be taken advantage of as a foreigner. Sometimes they’ll tell you “more”, but you just have to be firm. Fortunately a majority of the cabbies haven’t given us any problems.
Also, although Cairo is one of the biggest cities in Africa, it’s also one of the safest. It has a lower crime rate than the US and the UK. Everyone walks around really late at night. As a female you have to be a little more careful. As a foreigner you get a lot of attention anyway, and guys like to make kissy sounds at you constantly, its obnoxious, and all the other guys we’ve met apologize for it constantly. But everything is tolerable. In a conversation with a Russian teacher at school, she was telling me that if you get even in the slightest bit of trouble, you just holler and hundreds of people will come out of nowhere to help you…cool right! I haven’t seen a single cop car. Apparently they only hang out at the tourist spots.
Paul and I are going to try cooking at my place tonight. It'll be an experiment; our appliances are pretty finicky. Our apartment kept blowing a fuse for no apparent reason today. It’s only pasta so we’ll manage.
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14 September 2008
Katie's Apartment
Here are some pictures of my apartment which I shares with 2 (soon to be 3) other girls.
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My First and Longest Post Ever!
So the blog has officially been started. Paul and I have decided to be coauthors on the same blog since we’ll have the same pictures and stories. Internet has been a bit sketchy though so posting may be less often than I initially intended. There is no internet in the apartment, but we would like to set it up. Unfortunately, it is an ordeal to set up anything in Egypt. There's a Starbucks down the street that seemed like a sure deal at first, but it turns out they only have internet about half the time. There are many other internet café’s around but all Egyptian shops are operating on Ramadan time. I’ll go ahead and warn everyone now that this first post will probably be excruciatingly long simply because it’s the first post and I feel like I have to catch everyone up.
As far as I’m concerned everyone knows we made it here. We flew on Egyptair, which I have since heard is nicknamed “Egypt-Scare” due to the fact that they use incredibly old Russian planes. The flight was fine, but neither of us slept very well. Once in the airport, it’s super easy to get a visa. You simply walk up to a booth hand the guy $15 and you’re set.
Mousad showed up a little late and drove us to our apartments. Both Paul and I live in Nasr City, which is part of New Cairo. It’s a very desirable place for people to live right now, but there’s not a whole lot around it. We needed this location since the school is kind of on the outskirts of the city. Our bus ride is already pretty close to 45 minutes with traffic. I guess it makes sense to put the schools outside of town so the noise level is better, but it feels really strange to be out there surrounded by desert.
So anyway, I’m sure most of you have already heard about the apartment situation. Basically my apartment rocks and Paul’s doesn't. My apartment is huge and so far everyone has their own room…although we’ve heard we may be getting another roommate.
Paul and I are getting used to living apart and are adventuring between and around the neighborhoods. The distance between our apartments is a 10-15 minute walk or a 3 pound cab ride (less than a buck). Paul’s apartment is much better since we cleaned it, and the bed situation is looking a little better everyday. His Kitchen ceiling leaks though, and roaches and a rat trap were discovered in the cleaning process (eeeek!!!).
A tidbit about the school. I don’t have a schedule, I don’t have a syllabus, I don’t know the curriculum, I don’t have a class list, I have no idea what the grading system is like, I don’t know what supplies the children will have, and I have had ABSOLUTELY NO training. I’ve simply dealt with the fact that I’m going to be completely unprepared on Wednesday, I'm about ready to start taking matters into my own hands. And you wonder why "Inshallah" (god willing) follows every other sentence. I’ll tell you all how it goes after Wednesday.
Roommates. My two roommates are very nice. Faye is from Seattle and is sassy as hell. My other roommate is Anna who is from Virginia, but her family is from Sudan. She’s very sweet and quiet. Fun fact for everyone, her cousin is the crazy tall Sudanese guy in the movie I Heart Huckabees. Paul’s roommates are both from London. Tom is 26 and likes to order 2 milkshakes at a time. It’s fascinating the amount this kid can eat. Saleh has family from Bangladesh and has never lived away from home before, so he was a bit homesick for awhile, but feels much better now.
I know I’ve mentioned Ramadan a little in some of my e-mails, but it’s really interesting because it seems to affect every aspect of Cairo. Basically, Ramadan is a religious observance in which Muslim’s fast from dawn until sunset, meaning they can’t eat or drink or smoke anything (which I really don’t understand because it’s just so damn hot). Work schedules are not the norm, which has been nice because the school day is much shorter as of right now. Many Egyptians sleep all day as a way to survive the fast and then stay out till the early hours of the morning. Breakfast (which I haven’t determined if it’s called breakfast because it’s the first meal of the day, or if it’s because they are breaking fast) takes place around 6:00. During this time there is absolutely no traffic and the streets are empty because everyone has hustled there ass home or to the nearest restaurant to eat. So, if you are hungry during this time, you have to make a reservation. Lucky for us, Nour has invited us over almost every night for Iftar at his parent’s house. Also during the day and during breakfast, shops are closed because Egyptians are either sleeping or eating. Then, after breakfast, the streets are incredibly crowded with people and traffic. Adults and children can be seen walking the streets until the early hours of the morning. Shops are also open incredibly late…shopping at night is actually optimal. Prayers are also broadcast around the city five times a day, which adds a unique twist to the environment, but can also be quite obnoxious.
I’m looking forward to end of Ramadon because we get our first vacation…yay! We’re going to an area called Marsalam, where we’re going to stay in huts and snorkel in the red sea. All this for 500 pounds, about 100 dollars….mmmmmm…life is good. We did have the opportunity to get or diving certification, but its way more expensive and Paul’s lung thing won’t allow it.
I feel like there is still so much I’ve left out. I have a list of things I want to talk about, but I think I’m done for today. Keep your eyes peeled for more posts soon. Hugs to everyone.
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As far as I’m concerned everyone knows we made it here. We flew on Egyptair, which I have since heard is nicknamed “Egypt-Scare” due to the fact that they use incredibly old Russian planes. The flight was fine, but neither of us slept very well. Once in the airport, it’s super easy to get a visa. You simply walk up to a booth hand the guy $15 and you’re set.
Mousad showed up a little late and drove us to our apartments. Both Paul and I live in Nasr City, which is part of New Cairo. It’s a very desirable place for people to live right now, but there’s not a whole lot around it. We needed this location since the school is kind of on the outskirts of the city. Our bus ride is already pretty close to 45 minutes with traffic. I guess it makes sense to put the schools outside of town so the noise level is better, but it feels really strange to be out there surrounded by desert.
So anyway, I’m sure most of you have already heard about the apartment situation. Basically my apartment rocks and Paul’s doesn't. My apartment is huge and so far everyone has their own room…although we’ve heard we may be getting another roommate.
Paul and I are getting used to living apart and are adventuring between and around the neighborhoods. The distance between our apartments is a 10-15 minute walk or a 3 pound cab ride (less than a buck). Paul’s apartment is much better since we cleaned it, and the bed situation is looking a little better everyday. His Kitchen ceiling leaks though, and roaches and a rat trap were discovered in the cleaning process (eeeek!!!).
A tidbit about the school. I don’t have a schedule, I don’t have a syllabus, I don’t know the curriculum, I don’t have a class list, I have no idea what the grading system is like, I don’t know what supplies the children will have, and I have had ABSOLUTELY NO training. I’ve simply dealt with the fact that I’m going to be completely unprepared on Wednesday, I'm about ready to start taking matters into my own hands. And you wonder why "Inshallah" (god willing) follows every other sentence. I’ll tell you all how it goes after Wednesday.
Roommates. My two roommates are very nice. Faye is from Seattle and is sassy as hell. My other roommate is Anna who is from Virginia, but her family is from Sudan. She’s very sweet and quiet. Fun fact for everyone, her cousin is the crazy tall Sudanese guy in the movie I Heart Huckabees. Paul’s roommates are both from London. Tom is 26 and likes to order 2 milkshakes at a time. It’s fascinating the amount this kid can eat. Saleh has family from Bangladesh and has never lived away from home before, so he was a bit homesick for awhile, but feels much better now.
I know I’ve mentioned Ramadan a little in some of my e-mails, but it’s really interesting because it seems to affect every aspect of Cairo. Basically, Ramadan is a religious observance in which Muslim’s fast from dawn until sunset, meaning they can’t eat or drink or smoke anything (which I really don’t understand because it’s just so damn hot). Work schedules are not the norm, which has been nice because the school day is much shorter as of right now. Many Egyptians sleep all day as a way to survive the fast and then stay out till the early hours of the morning. Breakfast (which I haven’t determined if it’s called breakfast because it’s the first meal of the day, or if it’s because they are breaking fast) takes place around 6:00. During this time there is absolutely no traffic and the streets are empty because everyone has hustled there ass home or to the nearest restaurant to eat. So, if you are hungry during this time, you have to make a reservation. Lucky for us, Nour has invited us over almost every night for Iftar at his parent’s house. Also during the day and during breakfast, shops are closed because Egyptians are either sleeping or eating. Then, after breakfast, the streets are incredibly crowded with people and traffic. Adults and children can be seen walking the streets until the early hours of the morning. Shops are also open incredibly late…shopping at night is actually optimal. Prayers are also broadcast around the city five times a day, which adds a unique twist to the environment, but can also be quite obnoxious.
I’m looking forward to end of Ramadon because we get our first vacation…yay! We’re going to an area called Marsalam, where we’re going to stay in huts and snorkel in the red sea. All this for 500 pounds, about 100 dollars….mmmmmm…life is good. We did have the opportunity to get or diving certification, but its way more expensive and Paul’s lung thing won’t allow it.
I feel like there is still so much I’ve left out. I have a list of things I want to talk about, but I think I’m done for today. Keep your eyes peeled for more posts soon. Hugs to everyone.
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