What a Great Week!

Wow! What a great week! The very best thing by a long shot was that we finally got air conditioning at work! Now I'm not sweating through 8 hours of 97 degree heat in a leather chair. It's so much easier to get work done in the office now. I also found a great restaurant near work where I can get pretty good food for really cheap. It's called mohandas which means "engineer"--not really sure how they came up with that name, but they have good food. I usually get three things--baba ghanoug (mashed up chick peas with spices), tamaya (fried bean curds with lettuce and sesame sauce) and eggplant. It's so much food and it only runs me about 3.5 LE--that's not a bad deal at all! If I'm in the mood for something non-vegetarian, it's a bit more expensive, but they have shuerma (meat) sandwiches which are pretty good. They also have fries and potato chips which are nice sometimes when I'm missing American sandwich shops. So basically my diet consists of a variety of vegetarian dishes shoved in a pita and an occasional beef sandwich. I love it.

Another thing that made this week particularly pleasant was that I now have real work to do. My first few weeks were slow and boring because I was still training. Now I actually have a list of things to do and it feels good to be productive. I'm not positive that internet marketing is my life's passion, but it's interesting enough to keep my attention for a summer--and it's paying the rent and living expenses, so I can't complain.

One night this week, Ma'andi and Omar and I met up with a group of students from the University of Illinois, who had an AIESECer among them. They're here for 3 weeks studying Islam, visiting mosques, and seeing the city. We went to a shisha cafe called Arabesque, which has become one of my favorite places to hang out--they have the most amazing juices and yogurt-fruit smoothie kind of drinks, and shishas of course (which are a thousand times better here than they are in the states--and way cheaper).

Yesterday I got off work and headed out to Harry's Pub with my flatmate, Harrison. It's a karaoke bar on the first floor of the Marriott hotel. We all sang karaoke to the wee hours of the morning and it was surprisingly a ton of fun. Tonight was a going away party for Kathleen, one of the ex-pats here who is moving to Lebanon tomorrow. We went out for a felucca ride on the Nile, and then to a Korean barbecue restaurant, which was expensive but delicious. It's a really great community of foreigners here in Cairo. I've never heard so many amazing stories and interesting backgrounds before in my life. Everyone has been so welcoming and helpful and just generally fun to hang out with, although I am known as the baby because I'm by far the youngest person here. Kathleen, who's leaving, is the second youngest at 20. At the age of 18, this puts me at least three years behind everyone else, but I don't mind. I'm having the time of my life, and being young just means I've got plenty of years left for more adventures.

So some of you have asked to hear a bit more about daily life in Cairo. Well, for me at least it goes a bit like this...I get up (usually around 10:30) and shower and dress and whatnot. Then I head down to the supermarket on the bottom floor of my building to buy a candy bar or something to get change. I have to make sure I always have exact change for my cab ride because it's a pain to haggle with the driver for your change. It's about a 10 minute ride to work in Dokki. The rule is that you have to be at work between 9am and 12pm and you have to stay for 8 hours. I generally get there right at noon because I usually end up staying late to talk to my boss, Adam, who's in California. I grab a cup of coffee and some kind of pastry for breakfast and get started on my work. Although the Egyptians in the office tend to get lunch around 2:30 or 3, I get too hungry and can't wait that long, so I usually take my break at 1:30. Depending on how much work there is, I get off around 8pm and head home to Zamalek.

It's a strange workday because it starts so late, but it is nice that I don't have to get up early. I should probably starting waking up a little earlier so that I can study Arabic or do something more productive than sleep. The problem is that I never go to bed at an ordinary time because this city never sleeps. I've realized that part of the culture shock in coming here has been the transition to a city of 22 million people from little old Hagerstown, Maryland. I've never lived in a really metropolitan area before, and so I do miss the quiet, the clean air, and anything that is green. Cairo is a wonderful, lively, exciting place to live, but I like my mountains and lakes and fields and trees. I won't make judgments about Egypt in general just based on Cairo, since I've heard that the oases and coastal areas are beautiful.

I should be sending out postcards tomorrow or the next day (assuming I can figure out how to mail them), so be sure to check your mailboxes in a few weeks...or months, depending on how fast the post is here. I miss you all and am always looking for an email from a familiar face/email address!

An Egyptian Wedding

Today I went to a wedding here in Cairo with Ma'andi and Omar. There are a few different steps in the wedding process. There is a dating period, an engagement ceremony, an official documentation ceremony, and the actual wedding celebration. What we attended was the documentation, which takes place in the mosque. The bride and groom sit at a table in the front of the room with a religious official and the bride's father. They all fill out and sign various forms, then the father and groom hold hands and exchange words (I don't know what they said because it was obviously in Arabic).

The room we were in was actually an extension to the mosque, but I did get a chance to go into the actual mosque and look around. In the pictures you can see the candles hanging from the ceiling, me in front of the prayer niche, and one of the attributes of God written on the wall (there are several other attributes like this one written the whole way around the mosque). Pretty cool stuff. After the ceremony everyone goes crazy applauding and yelling. We congratulated the couple and took some pictures.

I thought I would include some pictures of Cairo as well to give you all an idea of what it's like. For lunch we went out for koshari which is a traditional dish made up of rice, macaroni, lentils, chick peas, and a tomato sauce. It sounds like a strange combination, but it's actually really good (and super cheap - LE 4 for a bowl that I couldn't even finish). There's also a picture of a nice woman who helped us get out of our parking space. A lot of times people will help you park, watch your car while your gone, and help you get out of the space, and then you tip them when you leave. Also included is a picture of a Coca-Cola sign in Tahir Square and a man and child riding on a motor cycle.

Life has been good here in Cairo lately. I'm getting into a regular rhythm and I'm feeling a lot more comfortable getting around and shopping and all those regular everyday things. My work is actually really interesting - I'm learning all about HTML and how to create web sites. I still have a long while left, but time is going by quickly. I love hearing from you all! If you read this make sure you drop me a line, or feel free to send me an e-mail!

Taxi Driver

I am especially sad today because I will never again see my taxi driver. His name was Abdoulazim and he was a superb driver. I thought New York cab drivers were nuts until now, but I'd like to see them try to drive in a city of 22 million where there are no traffic lights, no speed limits, and little respect for a car's paint job (or pedestrians for that matter).

Anyway, the reason I refer to Abdoul as my taxi driver is because we had a deal that he would pick me up every morning, take me to work and pick me up at night and take me home. We had a set price, so I was to pay him LE 75 (egyptian pounds) weekly - thats a little less than $15. I wish I could say that I used my incredible Arabic skills to negotiate this deal with him, but no. A friend named Hend arranged it for me since she's Egyptian and she speaks Arabic.

So Abdou drove me for 5 or 6 days and I really enjoyed his company. We had a number of great conversations in a messy mix of broken English and Arabic (his English was a lot better than my Arabic). I learned that he is 38, unmarried, and speaks German, which is a bit ironic since I was enrolled in a German class about 5 months ago, but I dropped it after the first day. Strangely enough, Abdou hates Cairo (probably because he has to drive here).

Driving in Cairo is only for the very brave, and I don't think I would attempt it without a few years of practice. Literally not a single second goes by when you're on the street that you don't hear someone honking their horn. In the states you only honk when you are very annoyed or someone does something really stupid. Here they use a horn like a gentle reminder to look out. Most cars have scratches and dents on them from little bumps here and there. When I was driving with Abdou it wasn't uncommon for the side mirror to get folded in as we just nicked another car. It has been a wild ride to and from work everyday.

Trying to keep a long story short, I had to back out of my deal with Abdou because I don't get off work at a regular time everyday - sometimes I have to stay late and have no way of communicating that to Abdou. And so I'll have to start getting a different cab every time I want to go to and from work, which is actually a good thing because I'll have to practice negotiating prices (they don't use meters) and speaking in Arabic.

On another note, I went to do some serious grocery shopping today for the first time since I've been here, and I made spaghetti tonight with Harrison. It was so good. No dining hall here, so I guess I'll have to start cooking more often.

May 19 (getting lazy with my titles)

I've survived my first week in Cairo - surprisingly I have not been hit by a cab, fallen in the Nile or gotten lost...yet. Plans for Ismailia fell through, so I have yet to venture outside the city, but I'm working on it (I hope to go horseback riding in the desert in a few days). My travel options are wide open and there are a ton of great places to see, so hopefully I can start making some excursions soon!

Life is starting to get a little more normal. I enjoyed a relaxing weekend. Harrison and some friends and I went to see a South African band called "Freshly Ground" perform in Al-Azhar Park.

Work today was good - I'm really starting to enjoy it and getting to know some of my co-workers better. It feels weird to start the work week on a Sunday, but the days off here are Friday and Saturday, because everyone goes to (or is supposed to go to) Friday prayer at the mosque.

In response to the comments from the 6th grade class:

• IM: Yes, I do like Egypt! The hottest it has been since I got here was 100 F, but I've heard that it can be up to 110 F.
  
• DK: Thanks! I'll try to stay cool.
• BC: I have seen the sphinx, and I even got a picture!
• KB: I don't know if they will let me ship a Nile croc, or if I could even catch one, but I'll take a picture if I see any.

A note on fast food: I don't eat it in the states, but here it is SO GOOD! Hardee's and Pizza Hut are both phenomenal here. It could be that I'm just homesick for some good American food, but I think it really does taste better. Probably because American fast food chains are ridiculously expensive compared to local food.

More pictures from Giza:

I had planned to write daily, but it seems that life here in Cairo doesn't really allow for such a regular schedule. Sleep is apparently not so important here, even on work days. So what have I been up to? Well...

Three days ago I visited the pyramids at Giza with my friend Ma'andi, who I met in the states while he was working in Boston. You don't realize how big they really are and how difficult it must have been to build them until you actually stand next to one of the huge stones. The museum was one of the most incredible things I've seen because inside they had reconstructed one of the original boats used to carry stones down the Nile from the mountains. Overall it was a wonderful experience, but the heat was a little intense. It was 100 degrees and the sun was intense. Walking around in the sand was not so pleasant that day! It made me really sick. For two days I had a horrible headache and a fever. Next time I'll be sure to wear sunscreen and a hat!

Today I finished up my third day at work with SilverKey Technologies. The first day was a little slow getting things set up in the office and whatnot, but since then it has really picked up and I'm very much enjoying it. I'm still training, which means reading books about Google, internet marketing, persuasive language and creating training materials for future interns. Soon I'll be able to start work on an actual account, writing content for redesigned webpages.

Most everyone in the office is Egyptian, except for one Australian woman who works with me. They all speak English, of course, so communication is not a problem, and hopefully I will be able to pick up a lot of Arabic from them. Everyone in the office is headed to Ismalia, a city on the Suez Canal, on Saturday, so I think I'll join them...it should be fun.

I've gotten a lot of experience with Egyptian culture in my first couple of days hanging out with the AIESECers here. They took me out for fellukah--a night time boat ride on the Nile, which was beautiful. That same night I had liver, brains, and fatihr (mashed meat and vegetables wrapped inside of a pancake-like dough)--it was really good! Just walking around the streets I've had a number of interesting encounters...Old women looking for money tend to grab me a lot as I walk down the street. One little boy asked if I was a donkey after Ma'andi and I helped him push his car out of the middle of the street. And once a little girl (maybe 7 years old) ran up to me and hit me in the face with a wet bouquet of ful (jasmine flowers). She punched me in the stomach and screamed at me to buy one...so I did for 1 pound (about $0.20). She was sweet, but I wonder where her parents were?

Last night I went to a dinner party for the Egyptian national AIESEC staff at a friend, Hend's house. They're home was perfect and the food was awesome...it was like Thanksgiving times ten. I'm still a little jetlagged, and getting over various fevers, colds and stomach illnesses, so I think I'll try to rest this weekend.

Thank you everyone for your comments! It's so nice to hear from you all. I will admit to getting a little homesick at times, but your comments help!

New people and First Impressions

My world has been turned completely upside-down in the past three days. I'm now sitting in my living room with my new roommate, Harrison, in my apartment in Zamalek, Cairo.

London was great and I spent a good 10 hours or so there with my sister Joy. Westminster Abbey (built in the 1000's) was beautiful and a little creepy since there were tons of tombs there. The most important Brits are buried there and it was quite an experience to stand in front of the tomb of Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Lord Byron, Alfred Lord Tennyson, kings and queens, and many many more. The fish and chips and Guinness at a restaurant called Devonshire Arms was delicious.

I met the nicest Egyptians ever on the plane ride to Cairo! Gamal, who is a student in Baltimore, was flying back with his mother and we talked the whole way there. They were so kind and even taught me a little Arabic. They eased any concerns I had before arriving, and even invited me to their home in Alexandria.

I was met at the airport by Ma'andi, Omar, Mossad, and Hend who took me out for fooul (beans) at like 2 in the morning. My stomach was killing so we got some medicine and I went back to my aparment. This morning Hend took me to Cairo University for a meeting with the members of AIESEC Cairo. I hung out with Hend and her fiance Nour all day. They were so helpful and fun! I got a pretty decent phone at the mall, then we got dinner at Chile's with some other AIESECers. Yes, they have Chile's in Cairo! It's more expensive but pretty good.

I've learned a lot today...It's not quite as conservative as I had thought it would be. I guess I expected the women to be more reserved, and some are, but it's not dramatically different from the U.S. People did stare at me a lot today because I'm obviously foreign and I was wearing shorts, which isn't very common here apparently (I don't know why because its so hot here).

Taking a trip to the pyramids tomorrow at Giza to look around and ride a horse and a camel! I don't start work until Tuesday, so I've got time to rest and get settled.

The Night Before

For anyone who does not know: I will be in Cairo, Egypt for the summer doing an internship with a company called SilverKey and I will be creating website content. I leave May 9 and return August 14. I speak zero Arabic and have never left the U.S. for more than 10 days. This will be a whole new experience.

I leave tomorrow evening--less than 24 hours! The last few days have been busy getting everything together and trying to spend time with family and friends. I'm pretty nervous...I still don't have a place to live and I still don't know any Arabic! I'm definitely still really excited and anxious to get over there.