The difference between Egyptians and Europeans

Watch this, it's hilarious!

Who says you shouldn't talk to strangers?

Last night I met an Egyptian girl named Mona who's also studying at AMIDEAST but she's working on her English. She barely speaks English, but somehow I ended up hanging out with her for five hours. She was a total sweetheart- I told her I wanted to go shopping for shoes so she took me an hour out to Nasr City and showed me a whole bunch of stores, outlets, and malls to help me find the ones I was looking for. Mind you, I just met her on the very same day- Egyptians are insanely friendly. Her boyfriend also joined us, and they both took me and two other guys to CityStars, apparently the nicest mall in Egypt and the 2nd biggest in the Middle East. It was probably nicer than most of the malls in America. I didn't get any pictures but I'll definitely be making more trips there. This is what the mall looks like though:

The outlet stores have amazing prices - I got a pair of Converse Chuck Taylors for 60EGP, aka $12. Shopping is going to be VERY fun here.

The Egyptian version of Kanye's 'American Boy'

Hilarious.

My early morning jetlagged post

It's 6am and I've been awake all night. What's a good remedy for jetlag? At least I finally heard my first azan this morning, which was nice. Usually it's the annoying singing owl outside my window that seems to have made it its personal mission to wake me up every morning.

I have to be up at 8 because we're taking a crash course on survival Arabic today. Not knowing the language hasn't really been a problem since we've been getting around in groups and not really conversing with the locals, but I can't wait to start using the native language on the streets. Like last night I went to the grocery store and couldn't ask where anything was because people didn't speak English. But the best part is that everything is halal so it doesn't really matter that I can't read the labels. :-)

The supermarkets were stocked with pretty much everything you can find in the U.S., except mostly Egyptian brands. They have American brands too, but they are much more expensive here. Overall, everything is much cheaper- three full bags of groceries cost me $80EGP (around $15). It does look like I'll have to learn how to cook though, since ordering takeout will probably get old. Sadly, I've never even made my own pasta - unless you count the pre-made ones that you can just boil. Don't judge me, I'm still in college, so it's still okay to have EasyMac and Cup Noodles for meals.

Bottled water for everything is a bit of a pain. It adds an extra step to everything - washing vegetables, boiling food, etc etc etc. But supermarkets deliver large packs of water so it's not too bad. We just have to be careful not to drink tap water, since it's over chlorinated (which makes me feel like I'm in a swimming pool every time I shower).

Anyway, time to try and get in an hour of sleep before the day begins. Masa khair (that means good night...I think).

Dinner cruise on the Nile

Last night was amazing. Our program managers from AMIDEAST took all the students out for dinner on a cruise on the Nile river. Everything dripped with luxury, from gold monuments to hieroglyphics on the walls, to statues of pharaohs. There was an Egyptian band playing inside the ship, and they brought in many performers, including a bellydancer, a spin dancer, and singers. The food was incredible and the scene from the balcony of the ship was breathtaking. Cairo is just beautiful. I can get used to this.

Fact #1 about Egypt

Living in Cairo is equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.

Isn't that just lovely? It's the 6th most polluted country in the world, and most of it comes from the insane traffic. We learned how to cross the street today, or as they say, 'walk like Egyptians.' Basically there are 3 ways:

1) Go in between the moving cars one by one on the road (scary)

2) Use other humans as shields (my personal favorite)

3) Take the long way and find crosswalks (who does that?)

Watch this video to see it in action:

New Yorkers ain't got nothin' on Arabs.

First Night in Cairo

After my 17+ hour flight, I finally landed in Cairo at 6pm last night. My first thoughts were that Cairo International Airport is actually very nice and the people were so friendly. I arrived with 3 other students and we were picked up by one of our program managers. The weather was absolutely perfect, 70 degrees with a light breeze, exactly how I like it. Apparently it was one of their cold nights, so it's only going to get better.

On the ride to our apartments, we witnessed the infamous Cairo traffic, which is to say, absolutely chaotic. There is very little sense of traffic lanes and horns are sounded so frequently that it becomes background noise. Traffic was pretty heavy but we got to ride through downtown Cairo, which is filled with store after store selling all kinds of items possible. There were crowds of people on the streets, mainly young men travelling in groups or pairs. It is a common sight to see guys linking arms and walking together. Not too many packs of girls; they were either walking with men or in large groups. I didn't get any pictures of the streets yet but stay tuned.

After about a half hour drive, we arrived in the neighborhood of Dokki and were escorted into our apartment building. We're right around the corner from a Cilantro Cafe (probably my new breakfast place) and there are plenty of people but it's not too crowded or noisy. The apartment building itself is impressive, resembling a hotel, with lights hanging outside, visible balconies, and a large glossy floored lobby. But the best surprise was when we walked into our apartment, and our jaws dropped. First of all, it's two floors. The first floor consists of the living room and dining room, which are decorated beautifully, with regal looking chairs and plush red and gold couches.

There is a small kitchen made up of dark hardwood cabinets and for some reason, a Buzz lightyear photo on top of the stove. Then upstairs were our bedrooms. I have one all to myself, but weirdly I have a bunk bed. Good for guests so come visit! It was fully furnished with a dresser and large wardrobes, with intricate mirror designs on it. I have my own little bathroom too- the bathtub is a minuscule square that floods the floors so I'll be using the main one in the hall. There are two other bedrooms for the three girls I'm living with, which is nice since we're all new here. Feels like being back in a dorm except MUCH nicer. Check out the view from one of the apartment balconies:

By around 2am, my jet lag kicked in and I headed to sleep. There's some weird hummingbird/owl outside my window which won't shut up, so will definitely have to take the lower bunk tomorrow. We were told to be ready at 10am for our first day of orientation, which includes introductions and a walk around the neighborhood, as well as general info about adjusting to life in Cairo. Anyway, so far so good. I'm thrilled to be here and can't wait to start living it.