did you know....Cairo outpollutes LA every day

today there was a lot of fog. but really it was a cloud of dirt. this is the view driving across the bridge:


They have facebook!

The cabs are little and the streets are dirty:


We took a trip to the "Apple Store" (and yes, that is a pile of rubble under the logo):



I hope I never have to take a public bus in Cairo:


There are some really cool government buildings we walked past in Mohandaseen today but there are armed guards outside them who will take your camera and delete all the pictures if you try to photograph the buildings. Oh well, use your imaginations.

Fruits and Vegetables don't mean what you might think

So, I've been realizing that in Egyptian dialect, the words for fruits and vegetables tend to have alternate meanings. which has the potential to be hilarious, insulting, or just plain confusing. some examples:

bananas = hot girl
melon = coke-head/druggie
day of honey = a good day
day of onions = a bad day
she's a cabbage = she's fat
she's a strawberry = she's sweet
she's grapes = she's thin

Living in Egypt = A lesson in patience

The bureaucracy here is about the most ridiculous thing in the world. At the American University in Cairo, we must get a university ID, a library ID, a gym ID, a dorm ID and a bus ID. each of these has a separate process involving going to several different university locations and waiting on many lines to get a stamp or your pulse taken, etc. And you are invariably sent to the wrong place a few times a long the way. I tried to set up an AUC email account, and I was given a number to take to an office at the university before it could be activated. Apparently no one has had the brilliant idea to have one universal card for students. oh well.

Also, I don't know how anyone makes a living around here. it seems to me that wherever i go there are groups of guys, just hanging out. but hey, if they're having a good time then more power to them.

Things I love About Cairo (so far)

1. the exchange rate! around 5.5 egyptian pounds = $1. It's fantastic. And on top of that, everything is very cheap. I have falafel sandwiches for a half a pound (aka ten cents) and they're yummy.

2. cabs. They'll take you anywhere, and you negotiate the price before-hand. I missed the bus to school this morning and hopped in a cab for 5 pounds. the traffic is ridiculous, you have to run for your life to cross streets, but I'm getting the hang of it.

3. people who can transport crazy amounts of things on their heads. they walk, they ride bikes, they have excellent balance.

4. women's eye makeup. because the majority of women here wear hijabs - that is headscarves - they always have the most beautiful eye makeup. and the scarves themselves are often colorful and embroidered.

5. when i try to speak arabic, everyone is very helpful and encouraging.

6. you can get ANYTHING delivered. and i mean anything. i heard of a guy who needed a phone card. they delivered it to his room.

7. egyptians love giving directions. even if they don't know where the thing is that you're asking for - they'll give you directions.

8. the city never sleeps (kinda like me, and New York). people eat dinner around 10 or 11. which is why, when about 10 georgetown friends and I had dinner on a fancy river boat restaurant on the Nile last night around 7:30, we had the whole boat to ourselves. and it was cheap and yummy Lebanese food.

More to come - I've only been here 4 days!

Journey and Jet Lag

After a long 2 flights and a 6-hour layover in London (where I had cider with my long lost friend Sarah Merette) we arrived at the Cairo airport. The airport is an experience in itself. It's dirty, smoky, and packed. Thank god there was a toothless man with an "AUC" sign shepherding us around. We were packed onto a bus with all of our luggage and sent off on a 45 min ride to the dorms.

We're living in a dorm building on an island in the middle of the Nile. The northern half of the island is called Zamalek, which is where we are staying. It's nicer than downtown Cairo, and there are a lot of embassies and hotels here. Still pretty dirty and crowded though. The rooms are nice and big in the dorm, and there's a beautiful courtyard with a fountain and palm trees. The boys and girls wings are separated and guarded so we're not allowed on each other's side of the building. the best is that when men have to come on the girls side to fix things or drop off luggage a woman comes with them that shouts "Man the floor! Man!" down the hallway.

But the food is cheap and wonderful and we wondered around downtown all day yesterday. More to come soon!