so i never told you about #2

THAT TIME WHEN I WENT TO THE CAIRO POLICE STATION

So in all my years at Georgetown I've only lost my GoCard once, and of course within a month in Egypt I'd lose my AUC ID card, which you need to get onto campus and into the library and to get discounts at historical sites around the country. I needed a new one, but I didn't want to pay 250 pounds (about $50) to get it, so I went to the security office where I was told to fill our a report that it had been stolen - which was of course a complete lie, I probably just dropped it somewhere.

Went back to the office several times before they had time for me, at which point I waited for a university security guy to escort me across the street to the AUC security office, where another security guy met me and said he was going to take me to the Cairo police station to make my report.

My guy's name was Hassan. Very nice guy, didn't speak any English. I think I spent around 3-4 hours that morning without speaking a word of English - crazy. We took a cab to the police station (which I paid for) and when we got there had to wait around for my turn, meanwhile I was chatting with Hassan as best I could. Basically what I got is that he likes his job, has been working there for 3 years, before which he was in the army (compulsory for Egyptian men)and feels very lucky to have such a good job. Then he asked me if I had two pounds to slip the policeman behind the counter to move things along. in egypt we call this "Baksheesh".

To make a long (seriously, long) story short, I went from there back to the security office to the ID office back to the security office again then to the cashier then back to the ID office where I finally got my new ID. I think I will never complain about US bureaucracy again. Living in Egypt is very entertaining sometimes, but it also makes you grateful for what you got back home.