Even though I can see the pyramids from my balcony, this past weekend I decided to get a closer look and took advantage of a free tour offered by AUC's Arab Language Institute. I knew the Egyptian tourism industry had been hit hard by the revolution, but seeing the pyramids completely empty was really bizarre. When I visited in 2009, we had to wait in line for an hour to see the Sphynx and were constantly maneuvering around Russian, British, Spanish, and Japanese tourists as we tried to capture the perfect pyramid picture. This time, there were a total of two tour buses and a smattering of mini vans. Lines were non-existent and the men offering camel rides and plastic pyramid paraphernalia were practically begging for business, promising that they really would offer the "Egyptian price."
This weekend also brought a new series of apartment difficulties--- most notably that our water was cut off for about 8 hours. Though I had to wait a while to wash off the pyramid dust, the landlord was very responsive and the plumber (after scuttling around the roof for a while with pliers) seems to have resolved the issue. I also discovered that if all else fails, I could have a great career as a washerwoman.... it only took me 45 minutes to wash 2.5 weeks of laundry by hand in the tub!
On Sunday we had a pot luck "hefla" with some Egyptian students which was a big success and included macaroni and cheese, koshri, brownies, and kunafa. We also had a cross-cultural sing along and while oldies like "Build me up Buttercup" weren't really a hit, everyone really seemed to get into "Umbrella" and "Party in the USA" which devolved into "hefla fi al walayat al-mutahida."
Other highlights of the week:
- Attending a Spanish film festival with Arabic subtitles (quite the polyglot experience)
- Learning that many apartment buildings in Egypt are intentionally unfinished/under construction in order to avoid paying property taxes
- Visiting an Egyptian equivalent of Staples to buy school supplies including a notebook with a very culturally insensitive picture of Aladin and the words "Fairy Tails" across the front
- Trying to find a PC way to represent the EU in a mock debate on Arab immigration to Europe in Egyptian dialect
- Eating Yemeni food for the first time
This weekend also brought a new series of apartment difficulties--- most notably that our water was cut off for about 8 hours. Though I had to wait a while to wash off the pyramid dust, the landlord was very responsive and the plumber (after scuttling around the roof for a while with pliers) seems to have resolved the issue. I also discovered that if all else fails, I could have a great career as a washerwoman.... it only took me 45 minutes to wash 2.5 weeks of laundry by hand in the tub!
On Sunday we had a pot luck "hefla" with some Egyptian students which was a big success and included macaroni and cheese, koshri, brownies, and kunafa. We also had a cross-cultural sing along and while oldies like "Build me up Buttercup" weren't really a hit, everyone really seemed to get into "Umbrella" and "Party in the USA" which devolved into "hefla fi al walayat al-mutahida."
Other highlights of the week:
- Attending a Spanish film festival with Arabic subtitles (quite the polyglot experience)
- Learning that many apartment buildings in Egypt are intentionally unfinished/under construction in order to avoid paying property taxes
- Visiting an Egyptian equivalent of Staples to buy school supplies including a notebook with a very culturally insensitive picture of Aladin and the words "Fairy Tails" across the front
- Trying to find a PC way to represent the EU in a mock debate on Arab immigration to Europe in Egyptian dialect
- Eating Yemeni food for the first time
alejandra.
ReplyDeletei believe you are already losing your english lonley does not equal lonely lol
when you leave you'll be as bad a speller as me :)