Lonely Pyramids and Plumbing Problems

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








 

Lizards, Laundry Woes, and Luxury

After a great deal of chaotic searching and confusing negotiations we finally moved into our apartment in Dokki a few days ago. Our sitting room looks like something out of a Disney castle with (slightly dilapidated) throne-like chairs and a ceiling covered with intricate pink and gold designs and a large hole that was probably once home to a chandelier. We're on the tenth floor and from our balcony (if the smog lifts) you can see the pyramids in the distance!

We finally learned how to get hot water in our shower but our faucets are pretty temperamental and alternate between spurting violently and producing no water at all. White lizards seem to enjoy playing in our bathtub or scurrying across the ceiling from time to time, so I've become an expert in lizard removal which involves directing the lizard into a cup and bringing him out to the balcony. Operating the washing machine (if it can be called that) was a frustrating adventure that resulted in an inadvertently  tie-dyed sweater and ringing out an entire load of laundry since the "ghsaala" seems unable to drain. I think I may try washing things by hand next time!

Our apartment doesn't have a land line so we're waiting for one to be installed in order to have wireless internet but meanwhile I'm using small amounts of USB internet and the Tahrir campus has wireless and a computer lab. The landlord says it should be installed this week (in sha' allah) but we'll have to see!

 We visited the new AUC campus as part of our orientation yesterday and it was really bizarre--- it's like a resort in the middle of the desert complete with an Olympic sized pool, salad bars, and bagel shops. I can't believe that some Americans consider the new AUC campus to be a Middle East "study abroad experience." Talk about a bubble.  It took about an hour to get there and 2 hours to get back because of traffic and the bus is pretty expensive so we probably won't be going to the new campus too often, though it would be nice to use all of the beautiful gym facilities and pool every once and a while.

Other happenings over the past few days include:

- parallel parking in a cab next to a donkey pulling a watermelon cart  outside of our apartment

- watching a bed frame be built from scratch after our "simsar" (broker) promised a third bed in the apartment

- driving by a protest in Tahrir square while moving into our apartment

- witnessing a Metro workers' strike at the ticket counter 

- starting both Amiyya and Fusha classes at the AUC Tahrir campus (they seem great so far!)

I'm off to investigate the gym at the Tahrir campus

As soon as I get more consistent internet I'll start posting more often...

Flight Delays, Fender-benders and Falafel

After a whirlwind of graduation celebrations, packing, and goodbyes, on May 29th I headed off to Cairo, Egypt to begin my Center for the Study of Arabic Abroad (CASA) fellowship. From a mishap with my baggage stickers and crying babies to an unintentional seven hour layover in the Istanbul airport and a 3 hour minibus ride through an unfathomable amount of traffic and near car accidents, the journey was a little rough. I eventually arrived at the African House Hostel (about 10 hours later than expected) and met up with my Tufts friends (and their friend from Middlebury). The hostel has worked out really well so far and for $8 a night includes free breakfast (though the lack of toilet paper was a little unexpected!) 

On my first real day in Cairo we went apartment hunting in Dokki. While finding a place to live in Cairo seems a little complicated (dealing with Afghani, Yemeni, and Egyptian land lords etc) I'm sure we'll find a more permanent place to live soon (in sha' allah). I think the major challenge will be avoiding getting hit by cars as crossing the street here is always an adventure. Dokki seems like a really cool area to live in--- conveniently located by a metro stop about a 10 minute ride away from where CASA classes will be held, full of fruit and vegetable carts, bakeries, falafel, shwarma, and juice stands, and tree lined streets. We saw a couple of places today and hopefully will have more luck tomorrow!

We were also able to check out the America University in Cairo's Tahrir campus where our classes will be held. The campus is beautiful and the facilities seem much nicer than those at the University of Jordan, though I didn't get a chance to fully explore (we'll have a full tour in a few days)  

Tonight we met up with most of the rest of the CASA fellows and we'll continue our apartment search tomorrow. I can't wait to really be settled in somewhere so I can buy everything we'll need for an apartment, start learning my way around and getting my bearings classes start. I'm also hoping to pick up some of the revolution paraphernalia being sold at Tahrir square (t-shirts, bumper stickers, posters etc)

Time to try to sleep off the rest of my jetlag!