Yes, I know it's Friday, but remember--this is a Muslim country we're talking about. The weekend is Friday and Saturday. So having walked Zamalek and taken some pictures of my new neighborhood (they're up on my Photobucket site. You should check them out) I thought I'd take some time to fill everyone in on what's been going in this week.
First of all, a word of caution--should you find yourself in Cairo, please resist the urge to go on a Nile cruise. They're pretty overrated, in my opinion. However, there is plenty of other truly fun stuff to do around here. On Sunday, we did a scavenger hunt through Zamalek to get to know the neighborhood a little better. It was a lot of fun, and I definitely feel like I can get myself found a whole lot easier now. Of course, it helps that my team won and we get free dinner. That's always a plus. The rest of the week until yesterday was actually pretty boring. Most of the orientation stuff was directed at the undergrad study abroad kids, so I got to chill out a little bit.
Speaking of undergrads, having spent this much time surrounded by them, I have discovered that I lacked an appreciation for how different our priorities are. They seem determined not to let class get in the way of a good time, but I've got work to do while I'm here. A whole bunch of it, to be exact. Yesterday was ALI (Arabic Language Institute) orientation, so I finally had something to do. 12 credits of intensive Arabic, plus all of the homework that goes along with it. My head might explode this semester, especially when you consider that I have plenty of dissertation-like fun to take care of as well. Yeesh. However, the ALI folks are incredibly nice and friendly and seem very willing to help keep us from losing our minds.
The new campus is beautiful. Not quite done...but beautiful nevertheless. But it gives new meaning to being out in the middle of nowhere. Outside of Cairo, there is nothing but desert...NOTHING. Then all of the sudden, you see this construction literally taking place all around you. Most of it's residential--lots of houses and apartment building with a very Mediterranean villa feel to them. In the midst of all of this construction, most of which is nowhere near done, is this huge, beautiful campus. I'm not sure it will seem quite so beautiful when the spring sandstorms hit as the main thoroughfare is really a big wind tunnel. In a couple of months, it might be a big sandy wind tunnel. That won't be fun for anybody.
As for the construction in New Cairo, they do things backwards of what we do in the States. They build most of the interior structure first, then put on the facade, whereas we generally build the outside then move to the inside. It's very disconcerting to see at first, but I suppose that given the climate it makes sense. Who wants to work on the inside of a building in the desert in the summer before the A/C has been installed any longer than they have to, right?
As for Zamalek, everyone says it doesn't have quite the same feel as the rest of Cairo, and I can certainly understand why. It still has a bit of a European flair to it. And because of the embassies on nearly every corner, there are a lot of expatriates around as well. As far as I can tell, there's only mosque in Zamalek, and two churches--one, the Coptic church across the street from the AUC dorm and the other, a Roman Catholic church further south. If I was afraid that my itty bitty little cross necklace would make me feel out of place, I was sorely mistaken. The Coptic priests walk around with crosses big enough to classify as bling. Perhaps because of its demographic makeup, Zamalek also seems less prone to harassment of women on the street. I've been out several times by myself this week, just exploring and wandering around and I have yet to be heckled, leered at, or whistled at. Of course, that could all change tomorrow, so stay tuned.
When at all possible, I've stayed away from the American restaurants around Zamalek (most of which I don't like anyhow) and opted for some local favorites. I'm quickly becoming addicted to koushary, which is kind of the Egyptian equivalent of a mix between ramen and spaghetti. It's rice, pasta, lentils, sometimes chickpeas, and topped with a tomato sauce. A pretty good size bowl of it is around 5 Egyptian pounds (L.E.), or a little less than one dollar. And it will fill you up for quite a while. I'm already working out how I can replicate it once I get home.
That's all for now. Stay tuned for another installment of the adventures of Dr. Strangelove. I'm going to the pyramids next Friday, so I should have lots of fun pictures afterwards.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
We're Not in Kansas Anymore...
The first thing you notice about Cairo when you fly in is the sprawl. It seems like it goes on and on forever in all directions. The next thing you notice is that all of that sprawl looks like something from the communist era--not terribly surprising given the Nasserist bent that still holds on in Egypt. And it's all the same color as the sand.
The Cairo airport is an adventure in and of itself. All foreign visitors must go through passport verification lines that stretch endlessly. It's a bit of controlled chaos, and I can't help but wonder if that's a harbinger of what's to come for the rest of the semester. Once you get through that line, it's on to baggage claim and an endless stream of taxi drivers offering their services. We (and by we, I mean that whole gaggle of us on the flight from Frankfurt to Cairo heading for AUC) politely declined all of their assistance as we already had transportation set up through AUC. Getting to the buses from the terminal was an adventure, but getting us and all of our luggage on those buses was even more fun. College kids pack a lot of crap when they're going to be gone for a semester, let me tell you.
As for the traffic in Cairo, everything you've ever heard about how crazy it is is 100% true. I'm not sure cars in Cairo could operate if for some reason their horns stopped working because it seems like Cairene drivers honk their horns occasionally just as a reminder to other drivers that they are there. And turn signals? Not much use for those on the streets of Cairo. We started out from the airport to Zamalek around dusk, so the city was still somewhat visible in the setting sun. My initial impression of Cairo's architecture was partially on target. Some of the buildings in Cairo look like they came straight out of the Soviet Union, while others are well kept up with plenty of ornamentation. Along the major thoroughfares are some beautiful murals, mostly of the Pharaonic era, and I can't help but wonder if Hosni Mubarak fancies himself a modern day pharaoh. His picture adorns signs and billboards all around the city and it's a 1984-like reminder that we definitely aren't in Kansas anymore. Unlike the United States with its churches on every corner, in Cairo, it's a mosque on every corner, minarets instead of church steeples dotting the skyline. One very large mosque boasted a huge "Allah" in Arabic in neon green lighting and was oddly reminiscent of American mega-churches.
As for Zamalek, it's really a pretty charming neighborhood, once you get past the traffic and narrow streets and sidewalks with the occasional step up or down that have me convinced that at some point in the next four months, I will bite it in a pretty spectacular fashion. There are little restaurants and coffee shops tucked away all over the place and at least some of them are really friendly to AUC students. We got free drinks last night at the little cafe we went to for dinner since we were new AUC students. It would be very easy to get lost wandering the streets of Zamalek since none of them are anywhere close to being on a grid, so I'm sure that, at least in the near term, we will be adhering to some sort of buddy system...and relying on our RAs to help show us where to go. The staff at the dorm is incredibly helpful and the night security guard is determined to learn all of our names before the semester is over.
That's all for now. I'm still recovering from the plane ride over and trying to adjust to the eight hour time difference. Orientation starts on Monday and then we get into high gear in a week. It's shaping up to be an interesting semester.
The Cairo airport is an adventure in and of itself. All foreign visitors must go through passport verification lines that stretch endlessly. It's a bit of controlled chaos, and I can't help but wonder if that's a harbinger of what's to come for the rest of the semester. Once you get through that line, it's on to baggage claim and an endless stream of taxi drivers offering their services. We (and by we, I mean that whole gaggle of us on the flight from Frankfurt to Cairo heading for AUC) politely declined all of their assistance as we already had transportation set up through AUC. Getting to the buses from the terminal was an adventure, but getting us and all of our luggage on those buses was even more fun. College kids pack a lot of crap when they're going to be gone for a semester, let me tell you.
As for the traffic in Cairo, everything you've ever heard about how crazy it is is 100% true. I'm not sure cars in Cairo could operate if for some reason their horns stopped working because it seems like Cairene drivers honk their horns occasionally just as a reminder to other drivers that they are there. And turn signals? Not much use for those on the streets of Cairo. We started out from the airport to Zamalek around dusk, so the city was still somewhat visible in the setting sun. My initial impression of Cairo's architecture was partially on target. Some of the buildings in Cairo look like they came straight out of the Soviet Union, while others are well kept up with plenty of ornamentation. Along the major thoroughfares are some beautiful murals, mostly of the Pharaonic era, and I can't help but wonder if Hosni Mubarak fancies himself a modern day pharaoh. His picture adorns signs and billboards all around the city and it's a 1984-like reminder that we definitely aren't in Kansas anymore. Unlike the United States with its churches on every corner, in Cairo, it's a mosque on every corner, minarets instead of church steeples dotting the skyline. One very large mosque boasted a huge "Allah" in Arabic in neon green lighting and was oddly reminiscent of American mega-churches.
As for Zamalek, it's really a pretty charming neighborhood, once you get past the traffic and narrow streets and sidewalks with the occasional step up or down that have me convinced that at some point in the next four months, I will bite it in a pretty spectacular fashion. There are little restaurants and coffee shops tucked away all over the place and at least some of them are really friendly to AUC students. We got free drinks last night at the little cafe we went to for dinner since we were new AUC students. It would be very easy to get lost wandering the streets of Zamalek since none of them are anywhere close to being on a grid, so I'm sure that, at least in the near term, we will be adhering to some sort of buddy system...and relying on our RAs to help show us where to go. The staff at the dorm is incredibly helpful and the night security guard is determined to learn all of our names before the semester is over.
That's all for now. I'm still recovering from the plane ride over and trying to adjust to the eight hour time difference. Orientation starts on Monday and then we get into high gear in a week. It's shaping up to be an interesting semester.
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