In the beginning...

Fun Fact #2: 

Car insurance is not obligatory in Egypt and the majority of car owners do not have insurance. Most drivers will not stop for a scratch, but if someone does serious damage to your car and cannot afford to repair it (or does not offer), the expected response is to do the equivalent amount of damage to them or their car. (Yes, they beat the snot out of the other person or their car.)

So now that I've been in Egypt for five whole days, I figured I'd update the world on my first impressions and experiences so far.

My desk and window! So Exciting!

I live in a dorm in Zamalek, which is an affluent neighborhood on an island in the Nile. My new digs are pretty sweet. I have air conditioning, lots of space, and a window that looks out onto a playground. And someone else washes my sheets. It's definitely been like ten years since I've had someone else wash my sheets, so we'll see how that goes. I will have a roommate, though I have not yet met her because she's Egyptian (and so doesn't have to attend international student orientation). 

I haven't had tons of time to explore, but I have wandered around a bit. The area has lots of trees and generally seems pretty quiet, plus the convenience of having tons of shops and restaurants within walking distance is great. I might go broke from living in an area with lots of expats, but it's certainly a nice place to live.

I spend a lot of time on the AUC campus in New Cairo, which is gorgeous and brand new and definitely not representative of Cairo at all. The university moved to the new campus in 2008 when it outgrew its home in downtown Cairo, so everything is literally brand new. It pretty much looks like a resort. It doesn't have a whole lot of personality yet, but I'm sure if I come back in 20 years it will. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but I'll post them once I do. 

New Cairo is a very wealthy suburb of Cairo that's filled with mansions and corporate offices and malls, and new constructions. It's very, uh, suburban. And when I say mansions, I do mean mansions. Interestingly enough, there's a water shortage in Cairo, which means that there's very little water in New Cairo. Because much of New Cairo is still under construction and there are many fewer inhabitants in New Cairo than in Cairo, water that is normally allocated to New Cairo is sent to Cairo instead. This means that I can shower and flush the toilet in my dorm in Zamalek, but those living on campus in New Cairo aren't so lucky. 

I want a pet camel. They're so cute and sassy.

Aside from on campus orientation stuff, I've been to the pyramids and to Old Cairo, which is also called Coptic Cairo. The pyramids are just as cool and stunning as you imagine they are, as is the Sphinx. It was cool to hear about Giza, which I knew very little about, though it's the third largest city in Egypt and is located fewer than 15 miles from Cairo! I was super entertained by the police on camels near the Sphinx and the pyramids. I'm pretty sure that all cops should ride camels. I also really enjoyed Old Cairo, though I think I'll try to go back without 100 other international students so that I can take my time and look around more. We saw the Ben Ezra Synagogue, the Hanging Church, and the Mosque of Amr inb al-As. They were all very interesting, beautiful, and old, so I'd like to go back spend more time there, and maybe wander around the general vicinity a bit.

I'm also taking Survival Arabic, which is a course in Egyptian Colloquial Arabic that meets for five hours a day, so I've been very busy! I'm slowly getting to see more of the real Cairo, and not just from the windows of the bus as I ride to campus each day. Cairo has an immense amount of poverty and the streets are filled with trash and cats (I'm not kidding). I'm sure I will, at some point, dedicate a post to the street harassment, poverty, or cats, as these are all constant elements of life here, as well as to the political situation at the moment. But these topics all deserve more than a sentence or two tacked on to a post about tourist stuff, so I'll save them for another day. All of the Egyptians I've interacted with have been incredibly kind and tried to help, no matter their level of English fluency (or lack of). I can tell that the honeymoon phase of my little adventure is slowly coming to an end, but I really do have a positive impression of Cairo at the moment. It helps that the food is delicious.

I have lots of other things I'd like to share, but this post is too long so I'll save them for later. I'm happy to answer questions about me or Egypt, so send me an email or write a comment if you so desire. If you want to see more pictures of the pyramids and the Sphinx, check out my album.

Happy Thursday!