Yesterday, in my survival Arabic class I learned something interesting. In Arabic, the word for sociology (علم الإجتماع) literally means "the Science of Meeting. I couldn't stop thinking about how wonderfully accurate that is in describing my life's current focus. sociology is not only a study of people but of interactions between them. It is a study of what happens when they come together. It is the same study regardless of whether that meeting of people be within a relationship, a society, a religion, or simply a new environment. Sociology studies how all of those different meetings impact the people involved in and around them. So as I come into this ridiculously fascinating new home, I cannot help but wonder what my personal sociological study will turn into. How will I (and the other students) be affected by being thrown into a world so vastly different from our own? Well, here's my attempt at explaining the beginning of that study. =]
GETTING THERE
So, first things first. I wanted to text at least 5-6 people when this happened, but i'll just have to tell you all now. So, I'm sitting in Dulles, waiting for my plane, chilling out and then suddenly I see this guy. And I start freaking out. Ya'll this guy looked ridiculously similar to Ted Mosby from How I Met Your Mother. I was DYING. It was so fantastic and I was so upset I couldn't text you all so you could appreciate it. Anyways, that was exciting and all. So, the plane gets there and so begins a lovely 8 hour flight to our layover in Zurich, Switzerland.
The plane ride really wasn't too bad, I sat next to a really lovely woman from Nairobi and while there WERE 5 small children aboard, they were mostly adorable with only a few screams during some of the rougher turbulence. So, overall no complaints. OH WAIT. THAT'S A LIE. I WAS FREAKING OUT OVER ALL THE GERMAN. Because the flight was headed to Zurich, tons of people of different nationalities were on board including my favorite Germans..well okay, they were more likely Swiss, but they spoke German and I was happy. I was only in Zurich for about 2 hours, but oh man. It was so hard to get on that plane to Cairo knowing I was leaving all the German behind. Luckily the next flight was on SWISS airlines, so everything was in English and German anyways, but I still miss it somewhat. Maybe it was a last minute freak-out reflex, but I LOVE German. I'm by no means fluent but I understand enough to have pretty good conversations with people and I just felt so at home being back in a German speaking country. GAHHH I miss it. Anyways, sorry about the ranting. The flight was lovely, and that's about all.
Cairo Airport however, was my first taste of Egypt and honestly, it was just sort of funny. I couldn't believe how little security we went through to get into the country. It was wonderful. So I went through got my bags, and found the guy that was supposed to be picking me up and driving me to the dorms in Zamalek. I ended up not being his only passenger though, so I waited for the other two to arrive and well...who do you think happens to be one of them?? ONLY TED MOSBY LOOK ALIKE. Yeah. That Happened. No big deal. hahahahah It was great. I was laughing so hard internally it was pathetic. But, he's a great guy, and he's actually studied at AUC before so that's super convenient in terms of getting to know Zamalek quickly. Friendship success.
Insanity: Oh also, on the note of crazy things about Cairo let me fill you in on a few more crazy details of this city. First, many, MANY of the houses are unfinished. And not...oh we haven't painted or need a basement. I mean GIANT mansions are left with entire walls
WAITING to be built. Even for the ones that are mostly finished, small things will be left untouched. A few beams might be sticking out the top of a beautiful home, part of a smaller wall might be waiting to be finished....who knows? But, there's a reason for this. You see, if you're home is unfinished you don't pay taxes on it. So people will purposely not finish houses. Somehow, I don't think this can possibly help create a society in which things are completed in both a timely and aesthetically pleasing manner...but not my country so I'll let them figure that one out.
Second, don't flush the toilet paper. The sewage system in Cairo can't handle it. There are nifty little trashcans to throw all your paper products in when they're done. Weird.
Third, and DEFINITELY most important. Driving in Cairo may be the world's most dangerous daily activity. Let me give you some road rules that seem to be followed here:
1. Ignore all road rules
2. Should you ACTUALLY happen to see lines on the road, ignore them and feel free to continue
driving as you please
3. Two lanes actually means four
4. Driving with lights off is fine....just make sure to honk at night to let others know you're there
5. Be sure to cram as many cars as possible onto the street
6. Don't worry about red lights. They don't exist.
7. Not enough room to park? Feel free to push others' cars to a better position until you can
comfortably squeeze yours in.
8. Try not to hit pedestrians crossing major intersections
9. Avoiding people selling tissues and pepsi off the median is also preferable
10. Accept the fact that you will never know when a road might be closed off due to a crash, sewage
leak etc. and be prepared to back up your giant bus even if it's in the middle of rush hour traffic
I think that pretty much covers it. Cairo driving is ABSURD. It's hilarious, nerve-wracking and I love every minute of it. The rules of the road in Cairo pretty much seem to revolve around the idea of fending for yourself. Cars drive closer and faster than I have ever seen. It's amazing that Egyptians can navigate it.
Dorm:
The Zamalek dorms are wonderful. very pretty and our rooms are HUGE. We've got plenty of space, nice showers (minus the occasional lack of hot water) and a nice common area to hangout in before going to dinner, heading to bars or simply walking around. The other AUC study abroad students are fantastic. I LOVE my roommates Neama and Anjana. We have such a good time laughing and chatting.
Speaking of meeting people...the first day I arrived was interesting. I came in knowing no girls whatsoever and by the time I got to the dorms themselves I already knew 4 guys. Two from school and 2 from the ride over. So, as we planned to go to dinner that night there sat 11 guys and me. The lone girl other than one RA. At dinner one of the girls thought i'd been in Zamalek for a few years already because of how well I seemed to know all the guys. hahahah Story of my life. One of our RAs is really hilarious, after 2 minutes of conversation decides to jokingly ask me out to embarrass me in front of all the lovely new people i'd just met. We're obviously going to be great friends. haha=] Well, I kinds asked for that one, eh? But, I really am loving getting to know everyone. The people here are really interesting, very driven and just generally easy to get along with. We went out to a bar the other night and just had an amazing time chatting and getting to know one another. Tonight we went and found a hookah bar to hangout in for a while and just chilled and joked around. LIFE IS GOOD.
SCHOOL
So classes don't officially start until the 29th, but we have orientation until then. It's been long but not too bad so far. The bus ride to school is LONG, but the views are so intriguing and it's great for getting homework/sleep in when needed. AUC itself is BEAUTIFUL. I'm talking...it looks like I go to school at a resort. (i'm serious. Google image search: AUC Egypt campus) It was pretty windy the first day, but getting a chance to walk around it today I'm consistently amazed at how stunningly beautiful it is with it's architecture, palm trees and generally attractive male population. haha just kidding...sort of. Currently, I'm taking a "Survival Arabic" course which is basically a crash course in colloquial Arabic. The class is extremely long (5hours), but my teacher is so nice and insanely patient with me. Although, I will admit that patience wasn't all that necessary until we started reviewing numbers today. DARN YOU NUMBERS. I can't deal with them in English much less Arabic... But I do feel like I've learned a lot. I came in having not taken Arabic in about ten months and after 2 days I remember a ton, and learned more than I thought I could about the different pronunciations within the colloquial. I'm starting to pick up more and more words I hear around. LOVEEEEEEEE. But i'm still too intimidated to say anything more than "thank you", "you're welcome", and at one point I was in fact able to put together enough Arabic to ask if someone spoke English and where the bus was. Success? ehh...getting there=]
Anyways, that's pretty much all for now. Sorry for the absurdly long post. I love you all!
GETTING THERE
So, first things first. I wanted to text at least 5-6 people when this happened, but i'll just have to tell you all now. So, I'm sitting in Dulles, waiting for my plane, chilling out and then suddenly I see this guy. And I start freaking out. Ya'll this guy looked ridiculously similar to Ted Mosby from How I Met Your Mother. I was DYING. It was so fantastic and I was so upset I couldn't text you all so you could appreciate it. Anyways, that was exciting and all. So, the plane gets there and so begins a lovely 8 hour flight to our layover in Zurich, Switzerland.The plane ride really wasn't too bad, I sat next to a really lovely woman from Nairobi and while there WERE 5 small children aboard, they were mostly adorable with only a few screams during some of the rougher turbulence. So, overall no complaints. OH WAIT. THAT'S A LIE. I WAS FREAKING OUT OVER ALL THE GERMAN. Because the flight was headed to Zurich, tons of people of different nationalities were on board including my favorite Germans..well okay, they were more likely Swiss, but they spoke German and I was happy. I was only in Zurich for about 2 hours, but oh man. It was so hard to get on that plane to Cairo knowing I was leaving all the German behind. Luckily the next flight was on SWISS airlines, so everything was in English and German anyways, but I still miss it somewhat. Maybe it was a last minute freak-out reflex, but I LOVE German. I'm by no means fluent but I understand enough to have pretty good conversations with people and I just felt so at home being back in a German speaking country. GAHHH I miss it. Anyways, sorry about the ranting. The flight was lovely, and that's about all.
 |
| Greenery to SAND... drastic much? |
CAIRO The city itself will by far be the hardest part to write about. I simply do not know how to put Cairo into words. It's a city you have to see to understand. It is the epitome of contrast. Driving around one will see an incredible historical building, rich with culture and too many stories to count. This will be located directly next to the most modern banking building you've ever seen, which happens to also be right across from the saddest, dirtiest heap of buildings, and trash you've ever seen. I don't know what I imagined for Cairo but it's nowhere near what I got. I LOVE IT. Honestly, to some extent I'm not even sure why I love it so much. I don't like grimy cities. The fact that roads are literally covered in trash disgusts me and yet I cannot help but adore the insanity of this city. The discrepancies are so big it's amusing. Driving down the road one will see a BMW followed closely by a beaten up, falling apart bus and then suddenly you'll notice a man driving a cart pulled by a donkey loaded down with egg cartons piled HIGH. Nonetheless, it works. The people here make it work. It's amazing.
 |
| McDonalds bil Arabia |
Insanity:WAITING to be built. Even for the ones that are mostly finished, small things will be left untouched. A few beams might be sticking out the top of a beautiful home, part of a smaller wall might be waiting to be finished....who knows? But, there's a reason for this. You see, if you're home is unfinished you don't pay taxes on it. So people will purposely not finish houses. Somehow, I don't think this can possibly help create a society in which things are completed in both a timely and aesthetically pleasing manner...but not my country so I'll let them figure that one out.
Second, don't flush the toilet paper. The sewage system in Cairo can't handle it. There are nifty little trashcans to throw all your paper products in when they're done. Weird.
Third, and DEFINITELY most important. Driving in Cairo may be the world's most dangerous daily activity. Let me give you some road rules that seem to be followed here:
1. Ignore all road rules
2. Should you ACTUALLY happen to see lines on the road, ignore them and feel free to continue
driving as you please
3. Two lanes actually means four
4. Driving with lights off is fine....just make sure to honk at night to let others know you're there
5. Be sure to cram as many cars as possible onto the street
6. Don't worry about red lights. They don't exist.
7. Not enough room to park? Feel free to push others' cars to a better position until you can
comfortably squeeze yours in.
8. Try not to hit pedestrians crossing major intersections
9. Avoiding people selling tissues and pepsi off the median is also preferable
10. Accept the fact that you will never know when a road might be closed off due to a crash, sewage
leak etc. and be prepared to back up your giant bus even if it's in the middle of rush hour traffic
 |
| I wish this better showed how insane it is. |
I think that pretty much covers it. Cairo driving is ABSURD. It's hilarious, nerve-wracking and I love every minute of it. The rules of the road in Cairo pretty much seem to revolve around the idea of fending for yourself. Cars drive closer and faster than I have ever seen. It's amazing that Egyptians can navigate it.
Dorm:
The Zamalek dorms are wonderful. very pretty and our rooms are HUGE. We've got plenty of space, nice showers (minus the occasional lack of hot water) and a nice common area to hangout in before going to dinner, heading to bars or simply walking around. The other AUC study abroad students are fantastic. I LOVE my roommates Neama and Anjana. We have such a good time laughing and chatting.
Speaking of meeting people...the first day I arrived was interesting. I came in knowing no girls whatsoever and by the time I got to the dorms themselves I already knew 4 guys. Two from school and 2 from the ride over. So, as we planned to go to dinner that night there sat 11 guys and me. The lone girl other than one RA. At dinner one of the girls thought i'd been in Zamalek for a few years already because of how well I seemed to know all the guys. hahahah Story of my life. One of our RAs is really hilarious, after 2 minutes of conversation decides to jokingly ask me out to embarrass me in front of all the lovely new people i'd just met. We're obviously going to be great friends. haha=] Well, I kinds asked for that one, eh? But, I really am loving getting to know everyone. The people here are really interesting, very driven and just generally easy to get along with. We went out to a bar the other night and just had an amazing time chatting and getting to know one another. Tonight we went and found a hookah bar to hangout in for a while and just chilled and joked around. LIFE IS GOOD.
So classes don't officially start until the 29th, but we have orientation until then. It's been long but not too bad so far. The bus ride to school is LONG, but the views are so intriguing and it's great for getting homework/sleep in when needed. AUC itself is BEAUTIFUL. I'm talking...it looks like I go to school at a resort. (i'm serious. Google image search: AUC Egypt campus) It was pretty windy the first day, but getting a chance to walk around it today I'm consistently amazed at how stunningly beautiful it is with it's architecture, palm trees and generally attractive male population. haha just kidding...sort of. Currently, I'm taking a "Survival Arabic" course which is basically a crash course in colloquial Arabic. The class is extremely long (5hours), but my teacher is so nice and insanely patient with me. Although, I will admit that patience wasn't all that necessary until we started reviewing numbers today. DARN YOU NUMBERS. I can't deal with them in English much less Arabic... But I do feel like I've learned a lot. I came in having not taken Arabic in about ten months and after 2 days I remember a ton, and learned more than I thought I could about the different pronunciations within the colloquial. I'm starting to pick up more and more words I hear around. LOVEEEEEEEE. But i'm still too intimidated to say anything more than "thank you", "you're welcome", and at one point I was in fact able to put together enough Arabic to ask if someone spoke English and where the bus was. Success? ehh...getting there=]
Anyways, that's pretty much all for now. Sorry for the absurdly long post. I love you all!
مع السلامة
