Bellyful of koshiri

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  Cairo, Egypt
Monday, January 30, 2006

Returned yesterday from an AUC orientation trip to Alexandria. Well, sort of. As in, we only sort of went to Alexandria. We stayed at the Hilton Borg El Arab, situated about 30 km outside of Alexandria proper. There is also no cheap transportation to Alex from the hotel. The hotel is also one of the ritziest in Egypt. We also spent a total of only 3 hours in the actual city itself. We also spent only 2 hours in actual orientation sessions. I learned much on our trip to Alexandria. A few pithy lessons:

-There is a lot of classism in Egypt, or at least at AUC.
-The Mediterranean is frighteningly blue.
-Horseback riding is fun.
-There is a lot of classism in Egypt.
-Many study abroad students seem to have gotten sidetracked on their way to parties at the pubs of the US, UK and Australia.
-Several study abroad students seem jaded by this.
-There is a lot of classism in Egypt.

Let me first explain that reiterated comment. Our orientation adviser, a diva of a middle-aged Egyptian woman, who fits handsomely into the "takes no shit from anybody" category, spent about two hours telling the 160 or so newly arrived Americans how to "do as the Romans do" and addressing our concerns. Elitism was plainly evident in this exercise. For example, an entire section of the "worries and concerns" session was devoted to shopping issues. Also, we were advised not to ride the clean and reliable underground Metro because it is "humiliating," not exclusively for women, but for the privileged classes. There are certain things in Cairo that only the riff-raff do, such as eat and travel on the cheap. This is not for you, AUC students. You deserve better things, such as the Alexandria Hilton. This was the message we got. Certain bits of the advising were quite helpful, such as when to tip the servants.

OF COURSE, it wasn't all bad. The advising session did provide several valuable lessons and reaffirmed my decision not to wear an earring here. Also, the Mediterranean is a beautiful body of water. The hotel sits on the beach and I woke up for two mornings to a stunning sea view. I also played giant chess. And hung out with the South African and Tunisian soccer teams. Both are here in Egypt for the African Cup of Nations and to get with AUC girls.

Aaaaand, I rode a horse. First time in 10 years and, if you ask me, I did pretty good. Looking forward to doing it again. On Thursday maybe. At the pyramids.

Today (Monday, January 30) was a welcome relief from my offense over the unnecessary opulence showered on us at the Hilton. I met my friend Ben for lunch near campus after taking care of some business. Ben is from Pittsburgh and spend last semester in Uganda with my NU friend Janessa. We filled ourselves full of koshiri, the national dish of Egypt. It's a bowl of macaroni, noodles and rice, topped with lentils, garbanzo beans and some sort of salsa stuff. One pours on it chili oil and some delicious translucent liquid. It makes for a very satisfying and very cheap(!) meal.

We also met for dinner several hours later and got sidetracked on the way. When I came to meet him 40 minutes late, Ben had struck up a conversation with a man on the street who turned out to be a refugee from Darfur. We spent some time talking to our new friend Emam, who's English was fantastic. He himself was meeting his friend Mohammad Mataar. They were both leaders in the demonstrations against the UNHCR where some two dozen Sudanese were killed by police last month. Needless to say, they were both eager to talk about it. They took us to St Andrew's refugee ministry in Nasser Square, an organization they had both been involved with and which we had each wanted to volunteer for when we made it to Cairo. Finally, we exchanged contact info and parted ways. It was fascinating and I can't wait to hear more from these men.

Also, while we were walking and talking with the Darfurian men, I noticed a trendy-looking young man smiling at me. A lot. I never expected to get "the eye" from a guy in Cairo. But then again, I've read that there's a surprisingly high incidence of homosexuality here. That fact would be refreshing if it weren't illegal to be gay in Egypt and punishments are severe.

In other news, I'm moving out of the dorms tomorrow. I'm tired of dorm life and I would like not to have a roommate (not that I dislike my current roommie; quite the opposite, in fact). Most of all, however, I want to completely divest myself from the American experience and move out of as many comfort zones as possible. Living in an apartment in Cairo would be perfect for that. Plus, it will end up saving me money.

Classes start on Wednesday, insha-allah. Once again, I'm looking forward to cracking the books. I'm hopeless.

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