Obligatory Pyramid Photos Or, Homeless in Cairo

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  Cairo, Egypt
Sunday, February 5, 2006

First, let me say that what you've read in the news about the ferry sinking off Safaga on the Red Sea has, of course, not affected me at all. It's a terrible tragedy, but I have not felt any affects from it. That said, here's my update:

Needless to say, much has happened since my last post. Most importantly, I cut off all my hair and moved out of the dorm, both on Tuesday, Jan 31. I'm pleased with my decisions on both accounts.

The hair bit requires no explanation other than that it's just something I do sometimes. As for the dorms, I should explain further. I never wanted to live in the AUC dorms. I felt that this would defeat the purpose of my coming to Cairo. I knew from personal accounts and common sense that living there would end up trapping me in an American bubble and I would speak little to no Arabic, only where it was necessary

1 - The obligatory second-pyramid-with-sphinx shot

. This was an unacceptable option for me. It was more than just not wanting a roommate, though that was certainly a consideration.

While I'm happy that I moved out of the dorm, it has resulted in me being sort of homeless in Cairo. For the past four nights I've slept on the couch in a friend's apartment near the dorm while I search for my own place. I want something nearby for less than LE 1000/month (LE = Egyptian pounds, which trade for about 5.75 per US Dollar), which is sort of hard to find, but I have high hopes. If you know of any bedrooms available at that price fil-Zamalek, let me know. Semsara (flats agents) don't seem to sense my urgency in looking for a place to live. I have three looking for flats, but none of them has been very responsive. Today I went to meet with one at the time and place he told me, only to find out from his daughter that he was in Alexandria. Sigh.

This reminds me that I don't think I've explained exactly where I am. I live on a rather large island in the Nile. About half of it is residential/commercial and the other half is a large garden, park and athletic club (Al-Gezira Sporting Club), where the 1952 revolution was planned. The residential area is among the ritzier in Cairo, and it's fitting that our dorm (styled in marble after an Egyptian palace, surprise surprise) is situated there

2 - Casey and many Egyptian children

. A modest two-bedroom apartment here runs at about LE 2500 (about $450) and there are many fancy boutiques just south of here on 26 July Street, the main thoroughfare.

The university (split into four campuses) is downtown in Midan al-Tahrir (Tahrir Square) near the Egyptian Parliament and many government buildings. It's about a 45-minute walk away, and most students get there by the university shuttle or a cab ride for about 5 Egyptian pounds (around 90 cents). Across the square from the main building (see the AUC website) is the Mugamma building, perhaps the world's greatest monument to bureaucratic inefficiency. The Egyptian government guarantees work to all university graduates and many thousands of them end up working there for a pittance of a wage. Often you'll see three or four people sitting at the same desk doing the same job, which usually entails little to no real work and requires no skill. For this reason, you'll often find cab drivers with degrees in engineering, social work, philosophy, etc. who found that they could make a much better living driving a taxi (sometimes with an annoying Disneyland tune rigged to the brakes).

Yesterday I visited the pyramids with several friends. Its about 20 minutes by cab to Giza where you pay exorbitant fees (tourists only, discounts for students, but Egyptian residents pay far less) to enter the pyramid complex and even more (LE 100, or about $17) to enter each pyramid

3 - More Casey and kids

. The pyramids are, of course, huge, old and very impressive, though the Sphinx is smaller than I thought it would be. I guess photos can be deceiving. Inside the pyramids there were throngs of Japanese tourists, even though we went very early to beat the crowds. It was hot and humid and very musty. However, it was belittling to think about the magnitude of work, engineering and stone that went into these tombs. There's no cell reception inside the pyramids.

Afterwards, two friends and I stuck around to rent two horses and a camel (I rode a horse) for about $4.50 each for a ride around the complex. The horses were not well trained and poorly kept. I felt bad for them, but mine gave me a few good gallops. Our tour guide, Sayid, kept us from getting lost in the desert and labyrinthine Giza was friendly enough and was gracious when we rebuffed his efforts to rip us off. He was accompanied by a 8-year-old boy named Mohammad who rode as if he were born on a horse.

Most of my colleagues seem to have no interest in distancing themselves from American culture. I can understand this, but it definitely runs counter to my priorities. For example, the Sphinx faces a Pizza Hut/KFC about 300 yards from it. When we saw it, we all laughed and took a photo, but everyone felt fine eating there

4 - Salesman at Cheops

. It's not that I don't support capitalism nor that I hate American culture and food (though KFC is pretty nasty), but my problem is that there are a dozen local falafel and shawerma stands within blocks. Why go to Egypt to eat bad pizza and popcorn chicken? I stopped for a falafel later and met and talked to a man named Khaled who is a social work student at Al Azhar University, the oldest operating university in the world. I would not have had that at KFC. However, I don't want to sound like a superior ass, so let me say that if I do find the Fudrucker's I hear Cairo has, I may break the rules because, hell, it's Fudrucker's!

As for people, I have a policy of not writing about specific individuals. I've had bad experiences. But I do want to say that I've found some great folks here. Some of the AUC students (study abroads) are really great people. One, whose couch I'm sleeping on, studied in Uganda with one of my best friends last semester; we've been looking into travel and volunteering at St. Andrew's, a local church that runs a large East African refugee program. We'll be teaching English there starting this week. There's another who is here on ROTC from Texas who is also eager to work for the program and seems just as eager to experience Cairo in the same way I want to. She's been helping me look for apartments, which is handy because bowabs (doormen) seem to love her. And another from Oregon (!) wants to distance himself from Americans enough to get some Arabic under his belt and get a feel for Egyptians. Like me, he Came to Egypt to get to know another county as well as possible in such a short time.

I'm going to have to do something about the length of these entries.

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5 - Ajay with kids	7 - Twins climbing on the pyramids	9 - Amie on a camel	The boys at the pyramid

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