Alexandria

Alexandria is a super chill place. What's not to love: the palm trees, the Mediterranean Sea, and everything is cheaper than Cairo. If you get a chance to visit Egypt, please don't leave without visiting Alexandria.We arrived the prior night, so we all knew the view outside our hostel windows was going to be so different from what we saw at night.




The water is so beautiful. It definitely brought back memories of the amazing beaches in Florida. I only spent two days in Alex, so I didn't get to all the tourist spots. I did go to the palace of King Farouk.




Later that night, some of use decided we need to ride scooters around the beach area. Like any crazy people would do in a country were its probably not safe for foreigners to be driving, we took to the streets. Not going to lie, I wasn't that good at driving a scooter. At a very slow pace, I actually hit some guy on a bicycle. I felt horrible, got situated on the scooter, and floored it. It was so cool. There is really no rhyme or reason to the way people drive here, but I call it controlled chaos. I'll do a post on traffic some other time. I will also do a post on the different kind of taxis in Alexandria some other time.

The Library of Alexandria



If you're really interested in the Library of Alexandria, google it. It's a pretty interesting place, with a lot going on. We went to buy the tickets to get in, and the guy at the window charged us the Egyptian price. FYI: Egyptians pay less to get into the exact same places as foreigners. I honestly don't have a problem with that system, but it was really cool when the guy charged us 2 EGP each.
2 EGP= $0.33

My amazing weekend in Alexandria consisted of: riding scooters, walking along the Mediterranean Sea, good food, great people, and cool places. Some of us took the train back home, while others took a minibus(not out of choice). Here's a picture of the train station.



I know it sounds weird, but I really did miss Cairo while I was gone. I walked out of Ramses Station into Cairo from my first road trip in Egypt, and felt home.

Running in Zamalek

If you know me, you know that running is a huge part of my life. It's something I do for myself, and always will. I started running when I went to school at GWU in Washington, DC. and really became a serious runner in Gainesville, FL. So naturally it's in my plan to run where ever I live, but Cairo has presented a challenging situation. While the majority of runners who move to Cairo may choose the treadmill over the street, this girl won't. I started the outside running process with hesitation. I was told "don't run without a guy" or "you're crazy". 

I'm a little over a month into my move to Cairo, and I have to say I couldn't be happier with my current running situation. Don't get me wrong, it's THE hardest place I have ever ran! People in Cairo don't really do the running outside thing, but the runs are only getting better. I'm starting to recongize the normal people on the street (shop keepers, security guards, police). I'm really learning how to navigate around the island, and it's super empowering. 

Just imagine two American girls running through the streets of Zamalek at 10pm. Sometimes I think we're crazy, but then I realize it's really not for everyone. We get to see such a diverse crowd of people: the couples on the banks of the Nile, the taxi drivers taking a break outside of their cars to talk, or the security guards outside the embassies. 

The pollution, people, cars, cats, smoke, and uneven pavement are all some of the daily obstacles I face while running, but I know these obstacles will make me a better runner. If you can run in Cairo, then you can run anywhere.

"There are clubs you can't belong to, neighborhoods you can't live in, schools you can't get into, but the roads are always open." - Nike

The Train to Alexandria

So I went on my first trip outside of Cairo since I got here a little over a month ago. I honestly didn't know what to expect and didn't know how I would view another city, since adapting to the beautiful chaos that is Cairo. Our classes have been postponed due to student protests over tuition prices, so we decided we had to go on a road trip. A couple people and myself decided Alexandria, after someone at the dorm strongly urged against Dahab. I guess some people get kidnapped every now and then so that didn't sound as appealing.

Egypt has taught me patience I never had in America. One of the greatest tips on moving to Egypt was to just deal with the fact that Egyptians are on their own time schedule. This bring me to the train ride to Alex. All five of us piled into the taxi and headed to the train station. We went to the ticket area and saw some other people we knew buying tickets for a later train. We had a hard time finding out which train we needed to take, because Egyptians would rather give you the wrong advice than no advice at all.





The beginning of the train ride was horrendous. When we boarded we just hopped onto any train and sat down. Next thing we know people were pointing to their seat numbers and we realized we had assigned seats. Not only did we just hop onto any train car, but we were in first class, about ten cars away from our correct car, and the train was already moving. It was one of the situations where people were ready to give up half way through the pushing, shoving, and all the stares until we got to our seats(ten train cars away). I know it may not sound that bad now, but it was pretty exhausting and  humbling. I don't know about the other people I was with, but I felt like I was on display for the whole train to look at. (Note: Check out the people in the train... all guys. See my prior post about pros and cons of living in Cairo)



There are two kind of trains to Alex, the fast one and the slow one. We missed the fast one, so it took us about 4 hours to get here. The fast train takes about 2 hours. The tickets were only 35 EGP. so we paid about $6 for a one way ticket. There is first class and second class cars, both have air conditioning.

We arrived in Alexandria at 8pm and went right to our hostel. After I got into a little argument with some random guy on the street, I later found out that he was the manager of the hostel. He sent us to one with a better of view of the Mediterranean Sea and we mended our friendship.

The Egyptian Museum

After being in Cairo for over a month, I decided to finally go to the Egyptian Museum. I was warned prior to going that things are kind of a mess there. There isn't air conditioning in about 95% of the building, you can't bring a camera into the museum, and there really isn't any organization scheme to the whole set up. That being said, you must go! (In my opinion) The most important part to see is the exhibit for King Tut.


Like I said above, you're not supposed to bring a camera inside or take any pitcures. So after we entered through security, we had to check our camera. Now you know I'm not going into such an important place and walking away without any pictures inside. So I pulled out the blackberry, while inside, and snuck two photos. I got caught taking both pictures. We had some security dudes following us throughout the museum. I wish I had saved my one or two picture moment to the King Tut portion. I probably would have been banned for life if I had snuck a King Tut picture. Here are the pictures below I was lucky to get with my blackberry.

The View from Metro Tower

For all I know the building with the Metro supermarket has a legit name, but I'll probably never find out what it is. It's the apartment building with the Metro market and everyone calls it Metro Tower. If you've read any of my past posts, you would know AUC is going through negotiations with the student union over tuition increases. So we don't have classes this week. Some of us decided to see the view of Zamalek from Metro Tower in the day, before we went downtown. The view was awesome.

Now there are many awesome roofs in Cairo, but I like this one because it's real. It doesn't have any lights, you have to be careful not to trip over wires, and there are satellite dishes everywhere. It's the realest roof you're going to get. Nothing fancy, but a beautiful view. Another awesome part about this roof: during the day you can see the pyramids.

 
 

Thoughts After a Month

It's almost been a month since I've moved my whole life to Cairo. There's no question, I miss my family and friends a lot, but this experience was one of the greatest decisions I've ever made. Yes Cairo may seem a little volatile at times, with protests at the American Embassy, but it's a great time to be living in Egypt.


So far I love it all. If you know me, you know I can complain about anything. I definitely have my complaints, like I would anywhere in the world. So let's start with the hardest things to adapt to:

1. My biggest complaint is definitely the air quality. The air on campus is clean, but it's also in the middle of the desert. In my defensive, I also run. So the air quality is definitely an issue for me. They say living in Cairo is equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.
2. This is a very male dominated society, and I knew it would be before I moved here. Excluding school and the dorms, I really don't interact with Egyptian women on the streets. If you decided to take a stroll on the sidewalk against the Nile at 9:00pm, you'll notice that about 95% of the people on the streets are men. This isn't really a problem, but it can be a bit intimidating when you're a woman walking around the street at night. 
3. Everyone smokes cigarettes! Well at least all the men, (and like I said above) that's about everyone on the streets. Cigarettes are very cheap here compared to the US. I remember when I was a kid in Florida adults could smoke in restaurants, but that was just a memory. Here you can basically smoke anywhere (it's the exact same way in China). I always forget that one of the coffee spots on Zamalek allow smoking. Every time I walk in, I'm hit with a cloud of smoke!

(Disclaimer: While these things may make it a little harder to adapt, they are in no way 'deal breakers'. Crime is not a major issue here, the cost of living is amazingly cheap, and there is never an issue with finding amazing things to get yourself into.)

 
 So now that I'm done complaining, I can tell you what I really love about Cairo. I really won't be able to articulate how amazing this city really is. I could never really do it any justice. It's definitely a city you need to experience, not read about. It's the noise, it's the smells, and it's the people.

1. One of the greatest things about Cairo is the never ending amount of cool stuff to see. So you have day to waste in Cairo, what do you do? You could go to the biggest mall in all of Africa, you could go to the Pyramids, take a felucca down the Nile, or anything else this city has to offer. I am constantly stopping to remember where I am. Last night we celebrated a friends birthday on a boat on the Nile. 
2. The people are awesome. Egyptians have an amazing sense of humor. Don't get me wrong, I've definitely crossed paths with some assholes and almost got into it with some chick at the grocery store, but people are people. Places around the world are known for their peoples demeanor, and the people here are pretty awesome. They love to joke around and talk trash, so you know I'm getting to know everyone. 
3. Things are pretty cheap here. Now I'm a little reserved to say everything, because that's definitely not true about American products. For example, a bag of Tide (laundry detergent) in Cairo can cost you $25. Yes, twenty-five dollars! The Egyptian equivalent is much cheaper, but if you want specific brands you're going to pay for it. I also live on an island that caters to a specific demographic, so if you go to markets outside Zamalek you'll pay much less. There's a falafel places that sells one falafel for 2 Egyptian Pounds (EGP). The exchange rate is the following: one dollar gets you 6 EGP. So that's about .34 cents for food, and it's really good. Depending where you go, a bottle of water can cost you .30 cents. You just need to know where to go. I'm constantly surprised how far my money will go here.  

 Now you've read some of my likes and dislikes. There isn't a city in the world without the good and the bad. It's all about how you can adapt to it. Straight up, some people may not be able to handle everything Cairo throws at you, but this girl has no problem. It's a city where you must be tough with people so they don't rip you off, a city where men dominate every aspect of society, and where social unrest can result in a protest any day. With all that said, Cairo is an amazing city and it already feels like home.

The Protests at the American University in Cairo

When I lived in Florida we had hurricane days. When I lived in Washington DC we had snow days. Here in Cairo, we have protest days. This is my first semester at the American University in Cairo as a graduate student and we've already had two days of classes cancelled this semester. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Egyptians love to protest.

The protest is a result of a 7% tuition increase, which seems to happen every year. The first protest happened a couple days ago, when students locked the gates to campus. Classes were cancelled, people were stuck in the desert, and students blocked the gates with their cars. The protests are backed by the AUC's student union. They definitely have the right idea, but are totally wrong in their implementation. Don't block people from getting to their classes and if you're going to keep people in the desert give them water and bathrooms.

The second protest was yesterday. No classes and the gates were locked again. I'm not going to lie, I kind of like not having classes, but I'm still paying for the ones I miss. The school announced that the missed classes will be rescheduled. Some students on Facebook have been posting that the school will be meeting with the administration over tuition increases. I would love to get some extra cash credit to my student account. I'll keep you guys posted.