More personal blog about Egypt...
Hopefully by now, you've read my account of a horseback ride I went on Monday night, at twilight, near the pyramids. If you haven't, please do. This blog is a more personal account of what I've been doing.
I landed Saturday, Aug 23rd, at about 4pm local time (8am EST), with the theme song of Xanadu blaring through my headphones, a tear in my eye. I made it, I'm in Egypt! As much as I tried, I was unable to see the pyramids from my side of the plane, apparently they were on the other side. (Grrr) I breezed through customs, found my luggage (missing the shoulder strap for my blue bag), and side-stepped the many taxi drivers asking if I needed a ride towards the men with the AUC signs. There I met a few more people, one of whom (Sheetal) would be my roommate here at Zamalek. Driving from the airport was an eye opener. There were 4 lanes painted on the road, yet 5 lines of vehicles, constantly cutting one another off, ignoring all speed limit signs when not at a stand still, and constantly honking their horns. The horn honking sound was later repeated by one of the boy guides on the horseback ride, to get other horses out of the way. We reached Zamalek, where our bags were searched for prohibited items, I was given a room (330) and roommate. We brought our bags up, with some help from the male porters. As it is a women only dorm, the minute they stepped out of the elevator a shout of "Men on the floor, men on the floor!" went out. They dropped off our bags, requested a tip (LE 1 each, what did I know of the conversion rate), and left. Sheetal and I discussed who would sleep where, I moved my bags to my side of the room, then we went downstairs to catch the shuttle bus to the Nile for a Felucca ride (sort of a sail boat) as the sun set. It was so beautiful and calm, the chants from the Mosques echoing through the air as the sun set, and the lights of Gold's Gym and Chili's reflected on the Nile. I didn't bring my camera, but Brittney did and she said I could share the following picture.
Zamalek dorm areas:
Note: The haze you see is from the sun and pollution in the air.
Back to the room, unpacked a total of 3 items, when Sheetal came in and said a bunch of people are headed to dinner at Farah, where they have Egyptian food and a sheesha pipe. I had a chicken grill with rice and peppers, declined the pipe, talked with a few people, then headed back to the dorm to finish unpacking, plug in my computer, get connected to the internet, called Andrew (he answered), mom (left message), and Benny (left message). Then it was time for a shower and bed.
Sunday came, and with it not enough sleep and Student Orientation. We heard from the President of AUC, the Provost, and other members of faculty. I also checked in, received my packet (complete with an activities list), missed breakfast, and met some great people. I also got my ID card, what they did with the 3 pictures I sent them with my acceptance information, I'll never know. After the orientation, I went straight to bed and slept for 4 hours. I got some dinner, then went back to sleep as I was exhausted.
AUC Campus:
Across the street from the AUC Campus:
Monday came, and with it meeting up with Leyla again, checking out the AUC Greek campus across the street from the other campus, and I started Survival Arabic class (on the 5th floor in a building with a broken elevator). I can now say some basic phrases, such as what my name is, ask after another's name, where I'm from, where I live, how I'm doing, and can count to 100. That night was the horseback trip, followed by me and a few other people walking around Zamalek looking for a place for dinner. We got some chicken shawarma's (sweet, but good), then returned to the dorm for showers and sleep. Tuesday, I slept until noon, barely made the shuttle bus to campus for the next day of Arabic courses. Then home, dinner, and more sleep.
AUC Greek Campus:
Today (Wed), I met up with Leyla again, and she came with me to the Arabic course (she speaks a bit anyway, and was just bored). We agreed to go shopping together, I want to pick up some skirts/shirts while I'm here. I also setup a bank account today, so I no longer have to worry about lots of money in my dorm room. When I returned to the dorm, there were signs up saying it was "Dorm Fun Night", with free food (pasta, sandwich, and a soda) followed by a scavenger hunt around Zamalek. An hour and a half later, I'm sweating through my shirt (as are everyone else - it's Egypt and it's hot!), and our team, "Sharkbait", lost. Oh well, it was fun, I got to meet some more people, and now I know a bit more of what it around this place. Now I'm showered, my feet hurt, and I have finally written a second blog. I'm going to review my Arabic, then go to bed. Here are some pictures from the scavenger hunt.
*Note* More pictures can be found at my Photobucket account, andymom 2, under AUC Egypt.http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k217/andymom2/AUC%20-%20Cairo%20Egypt%20-%20August/
I landed Saturday, Aug 23rd, at about 4pm local time (8am EST), with the theme song of Xanadu blaring through my headphones, a tear in my eye. I made it, I'm in Egypt! As much as I tried, I was unable to see the pyramids from my side of the plane, apparently they were on the other side. (Grrr) I breezed through customs, found my luggage (missing the shoulder strap for my blue bag), and side-stepped the many taxi drivers asking if I needed a ride towards the men with the AUC signs. There I met a few more people, one of whom (Sheetal) would be my roommate here at Zamalek. Driving from the airport was an eye opener. There were 4 lanes painted on the road, yet 5 lines of vehicles, constantly cutting one another off, ignoring all speed limit signs when not at a stand still, and constantly honking their horns. The horn honking sound was later repeated by one of the boy guides on the horseback ride, to get other horses out of the way. We reached Zamalek, where our bags were searched for prohibited items, I was given a room (330) and roommate. We brought our bags up, with some help from the male porters. As it is a women only dorm, the minute they stepped out of the elevator a shout of "Men on the floor, men on the floor!" went out. They dropped off our bags, requested a tip (LE 1 each, what did I know of the conversion rate), and left. Sheetal and I discussed who would sleep where, I moved my bags to my side of the room, then we went downstairs to catch the shuttle bus to the Nile for a Felucca ride (sort of a sail boat) as the sun set. It was so beautiful and calm, the chants from the Mosques echoing through the air as the sun set, and the lights of Gold's Gym and Chili's reflected on the Nile. I didn't bring my camera, but Brittney did and she said I could share the following picture.
Zamalek dorm areas:
Note: The haze you see is from the sun and pollution in the air.
Back to the room, unpacked a total of 3 items, when Sheetal came in and said a bunch of people are headed to dinner at Farah, where they have Egyptian food and a sheesha pipe. I had a chicken grill with rice and peppers, declined the pipe, talked with a few people, then headed back to the dorm to finish unpacking, plug in my computer, get connected to the internet, called Andrew (he answered), mom (left message), and Benny (left message). Then it was time for a shower and bed.
Sunday came, and with it not enough sleep and Student Orientation. We heard from the President of AUC, the Provost, and other members of faculty. I also checked in, received my packet (complete with an activities list), missed breakfast, and met some great people. I also got my ID card, what they did with the 3 pictures I sent them with my acceptance information, I'll never know. After the orientation, I went straight to bed and slept for 4 hours. I got some dinner, then went back to sleep as I was exhausted.
AUC Campus:
Across the street from the AUC Campus:
Monday came, and with it meeting up with Leyla again, checking out the AUC Greek campus across the street from the other campus, and I started Survival Arabic class (on the 5th floor in a building with a broken elevator). I can now say some basic phrases, such as what my name is, ask after another's name, where I'm from, where I live, how I'm doing, and can count to 100. That night was the horseback trip, followed by me and a few other people walking around Zamalek looking for a place for dinner. We got some chicken shawarma's (sweet, but good), then returned to the dorm for showers and sleep. Tuesday, I slept until noon, barely made the shuttle bus to campus for the next day of Arabic courses. Then home, dinner, and more sleep.
AUC Greek Campus:
Today (Wed), I met up with Leyla again, and she came with me to the Arabic course (she speaks a bit anyway, and was just bored). We agreed to go shopping together, I want to pick up some skirts/shirts while I'm here. I also setup a bank account today, so I no longer have to worry about lots of money in my dorm room. When I returned to the dorm, there were signs up saying it was "Dorm Fun Night", with free food (pasta, sandwich, and a soda) followed by a scavenger hunt around Zamalek. An hour and a half later, I'm sweating through my shirt (as are everyone else - it's Egypt and it's hot!), and our team, "Sharkbait", lost. Oh well, it was fun, I got to meet some more people, and now I know a bit more of what it around this place. Now I'm showered, my feet hurt, and I have finally written a second blog. I'm going to review my Arabic, then go to bed. Here are some pictures from the scavenger hunt.
*Note* More pictures can be found at my Photobucket account, andymom 2, under AUC Egypt.http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k217/andymom2/AUC%20-%20Cairo%20Egypt%20-%20August/