As usual, my luck with travelling never fails to disappoint...

It's been a while since my last post, and that's just a testament to how crazy I've been going. I've been very busy traveling and working for the past couple of weeks, and I'm exhausted.

In terms of work, it's been at bit frustrating. As I said last time, I haven't felt like I've really been able to integrate into the workplace here, or been able to do much outside of editing documents in English and doing some research. So I asked my co-workers for some more responsibility and if I could work more closely on some of our program area's projects. So, they gave me a lot more work to do, including writing a grant proposal for a current women's rights program that CARE is heading up. Unfortunately, both my boss and my co-worker were away the whole last week of February and the beginning of the first week of March, but they told me to write the proposal anyways since it wasn't due until the following week. So, when they got back and I gave them the proposal I had written, they basically said this is really good, but it's too late now to submit because we've been away and don't have time to approve it all before the deadline. Awesome. So all that work was for nothing. I mean, I guess it was a learning experience, but it was really frustrating to have all that work be for naught. I keep telling myself that this is how NGOs must work and to just roll with it, but it's hard. But my time here is almost finished - I have just two weeks of work left and three weeks before I leave Egypt entirely. As for my last few weeks here, I've been asked to help the Agriculture and Natural Resources program area work on a business proposal for a project they'd like to develop that assists small farmers. So, hopefully, I'll be able to garner some more valuable work experience before I leave.

In terms of travelling, the last few weeks have been full. There was a freak thunderstorm (including hail!) in Cairo the last weekend in February that basically closed down the city for a few days. There is no drainage system here, so when it rains the streets are completely flooded and no one can drive anywhere. Nevertheless, on the Saturday, I was able to go on a day trip to Ismailia, which is a small city on the Suez Canal. In fact, it was the headquarters for the British while they were building the canal. It was great to see the Canal and the ships crossing, it reminded me of being under the bridge back home in Sarnia. We also visited some October 6th War sites (this refers to the war between Israel and Egypt, when Israel invaded and occupied the Sinai) on the Sinai side of the canal, which were interesting. Finally, we went and had lunch at a seafood restaurant, which I was excited for but did not really enjoy in the end. I mean, a whole fish? Scales, head, eyes and all? Not to mention how tedious it is to pick out all the small bones. Wasn't for me.

Ship crossing on the Canal near Ismailia

Last Thursday, my friend Breanna (who is currently doing a year exchange to Germany) came to visit me! It was great to see her, especially since she left Canada in September, so I hadn't seen her in over 6 months. It was also awesome because we went on a trip to Luxor together, which I would have had to do on my own otherwise. Anyways, Bre arrived on Thursday night and then on Friday my host mom Jill took us to Sakkara where the very first pyramid was built - the Djoser step pyramid. There were also a whole bunch of 'mastabas' in the area, which were the early form of tombs before the ancient Egyptians began building pyramids. It was incredible inside these tombs! There were carvings and paintings and hieroglyphs, and they depicted every day life so it was so interesting to look at the pictures. It's even more incredible when you remember that these mastabas are around 5,000 years old! Sooo cool.

Me and Bre in front of Djoser pyramid

Some carvings/paintings on the wall in one of the mastabas

On Friday night, Bre and I took the train to Luxor. It was a 10 hour over night train ride, so you know, kinda brutal. Plus, we were warned by Jill that men in Luxor were way worse for harassing women and boy, was she right. There were a couple guys on the train who wouldn't stop staring at us and it made it really unnerving to fall asleep. It's so annoying when guys keep yelling hello, hellooo, speak English? If you even acknowledge them at all, they take that as confirmation that you want to have sex with them then and there. It's so frustrating! And it happened all weekend. I ended up being really anxious again and uncomfortable, because their harassment (which gets worse, believe me) has this way of making me feel uncomfortable in my own skin. I mean, how dare they get to objectify me that way right? I know it sounds crazy, but there's just no way to stop them form harassing you except leave and it can really ruin your touring. Other than that, Luxor was pretty awesome, once we got the hotel fiasco sorted out (yeah, the hits just kept on coming...wait for it).

After arriving in Luxor early Saturday morning, we did the East bank of Luxor (a.k.a. ancient Thebes!). We saw the Karnak temple complex, which was HUGE and incredible and so detailed it was amazing, the Luxor temple, which was also really cool and had some areas where Christians defaced the "pagan" temple and paint Christian scenes, the Luxor museum which was really good and the Mummification museum, which was pretty cool (there was even a mummified baboon and crocodile!).

Karnak - the the columns in the Hypostle Hall, there are a total of 134 (note the people in the background to give you an idea of the sheer size of everything here...)

On Sunday, we did the West bank, which included the Valley of the Kings, the Hatshepsut Temple, the Valley of the Queens and the Colossi of Memnon. The Valley of the Kings was really cool, there are 62 tombs in total burried underground in the valley (including King Tut), and your entrance fee allows you to visit three (except Tutankhamen's and Ramses IV, which are extra). So Bre and I chose to do Tuthomosis III, Tawosret/Sethnakht (Tawosret was the only queen buried in the valley of the kings, but her successor Sethnakht usurped her tomb and buried himself there), and Ramses III. It involved a lot of climbing and it was soooo hot, but totally worth it in the end. Very very cool. The Hatshepsut Temple was amazing, and the only Temple built by a queen I might add - girl power! The Valley of the Queens wasn't very impressive, which is why most tourists don't go there. In fact, we actually saw two tombs of princes and only one of a queen, and the princes' were far more impressive (figures), but it was still cool to see. The Colossi of Memnon are two big statues that are in pretty poor condition. Apparently they're the only surviving pieces of a much larger temple (thought to have been larger even than Karnak, which was huge) built by Amenhotep III that was destroyed over the millennia. To top it all off, our hotel had an amazing pool and because it was so hot, we did the touring early before it became unbearably hot and then came back and cooled off by the pool! Mini vacation! It was beautiful.

Hatshepsut's Temple - I'm doing the "wife's lamenting pose" as I like to call it (the pharoahs were pretty consistent in their tombs, painting their many wives 'lamenting' their deaths in this pose...i reserve judgment about whether they were really that broken up about it)

After taking the train back to Cairo late Sunday night, we arrived Monday morning and in the afternoon I took Bre to the pyramids. It was cool because this time, I got to go in the Great Pyramid of Khoufu. And let me tell you, was it ever wayyyy harder than the 2nd biggest. I understand now how some people can't do it. We were lucky we went on a weekday because there were hardly any tourists, so we didn't have to deal with being behind people and it being cramped etc. while you're climbing. Basically you climb up to the middle of the pyramid where the tomb chamber and sarcophagus are and it's far! Wooo. We were already tired so it was pretty insane, but cool cause now I've been in two of the three great pyramids!! There was a mini sandstorm kicking up after that so unfortunately, not the best day to see the pyramids, but it was cool. Then Bre and I walked down to the exit and caught a cab. The cab driver hardly spoke any English and when we got to the part of the city I live in, he got mad at me for not knowing how to get to where I live. I was like ask someone, jeez. Anyways, he was a total jerk. And to top it all off, I realized about an hour later that I must have left my camera in the taxi. Crapity crap crap, total freaking crap! What's worse is that I got him to drop us off at Kimo market, which is around the corner from the apartment because he was so clearly annoyed with us, so if he found my camera and actually wanted to return it, he wouldn't know where I live anyways. I tried going back to where I caught the cab and asking around if anyone knew him etc. and a few people offered to help but I doubt anything will come of it. Luckily, Bre took lots of pictures, which she shared with me, but it still totally sucks. Now I'm in Egypt without a camera! I cried. It was the perfect way to top off a whirlwind tour that had already tested me to my limits. If Bre hadn't of been there, I would have had such an awful time on my own (so if you read this, thanks Bre!!).

Finally, on Tuesday I worked a half day while Breanna went to the Cairo Museum and then I met her and we went to the Citadel. The Citadel is a huge fortification built around 1170 AD to protect the city from the crusaders. Later, it was also used to slaughter the Mamluks! Good times. We managed to visit two mosques within the citadel complex, including the very famous Mohamed Ali mosque, which was beautiful! And poor Breanna's shirt went a little too low in the back and she had to wear the robe/bag of shame! Hee. Tour guides even used her as an example! It was funny.

Me in front of the Citadel (the Mohammed Ali mosque inside), without my camera

Anyways, I saw Breanna off this morning back to Germany and now it's back to work. Anyone feel like buying me a new camera?

And the price of a memory is the memory of the sorrow it brings...

Well I had another full weekend in Cairo, albeit a very hot and sweaty one. I know, I know, you're probably chocking back your words right now thinking that I shouldn't be complaining - I could always be back in Canada, with the snow. Trust me though, it does suck a little. I'm not able to wear the appropriate clothes for 30+ degree celsius weather because they're very conservative here and pants and long sleeve shirts are the norm, even during the summer which is considerably more hot than it is right now. I don't know how Egyptians do it. Their blood must run at a lower temperature or something. Won't it be pathetic if I come home from Egypt without a tan?!

So, on Friday I went to see Coptic Cairo with Jill. A little history lesson is required for you to understand the significance of this place. So, as most of you probably know, Christianity was founded in and around the area that is now Egypt (and several other countries). Moses left Egypt for the promised land, and the holy family is thought to have fled to Egypt when King Herod wanted to kill all the babies in Jerusalem in order to kill the "King of the Jews". Well, they claim that this was where the holy family ended up - in Coptic Cairo. So, it's important for its "holy" value (if you're a believer, I guess), but it's also important because though Egypt was overwhelmingly Christian back in the day, Islam invaded the area and most Egyptians converted. Unfortunately, Coptic Christians are now heavily persecuted, and many of the historic churches that once existed have been destroyed. The area of Old Cairo known as Coptic Cairo is sort of a remaining stronghold for Copts and Christianity in Egypt.

A fresco depicting Mary (I think) in Coptic Cairo

There are 4 churches (and a convent and a monastery) in the small area, including the Hanging Church, the Church of St. George, the Church of St. Sergius and the Church of St. Barbara. There is also the Ben Ezra Synagogue! Jews are even more heavily persecuted than Christians in Egypt (fueled by the Israeli conflict) and there's probably only a handful of Jews left in all of Cairo. In fact, turns out it was a good thing Jill and I went to see the synagogue when we did because two days later, someone threw a suitcase full of gasoline from a passing car into the synagogue and lit it on fire. Fortunately, no one was hurt and they were able to extinguish the suitcase quickly so no permanent damage was done. But you can bet that security is going to be amped up and I doubt that anyone will be able to get in to see the synagogue for a while. Besides that disturbing news, I really enjoyed the Coptic sites. It's interesting because some of the churches are so disguised (to avoid attracting negative attention) that from the outside they just look like a house or any other building but then you go in and CHURCH! If you've been to any old Catholic churches, you know what I mean when I say this. It's an atmosphere thing. The churches were beautiful, if in slight disrepair, and it was interesting to observe Coptic traditions. Coptic Christian traditions are fairly close to Catholic (they broke off from Rome and established their own Pope a while back), but different - you can see the influence of Arabic/Islamic customs. For instance, they remove their shoes and wash before praying. They also make a sort of circuit of the church and kiss everything associated with a Saint, which isn't necessarily an Arabic/Islamic custom, but it was different. I got to observe these customs because we went on a Friday, which is when Copts have their services, so it was fairly busy.

Hanging Church

Unfortunately, I couldn't take pictures in a lot of the buildings, like the Coptic museum, which sucked cause it was pretty amazing. The ceiling was redone a few years ago in the style of the old churches, which had intricately carved wooden ceiling, and it was BEAUTIFUL. Jill and I couldn't stop staring at it. The coolest part though was going into the Church of St. Sergius, which was built over the cave where the holy family was thought to have hid. There was a stairway leading down to the cave, but visitors aren't allowed down anymore. It was pretty cool - I even snuck some pictures. Shhh!!

After my religious experience on Friday, I did something equally momentous on Saturday. I went shopping! Ok, well it was pretty cool, cause I went shopping at Khan el Khalili market. This is a very old souq (market) that has been around since the 14th century. I'm sure you could find anything you could ever want in this market. It was fun, but the bargaining is more a hassle than fun (especially cause it's in Arabic) and some of the shop keepers can be pretty in your face, wanting you to come in their store and by this or that. But I got a lot of souvenirs so I'm happy!

One alleyway in Khan el Khalili market

Other than the tourist-type stuff, work has been going well, but it was a little boring. So, smart girl that I am, I asked to work on other projects and more challenging tasks. And you know what my bosses did? They actually gave me more work! Who knew that would be the result? Now I'm sort of drowning in work and I have no motivation to do any of it. Crap.

In other news, I've been finding it very hard lately. When I did the training for my internship (in Ottawa, before I left), they explained that there's a model of culture shock that basically looks like a 'U' - basically, you start out really enchanted by all the cultural differences and ways of life, then you start to slip down as the things you liked at first start to annoy you and you get frustrated, and eventually you climb back up as you adjust. Sometimes there's a reverse culture shock when you get back to Canada, where you end up being frustrated with Canada because you've become so adjusted to the pace of life where ever you were. Well, I think I'm at the bottom of that 'U', and I'm really hoping I'm going to start climbing back up pretty soon, because things are really grating on me right now. I long for GREEN trees, fresh air, a lack of language barrier and all the other conveniences that come with just knowing your way around and how society works. I can't wait until I have the right of way as a pedestrian again! Mostly, I can't wait until I can be a strong and independent woman again, without people constantly brushing me off because of my gender, and I don't want to have to hold my tongue anymore. I can see now how difficult it is for immigrants to move their entire lives to another country where you simply never feel like you totally "fit in". It's incredibly frustrating and exhausting.

I think I just need to get through the next week or so, get some big projects done at work and power through. Maybe I need to just accept that how I live my life is different, and stop questioning it in comparison to theirs. Maybe I need to stop feeling like I have to answer to them for why my society/culture believes differently, but it's not easy when you constantly feel like you have to defend yourself.

Well, wish me upward momentum! I have a steep climb ahead of me...

Egypt is scary (but in a good way)...

Ok, first off, I'm going to need some recognition and gratification here. Comment people! Whether good or bad, this is a two way street, and I want to hear what you think. Let me have it.

Now, to business. It is now February. Oh, in fact, I just realized we're already halfway through the month! Where does the time go? Well I'll tell you where mine went...

So I mentioned last blog that I was starting Arabic lessons. Well, I've had 5 so far and they've been great! It's actually really fun. I'm learning how to say hello, my name is Madison, I'm from Canada. I've learned how to count, the names of fruits and vegetables and other grocery store items (should I want to call the supermarket and order my groceries), how to give directions to taxi drivers etc. It's obviously very basic, but useful, and it feels a bit like I'm five years old again, but I'm picking it up faster than I thought I would. AND I'm actually using it outside the classroom, which is key. So, sabaatt el-kheir, ana esmi Madison, ana Kanadyya. Woo!

In other news, over the past couple weekends I have visited the Great Pyramids at Giza and the Siwa oasis. The Great Pyramids and the Sphinx were amazing, as expected. It's pretty incredible to walk up and touch and climb the only remaining wonder of the ancient world. I kinda had a woah moment when I started to climb up the blocks of the biggest pyramid. Though I'd never admit it to any Egyptians (they think this is the most ridiculous theory), I looked carefully for signs of extra-terrestrial help Dad, and I didn't find any evidence. I think the Egyptians might have you on this one. As it happens, they're pretty sure now that the pyramids were built by skilled craftsmen and labourers (not aliens and not slaves) and if a labourer died during the building of the pyramid, they were honoured immensely. Also, despite what I had read and heard about how difficult it is to climb into the pyramids, I didn't find it difficult at all (Maydoum Pyramid was WAY harder). You do have to bend over and it probably would be harder for you taller folks (see Mom, being short does come in handy sometimes!), but it's not really that claustrophobic and it's hardly steep so climbing back out doesn't even wind you. I will admit it's a bit boring once you're inside since there aren't any carvings or paintings or anything, but it's still cool to go in. Also, from far away the blocks that make up the pyramid make it look jagged, but when you get up close you can see how huge the stone blocks really are. It becomes easier to understand why people revert to alien theories when it comes to the pyramids' construction because it's hard to believe that the ancient people built something so massive and complex with only the tools they had at the time. Unfortunately, I couldn't take a camera inside so I don't have any pictures of the climb in. Also, it was kinda a crummy day to go to the Pyramids, in fact it rained at one point! In Egypt, where it rains like 4 times a year.

Me, the Sphinx and the Pyramids...just chillin'

Walk like an Egyptian at the Pyramids...seemed appropriate

While Jill, Sarah and I were at the pyramids, we also went for a camel ride! It was nuts! They are MUCH taller than I had anticpated and mine was particularly tall. His name was Michael Jordan. Heh. MJ was also grumpy and his back leg was itchy, which meant he kept trying to itch it, causing me to nearly tip off. As such, I didn't feel nearly so guilty for trying camel meat earlier that week (it was ok, byt the way, a little strange). All in all, I was pretty terrified during the whole thing, but it was pretty cool. Also, special mention: the people at the pyramids trying to sell things can be quite aggressive. It's hard though, because they're often children and it's hard to yell at kids whose parents/employers are probably making them do this...the ties of oppression probably run deep and I don't even want to think about it. What was cool though was how many languages these kids can speak! The one kid cam up to me and asked me if I wanted to buy something and he switched from Arabic to Russian to French to German to English, trying to find the language I spoke. They should send these kids to a translator training school, they'd excel for sure. And no one ever will, which is sad.

Camel Ride!! See the slight terror on my face and the serious grip I have with my hand there?

Moving on, this past weekend I went on a trip to the Siwa oasis with a tour group of other expats living in Cairo. It was so much fun! The Siwa oasis is in the Western desert, near the Libyan border. It's the largest oasis in Egypt, I believe, and the scenery was breathtaking. The oasis consist of mostly date palms and olive trees (Siwa is known for its dates and olives/olive oil). Also, the history of Siwa is pretty interesting. It was an independent city state up until 1930, and it has its own distinctive culture and language called Siwi (it's not even related to Arabic), and the people that live there are Berber. Lonely Planet tells me that the oasis was inhabited during paleolithic and neolithic times, and in 2007 they found a 7 million year old human foot print, which is the oldest human print ever found.

So, we left Cairo Thursday night at just after midnight and drove in a bus to Siwa. It involves havingo to drive North to Alexandria, West along the Mediterranean coast and then South to the oasis (you can't just cut across the desert). All in all, it's supposed to take around 8 hours. It took us nearly 11 because at around 4 in the morning we ran out of gas and had to wait for the gas station to open at 6. I hardly got any sleep, so I was pretty tired the next day. So we arrived at like 10am in Siwa. We checked into our hotel (is was nice and clean!) and then headed to Fatnus lake (a salt water lake) and had lunch. It was beautiful, sitting under palm trees in the warm sun and the nice breeze, right by the water...hahaha I don't miss winter in Canada at all! It was nice too after so long in the smoggy city to breath some fresh air and with all the trees, it kinda reminded me of camping up North.

After lunch, we went got into two four-by-fours and drove out to the desert. This close to the Libyan border there are sand dunes! Like in the movies! It was beautiful. We then proceeded to drive (correction: fly) over them at speeds ranging from 60 to 90km/h!!! It was so scary, but so much fun! We stuck a few times, which was pretty terrifying (especially when we got stuck on the very top of a hill), but it was really cool. We also stopped at one point and did sand boarding. I was really bad, I fell. The dune was so steep! And climbing back up was sooo hard. Luckily I didn't have to do it! hahaha I was one of the last people to go and the car came and picked us up rather than waiting for us to climb up because it takes like 15 minutes. We also stopped to watch the sunset which was incredible and we all sat there in complete silence and you could see the wind blowing the sand across the dunes...it was so peaceful. It was by far the coolest thing I have done in Egypt so far. If you ever come here, make sure you go driving in the dunes in the Western desert, there's nothing else like it.

Desert - looks flat in the pics and it's really sunny, but the dunes are huge and incredibly steep

Me, sand boarding down a very steep dune

The next day we went and did some sightseeing. We went to the mountain of the dead where there are 1600 tombs. We got to climb inside a few and there are still paintings on some of the walls. I climbed right to the top of the mountain and the view was amazing. Afterwards, we went to the Temple of the Oracle of Amun (also known as the Oracle of Delphi) which is very famous. Alexander the Great visited the Oracle and was told he was the offspring of the Gods. Apparently, Lysander, the Spartan general (remember the 300 movie?), came to the temple twice to consult with the Oracle. The Oracle is also reputed to have cursed Andromeda and she was tied to a rock to be devoured by a sea-serpent. Perseus is said to have stopped off to visit the Oracle prior to beheading Medusa, and Hercules is though to have visited it before he fought Bursiris. After learning all this, I kinda expected it to be bigger. But it was cool nonetheless. Finally, we went to Cleopatra's Spring. It was a hot spring (in reality it was just warm, but refreshing) and it was beautiful. I'm not sure how it's fed, but the water is kinda blue-ish green and it's clear, you can see the bottom and it's like covered in a coral or something. Supposedly, Cleopatra visited the spring, hence the name. Then we left Saturday afternoon and drove back to Cairo. It's too bad we didn't have more time because there was soo much more to see in Siwa, but all in all, a fantastic weekend!

Old Siwa (called Shelly) - because they made their bricks with a lot of salt, when it rained for four days in a row one year (very uncharacteristic), it melted the city

Check out more photos on Facebook!

P.S. On Thursday, it was my host sister Sarah's 18th birthday. For her birthday dinner, she requested Pigeon, which is a delicacy here in Egypt (they raise Pigeons here). So I tried it. It was ok, the meat itself wasn't very strong or anything. But I couldn't stop thinking about how I was eating a Pigeon, and picturing where it's head should be (Jill removed the heads, but apparently they're usually left on at restaurants). Plus, they're a lot of work to eat cause you have to use your fingers and get in there, and they're slippery and greasy. Frankly, it's more trouble than it's worth in my opinion. So, running total of new meat I've tried: camel and pigeon.

Pyramids and Battle Scars

Well, I've spent another two weeks here in Egypt and it's been exciting! I feel like I'm finally starting to get into the swing of things. I've started walking places and not getting lost. I've even started taking taxis on my own! Alas, if they could only discover seat belts, we'd be set.

Let's see, where to start? Chronologically seems most appropriate. So, during my second weekend in Cairo, I went to the Cairo Museum, I toured three very old and famous mosques, I went to an old ottoman house that's been converted into a museum and I went to the ruins of the ancient city of Memphis. It isn't too hard to understand why I then succumbed to the cold I had been battling the week before. I spent most of Sunday in bed blowing my nose, and most of Monday coughing. It sucked, but I have recovered!

The Cairo Museum was pretty interesting. Unfortunately, the museum isn't really well kept or organized. It's not laid out in the way that we in Canada are used to in museums; for instance, there are very few labels or lights, and everything is kinda packed in because they have so much. I mean, it was interesting to see all the stuff and it took me hours, it's just I didn't feel like I learned the "story" behind the pieces, or much of the history. The only stuff that resonated was the stuff that I already knew about and was able to identify and piece together. Apparently, they're in the process of building a new museum that will exhibit the collection much better - of course, it won't be finished until after I'm gone. If I go again, I think I'll give one of the Egyptologists standing outside offering to be guides a shot, maybe I'll learn something. The other unfortunate bit of news is that they no longer allow anyone to take their camera inside, so I don't have any pictures (but I totally saw this guy taking photos with his blackberry and I was pissed
man!).

Cairo Museum

Despite all of these difficulties, the King Tutankhamen exhibit was pretty fantastic (it's what most tourists come to see, they usually don't even go through the rest of the museum). His was the only tomb excavated that wasn't looted, which is why it's so amazing because they found a lot of stuff. I mean, there were huge...boxes, I guess you could call them (but picture them the size of a van) that were plated in gold! Well, everything was plated in gold. Also, there are several sarcophagi (plural?) one inside of the other with each more ornate as you go (apparently, this was to discourage looters). I mean, the wealth was nuts! And apparently, because he's known as the 'boy king' (they estimate he died when he was 19), they figure his tomb wasn't even that extravagant because he didn't have the time to build up his wealth or prepare as much for his 'afterlife'. It boggles the mind and makes me wonder what was in the rest of the tombs that were completely ransacked, and what that might have meant to world history. Finally, I had to pay extra to go into the Mummy Room! It was creepy at first, but then it was interesting to see how well preserved they are for being like 7,000 years old (some still have hair - and it's red!). Plus, it was funny because they had Queen Hatshepsut's mummy and the label explained how they didn't realize it was her at first and how the people that found her labeled her the 'fat lady' cause she was 'obese'. Now, I don't know how they decided this, because, as I confirmed upon my second glance at the body, she was skin and bones (as mummies are wont to be). Confused? Me too.

I also went to three very old mosques - the Ibn Tulin mosque, the Sultan Hassan mosque and the Al Rifa'i mosque - which were fairly amazing, and HUGE! The architecture was beautiful. Next to the one mosque is an old Ottoman house that was preserved really well by a British ex patriot in the early 1900s, and when he moved back to Britain, he donated the house to the Egyptian government as a museum. It was pretty cool and I took a million pictures (the rest to be seen on Facebook). Afterwards, we drove to see the ruins of the ancient city of Memphis. It sounds more impressive than it was, there's not really much left, but there were some cool statues.

Inside the Ibn Tulin mosque

Me and Ramses at Memphis

There was a lot of walking and the whole weekend was pretty exhausting, so as I said, I ended up sick for a few days. Then, on Tuesday I went shopping at the huge mall here called City Stars with my friend Nada (she's Egyptian, and a fellow intern). It sucked a little because they have mostly the same stores that we do, except the clothes are more expensive (because of import duties) even after the exchange rate, so it wasn't worth it to buy anything. However, purses and shoes are cheaper! So I'm concentrating my efforts on those fronts.

This past weekend, I went to the el Fayoum oasis and the Maydoum pyramid. The el Fayoum oasis is the largest in Egypt and it's pretty populated now, so it didn't exactly fit this image of an oasis that I had in my head from movies. There was a huge lake though, which was really strange because it goes from desert straight into lake. There's no demarcation of grass or something. I also saw a desert for the first time ever! So that was cool. Again though, the desert doesn't look like what I've seen in movies. Jill told me that the desert in Egypt is very flat and packed hard (it's not fluffy, and you don't sink in). All the movies that shows the sort of rolling dunes are filmed in Tunisia or something. Nevertheless, still cool to see some desert.

Now, for the piece de resistance, I went into a pyramid! The Maydoum pyramid is one of the older step-style pyramids (they hadn't quite gotten the technique down yet that they used later for the Great Pyramids at Giza). We had to climb down this small opening on a really sketchy wooden platform with pieces of metal ever foot or so that you brace yourself on. I tripped a few times, so that was scary. Then you climb up these ladders into a really small room the just fit the sarcophagus. Because it was the early style, there were no drawings or inscriptions or anything, so it was fairly boring (and really hot and humid once you got inside). But still cool to have gone in! Then I went into this other temple thing beside the pyramid that had other tombs, including the first sarcophagus ever discovered in Egypt. I went into the tomb by myself because Jill and her friend Judy didn't want to crawl in. I don't blame them, it was really hard, but I figured I had to do it since I was there (when would I ever get the chance again?), even though my legs were killing me already from the pyramid. Anyways, at one point I had to literally crawl on my stomach through a square opening that wasn't much wider than my shoulder width. I wasn't sure I would ever make it out again, and I totally scraped up my ankle in the process. Ah well, it was worth it!

Me at the Maydoum pyramid!

So, as for everything else, work is going ok. Still a bit of a struggle what with the lack of Arabic and all. Plus the other interns are finished (their school break is over), so I'm all alone now. I've signed up for Arabic lessons (two hours, twice a week - so it should be pretty intensive), which start tonight so we'll see how they go.

As for other observations about Egypt, I'm beginning to see the development issues that are kinda glossed over when you first get here, especially because I've really only seen the wealthier side of the country. It's an amazing country, but they face a lot of challenges, not the least of which is the huge differences between classes, the gender gap, and religious intolerance, among others. But I've met a lot of friendly people, especially those who work at my office, who are trying to overcome these challenges and hopefully they'll be successful in time.

Signing off, it's a beautiful 22 degrees Celsius and sunny here in Cairo. How's it going in Canada? :P

My First Week in Cairo...

Sabbat el khir!

Greetings from Egypt! For all of you who were worried, and I was definitely among you, I managed to arrive safely in Cairo with no luggage or flight problems. Given my track record with travelling, that's a bloody miracle all on its own. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep at all on my flight from Ottawa to London because some kid was wailing ALL night. I did manage to watch a movie though called Bandslam (no Emily, not Band sa-lam, though I'm sure your version of things would have made for a better movie), which was fairly awful but had a special appearance by JASON STREET! (Only April and Emily will understand this, so never fear if you are lost)

In Heathrow, I headed for the washroom and got changed into some clean clothes, brushed my teeth, which was awful because the taps only had hot water, and put on some makeup. Feeling much better about myself, I headed off to explore Terminal 3. It was huge and everything was expensive. There was even a Harrod's store. After exchanging $40 Canadian for £18 (already a disappointing exchange rate, I then noticed that there was a service fee of £3 and when I walked around the corner there was another money exchange with signs saying "no service fee", blast) I tried to call my parents. The first time, I severely underestimated how much it costs to call overseas (especially from an airport phone that will rip you off), so we only managed to say hello before we were cut off. Once I figured out the problem, I didn't have the right change so I had to wander off and ask people to make change. Finally I was able to call back, but it still cost £5 (so like $11) to make a 3 minute call!! I really don't understand how people live in the U.K. Then I ventured off to find some lunch - a challenge, since I only had £13 left. But I managed to get eggs on toast and a chamomile tea. Mmm it was delicious!

My tea! In England!

There was a slight delay at Heathrow because it was unseasonably cold in London and it had snowed all of three inches. This, of course, screwed them right up, but my flight managed to leave with only an hour delay. My flight to Cairo was fine, except they only had small TVs every few meters along the aisles and they played '500 days of summer', which is a fairly depressing movie so I mostly slept. What was really cool was that they broadcasted the image from a camera that must have been on the front of the plane (outside) on the TVs. So I literally saw the plane take off and land from a pilot's perspective! I couldn't decide whether it was really cool or actually terrifying while it was happening, but now that I've arrived safely, I've decided it was pretty cool.

So I arrived in Cairo and I was fairly nervous about meeting my host family. Mostly I was nervous that for some reason, no one would be there, in which case I probably would have gotten right back on a plane to come home. We didn't disembark into the airport either, we had to walk down some stairs onto the tarmac and then catch a bus to the terminal, so that was interesting. Then I got my visa and my passport stamped, collected my luggage and went through the exit...into a crowd of people! I was disoriented at first but then I saw a sign with my name on it and plowed ahead. My host mom Jill and my host sister Sarah greeted me with a kiss on each cheek, which I was told is a very Egyptian way to greet people. My response - it's very French Canadian too. For some reason, I constantly feel the need to point out Canada all the time. It's probably an insecurity from being so far away. For instance, Sarah likes Nickelback and so I say "Canadian!" It's this weird word vomit that must stop.

My host family lives in an apartment on the first floor of a sort of complex. The address is Villa 2 and I think that speaks a little more to the reality. It's an apartment, but it's huge! And because Jill's sons are off at University in the States, I get a room (including a bathroom) all to myself! It's great. They also have two cats (a kitten - Sunni and a 15 year old - Bradley) and a dog - Gizmo. The animals are really friendly and comforting being away from home. Yes Emily, I actually miss Bowie. Unfortunately, in Egypt there are a lot of stray cats and dogs that live on the street. Egyptians, who are predominantly Muslim, also dislike dogs because the Qur'an says they're dirty. So it's very unusual to have a dog as a pet and Gizmo has to be shut in Jill's room whenever an Egyptian comes over, the plumber for instance, because they not only dislike them, but actually fear them to some degree. As a result though, I can take a walk around the neighbourhood and as long as I have Gizmo with me, no one is likely to bother me.

As I've discovered, no one should come here unless they speak Arabic. For serious. Everyone says that most people can speak English, but no. It's very broken and not at all common. It's also really frustrating to get around because the streets are all twisty, generally don't have a name (maybe a number) and there are no signs (not that that would help me because they'd be in Arabic anyway). Also, maps are all in Arabic and again there are no street names so it wouldn't really help me. Essentially, I have to be literally shown how to get somewhere and then memorize the route. Taxis are hard because the drivers don't necessarily speak English and they'll try to rip you off because they can see you're a foreigner (they'll also hit on you, but that's another issue entirely); I don't know my numbers in Arabic very well yet so I can't bargain with them over the fare. I have learned how to use the subway (they call it the metro)! And I've started to take it to work on my own. It's pretty simple so I'm fairly certain I can use it to get around. But for the first week, I felt really isolated and anxious about going anywhere. You just want to hide in your room all day, but I'm learning, slowly but surely. Jill has also driven me around to try and show me the city, here are some photos:

Khoufu PyramidCity shot from Azher Park, you can really get a sense of the smog

A few other observations related to culture shock: the traffic here is nuts! There are lines painted on the road, but as far as I can tell they're only a formality. People weave in and out and cut other people off. Cars drive around with their mirrors folded in because the cars drive so close together that otherwise you'd lose a mirror (and frequently do, I'm told). There are only a few traffic lights and people park along both sides of the street so it's a tight squeeze sometimes. People often "double-park" too, where there's two rows of cars parked along the same side of the street. How the person on the inside is supposed to get out, I shall never know. To top it all off, there's no such thing as crosswalks here so people dodge cars to cross the street! Also, one of my travel books mentioned that the sidewalks in Cairo are all broken and uneven, so it advised to wear good walking shoes. Well it was right; in fact, sometimes the sidewalk disappears all together. How the locals get around this? They just walk in the street! Alongside the cars, that speed by very close to them. It's unnerving and I don't think I'll ever get used to it.

Above all, I've learned you cannot be timid in Cairo and you can't be careless. I'll just have to learn to dodge cars too. Hey, maybe by the time I get back I'll learn how to jump onto the hood of a car all karate kid style!!

Finally, I started my job two days after I got here (the work week here is Sunday to Thursday and the weekend is Friday-Saturday, which is going to take some getting used to) and it's been going well. Unfortunately, my abilities in Arabic are atrocious and I can't pronounce, let alone remember most of my co-workers' names. When I was being introduced, several of them were surprised and asked if I was Egyptian because they said I look Egyptian. When I replied that I wasn't and assured them that there were no Egyptians in my family, one man even said "You don't just look Egyptian, you have an Egyptian spirit too!" I beamed. I found out later that they just tell you you look Egyptian to be polite. Poo.

Wow! That was a long post, but I had to sum up a whole week! I'll try to post more often from now on. Also, I'm posting more photos on Facebook because there's just too many to upload here. Most of you have Facebook or access to it, so check 'em out!

Until next time, ma salaama!