Living in Cairo

Living in Cairo has been interesting.  Primarily because it wasnt anything like I expected.  I am living in the suburbs of Cairo, in a gated community, where children play outside on grass and women walk around in Western garb with their hair uncovered.  I have heat and hot water, I have a microwave and a stove.  And I have a souq.

The neighborhood marketplace.  Of course, across from the food market is the neighborhood hair salon,

Because I am "living" in Cairo, I am not in the tourist areas, so there is no English.  Except for the random words in English that are used to denote a cool place to be.  Like, the City Stars mall.  Or the Suncity gated community.  They did that in Spain when I was living there.  Everything young and fashionable was in English.  I'm still not sure how I feel about it.  But the reality of Al Rehab City is a mix of old and new culture colliding.  Some people are dressed as I expected, the women covered from head to toe and the men in traditional garb.  Some people are half dressed- their hair is covered but they are wearing western clothing.  And most are in western garb.  But we are in what is considered the upper class neighborhood, so being western is fashionable and they can afford the extra price.  So in addition to the souq, we also have the mall. 

The first time I went into town, leaving the shelter of the gated community, I made sure I was covered.  Sure, no one cared in gated community Cairo, but what would happen in the heart of downtown?  So I went prepared.

Of course, the ex-pats shake their head- at my head scarf and the fact that I am freezing in the 60 degree weather. 

We go head to church in Heliopolis, which is an older part of Cairo.

And then we head to the giant mall, Citystars  (think cruise ship center on land with stores) 

To go to the Egyptian version of Walmart.

Then we left the mall and headed to the bus stop to go home. 

Did I mention there are no traffic signals in Cairo?

As you can see from the picture of the apartment complex, we made it back safely.  And I am still alive. 

Welcome to Cairo!

For those who don't know, I am currently in Cairo, Egypt, visiting my friend, Amy, for 2 weeks.  A lot of friends and family were a little nervous about me going, so I've decided to use my blog to alleviate their concerns.  For the next week and half, get ready to share my life in Cairo. 

First off.  I am still alive. 

And YAYYYYYYYYY!   I'm visiting with my friend I haven't seen in 2 years and it is wonderful!  Skype doesn't compare, though I do appreciate it as the next best thing.

Amy lives in a gated community and works for the university. So she was able to send a driver, complete with my name on a sign, to help me through customs and to get me to the house.  Because I don't read Arabic, and surprisingly, English is hard to find even before you leave customs.    So I get through customs fine, complete with my tourist visa stamped, my money hidden in places I can't reveal to you online, and I see my name.  Thank goodness, because no one speaks English. 

Andddd that includes my driver. 

I see my name, relieved, and hurry over with a smile.  "Charlotte?"  he asks, and I nod and hold out my hand to shake.  "Yes!" Yes, I am.  Nice to meet you!" 
Awkward pause.  Oh yeah, I forgot this is a Muslim country, and isn't there a law about women touching men?   I knew I should have read Sue and Sue before I got here. 

But I didn't and after the pause he shook my hand lightly.   I am so busy castigating myself for being so culturally insensitive that we are almost to the door when I realize- I don't know this man's name.

"Whats your name"  I ask.

He nods, and says, ".......... Welcome to Cairo."

Stumped, I ponder this as we walk outside.  What did he say?  Its in the bright sunlight that my suspicions flare.   How hard is it to steal a sign?  What do I know about this guy?  And where is Amy?

So I try to communicate again.  "Sooooooo, where are we meeting Amy?"  I ask casually.

He smiles and bobs his head.  "Sorry, no English." 

Sorry no English!?!?!?  Now my sensors are going off.  I can't get into the car with this man, cause if something happens to me, I'll never hear the end of it.   All I could hear was my mother saying, "Let me get this straight.  The man spoke no English.

Right.

Had no idea who Amy was.

Right.

And couldn't tell you where you were going.

Right.   (Did I mention when I gave him the address Amy had given me he looked confused?)

And you got in the car with him anyway?

Right.

Wrong.  I was not gonna not have that conversation with my momma. 

Obviously since I am still alive and at my computer in Amy's house I made it safely.  How, you ask?  Well, palms sweaty, I mimed a phone and asked if I could call Amy.   He took out his phone questioningly and I shook my head yes, and he showed me the sign with some Arabic on it.  It was just my luck that Arabic numbers are different as well.  But I said yes anyway.   All that mattered was that whatever he called the number better be Amy, or me and my bags were going back into the airport.  To my relief, the Arabic scribble on the page changed into Amy's number on the phone, and to my extra relief she answered immediately. 

"Is this Amy?"  I asked when a woman answered the phone.  She said yes.
"You sent me a driver that doesn't speak English!"  I yelled in relief on the phone, as I released my death grip on my bags and finally allowed the driver to put them in the trunk. 

It turns out most drivers speak English from the university, it was just my luck that mine didn't. So to make a longer story shorter, I made it safely out of the airport to Amy's gated community, where she and Senica greeted me with open arms and warm heaters.

Did I mention it is cold in Egypt?