I'm here! I landed in Cairo last night (after over 24 hours of traveling) and I'm just beginning to explore the city.
The dorm I'm staying in is definitely a lot homier than Davis housing was, but there are still things that take getting used to - complete gender segregation, much more communal bathrooms, new rules, etc. There are plenty of nice places to sit and a beautiful courtyard in the middle of the building, even if people are always out there smoking. I think the biggest adjustment for me in Cairo will just be the air and the scents. The air is much more polluted here and everyone smokes, which will definitely take some getting used to. But at least the floor I'm staying on doesn't smell like smoke and neither does my bedroom.
As far as the city itself, it's beautiful and such a unique mix of different eras/architecture. You'll find a fancy hotel or shop next to a couple of decaying buildings. Things are probably a bit more extreme since I'm living in Zamalek, which is an upscale island in the middle of the Nile where a lot of the embassies are - there are definitely a lot of really nice areas but at the same time, you can find plenty of areas that are rundown and dirty. However, even the rundown areas are beautiful to me and completely different from anything I've seen in America. And of course the Islamic architecture, pyramids, and murals I've seen so far have been absolutely breathtaking. My plane actually flew over the Pyramids while landing, which was the coolest thing ever. I had my nose practically glued to the airplane window to look at the city, probably to the annoyance of the man sitting next to me since I could tell he wanted to watch the landing as well.
Everyone I've met so far has been extremely friendly and has responded warmly to my small attempts to use Arabic (so far limited to "thank you" and greetings). I'm excited to meet more Egyptians outside of the dormitory and the few shops I've been to so far. It will be great to practice my Arabic more and get to know what people here are like.
Tonight my group is doing a brief walking tour of the neighborhood, so I'll have some pictures to put up later. So far I have a few pictures from the airplane and a brief visit to the Nile, but I'll try to take and upload more soon, inshallah!
The dorm I'm staying in is definitely a lot homier than Davis housing was, but there are still things that take getting used to - complete gender segregation, much more communal bathrooms, new rules, etc. There are plenty of nice places to sit and a beautiful courtyard in the middle of the building, even if people are always out there smoking. I think the biggest adjustment for me in Cairo will just be the air and the scents. The air is much more polluted here and everyone smokes, which will definitely take some getting used to. But at least the floor I'm staying on doesn't smell like smoke and neither does my bedroom.
As far as the city itself, it's beautiful and such a unique mix of different eras/architecture. You'll find a fancy hotel or shop next to a couple of decaying buildings. Things are probably a bit more extreme since I'm living in Zamalek, which is an upscale island in the middle of the Nile where a lot of the embassies are - there are definitely a lot of really nice areas but at the same time, you can find plenty of areas that are rundown and dirty. However, even the rundown areas are beautiful to me and completely different from anything I've seen in America. And of course the Islamic architecture, pyramids, and murals I've seen so far have been absolutely breathtaking. My plane actually flew over the Pyramids while landing, which was the coolest thing ever. I had my nose practically glued to the airplane window to look at the city, probably to the annoyance of the man sitting next to me since I could tell he wanted to watch the landing as well.
Everyone I've met so far has been extremely friendly and has responded warmly to my small attempts to use Arabic (so far limited to "thank you" and greetings). I'm excited to meet more Egyptians outside of the dormitory and the few shops I've been to so far. It will be great to practice my Arabic more and get to know what people here are like.
Tonight my group is doing a brief walking tour of the neighborhood, so I'll have some pictures to put up later. So far I have a few pictures from the airplane and a brief visit to the Nile, but I'll try to take and upload more soon, inshallah!
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