Beyond Occident

Cairo on the Nile

One of my dreams has always been to go abroad for an extended period of time. I’d like to escape “the everyday”, the routine. In the US, I sometimes feel disconnected from the world around me. As Michael Crighton said, in this modern and digital age, we no longer have “direct experiences” in our lives. I want to go abroad to challenge myself in a new environment, to gain a new perspective and perhaps discover something about myself.

And so when the opportunity to go abroad presented itself, I jumped on it. It has been a couple weeks since I arrived in Cairo. I’m in Egypt for a semester long study abroad program at the American University in Cairo (AUC). I’m staying in the slightly upscale Zamalek district where all the embassies are located. The AUC’s brand new campus is located way out in New Cairo, which is practically in the desert. It’s just under an hour long bus ride from my dorms to New Cairo.

To me, daily life in Egypt seems both different and similar to the US. I have never really felt ‘culture shock’ since I have arrived. I looked up ‘culture shock’ on wikipedia and apparently I’m supposed to be in the ‘honeymoon’ phase right now. I haven’t really seen the “differences … in a romantic light” though, nor really as “wonderful”. I certainly haven’t seen them as terrible either, but I just see them as differences. I find myself comparing some differences between here and US, but I haven’t made many Judgments on various aspects of the culture or life here.

I must say though that I do prefer the pace of life here. It is slower and more laid back which suits me just fine. Egyptians seem to have effectively made a national sport out of just chilling on the sidewalks and bantering with neighbors. Actually, in Egypt, no one walks on the sidewalks. You will be obstructed by either parked cars, piles of trash, small canyons or groups of people. Instead, everyone walks in the street. Of course, traffic in Cairo could be a blog post in itself. It’s wild to say the least. And something must be said about the denizens of Cairo. They are incredibly hospitable. While there are some people who are kind and helpful only in the hopes of extracting your money, most people are quick to greet you and make you feel at home.

My schedule of eating and sleeping has changed since I arrived. I will normally eat lunch in the late afternoon then eat dinner any time between 8 and 11. In fact, my favorite location for falafel (an absolute staple of my diet) opens around 1030 pm. It’s under a dollar for two very delicious falafel sandwiches. Following dinner is the customary flocking of Egyptians to the coffeehouses by Egyptians for some tea and sheesha (hookah) until 1 or 2 am. In fact, nothing is more wonderful than relaxing at the coffeehouses along the Nile with a cool breeze after a day of sweating in the desert. The heat of Cairo makes the city slow down (afternoon napping seems to be standard practice) and so the streets are still packed until the wee hours of the morning.

Going on right now is the holy month of Ramadan, which calls Muslims to abstain from foods, liquids and smoking until sunset. Except for Western fast food joints, you cannot find any restaurants or venders open until sunset. Luckily there is a cafeteria in our dorm which serves decent, cheap food all day. The end of Ramadan culminates in the Eid El Fitr, which is a major four day celebration.

It took me awhile to notice that I have accidently become almost entirely vegetarian since I arrived. This last year prior to Egypt, I made it my goal to eat only one meal with meat per day for various health, environmental and moral reasons. A lot of the main staples of Egyptian cuisine, including kushari, fuul and falafel (also known as ta’miya), contain no meat and they are all cheap and delicious. I have had chicken or beef a few times, but as I started to discover in the US, I don’t ever miss it or seek it out. And I’m not denying myself any important nutritional groups. It’s not my goal to become completely vegetarian as there are still meat based dishes that I adore (shout out to my mom’s cooking!) but I would eventually like to whittle down my meat intake to once or twice a week when I return.

As with most things in life, my experience in Cairo hasn’t been 100% marzipan and kittens. I am having a darn good time, but one cannot help but noticing some things. The brand new AUC campus is simply beautiful (architecturally and with its desert vistas), and the quality of the education seems like it will be top notch, but the bureaucracy can be both shocking and incredible. The process to get my ID and class schedule took several days, no one has followed up on a tuition issue, SIX people apparently died in the construction of the new campus and AUC never properly compensated their families, and the AUC hired a former Mubarak crony as head of security which has effectively ended activism and protests on campus. The fact that I am living in an overcrowded, very poor and authoritarian state is never far from one’s mind when walking through the streets here. But this cannot deny the friendliness and warmth of the city, and I do not feel I’m in danger here. In fact, I have felt in much more danger in Louisville, and crime rates here are pretty low.

And finally, I know I promised a lot of people pictures. I do have my camera but the batteries all died en route after turning on in my backpack, and I still have to go buy the necessary electrical equipment that can charge them with the voltage here (I bought the plug adapter, but I still need the power adapter). I will purchase this soon, insha’allah.

Image from M. Heykal