back in cairo

Just got back from a long weekend in Sharm el Sheikh, a resort town in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It was LOVELY. Really beautiful, very relaxing, just a great time...and I got a tan! I'll post a few pictures. I went with a Rotaract Club of the region (18-30 year olds), so I was with about 300-350 Arabs speaking Arabic the whole time. Haha it was pretty amazing, and a little bit annoying sometimes because I didn't really know what was going on. I kind of made up in my head what I thought they were saying instead of actually knowing the conversation. And I have a feeling most of the time I was wrong. But by the end I made a lot of really great friends and some good contacts for my future research in political science. My vacation turned into an opportunity. So it all worked out. Good deal. Before I comment on my annoyances of Egypt thus far, I want to first post the pics! :)

This first picture is the beach at the Ritz Carlton in Sharm el Sheikh. It is really beautiful. The water is SO perfect...much cooler than the pool water, perfectly clear and you can see bright fish swimming all around. Best part - no sharks.
This is me, my friend Reem who invited me to the Rotaract conference, and our friend Mohammed that we met there. We went to the water park in Sharm el Sheikh. I don't know if I would recommend the water park if I were paying for it....but since it came with my package, it was fun. By the way, the pizza is not as tasty as it looks. Neither was any of the food. :)
Marwa, Carol and me sitting at the cabana at the Ritz having screwdrivers. Haha. THIS DOES NOT FEEL LIKE EGYPT. It's a very very strange Egypt, for sure.
Beach party for the rotaractors at the Grand Rotana hotel beach.
The pool at the Ritz Carlton. Very nice atmosphere, much more relaxing than the Rotana, especially because the Libyan government officials and maybe some other African country officials stayed out our hotel for the African Union summit... what a mess. That is why we had to move to the Ritz. And it was SO GREAT. I liked it much more than the Rotana, although the view from my room was much nicer at Rotana...

I finished my first session of Arabic classes last Wednesday and left for Sharm on Wednseday night. It was a HORRIBLE ride there (on a bus) and I was exhausted almost the whole time. But it was so beautiful. The clubs and sheesha places and restaurants in Sharm are great, but super expensive. But it is worth it for a little freedom for the chaos in Cairo for a weekend. Although I have heard the Dahab is more laid back, more relaxing, and cheaper. I would like to check that out next time I go to the Sinai to climb Mt. Sinai when my friends Lindsay and Lindsey come! Looking forward to that!

Ok, so now some words about this country. There are quite a few things that I do not like about this city (Cairo) & country:

#1 - The smoking & the pollution. I constantly feel like I am breathing something disgusting into my lungs. Even though I like a weekly or bi-monthly sheesha, I cannot stand smelling cigarette smoke CONSTANTLY....it never ends. Not only that, when I finally get away from the cigarettes all I can smell is pollution. I never smell fresh air here...Sharm el Sheikh and the desert were nice escapes from this.... I'm afraid that when I get back to the good old USA I will have the lungs of someone who has smoked for 20 years. Let's hope not.

#2 - The cooking. OH man....IT IS SO GREASY AND FATTY AND ...blah. I can't get away from junk food. There is a fast food restaurant on every corner. And I refuse to go...well, actually...I have a secret. I ate my FIRST EVER McDonald's hamburger here in Cairo. Can you believe it? Disgusting. Hahaha. Well, even the Egyptian food is really greasy and unhealthy. The rice is thick and heavy and oily, not like Persian rice that is fluffy and delicious. They eat mostly greasy meats, always with french fries or something. I had one dish called Koshary and it is a mix of noodles, rice, lentils, red sauce, and fried onions. It tastes fairly good, but IT IS SO HEAVY. I can't stand it anymore. I feel like I have gained 50 lbs in 1 month. Let's hope not. I am going to try to cook for myself more for the next few weeks until Linds & Linds get here. At least the fruits and veggies are so fresh that they taste better than anything I have had in the USA. That makes up for it. That is why cooking will be SO NICE here....really great ingredients.

#3 - The disorganization. NOTHING is organized in this damn country. I am tired of it. I really cannot stand constantly being on edge, constantly worrying what I am doing next. I am making many many Arab friends now (since after the conference), and still I never feel completely satisfied, like I know what isgoing on. There is a complete lack of communication. Crazy. The conference was extremely disorganized. Even the Ritz Carlton, a supposedly "7 star" hotel couldn't get their act together. The DOUBLE BOOKED rooms, so a group of rotaracters walked in on other people. Then I ordered breakfast, and it took them about 1 hour to get it right. I had to keep telling them to send stuff back. Oh, by the way, would you consider "fresh fruit selection" as a glass of mango/strawberry juice? Didn't think so. That is what they gave me as fresh fruit selection. Then I wanted flavored yogurt and they gave me plain yogurt...so I asked for flavored yogurt and they brought me plain yogurt with chunks of apple in it. Absolutely ridiculous. The service in this country is really unfortunate. Even at very very nice places. Everything is just too disorganized and too chaotic. The traffic, the people.

#4 - The rudeness/sneakiness/anger of many of the people. In Cairo in one month, I have seen more fist fights in the middle of the street break out than I have in my entire life. I have seen more men yelling at each other. I have seen a man and woman fighting while they were driving, the man almost pushing the woman out of the car. I have seen Egyptians of all sorts purposefully scam unsuspecting and innocent foreigners. One day a taxi driver felt we didn't pay him enough, so he drove away with us still in the taxi cab. We were scared. Why would someone do this? We had little boys of about 13-15 throw glass at our heads as we were walking by. WHO teaches these kids these things?? I have had men look at me and say rude things to me pretty much every few feet as I walk down the road. I have learned to ignore it... People throw trash on the ground without a second thought. Most people disregard other humans, pretty much just live in their little bubble of a life ...and that's that. It is discouraging.

Okay, so I needed a venting session. But luckily I have made some amazing Arab friends who have gone beyond these things and are really really great. They are such amazing people. I am so happy about this, and it does give me hope. I can see a HUGE barrier in terms of wealth... the wealthy Arabs are much more open minded, much more willing to have a dialogue, much more well traveled and understanding of different cultures, much more aware of their surroundings, and much much much more respectful. Amazingly and to my surprise, I rode in a BMW last night... I have met some very wealthy Egyptians here, and I am thankful for that because I think I would lose my mind otherwise. That is sad to say, but it is really really true. I went to an amazing bar here in Cairo called After 8. It is in downtown, and you have to go through this grimy walkway to get to it, but once you are inside it is an oasis.

My absolute FAVORITE things about this country are the oases. Whether it is an oasis of water surrounded by desert, an oasis of modernity surrounded by a poor Middle Eastern country, or an oasis of openness surrounded by a closed off world.... I love these things here. When I enter the oases, I absolutely LOVE Egypt. It is one of my favorite places ever. But the other Egypt, the "real" Egypt, the prevailing and dominant Egypt... it is very different. Very difficult to deal with.... But I am learning to deal, learning to learn. I think the Rotaractors are going to save me from insanity while I am here, for sure.