Ahlan from Cairo! Marhaba! Okay, so transliterated Arabic looks weird, but it's all good. I'm currently sitting in the girls' apartment (which has already become the hangout pad because it's bigger and has more couches) leeching off a neighbor's wifi. We should eventually get our own.
But you don't want to hear about technology!
Cairo is... different. Parts of it are beautiful, parts are extremely foreign, parts are dilapidated and very third-world, and all of it is dusty. The streets are insane - anything remotely considered a traffic law is promptly ignored, and crossing the street requires a lot of nerve and occasionally prayer. And we get stared at a lot, especially since we've so far been all moving in our large group and several of us are very obviously foreign and new. But everyone we've interacted with so far has been so nice, and all the food so far has been so delicious, and no one's gotten sick yet and we've only seen one traffic accident! In short, we're all still adjusting but really enjoying ourselves.
None of us are very good at communicating yet, however. We study formal Arabic (Fushah) in school, but colloquial Arabic (A'miya) is much different. But I have a feeling we'll all get better in time, as we practice and adjust and learn some new, more applicable vocab.
Anyway, hope you are all doing well. Let me know somehow (via comment, email, facebook message) if you want to hear more about a specific topic or something.
But you don't want to hear about technology!
Cairo is... different. Parts of it are beautiful, parts are extremely foreign, parts are dilapidated and very third-world, and all of it is dusty. The streets are insane - anything remotely considered a traffic law is promptly ignored, and crossing the street requires a lot of nerve and occasionally prayer. And we get stared at a lot, especially since we've so far been all moving in our large group and several of us are very obviously foreign and new. But everyone we've interacted with so far has been so nice, and all the food so far has been so delicious, and no one's gotten sick yet and we've only seen one traffic accident! In short, we're all still adjusting but really enjoying ourselves.
None of us are very good at communicating yet, however. We study formal Arabic (Fushah) in school, but colloquial Arabic (A'miya) is much different. But I have a feeling we'll all get better in time, as we practice and adjust and learn some new, more applicable vocab.
Anyway, hope you are all doing well. Let me know somehow (via comment, email, facebook message) if you want to hear more about a specific topic or something.
