Who Needs Seatbelts?

My life in Cairo would not have been the same if I didn't ride a microbus three times a week. So, Fernando and I have decided to recount some of our most exciting microbus experiences here, to make sure we never forget how much fun it is to ride a microbus in Cairo.

I documented our first few adventures on the official blog a few weeks ago, recalling the first time when we didn't understand how paying our bus fare worked, and my arms getting a lot of attention as the guy in front of me wouldn't stop staring at them.

We certainly can't forget the pimped-out party bus we got on once, with its blue lights, fringed dashboard, red-tinted ceiling lights and serious bass which shook the seats. Or the time we drove by what appeared to be part of a wedding procession, where one of the cars had a grid of Christmas lights covering the windshield. Or Fernando getting so crammed between me and a random lady that he had to hold himself up using the seat in front of him so he wouldn't squish her. That ride was the same one where a man turned and chastised me for cracking my knuckles, using a combination of Arabic, English and French. Or the time when the seat in front of Fernando had this strange, basketball-sized growth that was looming onto his seat. Or the two guys who jumped on the back bumper of our bus and free-rode for a little while.

Oh, Those Are Pyramids

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.