In Cairo!!!

Discovery #5: I can't stay awake on moving vehicles

The flights over were great but I was EXHAUSTED the whole time! I left Baltimore around noon on Tuesday and arrived in Cairo at 6:30 pm on Wednesday night. By the time we got settled into our apartments, it was 1:15. Needless to say, we had breakfast the next morning at 8 pm, and a driving tour of Cairo later that day (YES, I did see the pyramids from afar!)....I fell asleep again ;) A minor fender bender between our bus and a car woke me up. Don't worry, we're all fine. Just a broken mirror.

Discovery #6: Don't trust Brian for directions.

Brian is one of the program assistants here and he stopped to help me buy credit for my Egyptian phone.  My group went on ahead while we did so and  after we were done, he pointed me in the right direction and went back to his place.

Yes, you guessed it. I got very lost! I couldn't get the credit to load onto my phone so I had no way of calling him and, since we got here late at night and things here look very similar, I had no idea where to go!

After walking up and down the street Brian told me my apartment was on, I finally stopped for help. A kind man loaded my phone for me and I called Brian. He gave me directions back to my apartment. Turns out he missed a step when he was giving me directions before. I was supposed to turn about 1 block from the store where we stopped. Ooops!

Discovery #7: Being a woman here is going to be very difficult.

Though we haven't had our gender lecture yet, we've been instructed that, as women, speaking with men on the street or looking them in they eye is not advisable. It has also been interesting to not that most of the people on the street are MEN. If there are women on the street, they are usually on a mission of some sort -- out shopping or such. You  hardly see them just hanging around. The men, on the other hand, hang out there all the time and there are many more of them.

So, not being able to look them in the eye means looking down or up most of the time I'm walking. It's really quite awkward and not natural, since I've always been taught to look and smile when I encounter people.

This is going to be such a learning experience I can tell. Dr. Holt and the program staff here seem amazing and all of the MESP students are wonderful!

Dinner in 20 minutes so it's time to scoot!