January 29th
Today started off as a pretty uneventful day. Woke up, went to the gym with my roommate, went to AUC, got some free food at the Orientation then sat around doing Arabic and reading my guide-book. The weather was really cold today, apparently it was the coldest it has been in 30 years. I actually put on a long-sleeve shirt, that's how cold it was here.
Regardless, the day was pretty ordinary until we got to survival Arabic class. Our survival Arabic class is awesome. It only has five kids so everybody gets a lot of talking and time and its really quite fun. Anyways, somehow we got off topic with our teacher and started talking about the culture and the economics of Egypt. Apparently no one is this town makes any amount of money. A judge gets paid 3000 pounds a month. Notre Dame gives me 2200 pounds to live on every month. The police men who stand on the street every 25 feet get paid 50 pounds a month. 50 Pounds is almost nothing, not even enough to sustain yourself. I don't know how they survive and don't revolt. Anyways, I don't know how much she exaggerated, but she did talk about who the Cairo we have been in is the really wealthy Cairo and most Egyptians do not live this way. She emphasized that Cairo is a third world country not matter the facade it puts on for its foreigners. Our teacher said Cairo is both a open and closed society in that it is having to deal with the flood of West and a deeply conservative society. She also said the increase in oil prices has caused the prices of everything to increase, causing massive inflation and causing many people to simply not have enough money. I wonder what the effects of this are on those who are below the poverty line. I probably already know.
I also learned of the sentiment that people here really don't like Mubarak too much. However, they support him because they would rather have an evil they know, rather then an evil they don't know. What a terrible way for democracy to work in the world.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Day Nine
January 28th,
Jet-lag no longer effects me. I am now adapted to at least the time difference between Spokane and Cairo. As for everything thing else that has yet to be seen. We started out survival Arabic classes today. This is the material we will need to know to get around on the streets and actually survive in a city where the majority of the people not only don't speak Arabic, but also don't speak the Arabic I have been learning for the past four semesters. This is the first time I have been in a class since the middle of December. Luckily this Arabic is just for our own benefit and there is no grade given. This provides a nice transition into the classroom setting after such a long break.
I am trying to cut down my spending. Today I didn't spend any money until dinner because I was able to wait around AUC until the gave free food to the Student Leaders and then I just snuck in with them. I then managed to spend all of $5 on a rather large dinner complete with milkshake. It was pretty awesome. Tomorrow, the gameplan is to get by without spending any money. It will also be nice when Notre Dame starts giving us the $400 to live off us. With that much money I will be making money in Cairo by going to school (kind of).
In other news the job search for a Cairo Job goes on. I am going to stop by the American Embassy tomorrow just to see if by stopping by I can get a job. Once again, I have never gotten a job because of my own qualifications, it has always been because I knew someone. I guess that's just the way the world operates.
I did find some time to go wandering by myself today. This was a much needed change because I get tired of having to go about campus/city in a large group of Americans. Traveling by yourself although a little bit more intimidating and at times boring definitely gives you the ability to set your own pace and schedule and see things efficiently. You don't have to wait around for somebody to catch up or run ahead because somebody doesn't care as much as you do. Its also nice to be alone because it gives you time to think and interact with people you couldn't interact with in a group. To these regards, I walked around and found all my classes so I wouldn't be completely lost when classes start on the 3rd. It turns out that the architectural style of 1919 when Main Campus was built was that of Mazes. There are like 15 different stair cases in that building, of which 2 let you out on every floor. However, there are no hallways that span the entire length of the building. Instead you routinely have to go out on the roof down a staircase, up another staircase through several doors and random turns just to get inbetween rooms 409 and 410. Luckily it doesn't rain to much in Cairo (except this week apparently) for Cairo is not geared for dealing with large amounts of rain. I still saw huge puddles of water that cover entire streets. It didn't rain today at all.
I was wandered over and circled the US Embassy. It is a massive fortress in the middle of downtown Cairo. It's really quite around the building as all the traffic is kept away. I really hope Mubarak stays in control of Cairo for as long as I am there. He keeps Americans safe and for that I am thankful for him. As for his other polices... well a 25 year state of emergency leads something to be desired.
I am so glad I live in America. The wind started picking up today and the dust just went everywhere especially into my eyes. Otherwise the weather is just about perfect here. The sky is blue and the sun is shining. As the AUC administration likes to tell its frustrated students (rather then actually fixing their problems) life is beautiful, relax, don't worry, and things will work out fine. It's easier to do when I have to problems, well at least relatively to some people.
Jet-lag no longer effects me. I am now adapted to at least the time difference between Spokane and Cairo. As for everything thing else that has yet to be seen. We started out survival Arabic classes today. This is the material we will need to know to get around on the streets and actually survive in a city where the majority of the people not only don't speak Arabic, but also don't speak the Arabic I have been learning for the past four semesters. This is the first time I have been in a class since the middle of December. Luckily this Arabic is just for our own benefit and there is no grade given. This provides a nice transition into the classroom setting after such a long break.
I am trying to cut down my spending. Today I didn't spend any money until dinner because I was able to wait around AUC until the gave free food to the Student Leaders and then I just snuck in with them. I then managed to spend all of $5 on a rather large dinner complete with milkshake. It was pretty awesome. Tomorrow, the gameplan is to get by without spending any money. It will also be nice when Notre Dame starts giving us the $400 to live off us. With that much money I will be making money in Cairo by going to school (kind of).
In other news the job search for a Cairo Job goes on. I am going to stop by the American Embassy tomorrow just to see if by stopping by I can get a job. Once again, I have never gotten a job because of my own qualifications, it has always been because I knew someone. I guess that's just the way the world operates.
I did find some time to go wandering by myself today. This was a much needed change because I get tired of having to go about campus/city in a large group of Americans. Traveling by yourself although a little bit more intimidating and at times boring definitely gives you the ability to set your own pace and schedule and see things efficiently. You don't have to wait around for somebody to catch up or run ahead because somebody doesn't care as much as you do. Its also nice to be alone because it gives you time to think and interact with people you couldn't interact with in a group. To these regards, I walked around and found all my classes so I wouldn't be completely lost when classes start on the 3rd. It turns out that the architectural style of 1919 when Main Campus was built was that of Mazes. There are like 15 different stair cases in that building, of which 2 let you out on every floor. However, there are no hallways that span the entire length of the building. Instead you routinely have to go out on the roof down a staircase, up another staircase through several doors and random turns just to get inbetween rooms 409 and 410. Luckily it doesn't rain to much in Cairo (except this week apparently) for Cairo is not geared for dealing with large amounts of rain. I still saw huge puddles of water that cover entire streets. It didn't rain today at all.
I was wandered over and circled the US Embassy. It is a massive fortress in the middle of downtown Cairo. It's really quite around the building as all the traffic is kept away. I really hope Mubarak stays in control of Cairo for as long as I am there. He keeps Americans safe and for that I am thankful for him. As for his other polices... well a 25 year state of emergency leads something to be desired.
I am so glad I live in America. The wind started picking up today and the dust just went everywhere especially into my eyes. Otherwise the weather is just about perfect here. The sky is blue and the sun is shining. As the AUC administration likes to tell its frustrated students (rather then actually fixing their problems) life is beautiful, relax, don't worry, and things will work out fine. It's easier to do when I have to problems, well at least relatively to some people.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Day Seven
January 27th
Today was a good day. First of all, I woke up to find that Barack Obama had won the South Caroline Primary. I shouldn't say won, he crushed clinton. This was especially awesome because the Clinton's were attacking Obama all week long. Also, I finally dealt with my final class. I found out a few days ago that my professor for International Relations of the Mideast was one of the worst professors at AUC. So I had to switch out of it and into another class. This was difficult because now every other student was dealing with their registration problems. I solved the problem by basically strong-arming my way into another class and getting ahead of all the other kids. It helped that they had opened another section for Comparative Politics of the Middle-East, which is the final class I got into. So I am taking 15 credits.
Tomorrow Survival Arabic starts. This is basically the introduction to the Colloquial Arabic. Hopefully it will help with the language barrier.
Today we also went wondering through new parts of Cairo. We went looking for the Abdeen Palace, which used to be where the living quarters of the king and presidents. But now Mubarak moved to a safer, newer location, and this thing has been transformed into a Military Museum. This military museum was like nothing I had ever seen before. All it had were just cases of cases of guns and daggers. My favorite weapons included a leatherman's that also included a pistol and a breast plate that had 19 barrels adhered to the front of it. This way you could just walk into a group pull the switch on your armor and unless 19 bullets. Absolutely made zero tactical sense. I took a picture.
My other experience today came with watching Attonement at an Arabic movie theater. The theater was really nice and the movie was in English with Arabic and French. However, the theater experience was quite different then American ones. First of all, people answered their cellphone during the film and talked to whoever called them. Second, they had an intermission. Third, they cut all the war, sex, and profanity out of the movie making it only last about an hour and half. It made the movie really lame and I feel asleep.
Finally as we wandering through the city, I got to see more of Cairo. I refrain from calling it the real Cairo because there are so many different parts of Cairo and they are all different and unique parts of Cairo and I should really appreciate each section for how it is. I should enjoy the ritzy European Zamalek and touristy Midan Tahrir and the slums that comprise most of Cairo. The city is really dirty, really crowded and really needs to works on water drainage. There were sections of the road covered in 8 inches of water for what looked like 50 feet. It really didn't even rain that much.
Today was a good day. First of all, I woke up to find that Barack Obama had won the South Caroline Primary. I shouldn't say won, he crushed clinton. This was especially awesome because the Clinton's were attacking Obama all week long. Also, I finally dealt with my final class. I found out a few days ago that my professor for International Relations of the Mideast was one of the worst professors at AUC. So I had to switch out of it and into another class. This was difficult because now every other student was dealing with their registration problems. I solved the problem by basically strong-arming my way into another class and getting ahead of all the other kids. It helped that they had opened another section for Comparative Politics of the Middle-East, which is the final class I got into. So I am taking 15 credits.
Tomorrow Survival Arabic starts. This is basically the introduction to the Colloquial Arabic. Hopefully it will help with the language barrier.
Today we also went wondering through new parts of Cairo. We went looking for the Abdeen Palace, which used to be where the living quarters of the king and presidents. But now Mubarak moved to a safer, newer location, and this thing has been transformed into a Military Museum. This military museum was like nothing I had ever seen before. All it had were just cases of cases of guns and daggers. My favorite weapons included a leatherman's that also included a pistol and a breast plate that had 19 barrels adhered to the front of it. This way you could just walk into a group pull the switch on your armor and unless 19 bullets. Absolutely made zero tactical sense. I took a picture.
My other experience today came with watching Attonement at an Arabic movie theater. The theater was really nice and the movie was in English with Arabic and French. However, the theater experience was quite different then American ones. First of all, people answered their cellphone during the film and talked to whoever called them. Second, they had an intermission. Third, they cut all the war, sex, and profanity out of the movie making it only last about an hour and half. It made the movie really lame and I feel asleep.
Finally as we wandering through the city, I got to see more of Cairo. I refrain from calling it the real Cairo because there are so many different parts of Cairo and they are all different and unique parts of Cairo and I should really appreciate each section for how it is. I should enjoy the ritzy European Zamalek and touristy Midan Tahrir and the slums that comprise most of Cairo. The city is really dirty, really crowded and really needs to works on water drainage. There were sections of the road covered in 8 inches of water for what looked like 50 feet. It really didn't even rain that much.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Day Six
January 27th
Today was a pretty uneventful day. We woke up kind of late because we wanted to sleep in. After working out, we wondered around looking for food. Wandering around really means wandering around in Egypt. It's pretty easy to get lost in Zamalek. They don't believe in the good-old American grid pattern for city planning. Next we went to find the store, and this took about an hour in travel time. When asking for directions in Egypt, everybody will help you and give you directions. However, not everyone will give you right directions. Sometimes two people will give you completely opposite directions.
Then I got home and tried to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. My roommate really has his life together, or as much as I can tell, and its a change of pace to be around someone who really seems to have a good grasp of reality and what matters. I on the other hand don't really have a life plan and it's kind of starting to get to me.
On the other hand, I kept thinking about this incident I had with a begger child in Maadi. This adorable little girl came up to me and tried to sell me these Napkins. I saw her mom over in the corner just sittting on the sidewalk and I knew that the Mother was using her children to sell the napkins because the kids could sell better to foreigners. I also wonder if she makes more money using the kids to sell to foreigners rather then getting a job. But you never know if your dollar might mean the difference between whether or not this daughter eats tonight. But whenever I encounter poor children, I always wonder where they are going to be in 10 or 15 years. What does the future hold for these kids who are born into a world that gives them so little. Is this girl going to live a life of suffering or she be able to break out of the cycle of poverty.
But how am I supposed to help these kids who society has left behind. We still haven't seen outside the ritzy Cairo. I heard Giza, which is the west side of the Nile is more representative of how the majority of Egyptians live. Maybe I'll check that out tomorrow.
Today was a pretty uneventful day. We woke up kind of late because we wanted to sleep in. After working out, we wondered around looking for food. Wandering around really means wandering around in Egypt. It's pretty easy to get lost in Zamalek. They don't believe in the good-old American grid pattern for city planning. Next we went to find the store, and this took about an hour in travel time. When asking for directions in Egypt, everybody will help you and give you directions. However, not everyone will give you right directions. Sometimes two people will give you completely opposite directions.
Then I got home and tried to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. My roommate really has his life together, or as much as I can tell, and its a change of pace to be around someone who really seems to have a good grasp of reality and what matters. I on the other hand don't really have a life plan and it's kind of starting to get to me.
On the other hand, I kept thinking about this incident I had with a begger child in Maadi. This adorable little girl came up to me and tried to sell me these Napkins. I saw her mom over in the corner just sittting on the sidewalk and I knew that the Mother was using her children to sell the napkins because the kids could sell better to foreigners. I also wonder if she makes more money using the kids to sell to foreigners rather then getting a job. But you never know if your dollar might mean the difference between whether or not this daughter eats tonight. But whenever I encounter poor children, I always wonder where they are going to be in 10 or 15 years. What does the future hold for these kids who are born into a world that gives them so little. Is this girl going to live a life of suffering or she be able to break out of the cycle of poverty.
But how am I supposed to help these kids who society has left behind. We still haven't seen outside the ritzy Cairo. I heard Giza, which is the west side of the Nile is more representative of how the majority of Egyptians live. Maybe I'll check that out tomorrow.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Day Five
January 25th
So today we went down to Old Cairo. Old Cairo is, as you could guess from the name, the oldest part of Cairo. The Babylon fortress at the center of Old Cairo dates back to the Sixth Century B.C. Old Cairo is also known as Coptic Cairo as it is the center of Coptic Christianity for Cairo. Old Cairo is also the site of the only Synagogue in Cairo. The Ben Ezra Synagogue is also the site where the Pharaoh Rameses II found baby Moses. So that's was pretty cool to see. Also apparently at the Coptic Church St. George's, the Holy Family, JMJ, stopped at the church. It was interesting to be in such a religious place but I wish A. I knew more about it before I went, B. new more about Christianity and then maybe it might have been more special. The area was full of gardens, trees and birds, and the sun was shinning so it was really kind of nice. I could see myself staying there for awhile. Sadly it is pretty far away from my Dorm and AUC. First of since today is Friday and nothing is open, the Bus from my dorm to AUC didn't run. So we had to options: A Each pay the equivalent of 50 cents or walk for about 45 minutes to AUC. Obviously we walked. I am cheap and I wanted to see the Island. However, there isn't any real good way to get to AUC. So we had to walk the 6th of October Bridge, which is actually a highway. They don't really have sidewalks on this highway, but we were able to walk down the median or the side for the distance. This was quite some distance and we only had about 2 feet of concrete, but it was fun. I think somebody else took pictures, I was too busy making sure cars didn't hit me.
The next part of the trip required us taking the subway. The subway wasn't as crowded, but at one point everybody starting yelling and running off the train. Turns out the train just stopped at this station and we had to switch to the next train. But for a minute when everybody was running, I had no idea what was going on. It was kind of scary, but we just followed everybody onto the other train and it all worked out.
We ate lunch at this American place where you didn't actually have to pay the 12% service charge that is just an added tax. Its not a tip as you have to give something extra for the waiters. So not having to pay it was nice and actually having American food at a reasonable price also was also a nice treat. I walked into the McDonald's before the American Restaurant and apparently McDonald's is the place wear Children go for birthday parties and special occasions. There were a bunch of little arab kids running around in poncho's and sombero hats that were really quite amusing.
Another story just came to my attention. At the Synagogue, where there was a well where Jesus was found. Well to look down the well you have to jump this little fence. One guy said it was okay. So we climbed it and then this guard came up to us and said he needed money because apparently it was illegal. (basically he was asking for a bribe) . So JP paid him as he was the only one that spoke ameea and understood what he saying. I was hanging out with some one else at the time and when I walked up to the same guard I guess he said the same thing to me. But since I didn't have any clue what he said, I just thanked him in Arabic and walked by him. Sometimes its pays to not know what is going on in the third world.
We also walked back from the Metro Station. By the end of it my feet hurt a lot. But I got some sweet pictures of the Cairo Tower. Okay, that about does it for now.
Glen
So today we went down to Old Cairo. Old Cairo is, as you could guess from the name, the oldest part of Cairo. The Babylon fortress at the center of Old Cairo dates back to the Sixth Century B.C. Old Cairo is also known as Coptic Cairo as it is the center of Coptic Christianity for Cairo. Old Cairo is also the site of the only Synagogue in Cairo. The Ben Ezra Synagogue is also the site where the Pharaoh Rameses II found baby Moses. So that's was pretty cool to see. Also apparently at the Coptic Church St. George's, the Holy Family, JMJ, stopped at the church. It was interesting to be in such a religious place but I wish A. I knew more about it before I went, B. new more about Christianity and then maybe it might have been more special. The area was full of gardens, trees and birds, and the sun was shinning so it was really kind of nice. I could see myself staying there for awhile. Sadly it is pretty far away from my Dorm and AUC. First of since today is Friday and nothing is open, the Bus from my dorm to AUC didn't run. So we had to options: A Each pay the equivalent of 50 cents or walk for about 45 minutes to AUC. Obviously we walked. I am cheap and I wanted to see the Island. However, there isn't any real good way to get to AUC. So we had to walk the 6th of October Bridge, which is actually a highway. They don't really have sidewalks on this highway, but we were able to walk down the median or the side for the distance. This was quite some distance and we only had about 2 feet of concrete, but it was fun. I think somebody else took pictures, I was too busy making sure cars didn't hit me.
The next part of the trip required us taking the subway. The subway wasn't as crowded, but at one point everybody starting yelling and running off the train. Turns out the train just stopped at this station and we had to switch to the next train. But for a minute when everybody was running, I had no idea what was going on. It was kind of scary, but we just followed everybody onto the other train and it all worked out.
We ate lunch at this American place where you didn't actually have to pay the 12% service charge that is just an added tax. Its not a tip as you have to give something extra for the waiters. So not having to pay it was nice and actually having American food at a reasonable price also was also a nice treat. I walked into the McDonald's before the American Restaurant and apparently McDonald's is the place wear Children go for birthday parties and special occasions. There were a bunch of little arab kids running around in poncho's and sombero hats that were really quite amusing.
Another story just came to my attention. At the Synagogue, where there was a well where Jesus was found. Well to look down the well you have to jump this little fence. One guy said it was okay. So we climbed it and then this guard came up to us and said he needed money because apparently it was illegal. (basically he was asking for a bribe) . So JP paid him as he was the only one that spoke ameea and understood what he saying. I was hanging out with some one else at the time and when I walked up to the same guard I guess he said the same thing to me. But since I didn't have any clue what he said, I just thanked him in Arabic and walked by him. Sometimes its pays to not know what is going on in the third world.
We also walked back from the Metro Station. By the end of it my feet hurt a lot. But I got some sweet pictures of the Cairo Tower. Okay, that about does it for now.
Glen
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Day Four
January 24th
Yes I realize its actually the 25th, but I got around to blogging a little late. Since it's like 2:00 in the morning here, I'll give a short blog, hopefully.
The day started off with us going down to AUC to deal with our Visa again. Needless to say, we didn't get them again. We got the run around and eventually everything closed before we could finish. However, we did go to the Egyptian Museum once everything at AUC closed. This was really different from the rest of Cairo I saw. First, Egyptians were a minority. This place was a tourist zoo. Which explains why there tons of security forces outside the building. There were not many inside, oddly enough. The majority of people were old white people. Americans stuck out because they were fat. They could have been European, but I doubt it. Also when some spoke it was in English. Generally another good clue. However we did a bunch of younger white folk too. I didn't like it. It made me realize that I was just another tourist. It reminds me now, of the movie Fight Club, where the narrator goes to support groups and isn't sick and then get mad when another "tourist" shows up, making him realize that he is just a tourist as well. I liked thinking that I was better then the stereotypical student, but really I don't know that much ameea and I go to the same sites, so I am a tourist. I still take pleasure in that I would dare to cross the crazy streets while the others have to take buses right up to the gates of the Museum.
I also want to reflect on my dinner last night. It was in one the nicest restaurants I have been in. It was filled with Europeans and Wealthy Egyptians. It was upscale to say the least. Our meal cost about $85 for all seven of us. So granted it wasn't expensive in comparison to America, where at that kind of restaurant we would be paying over $500. But Its still weird to have people turn on the water for you in the bathroom. I have gotten accustomed to the wealth and status that goes along with Notre Dame, but this was just too much. There are nice perks for being rich and famous, but just think of all the more important things that require money. I am sure I will some in Cairo, once we get out of the fancy neighborhoods. Maybe this weekend.
Which brings me to my next point. Its the weekend. I know you are saying, "this guy is an idiot" its only thursday night over there, get over the jetlag already." But you would be wrong to say that. The weekends are Friday and Saturday. The workweek starts on Sunday. Crazy, I know.
Well, on Thursday I could have gone to a hookah bar with a bunch of GeorgeTown people, but they were already smoking, I really didn't want to hang out with them. I have heard rumors that George Town kids are snobs. I hope the people I meet don't live up to that. We'll see.
Instead I stayed in and played Chess and Cribbage with my roommate. Pretty lame, I know, but I don't know what to do on Friday nights here. Maybe when more people show up and I get to meet some Egyptians, things will get exciting.
One final note. At the Museum, I saw people wearing shorts. Clearly Tourists. We secretly laughed and joked that they were gay. Some were in the same group with guys who tried to wear head-dresses. No one really wears those in Cairo, especially in this cool weather. N00bs. They looked ridiculous.
Anyways the Egyptian museum was just overflowing with stuff. Only some of it was marked and clearly they just had more stuff then they could deal with. I also enjoyed when our tour guide said Britain stole the "real Rosetta stone" and blamed other European Countries for stealing other Egyptian artifacts. Next time, we are not getting a tour guide and are just going to go exploring. Its cheaper and you get to see all the stuff that isn't on the tour. King Tut was elaborate, but I don't think I truly appreciated it as much as an Egypt history nut would. I'll do some research and go back and see if I like it more.
cheers,
Yes I realize its actually the 25th, but I got around to blogging a little late. Since it's like 2:00 in the morning here, I'll give a short blog, hopefully.
The day started off with us going down to AUC to deal with our Visa again. Needless to say, we didn't get them again. We got the run around and eventually everything closed before we could finish. However, we did go to the Egyptian Museum once everything at AUC closed. This was really different from the rest of Cairo I saw. First, Egyptians were a minority. This place was a tourist zoo. Which explains why there tons of security forces outside the building. There were not many inside, oddly enough. The majority of people were old white people. Americans stuck out because they were fat. They could have been European, but I doubt it. Also when some spoke it was in English. Generally another good clue. However we did a bunch of younger white folk too. I didn't like it. It made me realize that I was just another tourist. It reminds me now, of the movie Fight Club, where the narrator goes to support groups and isn't sick and then get mad when another "tourist" shows up, making him realize that he is just a tourist as well. I liked thinking that I was better then the stereotypical student, but really I don't know that much ameea and I go to the same sites, so I am a tourist. I still take pleasure in that I would dare to cross the crazy streets while the others have to take buses right up to the gates of the Museum.
I also want to reflect on my dinner last night. It was in one the nicest restaurants I have been in. It was filled with Europeans and Wealthy Egyptians. It was upscale to say the least. Our meal cost about $85 for all seven of us. So granted it wasn't expensive in comparison to America, where at that kind of restaurant we would be paying over $500. But Its still weird to have people turn on the water for you in the bathroom. I have gotten accustomed to the wealth and status that goes along with Notre Dame, but this was just too much. There are nice perks for being rich and famous, but just think of all the more important things that require money. I am sure I will some in Cairo, once we get out of the fancy neighborhoods. Maybe this weekend.
Which brings me to my next point. Its the weekend. I know you are saying, "this guy is an idiot" its only thursday night over there, get over the jetlag already." But you would be wrong to say that. The weekends are Friday and Saturday. The workweek starts on Sunday. Crazy, I know.
Well, on Thursday I could have gone to a hookah bar with a bunch of GeorgeTown people, but they were already smoking, I really didn't want to hang out with them. I have heard rumors that George Town kids are snobs. I hope the people I meet don't live up to that. We'll see.
Instead I stayed in and played Chess and Cribbage with my roommate. Pretty lame, I know, but I don't know what to do on Friday nights here. Maybe when more people show up and I get to meet some Egyptians, things will get exciting.
One final note. At the Museum, I saw people wearing shorts. Clearly Tourists. We secretly laughed and joked that they were gay. Some were in the same group with guys who tried to wear head-dresses. No one really wears those in Cairo, especially in this cool weather. N00bs. They looked ridiculous.
Anyways the Egyptian museum was just overflowing with stuff. Only some of it was marked and clearly they just had more stuff then they could deal with. I also enjoyed when our tour guide said Britain stole the "real Rosetta stone" and blamed other European Countries for stealing other Egyptian artifacts. Next time, we are not getting a tour guide and are just going to go exploring. Its cheaper and you get to see all the stuff that isn't on the tour. King Tut was elaborate, but I don't think I truly appreciated it as much as an Egypt history nut would. I'll do some research and go back and see if I like it more.
cheers,
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Day Three
January 23rd
First, let me clarify the inconsistency of the dates for my last blog. The internet went down the Zamalek dorm so I wasn't able to add my post last night. I don't know if this is a common occurrence in the dorms, but you never know with this city.
I registered for classes today. I basically got everything I wanted. I am taking Intensive Arabic (Fusha) in the mornings Mondays through Thursday for about 3 hours each day. This will be my hardest class, especially because I suck at Arabic. However, the class starts in chapter 13 of the first book and I am through Chapter 20 of the first book so the first half of the semester will be review. Hopefully I will actually learn the Arabic this time. Which brings to my feelings at the Arabic program at Notre Dame. I think it needs some serious work, because our students do not know arabic well at all. It needs more emphasis on listening and speaking and needs to meet more then three times a week for 50 minutes each. Granted improving requires good arabic teachers and those are hard to come by these days. However, the Notre Dame professors that I have had are not bad, and going to 4 or 5 days a week would be a big help. Also, I realize that some of it might just because I am really not that smart and struggle with languages. Talking with the other people here and seeing how easy school, not just arabic comes to them, makes you realize just how dumb you are. Its a good humbling experience.
Anyways... for my other classes I am taking Colloquial Arabic in the afternoons, which should help getting around the city and feeling less like an outsider. Okay, time for another tangent... I haven't really been hit by the culture shock yet. Maybe its because I am used to 3rd world (ish) countries from being in Bosnia. Maybe its because we really haven't gotten out of the nice parts of the city where all the foreigners live and Mubarak makes it feel as Western as possible. Maybe its because I assumed that it would be much worse. Or Maybe its because I have been with Americans so much and dealing with school stuff that I haven't opened my eyes up yet. I'll work on that for tomorrow.
Back to classes. Since Fusha Arabic is Intensive and therefore six credits, I am only taking two other classes. These are International Politics in the Middle-East, a 400 level class that apparently requires a bunch of requirements, but they just placed me in because I am a foreigner. Hopefully that should be fun. It's for 2 and half hours on Sundays only. Ballin'
Finally I am taking Introduction to Islamic Art and Architecture. Now, this wasn't my first choice but it was my second and it does fulfill my Fine Arts requirement for Notre Dame. Also I hear it's very hard to get into and they have field trips. I got lucky. Really lucky. But as I said last time, every day I wake up and thank God I am Man and American. I really am blessed to live as well as I do and should be more appreciative of the things I have.
Okay, enough about me, this blog is called live from Cairo from a reason and I want you to know how strange this country is. First of all, I have seen one fly in my time here. I haven't seen a single insect in Zamalek. In Bosnia the most awful thing were the flies. There were hundreds of them all around the food and the cafes. They were really annoying. But here nothing. Maybe the rain made them go away and maybe they will come when it gots hotter. I sure hope not.
In fact there is a surprising lack of wildlife. I have seen one dog. It was being walked by a german dude. However, Cairo does have a large amount of stray cats. They are even in the dorm. They stay on the mainfloor and are pretty adorable but we aren't supposed to touch them. Oh well.
Also, things move really slowly in this town. Nothing opens until 11 and everything closes at 1:30, in terms of administration stuff. Food and retail is open much later. The other thing is that nobody does any actual work in this city. The police just sit around and watch people. In the Student Visa office for AUC there were 7 employees. Two were chatting, two were staring mindlessly at their blank desktops, one guy was talking on his cell phone, one guy was staring at his desk and the other was actually helping us. And as you would except the one guy wasn't able to help us and just sent us to another office, which by the time we got there was closed. It reminds me of the Spanish term manana.
I have only seen 4 beggars so far. I imagine being unemployed in this city would be much worse than in America. Then again, the disparity of income is not as intense as it is in America. I have just as abject poverty in Indianapolis and Cincinnati as I saw in Cairo (so far) and in America you are poor but surrounded by great wealth. Here you are poor and surrounded by people just slightly better off than you.
Finally, apparently there were rumors of protests that were going to happen today. Since AUC is right in the heart of the town (Midan Tahir) the protests were supposed to happen right outside. Mubarak responsed in force and the downtown was just swarming with Riot police. I didn't see anything happen, but its clear that Mubarak rules this country with an Iron Fist. Its sweet if you are American because our dollars support him and he takes care of those who keep him propped up. However, Mubarak apparently is in poor health and might die soon. If he dies, who knows what will happen in this country. It would be chaos.
P.S. I am not writing with any sort of attention to grammar or sentence fluency. I am basically throwing down whatever comes into my head, stream-of-conscious. I would really rather spend more time actually experiencing and less time worrying about grammar.
First, let me clarify the inconsistency of the dates for my last blog. The internet went down the Zamalek dorm so I wasn't able to add my post last night. I don't know if this is a common occurrence in the dorms, but you never know with this city.
I registered for classes today. I basically got everything I wanted. I am taking Intensive Arabic (Fusha) in the mornings Mondays through Thursday for about 3 hours each day. This will be my hardest class, especially because I suck at Arabic. However, the class starts in chapter 13 of the first book and I am through Chapter 20 of the first book so the first half of the semester will be review. Hopefully I will actually learn the Arabic this time. Which brings to my feelings at the Arabic program at Notre Dame. I think it needs some serious work, because our students do not know arabic well at all. It needs more emphasis on listening and speaking and needs to meet more then three times a week for 50 minutes each. Granted improving requires good arabic teachers and those are hard to come by these days. However, the Notre Dame professors that I have had are not bad, and going to 4 or 5 days a week would be a big help. Also, I realize that some of it might just because I am really not that smart and struggle with languages. Talking with the other people here and seeing how easy school, not just arabic comes to them, makes you realize just how dumb you are. Its a good humbling experience.
Anyways... for my other classes I am taking Colloquial Arabic in the afternoons, which should help getting around the city and feeling less like an outsider. Okay, time for another tangent... I haven't really been hit by the culture shock yet. Maybe its because I am used to 3rd world (ish) countries from being in Bosnia. Maybe its because we really haven't gotten out of the nice parts of the city where all the foreigners live and Mubarak makes it feel as Western as possible. Maybe its because I assumed that it would be much worse. Or Maybe its because I have been with Americans so much and dealing with school stuff that I haven't opened my eyes up yet. I'll work on that for tomorrow.
Back to classes. Since Fusha Arabic is Intensive and therefore six credits, I am only taking two other classes. These are International Politics in the Middle-East, a 400 level class that apparently requires a bunch of requirements, but they just placed me in because I am a foreigner. Hopefully that should be fun. It's for 2 and half hours on Sundays only. Ballin'
Finally I am taking Introduction to Islamic Art and Architecture. Now, this wasn't my first choice but it was my second and it does fulfill my Fine Arts requirement for Notre Dame. Also I hear it's very hard to get into and they have field trips. I got lucky. Really lucky. But as I said last time, every day I wake up and thank God I am Man and American. I really am blessed to live as well as I do and should be more appreciative of the things I have.
Okay, enough about me, this blog is called live from Cairo from a reason and I want you to know how strange this country is. First of all, I have seen one fly in my time here. I haven't seen a single insect in Zamalek. In Bosnia the most awful thing were the flies. There were hundreds of them all around the food and the cafes. They were really annoying. But here nothing. Maybe the rain made them go away and maybe they will come when it gots hotter. I sure hope not.
In fact there is a surprising lack of wildlife. I have seen one dog. It was being walked by a german dude. However, Cairo does have a large amount of stray cats. They are even in the dorm. They stay on the mainfloor and are pretty adorable but we aren't supposed to touch them. Oh well.
Also, things move really slowly in this town. Nothing opens until 11 and everything closes at 1:30, in terms of administration stuff. Food and retail is open much later. The other thing is that nobody does any actual work in this city. The police just sit around and watch people. In the Student Visa office for AUC there were 7 employees. Two were chatting, two were staring mindlessly at their blank desktops, one guy was talking on his cell phone, one guy was staring at his desk and the other was actually helping us. And as you would except the one guy wasn't able to help us and just sent us to another office, which by the time we got there was closed. It reminds me of the Spanish term manana.
I have only seen 4 beggars so far. I imagine being unemployed in this city would be much worse than in America. Then again, the disparity of income is not as intense as it is in America. I have just as abject poverty in Indianapolis and Cincinnati as I saw in Cairo (so far) and in America you are poor but surrounded by great wealth. Here you are poor and surrounded by people just slightly better off than you.
Finally, apparently there were rumors of protests that were going to happen today. Since AUC is right in the heart of the town (Midan Tahir) the protests were supposed to happen right outside. Mubarak responsed in force and the downtown was just swarming with Riot police. I didn't see anything happen, but its clear that Mubarak rules this country with an Iron Fist. Its sweet if you are American because our dollars support him and he takes care of those who keep him propped up. However, Mubarak apparently is in poor health and might die soon. If he dies, who knows what will happen in this country. It would be chaos.
P.S. I am not writing with any sort of attention to grammar or sentence fluency. I am basically throwing down whatever comes into my head, stream-of-conscious. I would really rather spend more time actually experiencing and less time worrying about grammar.
Day Two
January 22nd
"Every day I wake up and thank God for two things: One, that I am a man and two that I am American." John Paul told me this on the first night when we were walking by the US Embassy. I didn't realize how true it was until today.
As I said before, Egyptians are second class citizens to America in their own country. The entire country is a police state. Any place, where their might be tourists there are police men just sitting in the street guns in hand watching people go by. JP told me that if ever someone was following you, just the tell the police. He then said don't stick around to see what happens, because apparently they just beat the shit out of the guy.
Also being an American lets you do anything. We traveled on the Metro today. Let me describe the metro for you. First of all it cost I think 5 cents (American) to ride it. So its really cheap. Its also pretty dirty in the subway. There are very few trashcans throughout the city so people just throw their trash in the street or when in the subway station on the ground. Luckily Mubarak solves the potential mass unemployment by hiring tons of poor people to just pick up garbage and sweep the streets. He also hires tons of police forces and that means a lot if you are an American. Anyways, the subway was super crowded. Think of the trains in India you see in pictures, but just subtract everyone sitting on the roof. We were packed so tight that you couldn't move. Also they don't really give you that much time to get on and off. So here's how it goes. Since we are Americans we are the front of the line. The doors open and people kind of stand to the side to let people off. Then the doors open and people pour out pushing away the people that were slightly in the way. Then we get pushed from behind and jammed into the car. It fills to the brim and half of the people who were waiting to get on the train get left behind at the station. Also on the train, do not accept people giving you a seat, because if you sit down its so crowded you won't have time to get up and get out. The prime real estate is right by the door. Don't let anybody take it away from you.
Its awesome to be a man because you don't have to put up with any of the things that girls do. This applies in the biological sense and in the sense that guys don't have put up with the stuff that girls do. Apparently Egypt has the second worst record for abuse of women's rights. Second only to Saudi Arabia. So far no incidents, but its early.
Today it rained again. I wore my cream colored Notre Dame track-jacket. When the rain dried on the track-jacket it left dark streaks. Basically it rained filth. It was gross. Apparently it only rains this much once every four years. Cairo was obviously not prepared for it. There were huge puddles of mud everywhere. It was, well, gross.
We started eating Egyptian food today. It was really cheap and apparently most of the time its vegetarian. This is because meat costs so much more. I really do like being in Cairo. Its very novel at the moment and I still feel like a tourist, except when I walking around doing business for school. I have gotten used to walking through the traffic. There was this one time when two American tourists were at the crosswalk waiting for the guard to stop the traffic and I just strolled right through the masses of oncoming traffic dodging cars. It made me feel like a baller.
However, my ameema (the colloquial Arabic) is still really bad. Listening is definitely my worst ability, so its kind of hard to communicate. But hopefully with more time it will get better.
Hoorah,
Glen
"Every day I wake up and thank God for two things: One, that I am a man and two that I am American." John Paul told me this on the first night when we were walking by the US Embassy. I didn't realize how true it was until today.
As I said before, Egyptians are second class citizens to America in their own country. The entire country is a police state. Any place, where their might be tourists there are police men just sitting in the street guns in hand watching people go by. JP told me that if ever someone was following you, just the tell the police. He then said don't stick around to see what happens, because apparently they just beat the shit out of the guy.
Also being an American lets you do anything. We traveled on the Metro today. Let me describe the metro for you. First of all it cost I think 5 cents (American) to ride it. So its really cheap. Its also pretty dirty in the subway. There are very few trashcans throughout the city so people just throw their trash in the street or when in the subway station on the ground. Luckily Mubarak solves the potential mass unemployment by hiring tons of poor people to just pick up garbage and sweep the streets. He also hires tons of police forces and that means a lot if you are an American. Anyways, the subway was super crowded. Think of the trains in India you see in pictures, but just subtract everyone sitting on the roof. We were packed so tight that you couldn't move. Also they don't really give you that much time to get on and off. So here's how it goes. Since we are Americans we are the front of the line. The doors open and people kind of stand to the side to let people off. Then the doors open and people pour out pushing away the people that were slightly in the way. Then we get pushed from behind and jammed into the car. It fills to the brim and half of the people who were waiting to get on the train get left behind at the station. Also on the train, do not accept people giving you a seat, because if you sit down its so crowded you won't have time to get up and get out. The prime real estate is right by the door. Don't let anybody take it away from you.
Its awesome to be a man because you don't have to put up with any of the things that girls do. This applies in the biological sense and in the sense that guys don't have put up with the stuff that girls do. Apparently Egypt has the second worst record for abuse of women's rights. Second only to Saudi Arabia. So far no incidents, but its early.
Today it rained again. I wore my cream colored Notre Dame track-jacket. When the rain dried on the track-jacket it left dark streaks. Basically it rained filth. It was gross. Apparently it only rains this much once every four years. Cairo was obviously not prepared for it. There were huge puddles of mud everywhere. It was, well, gross.
We started eating Egyptian food today. It was really cheap and apparently most of the time its vegetarian. This is because meat costs so much more. I really do like being in Cairo. Its very novel at the moment and I still feel like a tourist, except when I walking around doing business for school. I have gotten used to walking through the traffic. There was this one time when two American tourists were at the crosswalk waiting for the guard to stop the traffic and I just strolled right through the masses of oncoming traffic dodging cars. It made me feel like a baller.
However, my ameema (the colloquial Arabic) is still really bad. Listening is definitely my worst ability, so its kind of hard to communicate. But hopefully with more time it will get better.
Hoorah,
Glen
Monday, January 21, 2008
Day One
January 21st,
I arrived in Cairo at 3:00 today. It was raining. I travel half-way around the world to the biggest desert in the world and its raining? How ironic. Getting into Egypt was actually remarkably easy. They stamped our passport and simply waved us through customs. Outside of customs we met our driver who would load us all up into a van and take us to our dorms.
This brings me to the first topic I want to discuss in Cairo: Driving. Its complete Chaos. The road of the Airport is a two lane one way road. There were four different actual lanes of traffic. No one obeys any traffic laws. People would rapidly swerve in between the "lanes" constantly wailing on the horn or flashing their lights at the slower drivers. I would describe it kind of like driving in Grand Theft Auto. You know, you go as fast as you want, you race around slower cars and burn through corners. However imagine Grand Theft Auto with everyone being the main character. It was absolutely nuts. But our driver was ridiculously good and got us to our destinations amazingly in one piece.
Another thing about driving. J-walking is common in this mad. So not only are cars going every which way but they also have pedestrians dodging in and out. Stoplights are ignored and often just blink yellow. Sometimes you will have police men at intersections, but its still crazy.
My last story about driving in Cairo is about the taxi ride I took by myself from AUC downtown back to my dorm at Zamalek. For those of you who don't know Zamalek is the island in the middle of the Nile which I live on. The roads inbetween are not a grid, they are a labyrinth of unlabeled one-way streets that are simply lined with parked cars. In this taxi we raced through these streets and were at times merely inches away from the two cars on either side of us. I am suprised that people still have side-view mirrors. Okay, the crazy thing about the story was that the driver got lost. So it was raining again, nobody puts their lights on at night (unless they are flashing people to get the hell out of their way) and we were driving through random streets, and every so often the driver would stop, ask directions from someone, then switch directions. I eventually made it back but not before backtracking the wrong way down one way streets at top speeds.
What's worse is that I couldn't help him at all in directions. Partly because I am overwhelmed and lost in the immensity of the city and also because the locals don't speak the same arabic that I do. The arabic that I took for 4 semesters was fusha arabic, or formal arabic used in newspapers and in business. The arabic that everyone speaks on the street and what most of the country actually understands is called aleema, or the colloquial Arabic.
Luckily the two are kind of similar. And in my first outing, walking through the neighborhood in our quest or a place to exchange money, and buy food and soap, we ended up being very successful. We know enough arabic to get around, and just using is incredibly rewarding, both for learning the language and not being an annoying stupid foreigner.
Walking around Cairo: Surreal. First of all, Cairo is huge. It is also the most densely populated city in the world. We drove through only a small part of it and walked in an even smaller part but there was no green space. It was building, next to building, next to building. Everything is 4-10 stories and the same hue of dirty brown. However, I would not say the city is by any means ugly. Its tough to describe the character. Its a blend of mostly old, with some 3rd world and a splash of modernity. I'll work on putting together my intial feelings of Cairo as soon as I can absorb it all. I'll also take more pictures as soon as I can.
One thing about pictures. There are a lot of places where you can't take them. Basically any place that might be a terrorist target. That being said, I didn't really try hard to take pictures today because A. I think that too many times tourists forget about actually looking and remembering and instead rely on the camera to take down memories for them, and B. I think taking a camera out on the first day screams tourist, an image I am trying to avoid.
My final point deals with what is like to be an American in Egypt. I was worried before I came here because America is so hated in the world. However, in Egypt, the people of Egypt are second class citizens to Americans in their own country. Americans have way more rights and privledges then the nomal citizens. I think JP put it well, when he said that the police are your friends. They are here to protect Americans from Egypt. As such, I am able to walk around wherever I please and do whatever I want. No One is allowed within about a two block radius of the US Embassy. They have the streets blocked off and guarded by well-armed police men. These police men stops any Egyptian who doesn't have official business in the area. But I on the other hand strolled right by with simply a "Salaam" John-Paul said that everyone at class envies Americans and wishes they were us. I am not quite sure why, other then the fact that we are so rich and privledged. Just goes to prove the saying true. Cash Rules Everything Around Me. Money does make the world go around. Money and connections. Its not that knowledge isn't power, its that knowledge buys friends or earns Money and Money makes us powerful.
On a closing note, I am overwhelmed by the language barrier. My interaction skills with Aleema are terrible. So is my pronunciation and listening. I am really impressed with John Paul, who when he left Notre Dame, I would say struggled with Arabic, now he has shown his skill in being able to navigate the weird world of Cairo.
Okay I am exhausted, as I still really haven't slept since leaving Spokane on Saturday. I will see how I feel in the morning. Either way, judging by how intense the first 9 hours were (I got back in the dorm at midight, and even more crazily spent a lot of that time unpacking) and how it feels like I have already seen enough for a week, this is going to be an incredible trip.
So it goes...
I arrived in Cairo at 3:00 today. It was raining. I travel half-way around the world to the biggest desert in the world and its raining? How ironic. Getting into Egypt was actually remarkably easy. They stamped our passport and simply waved us through customs. Outside of customs we met our driver who would load us all up into a van and take us to our dorms.
This brings me to the first topic I want to discuss in Cairo: Driving. Its complete Chaos. The road of the Airport is a two lane one way road. There were four different actual lanes of traffic. No one obeys any traffic laws. People would rapidly swerve in between the "lanes" constantly wailing on the horn or flashing their lights at the slower drivers. I would describe it kind of like driving in Grand Theft Auto. You know, you go as fast as you want, you race around slower cars and burn through corners. However imagine Grand Theft Auto with everyone being the main character. It was absolutely nuts. But our driver was ridiculously good and got us to our destinations amazingly in one piece.
Another thing about driving. J-walking is common in this mad. So not only are cars going every which way but they also have pedestrians dodging in and out. Stoplights are ignored and often just blink yellow. Sometimes you will have police men at intersections, but its still crazy.
My last story about driving in Cairo is about the taxi ride I took by myself from AUC downtown back to my dorm at Zamalek. For those of you who don't know Zamalek is the island in the middle of the Nile which I live on. The roads inbetween are not a grid, they are a labyrinth of unlabeled one-way streets that are simply lined with parked cars. In this taxi we raced through these streets and were at times merely inches away from the two cars on either side of us. I am suprised that people still have side-view mirrors. Okay, the crazy thing about the story was that the driver got lost. So it was raining again, nobody puts their lights on at night (unless they are flashing people to get the hell out of their way) and we were driving through random streets, and every so often the driver would stop, ask directions from someone, then switch directions. I eventually made it back but not before backtracking the wrong way down one way streets at top speeds.
What's worse is that I couldn't help him at all in directions. Partly because I am overwhelmed and lost in the immensity of the city and also because the locals don't speak the same arabic that I do. The arabic that I took for 4 semesters was fusha arabic, or formal arabic used in newspapers and in business. The arabic that everyone speaks on the street and what most of the country actually understands is called aleema, or the colloquial Arabic.
Luckily the two are kind of similar. And in my first outing, walking through the neighborhood in our quest or a place to exchange money, and buy food and soap, we ended up being very successful. We know enough arabic to get around, and just using is incredibly rewarding, both for learning the language and not being an annoying stupid foreigner.
Walking around Cairo: Surreal. First of all, Cairo is huge. It is also the most densely populated city in the world. We drove through only a small part of it and walked in an even smaller part but there was no green space. It was building, next to building, next to building. Everything is 4-10 stories and the same hue of dirty brown. However, I would not say the city is by any means ugly. Its tough to describe the character. Its a blend of mostly old, with some 3rd world and a splash of modernity. I'll work on putting together my intial feelings of Cairo as soon as I can absorb it all. I'll also take more pictures as soon as I can.
One thing about pictures. There are a lot of places where you can't take them. Basically any place that might be a terrorist target. That being said, I didn't really try hard to take pictures today because A. I think that too many times tourists forget about actually looking and remembering and instead rely on the camera to take down memories for them, and B. I think taking a camera out on the first day screams tourist, an image I am trying to avoid.
My final point deals with what is like to be an American in Egypt. I was worried before I came here because America is so hated in the world. However, in Egypt, the people of Egypt are second class citizens to Americans in their own country. Americans have way more rights and privledges then the nomal citizens. I think JP put it well, when he said that the police are your friends. They are here to protect Americans from Egypt. As such, I am able to walk around wherever I please and do whatever I want. No One is allowed within about a two block radius of the US Embassy. They have the streets blocked off and guarded by well-armed police men. These police men stops any Egyptian who doesn't have official business in the area. But I on the other hand strolled right by with simply a "Salaam" John-Paul said that everyone at class envies Americans and wishes they were us. I am not quite sure why, other then the fact that we are so rich and privledged. Just goes to prove the saying true. Cash Rules Everything Around Me. Money does make the world go around. Money and connections. Its not that knowledge isn't power, its that knowledge buys friends or earns Money and Money makes us powerful.
On a closing note, I am overwhelmed by the language barrier. My interaction skills with Aleema are terrible. So is my pronunciation and listening. I am really impressed with John Paul, who when he left Notre Dame, I would say struggled with Arabic, now he has shown his skill in being able to navigate the weird world of Cairo.
Okay I am exhausted, as I still really haven't slept since leaving Spokane on Saturday. I will see how I feel in the morning. Either way, judging by how intense the first 9 hours were (I got back in the dorm at midight, and even more crazily spent a lot of that time unpacking) and how it feels like I have already seen enough for a week, this is going to be an incredible trip.
So it goes...
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