its official ladies and gents...i arrived in cairo approximately one week ago and thus far this much has happened....
moved into a new place with 2 new room mates, nearly died in traffic 71 times and counting, listened to the political rant of an illiterate cab driver, saw the pyramids and the sphinx, rode a camel (aptly named michael jackson) while wearing a scarf on my head emulating my saudi idols, eaten at an egyptian KFC (couldnt resist), taught sudanese refugees english and discussed the political situation with the same individuals, joined facebook, met the arab equivalent of kevin's dad, rode the metro (kinda like stuffing your entire highschool inside a minivan and riding from tampa bay to cuba...yea it was that bad)...all in all id say its been an eventful week...
allah only knows how things will change once classes start next sunday, but i am hoping to start relying on mainly arabic (after all , that's the whole reason im here) but its harder than i thought, its like a totally different language or something (sarcasm)....anyhow, i have been keeping in touch reasonably well i think and if you disagree and are reading this please email me or facebook me and tell me and i will get in touch...
my room mates and i have had an interesting experience...the fellows that helped them find our apartment apparently will not stop calling greg, partially b/c he is the only one of us who speaks decent arabic....in fact yesterday, one of the guys (three brothers) attempted for 2 hours to convert greg to islam, even offering him his quran...pretty heavy stuff...but all in all we know they want comission for finding the apartment yet they will not come out and say it...this whole society relies heavily on favors and i guess these guys think we are some oasis of american cash that never ends...oh well, more on that as it develops...
finally, the food here rocks my socks in several ways, shapes and forms...A. pizza hut, mcdonalds, KFC and various other american staples lie just down the road, and THEY ALL DELIVER...im sorry that im a fat american that loves fast food and im even trying NOT to be that, but if you offer to deliver hardee's or mcdonalds to my doorstep, you are asking, practically begging me to perpetuate the stereotype...oh well, its has actually proven cheaper to eat out here every night for my room mates and i, which means no dishes which is excellent...huge sandwiches are about a dollar...beef, chicken, lamb, burgers, pizza...you name it, they have it for almost nothing...which reminds me it is time for breakfast and i am going to go try my very first filafil...wish me luck...i miss you all...more later...
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
cairo...5 days in
this place is quite possibly the most wonderful place on earth...not like paris or rome where everything is gorgeous and expensive...but amazing because the people are incredible, the food is fantastic, the traffic is dangerous, and because the pyramids are a hop skip and a jump away...
yes, greg and i verntured to the pyramids yesterday...see pics of that excursion and my apt at webshots...here...http://community.webshots.com/user/toddruffner
but besides everyone and their mother trying to rip us off, the pyramids were amazing, complete with camel ride, head scarf (prolly with lice) and sunburn...its amazing to see something so huge that you have been learning about since you can remember...so much history, just glorious in general...
but the real story is egyptian television...which apparently is loved by the rest of the arab world...but i will tell u i viewed an egyptian cartoon the other night...the premise was a family of leopards and 4 cowboys running around together...one cowboy goes bad, steals the 2 leopard babies...the rest of the crew gives chase...sound good? it was great! the leopards had really long tails for no reason (keeping things realistic i guess) and the leopards slept upside down like possums...
the dialogue...well, it was in arabic so i didnt catch most of it, but still it was nice sounding...there is no point to this story, but i enjoyed myself...
also, on the news (in english) they reported on all this 'serious' stuff on the war in iraq and tons of other pressing issues...then they moved to "LIGHT NEWS" where they reported about a young tourist in thailand being trampled and killed by an elephant while taking its photo...call me crazy, but there is nothing LIGHT about that...then again the middle east has some serious issues, so maybe thats sort of light by cmparison...but in the States that story was probably dominating CNN, FOXNEWS, NBC, ESPN, CBS, E!, SPIKEtv, Lifetime, and every other channel...odd how the media differs...really odd in fact
i start school in a week or so...happy muslim sabbath by the way...i had my first bar experience last night, so amazing and sooooo cheap...any of u americans ever drank and eaten while drunk for approx. 6 dollars? didnt think so...that includes cab rides and the company of a man mustafa....priceless if u ask me...
well thats about it...more venturing today with my cool room mates, shall be fun, headed to Mohandiseen, not that that means anything to anyone reading this...is anyone even reading this? if u do, let me know on facebook to see if its worthwhile...otherwise i may stop...but prolly not...
ma'a salama
tahd
yes, greg and i verntured to the pyramids yesterday...see pics of that excursion and my apt at webshots...here...http://community.webshots.com/user/toddruffner
but besides everyone and their mother trying to rip us off, the pyramids were amazing, complete with camel ride, head scarf (prolly with lice) and sunburn...its amazing to see something so huge that you have been learning about since you can remember...so much history, just glorious in general...
but the real story is egyptian television...which apparently is loved by the rest of the arab world...but i will tell u i viewed an egyptian cartoon the other night...the premise was a family of leopards and 4 cowboys running around together...one cowboy goes bad, steals the 2 leopard babies...the rest of the crew gives chase...sound good? it was great! the leopards had really long tails for no reason (keeping things realistic i guess) and the leopards slept upside down like possums...
the dialogue...well, it was in arabic so i didnt catch most of it, but still it was nice sounding...there is no point to this story, but i enjoyed myself...
also, on the news (in english) they reported on all this 'serious' stuff on the war in iraq and tons of other pressing issues...then they moved to "LIGHT NEWS" where they reported about a young tourist in thailand being trampled and killed by an elephant while taking its photo...call me crazy, but there is nothing LIGHT about that...then again the middle east has some serious issues, so maybe thats sort of light by cmparison...but in the States that story was probably dominating CNN, FOXNEWS, NBC, ESPN, CBS, E!, SPIKEtv, Lifetime, and every other channel...odd how the media differs...really odd in fact
i start school in a week or so...happy muslim sabbath by the way...i had my first bar experience last night, so amazing and sooooo cheap...any of u americans ever drank and eaten while drunk for approx. 6 dollars? didnt think so...that includes cab rides and the company of a man mustafa....priceless if u ask me...
well thats about it...more venturing today with my cool room mates, shall be fun, headed to Mohandiseen, not that that means anything to anyone reading this...is anyone even reading this? if u do, let me know on facebook to see if its worthwhile...otherwise i may stop...but prolly not...
ma'a salama
tahd
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
new observations...
i have noticed at least 2 things in the last 24 hours...A. it is very hot here for january (especially since i take the stairs to everywhere because the elevators are, how do you say...oh yes, dangerous) and B. traffic here is infamous for a reason...they have the highest pedestrian mortality rate in the world and i think i know why...
A. the dont use traffic lights unless absolutely necessary, which is nearly never, which means its a free for all
B. all road lines are ignored, hence why all the cars are rather dented on all sides
C. there are approx 10 million people in this city, and those who dont use the metro, use taxis and buses, meaning that there are more cars here than i have ever seen, at least more than silver lake has, that's for sure...
so here's my prediction, i have a 100% chance of being hit by a car...ive accepted this as inevitable, i just hope it is a small car going very slow...
anyway, i made some friends! my greatest fears have been alleviated momentarily because people around here are quite nice...i met sarah's friend Bethany who is great and made me lasagna and she introduced me to her room mate and an egyptian/german named Mustafa! he is absolutely crazy and cool and has all the connections in the world. he and i had a beer last night (dont abuse alcohol) and talked about his love for toby keith among other things...
additionally, many things are happening, i got a cell phone and my number is 016 1770414 but u have to add the country code i think too...anyone who calls me automatically gets 6 camels and a free mummy to repay their loyalty...im moving into my apartment tonight too i think which rocks and ill post pics of that too soon, and most importantly i am headed to the Sudanese Refugee place tomorrow with bethany to see how i can contribute by teaching english or whatever which should be absolutely incredible...
there is much more to come, especially as i explore, check facebook for pics and please write me emails (truffner@elon.edu) or write on my wall cuz i miss u all...
Tahd (arabic transliteration)
A. the dont use traffic lights unless absolutely necessary, which is nearly never, which means its a free for all
B. all road lines are ignored, hence why all the cars are rather dented on all sides
C. there are approx 10 million people in this city, and those who dont use the metro, use taxis and buses, meaning that there are more cars here than i have ever seen, at least more than silver lake has, that's for sure...
so here's my prediction, i have a 100% chance of being hit by a car...ive accepted this as inevitable, i just hope it is a small car going very slow...
anyway, i made some friends! my greatest fears have been alleviated momentarily because people around here are quite nice...i met sarah's friend Bethany who is great and made me lasagna and she introduced me to her room mate and an egyptian/german named Mustafa! he is absolutely crazy and cool and has all the connections in the world. he and i had a beer last night (dont abuse alcohol) and talked about his love for toby keith among other things...
additionally, many things are happening, i got a cell phone and my number is 016 1770414 but u have to add the country code i think too...anyone who calls me automatically gets 6 camels and a free mummy to repay their loyalty...im moving into my apartment tonight too i think which rocks and ill post pics of that too soon, and most importantly i am headed to the Sudanese Refugee place tomorrow with bethany to see how i can contribute by teaching english or whatever which should be absolutely incredible...
there is much more to come, especially as i explore, check facebook for pics and please write me emails (truffner@elon.edu) or write on my wall cuz i miss u all...
Tahd (arabic transliteration)
Monday, January 22, 2007
thus it begins...
the idea of culture shock is underrated. after a 24 hour delay in DC, i made about 91 flights, finally arriving in the cairo airport...i have been here less than 24 hours and already i can tell this is going to be an amazing, intense, scary, exciting, ununusual, interesting and dusty experience...
im currently residing in the lucious Cleopatra Hotel (odd considering the arabic language has no letter "P" so it comes out CleoBatra), but in all seriousness its not so bad, but i am only there for a few more days until the apartment search proves successful, which may be sooner than i thought after i used my networking skills to meet a kid who needs a room mate...actually he offered, i was too chicken to ask, but still things are going well. except i havent eaten a big meal since the flight yesterday, choosing to subsist on the reese's, rolo's and laffy taffy my mom bought me, have no fear though, i will be eating immediately after this post, probably at KFC (just kidding, or am i?)
i ventured on campus this morning, quite the lucky accident considering i was running late and had no clue where it was except "to the left" somewhere in the 9th biggest city in the world...but i made it, took (and bombed) a placement test and had a 10 minute interview to figure out my proficiency level to place me accordingly (apparently, my proficiency level is not-so-high). anyway, so now i am in a university computer lab, ready to head back home and get in touch with my contact Beth to help me get a cell phone and such. the campus is cool, like a little lush oasis in the center of Midan Tahrir, so i am excited to start classes (altho i have the next 7 days with no class) and to get to know the city better, which is where i am headed now.
check back often, as i will try to update every few days, maybe more cuz i miss you all terribly...
p.s. i joined facebook like 2 hours ago, despite my hatred of it, so i can keep in better touch with all of you...feel free to use my wall...
todd
im currently residing in the lucious Cleopatra Hotel (odd considering the arabic language has no letter "P" so it comes out CleoBatra), but in all seriousness its not so bad, but i am only there for a few more days until the apartment search proves successful, which may be sooner than i thought after i used my networking skills to meet a kid who needs a room mate...actually he offered, i was too chicken to ask, but still things are going well. except i havent eaten a big meal since the flight yesterday, choosing to subsist on the reese's, rolo's and laffy taffy my mom bought me, have no fear though, i will be eating immediately after this post, probably at KFC (just kidding, or am i?)
i ventured on campus this morning, quite the lucky accident considering i was running late and had no clue where it was except "to the left" somewhere in the 9th biggest city in the world...but i made it, took (and bombed) a placement test and had a 10 minute interview to figure out my proficiency level to place me accordingly (apparently, my proficiency level is not-so-high). anyway, so now i am in a university computer lab, ready to head back home and get in touch with my contact Beth to help me get a cell phone and such. the campus is cool, like a little lush oasis in the center of Midan Tahrir, so i am excited to start classes (altho i have the next 7 days with no class) and to get to know the city better, which is where i am headed now.
check back often, as i will try to update every few days, maybe more cuz i miss you all terribly...
p.s. i joined facebook like 2 hours ago, despite my hatred of it, so i can keep in better touch with all of you...feel free to use my wall...
todd
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