Don't you point your toe at me

Morning bus ride to the campus for registration. I cruised around Zamalek early, there are always clusters of people around, Cairo is definitely a 24-hour a day city, many stores open at 7am, and don't close until 10pm, with markets open around the clock. I try to say "Sa baah al-khair" to everyone I pass, or at least provide a smile. Some reciprocate, others don't. I've heard other students complaining about the erratic friendliness of Egyptians, but from what I've seen, you need to reach out to them. Sure, there are the incessant whistles, catcalls and kissy kissy cab drivers haranging Western women, but there is nothing you can do about it. It's not malicious, just, I don't know what it is, but there is the fascination and assumption, as one can read in any guide book, that Western women come to Egypt to have sex. Why? How we dress, our independence, it's beyond me. It's a rite of passage if you will. In addition to getting sick. A lot of people have gotten sick already, with the typical "Mummy Tummy," or head colds. I haven't, but those who did ate what they knew they shouldn't have. I think I can escape it. And all us female ALI "AUCians" have resigned ourselves to our "desert storm paratrooper" wardrobes. You can walk outside in a teeshirt, but you'll be sorry you did.

Cairo is a fabulous city. With some street smarts and an understanding of the culture, its fabulousness only serves to be amplified. It may take a good six minutes to cross a street, the pollution is awful, and armed Egyptian military guards who stand in packs of three along every single street in little huts may be intimidating, but beyond this, the rewards of being here far outweigh initial confusion.

Registration was this morning in Oriental Hall. It was cool to see everyone finally gathered, and most arrived last night. Everyone is exceedingly friendly and accomplished. Most are IR majors or in international law, others are into Middle Eastern studies, and it's about 65/30 grad school/undergrad, with another 5% of older people, and me. There is also a bloc of about ten people sponsored by the Australian Ministry of Defense (I saw their names on a spreadsheet behind a desk, probably shouldn't have) and people sponsored by the EU. I met a guy this morning, Ali, an Iranian-American who is a grad student at Vanderbilt, and just spent a month touring about the Gulf States, and has been here in Cairo two weeks, with many adventures to tell of. There is also Eyad, the ringleader of the Yale clique I've been sucked into. I'm going out for coffee Wednesday with the Yale clique, feeling very special.

I have the next couple days free with some AUC registration responsibilities, and there is a free trip out to Giza and the pyramids, and of Coptic and Islamic Cairo Saturday I am going to do. June 16 through 18 is the trip to Alexandria, and the next two months are filled with trips and activities, much to do. In Alexandria we'll get to see the new Bibliotheca Alexandria, a massive revival of the ancient library.

And if you want to live like a king, come to Egypt. The exchange rate rocks. 17 cents to the Egyptian pound, and for example, 2L bottle of water is .80 piasters (Egyptian cents), so that's 13 odd American cents. And when I went grocery shopping, I thought I bought a ton of stuff, and I did, but it was just 66 pounds, $11.22. And cabs are dirt cheap too. I tried the debit card at the HSBC and it worked fine too, but I didn't even need money, and probably won't. You can't find everything here, but I need to explore more (nail clippers anyone? actually, I don't want to be receiving 14 nail clippers in the mail next week, I'll find some...).