Arrival in Cairo

I arrived in Cairo after about 24 hours sitting in airports and airplanes. But it was all worth it when I arrived in Cairo. The first thing I noticing when flying into Cairo was the desert characteristics of Cairo, there is absolutely no grass in sight and very few palm trees. It definitely appears to be a different world at first sight. When arriving in the airport I met up with many students from the American University in Cairo (AUC) and we were driven back to the dorms.

The traffic in Cairo is definitely crazy, the only thing I could compare it to is New York City or Paris, but even those comparisons do it no justice. There are always many cars and trucks on the roads, even a few men and women riding donkeys or camels in the poorer areas. But the thing that sticks out the most is that there is a different set of rules of driving. Honking your horn in Cairo isn't used how it is in the US, but more of a turn signal.

Driving from the airport to Zamalek, the neighborhood in which my dorm is located, was a very good introduction to Cairo. I was struck immediately by the history of the city, there are so many buildings, churches and mosques that exude the history of this Cairo. Along with these historical aspects you are definitley struck by how modern Cairo is, there is every classic American restaurant such as Hardees, McDonalds, TGIF Fridays, KFC. There is also many other American stores all over the place that demonstrate how globalization has put its mark on Cairo.

Watching people in Cairo demonstrates how diverse this city is, many men and women dress in very modern western clothes, so much so that I had no problem blending in. But on that same accord, there were also people dressed in traditional Arabic dress, mostly older people though. Driving through Cairo, I also realized that Cairo has elements of the city that are very poor, the city is very crowded and it is apparent many people are with out enough work.

Arriving at the dorm, I was checked into my dorm room. I am still awaiting a room mate, who may be flying in soon to Cairo. The dorm rooms at AUC are very nice, much bigger than my dorm room at OSU. Plus I have a terrific view of the streets of Cairo from my window. At the dorm there is very amenity you could imagine like a cafeteria, gym, tv room, and computer lab. Also, our dorm has a lot of security, at least 5 guards on staff at all times.

That night I went to dinner with many of the girls I met at the dorms. We went to a Deli near our dorm which had very good food. Many of the girls I have met so far at AUC have very similar interests to me. It has been very easy to make friends.

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