My favorite part of the day

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I would have to say that I really enjoy the one hour, although sometimes longer, morning bus rides to work. However, most of my co-workers and bus patrons would disagree. There's something special about the morning and difficult for me to describe, but it fascinates me to watch the city come to life. During most mornings the city is blanketed with a layer of smog (thank you pollution), which makes the city look absolutely beautiful. The sun is still able to shine through and creates silhouettes of the buildings and the tall palm trees in the distance. Its rays shimmer on the dark Nile River. All the while, parents drop their children off at school and proceed to drive off to work. Shop keepers are opening their stores for business, and street vendors have been up since dawn selling anything from fresh produce to hats and scarves. The street vendors selling produce paint the city with vibrant greens, reds, oranges and purples. Young boys play a game of soccer in the school's playground while the young girls begin to line up for the start of the school day. Several scooters zoom past, some carrying an entire family, while men line the streets hoping to jump on one of the cramped public buses or find an available and more comfortable seat on the hundreds, maybe thousands of microbuses in the city. Then there are those men who choose to start their day off by sitting outside at a cafe, sipping on shay (tea), smoking a sheesha (waterpipe or hooka) and watching, as the city wakes. Traffic police are out in full force, directing the usual traffic, although it is debatable whether they are actually helping. As we pass Midan Ramses (Ramses Square) people are beginning to fill the sidewalks and streets, crowds of people emerge from the metro station and train station, while others descend underground to transport themselves to the other side of the city. On the highway bridges you notice businessmen in 3-piece suits, yelling frantically into their mobiles, driving Mercede's or BMWs. Alongside, you observe the working-class man driving his 1975 Fiat, praying that it will not break down during his commute, while also on his mobile. The devout Muslim men have already said their morning prayer, but relax in or just outside the mosques. Moving further out of the city, to where AUC's new campus is located, the land opens up and there you are met by the wide expanse of desert. However, as you approach Katameya/New Cairo, you are hit with construction as far as the eye can see. Some housing communities are already built and could make you think that you are in Palm Beach, Florida because of the dark pink and tan stucco villas. To my knowledge, no form of public transportation exists in this area, therefore construction workers and others must rely on hitching a ride from a pick-up truck or waiting for the private microbuses. Along the road, you are welcomed by huge billboards, advertising the all-in-one Villa, Shopping Centre, and Entertainment complex that is coming soon, or the new Carino's Italian or even better, a Chile's Grill, also coming soon. And once you think you've seen everything, BAM! right in the middle of the desert is the Coliseum! You pause the song that is playing on your iPod, move forward out of your seat, squint your eyes, rub them a bit, and realize that it's only a building on the Future University of Egypt's campus. Seconds later, I arrive on campus and prepare myself for the workday.

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Comments

[Brent]

Who Would Have Guessed
that you are a science student with prose like that?

[Mike Radtke]

Paragraphs?
They help champ. Believe me, they help. Mike

[Katy]

sounds nice
Rob- it sounds absolutely amazing there!