caught in the rain

Today started as any other day, [I write in the dining room as one of the hall lights flickers on and off ominously] to the sound of traffic and horns. Those horns are my curse, I cannot escape them.

I set off after a quick bite of the fiteer from yesterday (it was so sweet you can only eat small sections at a time). My goal was to find some citi bank atms. I had found the streets yesterday but the number part of the address means nothing to me and probably never will. I hoped to find the street and then walk the length of it until they appeared. Mission accomplished. I found two one in downtown and one in garden city. Downtown=Noise, fumes, lots of people, and those horns. Garden City=Quietness, less people about, trees and some grass, residential housing. I walked in garden city searching for these elusive atms, like cash dispensing needles in a giant concrete smelly haystack. I was amazed at how quiet it was and how much prettier it was than downtown. It was these winding roads, with fenced off houses some of it in disrepair, but generally pleasant.

Returning to the streets I came back to the dorm. On the way back I explored a little more downtown seeing the outside of a mosque up close, and buying breakfast. I must have had an angel watching over my shoulder today because everything seemed to go right, especially after two days ago. The atm gave me money and I was able to buy food without any problem. For those who don't know, people here don't believe in lines. It is a crowding technique that one must master to get to the front. I bought more ful and this dish called kushari. Kushari is amazing it is noodles with rice on top with chili sauce and chick peas. I didn't even get cheated out of my money! Walking home though, I got funny looks from people. Carrying a bag of ful and two containers of kushari (for my roommate though he did not eat it). I just knew something was up, and unfortunately this place of the food called Felfela, was 3/4 away from home from the university. I got back and asked my roommate was kushari a breakfast food, because someone on the street said to me, Oh, kushari for breakfast?. He said in his quiet way, no it is usually for lunch and dinner. Oh well.

Then it rained. I had planned to go to zamalek, a supposedly nice area, but these plans were twarted but mother nature. Instead I lazed around, alternating between watching movies with really bad acting, I called it a day with the tv when homeward bound 2 journey in san francisco and charlies angels came on, and reading about cairo and planning my zamalek trip.

When the rain stopped I went out. Just to note, Cairo is dirty, when it rains it gets even dirtier. My guess is the dirt and such in the air is pulled onto the ground, and the drainage here is not very good. Huge puddles everywhere that cars have to drive slowly through. I was planning to walk to zamalek. My book said the route was around 2 km. I still don't know how much that is. I tried to find the entrance to the bridge for pedestrians but it didn't look like there was one. It was also near the ghetto area I was in yesterday, and I got a little nervous.

Therefore, I turned around and decided to have an adventure, I called a cab. Enough said. Ironically, this cab ride was good, the driver though he didn't speak english was young and nice, probably not jaded and cynical like the other crazies out there who just seem bitter to me. He got me to zamalek and I paid him a fair price, and he didn't argue. It was new to me. Zamalek was much nicer than downtown. I had something more like dc in mind, but add a flair of egyptian charm and you get zamalek. Lots of quiet when away from the bridge, lots of trees and lots of pretty houses. Lots of younger people it seemed, and more foreigners. It was kind of nice to hear english from a couple of people as I passed. I wandered around, finding some of the resturants that I had read about earlier and I accidentally found the only organic food store in cario. Therefore I bought some bananas, and let me tell you I cannot wait to eat them. I decided to walk back because it started to rain. I crossed over a bridge and saw people fishing, after seeing the trash in the nile and from what I have read, I don't know why they would fish, but then again I eat stuff out of the bay in the summer so can't really say all that much against that.

Walking home I followed the bridge, and passed through a section of town not downtown, but maybe the outskirts? it seemed a little poorer but not as poor as I was before, but I don't know if I would walk there in the dark. I was fortunate to be walking right by a mosque when the call to prayer occured. It is broadcast over these horns and echoes on the streets. It happens a couple times a day, 5 to be exact, and is calming. Also this reminded me of friday with prayer. It was broadcast for a long time. Very neat listening to and calming too.

Now I am home, getting hungry, listening to American music and planning to stay in.

Bless your heart those who read these really long blogs. In arabic you would say "baraka Allahu feek."