Pro-Cairo

This week has been hard in the sense that I have had to get on schedule again. Eight am classes are killer. I think the best news of the day is that I am not going to have to buy books this semester. They are all on reserve, hopefully this won't bite me later in the semester.

Today was another day of exploration. I went to Abasiya which is north east of Cairo. It is a busy section. More spread out than downtown and at some points even quiet. There were a lot of little dusty streets I would have liked to wander down if I had the time. Mostly I was constrained to the really busy streets such as Abasiya and Ramsis.

My quest was for the Police-Union Dojo. It started on the metro, which is crazy and I went at not rush hour. People crowd the ticket office and the doors. You have to move with the crowd or get left behind. And the doors close even if you are still getting on. I found that out; my jacket got stuck in the car doors and my roommate left behind. It was fun. And it is clean and efficient.

I got out at Gharma station armed with my map book (invaluable and whatever arabic i had). I used arabic to get pointed into the right direction and then did a lot of walking. I really did see a lot of neat small street and alley shops and wingdoos. I even saw an argument on the way back that could have been turning into a fight. Not so good.

The directions I received were was that is was at abasiya square and where ramsis and saleh salem cross. They are not the same spot but are close together so I checked them both out. I ended up talking to a lot of police officers and then resorted to looking for young people who I guessed would speak english (was 2 for 2 on this count). When talking to some of the officers I resorted to MSA which wasn't always clear, english which was less clear and then body movements like karate chops and punches, which just confused them even more.

Finally I found the Old Police Academy. I was one for three on the correct entrance as well as with people who spoke english. I was brought into a room and asked for my id, and they asked me questions such as are you christian, where are you from, where you live now, why are you here, why are you interested in Egypt you are american, and how are you. I responded some in Arabic and some in english. We finally straightened out why I was here and they knew what aikido was and that it was practiced here. I got the information I needed and went back home after walking around for four hours. I must say though the officers who were with me were very friendly and helpful. I have yet to meet a surly officer. And they are everywhere and I feel as if I can go up to them and ask for directions no problem.

I think my initial reaction as described in my blog of Cairo managed to flesh out what my americanized brain see as problems. It was an adjustment period where the bad stood out from the good. I have been reading and Cairo and living in it and seeing how people live here some in very bad conditions and how they live. Most books say that for the conditions that some people live in they generally have a good outlook on life. I am settling in and the good things in cairo are appearing to me even though they were always there. Traffic noise has even got less noticeable. Here are some good things: kushari, walking everywhere, lots of different people, markets, arabic, roommates, call to prayer, schoolwork, the library, this really cheap fiteer place, this really cheap tamiya place, this really cheap kushari place, old cairo, history, school clubs, and pretty Egyptian women.

I think my biggest excitement is too hopefully be able to practice aikido soon. Though the one officer said "Why did you pick Aikido, it is a very violent sport." I have never really considered aikido violent so we will see. Plus if I join up with this dojo I will get to work out with the police. How totally awesome!