Video Tour

Baiti (my house)

Ok, so the story of how exactly I arrived at finding a home is a bit too long and complicated to tell in a blog post. Also, It's 2:45am here and I'm a bit too tired. But as of tomorrow, I have a place to live. Now, I must tell you that it isn't the apartment I showed you earlier. It was close. In fact two others and I were at the apartment to sign the contract and the owner walked in and said that he didn't want to rent to students. So that one bombed. And I sulked for a day and a half because I really liked it. But then today we got a lead on a big four bedroom place in Garden City, just a few minutes walk from campus, and we met with the simsar and took a look. At first, I was not impressed. The lift going up to the place was quite old and had its quirks, but upon entering I was completely surprised. But let me speak of the downsides first. The place really hasn't been kept up. It is about two years late for a thorough cleaning. It needs new carpet, and a complete paint job. While one of the bathrooms is remodeled, the other one needs to be re-done. The kitchen needs light, and a more counterspace, and some of the furniture is simply ghastly. Also, the building is nothing special to look at from the outside. Ok, now the upsides: The place is simply the largest apartment I have ever seen. It is at least 3000 square feet on two levels! It's the penthouse unit at the top of a ten story building. It has four generous bedrooms (2 upstairs, 2 down), three bathrooms, a large living room, a full dining room (which we will rarely use) it has a marble stair case, upstairs there are two reception rooms and one big lounge with large windows overlooking the city on two sides and built in reclining cushions/couches that wrap around three sides, and lastly there are three large balconies that offer amazing views of the Nile, Midan Tahrir Square(the center of the city) and (I think) the Egyptian Museum. All of the bedrooms have french doors that open out onto the balconies. Currently I will be living there with Nicole, an American student from New York, and Marius, a Dutch student from Amsterdam. We will need one more student for the last bedroom and perhaps one more to room with me. The entire place is 5000LE per month (which is 1250LE/$220 each with four. If I find a room mate it would drop to $140 for my part) and we'll be there at least until June.

The next four days are going to be non-stop cleaning for everyone in the house. It is going to take some serious work to get the place up to shape, and unfortunately the land lord, while welcoming the improvements, isn't willing to help much--so we're on our own. And that's fine. I'm probably going to paint a few of the rooms, and we're going to buy area rugs for the common walkways. There is a bi-monthly garage sale in Ma'adi and we're going to try to get some dirt cheap desks and etc for one of the rooms that will be the study room. We'll also need some lamps and stuff to hang on the walls. Thankfully we're in Cairo and most of what we will need to spruce up the place can be found much cheaper than in the US.

So My battery will die soon, so I'll post a few pictures that I snapped earlier. They really only cover one corner of the place so I will have to snap a thorough tour tomorrow. And it is perfect timing too since I check out of my flat at the Clergy House tomorrow morning! Thank you God!

The Foyer looking into the first living room.


The living room from the dining room (the bowab and simsar are pictured)


Part of the first living room


View from one of the balconies


Another view from the same balcony


The Apartment Hunting Team

A Day in Pictures

Currently I am caught in the middle of negotiations over apartments, and while everything is up in the air don't have much to say. Here are a bunch of pictures. And leave questions in the comments if you are curious of anything. Cheers!

Kids


Arab Moped


Possible Abode in Zemalek (currently haggling)


Nile Corniche


Clergy House Flat (my temoprary accomodations)


View From Clergy House Flat Balcony (26th of July street in the background)

Shady Street

Kids At Midan Tahrir Square

Right now I am relaxing on a nice couch in the perfectly quiet common area of the Anglican Guest House. This is home of the Bishop of Africa in a building across the street from the Anglican Cathedral on Zemalek. Tonight, I have a coffee in hand and laptop on my lap. The lights are low and the place is empty so I have it all to myself. Over the backs of the arranged couches is a dining room table that seats twelve. They have communal meals here a few times a week, and I am invited. To my left is a row of bookcases against the wall, full to the brim. I haven’t even inspected their spines yet to see if there is anything curious or interesting to read. This is a perfectly delightful place to stay. I have a tiny room upstairs but it has an opening onto the balcony and enough room for me, my luggage, and a small desk with a lamp. The showers are hot, and the staff are perfect: David and Margeret, (a cute old British couple) and Daniel (a soft spoken African in flip flops).

So today was my first whole day on my own. Gemal, Manel, Amir, and Nahar took such good care of me, and I am very grateful for everything they did for me. And I expect to stay in touch with them as the year goes on.

The taxi dropped me off in front the All Saints Cathedral and I swiftly cobbled my bags upstairs and got settled. I walked down the street and grabbed some breakfast at the Marriott. And I got ripped off. I went in to a small American style diner and asked for a menu. The waitress said she had a “buffet finish 10, 30) which I thought was the price, ten pounds thirty. Well, what she meant was it was over at 10:30 but I was still welcome to it. Turns out it was 60LE.. I went out in a huff.

After a shower I grabbed the nearest taxi and made it over to AUC through Cairo traffic. Then a good chunk of the day was consumed by signing up for advising, checking course schedules, looking at a flat, getting passport photos for my school ID, coffee at Cilantro, perusing the AUC bookstore for a good city map and a colloquial Arabic phrasebook, poking around campus, and basically hanging out until 5:30 so I could meet Ahmed six blocks away in front of the British Embassy to look at an apartment. WOW, what a place! Gorgeous view of the Nile, literally across the street from the British Embassy, decent interior, and a friendly landlord who invited me and another American out for coffee after inspecting the place. We spent the time in lively conversation, the American, Charlie, and I exchanged all of the things we wanted to do and see while we are here as well as out opinions on this class or that, and various parts of town and the chaotic nature of the place. Ahmed talked about the different kinds of families in Egypt and how people are the same even though cultures are different. It was a good time. On the way back Charlie pulled me into a little Falafel shop and we both ordered sandwiches. Charlie doesn’t speak a word of Arabic; all he did was hold up two fingers and said “Two. Two.” The workers were left to figure out the rest. As they made our orders I taught him a few useful words. “Shook-RAN” he told the shopkeeper as we left. I smiled at his pronunciation. “Shukrun,” I said over my shoulder. “Massalama” the man replied.


AUC Campus & Me at the Corniche


Two Nile Views

Signs at Night

Apartment Wanted

So I was apartment hunting today. Amir's mom Manal took me out to an internet broker this morning. It turns out all of their ads on-line are old and merely a way to get people to come in to their office. There was a Club Aldo across the street from the broker's office so Manal and Nahar could go boot shopping. I hung around outside and snapped some pictures. (below)

We went by the Anglican Church in southern Zemalek and I secured a temporary room for the next week at their hostel. The place is VERY nice and clean. The next stop was AUC. The place was closed but thankfully they let me in to look at the information bullitan board where they post apartment advertisements. I pulled out my camera and took a photo of each notice. Manal was suspicious and had to see herself that they actually showed up in my camera. "I don't always like technology!" she said. "Why can't you just write them down with a pencil? You're just like Amir!" I laughed.


Zemalek Street


Magazine Vendor

Holiday at The Red Sea

Egyptians consider themselves spontaneous. Amir's father Jideed received a phone call from a family friend, and within the hour we were packed and ready for the beach. Walking down three flights of stairs, we arrived in front of the Beshay's building, which is on a normal Cairien street in the neighborhood of Agouza which is off the west bank of the Nile. The agenda for the day was set aside, and we loaded up in the car and headed out into the cloudy polluted streets of the city. Let me say this city can be a bit overwhelming. It almost seems impossible for such a chaotic mess to actually function for so many people. Yesterday was a particularly bad day for pollution and the entire time we were in the city outdoors it felt like I was breathing in a garage with a car running. We headed east towards the sea and I was given another informal tour of sites as we passed them. At one point we drove through not much more than an alley in a vast cemetery on our route east. Eventually we made it out of the old city and into an area which is called "new Cairo" and beyond that to the normal Egyptian desert. We pulled aside and waited for the rest of the vacationers to catch up. When they pulled up in their SUV, Amir and I rotated into it to allow the kids to have the back seat of Amir's parent's car. We rode another hour to a compound on the edge of the Red Sea and parked. Two other families (all the husbands were elders at the Beshay's church) arrived and the adults began "a good Egyptian breakfast". (beginning at 1pm.) I tried to explain how it's actually lunch or stretching brunch, but I didn't get very far with that line of reasoning.

Once Amir and I got in the back seat of the SUV earlier there began the pattern of the rest of the day: everybody speaking in Arabic and me sitting there for hours, listening and LEARNING. It was great. Of course members of the families would break away to explain this joke or that story in English, and Amir would sometimes translate in my ear, but otherwise I was lovingly left to listen and participate in my broken Arabic however possible. This is the perfect environment for language learning. I loved it!

After "breakfast" in George #1 and Hanan's condo I rode in the car while Amir drove and his mother instructed (he is getting his license in four months and uses time outside of the city as an opportunity to practice. Of course a quiet compound at the sea doesn't even compare to the chaos of driving on the streets of Cairo, so he has a long way to go!) Anyway, we drove and everybody else walked down to the beach. Once there we all sat in the sand and talked. George #2 spoke the least amount of english out of the group was the source of most of the laughter throughout the day. While the topic of lunch was discussed, he suggested to me we go to "pizzta hut, one stuft cruft pizzta, with cheese and cake, and sliced egyptian nuts" of course we all laughed and laughed at this. It became the rolling joke throughout the day. Earlier he (and his wife) had conveyed the story of their honeymoon in cyprus where he wanted to find the time at an expensive restaurant and asked the waiter very politely while tapping his wrist in gesture "What color is it please?" Of course, much laughter. George #2 was bald and therefore wrapped his wife's head scarf over his head like a woman to shield the sun. George #1 told him it was "Muanith Geddin" which means "very feminine". Later, while coming back to the group during a game, I addressed him "George Gemeela" which means Beautiful George (but with a feminine adjective) Surprised, (at my mad Arabic skills) everyone burst out laughing--including George #2.

So this was the rule of the day. Me not knowing anything, but still a part of the fun, much relaxation, good people, the sea on a nice day, and in the end we did go to Pizza Hut (at 9pm for "lunch") and not one of us ordered the Stuft Cruft pizza.


The Beach, Red Sea


Walking back from the beach (Nahar, Gimel, Amir, Hanan, & Noar)

Cairo Sunrise

This first picture is an image taken at the top of the stairs while disembarking the air plane. My first view of Egypt from the ground. How appropriate. My plane leaving Amsterdam was delayed around five hours. About two of those hours were a good thing because I got back to the airport at just about the time when my plane was scheduled to leave. (Thankfully I knew it was delayed because Pearl called a family member and had them check the flight status.) The other three hours had an unexplained 1.5 hour delay along with another 1.5 hour delay to get two flat tires fixed. Yes airplanes get those too. The pilot came on the intercom just before we were to pull on to the runway to explain we had a flat tire and had to turn back to the terminal to have it fixed (later turned out to be two flat tires!). But finally we did take off and the flight was completely uneventful except to say it was quite empty and therefore I was able to stretch across three seats and get some minutes of fake sleep.

By the time we were flying over Egypt the sun was just showing over the horizon. The plane flew directly over central Cairo and I got some great views of Zemalek and the nile. Flying over the city is a good way to get an idea at just how immense this place is. Looking down from above one would think to see normal neighborhoods with house lined streets. But look again and those aren't houses. They are 3o storey buildings!

Amir was waiting for me on the other side of customs. We introduced ourselves and walked through a deserted lobby to the car and his father. The bags were handled by a busboy and drove off through a deserted city. It was Friday morning. 7am. Nobody was out. I was a bit dissapointed. Where was the clogged, congested, chaotic, city I had come here for? Amir and his father pointed out various sites and explained some general details of the city. I kept thinking it was evening. Kept thinking the sun was going down not coming up. We drove across the Nile and turned off the first Agouza exit and pulled into a nice shady street which was home to the Beshay's home. I came inside and met Amir's mother and sister. We talked, watched some Arabic TV (where I kept asking what this word and that word meant) They graciously understood that I was exausted and suggested I get some rest. Well, I slept for eight hours. And I am turning in soon for hopefully another eight hours! Goodnight!

God Roep U

If anyone has read the book "Living on the Devil's Doorstep" by Floyd McClung you will remember the Good Samaritan building in downtown Amsterdam, the one with the big "Jesus Loves You" sign on top. Well I read the book, and remembered the building enough to visit and have an americano in the coffeeshop downstairs. The place is run by the Amsterdam YWAM base, subtly Christian, artsy; they served beer and people smoked (only tobacco!). Ha.

Danke Amsterdam

I'm currently sitting in an internet cafe at the Schriphol airport in Amsterdam. Exhaustion is setting in.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - Hurricane-force winds and rain lashed northern Europe on Thursday, disrupting air, rail and sea travel for thousands, toppling trees and construction cranes, and killing 11 people, including a 2-year-old boy crushed by a collapsed wall in London.

That is an excerpt from MSNBC today. The wind storm pretty much mucked everything up from the moment we crossed the North Sea. First we had to circle for a little under an hour. Then we dove into the wind for a CRAZY landing. Actually the plane touched down quite softly, but getting close to the runway was a chore. I don't know how those pilots do it! Next most all avenues of access to the city center were canceled and I was stuck at the airport for three hours wandering and wondering how I would get downtown. Finally I gathered enough nerve to hop on a bus that was headed in the general direction and planned to work things as I went. Thankfully I found a bus driver that spoke english and got some help with the transfers. A Surinami woman next to me was headed to the City Center as well and she graciously offered to show me through the jungle of transit options (Commuter Rail, Bus, Subway, and Tram systems!) Well, because of the storm all of the busses and trams headed downtown were stopped as well and there was no way to get downtown. The woman (who I later learned was named Pearl) told me she was going to walk so I tagged along. We walked for about 40 minutes and the journey turned into a delightful tour of the non touristy Amsterdam. What a beautiful City! The architecture here is fabulous. Pearl took me through various neighborhoods and showed me some of the popular sights. When we finally reached Central Station and she left to board her last bus home, I was happy to have the local expertise and company.

My time is expiring at this terminal. So I'm signing off. Keep your pants on. I'll have pictures up soon.

OK! Pictures:


Amsterdam From Above


Street Bikes


Amsterdam Street


Dinner at some restaurant