September 20, 2003

The problem I have in writing this is that there is so much that I want to tell you about, that there is no way I can write it all. I will try my best to give a good summary.

My experience started off with eight days of orientation in Chicago. It was an incredible experience to be in community with 63 other young adults from the PC (USA) and ELCA.

I arrived in Cairo, Egypt just before midnight (Egypt time) on Friday, August 29. I felt the heat and humidity immediately. The roadways appeared more like something seen in a video game, where cars were racing each other, and trying not to crash. There appeared to be no order, yet everyone appeared to be fine with it. In the following days I would see that lane dividers were for decoration only, and that traffic lights and stop signs were ignored as well. The busiest intersections have traffic police directing traffic, and they are obeyed. In general every inch of roadway is used. Roads with two marked lanes will have three to four cars side by side. Headlights are not used at night, but rather "flashed" only to alert other drivers or pedestrians.

More interesting for me is how pedestrians cope with the roadways. In Cairo, on the roads cars have the right of way… always (except for the few place where traffic police control traffic). Pedestrians must wait until the road is clear, and quickly cross before the cars start coming. For the busier roadways, pedestrians will cross a couple "lanes" at a time, and wait in the middle of the road for the traffic to clear. For those of you who will remember the old arcade game "Frogger", memories of that game came to mind.

In the coming days I adjusted to both the weather and culture. What appeared to be chaos on the roadways was actually a very ordered system. The system appeared as chaos at my first impression, but over the past three weeks I have learned that there are rules and customs that are followed. The horn is used continuously in Cairo. There is a system of communication between cars based upon how many times the horn is pressed in a row. Headlights are flashed during night for communication of position. Drivers know where they can go, and where they can not go. The same is true for pedestrians. People in Cairo know where and when to cross the street. I was a little bit scared the first time I attempted the Egyptian style of crossing the street a lane at a time, and weaving around moving cars, but after a few times I have become comfortable know when it is safe and not safe to cross. Also, except when coming around a corner, most drivers will see pedestrians, and avoid hitting them.

The temperatures appear to be slightly cooler than when I arrived. The first week was spent with daytime temperatures between 95 and 105 degrees F. The humidity was high as well. I was able to adjust to being comfortable in this weather, but did not like the fact that I would always be sweaty. Most building do not have air conditioning in Cairo. Fortunately, my apartment has an air conditioner in the bedroom. I turn it on during the night to cool my bedroom to a comfortable 80 degrees for sleeping. I have been told that adjusting to the summer heat will make it that much more difficult for me in the winter, where temperatures of 50 degrees will feel like I am in Alaska. Egyptians are amazed to see foreign tourists in short sleeves when the temperature drops into the 60’s.

Food is good in Egypt. In Cairo, one can get almost anything. I have seen KFC, Pizza Hut, and McDonalds, although I have not visited them yet. There are also Applebee’s and Chili’s in the tourist areas. I have enjoyed Egyptian food, and my favorite places to eat are Egyptian restaurants. The neighborhood I live in is very Egyptian (not many foreigners), so there are only a couple of restaurants. One of them is an Egyptian fast food chain called "Cook Door" (www.cookdoor.com.eg). Yes, the name is in English. They make great sandwiches tat are large enough for dinner, for about $1.50 American. This is still beyond what many in Cairo can afford to spend for dinner. Another favorite restaurant of mine will serve a full dinner for about $1.50 American. Most people in Cairo still shop by going to small neighborhood shops that line the streets. There are bakeries, produce shops, electronics shops, butcher shops, and small grocery stores. American style supermarkets and one stop shopping places (similar to Fred Meyers, if you have been to the NW US) do exist in some of the wealthier neighborhoods in Cairo. These places will carry a great variety of Egyptian and imported food. Many American brands can be found in Egypt, although a little more expensive than in the US. I have been trying to buy Egyptian brands and foods, although I have been buying Prego spaghetti sauce. I have been eating a lot of Egyptian corn flakes for breakfast, Egyptian pasta and spaghetti for lunch, and frozen Egyptian spring rolls and chicken for dinner.

Transportation is great in Cairo. It always makes me happy to see crowded busses and subways in Cairo, rather than the nearly empty busses that are common in the Seattle area. My experience in Japan lead me to believe that mass transportation can never be any more efficient than there, but that was before I arrived in Cairo. Buses are common in Cairo, and usually crowded. Catching a bus in Cairo involves knowing where they go, and letting the driver know you want on. The driver will then slow down (not stop), and the person then runs up to the bus and attempts to jump on through the back door. The passenger than must make way to the front and exit the same way (while the bus is still in motion). Fortunately Egyptians are generally friendly and helpful people. I have seen people near the back door of the bus help passengers to jump on, even when the bus appeared full.

I had a similar experience with the subway system (the Metro). Subways are an easy way to get around Cairo, very inexpensive (about $0.06 a trip), and cover a good part of the city. Subways are often crowded, but have women only cars in the front, so that they do not need to be sandwiched in with men. Subways do come to a complete stop, but it is very common for people to be jumping in as the doors are closing. One time I came in as the subway was pulling in. I quickly ran up, and then stopped when I noticed the subway was packed. In a manor that appears typical, the people near the door waved me to come on. I jumped on as several Egyptians helped me in, and made sure there was room.

I have only had a few opportunities to meet Egyptians, but my experience has been very positive with them. Most of them are very friendly. I talked to an Egyptian actor, who made only one request of me. He wanted me to tell people in the United States how Egyptians really are and how Egypt really is. People here are generally very concerned with being a good host to guests. This is true in their homes, and in general as a nation towards visitors from other countries such as the United States. Some Egyptians want to voice their frustration about the US government, but have usually kept a separation between Americans and the American government. Others do not even care to talk politics. One good view I heard was that when two people are talking it does not matter what their governments are doing, or where they are from, because for that moment we are just to individuals talking.

I have been fortunate to meet many other great people here. I live in the same building with people from many countries. These include US, Canada, Britain, France, and South Africa. There are people from India, Kenya, Zambia, and other countries I have met in Arabic classes. It has been great for me to learn different ways of viewing the world from these people. It is also interesting that we come from different backgrounds, but are united in being foreigners in Egypt. I am currently taking four hours of Arabic classes a day, five days a week. These classes have been very difficult for me, but I have slowly been learning the language. I can now read, write, listen, and speak a little Arabic. My reading is not fast or perfect, but has been improving. My vocabulary consists of introductions, greetings, and a few other words, but is also improving. My classes end at the end of next week.

I have also had a great opportunity to get to see the Christian community in Cairo. This has included visiting a Coptic Orthodox church, and worshipping with local Christian congregations once to twice a week. One interesting difference between Egypt and the US is that Friday is often the main day for worship services, since the typical Egyptian weekend does not include Sunday. I worshipped with three different English language congregations. These congregations have pastors from English speaking countries (Canada and the US), and serve mostly foreigners from English speaking countries. There also is a significant number of Sudanese who are part of the congregations. The Sudanese are war refugees, who live in Cairo, often with the help of refugee programs supported by Christian churches in Cairo. It has been good to meet a variety of people in different types of worship. One of the churches I have been to, St. Andrew’s, has an ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) pastor.

The best church experience I had so far was when I visited an Egyptian Christian church (Olale ?: I don’t know the spelling). This church is part of the Evangelical church, which was started with the help of Presbyterian missionaries, and follows a tradition close to the Presbyterian Church. As soon as we entered, which as a couple minutes late, a couple motioned to us to sit in a certain place, then a man and his wife sat behind us. The man then proceeded to translate parts of the service into English. He also translated the entire sermon. The highlight for me was joining with them in Communion. It was a powerful reminder of the unity we have as Christians, despite cultural and language differences. The pastor introduced us, and then welcomed us in English. After the service we were welcomed by much of the congregation. There were many children studying English in school, and they wanted to talk to us in English. This congregation can serve as an example to many American congregations in being welcoming to guests. Despite not knowing Arabic, I felt at home there.