First Impressions

Cairo, a dusty, polluted, traffic-filled but charming city. Charming? Yes...and here's why. The people in the vast government ministry building smile when they take your passport and say it will be back to you on Sunday, 'inshallah', realizing why that sounds funny to a Westerner; everyone at your three star hotel, including the "maids"--rough looking guys with missing teeth or a punched-in eye--greet you enthusiastically each morning with a "sabah al-heir" and praise your improving Arabic, your ''official'' press credential is a flimsy business-card like document to which they have stapled your picture which was cut crooked with scissors; when your taxi driver asks a fellow Egyptian for directions, a guy jumps in the taxi to help him find his way to your destination, taxi drivers captianing rolling junk piles hurriedly throw a useless seat belt over their shoulder when they see a police officer; no one actually runs you over as you cross through five-lanes of traffic without a light; walking alone at night feels fun, even exciting.

My body is not reacting that well, I am having trouble eating, and the pollution from the cars makes me nauseaous. And I am nervous about how to use my time--to study, to research, to write, especially as this presidential election looms. But I am OK. This is going to be an adventure.