first weekend

well i've survived the first week of Cairo. I've gone from my normal black-man fro to an Egyptian style quiff, thanks to our neighbor the barber. For the past five days he's been pestering me to trim up my bees nest. I must say, upon completion, Cairo is much more bearable the less hair you have.

Friday was spent sleeping and in the office. I decided to go in with Chris P, check some email, deal with my luggage and a few other backlogged details. I didn't feel great, suffering a spat of what Kent dubbed the Cairo colon. I'm sure you can all imagine what this entails. It results in quick sprints to the bathroom, irritable moods, and potential for disaster at every step. It was a direct result of my decision to jump right into Cairo food and drink. Instead of waiting a week or two, trying the slow and steady approach of gasto-assimiliation, I did the old dive right in and see what happens. My lunches have included the delicious fuul, a paste of beans and spices, as well as ta'mayaa, fellafel with an Egptian twist, both served in a pita. While the result was a bit delayed, there was a result none the less. This phenomena must be a fairly common occurance as all the toilettes I've come across thus far have a very noticeable addition to the standard "western" throwns we're used to. Right in the middle of the bowl is a little metal tube, bent upward. To your right, if sitting on the toilette, is a nozzle attached to the tube. With a slight turn of the nozzle the toilette user experiences quite the unusual sensation of having their ass shot with pressurized water. While this sounds entirely European and unnecessary, on the contrary, with out this beautiful feature my weekend would have been much more uncomfortable.


On Saturday, I was feeling better. We took a trip out to Al-Azhar park, a beautiful collection of green lawns, water fountains and sculptures, cafe's and ponds elevated in the middle of Cairo. From its top, I could see Cairo spreading out in three directions as far as I could see. We decided to grab a quick bit at one of the cafes. We sat for awhile, watching the sun set, when suddenly from below us, the evening call to prayer commenced all across Cairo. From hundreds of different mosques, sung over loudspeakers, the call to prayer mingled together creating a sound completely unique unto itself. i only hope those of you reading have a chance to experience it for yourself.

After leaving al-Azhar park we left heading down to Zimelikh, one of the two islands in the middle of the Nile, to celebrate one of the AIESECers birthday's. The party itself was on a boat tied to the docks of the Marriott. We spent the rest of the evening on the boat, looking out over the Nile, eating birthday cake and having a great time. In truth, most of my conversation was with Chris and Kent about American football. All of us found safety in a bit of home, talking about Madden and his retarded commentary, or Michael Vick and his dog fighting scandle.

All in all a great weekend.


Intellectual Chris, pretending he can read.


Kent, pretending we care about him.


Me, being bad ass with my new due, checking out the hot babes checking me out.


Sun setting over Cairo from al-Azhar park.