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@eleanormackenzie
New adventure
Writing this from my layover in São Paulo. First time I’ve ever set foot in South America and it’s a bit underwhelming to sit in the airport terminal for 3 hours. It smells very strongly of bug spray. That’s kind of the only impression I’ve formed of Brazil.
Anyway here we go again with the blog as I’m off to Bolivia and Peru for 5 weeks! The itinerary is vague to non-existent and the plan is to…
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What Europe means to me
With all the turmoil of Brexit campaigns over the last few weeks, I’ve started to think more and more about what exactly Europe represents for me, not in terms of economics, bureaucracy, policies or anything, but just on a very simple, personal level. I come from a British family but I was born in France. I lived in France until I was 16, at which point I moved back to the UK and my parents moved…
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Alas, it is time for me to leave Cairo. I knew this was coming, I’ve known I would be leaving for months (sort of the point of the year abroad – there’s an end date) but it still feels very strange. This is quite a long and personal post, by the way, so bear with.
I have had an amazing year in this city. There have been great moments that have made me laugh till I couldn’t breathe, less amusing, quite unpleasant moments, scary moments… Basically, everything you can expect from daily life anywhere. Life is never going to be perfect, regardless of what you do and where you are in the world. So given that there will always be frustrating, unusual, hilarious, very weird things that happen wherever you go, I can definitely say that my year in Cairo has been as great as I could have hoped for.
It feels odd to look back at the very beginning, searching for memories to mention one last time. September feels like another lifetime. That first morning in the hotel with Alice and Kathryn, discussing what to wear because we had no idea what the “norm” was, giggling at the stares we were getting, marvelling at the heat… essentially noticing for the first time little aspects that now fade into the background of my every day life. The first weeks were spent with my nose glued to the window of buses and taxis, taking in every little detail, laughing at the men carrying 500 pieces of bread on planks of wood, balanced on their heads, on a bike, on a crowded roundabout. Nervously glancing around when the taxi driver got into a massive fight with the driver next to us. Half-smiling every time someone said “Welcome in Cairo” or something similar. My daily behaviour was very different 8 months ago to what it is today. Now, the yells in the street, the traffic, the noise and pollution and the general chaos of Cairo have become tiring, the novelty has long since worn off.
To be clear, this is not to say that I don’t like Cairo. I just don’t like certain aspects of Cairo, which most locals don’t like either. I mean, no one likes traffic. If you do, you’re weird. Stop reading my blog, go away.
Anyway, I do love Cairo. I enjoy the crazy lifestyle, and it makes a very nice change from my life in Europe, where things always go to plan, in a timely, organised fashion. In this respect, Cairo has taught me a lot about myself, about the kind of person I am and can be in very different environments. It’s quite difficult to explain what I mean by that, because you can’t pick specific instances and from them quantify your courage or knowledge or anything, but anyone who has been taken out of their comfort zones will know that you find out a lot about what you’re capable of when you do something new.
I have met so many incredible people, made friendships that I know will last, and strengthened friendships with the students from Edinburgh. It is true that when your year abroad gets overwhelming, you need to be able to turn to someone you know, someone who understands, someone who is also missing home. I believe every student on their year abroad, no matter how much fun they’re having, has moments when home feels very far away. I’m lucky enough to have amazing friends from Edinburgh who comforted me, picked me up, helped me through the tougher times and made the good times so much better.
Cairo has taught me a lot about myself and about people. I reckon I’ve become more cynical since I moved here, because you do learn, after a while, not to believe someone when they say they’ll pick you up at 7. In fact, just to be safe, always add an hour, otherwise you’ll be ready to go, staring at the clock whilst your friend is either stuck in traffic, or just hasn’t left the house yet. I’ve become more cynical about everything, even ordering food (you just don’t know what you’re going to get sometimes). My Arabic has certainly improved here but my confidence is also knocked down a few pegs on a regular basis when any Egyptian starts to laugh when I say something. It doesn’t matter whether I said it right or not, but the novelty of seeing a white girl speak Arabic never seems to wear off. I suppose I’ve just learned that there are many things in Cairo that I cannot take for granted like I would in Europe. Taxis is the main example that comes to mind but I’ve written about those so many times everyone is probably tired of hearing about them.
I’m going to miss the rhythm of life here, the carefree, happy-go-lucky spirit that most people seem to have. People are friendly, they smile at you in a way that Londoners or Parisians never would. Egyptians love to laugh, which is frustrating when you’re trying to buy a coffee and the guy calls his mate over and insists that you ask again, just to hear you say three words in Arabic, but overall is enchanting. People make friends with their neighbours when stuck in traffic, or with waiters or doormen. 90% of social interactions involve some sort of joking around, facilitated by the use of “habibi” (my love, my darling). The sound of laughter brings life to every street, and this lightheartedness in the face of hardship is one of the things I will miss most about Egypt.
I have so much more to say about this country, but this is getting absurdly long. It’s difficult to accurately describe my feelings about leaving Cairo, but the knowledge that I will be back before long is certainly a comforting one as I start to pack my bags.
Thank you for your warm welcome, thank you for the memories, and see you soon. Inshaallah.
“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” Alas, it is time for me to leave Cairo. I knew this was coming, I've known I would be leaving for months (sort of the point of the year abroad - there's an end date) but it still feels very strange.
When you walk around the city, you see funny things, so here are a few of them. One of the many reasons I’m going to miss this city is because every day, I see weird, amusing things in the streets, or I overhear odd bits of conversations… Daily life is certainly very colourful!
Love the infrastructure, makes taking a walk in Cairo more of an obstacle course.
Maybe the English teacher could teach the French teacher how to spell his subject
Very healthy, inspiring cereal to be found here…
That says genuine (phonetically) in Arabic, which or any Arabic student is quite entertaining.
A shop that sells eggs. Nothing but eggs, forever. I never go into the shop, I stand outside because I’m too scared I would break everything
Went for tea at the Ritz, wasn’t exactly what I was expecting
Ah, the irony of misspelling the name of the NationAl centre for Translation
Clearly interrupting some sort of meeting in the stairwell
Bob smoking drinks, another shop name that makes you wonder if the owner even knows what it means, or whether he just googled random words.
The gems of Cairo When you walk around the city, you see funny things, so here are a few of them.
"Are you deaf yet?" "What?"
“Are you deaf yet?” “What?”
Walking to school every day has taught me certain skills: how to figure out which cars will stop and which will speed up, how to swerve with your upper body to avoid motorbikes, people, etc and how to tell aggressively at drivers who honk just as they draw level with me, whilst simultaneously giving them an angry stare.
I’ve also determined the exact loudest point of Ahmed Orabi, the street we…
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The weather
I’ve talked about it before and will talk about it again because I’m British, and it is, after all, what we are known for.
Seriously though, you can’t not talk about the weather when merely walking to and from school becomes something of a survival act. And not because of the traffic. Actually the traffic doesn’t help when hot fumes are flying around, you have to swat flies away and concentrate…
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Why I love Egypt
Why I love Egypt
I love Egypt. Egypt is a truly amazing country, with a wonderfully rich history and culture. The media, however, portrays Egypt and the Middle East as dangerous, terrorist infested areas. This means that by and large, when I tell people I’m off to study in Cairo for a year, they often look at me strangely and ask if I’m crazy. No, I’m not. I’m choosing to look past the negative sides of Egypt…
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Flat raids in Cairo
Flat raids in Cairo
A friend of mine, also an Edinburgh student, has been living in Downtown Cairo since September, with a German guy and an Egyptian man. He lives very close to Tahrir Square and there’s an embassy round the corner or something important so he’s no stranger to security guards and coming home to find the road is blocked off, or having to show ID when he goes out to get shawarma. A few weeks ago,…
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Assorted bits and bobs about Cairo
Assorted bits and bobs about Cairo
Kathryn and I, since we moved flat, have started walking pretty much everywhere. This means two things: we see a lot of cool and interesting bits of daily life in this city, and our clothes are always incredibly dusty.
We were walking around our neighbourhood, Agouza, and came across a gentleman welding (or soldering, Kathryn says) very casually in a busy street, wearing flip flops, shorts, no…
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My friend Fahmy took in a husky puppy for a few days as a favour to a friend but really it was just a favour to me. I mean, have you ever seen a husky puppy? They’re absurdly cute. Vicious though!
I should mention, before I get carried away rambling about how cute Lozza was, that Fahmy also owns a pretty big rottweiler. She’s called Pixie. I love her, even though she beats me up every time I visit. Almost gave me a black eye once, and some pretty big scratches. She’s just playing though, she doesn’t really understand how big and strong she is.
Lozza was sort of the opposite. She was tiny but tried to act really tough. She was quite successful, to tell you the truth. She was teething when we met her, so her favourite thing was to bite anything and everything that presented itself to her. A hand, an arm, a scarf, stray locks of hair… You get the idea. By the way, this was about two weeks ago and we all still have scars from her bites, so for those of you who are thinking “aww, puppy bites, how adorable!”, yeah it was adorable. Until it became super painful and you just had a dog attached to your hand.
Anyway, introducing the excited little puppy to the very strong rottweiler was an interesting experience, but they actually became best friends. Having said that, Pixie was definitely jealous when all of us, including her beloved Fahmy played with the puppy more than her, so we had to be careful to share the love.
It is quite incredible how playing with something cute and fluffy can instantly boost your mood. I’ve had a dog for almost 4 years now, but she’s an old lady (we adopted her when she was 12) so we can’t play that much. Despite that, my love for dogs has just shot through the roof, and in fact it’s surprising that I’ve held out this long without writing about dogs. They are better than people and anyone who owns a dog will attest to this.
Husky Puppy My friend Fahmy took in a husky puppy for a few days as a favour to a friend but really it was just a favour to me.
Taxi drivers in Cairo
Taxi drivers in Cairo
After our little hospital venture, we got in a taxi to go home. Kathryn and I were both exhausted, and one of the benefits of having such a strong friendship is that you don’t need to make small talk in the taxi. We both hate that. So we settled back and prepared to sit in silence, but the driver had different ideas.
As soon as we sat down, he started babbling about buying a liver for one…
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Hospital experience
So I’m a clever girl and I sprained my wrist, it doesn’t matter how (don’t ask Kathryn), the point it is hurt like hell so we decided a little trip to the hospital was in order. We researched it a bit and discovered the best place to go for foreigners is the As-Salam Hospital in the south (in Maadi).
We took a taxi there on Friday morning, not really factoring the Muslim prayer times into this…
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Al-Azhar Park, or the Garden of Flowers, is very close to the citadel my faithful readers heard about last time. We actually went to the park the same day we went to the citadel, but in the interest of not taking up too much of your day, I’m trying to keep my posts short.
The park is hands down the biggest green space in Cairo, which in itself makes it worth visiting. It also happens to be very beautiful and lively. Win-win, right?
We went on a very sunny day, so there were families lounging in the grass, musicians playing, kids running and laughter floating on the air.
It costs 15 LE to get in (£1.40 or so), and you could take a picnic and a book if you wanted. There’s also food stalls and a restaurant in it, which is apparently delicious but also expensive so yeah, we passed on that. We just strolled around for a while and watched the sunset from the highest hill, from which you can see most of Cairo, or as much of Cairo as you can see on the average day through the haze of pollution and dust. It did do us a world of good to see some trees and grass, though!
Not much more to say, but look at the pretty pictures :)
Al-Azhar Park Al-Azhar Park, or the Garden of Flowers, is very close to the citadel my faithful readers heard about last time.
The Citadel, built by Salah Al-Din way back when (for more info, see Wikipedia) sits on top of a hill in Cairo and it’s a really beautiful place.
The thing is, when you know you have nine months to do all things cultural in Cairo, it can be quite hard to motivate yourself to get out on weekends and cross them all off the list. In the first semester we were so tired all the time because we had a lot more classes, so we didn’t always have the energy to get out of the house, which meant we arrived back after Christmas having not been to the Citadel, amongst other cultural hotspots.
So Kathryn and I went last weekend, and it really is a lovely place, and also a popular destination for locals just as much as foreigners.
On the hill there is the mosque, which is huge and simply gorgeous on the inside. The decorations are sumptuous, and despite the overwhelming crowds, you can still move around and appreciate the splendour. There were even men (and one woman) praying when we were there, unperturbed by the masses of people milling around, shoes in hand. There are many kiosks on the hill, as well as the police museum or academy or something – a place where lots of canons and airplanes and military things are displayed. We didn’t linger.
You do get a wonderful view over the city from the top of the hill, where there are wide spaces to move around. Families, groups of kids and Asian tourists in hats were all strolling around enjoying the return of the sunshine and heat to Cairo.
The one thing I will say is that I notice a clear difference in the way I get treated when I’m alone with Kathryn, compared to when our Egyptian friends are with us. Their presence means people leave us alone and we can go about our business in peace, but not when we’re alone, no. Kids and young men come up to us all the time, asking for pictures, asking for our names and where we’re from. Most will back off when you smile and shake your head, or say no to the camera they’re shoving in your face. Occasionally though, some guy will keep yelling even after you’ve walked away, or else follow you a little way down the street. It’s not that annoying, at least I never feel threatened, but it is strange, and not something I ever will/want to get used to.
The Cairo Citadel The Citadel, built by Salah Al-Din way back when (for more info, see Wikipedia) sits on top of a hill in Cairo and it’s a really beautiful place.
Engagement Barty
Fahmy and Sheko invited us to an engagement party last Friday night, which was extremely fun. It wasn’t exactly an engagement party as such, because those are very formal, and the families officially greet each other and make speeches and whatnot. Not here, this was a relaxed party for friends of the couple to come and get drunk, essentially. And we did.
The party was excellent because all the…
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Funk and Pop Funk and Pop is the name of a festival here in Cairo, they host it several times a year from 1pm to 9 or 10 at night.
Big feet small feet clean feet dirty feet.
Big feet small feet clean feet dirty feet.
We went to Khan el Khalili again before Christmas (haven’t written for ages but have lots of stories to forgive the lack of chronology). Kathryn, Alice, Ariana (old Norwegian-Afghani flatmate) and myself headed over to the huge market to get some presents, and even though I had been before, I discovered a lot of new things. First of all, it’s such a huge place that you can easily go back five,…
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