Boo! I've risen from the dead!

Define "really cool".

You might go to the dictionary.  That might work.   Most likely though you won't actually find a definition for "really cool," and even if you did it will probably lack experience and be a little dry.

Try looking a little further down the road.  Yeah, over there. About one tram ride, a little walking, and then a microbus ride, and then some more walking through dirt streets strewn with litter, shops of all sorts, the only people of which sitting out front are men with hookahs and moustaches, children dodging cars, sheep, chickens, peoples eyes following you because you just can't hide your foreign-ness and your in a group, which always draws more attention (albeit this one was only a total of six, two of which were Egyptians), being led by a 10 year old not in his school uniform.  And then your there.

Roman tombs.  1800 years old in the heart of a backwater neighborhood in Alexandria, Egypt.

A place which was discovered by accident [is there really such a thing?] and was once 20 meters buried underneath the surface of the earth. The underground tombs are probably another good 30 meters underneath the current soil surface.  You can't really take pictures there so I'm kind of at a loss to be able to explain it fully.  But the artwork and the carvings on the walls and the depictions of their gods and the tombs themselves and the process by which they transported the corpses down...

And then you emerge back to the top and think, "I'm standing in the midst of history.  What a different [and at the same time, the same] world it was back then."

One thing is for sure though, if we had those same Roman architects and masons and carpenters working to build our housing structures and buildings these days, the quality of construction would be much higher.  The process might be slower, but the end product would be amazing and last at least 1800 years.  Think about that the next time you have to tape and float your sheet rock!

p.s. - click here if you want to read up a little more on the catacombs.  

It's not the Blob

One striking facet of life here in Alexandria is the relationship between stray animals and humans.  And there is no shortage of either!

What I've noticed though is that the animals have no fear of humans. They do not perceive us as a threat.  I don't know if I've ever met stray animals that haven't been scared of us. These cats and dogs hardly even glance over their shoulder to acknowledge your presence.  Nor are they interested in being petted, and nor does there seem to be anybody interested in petting them.

Just remember though if you ever think you see the piles of trash on the streets moving, it's not the Blob come to get you.  It's just meal time for your furry neighbors.

Mish MaSri! Mish Masri!

To date, so far, I think I've only angered two Egyptians.  I'd say that's doing pretty good.

The first of the two I thought was over-charging me and I showed my dis-satisfaction and then he reacted.  He knew I was a foreigner.  

The second of the two was a shared-cab bus driver (i.e. - microbus, or mashru'a).  I got on and then realized I was on the wrong bus and immediately asked him to pull over.  He got a little upset and raised his voice and I apologized as he was kind of ranting on.  The other passengers recognized my accent straight away as non-Egyptian and they called out to the driver, "Mish MaSri, mish MaSri!!" "He's not Egyptian, he's not Egyptian!!"  Two things probably important to know about this are, if I was Egyptian I would have known the bus and not gotten on it in the first place, and you also pay during the ride in the micro-buses (not at the beginning like CapMetro buses).  So by assuming that I was Egyptian he was assuming that I was taking advantage of him.

Live and learn, slowly but surely.

Mom, if I smell like smoke...

...chances are it wasn't me who was smoking!  It's only that about 99% of the population here smokes non-stop.  Although I did try about two or three puffs from the hookah of one of our classmates, Nicholas, yesterday...but that was it! I promise!

Oh, and a couple more things...

The beginning of the week doesn't start on Monday.  It starts on Sunday.  Friday and Saturday are the weekend, which is pretty nice for Muslim folk and I assume that's probably the reason why it is that way.

There is no maximum occupancy to moving vehicles.  Well, there is, it just doesn't match up with the more American perception of the number of available seats equals the number of seat belts.  Just squeeze in.  It's all good.

Out of the small number of showers and sinks I have experienced here, I have not yet felt hot water come out from one of them.  They all seem to reach a maximum heat of pleasantly cool.

Clothes hooks are also nearly non-existent.  I've seen maybe 6 my whole time here.

Oh, and waiting in lines.  You can just about forget about that here.  Just kind of push your way up to the front with your money held out and don't worry if you cut somebody else in line.  You'll literally never order if you're worried about who was there first, or it's his turn not mine.  And don't be afraid to interrupt the transaction just before you by ordering before they're done talking.  It's all about timing.  Like, they're just about to be done and then you say, "I want this or that."  'Please' seems to be an after-thought.

Alexandria, Through Foreign Eyes

The horn is the most important part of the car.  You’ll you know what I’m talking about if you’ve ever been in a big city I suppose.  More on this in a post, hopefully soon to come, on the traffic here.

2)      Just about everything, so it seems, is broken in one way or another but somehow it still works, as it probably always has.

3)      It’s really dirty here.   The streets are littered with trash.  The sea is foaming at the mouth with it.  Anything resembling a receptacle able to contain liquids or solids becomes a trash can.  Basically you just throw your trash on the street and keep on walking.  The environmentally conscious of us seem to hold onto their plastic bags or bottles until the pretty rare phenomenon of a trash can is sighted. 

4)      There is no recycling.  At least not that I have seen.  My roommate and I have collected so far 8 empty plastic bottles (most of them 1.5 litres large) on the dining-room table because we just don’t know what else to do with them.  Additionally, just about the only water safe for drinking for non-Egyptians is bottled.  Catch 22?  And even then one needs to be careful that the bottle hasn’t just been refilled from tap water or the such.

5)      Taxis are a dime a dozen.  As are the microbuses which are cheaper, but more crowded, and not as exact about your destination.

6)      If you’re a foreigner, suck it up, you’re going to get ripped off.  An Egyptian friend is probably the best asset you can have in this city.

7)      The city comes alive at night.  Going to be bed at 1 or 2am might be considered a little early.  So far, I’ve been going to bed way early.

8)      Asking for directions is always a bit fun.  Alexandrians are very friendly and want to help.  They’ll give you directions even when they’re not sure of the exact location.  Asking more than one person is a good idea.  Though, often times, the directions are right on.

Who knew I was Pakistani?

I've got about a hundred things I could write about right now, but I think I'll start with the following.  Apparently I look really Pakistani, or Indian, depending on the person I'm talking to.  I've had at least four people ask me if i am from Pakistan, or comment on how Pakistani I look. It's the beard and the hat apparently.  I've also had people ask me if I'm from Russia, Syria, and Morocco.

There is one thing for certain though: I do not look Egyptian.  Peoples eyes on the other side of the city can see my foreign-ness.  I was amazed early on at how well tuned Arabs ears are hearing the different dialects spoken and differentiating between them.  Now I am amazed at how well Egyptian eyes can spot a foreigner.