Winter in Alexandria

It's not that cold, per se, perhaps only dipping down into the teens - celsius that is : ).  So the problem isn't actually the temperature itself, but rather the fact that you get used to 50 F being freezing.  There is also, at times, a howling wind from the ocean that will turn your umbrella inside out or cause you to lean forward while walking.  The temperature drops a little at that. There are also not really heaters inside the homes.  I don't think any student, out of any of the apartments we're in, has a heater in their place.  It's colder inside usually than it is out.

It also rains a lot.  I don't think I've seen yet a violent, pounding rain, but it does come down generously and it might last for some time.  One of the rain's more favored times seems to be early morning around 5:30-6:00a.  It also visits during the day though at intermittent intervals.  Rain is great.  I couldn't agree more.  Alexandria's drainage system is not though.

As the last post shows, some get high-tided by a lack of a working drainage system and poor street designs.  I've heard that the drainage holes have actually been installed somewhat elevated on the walls in a certain area of town.  I don't know the veracity of that report though.  While there are extreme cases usually the most one has to deal with are puddles accumulated around the sidewalks.  Usually these puddles gather at the end of the sidewalk, where you would like to be stepping off of it.  The situation is compounded by the fact that the puddle sometimes extends out from the curb  farther than you are able, or willing, to jump and the fact that the water has brought all sorts of debris with it making for a muddy, trashy landing spot.  Not only that but often the parked cars follow the curves of the sidewalk exactly, like a Christmas fringe decoration hugging a door frame, thus effectively blocking the end of the sidewalk in any case, but they are also parked so close to each other as to make walking between the front and rear bumper of the two automobiles a squeeze at least or impossible at most.  The only option open to you now is to take a minor detour of about two cars, until you find an opening and a somewhat clearer landing pad.

There yet remains another problem: gutters.  I took their use and utilitarian design in the good 'ol US of A as a granted.  The water hits your roof, rolls down over the shingles, slides into the gutter, single file line, and empties out neatly where the gutter mouth is positioned very near the ground.  At the most you might be mildly offended that you have to raise your footsteps ever so slightly higher as you cross over the run-off.  Let's look at the picture in Egyptian terms.

To begin, the roofs are not slanted.  They are flat.  I have no idea what happens up there with them.  Does a mini-lake form before finally reaching enough volume to begin pouring through the gutter spout?  Or maybe the roofs are slightly titled in the direction of the gutter.  Who knows?  In any case, I hesitate to call this drainage system a system, or at least a well thought out one at that.  The "gutters" here are, in reality, a pvc pipe, the total length of which being estimated at about 4-5 feet.  It is placed somewhere along the roof line and funnels the water build-up off the roof and onto the street.

Now, picture this, anywhere from a 3 to a 13 tall story building with a pvc pipe creating a free-fall water fall off the roof onto the street below.  How wide are the streets again?  Oh, about wide enough to park one car on the side and squeeze another by, barely.  During a downpour this makes for interesting walking conditions.  Even during light rains the water comes down somewhat heavily out the pipes.

Compounding the situation is the fact that is not just one pipe per building, or per side of the building, yet there seem to be multiple ones, randomly placed.  They might jut off at different angles and be facing different directions.  I've seen some of them pouring water out when the sky is clear also.  I've been slightly scared to think about what that water is and where it is coming from.