I have been in Egypt for a few weeks now. I am taking four classes in the Arabic Language Institute program at AUC: (1) Fusha (2) Writing (3) Colloquial (4) Spoken Colloquial. We also have the option to take extra curricular activities. I chose to take a calligraphy. The workload for class assignments is heavy for the program, but I am learning a lot. I am able to speak at a basic level, such as ordering at a restaurant, taking a taxi, and shopping at Khan al-Khalili.

In addition to our courses, we are taking trips on the weekends. This past weekend, we took a day trip to Saqqara and Memphis, which are located not that far from Cairo. We went inside a “mastaba” which is a building used for burial, which has a flat roof and numerous rooms. All the walls within the mastaba have highly detailed artwork, some with color, hieroglyphs, and there is a statue inside. We also went inside one of the smaller pyramids. The best known at Saqqara is the Step (Djoser’s) Pyramid, and there is a mortuary temple. There isn’t near as much to see at Memphis, which is located in the Nile River valley. Saqqara is in the desert, just beyond the valley, which provides an environment better suited to preserve the ancient pyramids and structures. In Memphis, there are a number of statues to Ramses II that survive.

The ride to/from Saqqara was also quite interesting, as we passed through more rural or agricultural areas of the Giza Province. We took a road that followed along an irrigation canal, and passed through a number of smaller towns and villages. Around Saqqara, there also happen to be numerous “carpet schools” where children learn the trades craft.

I have now been in Cairo for a few days and am adjusted. Yesterday, we had orientation for the Arabic program at AUC. I’m familiar with where everything is on campus, and what to expect with the program. I will be placed at the intermediate level for Fusha (MSA), which is what I hoped for. I will also have a course on colloquial Egyptian Arabic, and other courses/activities.

Today is Jumah (Friday), which is the weekend here. During the afternoon, I went for a walk around Zamalek, found a local grocery store, and figured out where other things are. It’s not so easy to find one’s way here, since the streets follow no logical pattern. We got mixed up coming back and used some Arabic to get directions, including فين (feyn) - where, يمين (yamin) - right; شمال (shamal) - left; طول (tool) - straight or على طول (alaa tool) - straight ahead.

In the evening, I got experience with taking cab rides and dealing with paying the fares. I went with a group to downtown, to take a ride on a felucca - this is the arabic word for a small, wooden sail boat. The word for a regular boat is مركب (markib). Anyway, we know how much the cab fare is for going that distance, and gave the cab driver that amount. When we got out, he argued with us, wanting 2-3 times the normal price. The thing to do is just walk away. That’s how it works here.

After the felucca ride, we went to an Egyptian restaurant (مطعم - mata’m) where I had a vegetable (خضار - khudar) dish with rice (أرز - aruz). I’m used to saying “shukran” - شكرا (thank you) very often. The food was good (كويس - kwayis) and delicious (لذيذ - laziz). Then we asked for the bill. (ممطن الفابورة, لو سمحت - momkin el-fatoora, low samaht) We walked around the Tahrir Square area, looking at the shops. Though the area was very crowded, so we went back.

This was my first full day in Cairo, most of which I spent getting oriented with my neighborhood (Zamalek) and the area around the university campus in downtown Cairo. There are numerous shops and restaurants in Zamalek, including a regular coffee shop nearby that also serves sandwiches and other items. As well, there are two coffeeshops down the street from the university campus, though there are options for eating and getting coffee within campus. A shuttle bus takes me between Zamalek and the university campus.

The American University in Cairo is located in downtown Cairo, near Tahrir Square. The university buildings are not all connected and located together. Instead, there are two “campuses” located down the street from each other. The university is well-protected with security and ID checks when coming in. While at the university this afternoon, I was able to get registered and was placed in the intermediate level.

I am having some difficulty with speaking, due to significant differences in spoken colloquial Egyptian Arabic and the Modern Standard Arabic that I have been learning. For now, I have a small pocket dictionary with Egyptian colloquial to assist me, and slowly getting the hang of it. When courses start, one of them will be focused on colloquial Arabic, so I should get much better at it soon.

I have been extremely busy during the past few weeks, with moving out of my place in the U.S. and preparing for the summer program at the American University in Cairo.

I left “yesterday” - June 2 in the late afternoon/early evening from Washington, D.C. Then, I arrived in London at 11 a.m. (local time) on June 3, where I had a layover of a few hours. Then boarded an EgyptAir flight around 4:00 pm, which was a tad late departing. We arrived here by 10 pm, but there is a 2 hour time difference from London, so that flight was really only 4 hours long.

My flight from London was on a huge jumbo jet — a Boeing 777-200. As always, I expected we would end up deboarding through a jetway and into the airport. That’s not how they deboard here. Even with huge jumbo jets, we got to walk down stairs, onto the tarmac, and onto a shuttle bus that took us to the terminal. It appears they do things this way for nearly all flights, at least from what I could tell from all the planes (of various sizes) on the tarmac. I have done this in the U.S. with tiny commuter flights/aircraft, but this was different. But, once into the terminal, things were very easy and I did not need to walk far.

Coming through immigration and customs was extremely easy, as I already obtained my visa ahead of time. The officials briefly looked my passport and let me go, and I didn’t have to stop at customs. I thought they might want all my computer equipment items documented, to have a list to check against when I leave. Taxes on electronics in Egypt are very high, and they don’t want people sneaking stuff in and selling it here. But, in my situation, they didn’t care and I made it through immigration and customs very quickly.

I had a ride from the airport to where I am staying in Cairo, though it was a long ride. In Egypt and much of the Middle East, the way people drive is MUCH different, with disregard for any traffic laws and safety. People zip in and out, cut each other off, don’t stay within the lane markings, they go fast, and using headlights is optional at night. So, it’s not a huge surprise that there was a traffic accident on the highway, into the city from the airport. There was a very long backup on the highway, but I finally got to my place in Cairo after midnight (June 4).