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June July Continues More Ramblings
July 5, 2000:
Sometimes when you travel like this you find yourself
questioning your own existence. Is this really my life?
You think. Besides a few expletives this phrase is one of most
common things out of my mouth. Yesterday as I slugged around
through the streets of downtown Cairo sweat and dirt clung to
my body. Loud horns for the taxis and buses seemed dampened because
of the humidity. And when I uttered those words they fell to
the pavement, weighed down by all that hot moisture in the air.
What caused me to say that phrase wasn't some incredible 3rd
world experience, nor was it the usual swift move that I so often
take part in. (Latest example: Asking an Egyptian the question
"what?", when in fact I had really asked "prostitute?",
a very similar sounding word.) No, this time it was a combination
of the hot, humid, hazy Egyptian summer day; the crowds and traffic;
and the mere fact that halfway across the globe my family would
be waking up to my favorite holiday of the year: the 4th of July,
Independence Day. Some would call this homesickness or a nostalgic
longing for the familiar, and I wont argue with them. I missed
my home.
(Two seconds
after I took this man's photo he stuck out his tongue and crossed
his eyes, then he laughed and waived, "Welcome to Cairo!")
(Cabs rule
Cairo. Most, because of oil prices, don't make more than 10 Egyptian
pounds (less than 3$ US) a day but the drivers are friendly and
the music plentiful, a good thing since traffic in the city has
only two speeds: "stop-and-go" or "stop".)
I spent the day thinking about apple pie and fireworks. It
wasn't until dinner and the waiter brought me two sparklers stuck
in half an orange that I snapped out of it. One sparkler burned
down and then the other and, appearing through the smoke in the
distance, was the Nile. Those little fireworks were a simple
gesture but they summed up the big picture: Egypt is just so
damned friendly. So, happy that this indeed was my life, I smiled
back at the waiter and later ordered some chocolate ice cream
to celebrate it all.
(A friend
of mine told me that if you run into a wedding you'll be blessed
for the day. So I felt pretty lucky when I came across this one
-- a glamorous affair held at one of Cairo's oldest five star
hotels, the Nile Hilton.)
(In certain
parts of Cairo there are posh super markets, but if you're looking
for a mini-mart this is what you'll end up with: the Egyptian
7-11.)
July 9, 2000:
I could count the times since my
last update that I've been outside of this apartment on two fingers.
I've been tucked away here in this little flat in Cairo working
on the hard-copy of therewewere that's set to go to press
in mid-August. Things are looking great, minus the permanent
hunch-back I'll have after it's all done. As a distraction, I'm
going to go buy and pick up my next set of airplane tickets today.
Booking the tickets was so much fun. If you're ever bored try
asking a travel agent to find you tickets from Egypt to Yemen
to Australia, tons of fun. I don't think actually buying the
tickets will be in the same ballpark. I recently sent an email
to a friend I have in Sydney telling him that you could bribe
half a dozen Olympic officials for what I'm paying for these
tickets. But, after that short errand, it's back to work because
tomorrow at 10pm I'm taking an even longer break. I'm taking
the night train south (as if it wasn't hot enough in Cairo) to
Aswan to check out Nubian culture for a week. I'll be sure to
get some good pictures -- if my camera doesn't melt first.
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