In Cairo

Here I am, in the city called the Mother of the World.

Al Qahira, "the Victorious," is an amazing vibrant city with alleys filled to the roofs with people, people and more people. I hadn't posted yet, simply because I haven't known what to say about this place. Descriptions about this place by my fellow study abroad students vary as much as each corner does. Sanan, my Turkish roommate, calls it a "crappy Paris." Andreea, from Romania, says compared to her third-world country, Cairo is eight- or ninth-world.

I haven't been to Paris, or Romania for that matter. But I can tell you this place reaks in history, spices and bright dreams, yet is still probably Mr. Clean's nightmare incarnate. Maybe if he and the Brawny guy got together?

But I digress.

It's hot, but not stifling so - and this is still the warm time of year. basically you sweat, but not so much that you wish you were dead. The people are, well, people. Rich and poor, well-dressed and simple. At one corner, small children beg for "baksheesh," and on the next corner a man walks by you, wearing the latest fashions.

That's what's so amazing about this place - the sheer contrast brought about by those packed in this relatively small place. Cairo is known partially because there are so many people per square foot, and that claim isn't threatened by my experiences. From what I've seen, that means the rich and poor have at least one foot in each other's houses.

I have two main regrets. One, that what I've already seen can't be summed up in a short phrase. Two: that I don't know the language. It is so frustrating to explore this city without the most basic grasp of Arabic. I just finished my first day of survival Arabic, however, so I can limp through some basic conversations.

Ana isme Jeremy. Ana taleb fee Gama'a Amreeka fee Al Qahira. Eziyak? Ana tahbain.
(My name is Jeremy. I'm a student at the American Univesity in Cairo. How are you? I'm tired."

More tomorrow.