Lesson learned...

NOTICE: This is a long post. If you just want the good stuff skip to after the picture.

This past Thursday, Egypt participated in the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations. This was a big deal in its own right. Making it even more significant was the fact that their opponent was none other than the dreaded national squad of Algeria.

Suffice it to say, there's some serious bad blood between the two countries For instance, two decades ago, a crucial match in Cairo devolved into an all out brawl between players, supporters, and referees. An Egyptian supporter lost an eye; INTERPOL issued a warrant for an Algerian player; but the Pharaohs came out on top 1-0.

The most recent chapter in this dramatic rivalry, came a few months back, when both nations were vying for a spot in the World Cup. They met in Cairo on November 14. The way the standings stood, Egypt needed to win by three goals to qualify. If Algeria lost by only one, tied, or won, they would clinch the spot at Egypt's expense.

Tensions were through the roof even before the game began. When the Algerian team arrived in Cairo, they were allegedly attacked by over-zealous Egyptian supporters, resulting in some broken windows and bloodied faces. Fueling the fire was the cold war that erupted between the two nations, including biased and accusatory media accounts, internet death-threats, and a series of cyber-hacks and counter hacks that left websites in both countries in disarray.

Well, with all of this build-up, wouldn't you know that the game ends with Egypt winning 2-0 (with the second, critical goal, coming in the waning moments), meaning that neither side had managed to obtain an advantage in points that would allow them to qualify. They were effectively tied in the final standings, forcing a playoff the next week in Sudan.

With everything on the line, Algeria emerged victorious, 1-0. Egypt's World Cup ambitions would have to wait until 2014, that much was certain. However, what happened after the match was anything but. Basically, Egyptians have accused Algerian supporters of killing two Egyptian fans in Sudan. Whether this is true or not, I have no idea. Nonetheless, most of Cairo thought it happened, and the Algerian embassy, which is about 5 blocks away from where I live, was the site of some "spirited demonstrations."

Which (FINALLY) brings us to Thursday's semi-final in Angola. I went out with my roommate, Islam, and some of his friends to watch the game. After wandering around the streets of Cairo in search of the perfect place to watch, we settled for a street outside a place called Bar Jamaica, where the game was being projected onto a bed sheet. The narrow street had quite practically turned into a movie theater.

Egypt went up early, and soon had a comfortable lead. The game was never really in much doubt, as they went on to win 4-0 to advance to the Africa Cup of Nations championship. After the game, things went berserk. Thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate. Cars zoomed through tight spaces at high speeds, smashing their horns in celebration. Enthusiastic youths broke out homemade flamethrowers.

Now, being a tall, pale, obviously out-of-place foreigner, you might think I felt a little uncomfortable. Not at all. That's because my roommate taught me a handy little phrase that, when said, will guarantee you safety in Egypt. Basically, it was a very insulting chant directed at the mothers of Algerians, the exact meaning of which I will not share on this blog. However, upon me screaming it in the streets, droves of Egyptians surrounded me and started chanting along. At one point, they tried to pick me up and put me on their shoulders. No lie.

The night continued with several stops at bars and clubs. Along the way, I saw some bizarre sights. I saw a guy get hit by a taxi (he was fine); I saw a car drive by at 50 mph, with a guy standing on top, both hands waving an Egyptian flag; and probably the best sight of the night, I saw a moped zig-zagging through the Cairo streets, four people sitting on it, the woman in the back holding a baby.

Anyway, this has kind of been a round-a-bout way of getting to this, but the lesson I learned that night is to not go anywhere without my camera.Yeah, I might at times look like a stupid tourist, but some of this stuff just cannot be passed up. I won't make the same mistake this Sunday, when Egypt squares of against Ghana in the finals.

The stray cats of Cairo...

As you probably already know, cats played a significant role in ancient Egyptian society. Praised for their ability to get rid of pesky vermin, cats were so highly regarded that some even took to worshiping them.

Cats still play a role in life here in Egypt, but it's a bit different than the one they played a couple thousand years ago. Instead of being sacred, most cats in Cairo are strays- and they're everywhere. Walking around the streets of Zamalek, you'd be hard-pressed not to see a cat every few blocks.

Anyway, I've always been a bit of a cat person, so I've a undertaken a pet-project (no pun intended) of sorts. Namely, photographing the various stray cats of Cairo.

I've been at it for a couple of days, and I've been able to put together a decent album thus far, with some truly exceptional shots (in my humble opinion). Anyway, the album, "The Stray Cats of Cairo," is available by clicking here. I'll be making updates almost daily. Take a look, let me know which ones are your favorites (I personally love the one pictured here), and feel free to share your thoughts on my little artistic venture.

Another day, another dish of kushari...

For those trying to keep both their stomach and their wallet full, there is perhaps no better dish in the world then كشرى (kushari). The stuff is dirt cheap, delicious, and filling- in other words, exactly what I'm looking for. It consists of pasta, rice, corn, and caramelized onions, and is served with a healthy amount of marinara sauce. Vinegar and hot sauce are also available. The portion shown in the picture above was obtained for only 4 Egyptian pounds (roughly 80 American cents), and it's enough to keep me going for almost an entire day.

I'm rich...

 ...well, not really. But the 5 to 1 exchange rate certainly helps. Pictured above is an assortment of  جنيه مصرى (Egyptian pounds) and piasters. Pretty simple...100 piasters to a pound. The designs on the currency are really interesting. On one side, it's in Arabic, and usually some significant Islamic building or monument is depicted. The other side is in English, and displays something from Egypt's antiquity...in other words, its "tourist history."

 Everything here is fairly cheap. You can get a decent meal for 4-7 pounds, which is under 2 dollars. Not too shabby... good thing too, because I want to save my money up for travel.

The best night ever...

So i just had the best night of my life. After Egypt defeated Cameroon 3-1 in OT, me and some buddies, per the suggestion of my amazing Egyptian roommate, اِسلام (Islam...that's his name) went to a pretty kickin' place called  حرية (ha-ray-a..."freedom") . After sufficiently watering ourselves, اِسلام took us to a joint called "After 8." After 8 was the most amazing place I have been to in my life. It was an incredibly sophisticated, chill club, which اِسلام described as "underground." The lights were dimmed, the booze was flowing, and the Egyptian couples were doing things you'd never see them do on the streets of Cairo (aka, kissing and touching). It was surreal. But easily the most amazing part of the experience was the live band. I don't recall their name at the moment, but, simply put, they transcended the language barrier. Their music connected with me- that's the only way I can describe it. Anyway, we stayed there for about three hours and had a heck of time. I even got to meet the lead singer and guitarist. My man  اِسلام has some serious connections.

It's going to be a good semester. 

It's official...

...I'm an AUC student.

I had my first visit to the AUC campus today. It's located 15 miles east of Cairo, basically out in the middle of the desert. Even worse, you have to sit on a bus for 1 hour + in Cairo traffic to get out there. However, the campus itself is beautiful and brand-spankin-new. Believe it or not, I'm kind of excited for classes.

My Egyptian digs...

So for the next few months, I'll be residing in a dormitory on the island of Zamalek, which is situated right in the middle of the Nile in downtown Cairo.

Here's an inside look at my new Egyptian digs:

I'm living in a "triple." It's rather elongated. My bed's the one in the middle.

My "comfy" bed. It feels like an elephant sat in the middle of it for too long.

 

My closet. Didn't bring enough long-sleeve shirts, cuz apparently it's winter in Cairo, and the locals can't handle the freezing 60 degrees weather.

Looking down on the Cairo streets five stories below.

Lounge outside my room, where apparently this  old guy named Khaled gets paid to sit, smoke, and watch TV all day. He's pretty cool though.

 

The roomate, Phil. Believe it or not, he's from Mankato...and goes by Bellerophon.

 

 This freaked me out. All of the toilets have this strange, metal tube sticking up, right below where you do your business. I don't know what it's for and I don't want to find out.

The flight in...

So, I've made it to Egypt.

The trip wasn't too eventful. Just long, boring, and full of sleep-deprivation.

I flew out of Minneapolis-St. Paul at 7:00 am on Friday morning. If that early departure time wasn't bad enough, I got absolutely no sleep the night before. From MSP, I headed to Charlotte, NC, arriving there at about 10:30, with plenty of time to catch my 11:30 to JFK. I got about 1 combined hour of sleep during this period.

Now, with a 4+ hour wait in New York, you'd think I would take the opportunity to catch up on my sleep. For whatever reason, that ended up not happening. So at 6:30 pm, I boarded  EgyptAir's Boeing 777 and took off.
 
Since I was awake for nearly every minute of the twelve hour flight, I'd be glad to share the details with you. We took a pretty standard path across the Atlantic, looping north and coming toward the European continent just south of England. We followed the French coast on the Bay of Biscay for a bit, then cut straight across, over the Alps. Once over the Mediterranean, we followed the coastline of Italy, jumped across to the Aegean, passed over Crete, and then basically took a straight line to Cairo. Exhilarating.

After landing and getting through customs, we met up with some other AUC kids and took a bus to our dormitory in Zamalek, driving through the heart of Cairo along the way. My first impression, which has been confirmed a few times since, is that Cairo is a lot like Mexico...on crack. I lived in Torreon for 3 months and have vacationed in other parts of Mexico a few times, and couldn't help but noticing some similarities. But more about that later.

Anyway, I got to the dorm, went through some procedural stuff, checked out the room, bought a phone, and then spent a couple of worthless hours with a big group in Khan al Khalili, a giant, insane bazaar (again, think Mexico on crack). I ended up going to bed at 11:00 pm, making it 34 hours and nearly 7000 miles I went without a decent sleep.