Today in Cairo, something weird happened.
It rained.
I suppose, in all honesty, I have felt a few drops on other occasions. But not much. Definitely nothing like today.
I first noticed raindrops falling on my head early in the morning, just before 8, as I made my to the bus stop a few blocks from the dormitory. At that point, it wasn't anything really to get excited about- a few drops here and there.
We arrived at campus just before 9, and as I headed into my class, the precipitation picked up a little bit. Our teacher (who's Egyptian), excitedly told us that it was raining, but us Americans didn't feel it deserved the full effect of the word, so we simply told her it was "sprinkling."
The "sprinkling" was done by the time class was over, and I assumed that was the last we'd seen of precipitation that day. But the skies remained overcast and dreary for much of the day (kind of like South Bend- on a good day).
I went into the library at 6 pm to finish up some work before the weekend. When I emerged only 45 minutes later, rain was coming down- hard. It was by no means a torrential downpour, but it was certainly enough to get you wet.
Though it certainly wasn't anything extreme by American standards, it was pretty evident that rain in Cairo simply did not come in these amounts, and they sure as heck weren't prepared for it. This was certainly reflected in the insanity of the traffic that night, as measured by the amount of time it took for us to get home. Usually the return trip is anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half. Tonight, it was approaching two and a half before a few friends and I decided to hop off and walk the remaining mile. We beat the bus by a long shot (although the lack of adequate drainage systems in the streets necessitated that we circumnavigate small lakes at times).
I later found out that the rainfall of today was more than Cairo had gotten in the last two years combined. Oof-tah.
Anyway, if you've been bored with my lack of adventures recently, I've got an exciting excursion coming up this weekend. Four friends and I will be taking a bus to the oasis of Bahriyah, and will spend two days exploring the Black and White Desert, including an evening camp-out under the stars. I'll have a lot of pics and some decent stories when I get back, insha'allah (the insha'allah applies to both acquiring pictures and stories as well as making it back alive).
February 26, 2010
February 24, 2010
My first Egyptian all-nighter...
It's 5:20 am and I'm awake.
My bizarre, nonsensical sleeping habits are the stuff of legends. At ND, I routinely pull NARANs, no-apparent-reason-all-nighters. That is, sometimes I stay up all night for absolutely no reason. Literally, ALL NIGHT. Another appropriate term for it is one I just coined while wandering around the bathroom at 3 AM, and that is "unproductive insomnia." This one is especially apt, because not only am I up all night, but I don't do anything worthwhile. No reading, no studying...usually just aimlessly browsing the internet and writing up stupid blogs.
Well anyway, I am in the midst of my first all-nighter on this side of the Atlantic. Certainly, a contributing factor to this all-nighter is the fact that I woke up at about noon. For some reason, when I've slept recently (slept in, took a nap at 5pm, etc) I find it extremely difficult to get to sleep. Ironically, the less sleep I get, the more likely it is that I take a nap the next day. If I take a nap the next day, I am more likely to stay up very late that night. If I stay up very late that night, I am likely to take a nap the next day. If I take a nap the next day, the more likely it is...
It's an irreversible cycle of death.
But believe it or not, I actually have a good reason for pulling an all-nighter tonight. You see, back at ND, resident assitants for the 2010-2011 school year were selected tonight. And when I say tonight, I mean 10 pm tonight...Eastern Standard Time. Which translates roughly to 5 am here in Cairo. Any way, I had applied back in January and was so anxious about being accepted or not, that I couldn't sleep, and figured I might as well just stay up all night.
Now, for some of you, getting so worked up about something as silly as RA selection may seem a little bizarre. But RA at Notre Dame is a really unique position. Because we have no Greek life, our single sex dorms often take on many of the qualities that a frat or sorority would have. I.E. each dorm has its own traditions, its own history, its own personality, its own colors and mascot, its own chants... really, you're residence hall on campus defines you collegiate experience. The dorm itself is more of an encapsulated community, and the guys you meet inside usually become your best friends. That's why it's no surprise that over 50% of the student body stays on campus for the duration of their Notre Dame careers.
Anyway, all of this makes the RA position extremely important, an integral part of ND experience. It's also something that I've really wanted to do since I was a freshman. So there I was, sitting in my room in downtown Cairo, awake in the wee-hours of the morning, waiting for an email from halfway around the world. I took a half hour shower at 4 am to ease my nerves, came back, and stared at my computer. At about 4:55 am, I got an email from Paul Doyle, rector of Dillon Hall. I'd been accepted.
Actually, the fact that I'll be an RA next year is highly significant for my plans this summer. You see, I'd really like to stay in the Middle East after the current semester concludes and attend a language institute to really kick my Arabic into overdrive. Besides being contingent upon a grant from the ND Center for the Study of Language and Culture, this would only be a possibility if I could somehow make a bunch of money this summer-- or, owe a bunch less.
Enter RA. RA's at Notre Dame get their room and board paid for. That's nearly $12,000 that I don't have to worry about next year. I told you RA was a big deal.
Being selected now opens the door for me to do something this summer and not worry about making money for school. Now I just have to make sure I can pay for whatever I end up doing...
My bizarre, nonsensical sleeping habits are the stuff of legends. At ND, I routinely pull NARANs, no-apparent-reason-all-nighters. That is, sometimes I stay up all night for absolutely no reason. Literally, ALL NIGHT. Another appropriate term for it is one I just coined while wandering around the bathroom at 3 AM, and that is "unproductive insomnia." This one is especially apt, because not only am I up all night, but I don't do anything worthwhile. No reading, no studying...usually just aimlessly browsing the internet and writing up stupid blogs.
Well anyway, I am in the midst of my first all-nighter on this side of the Atlantic. Certainly, a contributing factor to this all-nighter is the fact that I woke up at about noon. For some reason, when I've slept recently (slept in, took a nap at 5pm, etc) I find it extremely difficult to get to sleep. Ironically, the less sleep I get, the more likely it is that I take a nap the next day. If I take a nap the next day, I am more likely to stay up very late that night. If I stay up very late that night, I am likely to take a nap the next day. If I take a nap the next day, the more likely it is...
It's an irreversible cycle of death.
But believe it or not, I actually have a good reason for pulling an all-nighter tonight. You see, back at ND, resident assitants for the 2010-2011 school year were selected tonight. And when I say tonight, I mean 10 pm tonight...Eastern Standard Time. Which translates roughly to 5 am here in Cairo. Any way, I had applied back in January and was so anxious about being accepted or not, that I couldn't sleep, and figured I might as well just stay up all night.
Now, for some of you, getting so worked up about something as silly as RA selection may seem a little bizarre. But RA at Notre Dame is a really unique position. Because we have no Greek life, our single sex dorms often take on many of the qualities that a frat or sorority would have. I.E. each dorm has its own traditions, its own history, its own personality, its own colors and mascot, its own chants... really, you're residence hall on campus defines you collegiate experience. The dorm itself is more of an encapsulated community, and the guys you meet inside usually become your best friends. That's why it's no surprise that over 50% of the student body stays on campus for the duration of their Notre Dame careers.
Anyway, all of this makes the RA position extremely important, an integral part of ND experience. It's also something that I've really wanted to do since I was a freshman. So there I was, sitting in my room in downtown Cairo, awake in the wee-hours of the morning, waiting for an email from halfway around the world. I took a half hour shower at 4 am to ease my nerves, came back, and stared at my computer. At about 4:55 am, I got an email from Paul Doyle, rector of Dillon Hall. I'd been accepted.
It's 5 am and I'm stoked!
Actually, the fact that I'll be an RA next year is highly significant for my plans this summer. You see, I'd really like to stay in the Middle East after the current semester concludes and attend a language institute to really kick my Arabic into overdrive. Besides being contingent upon a grant from the ND Center for the Study of Language and Culture, this would only be a possibility if I could somehow make a bunch of money this summer-- or, owe a bunch less.
Enter RA. RA's at Notre Dame get their room and board paid for. That's nearly $12,000 that I don't have to worry about next year. I told you RA was a big deal.
Being selected now opens the door for me to do something this summer and not worry about making money for school. Now I just have to make sure I can pay for whatever I end up doing...
February 22, 2010
بكم؟- new cell phone and sim card...
First thing's first. You all (with the exception of Phil, who had an unfair advantage) were horribly off when it came to guessing the price of 2.5 kilograms of bananas. Most of the guesses were in the 3-6 Egyptian pound (LE) range, which is madness. That's equatable to paying just over one dollar for nearly 6 pounds of bananas.
I think the problem was that you guys took my constant jabbering about the cheapness of Cairo a little too far. Yes, Cairo is very cheap. It's not that cheap, though. In fact, if a pound of bananas is actually $ .33 back home, then bananas here in Egypt are actually I bit more expensive. I got my 2.5 kgs of bananas for 15 LE, at a rate of 6 LE a kg. So doing some rough conversions, that's 3 dollars for 5.5 pounds. Meanwhile, at $ .33 a pound, 5.5 lbs would cost just under two dollars. So wow. American bananas are a lot cheaper (if William is telling the truth...I did a little independent research and found the average for bananas to be about $ .49 a pound, which would be about $2.75 for 2.5 kgs, a little more reasonable).
Anyway, maybe that one was a little too tricky and counter-intuitive. So here's the next one: how much did my new cell phone cost (sim card included)? It's a Nokia, pay-as-you-go.To make things fair, I'll say you win a prize if you come within 15 LEs of the actual price (of course, if two people do, closest gets the prize).
Click on the picture below to get a little sneak peak of the phone in action. Despite the fact that it is a model from circa 2000, the ring tone/rhythmic vibration and light show are very entertaining.
NOTICE: MAKE SURE TO GUESS IN EGYPTIAN POUNDS (LE)! THE CURRENT CONVERSION RATE IS JUST OVER 5 LEs per 1 AMERICAN DOLLAR.
I think the problem was that you guys took my constant jabbering about the cheapness of Cairo a little too far. Yes, Cairo is very cheap. It's not that cheap, though. In fact, if a pound of bananas is actually $ .33 back home, then bananas here in Egypt are actually I bit more expensive. I got my 2.5 kgs of bananas for 15 LE, at a rate of 6 LE a kg. So doing some rough conversions, that's 3 dollars for 5.5 pounds. Meanwhile, at $ .33 a pound, 5.5 lbs would cost just under two dollars. So wow. American bananas are a lot cheaper (if William is telling the truth...I did a little independent research and found the average for bananas to be about $ .49 a pound, which would be about $2.75 for 2.5 kgs, a little more reasonable).
Anyway, maybe that one was a little too tricky and counter-intuitive. So here's the next one: how much did my new cell phone cost (sim card included)? It's a Nokia, pay-as-you-go.To make things fair, I'll say you win a prize if you come within 15 LEs of the actual price (of course, if two people do, closest gets the prize).
Click on the picture below to get a little sneak peak of the phone in action. Despite the fact that it is a model from circa 2000, the ring tone/rhythmic vibration and light show are very entertaining.
NOTICE: MAKE SURE TO GUESS IN EGYPTIAN POUNDS (LE)! THE CURRENT CONVERSION RATE IS JUST OVER 5 LEs per 1 AMERICAN DOLLAR.
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