I got a haircut...in Egypt (September 4, 2010)

Today was my first full day in Alex. We had breakfast in the dorm (edible) and we went to the Mediterranean. It is directly across the busiest street in Alex, so you have to walk through a tunnel, but it was fantastic. If you want to swim you have to go to the private beaches though, and the only women who spend time alone on the corniche are for the most part are prostitutes (note: avoid the corniche alone).
The group went to the TAFL (Teaching Arabic as a foreign language) Center, met the staff and split into two groups. My group went to the new Library of Alexandria first. It was absolutely magnificent. The ancient library was destroyed by a series of earth quakes and about ten years ago, a world wide competition was held to pick the new design. Again I could go on and on about the library, its exhibits and its facilities but I will pick a few high points. The library itself has seven floors, four of which are below sea level (SO COOL!). It is designed to look like a sun disk, and there are all different types of sundials around the outside. The weird part about it is that there is an entry fee of LE2, which is about forty cents (what happened to free libraries?), and you cannot check out a book (yet again challenging the definition of a library). For more info go to: www.bibalex.com.
We ate lunch all together in the girls’ dorm, and it was actually really delicious. This was followed by a welcome lecture from the dean of the college (in Arabic) and then a Q&A session with the coordinators Lizz, Sharroq and Nehad about academics and campus life. We also spoke about the language pledge. This was extremely scary/stressful. We are expected to read, write, speak, text and email in Arabic. All of our homework must be typed and printed, and typing in Arabic is not my strongest suit. However, they emphasized the fact that the pledge is why we are on this program, and that we are only cheating ourselves if we break it. It officially starts on Wednesday, and we will see how that goes.
We had dinner all together and I skyped with the fam for the first time! The picture was clear and we had a great time, they even met Eman and talked to her about medicine and they all spoke a little Arabic with her. She was very impressed! After, I went with Haidy (my Egyptian neighbor) and Amira (my language partner) on the tram to get my Egyptian phone. The tram is an inexpensive, but slow, way to travel. It is extremely safe and there is a women’s car in the front of the tram. The phones are all pre-paid cell phones and you can add minutes as you go.
I returned to the dorms in a taxi alone. It was the first time I have been alone since I left New York. It was great. Haidy had told the driver where to go but he got a little lost and I was able to help him find my dorm. We also talked about the music on the radio (Umm Koulthoum).
I met Laura again at my dorm so she could show me around Alex. She took me to the coiffure (read: salon) that she goes to and I met the owner. She convinced me to let him blow my hair dry, and I decided to also let him cut it while I was in the chair and she was there to explain what I wanted. It all worked out great! My hair looks the same but shorter and without dead ends, and I realized that I will not be slumming it at ALL this semester (AN post program: this was a bout of naive optimism). Egypt is an extremely modern country hidden by a poor façade. The place looked like a dive from the front (and not so much better from the inside), but my haircut is great and it was only LE40 ($8)! He asked me if I would be coming in a lot, and I told him it depends how often I need a pick me up, and he said he thought once a week would be good. I found this in some way to be analogous to the movie Legally Blonde when Elle Woods finds Paulette, but Egypt is not Caimbridge, MA and I am pretty sure all of Elle’s classes were in English.
Following my fabulous cut, I met Laura’s homestay sisters, Dina and Ayah, and saw her apartment. They were cool and seemed really fun, but we could hardly communicate because of the language barrier. I definitely want to spend time with them once I pick up some Egyptian Arabic though! Laura then took me to the top of the Sofitel, which has some of the best views in Alex, as it is right on the corniche. We took a bunch of pictures, and then walked around, and she showed me a great sandwich place called Mohammad Ahmed, where I got a fool sandwich for LE1. By this time it was nearly 1AM (however the city is still totally bustling) and she dropped me back at my dorm. Alex is a busy city for sure, less so than Cairo though. During Ramadan, both cities take on a different form. Make shift mosques are set up in the streets as the mosques are too full to accommodate everyone. It is not at all unusual to see people praying in the street in masses or alone. It is absolutely wild.
Eman welcomed me warmly upon my return, and I tried as best as I could to speak to her in only Arabic. She showed me some of the things she bought for her and for her sister for Eid, and Amirah showed me things she bought for her fiancé who is working in Kuwait. He was her neighbor growing up, and because her family is in Saudi Arabic right now he will spend the Eid with them, while she goes to his family (SO CUTE!). Eman showed be how to use the laundry machine (it’s a super strange one that takes TWO HOURS to do a load), and I will try my hand at the clothesline in the morning!