apartment hunting

Last night we went apartment hunting. One of the AIESEC members, Omar, hooked up with a broker who took us around to view the various flats. We were laughing because he first told us there were only 2 apartments to view, but when we had seen them, found them dismal and rejected them, he suddenly materialized with like another 6 apartments! Only about 2 were actually liveable, but also extremely expensive. They seem to hike up prices when they see foreigners, naturally, but what they don’t realize is that we are very poor foreigners! We’re AIESEC trainees! Anyway, our search continues tomorrow....

So I went for a walk in the afternoon, and I have to admit, it was a little intimidating. It’s dusty, there are men everywhere staring or whispering things to you, I don’t know the language and I really don’t know my way around. I’m not sure why I’m finding it harder to imagine going out alone here, it’s not like I’ve never traveled or been to a completely new city/country or wandered unknown neighborhoods on my own abroad. Of course, compared to my other trips abroad, I have probably done the least research into getting around here, I suppose because I’ve slipped into the comfort zone of knowing I’m here for 2-3 months and that there are so many people here who will take me around. Perhaps it’s the same as being in Dhaka, we don’t usually go out for walks to ‘explore’. You just don’t do that in Dhaka. But obviously I want to in Cairo, hopefully I will become more comfortable/independent with maneuvering the Cairean streets.

One thing: I would never drive in this city. I would get smashed to a pulp within 15mins. It’s crazy on the streets here! You have to be so aware, because somebody could bump into you at any minute, people don’t really follow lanes, cars stop randomly on the side of the road and man this city is jam packed with cars. I think I must’ve silently shrieked in the car like 5 times last night!

I had my first Egyptian meal yesterday! We went to El-Omda, a local fastfood chain, and I had Koshary which is a meatless dish with various layers of beans, rice, lentils and pasta with a tomato-cinnamon flavored sauce. Nice!

I’m meant to do a country presentation, sort of like an introduction of where I am from etc, and frankly, I am a little confused about what country to represent! I’m officially representing the UK here because my AIESEC local community is UCL/SOAS, Uni of London….but to be honest, when it comes to cultural exchange between the UK and Egypt, I’m not sure I would be that helpful! And I did grow up in Singapore, but I don’t have any idea of what life is like in Singapore today, I don’t even know the AIESEC there. It’s funny because when I chat to others here, I naturally compare my life or how things are in my country compared to here, and I find myself rotating information about London, Singapore and Dhaka. It must be confusing for those I speak to! Culturally I find myself mentioning Bangladesh the most naturally….so maybe I will do a Bangladesh presentation. Or maybe I’ll just do a bit about all 3 countries!