Day 1

A one way trip, totaling 16 hours of travel time- and where did I come to, but a dusty desert land also known as Cairo, Egypt. Dazed and confused from lack of sleep, I stepped out of the plane only to be greeted with HEAT. I had forgotten how humid, sticky, dusty, and hot it was in Cairo. Thankfully Alissa and Kirsten, my roommates, literally found me at the arrival gate. Il-hamdulleleh, "thanks be to God," because I don't know what I would have done should they not have "found" me. Alissa and Kirsten escorted me to our taxi and the driver, Farik had heard tales about me. First, he was confused by my gender. You see, the name "Eunice" is a name for males only. I suppose to his chagrin, meeting a female Eunice was quite the anomaly not mention that I was Korean-American. And now to my chagrin, Mr. Farik saw me and said, "Eunice, you look Japon-eese..." Needlesstosay, we hopped in the taxi and began our death ride into the city. Here's a list of how to get yourself killed in Egypt:
1. Ride a taxi
2. Walk in the streets (if you don't ride a taxi, you're bound to get hit by one...)
3. If you haven't died from the 2 above, the polution will limit your years...
so my conclusion, just stick with death in the taxi ride...I reckon this sounds a bit morbid, but I have to jest and poke fun because in reality, taxi rides are usually quite frightful...(mommy and daddy if you're reading this, please ignore and continue on...I'm safe as one can be... here's a smiley face for proof :)

Cairo's changed in the past 2 years, or perhaps the shock factor has lessoned significantly. The traffic didn't bother me as much. I had forgotten about the heat, but even that was subtle greeting from the old city. What else, even the Cairo smell was nostagic and almost welcoming. The men are the same, and the women are still beautiful. Yet, there was an endeniable growth in the city for sure. Perhaps the growth in its population has lessoned the local indivuduals' obsession and intrigue with foreigners... Il hamdullelah....

Oh, and back to the main topic- gender and race. On our taxi ride to the hotel, Mr. Farik spent at least half of the time convincing me that a name change was neede. He came up with several "girl's name" -Yasmine, Rashah, and Noor- " I dont' mind "Noor, " I told him, but then we came up with "euni..." So, I've thus become Euni for now.

Alissa, Kirsten, and I went to a famous local Kosheri place for dinner. Xamsa ginea, a USA dollar equivalent, was the total meal cost. Cheap living cost- a consolation for the heat and traffic. After dinner, we walked around the streets in Tahrir and of course, the nocturnals were out shopping, drinking chai, smoking sheesha. How could we resist? So, we, too, joined the tea drinking and sheesha smoking. Here the enjoy pictures...

peace-