I am very behind in my posting.

Life gets so busy here and is very exhausting. Our friends Deborah and Hunter warned us of this phenomenon before we left and they were right. Being in a new job is exhausting; absorbing things in a new country is exhausting- the language, the culture, the sites, the smells, everything! Even walking down the street my brain has to be “on” so that I don’t trip over uneven sidewalk, a pile of trash/sand/concrete, oh and so that I don’t get lost. Crossing the street can be quite an adventure of its own. Imagine crossing a street with heavy traffic, in some spots up to five or so lanes of traffic (though there are no driving lanes here and people drive wherever they want and can fit), no type of traffic law- stop signs/street lights/etc., and people will drive as fast as the traffic allows…. now go. Cross the street. People do it all the time. You have to walk confidently and just go. It is when you hesitate that you cause problems. We often walk in the street with the traffic because the sidewalks are out of control. Getting dressed is stressful too- I have to wonder what to wear so that I fit in the best I can and don’t offend anyone or draw any unwanted attention to myself. Cooking is stressful- we love to cook but our cupboards are bare and we have to plan out what to get from the store in advance of any meal. We don’t drive here, but riding in a taxi or bus is also stressful. I’ll share more on that at a later date.

The foreigners who live have told us that it will be really healthy for us to get out of the city whenever we can. I had a few days off for the holiday of Muslin holiday of Eid al-Adha so Martin and I decided to do just that- we traveled from the city of Cairo by train down alongside the Nile (this is confusing but because the Nile flows south to north, north is down-stream), through the delta to the city of Alexandria. What we didn’t have the foresight to know is that everyone leaves Cairo during this holiday to visit family so the city was pretty quiet in our absence.

Alexandria was a nice reprieve, though in reality we didn’t actually escape any of the things we were looking to escape from, though we had a great trip.

Alexandria is quite a bustling city. I would describe it as a once-glorius, now crumbling city. You can see its former glory hiding behind the dirty, crumbling facade of the unkempt buildings. There are parks with amazing Roman ruins, though with barren water fountains and overturned park tables and piles of trash. It is easy to see why Cleopatra, Alexander the Great, and others reigned over Egypt from this Mediterranean hub, and easy to see why so many choose to call Alexandria home.

We stayed three nights on the corniche and had a beautiful view of the Sea and the Fort Quatbey Citadel looking out our window. We were on a tight budget because when we took this trip I still hadn’t received my first paycheck and I was going on 2-months of no incoming money. The hotel ended up costing about $27 per night. It was a charming place with grand windows that open to the fresh Sea.

Martin gives a great account of this trip in his blog (http://martintheblog.blogspot.com.eg/), so i won’t go into too much detail here. I will try to touch on the highlights and give you some of my own insight.

Unfortunately the Bibliotheca Alexandria was closed due to the holiday so we will have to go back to visit that another time. We did see some great sights. We walked the corniche and marveled at the Fort Quatbey Citadel, which was built in the 15th century on the site of Alexandria’s Ancient Lighthouse (one of the seven wonders of the ancient World). I walked on the rocks of the shore and let the seawater splash over my feet. It was so great to be near a large body of water again! Having grown up in Wisconsin it is a comfort for me to be near water.

We saw some Roman ruins, including an amphitheater. It was discovered when the city was digging into a park to build apartment buildings. They found the rubble of the ancient Romans. It was my first time seeing Roman ruins and it is quite impressive. We also saw Pompey’s Pillar. The pillar was more impressive than I expected, but I did not expect that there would be underground tunnels we could wander through! It was scary though because as we were underground in these tunnels, we hear someone bang on something and yell “hello!” over and over… my imagination immediately took over and imagined that there was someone lost or trapped somewhere in the tunnels and needed help. Martin brought me back to reality and suggested that we needed to get out. It turned out they were closing and locking up the tunnels. Sure glad they didn’t lock us in. Though imagine the different story I would be sharing if they had!

In Martin’s blog you can read about how we met some people and made some new friends. One of our new friends took us around a bit and took us into a mosque. It was our first time in a mosque. The women enter from a different are than the men. I wrapped my head and neck with a scarf and took my shoes off before entering. It was beautiful. The dome was so intricately decorated. I was surprised by the area. It was an area of solace, blocked off to the rest of the mosque (maybe so the men can’t see the women?). There was space to sit, relax, pray, and nap. I went in, sat for a bit and wondered at the amazing architecture, and then retrieved my shoes on the way out.

We also went to a really great museum, the Alexandria National Museum.

Typically when going to these museums and sites, the fee is between LE30-LE100 for foreigners. Right now it is about LE8 to $1 to give you an idea of the cost of tourism in Egypt. It is fairly cheap. With our staff ID cards, we can get an even cheaper student rate too, though we typically like to spend the few extra to help support the Egyptian economy. At all the sites we have visited, there are few people.

Go visit Egypt!

The people of Alexandria are so nice. In Egypt in general, but I think they were especially kind to us in Alexandria because they don’t see as many foreigners as in Cairo. Fewer people speak English here, so in that regard it helps to know some Arabic. Martin and I are hoping to start some lessons soon! We were often stopped on the streets in Alexandria, usually by kids who wanted to take our picture, or take pictures with us, or take a picture of them. When you first meet Egyptians, they typically want to know your name, where you are from, how old you are, if you are married, and if you have kids. Families are really important to them. Just recently a girl asked me these questions and she was shocked that I’m so old and don’t have kids, and especially because I’m so cute. Haha! Things are definitely different in the US.

Women in Egypt dress very modestly. In Alexandria the women are even more conservative. It is typical for women to wear loose-fitting long pants or skirts/dresses. You will rarely see a woman’s knees here, and it is rare to see a woman’s shoulders or chest. Most women wear long-sleeves and have a head-covering, hijab, which will also cover her neck and chest. Some women will also wear a niqab to cover her face so that you only see her eyes. A burqa covers the whole body from the top of the head to the ground. In Alexandria I saw that some women even wore gloves to cover their hands. I dress modestly here, by American standards. I wear lots of long skirts and dresses that cover the knee, and loose-fitting tops with at least short-sleeves. I have one pair of jeans that I wear on occasion with a longer top. I often carry a scarf when traveling to certain areas just in case I need to cover myself more. I have never felt uncomfortable in what I was wearing while here. I did my research and heard some horror stories about tourists inappropriately dressed so I was well-aware of the expectations. It’s definitely frustrating because sometimes I just want to put on shorts and a tank-top and go for a jog… that would be a poor choice here. There were women swimming in Alexandria in their full attire. I would not swim in those beaches in a swimsuit. That would make me really uncomfortable. There are some private beaches in Alexandria that are more touristy and I would be accepted in a swimsuit. Maybe we will find them next time. The women here are very beautiful, and with their colorful scarves hiding their hair, it definitely accentuates their facial features and shows their pure beauty.

Oh, I do have to say, the seafood in Alexandria is amazing- and cheap! I look forward to our next visit to Alexandria. There are many more sites to see and more seafood to eat!