As I haven't had access to a computer until now, so these initial posts will be catching you up on the first couple days of my trip since leaving Boston on Wednesday afternoon. Overall, the transportation to Egypt went very smoothly. It was first time traveling abroad, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect before leaving. It went better than I thought. We flew Lufthansa airlines into Frankfurt, Germany for a layover. This flight was long, but went well. They served much more food than I expected, and was actually better than the "typical airline meals", and a couple movies and some reading helped to pass the time. We got a taste of international culture right off the bat as we were waiting in the Frankfurt airport. Quite an array of cultures and backgrounds flooded the terminal, and was really quite interesting to witness. While waiting, myself and two other kids on the trip ended up having an hour long conversation with a very friendly guy from Arkansas who was on his way back to the States. This was definitely the first experience of the trip, and was a good ice breaker to help with interaction with people you've never met, and probably will never see again. The second flight coming into Cairo wasn't as comfortable, but probably pretty average compared to the first flight.
I really got an idea of how big Cairo truly is as we were flying over the city to the airport. It may be hard to imagine, but I honestly could not see the end of the city, and that was from thousands of feet in the air! It was quite a sight to see, as the city is in the middle of the desert and focused around the Nile River. Once we landed, we got through baggage check and all the standard procedures at the airport pretty quickly, the boarded the buses for the Hotel Flamenco on the island of Zamalek. The ride was an interesting one. Right away, the obvious differences in culture and daily lifestyle here could be seen. Without going into too much detail, you can picture Cairo as a larger and less cleanly version of the busiest parts of New York City, but with technologies from about 30 years ago. The streets are filled with cars, bicycles, horse or goat carriages, and any other form of transportation you can think of. They all move in a quick pace, but not in the stress-filled, hurried pace that most Americans move at. Dozens of satellite dishes drape the rooftops of most buildings, but none of them appear to be in working condition.
Once we got our rooms situated, we walked around the local streets of Zamalek to get to know what will be our home for the majority of the next five weeks. At first I wasn't sure how comfortable I was with the area, mainly because of the dense smog and uncleanliness that engulfs the area. Yet, as the night went on, I began to enjoy it much more. Probably less than 100 paces from the banks of the Nile, the hotel is in a great location. Shops, cafes, and restaurants line the streets, and there is never a shortage of life on the streets. There is a constant buzz, mainly from the honking horns of taxi drivers and cars. Police officers attend almost every street corner bearing what appear to be AK-47s, so it is certainly a different atmosphere than home. After dinner and some relaxing in the hotel, it was certainly time for bed after a 24 hours.
Stay tuned. Next posting: The Great Pyramids of Giza!
I really got an idea of how big Cairo truly is as we were flying over the city to the airport. It may be hard to imagine, but I honestly could not see the end of the city, and that was from thousands of feet in the air! It was quite a sight to see, as the city is in the middle of the desert and focused around the Nile River. Once we landed, we got through baggage check and all the standard procedures at the airport pretty quickly, the boarded the buses for the Hotel Flamenco on the island of Zamalek. The ride was an interesting one. Right away, the obvious differences in culture and daily lifestyle here could be seen. Without going into too much detail, you can picture Cairo as a larger and less cleanly version of the busiest parts of New York City, but with technologies from about 30 years ago. The streets are filled with cars, bicycles, horse or goat carriages, and any other form of transportation you can think of. They all move in a quick pace, but not in the stress-filled, hurried pace that most Americans move at. Dozens of satellite dishes drape the rooftops of most buildings, but none of them appear to be in working condition.
Once we got our rooms situated, we walked around the local streets of Zamalek to get to know what will be our home for the majority of the next five weeks. At first I wasn't sure how comfortable I was with the area, mainly because of the dense smog and uncleanliness that engulfs the area. Yet, as the night went on, I began to enjoy it much more. Probably less than 100 paces from the banks of the Nile, the hotel is in a great location. Shops, cafes, and restaurants line the streets, and there is never a shortage of life on the streets. There is a constant buzz, mainly from the honking horns of taxi drivers and cars. Police officers attend almost every street corner bearing what appear to be AK-47s, so it is certainly a different atmosphere than home. After dinner and some relaxing in the hotel, it was certainly time for bed after a 24 hours.
Stay tuned. Next posting: The Great Pyramids of Giza!
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