Sunday

Went to do Visa stuff at the Mogamma… then split into groups of 4 for our “metro experience.” Before going on the metro, our group walked around near the AUC library…we got invited into an Egyptian’s perfume shop. He sat us down, offered us tea, and put about 5 different perfumes on our hands to smell. One of the guys in our group bought some perfume, but when the rest of us said we didn’t have enough money to buy any he tried for about 5 minutes to persuade us otherwise. It made for an awkward situation; I thought at one point he was going to start crying.

After walking about for a bit, we went to the AUC (American University in Cairo) bookstore where we had to buy a novel written by an Arab author (we need it for one of our classes). I found A LOT of interesting books in there, and ended up skimming through books for an hour and a half.

Then we hopped on the metro (it’s only 1LE which is about 25 cents) and picked a random stop to get off on and explore. The metro has 2 center cars which are reserved for women only (muslim culture for ya), so Holly, the other girl in my group, and I rode in one of those cars. Basically all the women were veiled and we got quite a few stares. We explored some of the streets at the stop we got off on, and bought some delicious pastries and desserts before heading back.

Observations:
The people in Cairo are extremely friendly and helpful (but I’ve noticed that just about every country I’ve visited outside of the U.S. has been this way). Apparently Americans don’t understand hospitality.

Young men and boys love to yell out to foreign females. “Welcome to Egypt!” “You are beautiful!” “Hello!” It’s not unusual for little boys to follow us as we walk by.

I find that I love the contrast of an Egyptian woman wearing modern clothes with the traditional practice of wearing a veil. When I say “modern” though, I mean fashionable/tight fitting, but not revealing. I have not seen one woman wearing shorts, a skirt above the ankles, short sleeves, or a tank top. At least not yet I haven’t.

From a fashion stand-point, I find that I really like the veil. I think it’s quite beautiful and find myself often wanting to wear my scarf like the other women.