SB '09 Reflections

Perhaps the best thing to come out of this trip was a renewed appreciation for Jordan and America. I was feeling a little down on Amman in the weeks leading up to Spring Break, but every problem here seems insignificant by comparison to Egypt. The most obvious thing to notice about Egypt is how hot it is. Unlike the dry heat throughout Jordan, the Nile adds the component of humidity, which makes things awful and sweaty. And this was in early April, I can’t imagine what summer must be like there. Also enhancing the heat is the pollution. Amman is not good in that regard. I walk home from school along a busy road a few times a week and have begun to feel it in my lungs, but Cairo is so much worse. The buildings are all caked with brown grime. When you wash your face or blow your nose, all this black stuff comes out. It’s pretty bad.

The traffic in Cairo is also the worst I’ve ever seen. There’s gridlock all day. Every block is choked with traffic during peak hours, and it can take ten minutes to go two blocks. It was a little better on the weekends, but still not great. Amman traffic can get pretty bad during rush hour, but it at least still moves, albeit very slowly. Crossing streets in Cairo is a lot more dangerous than in Amman (which is really dangerous to begin with). There are traffic lights on every block, but noone obeys them unless there is a traffic cop there to enforce them.

None of these problems is quite as bad in Luxor, but the people were. In Egypt people always want money from you. Whenever people come up to you on the street, it’s almost always to ask for money or to get you to do something that’ll give them money. If you ask for directions, people will lead you into a store or restaurant where they’ll get a commission. Taxis have no meter, so you have to negotiate every ride, which can be awful. Everything’s dirt cheap in Egypt, but the micro-transactions that come from this “baksheesh” really add up. Even at the pyramids, the police officers would try to sell you stuff. It was all very dirty and degrading.

Speaking of money, the Egpytian coinage might be the worst in the world. There are about five Egyptian Pounds to one dollar (and about eight to the Jordanian Dinar) and converting all the time was a hassle. The worst part though, was that nobody uses coins. There are twenty-five piaster (about a nickel) notes that are completely useless. The money also gets really nasty from being constantly handled and sweated on in the 95-degree weather. It’s a major change from Jordan’s currency, which is valuable, nice, and easy to handle. Anyway, just about everything in Egypt was a hassle.

The good: there are a lot of amazing and beautiful things to see and so much history. Cairo is also a lot more cosmopolitan than Amman. It’s a lot like going from a small city like Harrisburg to New York. Despite how awful a place it is, a week really isn’t enough to see everything and I would like to go back. Alexandria is a beautiful city and is free of most of the problems in Cairo. The people there are a lot nicer and more willing to be helpful and talk to you . They also seem less interested in ripping you off. I’d like to spend more time there. We also didn’t get to see some of the cooler sights in the desert, like the monasteries, oases, or Mt. Sinai. I also have heard really good things about Aswan.

Anyway, even though a lot of annoying things happened, this was a really good trip. It wasn’t very relaxing, but I can safely say that it was the best vacation I’ve ever been on (not that it has all that much competition).