First Morning in Cairo

Hany is the kind of person you want to have on your team. He is a wonderful, jovial guy with a heart of gold, and would give you the shirt off his back. I am proud to call him a friend of mine. He has been a faithful friend to me through some difficult times. His laugh comes quickly, and he will do anything to help.

He is also a well-connected individual who helped me out often when I was living in Cairo. Here he is (in sunglasses) with the jeweler who custom made our wedding bands. He also hooked me up with a loaner mobile phone during my week-long trip to Cairo and gave me the number a month ahead of time so I could give it out to people and hit the ground running.

He and his lovely wife, Rita, have two beautiful kids and they welcomed me into their home in Shobra my first night in Cairo. He works in telecommunications and got me right on his VOIP stateside line so I could call my honey and my parents to let them know I had arrived safe and sound.

Rita was sure the kids would wake me up in the morning, but in my jet lagged stupor, I managed to sleep through quite a "dowsha" (lots of noise!) and wake up at the crack of 11 a.m. After a lovely breakfast of pasterma (pastrami) and scrambled eggs and coffee, I went out to the balcony of their home and was greeted by this beautiful sight:

Ahhhh. Cairo at its springtime best. The beautiful Nile river and some welcome green spaces. Hany came out to tell me that President Mubarak often lands his helicopter in the large (open green space of ) garden so that he can visit injured Palestinians who are being treated in the nearby hospital.

The freshness of Spring was in the air....right along with all the Cairo smog. The view out to the right off their balcony was amusing. Check out all the satellites and the efficient parking!

Home, Sweet Home

It has been a whirlwind trip to Cairo—6 days to be exact, squeezed into one measly week of Spring Break. In celebration of the near completion of my master's studies, I happily returned to my beloved Cairo, the place I called home for six years of my life. A token day for every year of my life I spent in that amazing place.

As soon as I stepped into the airport in Cairo, I had that old familiar and comfortable feeling—like stepping back into a pair of the most comfortable shoes you've ever worn--the guys in their orange and blue jump suits sweeping away, the putrid smoke of Cleopatra cigarettes dangling out of everyone's mouths, the worn red carpet as I walk down the ramp where tons of Egyptian men are grouped holding signs and beckoning their guests toward them. I know the routine and walk directly to the bank to buy my visa. Then I head to Passport Control, feeling the thrill of being home again welling up in me. I already hear the foreigners in line behind me complaining about being overcharged for their visas even though the prices are clearly posted. Oh boy. Some things never change.

I easily slip right back in to that purposeful gaze that looks through and past everyone in my way, averting eye contact by staring at the official's shoulder as I answer his questions and quickly make my way through passport control. So far, so good. Both suitcases pop up on the conveyor belt quickly and I lug them onto my cart and head for the door. Hany is waiting for me, not surprisingly talking on his cell phone, and I give him a quick wave before focusing on maneuvering my cart out into the dark night toward him.

He takes my passport and heads to the duty-free shop to buy alcohol and chocolate and then we start to board the shuttle to take us to his car. Two guys in those gorgeous orange and blue jump suits appear out of nowhere and fight to load my luggage into the shuttle, wanting a bit of "baksheesh" for their efforts. I haven't changed any money yet, so I let Hany deal with them and then we're off into the yellowish dusty night streets of Cairo with horns honking and cars weaving back and forth. Traffic moves in a weaving mass of vehicles, creating space and moving freely in and out of lanes at various speeds. Ahhhhh. It feels so good to be home!