Since this is going to be a world famous blog I guess I should introduce myself to all that don't know me. My name is Adam and I am an engineer for an international construction company. I have been in the industry full time for about 3.5 years and I have received my first overseas assignment and it is located in Egypt. I would also like to state that I have never blogged or followed blogs before so I am going to treat this blog more like an email to all my family and friends so they know what I have been up to.
Ok so as a lot of you know I flew into Egypt on January 10th, 2011. People always ask how the long flights are and understandably a lot of people hate long flights. Fortunately for me I have a 'talent' that makes it very difficult for me to stay awake once the cabin pressure kicks in. Now I traveled alot in the past year for my job from Kansas City to Denver and was always upset because I would miss my free drink because I would fall asleep. This worried me on the 11 hour flight from New York to Cairo because I would starve if I slept through every meal so I had to force myself to stay awake until I got food and that was very difficult for me. I think someone needs to invent shirts for people with my 'talent' that reads "Please Wake Me For Meals" in every different language of course. Besides my internal struggle to stay awake for food the flight was great, well at least until I got to Egypt............
So I arrived in Cairo and when I was taxiing into the terminal looking out the window I would already see the differences between USA and Egypt. Right out the window it looked like an airplane graveyard. There were planes just sitting there rusting and collecting sand. There also were buildings that were A) falling apart B) being rebuilt C) buildings that were started but never finished. To be honest with you I couldn't tell if the building was A, B, or C. Finally I reach the terminal and take care of all visa documents and bag pick up without a hitch. Now that I have my bags together I go out to the terminal exit to find my ride. All I see is a mob of people right outside the terminal and they are dressed in the muslim robes and attire (let the culture shock begin). I expected Egypt to be completely different from the USA (especially the midwest) but there really is no way to prepare yourself for the culture difference you just have to keep an open mind and remember 'this isn't Kansas (City) anymore'.
So there was some confusion with my pick up from the airport so I grabbed a taxi and made my way to my hotel. Your first time riding in a car in Egypt is something you will never forget. They are the best/craziest/most dangerous drivers I have ever witnessed. The only way I can describe it is you are on a 3 lane wide road and they fit 5 cars wide bumper to bumper going 40 miles plus an hour. In the USA the horn is rarely used but in Egypt it is a necessity. They honk at cars when they are passing, at people crossing the street, etc. Honking is not a form of anger like in the States but more of an acknowledgement factor. A couple other things are that when driving on the interstate they ride with the line splitting the vehicle not in the lane. The scariest thing I have noticed is that at night they don' t drive with their lights on all the way. They use the lights as indicators as well which is terrifying. Well that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to differences in driving. I don't think I will ever be able to drive in Cairo well at least not for a few years. The best way to get through the driving panic attacks is to just not look and buckle up, because in all truth they are all very good and attentive drivers.
Cairo is by far the biggest city I have ever been in. There was a rooftop pool in my hotel and looking out in every direction from 24 floors up I couldn't see the end of the city. I was right next to the Nile and it reminded me of the Mississippi River a lot except that Egypt takes advantage of the riverfront more which makes sense since more than 70% of Egypt's population is located on the Nile Valley. So besides the city being huge the other thing that stuck out was how dirty the city was. I was staying at a five star hotel and right next door was a few blocks of apartment buildings that had roofs missing and dirt floors. I saw kids going through garbage and just a lot of poverty. That was by far the hardest thing for me to adjust to was being around that much poverty. So the first day I was expecting a lot of crime and a lot of people who are going to try to overcharge the white man. I couldn't have been more wrong. The Egyptian people have been nothing but friendly, nice, and fair (for the most part). They are a little pushy and argumentative at times but that is just their culture.
Well I have a lot more that I want to share and have already had many interesting experiences, but I don't want my post to feel like homework to read because they are so long! I can't believe I have been gone for 2 weeks it only feels like 2 days! I miss all of you but I am really enjoying my adventure. I will try to post every couple of days and I love getting emails and pictures from everyone. Until next time......
Adam
Ok so as a lot of you know I flew into Egypt on January 10th, 2011. People always ask how the long flights are and understandably a lot of people hate long flights. Fortunately for me I have a 'talent' that makes it very difficult for me to stay awake once the cabin pressure kicks in. Now I traveled alot in the past year for my job from Kansas City to Denver and was always upset because I would miss my free drink because I would fall asleep. This worried me on the 11 hour flight from New York to Cairo because I would starve if I slept through every meal so I had to force myself to stay awake until I got food and that was very difficult for me. I think someone needs to invent shirts for people with my 'talent' that reads "Please Wake Me For Meals" in every different language of course. Besides my internal struggle to stay awake for food the flight was great, well at least until I got to Egypt............
So I arrived in Cairo and when I was taxiing into the terminal looking out the window I would already see the differences between USA and Egypt. Right out the window it looked like an airplane graveyard. There were planes just sitting there rusting and collecting sand. There also were buildings that were A) falling apart B) being rebuilt C) buildings that were started but never finished. To be honest with you I couldn't tell if the building was A, B, or C. Finally I reach the terminal and take care of all visa documents and bag pick up without a hitch. Now that I have my bags together I go out to the terminal exit to find my ride. All I see is a mob of people right outside the terminal and they are dressed in the muslim robes and attire (let the culture shock begin). I expected Egypt to be completely different from the USA (especially the midwest) but there really is no way to prepare yourself for the culture difference you just have to keep an open mind and remember 'this isn't Kansas (City) anymore'.
So there was some confusion with my pick up from the airport so I grabbed a taxi and made my way to my hotel. Your first time riding in a car in Egypt is something you will never forget. They are the best/craziest/most dangerous drivers I have ever witnessed. The only way I can describe it is you are on a 3 lane wide road and they fit 5 cars wide bumper to bumper going 40 miles plus an hour. In the USA the horn is rarely used but in Egypt it is a necessity. They honk at cars when they are passing, at people crossing the street, etc. Honking is not a form of anger like in the States but more of an acknowledgement factor. A couple other things are that when driving on the interstate they ride with the line splitting the vehicle not in the lane. The scariest thing I have noticed is that at night they don' t drive with their lights on all the way. They use the lights as indicators as well which is terrifying. Well that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to differences in driving. I don't think I will ever be able to drive in Cairo well at least not for a few years. The best way to get through the driving panic attacks is to just not look and buckle up, because in all truth they are all very good and attentive drivers.
Cairo is by far the biggest city I have ever been in. There was a rooftop pool in my hotel and looking out in every direction from 24 floors up I couldn't see the end of the city. I was right next to the Nile and it reminded me of the Mississippi River a lot except that Egypt takes advantage of the riverfront more which makes sense since more than 70% of Egypt's population is located on the Nile Valley. So besides the city being huge the other thing that stuck out was how dirty the city was. I was staying at a five star hotel and right next door was a few blocks of apartment buildings that had roofs missing and dirt floors. I saw kids going through garbage and just a lot of poverty. That was by far the hardest thing for me to adjust to was being around that much poverty. So the first day I was expecting a lot of crime and a lot of people who are going to try to overcharge the white man. I couldn't have been more wrong. The Egyptian people have been nothing but friendly, nice, and fair (for the most part). They are a little pushy and argumentative at times but that is just their culture.
Well I have a lot more that I want to share and have already had many interesting experiences, but I don't want my post to feel like homework to read because they are so long! I can't believe I have been gone for 2 weeks it only feels like 2 days! I miss all of you but I am really enjoying my adventure. I will try to post every couple of days and I love getting emails and pictures from everyone. Until next time......
Adam
