Walk like an Egyptian!

Egypt is not currently at the top of most American's (or anyone's) travel lists, but it was a completely safe and thoroughly enjoyable vacation for me! Part of the joy may have been the company (Cormac, my AmeriCorps teammate and 3 of his friends from Peace Corps Uganda), but Egypt had a lot to offer of their tourism industry and they're begging you to do ANYTHING because everyone is scared of Egypt right now.  

Due to the world being quite small Cormac had a friend in Cairo who was able to walk us around the town for a bit.  We didn't have much time but we made our way to the River Nile and then over to Tahrir Square--scene of the revolution. But, it didn't seem all that spectacular or dangerous or even like a good place to gather. It was actually a round about full of regular traffic. Our 'guide' did point out Mubarak's old headquarters which protestors successfully destroyed.  Other than that there was no sign of revolution, at least not on a Monday morning.

Our first night in town we took some giant dinner boat up and down the river Nile and watched a belly dancer perform.  It was a very bizarre and tourist oriented experience, but we had some good laughs over our mostly American meal.

The next morning we took a cab out to Giza to see the pyramids.  Had there not been traffic it would have been about a 15-20 minute cab ride from downtown Cairo to this magnificent ancient wonder of the world!  I know I was all up on a high horse about animal rights after the elephant park, so go ahead and judge me for taking the tourist camel ride to the pyramids. I am a bit ashamed, but it was the Egypt experience that the whole group wanted. Who am I to say no? 

The pyramids were even more incredible than pictures depict (as long as you are not a bitter cynic). I learned many facts that I can't keep straight about the pyramids we saw: one was originally covered in marble, one has a hole in it, one is oblong because they realized it wouldn't hold the weight once they got higher in construction. We saw the oldest pyramid which is over 7,000 years old, and we saw the first perfect pyramid.  We saw the sphinx who is missing its nose because Napolean Bonaparte came to steal it (not because it had syphilis). And finally we descended into one of the pyramids. It was an absolute claustrophobic experience climbing down these steps into an abyss that is thousands of years old, in the middle of the earth, and once held a bunch of dead people--trust me, it smelled like it. Ooh, we also went to a museum where one of the original mummies was on display. A five thousand year old corpse perfectly preserved! Well, not  perfectly. It was solid black and had lost a toe, but otherwise you could discern all the different human features on the tiny little king, even his toenails.

After the pyramids we hopped on a bus and made our way south to Aswan.  We site-saw the high dam which is currently the third largest dam in the world and provides power to Egypt, Sudan, and another country.  Russia was quicker to help Egypt than the US, so the friendship monument at the dam is dedicated to Russia, but as a US citizen, I appreciate friendship with Egypt. Also in (around) Aswan we went to the temple of Isis and later traveled into the desert to Abu Simbil to check out the temples Ramses built for himself and his favorite wives. All of this ancient stonework was pretty incredible.  These temples were enormous and covered (from head to toe except that temples don't have heads or toes) in hieroglyphics and pictures of Pharos and gods, and there were giant stone statues as well.  And these were all created thousands of years ago!

The temples and pyramids were (for lack of variety in my vocabulary) absolutely amazing to see and amazing to just be in the presence of something so simple but so brilliant. Despite their amazingness my favorite night in Egypt was the simple felucca ride we took.  After much touring and traveling we got back to Aswan tired and confused (we never were clear on what we were going to be doing, our concierge guy just ushered us from one thing to the next...), but we gathered our bags and boarded the little sailboat.  Our captain then sailed us slowly down the Nile while preparing for us a delicious lunch, tea, and dinner.  It wasn't until after dinner that we realized we would actually be spending the night on the little boat.  But it was the perfect night, even if we didn't ever know what was going on.  We simply laid about on the boat, drank some delicious warm beer, and went to bed with the sun. In the morning we returned to shore and, well rested, made our way to Luxor.  I spent the afternoon with my friends, but because of my flight to Ireland I wasn't able to stay in Luxor and visit the valley of the Kings or any other tourist attractions there. Even though I missed this final tourist bit, my trip to Egypt was truly fabulous!

To and from Egypt

So this is not yet about what I did in Egypt.  I just thought my experiences going to and from Egypt were worth a quick note.

First of all getting into Egypt was a breeze. I arrived to the airport that seemed to only have a couple terminals. I then went to a bank counter to buy my entrance visa (no questions asked). I proceeded to make it quickly through immigration because the officer barely glanced at my passport as he stamped it.  Then a friendly cab driver over charged me to help with my bags and take me right to my hostel.  I was by myself so I didn't mind paying an extra couple dollars.

One cab ride I took by myself from the train station to the hostel was supposed to cost me 5-10 Egyptian pounds (Peter, our amazing hostel friend/trip planner told me this). The cab driver did not run the meter and tried to charge me 30£. Because several travel articles recommended not bargaining beforehand and simply paying the fair price and walking away after, I did. It was still a bit unsettling paying only one third of what the cabbie is demanding (even if it is an unreasonable amount) and walking away. He did not pursue me though, so I think it was alright. And I made it out of Egypt, so...no problems now.

Leaving Egypt was similarly simple, yet confusing at the same time. First of all, it took a while to find my check in gate for Etihad Airways. While searching the airport, I saw several small children playing with a lifesize, black toy gun, at the AIRPORT. When I found the Etihad gate it was closed and I had to go through the gate of a different airline.  Once inside I tracked down the appropriate airline where I stood around confused because everyone just stormed the counters, no queues, no signs, just chaos. I eventually obtained my tickets and checked my bags. I then made my way to customs (or whoever the leaving authorities are) and the woman behind the desk stamped my passport with even less of a glance than the entry guy. I think at one point my bags went through a scanner, but it was quite a lax experience. Soon afterwards I was bussed to my excellent international flight and made my way to Europe (via Abu Dahbi). (Etihad Airways is my new favorite international carrier: great food, great tv/movie selection, and great free booze!) (Also, apparently it is perfectly normal to bring your uncaged pet falcon onto the flight on your arm with Etihad Airways).

In india

India. Quite indescribable, but I will try. People say that You either love India or you hate it.  Well, more 'and' than 'or'. There are parts that I love and parts that I hate. And sometimes the parts that I love are also the parts that I hate. 

My main example: the people constantly looking at you. Sometimes I find it endearing, everyone just seems curious and are excited to see a foreigner. In a different mood, that same look can get under my skin and I wish that EVERYONE would stop staring and leering without any discretion. But overall it's more positive than negative...sometimes I even feel like a celebrity as kids just come to ask your name and shake your hand, maybe have a photo taken with you (on their camera or yours, doesn't matter which!).  

The traffic is something else that I love and hate. I am quite fascinated by the traffic which seems to have no rules. Anything that moves (humans, bicycles, bicycles with multiple passengers, cars, vans, tractors, carts drawn by cows or camels, tuk-tuks, buses) can be in the flow of traffic on the street. If you are not happy with the flow of traffic, feel free to turn around and barrel into oncoming traffic to get there faster.  And the number of people in each vehicle. The other day I rode home in a van with 15 school children and 7 adults in addition to the driver. One day at school I watched a driver pick up several pre-kindergarteners and shove them feet first into a packed van. All of this commotion happens every day, too! By western standards the traffic would warrant some sort of huge festival making it impossible to get around, but this is just everyday India.

Another paradox of India is its cleanliness. Yes, India is dirty. There is a layer of dirt on everything and garbage piled up throughout the streets. People make a toilet out of seemingly any part of the street and animals are roaming everywhere. Still people are very diligent about sweeping up the mess in their house, on the sidewalk, or in the street.  I've even see someone sweeping the lawn at a school.

One of the teachers I am working with asked me 'what is your favorite thing about India?'  My answer to that is how removed India is from western culture.  Even though it is huge and incredibly populated their conventions are still quite basic and home comforts have not made their way into life here. It is distinctly India. Shops are set up for one particular niche...you buy fabric from one, take it to the tailor at another, and have a garment delivered to your home by someone else.  And business seems to be quite familial.  There may be a handful of people behind a counter, and each one participates in the transaction, not just sitting and waiting for whatever else to happen. I don't think my point is clear, but I think this point requires more ramble-y verbal examples than an attempt through writing...sorry!

So what have I been up to in India? I am volunteering at a school called Tender Heart.  It is an NGO set up by this marvelous woman, Renu, who has a passion for education.  She started by teaching just a few children in her home and now has an entire school running smoothly. In addition to educating children, she makes a point to educate the woman in local villages to be self sustainable in their daily life. The school has some 30 students with disabilities of all varieties (and unfortunately only 7 teachers working with them...considering how much attention some kids require, they are quite short staffed).  I have been working in these classrooms for my two weeks here. In the morning time we do yoga and meditation and then go outside to play softball. It is mostly helpful but sometimes confusing that I am familiar with the rules of softball. Some rules are different altogether, like, a foul ball....well there is no such thing as a foul ball, if you hit it you run. There are the changing home run rules. Sometimes if you hit it to the back wall it is an automatic home run, sometimes not.  Sometimes the people on base have to run if it is a home run, sometimes not. Sometimes you all score on the home run, sometimes just the batter.  But I never try to follow score keeping or outs because...well, sometimes score is counted, sometimes not, sometimes outs are counted, sometimes not. Despite all the confusion, it is quite an enjoyable morning.  In the afternoon I work with different students on their English and maths.  Mostly we write letters and numbers together, count out loud and go through the alphabet saying 'a is for apple,' etc. Sometimes they also try to give me their Hindi homework to correct and I politely say 'I have no idea what this says,' and they procede to give me a mouthful of instructions in Hindi and I stare blankly at them and say 'I still have no idea what you are saying.' 

It has been just two weeks and there is a huge language barrier, but I have grown quite fond of each student and I will greatly miss life at Tender Heart.

A trip to the Taj

My trip to the Taj began in typical Indian fashion...in no rush.  We had to get up early for breakfast, then sit and wait for the driver. The trip, though only about 150 km (90ish miles) away took about four hours. We had nice cars rented for the trip, meaning there was blessed A/C for the long journey. I should point out the average temperatures in India right now are in the 90s. Not merely breaking into the 90s, but a solid 95, 96 degrees.  I was seated on the sunny side of the car, so I still warmed quite a bit, but without A/C I would have melted before we got there. Once we did get there, I started to melt. But the beautiful Taj was overwhelming enough for me to forget about all of the sweat pouring down my face. It really, really is not overrated. There are red palaces constructed in similar fashion in Delhi, but there is something magical about the all white marble masterpiece of perfect symmetry.  We had a good guide who shared all kinds of interesting facts (like the 2 builders from Iran hired to build the Taj had one hand cut off when it was complete so as to not recreate something similar), took our pictures, and led us inside of the sauna called the Taj Mahal.  I say this because to go inside of the Taj they let you in by the roomful. There is no queue, just a swarm of people pushing and shoving and getting as close to you as possible so as to share drops of sweat with everyone before they let you inside to see the tombs of the king and the queen. It is noisy, bumpy, hot and chaotic...even as a world famous tourist attraction, it is distinctly, marvelously Indian.

Planes, trains, and...actually just automobiles

Travel in India.

There are main highways that have traffic lanes painted, but they are not really used...a three lane road could have five lanes of traffic. Once you get off the highway, the main roads carry on in much the same way.  Occasionally there are stop lights to help you turn into traffic. Otherwise, if you are making a right turn--same to us as making a left turn...traffic in India flows from the left side--through oncoming traffic, you simply wait for a big enough gap like, say, a bicycle-sized-gap in traffic, and merge forward, hoping that car you ducked in front of has a good braking system.  You have to inch forward like this through the 3-6 lanes of traffic flying by. As a passenger you have no control of how this happens, but you get a front row view of all the near misses. 

After the main roads you turn onto the dirt roads.  There are main dirt roads which are generally wide enough for 2 cars, and the smaller back roads which are barely big enough for one.  All of the dirt roads have huge holes everywhere and are painfully bumpy when passing through in car or tuk-tuk. 

Vehicles on the road consist of cars, buses (that don't seem to stop for passengers, they slow down and you have to hop on to the rolling bus), motorcycles (with 1-5 passengers such as a single driver, two or three friends, or a family of mom, dad, son, daughter and baby on one motor bike), tuk-tuks, bicycles, rikshaws (a bicycle carrying passengers or goods such as a washing machine, a refrigerator, or bricks [we really saw a man transporting appliances up a hill!]), and camels. Animals on or in the streets include camels, cows, ox, pigs, dogs, monkeys, goats and rodents.  And in the streets they are all grazing on garbage.  Its a strange, sad system, but it seems to work.

Delhi is huge.  And crowded. It takes a long time to get anywhere, but there is plenty of time to marvel at all the traffic moving constantly.

And the horn!  I believe Indians just constantly lay on the horn, rather than use it lightly when someone gets in the way, or even occasionally to let others know they are passing (which has been more common in my travels than in the US). It is constant. And unpleasant. Many of the cars and tuk-tuks are old and decrepit, and the horns blare out that misery like an anthem "I'M DYING, BUT GET THE F@?K OUT OF MY WAY" Contrary to the horn though, there doesn't seem to be much road rage in India.  Despite the awful traffic, everyone seems quite content.  Strange, but I'll take it!

A trip to the doctor

Ear infections.  Associated most of the time with babies, sometimes with children, but rarely, if ever, with adults. But for one month now I have been combating an ear infection. 

First I hoped it would go away on its own. Of course it didn't. 

I didn't really want to go to a doctor, so I just stopped by a pharmacy and got some pills. They helped a little. I was able to recover from my underbite and my ear eventually unplugged, but something was still off. 

After a day of traveling my ear decided "I don't like airplanes, please pay more attention to me," and returned to being plugged and painful. So, what better introduction to India than a trip to the local doctor.

I am currently in Faridabad, a neighborhood in greater Delhi, and I believe it is quite typical. The home where I am staying is quite nice, 3 floors, plenty of bedrooms, nice living areas and very clean.  Right next door is a trash pile in a vacant lot, and very poor housing next to that...everything all thrown together. I am staying with a host family, so young Jaiya, the 14 year old daughter, brought me out to the doctor.  We stepped out of the gate, avoiding the cow grazing in the middle of the dirt road, and headed to the local doctor just a few  blocks away.  The doctor's 'office' (for lack of appropriate word) was the first floor of a residence with a couple people waiting in case a patient should show up.  Jaiya was there to help explain, and a thermometer was jammed under my tongue while the doctor was retrieved from upstairs.  The doctor came down and shoved my head to the side and pulled my ear around, peering into it at different angles with a flashlight (a regular flashlight that we might use for camping rather than doctoring). He asked me a couple of questions about the pain ("not terrible until you started prodding without delicacy"), put together a smattering of pills, and sent me to the pharmacist for more medicines. 

At the pharmacy, a young man of perhaps 15 years was at the counter to deal with customers.  Jaiya gave him my prescription (written on a spare piece of notebook paper, nothing official like we know prescriptions), but he said we had to wait.  I assumed for a supervisor, which perhaps it was. About five minutes later another boy came to the counter and retrieved my prescriptions just as easily as the other guy could have, which makes me think he was a 'superior.' This other boy, however, the official pharmacist, could not have been more than 12 years old! But he gave me my ear drops and more pills and sent me on my way.  I am now home taking 4 pills, who knows what they are, 3 times a day and have some variety of ear drop to use.  What I am taking, I have idea, but it feels like it might already be working.

I bought health insurance for this trip, but the grand total for the doctor's visit and the pharmacy was 154 rupees. That is $3. It was funny, he didn't have a one cent piece to give me change at the pharmacy, so I got 3 pieces of candy as payment...fine by me.