My Journey to Egypt!

My friends bid me farewell as I head off to the airport.....

 Quiana, Rahwa, Me, and Kenya (in the front) 

Alicia and Me

My flight: SFO --> Chicago--> Jordan--> Cairo. 

(An incredibly exhausting 25 hour ordeal)

I began to feel the impact of my journey 's cultural transition while transferring from American Airlines to the Royal Jordanian in Chicago. The women all wore hijab (head coverings), well most of them, followed behind their husbands who handled the traveling business, and tended to the children. the man behind me hummed what felt like a spiritual tune/chant. As I stood there in front of him with my bare arms and legs exposed, I wondered what inspired his mood. 

Before going through the international security checkpoint, I captured these photos bellow: 

Flags at Chicago O'Hare Airport

My flight to Jordan--on schedule! Yes!!!!

Absolutely beautiful architecture inside the airport, and I love the globe and flag display--it's so fitting for the occasion. 

Once at the international checkpoint, I added tights, a sweater, and a scarf to my outfit to create this look:

I felt that I'd probably be better off blending in, but there really was no need to cover my hair since some other women didn't cover their hair either. 

Once aboard this plane:

...it took me 11 hours to get to Jordan. I had no music and no tv since my little entertainment gadget was broken. :( The plane was full too so no room to switch seats. So, I did the traditional "Candace" thing and made friends with the lady sitting next to me. She was a muslim lady, she read the Karan/Quran on her little entertainment gadget and her I-phone most of the way there. While awake, she offered me gum or "tika"--I accepted, and offered her Gordetto crackers in exchange. She ate just one. She was very pleasant. But, when she fell asleep, she laid on my shoulder and I thought that was strange and a bit personal. I realized once I got to Egypt that the concept of personal space is uh...nonexistent. Anyway, I was happy to be on my way to Jordan, then Egypt. 

I took no pictures in Jordan, the airport was crummy, and I had little time to capture photos since my transfer was fast. But when I landed in Cairo, I was happy to see the advertisement below: 

Yes! A quote from Obama himself greeted me in Cairo. :) Believe it or not, this made me really happy because the airport was quite hectic. Interesting fact, this was an ad for the cellphone service provider Mobonil.  


Once I got my visa for $15 and made it through customs, my lovely friend Rabiah, her boyfriend Nader (whom I adore), and her brother Qadir (funny guy!) was waiting to greet me with a smile.  We took the photo bellow:

I tried to capture the hustle and bustle outside the airport in the photos belew. It was CRAZY!!! I am so happy I have friends here.

People Everywhere!!!!

Street signs in Arabic. 

Everyone trying to offer me a taxi because it is blaringly obvious that I am a foreigner. 

Taxis nearly running folks over!

My Fly Apartment/Flat in Cairo!!!

So Nader and Qadir did the work for us! When I landed, they packed me into the car, and drove me and Rabiah directly to our new flat to do a final walk-through a sign the lease. It is amazing, see for yourself in the pictures below! 

For starters, here is the street-view of our penthouse flat!!! Yes, penthouse...ok, it's only the 5th floor but still!

A closer view!

Uh, breathtaking, seriously!!! Can you imagine what this would cost in the States? This whole deal is our space--absolutely wild! I love it! 


Our front door! 

Just inside the front door, this internal stair case leads up to our own private rooftop deck! 

The entire rooftop terrace of the building included with our flat! Get out of here...Thanks Nader and Qadir!!!!!!!!!

Uh, did somebody say party???? We are hosting a house warming with our fellow interns soon. Rabiah works at AMERA working with refugees, and I work at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, doing policy work and litigation. We will definitely be using this deck for a good ol' American Thanksgiving celebration in November as well!

Incredible! 

Ok, so back down the stairs and into our livingroom area.  The man in the robe is our landlord, Mr. Adel. He's been very helpful but wants us to use the AC sparingly! Uh...that's hard in this weather, but we suffer through it. 

A better shot. 

From another angle. :) So happy!

My lovely bedroom!

Rabiah's bedroom. 

The guest bedroom/office. Crazy crazy crazy apartment...I love!

The full-bath! Didn't capture pictures of the guest restroom because I didn't realize we had two!! More pics to come. Don't you love the tile???? I do!

Rabiah and I agree that our most disliked part of the house is the kitchen! But, with all the other fixings, we can overlook this. Plus, we wont spend much time in it since we'll  be hiring a helper to cook and clean! Love this lifestyle and happy to employ someone here. Our dollar is 1-6 Egyptian pounds...and our made will only cost about 100lbs a week, yes, that's $15US per week....nutts! We need to hire her soon because Egypt is killing my tummy! 

OK, so I went a little nutts in the bathroom with the camera. I am so happy to be here!!!!!

Uh, I don't mean to be culturally insensitive, but GROSS!!! This was in a local convenience/grocery store. Open bins of wet food-like junk! Not eating that, for sure!!!!

Local fruit stand. Beautiful, but I'm also scared to try their produce uncooked. My stomach isn't very agreeable. 

This little American school is on my block. 

We actually live in a neighborhood full of expat's and diplomats. That makes me happy! I feel so safe walking downstairs. In fact, the people here really trust eachother. Qadir and Nader left their phones and wallets on the tables when went to Fudrucker's, yes, they have many! I thought it was weird and probably won't be doing that, but they laughed at me when I clinched my purse under my arm at the salad bar. 

All in all, my arrival was very pleasant, and I spent the next week in Alexandria with Rabiah and Nader at Qadir's house. His wife Heba! Gorgeous, She's really sweet too. I cut her hair into a bob while there. I'll have a pic of it later. Can't stop the urge to do hair no matter where I am in the world. Lol. It's my only real art-form besides interior decorating. Anyways. Thanks for checking in on me, feel free to make comments.