I quite enjoy shisha (like, a lot) but sitting in a cafe smoking is not something where I know where to go, what the customs are, etc. My favorite flavor is lemon + mint. If they go easy on the mint, it's really smooth and just plain fantastic. I think your view is a little out of date. With the advent of the Internet they know what we listen to here & now. They are really big on house music and electronic in the clubs - Benny Benassi, David Guetta, etc. And they have plenty of local music that they love as well. The overall view of America? A nice serving of "capitalistic exploiter" mixed with "meddling in other countries' affairs". Generally though no one seems too mad at the United States. I'm guessing it's because the country practically lives on our tourism. Water - LE 2 or so. Juice and Coffee - probably around LE 10. You can probably get it for less but I haven't seen it. Ta'amiyya - LE 3. Kushari - LE 5. Of course you can pimp it out with lamb, etc for more money. Fuul - LE 3. Yes. Well, you don't want to bring a gun to a knife fight.
Jesus, I just realized, I remember learning about Hosni when I was in sixth fucking grade, which was around the time he came to power after Anwar Sadat was assassinated. He really is the Pharaoh.
I've been to Egypt once, but I spent most of my time in a resort. Going to the resort however I spent a good few hours in a van with two Egyptians. One of them was crossing all the right boxes; married [check], no sex before marriage [check], no drug (including alcohol) use [check], praying every five hours (we even pulled over for that) [check]. The other guy not so much, he was 30ish, early 40ies, had a girlfriend and smoked hasjis and hardly ever prayed. Coming from Holland we obviously had the necessary conversations about sex and drugs with them and what I noticed is how terribly repressed they were, even the very loose guy. I have two questions relating to this: 1) Since you come from the states do they ask you all about sex and drugs as well? Free country and stuff? 2) My two drivers were exactly the opposites and I had the feeling I had to do with two extremes in Egyptian society, but they seemed to get along pretty well. Does this also hold in Egyptian society? My third question has to do with the fact that they're terribly status obsessed. That they will overstate their own importance and the importance of their family members. I heard that this was sort of a social custom and that you're supposed to indulge them. 3. Have you noticed anything of this? My fourth question has to do with the political situation and how they respond to it. On the internet one can find a bunch of youtube videos of Reagan telling soviet jokes he had collected from the eastern block. Jokes that were told among the people themselves there. 4. Is there any equivalent of that over there? In other words do they deal with their political situation through humor as well? From my brief interaction with them I had the feeling they did. If so, could you tell some of your favorite jokes as told among the Egyptians?
I've spent most of the past 24 hours curled up in the fetal position, so apologies for not checking in. Yeah, he's been President for going on 29 years now. 1) There is a huge divide between the Egyptian students on campus and the international students, and furthermore between the rich and the not-so-rich students. It's like being in high school all over again. The upshot of this is that the few Egyptian students I know either used to live in the US or are friends of friends. Basically, they know about US culture, and they don't have to go out of their way to ask us cool and crazy Americans. You'd be surprised what you can learn just by watching some American TV. It's not all laudable either. 2) Like I said, there is a huge divide. If you have money or connections, basically you can get away with anything; but if you don't and you come from a conservative family, you are going to be a lot more repressed. There's a very obvious duality. 3) I haven't noticed this, but I mostly deal with high school to college age Egyptians. It may be more prevalent in the older generations. 4) Yes there is. It's pretty much unavoidable if you ask me, human nature doesn't change too much across countries, and given the political situation here (rampant nepotism, de facto one party system, etc) you can either laugh or cry. I don't have any specific examples, unfortunately, but I'll try and see if I can get some, as it's something that interests me as well.
You mentioned the harassment women face when out on the street, and the fact that tourists will most likely pay higher prices for stuff, but what about general safety and crime? Would you say that Cairo is generally a safe city for tourists to travel to? Do you need to make sure you stay in the busy parts of town, or can you explore without too much worry? You said you get mistaken for Egyptian, but how would a whitey like me fare?
What I want to know is why do women get harassed so much in countries like Turkey and Eygpt? Does it actually work, do those creepy men ever get laid?
It seems pretty safe to me. I don't know what the statistic are on that. If you're a white guy, I doubt people will fuck with you. More likely they'll see you pass by and continue sitting outside their homes doing nothing. Seriously, all I see when I walk around is people sitting around doing... nothing. It's amazing. I would not be able to tolerate the boredom. But yeah, I'd look up some statistics or something. Generally, though, it seems safer than the places I've been in India. No idea.
As an extension, do these dudes face any consequences? For example, if I were to grope an Egyptian woman wearing a burqa, I'd imagine some sort of international incident would arise, and I'd be lucky to escape with my life. Conversely, if I was over there with my wife and some dude groped her, could I get away with knocking him out or would I have to grit and bear it?
This is probably really difficult to answer, especially in TIB form, but from your sense of the Egyptian population, does ElBaradei have an actual chance of changing anything, or will Mubarak's son take over with little change in how Egypt is run? Less nerdy question: my former roommate is going there in the spring (same program. You may know him). What does he not realize ahead of time that he should?
I explained it to my friend like this: There are two problems. First, no matter how much you try to dress appropriately the local people will always know you are an outsider. Second, typically the only exposure most of the local people in Egypt have to Western women is through Hollywood movies. So you have the perfect storm: they know you are Western (and hence do not treat you as they would treat their own female family members), and they think you are a slut (since in EVERY movie the female lead sleeps with the male lead in the first 45 minutes). Add that to a culture who views women as inferior and believes they should be covered or stay at home, and it's somewhat understandable that the men behave as badly as they do. I have a method in countries like this, and it works for me but I don't recommend it unless you've travelled a great deal and can use your judgment and common sense. I do NOT adopt the local dress or behave as the tourist guides suggest. I deliberately do not cover my head and I often wear shirts that show at least half of my arm, and I'll also wear capri pants. I don't go so far as mini skirts and tank tops - let's not be stupid - but what I try to do is not only convey that I am Western, but that I am different and you should be unsure how to react and consequently stay away. Being white (hate to put it that way) can be used to your advantage; it can make people give you some distance. In situations like being alone, female and in Cairo, this is a blessing. Obviously don't do this in Saudi Arabia, but once my friend stopped covering her head and wearing long sleeves the men backed off a bit.
I feel the need to reiterate how remarkably inadvisable this approach is for the average tourist. It might cause the average street creeper to back off, but it makes you a glaring target for a whole different sort of individual. Suck it up, swallow your pride, cover your skin, and travel with a man. If you don't like it, choose a different vacation next year. Stirring the cultural pot is an invitation for trouble.
I didn't mean to imply that you should stir the cultural pot...what I was trying to say is that if you make yourself appear very different, it can often act as a bubble that keeps others away. It's odd, because when you're travelling you often want to meet people and deliberately appearing strange and standoffish is antithetical to that. However, it works if you have the correct approach and you aren't stupid about it. To triple-stress the point: in no way am I advising anyone to dress in skimpy clothing then wander the streets of a Muslim, developing country by yourself. Have a care and use caution. I've lived in four countries (two of them 'third world' nations at the time) and travelled to god knows how many...so far, I've never had a single issue. Never been robbed, hurt, attacked or endangered. The closer to the equator you are, though, the more cautious you have to be. And I don't care WHAT technique you use in Cairo; if you don't have a male present with you or your group, you're going to be harassed.
Do these dudes face any consequences? Well, these incidents would have to be reported, and go through the gleefully-cackling-Dogbert-with-horns hell that is Egyptian bureaucracy. So my guess is not very often. On the other side, "grin and bear it" isn't what pretty much any guy would do when his significant other is being groped - can you guess why most of the targets are women walking alone? BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Apply anywhere else. I suggest American University in Beirut. I hear mixed things, but all my sources are unanimous - AUB is far better than the academic primordium that is AUC. This place is like middle school, but both the professors and the students care less. There's a pretty common joke that goes around here: What are the three school supplies required at AUC? Spoiler Gucci sunglasses, a pack of cigarettes, and a Blackberry.