Destination

I have spent the last few days learning basic Arabic, going to different parts of Cairo, adjusting to the Egyptian culture, and trying the variety of new foods that this country has to offer. At the school our group has more or less mastered the Arabic writing system, though we still make some mistakes. Actually speaking has proven to be more difficult. I have learned some assorted words from my host family and classes, and most grammar that I am learning is by example. Today my whole class was amused by the sound made by the letter "غ" (similar to the French "r" sound but throatier) and joked around making it, we got a good laugh out of that. I also went to the local mall called the "Star Center", it was good but I was surprised by the amout of American shops and restaurants there were, like McDonalds, Hardees, and KFC. The bookstores had at least a third of their space devoted to English langauge books, but I guess that could be expected from an international hub.
Today I went with my host family to a wedding party that was a traditional Muslim celebration, then went to a "disco" party that took place in the street. I was a bit put off by the fact that there was a dance party with only men, and after looking I concluded that there were in fact no females around. I guess that is just part of the culture, as it is common also for people of the same gender to hold hands or hug in public but rarely is there any intergender physical contact.
The wedding party included some dancing but more eating and talking, and since my Arabic is still restricted to very basic phrases I could only speak to a few people. There was also traditional food and a reading from the Qu'ran.
Tomorrow I will see the pyramids, so I will be sure to post about that with some pictures. Until then,

-R H Kramer