Harassment. Verbal. Physical. Emotional. Never have I been touched, stared at or made fun of the way I have here. It is demeaning, difficult and hard to handle. From what I hear, I've not even had the worst of it. I've never been groped, nor has a man ever masturbated in front of me. I have, however, been told I “have big boobs,” that I was “mozah” (Hot!), and been asked repeated in a taxi “fuck me? Fuck me?” I'm done with you, men of Cairo.
The dirt. I haven't had clean feet in 2 years.
The traffic. Sitting for hours and moving inches. Usually the reason is puddles covering deep, deep potholes. Sometimes it is people who cannot drive, sometimes it is diesel shortages.
The traffic part 2: commuting to work on a school provided bus has been a great way to read a lot and listen to a lot of CBC podcasts, but I'm pretty done with spending 11 hours a day with AIS colleagues, and talking about work far too often.
The blatant inequalities of day-to-day life here. Although I'm not naive enough to consider my own country perfect or without its problems, I have on more than one occasion been embarrassed for Egypt and it's inequalities, and lack of social systems to offer aid. And then when I remember that I am usually part of or exacerbating the problem, I become deeply ashamed and realize this is one of the reasons it was time to go.
Going to three different grocery stores to find what I want/'need' to cook with. And then, opening it to find it stale and not edible because it has been on the shelf for 3 years after being imported on a ship via the Mediterranean.
Saltines. The only cracker available in Egypt.
Water bottle showers. Waking up and not having water.
Brownout season. It's a season, right up there with the “very hot” season.
Crappy, slow, or non-existent Internet connections.
For all it's trials, tribulations and exhaustion, this country has given me its best and worst, and through it all an adventure. Shokran, ya Masr.
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