First Impressions

I arrived in Cairo a few days ago, and I have been staying at Margaret and Hazem's house with Bri and her mom. The house here is really nice. It is like a mini villa, with a stable and riding ring out one side of the house and a pool out the other side. The floors are all stone and there is a very high ceiling which keeps the house very cool, even when it is hot outside.
My first morning here we went riding in the desert. It was a wonderful day and we had a great view of the pyramids. The landscape is so stark and different from what I am used to, but it definitely has its own kind of beauty. It was so great to be on a horse again and I am so excited that we are staying with Margaret and Hazem and that we will be able to visit and ride during our entire stay in Egypt.

In my few days here in Cairo, I have been struck by the strange combination of wealth and poverty. We went to a very fancy mall yesterday that was nicer than Tyson's. It had seven floors and was absolutely gorgeous. It had all the American and European stores that you could need and it had many American restaurants including TGI Fridays, Ruby Tuesdays, Chilis and Maccaroni Grill. We saw a movie there which was very similar to seeing a movie in the U.S. This is very different from other places in the city where people are crowded together and there are animals in the streets. The neighborhood around where we are staying has a dirt road and donkey carts.

It took awhile to get used to the traffic here. My mom would probably have a fit if she had to ride around the highways here. People basically completely ignore the street lines, and in some places there are no lines. There certainly are no traffic lights. the cars crowd the street, driving over the lines and there is constant honking as people try to maneuver around each other. To make it worse, there are often people in the street trying to cross, and everyone is driving pretty fast. I've gotten used to it by now, but it was pretty nerve wracking at first.

I am excited to start seeing more of Cairo, and I want to see more of the areas that aren't as nice as the mall we went to. I haven't had any Egyptian food yet, so I am looking forward to that as well. As Bri mentioned, we are heading to the beach today and that should be nice and relaxing!
Ellen Beste