Cairo, Egypt

It's always funny being in a foreign country and hearing American songs that were popular a few months ago. How old the songs are is an indicator of how behind the times the country is. A few days ago I heard Ricky Martin's "She Bangs." Shortly after writing my last message, I had breakfast at my hotel. The guy running the buffet noticed me watching the Egyptian telenovelas, and came over and asked me if I understood them. No, of course, but I was enjoying them anyway. He offered to put on something in English for me. I didn't really care, so I suggested he put on my favorite channel, Al Jazeera. Since I watched Al Jazeera, he concluded that I spoke fluent Arabic. The reason he was asking was because he needed help translating something. He had applied for a German visa to visit his uncle who lives there, but had received his passport back with no visa in it and a letter in English from the German Embassy. I didn't understand why the German Embassy in Cairo was using English, but whatever. I guess he could understand English, he just couldn't read it because he understood what I said when I read the letter slowly. It was telling him that they had denied his visa, and that they were not going to tell him why. Then it quoted the section of German law which allowed them to deny visas and not reveal the reason. He was crushed. I felt so bad for him and tried to console him by saying "the Germans are not nice." He told me that I'm lucky to be American because I can travel to any country I want. Still trying to console him, I explained not EVERY country, Iran for example. He laughed and said "yes, and if you go to Afghanistan they will kill you!" Then I shared with him my experience of getting a Russian visa. I don't remember why, but he told me he was a Christian, and how they have a lot of problems with the Muslims and that all Muslims are bad people. He told me a story of where the Muslims kidnapped a Christian girl, took naked photos of her and threatened to post them on the internet if she didn't convert to Islam. I had decided that day that I would go to Alexandria for a few days. The cab driver that took me to the bus station was nice, but his car kept stalling and he kept having to restart. To go into the bus station, he had to go up a slight incline, where of course he stalled. Trying to restart, he rolled backwards and smashed into a brand new Mercedes Benz, denting the bumper. The lady driving the Benz was furious, but they didn't exchange info, because obviously this happens all the time. The Cairo bus station was unbelievable. I had never seen anything like it. It was enormous, brand new, multilevel and extremely quiet. Hardly any activity or hassle at all, nothing like the rest of the city. Strangely, Alexandria's station is exactly the opposite. Actually, there is no actual terminal building, just a giant chaotic parking lot that buses cram into, drop of their passengers and refill. Funny, though, the Arabic name of this station in Alexandria translates to "The New Bus Station." I wonder what the old one was like. In Latin America, buses have an image of the Virgin Mary on the windshield. Here, they have the Islamic declaration of faith underlined with a scimitar. Alexandria was beautiful and felt more Mediterranean than Arab. Even though it's only 3 hours north of Cairo, it feels like a completely different world. The catacombs were crazy, it felt like being in an Indiana Jones movie. To get to the catacombs you have to go through an old neighborhood with small, narrow unpaved streets, donkeys pulling carts, and goats roaming freely eating the trash. Now I'm back in Cairo. Upon getting here and finding a hotel, I had one of those "I just need food for the purpose of survival and don't care about anything else, therefore it's OK to eat Western fast food" moments. I didn't feel like Makdoonaldz or Beetza Hut, but since arriving in Egypt I had seen quite a few Carls Jr restaurants. Surprisingly, when I actually read the Arabic script, I found out that they were actually Hardee's restaurants. First time I ever ate a Hardee's was in Egypt. At Hardee's something happened to me for the second time in Egypt: I ordered something, and was given (and charged for) two of them. Either it's a scam, or they assume Americans will want two because they eat so much. Probably both. I didn't eat the second and should have demanded a refund, but I didn't have the energy. In school they teach us that the proper way of saying good morning is to start with "sabah al-khair – morning of goodness" to which the person responds "sabah an-nur – morning of light." If you REALLY mean good morning, then you can respond to that with "sabah al-ful – morning of jasmine" and the person responds with "sabah al-ward – morning of roses." In reality, this pattern is not fixed at all. Although some do follow the traditional pattern of "morning of goodness, morning of light" a lot just reply to "sabah al-khair" with another "sabah al-khair." "Sabah al-ful" also seems to be very common, both as a starter and as a reply. Few things: cans of Bebsi and Kooka Koola open differently than they do in the states. You pull the tab rather than push it. I have seen several cars that have European license plates (mostly Germany, Netherlands and France) with an Egyptian license plate affixed over it. A lot of them aren't even European cars, just apparently purchased there. Rotana is a TV channel that is like the Arab MTV, and it plays a LOT of Palestinian war songs. Now I need some help. Although I'm in the Middle East, I have no idea what's actually going on in the Middle East. I haven't seen a single newspaper for sale in English, and the only thing in English on TV last night was Hannah Montana (not joking). I can watch Al Jazeera, but I don't understand a word they're saying. They were reporting from Lebanon yesterday, and also something from Syria. It looks like something blew up in Kuwait. So I need help – what's going on in Gaza? Is there fighting in Lebanon? Wesley, if you're reading this, the day is yours. Just don't send me a link to an article, I'm too lazy. Just summarize. Thanks. Also, Katy and Ralphs, if you're reading this, your requested postcards were sent from Alexandria, but I'm not convinced that you'll ever get them. Just know I tried.