Dear Reader,
I landed in Egypt few months ago, my bags stuffed with salmiakki, hapankorppu, few floorball balls, and excitement about discovering yet a new country. I lost the count long time ago, but a counry No. 35 may be close enough. The time here has been packed with the most fascinating and strange experiences and encounters that beg to be shared with others. Life here is infused with sights, sounds, and smells that I will describe you in the days to come. Just for starters, here's few essentials.
First of all, Egypt is made of sand. The statistics say 95% of the area is sand. It doesn't mean only the Saharan desert. You cannot escape sand anywhere. Most of the streets are made of soft sand. In grocery store the water bottles, youghurt, books, and other items feature a thin layer of sand. Unless you broom and wipe the apartment daily, the sand and dust keeps cumulating. The car becomes unrecognizable in two weeks unless it is washed. If you happen to drive with an open window, the wind whisks a doze of sand inside the car into the dashboard, clothes, and hair. Sand is not all bad. It makes a wonderful, powdery surface to cruise in the desert with a quad-bike.
Secondly, my new home is all about sea. The Red Sea is not at all red, but there are copious explanations. For example, the sun colours the islands red at sunset (actually orange, but it's beautiful anyhow). There is a purple coral specimen on the reef (True, I've seen it). The Sea was coloured red by the blood of Pharaoh's military, when the Israelites escaped Egypt to travel to the Promised Land (well, the army was drowned by the wawes, so I don't know about the bloodshed). The Red Sea is dotted by little white yacts that take 100 000 snorklers and 10 000 divers every day to discover the wonders of the marine life. This is also my favourite free time option. There are more stories to follow.
Third, Egypt is all about people and relationships. Few friendly words, especially in Arabic, and a smile will take you a long way. Egyptians are by nature very warm, kind, and eager to make friends. Even to the point when it gets annoying, when you've had a rough day and just want to close the home door behind you. The top 5 questions that a woman gets asked routinely every time she meets a new person:
I landed in Egypt few months ago, my bags stuffed with salmiakki, hapankorppu, few floorball balls, and excitement about discovering yet a new country. I lost the count long time ago, but a counry No. 35 may be close enough. The time here has been packed with the most fascinating and strange experiences and encounters that beg to be shared with others. Life here is infused with sights, sounds, and smells that I will describe you in the days to come. Just for starters, here's few essentials.
First of all, Egypt is made of sand. The statistics say 95% of the area is sand. It doesn't mean only the Saharan desert. You cannot escape sand anywhere. Most of the streets are made of soft sand. In grocery store the water bottles, youghurt, books, and other items feature a thin layer of sand. Unless you broom and wipe the apartment daily, the sand and dust keeps cumulating. The car becomes unrecognizable in two weeks unless it is washed. If you happen to drive with an open window, the wind whisks a doze of sand inside the car into the dashboard, clothes, and hair. Sand is not all bad. It makes a wonderful, powdery surface to cruise in the desert with a quad-bike.
Secondly, my new home is all about sea. The Red Sea is not at all red, but there are copious explanations. For example, the sun colours the islands red at sunset (actually orange, but it's beautiful anyhow). There is a purple coral specimen on the reef (True, I've seen it). The Sea was coloured red by the blood of Pharaoh's military, when the Israelites escaped Egypt to travel to the Promised Land (well, the army was drowned by the wawes, so I don't know about the bloodshed). The Red Sea is dotted by little white yacts that take 100 000 snorklers and 10 000 divers every day to discover the wonders of the marine life. This is also my favourite free time option. There are more stories to follow.
Third, Egypt is all about people and relationships. Few friendly words, especially in Arabic, and a smile will take you a long way. Egyptians are by nature very warm, kind, and eager to make friends. Even to the point when it gets annoying, when you've had a rough day and just want to close the home door behind you. The top 5 questions that a woman gets asked routinely every time she meets a new person:
- Where are you from? - Finland. - Poland? - No, Finland. - Aah, Nokia! (Everyone has fancy hi-tech Nokias that cost only a fraction compared to Europe.
- What's you name?
- Do you have a husband? Note: There is no word for 'boyfriend' in Arabic. If the answer is 'no', then the next question is in order:
- Can I have your phone number? (Even when you don't give it to strangers, they find you and anonymous men keep calling: Hello! Hello! What is you name?)
- If the answer to the question No. 3. was positive (husband/boyfriend), then the locals always inquire if the lucky guy is Egyptian. And this happens to be the case in 95% of Western women living here.
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