A week ago, Microsoft flew me to Cairo to compete in the Imagine Cup world finals. The five days that I spent there weren’t enough to really absorb the culture, but I did observe things that I haven’t seen anywhere else that I’ve been in the world.

The Setting

Cairo is huge. And dirty. Almost everything is the color of sand. Buildings have unfinished tops so that levels can be added in the future. It doesn’t rain in Cairo, so there’s little danger in leaving roofs open.

I have spent the last eight months exploring European cities. The contrast in the feeling of Cairo was immediate. To me, old European architecture is solemn, conjuring imagines of monks shuffling slowly during masses. The mosque and park we visited during my stay in North Africa felt mystical. Bells chimed from odd directions and lanterns lit dusty halls. I sat and sketched as much as I could because it was such an exciting setting.

Western Influence

Most of my Egyptian experience was observing how the local culture interpreted, embellished, and adapted to the influx of Western influence. Of course, our Microsoft guides only took us to touristic destinations. It was interesting, nonetheless, because it wasn’t hard to observe local people making their way catering to, ripping of, or being entertained by Western tourists.

One night, a group of ten other Americans and I found ourselves at a bazaar. Imagine a tight alley lined with stalls full of every Egyptian artifact you can imagine: lanterns, beetles carved from stone, and Anubis statues. The merchants here know what you have imagined about Egypt, and they ordered the souvenirs to help you remember it straight from China. They also know that shouting “half price day” in your direction will turn your head. It was amazing, really, to see how someone who couldn’t speak English could both make a native speaker feel uncomfortable enough to let their guard down and guilty enough to fork over cash for essentially worthless trinkets.

“Where are you from?” We heard at one point.
“New York,” someone responded
“Oh! It’s very expensive there.”
Later, we here again, “Where are you from?”
“San Francisco,” another teammate responds.
“Oh! It’s very expensive there.”

I didn’t buy anything at the bazaar. Instead, I found a spot to sit and drink some tea. It turned out to be Lipton tea, which was underwhelming, but it turns out that that’s what all the merchants were drinking, too. It must just be the cheapest option. There wasn’t any need to walk through the bazaar, because the river of people and merchants surged quicker than I could have moved anyway. Sitting and soaking up the setting was a satisfying setup.

Scenes

The pyramids of Giza as well as the Sphinx weren’t very different than the pictures. My favorite part was hearing the story of a friend getting 50 euro swiped from him for a short camel ride.

I had a great conversation with E McNeill on the fourth (or fifth?) floor of the mall connected to our resort. I think the picture above illustrates what the experience of that mall was like.

Being constantly afraid that the food you’re eating might make you deathly ill turns out to be sort of fun. You really have no control over whether your food has been handled appropriately. So, you cross your fingers, load your plate with exotic vegetables, and make sure you know where the nearest bathrooms are.

Next

I’ve been away from Not Wandering for a few weeks because of a really intense finals week (did I mention that I took all my engineering exams in a foreign language, yet?) and the last month of preparation for Imagine Cup. I felt guilty spending extra time writing in English while tuning my French for finals.

The rest of my 2009 will be spent in Paris at an internship with the nuclear power company AREVA. I have a little studio in the 18me with two really cool landlords. The transition is noteworthy: I’ll be going from the smallest town I’ve ever lived in to the biggest. My French has come a long way from my tentative forays in Metz, and I can’t wait to see how it holds up to snobby girls, French coworkers, and day-to-day life in the City of Lights.