Arrival!

I arrived in Cairo at 9:30pm and had pleasant experience at the airport. My visa was easy to obtain for the small cost of $15 US, there was no customs and Mady and her friend were waiting for me at the gate. After all the pleasantries we had to hurry to get to her friends house by midnight or we would be detained at a checkpoint for being out after curfew. We took a little detour to drive by Tahrir Square, where the protests were most significant and then he drove like a madman (though that seems to be normal in Cairo) and we arrived with minutes to spare.

I was surprised by how westernized Cairo seems to be in comparison to many parts of South America. The radio was in English and there was a Mcdonalds, Carl’s Jr, and even a Cinnabon that I spotted as we drove through the city.

The following day, after running a few errands we headed to Basata in the school van. The trip is around 6 hours and we were stopped at about 10 check points where we had to present our passports before we finally made it. At one checkpoint the guard pulled out my laptop and asked me what it was. He asked this in Arabic so I could not reply. The driver told him it was a computer (obvious) and then he asked if anything was on it duh. It's a computer.

The drive to Basata is a vast dessert with little towns spread out along the way. Once we arrived on the coast we could see Israel, Jordan and finally Saudi Arabia beyond the crystal clear water. I was told that there are many resorts along the coast that serve as their own local communities as well as vacation spots for tourists. Basata is one of those. Many of them that catered to Isreali tourists have been abandon due to some terrorist activity which I will research and post later. I don't have all the details yet. Basata is an eco hostel with several people living there full time mainly Egyptians, Germans and Bedouins, a bakery, greenhouse, animals (sheep, goats, donkeys who roam around as they please and several cats) and a school for local children and youth.

We arrived just in time for dinner so we took our seats on the floor around the table and I met the many people with whom I will be living for the next three months. There is Sherrif and Maria who are the owners of the hostel and are in charge of just about everything that goes on. Katrin and Mohamed and their two boys Faris and Karim who live in Germany but have taken a year off to live in Egypt. Katrin and Mohamed also teach at the school. I also met Sarah who is one of the 12^th grade students at the school.

I was incredibly jet lagged and my mind was boggled being at a table where everyone can speak not only English but Arabic and German are the main languages. Mady’s Arabic abilities are incredibly already and I hope to catch up as quickly as I can. School starts tomorrow and though I am completely unprepared, I cannot wait to meet the kids and get started.

For those interested this is where I am. Come visit! Basata.com