Week before classes, continued

The past two days was a continuation of my Survival Arabic class, which continues to be an excellent choice. My final session is tomorrow at the Downtown AUC campus. I am a little slow with responding to the questions, as it takes me awhile to process the questions and formulate a response, but I am beginning to understand parts of the conversations I hear from the Egyptians around me. One of the most difficult parts now is to resist the temptation to speak in fusha (Modern Standard Arabic, which I had been learning) and accustom myself to the 'ameyya (public/colloquial arabic) words.

I tried to put some of the phrases I learned into use when I went to a linens shop yesterday. I needed to buy a towel so indicated to the shopkeeper what I wanted, how much was it, which one I liked better, et cetera. The owner understood me but answered in English, which diminished the point of going there.

So far my ATM card only works in one particular ATM, Bank Audi. There are ATMs almost everywhere you look in Cairo, although most of them are not enclosed in a glass room like in the US. Many are just installed in the side of a building and are accessible without leaving the sidewalk.

Yesterday when I went to get my AUC ID card, the service was unavailable, but I was finally able to do so today. After that I was able to use the AUC library for a bit. It is a spacious and modern facility, and certainly beats the Quinn Library at the Fordham Lincoln Center campus. It appears to be bigger than the Walsh Library at the Rose Hill Campus, but I'm not sure whether or not the collection is larger.

The commute from Doqqi (or Downtown) to New Cairo is long, but the bus is comfortable. So far the buses have only been filled to about a quarter of their capacity, but I expect they will reach full capacity after classes start on Sunday. The bus to Doqqi makes a stop on Tahrir Street by the Tahrir Cinema. From that stop it's about a 5-8 minute walk to my apartment.

Since I live a few blocks away from a mosque (I don't think it's possible not to in this city) I hear the call to prayer resonate several times a day. Although I think in the past they would use the minarets for the calls, but now there are loudspeakers placed throughout every neighborhood. There is one a few buildings down from my apartment. I'm not sure how many times a day the prayer is called, but I have heard it at 4:50pm and 6:50pm.

Here are some pictures along the bus route in New Cairo: