Here's some stuff that's been happening to me:
1)I tried to purchase DSL for my apartment. They had English speaking people working their phonelines so I was able to order it easily enough. Unfortunately it gets much more complex after that. First they send a "bill collector" to your house to collect the money and sign a contract. Then they mail you your router/DSL stuff, then they activate the DSL at some mysterious date. Anyway, so a few days after I bought the DSL I get a phone call that goes something like this:
Egyptian Guy: 3 minute long monologue in Arabic w/ the words "Link DSL" thrown in
Me: Enta Fayn? (where are you?)
Egyptian Guy:Another 3 minute long monologue where I only understood words like "street" and "where"
Me: Enta Fayn?
This was repeated for like another 10 minutes until I had to go to class. Then I just gave up and hung up.
An hour later an English speaking guy calls me and tells me that the guy with the contract is waiting for me outside a mosque near my house, and is wearing a black shirt and has a briefcase.
Since there were like 20 people meeting this description, I kept walking up to people and doing sort of a half-nod until I finally found the guy. Then I handed him the money and signed the contract on the hood of a car outside the mosque. And now I'm still waiting for my internet to get turned on.
2)I went to the Suez Canal last weekend. The town itself was pretty boring and I mainly just walked around. But since I had already been to the Panama Canal and the Erie Canal I felt like I had to complete the Canal trifecta. But the highlight of the trip was on the bus ride back, when I look over and the guy sitting next to me, is just chilling, watching pretty hardcore porn on his phone. It took like a triple take before I could confirm this. The other funny part, was the guy was evidently really into it and didn't realize when we stopped at a military checkpoint. So the guy looks up, sees a soldier standing over him, and hurriedly throws the phone in his pocket with a really guilty look on his face. I almost burst out laughing. But this brought up a number of questions: What's the motivation for looking at porn in a crowded bus? If you're going to look at porn, why not put on headphones and get the full experience? In a country where I haven't seen a girl dressed slutily in weeks, how is this possibly acceptable?
3)This morning I went to the mogamma, which is the place where you get anything bureaucratic done in Cairo (I had to get my visa extended.) It's like a super-DMV. I went with other people, and I'm 100% sure that if I hadn't I would've gotten horribly lost. First, the entrance is just a constant stream of people from the Metro Stop into the building. If anyones seen Joe vs. The Volcano (the random old Tom Hanks movie) it's something like the opening scene when people are filing into the factory. Then inside there's just an endless series of dingy hallways on like 8 or 10 different floors. To get our visas renewed, we had to go to like 6 different desks on 2 different floors. It took over an hour (which is also why I decided to skip class today.)
So that's about it. My dad's coming tomorrow for 5 days. So that should be interesting.
Good luck at all New Englands. Though I guess the Brom's competing athlete count is dwindling fast.
Sam
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
dub's triumphant return to the brom blog
i think the only other post i made was a trip report of las vegas when i was there for a month this past summer. so it only makes sense that i follow it up with another poker related trip report (or at least trip report preview), as well as a heads up to why i wont be living at the brom for the next month. my friend bill and i planned a 1 month trip to LA to play poker at the commerce casino during the Los Angeles Poker Classic (LAPC)
i flew out of logan airport in boston yesterday (monday 2/11) at 8am (red eye, imo) after not getting any sleep the night before because i feared i would sleep through my flight. on monday morning it was about 10 degrees outside when i stepped out of bloom's car and at that point i was unsure of whether i could make it all the way inside the airport. the good 15 second walk from the car to the check in building almost proved too much... luckily, i survived. the plane was pretty uneventful, pretty much me going in and out of sleep for ~6hrs while watching sportscenter about 4.5 times.
when i finally arrived at the long beach airport i was ready to get in a cab and fall asleep asap. to my surprise, we deplaned right onto the runway (guess that's what they do in warm weather places, who knew!) and it was gorgeous weather- 75 and perfectly clear skies. i waited a while for my bags then got in a cab and we found our way to my apartment.
i signed all the lease stuff when i got there and moved my bags up to my room and remembered that the place was unfurnished and that the furniture guys weren't coming for another "3-6 hours". my friend bill, who set this all up, told me earlier that our internet wasn't going to be available til thursday and he wasn't going to be here himself til late tuesday night with his car, so i was dreading having to entertain myself for the next day+ w/o tv, internet, a car, any knowledge of my surroundings, or friends in the area (not to mention no furniture for the next few hours). luckily i turned on my laptop and found a wireless network with no password and a great signal so i've been using that to pass the time away. the furniture guys actually came at a decent time and they were done moving stuff in by 5:45pm. i flopped on the bed at about 6pm...woke up the next day around 1pm, i can only assume that's what gary feels like all the time.
today i got up, ate some cereal that i bought from the store yesterday, and played a session online (+$4.3k on the trip so far). now i'm just waiting for bill to come so we can go buy some more stuff for the apt. and then probably go check out the commerce casino tonight. hopefully the trip goes well like the vegas one did and i can tell some cool stories about how i stacked celebrities or pro athletes. wish me luck, hope everything goes well back at tufts while i'm gone.
ps. skye get off my couch and go take a shower.
also, anyone playing halo in my room, please clean up after you're done so i dont have to come back to more of a shithole than it was when i left it
i flew out of logan airport in boston yesterday (monday 2/11) at 8am (red eye, imo) after not getting any sleep the night before because i feared i would sleep through my flight. on monday morning it was about 10 degrees outside when i stepped out of bloom's car and at that point i was unsure of whether i could make it all the way inside the airport. the good 15 second walk from the car to the check in building almost proved too much... luckily, i survived. the plane was pretty uneventful, pretty much me going in and out of sleep for ~6hrs while watching sportscenter about 4.5 times.
when i finally arrived at the long beach airport i was ready to get in a cab and fall asleep asap. to my surprise, we deplaned right onto the runway (guess that's what they do in warm weather places, who knew!) and it was gorgeous weather- 75 and perfectly clear skies. i waited a while for my bags then got in a cab and we found our way to my apartment.
i signed all the lease stuff when i got there and moved my bags up to my room and remembered that the place was unfurnished and that the furniture guys weren't coming for another "3-6 hours". my friend bill, who set this all up, told me earlier that our internet wasn't going to be available til thursday and he wasn't going to be here himself til late tuesday night with his car, so i was dreading having to entertain myself for the next day+ w/o tv, internet, a car, any knowledge of my surroundings, or friends in the area (not to mention no furniture for the next few hours). luckily i turned on my laptop and found a wireless network with no password and a great signal so i've been using that to pass the time away. the furniture guys actually came at a decent time and they were done moving stuff in by 5:45pm. i flopped on the bed at about 6pm...woke up the next day around 1pm, i can only assume that's what gary feels like all the time.
today i got up, ate some cereal that i bought from the store yesterday, and played a session online (+$4.3k on the trip so far). now i'm just waiting for bill to come so we can go buy some more stuff for the apt. and then probably go check out the commerce casino tonight. hopefully the trip goes well like the vegas one did and i can tell some cool stories about how i stacked celebrities or pro athletes. wish me luck, hope everything goes well back at tufts while i'm gone.
ps. skye get off my couch and go take a shower.
also, anyone playing halo in my room, please clean up after you're done so i dont have to come back to more of a shithole than it was when i left it
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Egypt
So as most of you know I'm studying abroad this semester in Egypt. However I'm still a member of the Brom at heart, so I'll continue posting on this blog. I didn't really know what to expect coming here. I had it in my head since before I entered college that I wanted to study abroad, and one day last spring while looking over my options in the spanish-speaking world, and not really getting excited over any of them, I thought maybe I should try somewhere new. The idea of Egypt just sort of popped into my head, and so I bought a guidebook and it looked cool, and then I took Arabic classes last summer, but the reality of where I was going never really hit me.
Originally my plan was to enroll in the AUC (American University of Cairo) as an exchange student, but then last fall hit and I realized that I really just needed a break from classes in general. Also it turned out I had enough AP/Summer Arabic credits to graduate in 7 semesters. So I changed my plan to studying at an all language institute called Kalimat, and staying abroad only 3 months, instead of the original 4 or 5. Anyways I went with that, and somehow managed to find an apartment and book a plane ticket and I was off.
My first feeling when I was on my own in the airport was panic. The Egypt Air area was filled with veiled women and large and to my eyes "somewhat scary-looking" Egyptian men. I mean, I like to think I'm not prejudiced, but at that counter all I could think was "and it's possible this guy wants to see my dead." I was so nervous my hand was trembling when I handed the guy at the desk my passport, which I think is the main reason he assigned me for a "random" search. Once I was actually on the plane I was much less nervous, and the Egyptians sitting near me started making conversation with me, and the one next to me (who taught Chemistry at Cleveland State,) taught me the "correct" way to fly on Egypt Air (evidently you wait till the last 1/4 of people are coming onto the plane and then claim an empty row for yourself and hope that none of the remaining people are coming into your row.
The flight was uneventful (though the movie choice was atrocious: Mr. Bean's Holiday and High School Musical 2 twice in a row.) At the airport I was met by this guy my dad vaguely knows named Adel. He had studied with my Dad's old boss in America for 2 years. It turns out that he is by far the most hospitable person I've ever met (though I think a lot of this is cultural.) Adel drove me to the apartment he had found for me (the beginning of his hospitableness.) The apartment is enormous. It has 5 rooms, 2 balconies and is at the intersection of 2 main streets in Monhandessin (a part of Cairo like 30 minutes outside downtown-it's sort of like Brooklyn I think.) It's way more than I needed but my Mom insisted I live in a "nice place." It costs 800 dollars a month, which is pretty expensive for Cairo, but considering school will only cost 1200 dollars total for the semester, it's not bad. Also these are the restaurants I can see from my balcony, Baskin-Robbins, Hardees, Pizza Hut and House of Donuts (which are advertised as "America's Finest Pastries.)
Anyway, I feel like this is starting to get really long and I'm only on the first day (not that I'm going to give a day by day recap,) but I'll just say some of the interesting stuff:
1)I watched the Super Bowl in Cairo at a "sports cafe." It was one of the few places in Cairo showing the game so it was packed with Americans. Unfortunately they did not serve alcohol (a lot of places here don't since Muslims are technically not allowed to drink it.) I watched the game with 2 other Pats fans I met there. One who was sort of tool and gave me awkward hugs after big Pats plays and another one who looked and sounded exactly like Seth Rogen to the extent that I wikipedied him the next day to see if he was from New England. Needless to say, the night ended in disappointment.
2)I love international CNN. It's the only English channel I get and its excellent. The announcers all have reassuring British accents, plus they do features on the most random stuff.
3)My morning class has only 5 people and all of them are girls. There is one especially attractive British-Dutch girl, whose British accent only makes her more attractive. There's also a girl in the program who I thought looked a lot like OB, except she's British.
4)More women wore the hijab here than I realized. I'd say 90-95% of Egyptians. Adel's daughter who is 22, and seems pretty progressive wears one, as do most of her friends. Plus even those who don't wear it dress really conservatively. It's a pretty big culture change. Though I heard it's really different in the bars and clubs, but I haven't been out yet so I don't know. Maybe I'll see tonight.
5)Egyptian food is really cheap. At the excellent Lebanese restaurant below me I can get a huge sandwich and a drink for 3 bucks. It's amazing. I also think I'm losing weight. Ironically.
6)I still don't have internet access in my apartment, but my cell phone here is nicer than my cell phone at home. I guess it's a trade off.
7)I fight to make it up past 11 o clock here, but I still get 10 hours of sleep a night. At first I blamed it on jet-lag, but if this keeps up I might start thinking mono.
8)Last night I went to Khan-Al-Khaleli, which is the giant bazaar in Cairo. There are hundreds of alleys, all with these small stalls selling everything imaginable. There are souvenier stalls next to spice stalls, next to shoe stalls next to stalls selling expensive jewelry. And it just keeps getting deeper and narrower until you feel like you'll never find a way out. We had tea at this famous coffee-shop in the middle that has been open continuously (like 7 days a week 24 hours a day) for more than 200 years. It was pretty cool.
Ok, that about sums everything up. Hope the Brom/Tufts is holding together. You guys should update frequently.
Sam
Originally my plan was to enroll in the AUC (American University of Cairo) as an exchange student, but then last fall hit and I realized that I really just needed a break from classes in general. Also it turned out I had enough AP/Summer Arabic credits to graduate in 7 semesters. So I changed my plan to studying at an all language institute called Kalimat, and staying abroad only 3 months, instead of the original 4 or 5. Anyways I went with that, and somehow managed to find an apartment and book a plane ticket and I was off.
My first feeling when I was on my own in the airport was panic. The Egypt Air area was filled with veiled women and large and to my eyes "somewhat scary-looking" Egyptian men. I mean, I like to think I'm not prejudiced, but at that counter all I could think was "and it's possible this guy wants to see my dead." I was so nervous my hand was trembling when I handed the guy at the desk my passport, which I think is the main reason he assigned me for a "random" search. Once I was actually on the plane I was much less nervous, and the Egyptians sitting near me started making conversation with me, and the one next to me (who taught Chemistry at Cleveland State,) taught me the "correct" way to fly on Egypt Air (evidently you wait till the last 1/4 of people are coming onto the plane and then claim an empty row for yourself and hope that none of the remaining people are coming into your row.
The flight was uneventful (though the movie choice was atrocious: Mr. Bean's Holiday and High School Musical 2 twice in a row.) At the airport I was met by this guy my dad vaguely knows named Adel. He had studied with my Dad's old boss in America for 2 years. It turns out that he is by far the most hospitable person I've ever met (though I think a lot of this is cultural.) Adel drove me to the apartment he had found for me (the beginning of his hospitableness.) The apartment is enormous. It has 5 rooms, 2 balconies and is at the intersection of 2 main streets in Monhandessin (a part of Cairo like 30 minutes outside downtown-it's sort of like Brooklyn I think.) It's way more than I needed but my Mom insisted I live in a "nice place." It costs 800 dollars a month, which is pretty expensive for Cairo, but considering school will only cost 1200 dollars total for the semester, it's not bad. Also these are the restaurants I can see from my balcony, Baskin-Robbins, Hardees, Pizza Hut and House of Donuts (which are advertised as "America's Finest Pastries.)
Anyway, I feel like this is starting to get really long and I'm only on the first day (not that I'm going to give a day by day recap,) but I'll just say some of the interesting stuff:
1)I watched the Super Bowl in Cairo at a "sports cafe." It was one of the few places in Cairo showing the game so it was packed with Americans. Unfortunately they did not serve alcohol (a lot of places here don't since Muslims are technically not allowed to drink it.) I watched the game with 2 other Pats fans I met there. One who was sort of tool and gave me awkward hugs after big Pats plays and another one who looked and sounded exactly like Seth Rogen to the extent that I wikipedied him the next day to see if he was from New England. Needless to say, the night ended in disappointment.
2)I love international CNN. It's the only English channel I get and its excellent. The announcers all have reassuring British accents, plus they do features on the most random stuff.
3)My morning class has only 5 people and all of them are girls. There is one especially attractive British-Dutch girl, whose British accent only makes her more attractive. There's also a girl in the program who I thought looked a lot like OB, except she's British.
4)More women wore the hijab here than I realized. I'd say 90-95% of Egyptians. Adel's daughter who is 22, and seems pretty progressive wears one, as do most of her friends. Plus even those who don't wear it dress really conservatively. It's a pretty big culture change. Though I heard it's really different in the bars and clubs, but I haven't been out yet so I don't know. Maybe I'll see tonight.
5)Egyptian food is really cheap. At the excellent Lebanese restaurant below me I can get a huge sandwich and a drink for 3 bucks. It's amazing. I also think I'm losing weight. Ironically.
6)I still don't have internet access in my apartment, but my cell phone here is nicer than my cell phone at home. I guess it's a trade off.
7)I fight to make it up past 11 o clock here, but I still get 10 hours of sleep a night. At first I blamed it on jet-lag, but if this keeps up I might start thinking mono.
8)Last night I went to Khan-Al-Khaleli, which is the giant bazaar in Cairo. There are hundreds of alleys, all with these small stalls selling everything imaginable. There are souvenier stalls next to spice stalls, next to shoe stalls next to stalls selling expensive jewelry. And it just keeps getting deeper and narrower until you feel like you'll never find a way out. We had tea at this famous coffee-shop in the middle that has been open continuously (like 7 days a week 24 hours a day) for more than 200 years. It was pretty cool.
Ok, that about sums everything up. Hope the Brom/Tufts is holding together. You guys should update frequently.
Sam
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