After completing our first stop at Cairo University, my group's next destination was the train station and post office. We were asked to find out the next train to Alexandria and the cost of the trip. Then we were to go to the post office and mail a letter back home to our families. It sounded simple enough. We arrived at the train station, which has a beautiful entrance before you enter the actual platforms. At the information desk, we asked where the post office was located and he told us the first platform. As we were walking along the platform, a man started yelling at my friend Nneka for having her iPhone out because he thought she was taking pictures. Photography of any sort of infrastructure, including train stations, is a sensitive issue due to the revolution, and thus we appeared suspicious as a group...a bunch of foreigners looking around and taking pictures of the train platform is cause for alarm. Thus, commence dealing with the undercover Egyptian police...
A man approached us and asked us "Where are you tickets?" Of course, we hadn't purchased any because we were just looking for the post office. When I responded that we didn't have any tickets, the man flashed me his identification as an undercover policeman. I explained to him, in Arabic, that we were mailing letters home and that we thought the post office was in this direction. He asked us to come with him, and we all assumed that he was taking us to the right location. He led us out of the platform and back to the entrance room, where we were joined by two other police officers. At this point, my adrenaline was pumping. A young American was just arrested last week for taking photographs inside the metro. These police officers barely spoke any English, and I was the person in my group that could speak the most Arabic. When they asked me, "What is my job?" I explained that we were American students just arrived and that we were here to learn Arabic. I showed them a copy of my passport, and they seem to be appeased. However, the first undercover cop accompanied us to the post office, waited for us to write our letters, and then proceeded to walk with us to the metro. I ended up speaking to the cop the whole time, and he and I were soon laughing and joking together. We even took a picture with him, as one of our scavenger hunt tasks was to take a picture with a new friend. It was pretty crazy.
Entrance room of Ramses train station
The undercover cop ( pronounced shorta) who we eventually became friends with
Not all of the scavenger hunt was that chaotic. We ventured to a book market and shopped around, purchasing Harry Potter Chamber of Secrets in Arabic. We visited the Opera House complex, which was surprisingly very green and peaceful. Upon leaving the opera house, we hopped in a taxi for our next destination. As we are entering a round-about, a man comes running into traffic and screaming at our cab. At this point, I am thinking....oh great, another undercover cop. As the man approaches our cab, I realize that he has my camera in his hand. It must have fallen out when we were getting into the cab. I wanted to cry. This act of kindness was exactly what I needed to counter our experience at the train station.
At the Souq AlKotob (Market of Books)
Another encouraging aspect of the Cairo Amazing Race is that many Egyptians complimented me on my Arabic. It felt really good to know that people could somewhat understand me and that we could have a normal conversation. I am looking forward to my Egyptian colloquial classes so that I can communicate even more with people that I meet out on the town.
Very cool Libby. How different is the Arabic in Egypt vs. Jordan? وقد حرص على متعة!
ReplyDeleteUncle Phil