This morning I headed to the Egyptian Museum, looking forward to seeing mummies and sarcophaguses and hieroglyphics. I saw all of those things and more; the difficult part was knowing exactly what I was looking at. I heard someone in the museum say that it wasn't just a museum full of Egyptian artifacts, it was an Egyptian museum - which is completely true. The place lacks any sort of organization or explanation. Most of the cards in the display cases are in handwritten Arabic or typed on a typewriter, when they're even there. In some cases, the cards identify an item that is no longer in the display. Of the exhibits, only two were truly organized and with some explanatory aids - the room of artifacts from King Tut's tomb and the royal mummy room. Tut's old things were amazing, especially the mask in which he was buried. This mask is a prominent symbol of ancient Egypt which I've seen through my entire life, and it was incredible to see it in person. The mummies were interesting, if really creepy. I couldn't get the idea that these were real bodies out of my head. Even creepier, I'm nearly positive some of the coffins in the main part of the museum still contain mummies - according to one card I read, a particular mummy was "within," which I think means in the case in front of me?
After the Egyptian museum, we went to Al-Azhar Park with the school that the majority of students in my program attend (I go to a different one, but was still invited). The trip was fun, except for some awkwardly nontraditional games we played for a while (seriously, where was duck-duck-goose). These games involved me getting bit by another student... again. I don't understand why I attract so much biting here: either from kids or mosquitoes or other students... it's ridiculous.
At night I went on yet another faluka ride, which was fun as always, and we met up with some friends we have who are interning at the U.S. Embassy. Talking to them was really interesting, and being able to share our stories truly made me appreciate how much I've experienced and grown in Cairo. It didn't seem like much until I had the opportunity today to talk to my peers, who haven't been in Cairo for as long and have a lifestyle that is somewhere between Egypt and America, and I realized how oddly comfortable I've become here. For example, all three of them seemed hesitant when I mentioned street food, which is what I eat at least once a day here. All in all a phenomenal day, but I'm exhausted and I have another test tomorrow.. yikes! Ma salaama!
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