Ask me anything. I'm in Alexandria, Egypt.

[onager]

This is my...sixth month here. I think. I lose track...

[Scout1071]

1. What are you doing in Egypt?

How exciting!

[onager]

3. I'm working here!

I'm staying in Alexandria. The Corporate Euphemism is "for purposes of safety and security." My actual work site is about 50 miles out in the Nile Delta.

Every day...twice...I pass thru a bunch of little farm villages where life hasn't changed much since the time of the Pharoahs. Except for internal combustion engines and SOME electricity.

A lot of the folks out there have never met an American, so it's a real kick. I took a bunch of photos of the village folks during my last stay, then had prints made and passed them around the village. That was a big hit! Now every day when I pass thru, people hold up their fingers and mimic the workings of a camera.

Some years ago I worked in Saudi Arabia, and I wouldn't have DARED do that. Hell, you could go to jail for taking photos there.

Here in Alexandria, whole gaggles of giggly teen Muslim girls will come up to me on the street and ask me to take their pictures. How do I know they're Muslim? Because they are wearing the hijab--the head-covering. Egypt also has Coptic Xians. And atheists like myself...especially around the Universities....:-)

I gotta say, my work has taken me all over the world...to Europe, Asia and even Iowa. But the Egyptians are just about the most hospitable people I've ever met.

On days off I like to go to different parts of Alexandria and walk around. I often get myself lost end up in little "market" streets. As soon as the people see I'm a furriner, they bring me food, glasses of hot tea or cups of Arabic coffee, etc. And they always ask if I'm lost and can they help me find my way. (No. I usually enjoy being lost.)

It's incredible. When I go walking along the beach (the Mediterranean is right outside my hotel), even the poorest highway worker will try to share his lunch with me.

[GreenPartyVoter]

13. Wow, that sounds like an awesome experience. :^D

[swimboy]

2. Do you have your library card?

Pretty awesome from where I sit. :hi:

[onager]

5. My Alexandria Library Card???

:hi:

I've been to the new, rebuilt Alexandria Libray, which is pretty cool. It has room for 8 million books, I think.

Then there's the last remains of the ancient, destroyed Alexandria Library. That's under the famous historical site here known as "Pompey's Pillar." (Which has nothing to do with Pompey The Great. Local legend says that some Crusaders stopped in Alexandria, and spread the rumor that the decapitated head of Pompey The Great was on top of the pillar...since he was killed not too far from here, on an Egyptian beach. No head has ever been found around the Pillar, though.)

In those Last Remains, you can still see the cubbyholes in the wall that held the scrolls from the Alexandria Library. Along with 2000 year old "conference rooms." Complete with the tables where the scholars argued.

Fascinating stuff....

[Shine]

4. Cool!! Did you get to see the total solar eclipse yesterday??

Do tell.

:hi:

[onager]

7. Semi-total!

The sky went Very Weird where I was working!

But to see the total eclipse, I probably did the same as you: watched it on TV. I was watching on Egyptian TV, which showed a split screen of the eclipse simultaneously in Libya and in Al-Salloum, Egypt...unfortunately a few hundred miles from my job site. Dammit!

[Shine]

9. So does that mean your location was just outside the main swath of it?

Here's a thread I started yesterday about it.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x4954395

That's cool that you got to see most of it, though.

I'd love to see a TOTAL solar eclipse at least once in my life.

:hi: from rainy California!

[RockaFowler]

6. That is really cool

My Dad was born in Alexandria, but has not been back in 40 years. I have a feeling a lot has changed since then. I would love to go there some day.

My question: Are the people friendly there?? Do they dislike the fact that you are American??

I always wonder because in France, my cousins tell me that we are looked at like idiots for voting in monkeyboy.

[onager]

10. They love Americans. Hate our govt.!

Every Egyptian knows at least 3 words of English:

Bush no good!

:rofl:

Your Dad grew up in Alexandria? Fascinating! This was always known as the most cosmopolitan city in Egypt. Though...as I'm sure you know...many of the "foreigners" were forced out in 1956, 1967 and 1973.

Howevah...Lawrence Durrell's favorite restaurant Pastroudis is still open. (He went on his first date with Eve Cohen there.) And the Elite pastry shop is still managed by a 90-something year old Greek woman who personally knew Constantine Cavafy and some of the other literary lights of Alexandria in its heyday.

People are VERY friendly here to average Americans. But they have absolutely NO use for Bush and his minions. Between my job and my just knocking around, I get to talk to a lot of Egyptians. They range from military officers to fellahin (peasant farmers), to university students and just everyday working people.

NOBODY here has anything good to say about the Bushes!

One of the most popular movies here last year was an Egyptian production, The Night Baghdad Fell. Among its scenes: Friday prayers in a mosque being led by a CIA agent, and the ancient monuments of Cairo burned by an invading American army.

I hope it gets released with English sub-titles soon...

[trof]

8. Fantastic. Can you tell us what kind of work?

[onager]

11. Mostly geekery

Though I am a Geek Without Portfolio. I think my current job title is Field Support Engineer, but I'm not quite sure. I'm not a real engineer, either. Though I could be, if I had a striped cap and a set of HO-scale trains...

Anyway, I do a lot of different things, from laying Ethernet cable under floors to nurturing big ol' honking Sun servers.

If I tell you any more I'd have to kill both of us. :-)

One day when I was working under a floor, an Egyptian dropped a big bag of rat poison near my ear.

I asked him to please wait and do that AFTER I got finished laying cable.

He shrugged and said, with perfect logic: "That won't hurt you. It's rat poison, not human poison."

:eyes:

[beyurslf]

12. How's the weather?

[onager]

15. Getting warmer!

Overall, the weather here in Alexandria is a lot like Los Angeles, where I live back in the States. Beautiful weather generally, with some rain and cold from about November to February. I've also spent some time in Cairo, and like Alex a LOT better. Along with incredible congestion, traffic and pollution, Cairo is brutally hot much of the time. (Though just this week, Cairo got a freak heavy rainstorm that totally flooded the streets. Argh! That must have been fun.)

Today we have a nice, brisk spring breeze coming right off the Med and the sun is out. I'm going to go out wandering around as soon as the Friday mosque services finish. (Before that on Friday, many stores are closed.)

The beaches are about to open for Alexandria's tourist season.

I was here in Alex last summer at the height of the tourist season, which is not too bad because it's mostly near-locals who flock to the beaches and they tend to be day-trippers. The traffic is pretty fierce, though. And there don't seem to be any traffic laws in Egypt. Just suggestions, which everyone ignores...like those lines painted in the middle of the streets...

[NMMNG]

14. Do you have any photos to post?

It would be lovely to see the area.

[onager]

16. Well hi Buffy!

:hi:

I have hundreds of digi-photos from previous trips. I really need to open a Photobucket account and put some of them up. I'll try to do that, but I'm lazy. And on this trip, so far, I've been too busy with work to get out much. I've only been back for 2 weeks, though.

[NMMNG]

17. Cool

:hi:

No rush, I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon. :-)

[Heidi]

18. The honorable Howard Kaloogian,

Republican Congressional candidate from the great state of California, wants you to take _lots_ of pictures which he may then purchase and label "A calm and peaceful Iraq" on his website. :rofl:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x792466#794620

[Heidi]

19. The honorable Howard Kaloogian,

Republican Congressional candidate from the great state of California, wants you to take _lots_ of pictures which he may then purchase and label "A calm and peaceful Iraq" on his website. :rofl:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x792466#794620