One of my friends here is an Egyptian from the northern coastal city of Alexandria (where we're spending next weekend at a resort), but she knows an awful lot about Cairo, and her fluency in Egyptian Arabic (known for its many colloquialisms) is a huge asset to our group. She finds out about events and places we should eat or visit just by talking to our waiters, hotel managers, dorm RAs.
Thursday night she helped us (read: translated for us) get into a dance club on a boat (on Zamalek Island, where most of the Westerners live, many of the nicest clubs and restaurants are located on boats anchored in the Nile). Around 15 of us went, and didn't have to pay the 150 EGP (Egyptian pound; about $30 USD) cover. We partied with lots of monied Egyptians, many of whom were drinking. A few of us were shocked by the bottles of Johnny Walker Black Label being shared by young men and women at tables, and at the bar.
We had fun drinking and dancing, but if the night had a downside, it was the willingness of the Egyptian bartenders to take advantage of inability to speak Arabic. The first person from our group to order a drink was charged 70 EGP (divide by 5.34, so about $12 USD) for a Heineken. After our friend called the bartender on how ridiculously expensive it was, the price quickly returned to its normal price of $35 EGP ($7 USD). The prices on my gin & tonics rose each time I ordered them: $38, $55, $70 EGP. who knows how much they really cost?!
The night's highlight was our dance-off contest, in which yours truly did not participate because of an old injury that just happened to strike at the exact moment it became my turn to jump into the dance circle. i really don't know what happened, but i feel fine today, ilhamdu lillaah (thank god)
1 comment:
what....everyone does the macarena and you chicken out...dude!
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