September 29 -
So New Yorkers like to think they live in the city that never sleeps, but I dare them to live in Cairo. After a full day of studying which involves multiple taxi rides with immobile traffic and frustrated drivers, stifling heat, security checkpoints at every entrance to school, and of course class, off to downtown for dinner and a little Latin jazz at After 8. After 8 is this fabulous club that makes one feel as if they are in Barcelona or Paris. It is very small and in order to enter, you must follow a long narrow alley off a side street near Midan (square) Talaat Harb. Upon entering you are immediately inundated with smoke and a large crowd of eclectic people from many nationalities and age groups.

This particular Thursday night was very crowded, I think because Ramadan is beginning soon. The band was incredible – a mix of Gypsy Kings’ sounds with beautiful Arabic lyrics. The stage is set into the wall and makes you feel like you’re watching a big screen television or a framed photograph come alive. The band is obviously very popular because when they began a song, women shrieked and their lovers would lead them to the dance floor. My Egyptian friend was there and he explained that some of their songs are traditional Egyptian songs. When those were performed, the women shook their hips like professional belly dancers and everyone in the place was on their feet. It was so crowded that the bar and chairs were fair game for a spot to dance and of course no security guard pulled anyone down, as would surely happen in America.

My first time dancing in Cairo was so fun and I felt so comfortable. When I danced, no man tried to touch or grab me. I danced with many who spoke no English, but just liked to dance. It was really amazing. I was there with my favorite friends from the Language Institute: a woman who works for the State Department as a translator, a man from Singapore who is stationed in Cairo for 4 years at the Embassy, a recent college graduate from Montana, and our favorite friend: an 18-year-old half Egyptian and half Finnish kid with wild stories of his childhood split between Egypt, Finland, and America. These people are so dear to my heart and I would never survive this city if not for them. Another interesting character joined our table – Mr. Jordan. I mean he really won the Mr. Jordan contest last year. We all danced until 3am until the crowd finally spilled onto the street and into taxis to transport the smiling crowds to their homes all over Cairo.