spending the year discovering myself by exploring the world.
Friday, August 16, 2013
A year has passed...
It has been one year and 3 days since I arrived in Cairo.
I can't believe how much has changed. Everything about Cairo that made me want to stay last summer, has disappeared. Everything that I thought was great about Cairo, has gone away.
In the year that I've been here, the economy has tanked. What used to value as 5 LE to the dollar is now 7 LE. Inflation struck, and things are much more expensive now, yet salaries have stayed the same. Going out for a sushi dinner with my fiance is equivalent to going out and spending $300 on a casual meal for two in NYC. I can't afford to travel, I can't afford to splurge, I can't afford to explore or do any of the things I thought I would do, being centrally located in the world; and being an expat here in Cairo.
The political problems have not ceased since Thanksgiving last year. I hosted a huge Thanksgiving dinner amongst friends, and that night, my friend who is a journalist, announced Morsi's decisions about the constitution and his new dictatorial role as the president. Since then, I've seen a constant stream of marches, protests, buildings set afire, Tahrir turned into a campsite, women getting harassed at protests... We saw millions go out and protest against Morsi's constitution, asking him to leave. We saw the world pressure him to restore democracy in Egypt. Then we saw the military step in and act in response to the country being paralyzed by anti-Morsi protests. Morsi was removed, and for some reason, his supporters turned this into a religious war, waging a jihad against the infidels who oppose him. It has been senseless, unproductive, and frustrating to watch.
Once I started working, I realized how different life is here. Most employees lack passion for their work. Nearly everyone I've dealt with lacks professionalism. Contractors do whatever they are capable of doing, and I am at a complete loss as to how to deal with the situations I'm dealing with. There is zero capitalism nor chance for class mobility. The rich open businesses and use their rich connections to make money. Middle class don't stand a chance, because the gap between the two is so great, it's impossible to say, open a restaurant with middle class money. The general public don't really have a chance. They get to be spectators. And the rich are so f*cking rich here. I can't understand how they make their money. Most are just born into it. The worst is when they just open any bullshit restaurant or shisha place for the sake of making easy money. When I sit with those clients, I struggle to control this inner fury that would kill to have a piece of that wealth to start my own business... with INTEGRITY. They're all making sick money in any type of currency, and they're paying us annually what the average American makes in one month.
It's like the only thing I learned about living in Cairo this past year, is that living in Cairo is extremely f*cking difficult. No wonder Egyptians are dying to leave. There are so many days lately, that I question what I'm still doing here. Why am I going through this? Why am I ok with making 1/11th of my former salary? Why am I ok with living in such a backwards country? Why am I ok with living in a country on the brink of civil war? Why does it take 2 months to have internet installed in my apartment? How much more hair am I going to lose?
When I try to assess the pros and cons, I struggle to find the pros.
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