You know you're in Cairo when...

This summer, I'm directing a project in Cairo with InterVarsity's Global Urban Trek. We're "teaching" (though this term can be used somewhat loosely) in Sudanese schools and living with host families for our five weeks in Cairo. What does it mean to serve and live amongst the poor? Most of us have that question on our hearts and hope to get a little closer at figuring that out this summer.

But let me introduce Cairo with something a little more light-hearted. On the ride back from our weekend retreat to Mt. Sinai, the students came up with a new game called "You know you're in Cairo when..." Here's our running list:

You know you're in Cairo when...
drivers use their horns like musical instruments
a boy playing soccer on the street runs into a donkey cart and you think nothing of it
you find yourself starting at every foreigner wondering "what are you doing here??"
you blow your nose and your snot is black
the men wear tighter shirts than the women
every shop-owner says the price of everything is "for you... only 2LE!"
you find someone else's hand in our pocket only because there is no where else for it to go on the crowded metro

Welcome to Cairo!