(0) Getting there

I have traveled only once outside of Egypt. When I was 8 years old, I did an Umra with my family in Saudi Arabia. That's it. So, the experience of traveling to a new place is not something that I have. Add to that the fact that I am cold intolerant. And (okay, this is embarrassing) that I have never lived alone before. Yup, I am a mama's boy. I once went on a trip for 5 days to Sharm but I don't think that this counts!

Anyway, the trip was boring. I traveled by EgyptAir and it took 12 hours to get to New York in a direct flight. I was worried about the new security measures. I mean, I am an Arab, Muslim, male and 23 years old. In Egypt, the guy at the check in disk of EgyptAir, started asking me about my birth date and place. After he was done, I asked why and he told me that there is someone with a similar name on "some list". WOW! I thought that I am doomed.


Thank God, nothing happened. When I touched down in the US, there was a really long line in front of the immigration office. We were given forms to fill on the plane and when I finally reached the officer (they even had us move to the stands dedicated to US citizens because it was really crowded in the visitor stands), he was super nice. He didn't even want to look at my confirmation letter from Harvard or anything like that. He gave me 6 months allowance and a smile. Thank God. And in the customs office, I gave them the form that I filled and I was given back a smile. Nothing else.

My first impression when I was in the queue for the immigration officers was one of total amazement. I saw people from lots and lots of nationalities all in the same place. Note: this sense of amazement faded away when I went into New York! Officers were organized and everyone was smiling.

On the plane, I failed to sleep more than hour divided throughout the entire trip. I couldn't read and I don't know why. I didn't use my laptop because I know that my battery life is embarrassingly short and that I may need it later. I watched G.I. Joe. This was a terrible movie. Sienna Miller is hot and all, but this movie was terrible. I met a nice lady and her daughter on the plane. We talked a little on the plane, and when we arrived at JFK airport we moved together till we got our bags. They were really friendly.

I met at the airport with a guy a colleague of my mother's knew when she (my mother's colleague) was teaching in the US. He is Jordanian and he was really nice. It was enough for me that I heard someone calling my name! We talked a bit together and then he showed me where the taxis where and I took one to the bus station, Port Authority Station, in Manhattan, where I will catch the Greyhound bus to Boston. I booked a ticket from Egypt and I chose the last trip for that day because I thought that I may be delayed in the airport. I wasn't delayed but by the time I arrived there, I had about 2.5 hours left. This was actually good because I lost my way there. It was like a maze in there and I had around dragging my two pieces of baggage behind me like, ehm, a donkey. The station is not dedicated to long distance travel, so there were no baggage trolleys. Speaking about trolleys, in JFK, a trolley costs $5. In Cairo International, it costs $0. God bless Egypt.

The taxi had a touch screen in the backseat that allowed  you to see a GPS map of your location and destination. You can check the weather and read the news too. The trip took about 45 minutes and it cost... $55. If taxi drivers in Egypt knew how much I paid, they will revolt! LE 250 for a taxi. That was a shock. But I kind of expected that. The fare is $45 from JFK to any first destination in Manhattan. Add $5 for a toll station and $5 as a tip (which I was told is a must) and you have 55. When the driver passed the toll station, he didn't pay anything, on the fare meter there was just $5 additional expenses. Wow. During the ride, all I thought of was the Ninja Turtles.

I didn't mention the first contact with subzero temperatures. I first knew what freezing was, was when I stepped out of the airport door. It hurt everywhere. Even my eyes hurt and were full of tears from the wind. It felt horrible, and I was dressed up in my heaviest clothes with a heavy coat. I kind of got used to it now, but not that much really.

I had one priority that I wanted to fulfill. I wanted to get a prepaid cell phone subscription. I did that at RadioShack. It's not that different from RadioShacks in Egypt. And I also wanted to eat. And this was my first contact with the serve yourself policy. I went into a small cafe near the place where I was going to board my bus. I asked for a cup of coffee. The guy at the counter told me to get it myself. I got it, paid, then asked about the sugar. It was on a table, for self-serving. I learned my lesson since then.

I didn't see anything in New York except what I saw from the taxi car windows. But I did go outside and walked for like 50 meters. I had no idea where I was or where Time Square was (which I wanted to see) and I didn't want to risk losing my bus, so NYC will have to wait.

When it was finally time to board, I met an American guy who was an African American and was totally like Coach from Left 4 Dead 2. I mean totally. There was also a Japanese girl who played the violin. She was great. I asked her to play Barber's Adagio for Strings and she did. She has talent.

Finally, the bus moved on. The bus was massive, and it had a bathroom, power sockets... and wireless internet!!! Yup, I talked to my parents using Skype from a moving bus. I did manage to sleep most of the trip. It was dark and there was nothing to see. The driver told us that our ETA was 11.30 pm and we did arrive at almost 11.30. I called my landlord 30 minutes before I arrived and he was so nice that he came to the station and drove me home. That was just awesome of him. He is one of the nicest guys I have ever met (more on that in later posts). He had his dog with him. If you personally know me, then you know that me and dogs just don't mix, at all. His dog was in the car, it's a she and she is called Penny. It's a Pug (Google it). She was very tame and sat in the backseat. We reached the house, we went in, he showed me my room, and that was the end of the busiest day of my life.