public transportation: a guide to surviving Egyptians on the move

When you think of driving around in Egypt, I wouldn't be surprised if this image came to mind.



At first glance, it seems a chaotic mess of cars and taxis, minibuses, tour buses, donkeys, carts, people, all trying to maneuver their way through a city lacking traffic lights, stop signs, police, or even one way signs, even though most of the streets are only one way. To the foreigner, there are no rules. People jump indiscriminately in front of speeding cars and trams and everyone's honking and flashing their lights and you wonder how it's possible you've made it this long without losing at least a toe.

But, with the help of my roommate and all other Egyptians, I've learned a thing or two about a thing or two.

First, let me tell you about the different ways you can get around. At first, I thought there was just the tram (an above ground train that runs slower than my sister but only costs a quarter of an Egyptian pound and takes you to most places you need to go). The tram runs parallel to the Cornische (the street running along the waterfront). Then, there is the Mashrua (also known as minibuses or microbuses) that as far as my knowledge went, ran along the Cornische for half an Egyptian pound. Then there's a taxi- more expensive but obvious advantages.

Then Dalia opened up a whole new world to me: To get to school, I have to take the tram to a regular bus.
But (here's the kicker)
The tram isn't the same tram that I thought was the only one that existed in the city. There's another one! A different tram! I don't know it's route or anything about it- but it exists!
And a bus! A bus! It costs sometimes one Egyptian pound, sometimes half an Egyptian pound, and runs sometimes one route, sometimes another route, it has no regular departure times or arrival times, no indications for bus stops- it's a system that runs entirely on know-how. The bus waits at the train station and it won't depart until it is entirely full and all its passengers are sufficiently sweating and sitting on top of each other.
And then, Dalia took me on a minibus. But we weren't on the Cornische. It was another minibus! Like another tram! And again, there is no way to know or discover where these glorious little vehicles run or when or how.

But somehow, everyone seems to know the system. Everyone knows exactly what bus to take and how to find it, how much it costs and where to get off. Everyone around me knows the rules, the best seats (next to the window obviously to catch that amazing breeze when you first pull out of the station), and they know how to carry their purses, not to wear backpacks, just the right moment to jump off the tram so as to no hurt themselves, how much time they need to cross the street before being hit by a car, how many honks to indicate to the other drivers what you need, how many times to flash your lights. And I'm realizing that the transportation here, the life here, is exactly like the language. It's incomprehensible to foreigners without a guide, and even then, no matter how long you are there, no matter how hard you study, you will not know it like the Egyptians know it. There will always be an exception. The direct object is mansub after Ism Kan but Marfua after ism in. The bus costs more on fridays or doesn't run on fridays or maybe has some sort of peak hours. The bus stops in front of the university unless it stops at Port Said street. One taxi driver will take you somewhere for 3 pounds while another will take you for 2 and another will try to squeeze you for 10. You say Mesh in present tense but Ma in past tense. Both are systems that are so convoluted and complicated that they seem like an absolute mess. But slowly you realize that its not a mess, but it's calculated and intricate. You just have to grow up with it.

And sometimes, I feel like a masochist living here. But think of it like a puzzle- you are sick of sitting in that same stupid chair and your back hurts from searching for that last corner piece, but you can't stop until you've finished!