Snow Day

Well it pretty much seemed like it.

All year long, we were waiting and waiting for winter to come. Summer seemed to last well into October and it felt like I was never going to stop sweating. Then fall came and we had glorious weather, GLORIOUS weather- 70s, sunny, a slight breeze, few clouds. Until yesterday. Yesterday, the rain came. And rain in Egypt means winter. And it poured. And it was cold and gross and windy. And there was thunder and lightning and our electricity cut out and it was terrible.
The storm lasted through today. And this morning I woke up to go to school, not really wanting to leave the apartment because, honestly, who likes to leave in this weather anyway? But I went, like the good student I am.
My trip was frustrating, to say the least. Because of the rain, my cab driver wanted 2 more pounds out of me and then dropped me off in a puddle far from school. Grr. Then, we found out the tunnels that go under the Cornische were completely flooded. Double grr. So we had to cross the Cornische, all the while fighting the wind and the rain and my feet were so cold. It was the first time I had been in rain for 3 months, after all! I forgot how terrible it was!
But all through this trip, I started to notice that the city was unusually quiet for a Sunday morning. Few cars on the roads. No people. Really eerie. Then we got to school, walk through the gates and do not see a single Egyptian student. No cars. No lines to get in. The campus was empty.
So we walk to our markez al ta3leem al lugha al3rabiya lelaganeb (The Center for the Study of the Arabic Language for Foreigners where we have our Flagship classes) only for our professor to arrive an hour and 15 minutes late. Because of the rain. Then I was supposed to have my 2 university lectures and after braving the strong winds and walking to my classroom, I see that it is empty, save 10 or 15 students. We then find out the professor canceled classes. Yes, folks, because of the rain.
On my way back to my apartment (where I then proceeded to get under my covers and indulge myself in the season finale of Mad Men, a little Glee and Bored to Death), I noticed that most of the stores in my neighborhood were closed. No one came to work today.

All because of the rain.

Lessons learned: Alexandria handles the rain just about as well as Maryland handles the snow.