CAPSI Council Blog

A mountain, an ankle and more McDonalds

pollypyk — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:54:33 +0000

August 28th, 2010

Last night, we just hiked up the St. Catherine Mountain in Sinai. We left our hotel in Dahab at 11pm to start hiking close to 2:30-3:00am. It was pitch black, you can only see the outline of the mountains, but our path was lit by the moonlight above and the starry skies. Hiking up the mountain at that hour was no easy feat, but after much motivation (thanks to Gurur’s phone), sweating, seeing the horizon rising, we made it to the top. The sunrise at about 5:30 am was incredible, definitely worth the hike going up. We had a nice watered down hot chocolate at the top (much needed) and started to head down (the last end of the hike involved 750 stone steps). Luckily for me, I stepped on something wrong and ended up spraining my ankle.

So, now limping, there is no way for me to be able to hike back down for 2 hours, therefore, a camel ride It was! The camel ride by the pyramids was quite an enjoyable experience, especially with the incredible back drop. Going down a fairly steep mountain on a camel on the other hand, the MOST uncomfortable thing I have ever experienced, EVER. I believe now I have some bruises in the inner thigh and the pain of my ankle. Yay!

So after we left the mountain, we headed to Cairo. Our first stop for food, was once again, my new favourite restaurant, McDonalds. Turns out the people that were supposed to meet Gurur and I were now nowhere near Cairo, it will be an adventure finding Gurur’s hotel and somehow make my way to the airport for my flight at 3 am tonight, I know, double yay!

Now I am eating my strawberry sundae, watching some marathon in Brussels on tv and preparing myself for a second night of no sleep. I will somehow manage to carry my almost 20kilo backpack around Berlin with a limp. I hope I make it out of this 7 week trip alive.
Until next time…

Egypt: FOR REALS

pollypyk — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:53:46 +0000

August 20th, 2010

Seems ages since the last post, that’s only because of intermittent internet, and I keep forgetting to start typing when I get bored. The days leading up to me leaving Alexandria included: more waiting around (Egyptian time business), visited a private beach (with brown water – so by virtue of colour, there was no swimming), went to a private ‘club’ (where swim caps on women were mandatory – yes, we didn’t have them so we had to pay extra), visited St. Mark’s Cathedral and saw relics. And in terms of food, the no fries policy lasted for one day, and then it became the ‘yes please fries’ policy.

The main reason for my fast food diet is because of the lack of my ability to go get local food myself. I don’t speak Arabic, I don’t know where the good places are and what to order. But these last couple days in Alexandria, I managed to try some more Egyptian goodies: Ramadan sweets (so good), Mohammed Ahmed Falafels, Egyptian ice cream sundae (milk with rice, raisins, nuts and Egyptian ice cream) and eating mango Egyptian style (very messy, but tasty).

We ended up going to the largest mall in Alexandria (City Centre + Carrefour) THREE TIMES, all thanks to Ramadan, which means, everything is opened during the morning to 2pm (when we are at training), then everything is closed for the rest of the day. Some places open again after 8pm… What were we to do? Especially on our own sometimes? Go wait until Zara opens in the mall at 8pm!

We left for Cairo on the 18th and madly rushed through the city in less than 2 days. We hit up the pyramids, the sphinx, an all you can eat lunch (without electricity), papyrus/perfume demos and finally the hotel. At night we went to the big bazaar in Cairo, occupying several streets with HERDS of people, like you had to wait to walk type crowd. Bargained and bought some good stuff, I’d like to think. The next day was the Egyptian museum, finally seeing Tutankhamen’s mask, plus the jewellery I wanted (encased in class in an exhibit). The next stop was supposed to be the citadel and Mohammed Ali’s mosque, which were both closed, thanks to my new ‘not so favourite holiday’ Ramadan. We headed off to the Nile on a 2-3 hour ride on some old school boats (which turned into some precious power nap time) and then a good ol’ dinner at McDs’!

Yesterday, we took a night train from Cairo to Aswan (a good 14 hour train ride). Thanks to my friend, Gravol, I managed to sleep practically the entire time. However, had a rude awakening as I stepped outside into the heat. You don’t know what plus 40 degrees is until you step right into the sun in Aswan. The sun is searing, the wind is like a hot blow dryer and everything you touch burns your fingertips. Despite the hotness, we headed off to see the high dam, the unfinished obelisk, checked into our 5 star Nile cruise for lunch and just had a chill afternoon on the rooftop mini-pool.

So, at this current moment, I am sitting on the bed of my air-conditioned hotel room, on a boat, with a window balcony that has the view of the Nile, watching black and white tv shows and painting my nails. We are spent from dancing (all 4 of us) on the 3rd floor of the boat on an empty dance floor to old tunes (Macarena, mambo italiano, celia cruz).

Tomorrow plans: sleep in (yes!), buffet brekky, city center visit, chill out by pool… I know, I live a very, very, difficult life! I just hope I don’t get sea sickness when the boat moves…
All Aboard!

Ramadan, cafés and lots of vitamin D

pollypyk — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:52:24 +0000

August 12th, 2010

I am at my 1 week mark here in Alexandria. It feels like I have been here forever, well not forever, just a lot longer than a week. Ramadan started yesterday and we were supposed to turn the clock back one hour, I only discovered that when I woke up for my training at the university an hour earlier… The streets are now more ‘cross-able’ since most people stay home, there are no line ups in any of the food places during the day and everyone is supposed to be nicer during Ramadan. The only thing I dislike about this change from eating/praying during the day to the night is the cigarette usage. Because smoking is disallowed when the sun is out, once the sun goes down, everyone is puffing like dragons. Chain smoking gone exponential, hooray for my asthma!!

The cafés is the way of life in this city, I think I’ve been to one every day, I’ve tried chai frappes, fruity concoctions, hamburgers and the like. Once again, I don’t mean to complain, but everyone here smokes flavoured shisa (I am spelling it wrong), so added to that of the chain smoking, I am constantly living in a smoke chamber.

I’ve been to the University all week, learning about HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography), I know, my nerdiness revealed. It’s been quite the experience, granted, it is indoors with air conditioning and I get to independently work on my presentation. All in all, so far so good.

The sun is scorching here and I will spend this weekend (yes their weekend starts on a Friday) exploring Alexandria, because I will be off to Cairo on the 18th and go on a whirlwind tour to the major hotspots in Egypt before I head back to Berlin on the 29th.

Despite the garbage aplenty, ruthless drivers, gawking stares and smoke, I have noticed one thing in Egypt that I appreciate. Everyone is very responsive to charity. There are people on the street asking for money, people helping you park cars for tips, etc. And every time these people ready their hands, there is always an exchange of coinage. There is even a hospital for cancer children, entirely run by charity, here in Egypt. I guess you learn something new every day?

I have officially begun the no fries no explicit junk policy to my diet (yes, I have been eating fries every day prior, including pizza hut, kfc, Mcds’…). Now off to search for a siesta and vegetables!

Ciao

It’s got to get better than this.

pollypyk — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:51:18 +0000

August 9th, 2010

So, I came back from the North Coast trip yesterday. If I had to grade it? Let’s say A+ being paradise and F- being utter hell, the beach was A+ without a doubt, however, living conditions/entertainment/food was at a D, almost an F. We arrive after about 2 hours on the mini-bus (people smoke everywhere here, including ON the bus) and we are staying at this ‘villa’. The first thing we all do (pharm students + med students) is to get changed, drop your stuff off in a room and go to the beach. We got there at the perfect time of day, no clouds, just white sands and turquoise water! Seriously, A+.

We return from the beach starving, from no lunch and had Egyptian pizza, with ketchup on it (apparently that’s how you eat it). We took turns using the not very hygienic bathrooms (with no toilet paper once again) and got ready for the ‘welcome party’. By 6/7ish, I was expecting dinner, but apparently the ‘games’ are before the dinner. The first round of games was ‘dare or drink’, no explanation needed, I didn’t play any more games after that. A bunch of us just hung out on the roof, eating chips (my main staple in Alexandria) and star gazing, WAY better than the games. Then we had dinner close to midnight. The bunch of us rooftop gang then headed out to the beach at night, some swam, the water is SO warm at night, it’s incredible. We return to the villa, where more games were played (sneaking in through the kitchen window) and realized a very unlucky fate. There were 5 beds for 25 people. The room I was in had 6 girls and 2 beds. So, sleeping was a very uncomfortable and cozy feat.

The next day, we woke up in a swarm of black flies. At one point I believe there were over 20 in my bed. Since we were in the middle of nowhere, we headed to the beach to get some proper REM, then the sun got so hot without us noticing and most of us got sunburnt. Ana + Tamara, my new pharm friends from Serbia had an excellent comparison. It was like we were on survivor (which I realize I can NEVER do): beautiful beach, no food, hot sun, stranded and lots of flies… So, seeing as there was no alternative, we head back to the fly zone in the villa, waited for lunch (no breakfast btw) at 3pm. Thank goodness for the ‘supermarket’. We return to the beach for some more swim, disc throwing and sun. Night time was another midnight-ish dinner, hot rooms for sleeping and utter fatigue.

I was told we were leaving Sunday am at 9, which then became 1/2pm. We return (NEVER thought I would want to return to our ‘hotel), hit up McDonalds (my second time already) for McArabias’ and checked out the Alexandria library. Night time activities on Sunday were more relaxed, went into a market, sat at a café and had ‘faah fahinas’? Phonetically that’s how it sounds. Most delicious drink ever: ice cream, whipped cream, pineapple, assorted chunks of fruit, strawberry juice and mango nectar…
A couple of life lessons in Egypt so far:

When Egyptians give you a time, it means at least +2 hours
Smoking is never just social, but always chain smoking (and is done everywhere)
I will be working with rodents for my research training, and may be scarred for life
A place with no black flies is considered luxury
McDonalds is my go to cafeteria
No street signs/lights in the city, crossing the street is like suicide.
No such thing as a Laundromat, so hand washing it is.
Honking is the rhythm of the city (I’ve learnt to block it out)
The part of Alex I am in is most def NOT touristy (have not seen anyone that is NOT Egyptian), and therefore the vicinity is perhaps the sketchiest place I’ve ever been in my life
Fruits and vegetables are not part of the Egyptian diet, I shall attain some multivitamins
Live right by the sea, but inaccessible, dirty and not for swimming
The phrase “there is no place like home” never rang so true!
As I venture into the three weeks ahead, I sincerely hope for the pyramids to outweigh the current Egypt I am experiencing and all rodents/cockroaches/black flies/mosquitos to be FAR FAR AWAY from me.

Until next time…

Egypt: the real deal

pollypyk — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:45:27 +0000

August 5th, 2010

I don’t think I’ve been home sick my entire trip until now. The luxuries of home are so essential when in the setting of Egypt. I arrived at 3am Egypt time, super tired from the flight which involved a choir of crying babies and re-watching “Valentine’s Day” for the 3rd time. Thank goodness there was someone to greet me when I arrived and we headed to wait for the 4 hour bus ride into Alexandria. Man, that was a bumpy ride, thanks to my friend Gravol, I just passed out, no motion-sickness and arrived in Alex without awareness.

Then I was told we were staying at a seafront hotel. I was super excited; you can’t go wrong with a seafront hotel right? So we drive into the city, and I’m looking for this ‘hotel’ they talk of. We arrive to a very old building with a sign saying ‘Hotel on the 3rd floor’. Shock could be one way to describe my reaction or just simply disbelief. This ‘hotel’ is NOT air conditioned (despite over 30 degrees outside), has old school sheets from like the 80s/70s, the bathroom has no toilet paper (you bring your own), the bathtub has tons of brown stains on it, the vanity in the room is disjointed and I believe there are bugs that like to come in at night (according to the Serbian girl who has stayed here for a week). The only compromise to those conditions is the seafront view, like hotel – road – Mediterranean Sea. Another downer is everyone loves to honk, all the time, for no reason, so living right by the street… I will need to earplug, every night!

I sure hope these conditions get better with time; after all, I am here for three and a half weeks. The hostel in berlin is like a 5 star hotel compared to this place, I feel like not only have a gone back in time, but I’m stuck in some twilight zone/movie that I watched from afar… Maybe this is just the lack of proper sleep talking. I will be heading out to the North Coast with the other pharmacy and med students for the weekend (fri-sat NOT sun). I hope this will be filled with adventure and non-stop fun…
later

Travel in Costa Rica

leila — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:48:50 +0000

Transportation

I used a bus most of the time when not being transported by my homestay family and I rented a car with another pharmacy student and her father. Renting a car is 8 dollars per day cheaper if the driver is over 25. The cost for 7 days was 312 for the car and 66 for GPS. Due to the fact there are no street signs in Costa Rica GPS is highly recommended.

Places I went – NOTE: Bring student ID for discounts

1. San Jose – city wear I worked in the pharmacy. During the rainy season it is cold here so bring warm clothing that can dry easily as it is warm in the morning but usually rains from 3pm into the night. Downtown San Jose is dangerous so watch your belongings and leave what you can at your accommodations.

2. Domincal – nice small town by the ocean. I took a surfing lesson here and it costs $30 for a 2 hour lesson. During the rainy season the beach was rocky and woody it is supposed to be nicer in the dry season.We stayed in a hostelish type accommodations, 3 beds for 30/night. Note always bring your own towel, toilet paper, and soap as these are not always provided.

3. Jaco – nice beach. This is a tourist area and has larger waves for surfing. It is better to go during the week so there are less people.

4. Punta Leona – this is a private resort/beach. It was very nice and clean. Rooms contained shampoo, soap, towels, etc.

5. Puntarenas – try a drink here called Churchill colado. It is very sweet and delicious. (It is non-alcoholic) There is also a tourist strip here for shopping.

6. Volcan Poas – better to go in the morning when there are less clouds. There is also a nice hiking path through the forest and a tourist ship. You can take the bus here from San Jose.

7. Volcan Irazu – 1.5 hours from San Jose by bus (about 1 hour by car). It was very cold at this mountain so dress warm. I would even suggest to bring a toque if you don’t have one you can buy it on the mountain, but it will be expensive.

8. La Fortuna/Volcan Arenal – this was my favorite Volcano and it was active. Smoke came out of it about every 30 minutes and sometimes you could here thunder like sounds. We stayed at Gringo Pete’s Hostel for $8 per night with just a sheet and toilet paper. Everything was clean and ok but I was too cold and could have used a blanket. Baldi hot springs cost $26 per person but there are 20 different pools heated by the volcan. It was so wonderful here we stayed for 3 hours. If you buy the ticket from the Volcan you can supposedly get in for $30 and have supper included.

9. Playas Del Coco – stayed in a hotel Vista Azul Botique hotel. It was very nice and had a great view of the ocean. The only down fall was you have to drive up a steep hill to get there. The beach had black sand and the boats were close to shore. There was also some fish heads on the shore.

10. Playa de Flamingo – This was a beautiful beach with white sand and large waves. The waves were probably too large for most surfers. There was no rocks and it was quite.

11. Playa de Tamarindo – This was a busy beach but a really good place to learn how to surf. There was many little shops. Surfing lessons costs $35 for 2.5 hours.

12. National Park – just a beach with white sand. Larger waves than Flamingo

13. Monteverde – very poor road to reach this area so if you plan on drive you NEED a 4 by 4.

14. Selvatura Park – We went on the zipline 2.4 hours, the sky walk 1.5 hours ($50 for both for students and$65 for adults) and to the butterfly garden ($12). Ziplining was awesome!! There is also a Tarzan rope for the brave, a treetop walkway tour and a humming bird garden which did not cost extra.

15. Tivives – water was dirty and there were crocodile warnings

16. Manual Antonio – nice waves but too big for surfing. There is a national park near here where you can see monkeys.

17 Lapaz Waterfalls – This was like an American style zoo for the most part. It was very nice and for some things you could go right in the cage with the animals. For example with the frogs and birds.