My Cairo

My Cairo is over-crowded, polluted, infuriating, humid and gorgeous. Sometimes while driving i look out to the city and wanna say "leh keda ya habebti? 7ad ye3mel fe nafso keda?"
For a while i've been caught in the argument of whether to survive alone or sink with the rest of Cairo. I chose. I want to leave. I love Cairo but i seriously dislike it. I choose to survive alone. Bring in the cliche "you only live once," and im having my once right now. I cant say i wasted 24 years of my i-dont-know-how-many in this place; these years definitely haven't been wasted. But if i've got some more time to live i want it elsewhere.
I want to go where people are clean. Where we don't get stared at for being completely ordinary. Where you don't have to be filthy rich to live a decent life. Where doctors are on time. Where service sellers actually want to help you and not just drive you away from their store. Where you can do your own legal work with no middlemen. Where food is fresh. Where maintenance service actually maintains stuff. Where you can actually clean your own place with no live-in help. Where there are outdoor escapes. Where driving doesnt infuriate the hell out of you. Where television is good. Where books are available in variety. Where not everyone is veiled. Where i am not judged for not being veiled. Where smoking is prohibited in some areas at least. Where tourist attractions are not rip off dust collections centers. Where no one is above the law. Where law enforcers arent abusive. Where parking is available, even if its paid for. Where there is not threat of the 'hunger revolution.' Where places smell good. Where water doesnt kill your hair. Where pedicures arent ruined as soon as you step outdoors. Where there's an escape from everyone you know. Where projects start and actually continue and not die out time after time. Where office supplies and suppliers are widely and easily accessible. Where contracts are respected. Where people count on more than your pity when asking for something. Where you can reach out and ask for help from someone not related to you. Where that someone actually comes through. Where people respect lines. Where cold medicine is effective. Where all lattes dont taste the same.
But my Cairo is gorgeous and i would miss it
I would miss the familiarity of the streets. I would miss the view of the newly lit up citadel on the drive back from maadi. I would miss my friendly security guard. I would miss cops asking whether im ahlaweya or not before they'd let me double park. I would miss running into your third cousin at a friend's birthday at sequoia. I would miss outsmarting the jammed 6th of october bridge by taking the tunnel. I would miss the irresistible urge to go to khan el khalili on a crowded Ramadan night. i would miss city stars. I would miss crossing the street in the middle of traffic. I would miss the newspapers. I would miss assigned seating cinemas and intermissions that cut movies in half. I would miss driving into a left turn without signaling.
But i want out
Sometimes i can be such a hypocrite, but its good coz its real