A Single Girl's Survival Tools in Cairo

Item #1- Walkman, Discman, or ipod
(Really anything to drown out the rude comments thrown at you from all sorts of people.)

Item #2- Small bag of rocks, a durable stick (at least 2 foot long), a belt, or a can of soup in a bag
(Really any object that may be used as a weapon and in small enough to carry as you walk around Cairo.)

Item #3- Internet Access
(So you can touch base with people from home and vent on your blog.)

Item #4- At least 4 good friends who are basically fluent in Arabic.
(You should live with one, go to church with one, work with one, and go out partying with one. You can get away with less if one friend will fill more than one slot.)

Item #5- At least two friends who have a car.
(This way you can escape Cairo for a weekend and not even have to worry with taxis, travel agencies, or buses.)

Item #6- A map of Cairo.
(The city is endlessly huge with back roads and about 1 million different routes to get wherever you are going. You must have a map and even then it is difficult to find new places in unfamiliar territory.)

Item #7- A Loose Sense of Time Keeping.
(Egyptians are notoriously late for everything. You must let go of Western uptightness on punctuality.)

Item #8- A cell phone.
(I don't have one and people hate me for it.)

Item #9- A Sense of Independence.
(Forget the dating scene once you move here. Egyptian and most other African guys are out completely. Most guys from a Western origin are here with their wife or they already have a girlfriend here or at home.)

Item #10- A Sense of Adventure.
(Everyday is an adventure in the wonderful city of Cairo whether you are in a taxi cab, crossing a bridge, on the metro, bargaining with shopkeepers, or trying to get your toilet fixed .)