In my fairly knowledgeable experience of dating Egyptians, I’ve compiled a
short, and definitely not exhaustive, list of tips.
1) The first thing he will say to you, on a first date, is how very
“un-Egyptian” he is. The second thing he will tell you is how beautiful your
eyes are. Then, his mobile will ring and he’ll giggle with a friend on the phone
for 10 minutes mixing in “ya gameel,” “ya ragal” and “ya habibi.”
You: joke with him. If he is so un-Egyptian, then how come he was an hour late
to meet with you? I’m not trying to be sneaky, but it seems that many of them
will enjoy a little playful argument or semi-aggressive teasing.
2) He is going to show you his version of Cairo (and how many versions there
are!). Relax and enjoy the ride! But don’t make it all about him. Take him to
some of your favorite hangouts, even if you’re the more “Al- Hurraya” type and
he is the more “Cafe Paris” in Zamalek type- or vice versa. Just don’t be a
bitch when he practically cancels on the spot, or arrives infinitely late,
profusely apologizing about traffic or family drama. If you’re meeting in a
public place, always good to bring your iPod, a book, etc. Remember, here, so
many things are “y3ni” (”you know…”
or “m3lish” (”forget about it”
. I’m not
saying that you have to excuse cheating or rudeness, just go with the flow.
3) There will be drama. I don’t know how, but there will always be drama. I
think we breathe it in our air here. So whether it’s about him insisting that
you are a Muslim and you don’t even know it (ummm, yeah, it’s happened), or
whether it’s about you being too sexy for other men’s eyes (will probably
definitely happen) or if he just cannot introduce you to his family but he says
he wants to marry you (happened to a friend), just relax. And if you can’t and
it really bothers you, don’t waste eachother’s time.
4) Please, please PLEASE practice safe sex. Getting pregnant back home is scary
enough. You do not want to be pregnant or afraid that you’re pregnant in Cairo.
You can… buy birth control from many pharmacies all over Cairo for relatively
cheap, 30 LE a month (6 dollars). You can buy the morning after pill at
pharmacies as well, I know the pharmacy on 26 July street in Zamalek sells them.
And condoms are everywhere, so put one on! And please- make sure it’s a Western
one. Egyptians may have been cutting edge on contraception a few thousands years
ago, but they’re not anymore! Egyptian condoms alllllllways break. Pretty much,
every time, without fail.
Many Egyptians here to date expats seem to know how to put a condom on, if not
do it yourself. If you do get pregnant and decide you don’t want to keep it, do
NOT get an abortion here. I know the whole “well, I know a doctor who..” blah
blah blah NO. Fly to Amsterdam, Rome, hop on a bus to Israel, take a friend. Do
not get an abortion in Cairo.
5) Slow dooooooown. Unless he is an Egyptian with lots of sexual experience (and
yes, there are quite a few of them), having sex quickly will inevitably throw
him into a “Is she a sharmuta?” mentality- even if he likes you, the whole sex
dimension is going to rattle his brain. Make sure he is ready- I know this
sounds maybe a little crazy, but it’s important.
Things here have kind of a wham-pam-done kind of rhythm. In the beginning, it’s
going to be so exciting, he is going to be texting you all the time, calling you
at the office, making plans for evening… but in the beginning, it’s important to
designate some away time so that when this honeymoon phase is over later, it
won’t be so “missing a flame” kind of feeling.
So whether it’s a petroleum engineer, an artist from Townhouse or the koshary
man working at Abu Tarek, have fun. If you’re not enjoying it, life’s too short
and there are way to many men in Cairo to waste your time (and phone credit)…
And anyway, rest assured, there will always be a new house party on Thursday
next. Enjoy!
oumpushkina.com/2008/11/19/5-tips-for-dating-egyptians/
