April 17 2006
We are having our first real khamiseen (sand storm) in Cairo since I’ve been here. The wind is whipping. The sky is an odd orange color, like Creamsicles. The sand in the air is thick enough to make breathing difficult, and seeing nearly impossible. It is not the “white-out” effect I had expected, I can see for a block or so, but the sand abrades your skin and eyes. The temperature is up, the wind is up, the sand is up – I’m hiding in my office.
In my office, even with the windows closed and the blinds drawn, everything is covered with a layer of fine, sandy grit. It’ll take another few days to get it off of everything. The students and Egyptian faculty seem to be taking it in stride, but I’m fascinated and horrified, simultaneously. There was a “sand-drift” in the foyer of my building that had formed in the hour that I was lecturing on the first floor. It is incredible!!
yikes! and kewl… a drift forms in the foyer! how is it for Jack and contact lenses? Doesn’t he wear contacts sometimes?