There have been a few Arab cultural holdovers for me since getting back to the States (including calling the US "the States"). I tend to shut off the water immediately after using it (thank you, Jordan, and your lack of water), put lots of sugar in my tea, and if I'm feeling particularly Arab, sometimes I'll have to remind myself not to throw toilet paper in the trash. (Septic systems in the Middle East are not the sturdiest.)
While this is all well and good, since I am the only one who has to deal with these slight cultural anachronisms (of a sort), there is one habit I haven't yet broken that affects others more than myself: the way I cross streets.
While I was in Cairo, I wrote a post about several cultural differences between Egypt and the US including road crossings. Traffic fatalities are 44% higher in Egypt than the US. There really is no way to describe it, but this youtube video should give you some idea of how ridiculous it is.
**Please note that one of the scariest moments of my life was crossing Tahrir Street on my way back from class... I was sandwiched between two trucks in the middle of the road. Terrifying!
Just when I was starting to get the hang of it, aka, crossing streets by myself, we were evacuated to Jordan. In Jordan, the same rules applied. Meaning, there were no rules. However, less people in Amman means less traffic, which means cars went faster. Much faster. Within the first two days in Jordan, I saw three accidents, whereas I saw none in Cairo. Yikes!
Despite the faster moving cars, I eventually got used to crossing streets in Amman as well. You just kind of had to assume they would stop for you, which they did, at the last minute.
Now that I'm in DC, I do the same thing walking streets here... why should I wait for a cross signal if there's no cars? Or if they're far away or moving slowly? I don't know how many cars I've freaked out since living here! Sorry, DC drivers. I am that terrible pedestrian now.
And just for funsies:
While this is all well and good, since I am the only one who has to deal with these slight cultural anachronisms (of a sort), there is one habit I haven't yet broken that affects others more than myself: the way I cross streets.
While I was in Cairo, I wrote a post about several cultural differences between Egypt and the US including road crossings. Traffic fatalities are 44% higher in Egypt than the US. There really is no way to describe it, but this youtube video should give you some idea of how ridiculous it is.
**Please note that one of the scariest moments of my life was crossing Tahrir Street on my way back from class... I was sandwiched between two trucks in the middle of the road. Terrifying!
Just when I was starting to get the hang of it, aka, crossing streets by myself, we were evacuated to Jordan. In Jordan, the same rules applied. Meaning, there were no rules. However, less people in Amman means less traffic, which means cars went faster. Much faster. Within the first two days in Jordan, I saw three accidents, whereas I saw none in Cairo. Yikes!
Despite the faster moving cars, I eventually got used to crossing streets in Amman as well. You just kind of had to assume they would stop for you, which they did, at the last minute.
Now that I'm in DC, I do the same thing walking streets here... why should I wait for a cross signal if there's no cars? Or if they're far away or moving slowly? I don't know how many cars I've freaked out since living here! Sorry, DC drivers. I am that terrible pedestrian now.
And just for funsies:
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