The one thing that Egyptians constantly complain about is the traffic. It doesn’t matter if you are poor, rich, work from home, pedestrian, biker or a child, because at one point of the day you will come face to face with our notorious streets.
If you haven’t noticed, you never go home with the same spirit as when you left early in the morning, your body is aching, your soul is bleeding and above all the morning smile is long gone. Here are some subtle physical changes you never noticed.
There is an unspoken exercise that we all subconsciously do…
It starts by stretching and cracking our necks and limbs, straightening then arching our backs, banging our fists against the wheel, trying to cross our legs but failing due to lack of space, then looking around and sighing.
You can quit smoking for days, but the second that lady takes forever to park…
You find that hidden cigarette pack and start inhaling nicotine so deep that there is no way out for that smoke but through your toes.
Now who hasn’t done this?
You have been in that car for so long, your legs are numb, so you get out of the car and convince yourself you can see what is causing this disaster. And even though the streets are still blocked, people around you are so mad at you because your foot isn’t on the gas pedal just in case things take a better turn.
Then you see that driver from far away, the one out of his mind for thinking that starting a fight with a police officer will end well or quickly…
And just like that we have an adrenaline boost in the most mundane situation. We even drive slower to get more action.
We all yell at each other for hours…
Your throat is so sore later, even the nicest and classiest woman says the most obnoxious words and immediately regrets it when that guy starts chasing her.
Even if you are not the driver, there is always someone next to you complaining and it is never just about traffic, it usually takes a life story turn…
You end up crying, sometimes because it is a sad story, other times out of boredom.
Out of nowhere, a toktok shows up…
The driver is none other than a child with an attitude and that is the beginning of a panic attack and chronic worrying.
The lucky people who take the bus actually get a little cardio done…
Because there is no time for them to leave the bus like humans. There is just no time.
And, of course, at some point, any woman in traffic will have a car full of teenagers next to her saying the worst jokes ever just to get her attention…
They do get it, but only because she is fighting nausea caused by their ridiculous humor.
WE SAID THIS: Don’t miss 10 Things We Actually Like About Cairo Traffic.