Among other things that our research turned up was the idea that, because of the aggressive nature of the typical Egyptian street vendor, it is best to try as hard as possible to blend with the natives. Now, I had no illusions of looking Egyptian, or even Muslim, but my goal was to look as if maybe I lived there at least semi-permanently and they would leave us alone. One tip we read was to never wear shorts and even try to wear long sleeves. That was easy. Next, I read somewhere that the Arab culture really respects a beard. A few weeks before our trip, I started growing one. By the time we reached Egypt, I had a pretty nice one going.

At first, I liked the change and felt it made me look a little more distinguished. Unfortunately, I quickly grew tired of it: It was itchy. I figured I would get through Egypt and then shave it.

We arrived in Egypt and toured for a few days when Sara made the observation, “You know, we’ve been here for several days and no one has a beard.”. Whoa, I really had not been paying attention, but she was right. There were less beards than in the U.S. Aaahhh, but what everyone did have was the 80′s mustache. I would say at least 85% of the men had a mustache, but no beard.

Well, when in Rome…

And one more thing, when it’s 110 friggin’ degrees out, I’m wearing shorts.