Noise

I woke up this morning to the sound of my alarm, the guys shouting to collect any old stuff, the lift going up and down, people shouting in the street below, a baby crying in one of the flats opposite and cats and dogs joining in everything.

Oh- and I almost forgot- the sound of heavy rain battering onto the air conditioning unit- which is right by my bed.......... (the streets were totally flooded out today!)

I only heard the alarm. Really. The rest you get so damn used to that you filter it out. And of course you wonder why you brain can't retain the information it usually did, or why you are tired all the time...... its busy filtering....

And my street is a fairly quite one................ very actually.

2 of my friends back home sent me the link to this news report re noise pollution in Cairo- its not a pleasant read for someone living here!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20080125/thl-egypt-pollution-health-noise-a0a7e8a_1.html

Not so sure about the damage of noise really being the thing we in Cairo should worry so much about........ not when I had a discussion with a taxi driver this morning INSISTING that he could see the road in front better without the window wipers working (in torrential rain of the ilk I have NEVER seen before in Cairo!!!). I could't see a thing. Scary- much more so than the occasional headache from the noise!!!!!!!!!!!

its all relative I guess!