Internet Issues

I wanted to let everyone who reads the blog know that I probably won't be posting for awhile. There are some problems with the internet connection in Egypt (for details, check this article: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004155409_cable30.html), and it's painfully slow to do anything, especially if the interface is complex. If you want to get in touch with me, e-mail is probably the best bet, I can check it sometimes without having to reload too much if gmail's in basic HTML mode. According to the article, it won't be fixed for like two weeks; I haven't heard anything much from sources here, they're all saying no word on when it will be fixed.

If you happen to be, say, my parents, and don't mind making an international call to here the sound of my lovely voice for a few minutes (since Skyping is pretty much impossible right now), e-mail me and I can give you my apartment's landline number and my mobile number.

Orientation

I had my first day of orientation today (for those of you confused, I had been mistaken about the date on which it began, so I may have told you otherwise). It wasn't very comprehensive, just a bunch of booths in a room that told you what to do. I received my medical insurance card and my student ID, and was registered for my student e-mail address. I am in the process of applying for my residency visa, which is required for foreign students beyond just the tourist visa. I also registered for classes. I am taking:

Arabic
After Empire: Nationalism and Social Change in the Middle East 1914-Present
Intro to Sufism
Political and Social Thought in the Modern Arab World

I'm very pleased with this, especially After Empire, which caters directly to my strongest academic interests, and Intro to Sufism, which is taught by a professer, Huda Lutfi, who wrote an article which I found very interesting, which I read for Formation of Islamic Societies at AU.

There isn't much interesting stuff going on tomorrow - basically the same thing as today, which is fairly useless since I've done it. I may just hang out in the apartment and go back on Wednesday, when they start having lectures and things. I still have to finish my visa stuff and buy notebooks and things, but I can do that on Wednesday, because there's really only one interesting session that day.

The weather today was lovely, a little cool, but it's supposed to get even chillier the next few days. Apparently this is the coldest winter Egypt has seen in awhile. Still, highs are a bit higher than in the states, and lows aren't near as low. Temperatures are supposed to be back up again on Friday.

Oh, I forgot to mention something: cats everywhere here, in the streets but especially roaming campus, and even inside some buildings. I took some pictures... here's my favorite:


Aww!

Exploring Cairo

I was going to post last night but the internet was wicked slow (this happens when a lot of people are on), so I figured I'd wait. Yesterday I didn't do very much anyhow. Sarah got her housing situation straightened out and headed to the Zamalek dorm. She'd rather be in my apartment building, though, so we're going to see if we can find anyone who wants to switch. The crazy thing about yesterday is that it rained! It hardly ever rains, so no one went anywhere and the cars were all behaving even more crazily than usual. When my roommates and I ventured out after the rain stopped to get dinner, the streets were totally flooded - I guess they don't usually need to worry much about drainage. We had dinner at this place downtown (not far from our apartment, we walked) that one of my roommates (Kearney, who studied here last semester as well) really likes. They had these kind of stuffed pastries... they had a bottom and a top crust of flaky dough, but they were round, flat, and fairly thin like pizza. Mine was stuffed with cheese and veggies. We split one dusted with sugar for dessert. (I feel like this is turning into a "what I ate in Cairo" blog ^^)

Today I woke up very early (6am). Still adjusting to the time difference, I suppose. I couldn't get back to sleep, so I gave in and read for awhile. Last night when we were out Maddie (my other roommate) bought a lighter for our stove, because we have to light it and I'm kind of a spaz with matches, so since I could light the stove this morning I made fried eggs and had an apple (it was a really good apple, not like many that you get this time of year at home, which are kind of mealy. It was cool and crisp and really big. Yum). I've been drinking a great deal of tea since I got here, as well. We got a darjeeling and green tea with mint - we've been going through the green like crazy, it's quite good. I read some more after breakfast until Maddie woke up, and then we decided to explore our neighborhood so we'd be able to find our way around. We knew the area to the east and north, since that's the way to school, so we walked west and south through Garden City (where our apartment is) and along the Nile. I took some pictures, which are posted on Flickr, but here's some of my favorites:


A building near my apartment in Garden City.


A gate with a person in front of it (hi!) also near my apartment.


A bridge over the Nile.

We wandered a bit more after, and I got some Travelers' Checks turned into pounds at the American Express office in the Nile Hilton (also walkable. There's so much stuff nearby!). Then we found a food place and ordered fuul. It's this Egyptian dish made of mashed-up beans, flavored and served inside pita, and it was very yummy. At 4 I met Sarah, who had some errands to run because she hadn't been able to come with us the other day. When we finished them, we had dinner at a coffee shop near AUC called Cilantro. The food was only okay, but the waiter was very nice. Walking to meet Sarah was the first time I'd walked around Cairo by myself, and by the time I got home I was starting to get used to it. I'm sure I'm quite safe but the honking and whistling which occurs pretty much whenever a Western woman walks down the street is more overwhelming when one is by oneself. Still, there are police everywhere, which I find comforting, and the walk between my apartment and AUC and downtown is very busy, with lots of people around. Also, my apartment building is near several embassies (I pass the Canadian embassy whenever I walk to Qasr al-Ainy, which is the street I take to get to AUC).

I'm talking on Skype with Danny now, so I have to go. Massalemah!

My First Day in Cairo

So, that previously mentioned Friday thing didn't prove to be a major impediment. We definitely saw shops that were closed, but we got our shopping done fine. I went out with 8 other girls from my floor of the apartment building, and we had lunch at a restaurant near AUC (and, subsequently, near our apartments) called, I believe, Pottery Café. It was mostly Western-style food, and mine wasn't very good (I had a baked potato with sour cream, only... not really), but a lot of the other girls liked theirs. It was, as promised, very cheap (about 42 LE for all 9 of us, which is like a $7 for 9 people.

After that, we went to Radio Shack and I got a SIM card for my cell phone, so now I have an Egyptian phone number. Then we went to the Alpha Market on Zamalek, a swanky island in the Nile. It was a supermarket-style grocery store, which was nice since we were all tired and had a lot of shopping to do, although in the future we'll probably shop at the neighborhood markets. Some of the products were imports, and those were all quite expensive, but it meant that we could have gotten Honey Bunches of Oats (although we didn't). They even have my exact shampoo and conditioner, although very expensively. Anyhow, one of my roommates was with me, and we bought stuff to cook. Then for dinner tonight we had lentil soup and pita, which is a nice, properly Egyptian offset to the fact that we went to a few very Western-style places today. I also managed to straighten out my internet issues, and work Skype properly (I talked to Danny).

My friend Sarah is still staying with me because of housing issues, but she apparently has a spot in Zamalek dorm and will be gone tomorrow - kind of a drag, because we had applied to be roommates, but good because she'll have a real bed instead of having to sleep on my sofa.

I'm also uploading some photos to my Flickr album, in case you want to see. I have some pictures from Heathrow and Cairo International, around Cairo, and my apartment.

Arriving in Cairo

Hi everyone! I got to Cairo last night. My flight was fine, and my apartment is very nice. The other people who live on my floor are also AUC students, and they've been really cool. It took a bit, but it looks as if I've gotten my wireless internet worked out. We're going to try to do some shopping later, for groceries and stuff, but I don't know if we'll be able to because it's Friday, which is like Sunday is in the states, only more.

I promise to take pictures of the apartment later... I'm pretty tired now and I have pretty much to do. Like maybe find someplace to get food, even if not to buy groceries... I haven't eaten since dinner yesterday in flight, and I'm pretty hungry. ^^

From Heathrow...

I only have about 5 minutes of internet left... I paid for half an hour of wifi, and I e-mailed my parents and my boyfriend. Suffice to say, I'm at Heathrow, waiting for my transfer to Cairo. I've met up with Sarah, my partner in crime (that is, a friend who will also be studying at AUC), and we're hanging out in an airport café and marveling at how expensive everything is. Will keep you all updated once I reach Cairo!

Packing, Registration, Etc.

I'm in a flurry of packing right now, and I'm very excited about Cairo (although not looking forward to a 7-hour layover in London). I'm mildly nervous about class registration, because I'm having a bit of trouble, but I am rapidly learning that AUC is kinda flighty re: administrative matters of any kind.

I've sent out a bunch of e-mails letting people know about this blog, so... ahlan wa sahlan, possible new readers! Also, if you have a skype account and want to chat with me while I'm in Egypt, my username is vegan4vampires, and Cairo is 8 hours ahead of CST.

Flickr Account

Hi everyone! I just wanted to let you know that I've created a Flickr account, where I will be posting the photos I take once I get to Egypt. I leave in a week! I'm very excited and very busy, and will be sure to let you know what's going on.

Massalemah!