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!