in which jess guestblogs

This is Jessica (Aliza's youngest sister), guestblogging as we await our flight to Italy.

We just came back from the Nile Cruise. There were many hyroglyphic-filled temples in Upper Egypt, as well as many donkeys and camels, which made me very happy. The Nile Cruise was nice, although our room was in the third class- had it been the Titanic, we would have died. We toured with another American family from Boston. They were very nice, even if they did have a very small, squeaky child who seemed to know a lot about Egyptian mythology.

Cairo was a lot of fun. Cairo traffic, however, was not. The pyramids were very cool and large. Oddly, even though they are pretty gigantic, when the Cairo Smog was particularly prominent, you couldn't see them. I enjoy Egyptian food quite a bit- koshari, faoul, felafil, yum! And now we will go to Italy, where there will also be delicious food.

In other news. I rode a camel. It was wonderful.

-- Jessica (p.s. I also chose the tags for this post.)

the joys of egyptian bureaucracy, part 2

About five months ago, I braved the bureaucratic mess that is the Mugamma to secure myself a new visa to stay in Egypt. Well that visa expires this week, so I had to go back and renew it before leaving for Rome with my family. The first time I went, I had only been in Egypt a month. The visa excursion was a little intimidating and really overwhelming, with lots of shuffling between many windows and lots of forms. But this time I came armed with all the things I was supposed to (photos of myself, copies of passport, etc.), I knew which windows to go to and what to ask for, and the whole thing was pretty...painless. I brought my laptop and did some work from an internet cafe while I waited for my paperwork to be processed, and it was all very uneventful. Part of it is that I knew what to expect this time, so I wasn't really worried. Or maybe I am just that much more jaded now.

The only irony is that the first time I went, I requested a one-year visa, but they gave me one for six months and told me I would have to come back. This time I requested another six month one (since I am here until the end of June), but they gave me a one year one. Thanks, guys.

more freelance

Another freelance article I wrote is online. This one is for the same magazine, ICT Business, and it's about microfinance NGOs in Egypt. You can read it here.

By the way, the family has arrived. They have met some of my friends around Zamalek, and we lit Hanukkah candles last night with some other Jewish friends. All in all, a good Hanukkah so far.

family vacation

Until this weekend, I never knew that an entire country could lose internet connection. But that's what happened on Friday, when some undersea cable near Italy came loose or had some kind of problem, and all of Egypt found itself without any internet. People were still able to connect via iPhone or similar satellite-type thing, but all landlines weren't functioning. Seeing hordes of people panic as they run (in vain!) from one internet cafe to the next could have been funny, but when we heard that it might take five days to be repaired (actual time: about 24 hours), that panic hit me too. Anyway, it all seems to be fixed now, so no worries. I mean, it's still a bit slower than I would like but at least it's working.

In other news, my family (Dad, Mom, Michelle, Jessica) are coming to visit me/see Egypt. They were supposed to arrive in time for dinner this evening, but thanks to bad weather somewhere along the way they were rerouted through London and Amsterdam and will eventually arrive closer to 3 a.m. I am looking forward to showing them around Cairo, so it should be a fun week. Next week we will be going to Upper Egypt (Luxor, Aswan, etc.) to see all the Pharonic ruins and sites, and then to Rome for New Year's. I will try to post again this week, but if not, hope you all have a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

it's beginning to look a lot like fake christmas

Holiday season is here, and we have already started celebrating here in Cairo. Last week before I left for Jordan, we celebrated Fake Christmas. A friend, M2 (M1 is my former flatmate), used to live in Cairo but now works in Abu Dhabi, and came back to Cairo to see people. To mark the occasion, she and another friend, I, decided to co-host an early Christmas party with holiday poppers, Secret Santa gifts, Christmas songs, champagne purchased at Duty Free, and a nice little tree. All hosted on a I's houseboat on the Nile, which was a great view. Hanukkah party will be this weekend, and I'm also excited for that.

View of the Nile on a cloudy day at twilight. Well, let's be realistic -- it's part dusk, part smog I would guess.

For those interested in what it's like to live as an expat abroad, here's an article written in a magazine for TCKs. A TCK, or third culture kid, is one who grows up in a culture outside their own or that of their parents, sometimes meaning in multiple countries. This article talks a bit about expat communities and culture, and Egypt is mentioned at the end. My life here is a bit different because I hang out with a younger crowd, not families, but it's still pretty interesting I think.

My other exciting news is that my roommate A2 was in an Egyptian commercial! Some of you may remember that back in August I accidentally auditioned for a commercial. Well, A2 went on another audition and booked the part. The commercial is for Etisalat, an Egyptian phone company. The ad, which is in Arabic, is below. You can catch A2 at the 15 second mark.

roman ruins and the river jordan

This past week I spent traveling in Jordan with N for our Eid vacation. Jordan is a beautiful country; we covered most of the country, from Jerash and Ajloun in the north to Wadi Rum in the south, and we saw some amazing things. I won't bore you with all the details, but here are some highlights and impressions.

My first impression of Jordanians was that they are extremely classy. In Egypt people will often get dressed up to go out; many of the more exclusive bars and clubs require reservations, and I have certainly had nights when I would need to look “shiny,” to borrow a term from my friend H. But in Jordan, everyone we saw was very trendy and dressy all the time, even in the airport and walking around in the cheaper downtown area. I felt underdressed in my dirty desert jeans. Also, Jordan seemed more conservative. In Egypt my friends and I regularly walk around in T-shirts, or skirts that come to the knee. In Jordan all the women appeared much more covered up, usually to the wrists, and many more women seemed to be wearing hijabs (were veiled).

As far as I am concerned, besides the beautiful scenery, the best part about Jordan was the famous Middle Eastern hospitality. I have experienced it to some extent in Egypt, especially during Ramadan I think. I have been welcomed into people's homes, and invited for meals and iftars. But Jordanians take it to a whole new level, in an awesome way. Everyone was so willing to share what they had, no matter what it was. Our driver from Amman to Petra stopped on the way to pick up food for his dinner and after he picked up each component he offered us some -- bread, juice, radishes. It didn't matter that he couldn't afford much, he wanted us to have some. In Petra, we met this Bedouin girl who gave us directions on our hike, then when she saw us on the way out she invited us for tea and some fruit. On the bus from Wadi Rum to Amman, there weren't a ton of free seats so we all had to split up. I ended up in the back row with a family that had four small children. Every time one of them went to eat something (a bag of chips, some orange slices, etc.), they always offered me some also... and wouldn't stop offering until I had taken just a little. Each time, it was just really nice. What a friendly country.

N and I landed in Amman last Saturday, a city that reminded me a lot of Jerusalem. Actually, a lot of Jordan's scenery reminded me of Israel, which is not really surprising given the amount of time I have spent in Israel and the fact that two countries share a border and thus fairly similar geography. Anyway, I think the biggest shock about Amman was that it was so quiet. It's a lovely city, spread across multiple hilltops and without any huge skyscrapers (that's what I meant about it being like Jerusalem). But everything closes so early. I don't think I have ever spent a significant amount of time in a city where everything just shut down so completely at such a ridiculous hour. All the tourist sites closed by 4 p.m., then the restaurants at around 7 p.m. One day we left our hostel at 8:30 to get dinner and everything was already closed, except for a few street falafel stands. Another night we went for dinner at 6:30 and when we left, they were putting away all the food and getting ready to close the place down. Also, all the public transportation, namely buses and minibuses, completely stopped running by 5 p.m. at the latest (though often much earlier). This meant getting up really early many mornings in order to still be able to enjoy a full day at any one site.

Petra was absolutely amazing. Our hostel screened Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (the one where the end was filmed in Petra), which was fun. We made friends with some of the other people in the hostel and then walked around with them for a bit. If you only have one day it's possible to hit the highlights and see a lot of Petra, but it's better if you have two days. On our second day, N and I chose to go see a slightly out of the way site called the "High Place of Sacrifice," which on the map looked like a short hike up but ended up being a serious trek. By the time we got to the top we were a little exhausted, but we had an amazing view of all of Petra, so it was completely worth it.

More friends were made on the way to Wadi Rum. The way to get from Petra to Wadi Rum is a 6:30 a.m. bus, and N and I hoped that we would be able to meet other people on the bus to share a tour guide with us in Wadi Rum. First on the bus we met a Korean girl traveling alone, and then as we got off we met two more Australians (N is also Australian). All wanted to share a half-day tour in Wadi Rum, and all wanted to go back to Amman that night (including us). We ended up with a tour lasting 3 1/2 hours through the desert, which was awesome, and then we began the process of getting back to Amman.

Since no buses run in the evenings (or even after noon in some cases), we figured our best shot was to try and flag down a bus or minibus on its way to Amman from Aqaba and get on from the main highway. Our Lonely Planet guide advised hitchhiking, which we considered, but there were five of us with large backpacks or duffel bags, so we eventually decided against it. The first few minibuses were a bit expensive, and several cars kept pulling over to ask us where we were going and why (this was a time when we obviously stood out as tourists, just standing on the side of Jordan's main highway looking like dirty backpackers).

Eventually a minibus came along and said they were going to Ma'an, a town in the center of Jordan on the way north where we would be able to catch a connecting bus to Amman. There weren't necessarily enough seats on the minibus, but some people shifted around and squished in so we could all have seats. In Ma'an we transferred to another bus to Amman, where we once again had to split up and squeeze in where we could (this is where I sat with the travelling family), and then finally arrived in Amman in time to go back to the hostel we had stayed in the first night. We brought the Australians with us, and all went together to have a nice dinner in the classy part of town, as opposed to the cheap local fare we had been enjoying (though the Bedouin food was really fantastic). Anyway, we really enjoyed this hostel, and met lots of cool people there over the time we were there -- some Polish art students, an Australian grandmother traveling around the world, two Spanish brothers on vacation in Jordan and Israel, and some others. It was a lot of fun to feel a part of the Jordan backpacking culture.

We also hit all the major tourist sites; we were able to cover almost the entire country in one week. We went to Petra for two days (one of the most amazing things I have seen), Wadi Rum (this desert protected area with lots of cool formations and great scenery, and you need a Bedouin tour guide to go around), Madaba (centuries-old mosaic map of the holy sites of the ancient world), Mt. Nebo (mountain from which Moses viewed Israel before dying), the castles of Karak and Shobak, Dead Sea (have now been from both Israel and Jordan), Bethany Beyond the Jordan (the site on the River Jordan where they think Jesus was baptized), Jerash (a city in the north with fantastic Roman ruins), Aljoun (another ancient castle), and Amman. We didn't make it to Aqaba or the Eastern Desert, but I guess that's just another reason to go back.

So overall it was a pretty excellent trip, as I hope you can tell by my stories. Check out the post below for some photos, and more will soon be up on Facebook.

photos from jordan

Here are some selected photos from my trip to Jordan. Check back for more details and fun travel stories in a later post. More photos will eventually be on facebook (seriously, I have like more than 300 from just this one week).

The view from Mt. Nebo, where Moses supposedly looked across as Israel (but was not allowed in) before dying. Those hazy mountains in the distance are Israel.

Al-Khazneh, or the Treasury, at Petra. You might recognize this building from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (and if not, you should go watch it!). But seriously, Petra is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.

Nabatean tombs caves in Petra.

More tombs and ruins in Petra.

On our second day in Petra, N and I opted for what we thought we would be a short hike to a place called the "High Place of Sacrifice." Well, it was indeed high, but after the trek we got amazing views and this stone altar. Here I contemplate stepping out into the mountains.

Our Bedouin tour guide with his 4x4 in the Wadi Rum protected area.

Wadi Rum desert. A wadi is a kind of valley, and is sometimes translated as like a dry riverbed.

Sitting on a rock bridge in Wadi Rum. They don't have these in the desert in Egypt!

Roman ruins in Jerash, in northern Jordan. This city supposedly has the best-preserved Roman ruins outside of Italy, and they were indeed pretty amazing.

Temple of Zeus in Jerash.

Here I am attempting to step on and/or kick over the ruins below, which are part of the oval forum in Jerash.

And here is N and I at the Dead Sea, which I have now visited and swum in from both sides.

office nostalgia

Though I didn't get time off for Thanksgiving, the whole country is going on vacation next week. We have off a full week for Eid al-Adha, a Muslim holiday commemorating Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son for Allah. It coincides with Hajj, the annual pilgrimmage to Mecca that Muslims are obigated to make at least once in their lives, if they are able. To celebrate my time off, I will be going to Jordan for seven days with N, where we will see Petra, Amman, and many other things. Check back next week for photos (though we are flying there, so hopefully few travel horror stories).

As some of you may remember, a few months ago I mentioned that my company might be moving to a new building. Well, they've been getting it ready for a while and it looks like it will finally be ready after Eid. Which means today might be my last day in this office (though some departments will still be here, so I am sure I will visit). But still: here is a photo of the view of Mohandiseen as seen from the balcony in our office. The new office is on the block to the right of the building with the blue windows.

take that, winter

December 1st. I am wearing a t-shirt and flip-flops.

That is all.

i wasn't supposed to put beef in the trifle

I wish I had some wacky Thanksgiving-abroad stories to share, but my Turkey Day was pretty low-key (and lack of Black Friday made me sad, though I am sure my wallet and bank account rejoiced). On Thursday I went into work and finished up the editing for our December issue (should be out any day now), ending a rather long work week (thus the reason for my lack of posting last week... sorry about that).

So, Thanksgiving! I know I have mentioned here on the blog before that my group of friends here is really great, but it bears repeating because in a way, they are my Cairo family. We had a nice (though rather informal) dinner at the British Club, with other friends arriving a bit later for the drinks portion of the evening. Thoughtfully, the British Club paired Thanksgiving with Disco Night, which resulted in some truly excellent background music. Otherwise a fun weekend that also included a trip to the Hard Rock Cafe Cairo and plenty of Thanksgiving leftovers.

On Saturday, I went with N and A1 to the AUC bookstore, which was having a 20 percent off holiday sale. Most English-language bookstores are pretty expensive, so this was a good opportunity to stock up (especially given that I have some upcoming vacation time when I will have a lot of time to read). In college I always felt guilty for reading for fun when I had school books piling up, so it's been nice to find the time to read for fun again.

sorry it's been a while

Sorry I have not posted in a while -- this week is the monthly deadline at the magazine I work for, so I have been pretty busy. Everything should be all wrapped up by the end of tomorrow, but until then I am a bit swamped.

Otherwise, I had a fun weekend. Saw a bunch of movies (Cairo International Film Festival) and went out with friends, the usual. Apparently there were famous people here for the festival but I did not see any. (Maybe I went to the wrong movies?) Anyway, promise a longer posting later when I have some time.

Until then: Happy Thanksgiving!

elsewhere in the middle east...

Egypt feels like the Middle East. Sometimes it's easy to forget when I live in Zamalek, across the street from Cinnabon and Pizza Hut, but most of the time it's pretty noticeable. Still, I thought this article, about expats in Dubai, was pretty interesting.

For good measure, here's one specifically about Egypt and how the country's ancient history coincides with the modern realities of being part of the developing world. Interesting!

By the way -- I throw around the term "expat" often but realized that I never really explained. The word "expat" is short for expatriate, the name for anyone living outside their native country for extended periods of time.

ahli vs. zamalek

I work in the content room (like a newsroom) in my office, where there is a large TV. It is usually on to something quiet, like the news or a popular TV program.

But right now we are watching a football match, Ahli vs. Zamalek. Yes, I live in Zamalek. But no one really roots for them (they are the White Sox of Cairo football). Everyone is Cairo is an Ahli fan. EVERYONE. I was interested in going to a game, but apparently it is very...unpleasant for women and I have since reconsidered. So Ahli just scored a goal, 20 people are screaming right next to me, and I am probably not going to get any more work done today.

Considering going home early to read all the excellent Entertainment Weekly magazines I have just receieved in a package from my parents today. By the way: the package delivery man thinks it is hilarious that I get a package a month from America. We are on a first name basis now and he is totally my BFF. So send me mail! He will make sure it gets to me!

happy birthday to me

This past weekend I celebrated my 23rd birthday, which was a lot of fun. Some friends and I took some wine and cheese on a felluca on the Nile, and then went over to El Mojito, a bar/lounge we frequent. I got to see many friends, so it was a nice celebration. Weird to have another birthday abroad (I turned 21 in Madrid), but overall a good one.

On Friday night I had Shabbat dinner with some AUC students I met at the last Jewish event, and that was nice. They had brought kosher chicken from Israel (I thought bringing back a challah was an accomplishment, but this is true dedication), and also some Israeli wine. I contributed dessert. A very nice gathering and fun to have a legitimate Shabbat dinner in Cairo. Saturday evening we had another event for the Cairo Jewish Club, as we are now apparently calling ourselves. This one was a get-together at the British Club, and it featured schmoozing, drinking, trivia, and some Israeli dancing. Overall a success, and I had a good time. I think this whole Jewish cultural group is off to a great start so far, and am really glad that I get to be a part of it here.

I also finished and turned in another freelance article this weekend, this one a book review for a design magazine. This is the first piece I wrote for them, but hopefully they will ask me to contribute again. Saturday during the day, A2 and I decided to try and get out and see some more of Cairo. We spend a lot of weekends being low-key and relaxing, but there's a lot in Cairo that I still have not done.

We ended up choosing the Museum of Modern Egyptian Art, close by in Zamalek by the Opera House and only 5 LE (about $1) to get in. It was very non-pretentious; they had lots of interesting work by Egyptian artists in nice building with a big foyer. There were maybe 10 other people in the museum, so we kind of had it to ourselves, which was cool. The types of art varied -- they had some surrealist, some impressionist, some very modern, sculpture, oil paintings, abstract, portaits, etc. A little of everything. None of the artists are particularly famous outside of Egypt, I think, but it was a very nice collection. The Egypt Museum is so famous for all the mummies and antiquities and whatnot, that I think people sometimes overlook the other museums in Cairo. But it's nice to see Egyptians proud of their more modern culture as well.

a little belated, but...

One of my freelance articles is available online now, so I thought I would pass on the link to anyone who'd like to read. The article is about an exclusive food deal for AUC, the American University in Cairo, and was published by ICT Business magazine, a business and IT magazine here in Cairo. You can read it here. Enjoy!

bribery will get you everywhere

I spent this last weekend in Jerusalem, which was amazing as always, but was book-ended by some of my more interesting travel experiences. Rather than flying, A1 and I opted to go to Israel the cheap way, namely overnight bus(es). Our journey was supposed to go like this: bus 1 from Cairo to Taba, cross border on foot into Eilat, taxi to bus station, bus 2 from Eilat to Jerusalem.

Despite an unfortunate (but predictable) lack of timetables or bus schedules online, I heard from several people that there was a 10:15 pm bus leaving Cairo for Taba. We were early enough (a rarity), but when we got to the bus station we found that it was sold out. Now growing up, many of us were taught that "no means no." But that's not really true in Egypt, where no means something like "bribe me." We asked the ticket seller how much tickets cost and he said 80 LE, so we said we would give him 100 to squeeze us onto the bus. Miraculously, he suddenly "found" two more seats. Leg 1: success.

We arrived in Taba at around 5:30 am (like a 7 hour bus ride, including an extended tea/shisha break somewhere around 2:30), where A1 and I promptly made friends with an elderly Italian nun also going across the border. She spoke only a little Arabic and a little Spanish, but when I spoke Spanish and she spoke Italian slowly -- with a few Spanish-isms thrown in -- we could mostly understand each other. She was awesome. Anyway, we got across the border without getting our passports stamped, which was a huuuge success -- basically, we were trying to avoid stamps from both Israel and Taba in our passports, so that was excellent. There are some countries that give you problems with Israeli stamps in your passport (or stamps from Taba, where the only place you would have gone would be Israel). Egypt and Jordan, which I would also like to visit, are fine, but I'd like to keep mine stamp-free for now just in case. So leg 2: success.

A1 and I split a cab with our new nun friend to the Eilat bus station, where we purchased tickets to Jerusalem about twenty minutes before the bus left (is that good timing or what?). I also helped the nun buy a ticket to Haifa by translating her Italian into Hebrew, and the clerk's Hebrew back into Spanish for her. Needless to say, I have not had such a language identity crisis since the days of back-to-back Spanish and Arabic during my sophomore year. But I feel like in this case I should get bonus points for getting to legitimately use my Hebrew, Spanish and Arabic all in the same day. And then we went to a convenience store, where they were playing this Idan Yaniv song that I love and I bought Bissli for breakfast. Welcome to Israel!

After an excellent weekend in Jerusalem (more on that later), the Most Bizarre Travel Day Ever commenced. We start by finding out that there is no return bus from Jerusalem to Eilat on Saturday evening (no buses during Shabbat in Israel, but we still needed to make it to work on Sunday morning), but we found out that were running from Tel Aviv. We decided to take a sherut, or shared taxi, from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, hoping to arrive in time for a 5 pm bus that would arrive in Eilat at 9 pm, re-cross the border and make a 10:30ish bus from Taba back to Cairo.

Instead, the sherut ran late, so we ended up on a 6:30 pm bus. That would have made us miss our bus back to Cairo, but that bus, it turns out, did not exist (the last one had left at 4 pm), so it did not matter. Instead, after we crossed the border (still no stamps, yay!), we started haggling with drivers of various microbuses to take us back to Cairo.

A1 and I had decided ahead of time what we were willing to pay, which was extremely reasonable based on other microbuses we have taken. But when the drivers heard us speak in Arabic, they would ask where we're from, and then the price would jump when they hear we're American. We did our best to explain that we are working here for Egyptian companies and get paid in Egyptian pounds, but they still thought we were rich students (as they assume all Americans must be). It can be incredibly frustrating when you know everyone is just so willing to screw you based on an incorrect assumption about people who share your nationality.

Anyway, one eventually agreed to take us, but then became rather shifty. First he said he wanted to wait for more people, then he tried to get us to pay him more to leave immediately (we said no), finally kept driving in circles from the border to the bus station to get more cigarettes/a phone card/ chat with his friends. Eventually, around 1 am, he said he was going to sleep until the morning when more people arrived and we could feel free to sleep in the car. At that point we left the cab and made friends with Ibrahim the policeman, who told off the sketchy microbus driver and helped us make a deal with a much more awesome one. He was a bit more money, but he was willing to leave right away with just the two of us, and also spoke Hebrew (I may be progressing in Arabic, but I am still far more comfortable expressing myself in Hebrew).

After some unforeseen cab-switching in Suez (as in the canal) around 5:30 am, we arrived in Cairo at 7 am, which was plenty of time to sit in traffic. So, three taxis, a car, a bus and a microbus later, we finally found ourselves back in Zamalek at 8 am on Sunday. Slept for two hours and went to work like that champ that I am, where I have been steadily drinking coffee ever since.

Oh! And as for Israel -- the weather was beautiful, I had three iced Aromas (that's right, one a day), came back to Cairo with challah and ruggelach from Marzipan (though we did stress-eat a number of the ruggelach between midnight and 6 am on the ride through Sinai), and went to Friday services at Shira Hadasha (they re-did the building, by the way, and it looks lovely). We also did Western Wall and tunnel tour, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Israel museum and Dead Sea scrolls, market in the Muslim quarter, Ben Yehudah Street, Emek Refaim, Mahane Yehudah, Tmol Shilshom (one of my favorite cafes in Jerusalem), visited the Jerusalem Central Bus Station (love that place!), stayed at Heritage House (free hostel!), and lots and lots of walking all around the city. Things I did not revisit: Beit Canada. I was glad to see Jess and Sara in Tel Aviv at the end of July, but I think Jerusalem will always be my favorite city in Israel.

Still, I think next time I might just fly.

YES WE DID

Received today on Cairo Scholars: an e-mail entitled "Congratulations, America."

I watched CNN International from like 12:30-3:30 am, and then woke up at around 5 am to check in again when my dad called me and told me to turn on the TV (I told him to call). I have to admit, I was jealous of those people hanging out in Grant Park with Oprah. That would have been awesome. Anyway, I was trying to avoid writing that post where I talk about how the locals are so informed and everyone here cares about the outcome of the elections more than many Americans I know. (For the record: they are, and they do.)

So instead, I will just say that I am extremely pleased with and proud of America today. Yes we did, indeed.

hollywood's arab terrorists

Last night I went to see Body of Lies with some friends, and it was kind of funny because although we did not know it when we chose the movie, the whole thing takes place in the Middle East. Jordan, Syria, Iraq, UAE -- pretty much everywhere but Egypt.

Anyway, it was hilarious to be seeing it here in the Middle East for a few reasons. First, it was cool that I could understand some of the Arabic, especially the parts that were in fus'ha (classical Arabic, which is what I studied at Northwestern). In the beginning they had this extremist Muslim decked out in typical Hollywood Arab gear making a threatening video that happened to be in Arabic -- but they had him speaking in fus'ha, which people don't really speak. People were laughing in the theater -- probably not the intended effect. I will say that it was weird to see a movie in which all the villains are Arabs here in Egypt. I couldn't help but wonder if anyone feels marginalized by that kind of movie, but the theater was pretty full and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, so maybe not.

But yes, there were many other typical Middle Eastern moments in the movie. At one point, one character is trying to cross the street and almost gets hit by a car, so he angrily slams his fist on the hood of the car. We were all cracking up because that has happened to all of us in Cairo (seriously, crossing the street could be a national sport), so it seemed so appropriate to see it on screen. Another character is referred to as Ya Pasha, which is very Egyptian (though here it's pronounced more like Yeh Besha); it's an honorific title left over from the days of the Ottomans and is kind of like the equivalent of "Sir." Plus they drank lots and lots of tea in lots and lots of 'ahwas. When we foreigners laughed along with the Egyptians, it kind of felt like being in on a giant inside joke that would not have been the case if I had seen the movie back in America.

cannibal kittens

Happy November to all! Hope everyone had a fun Halloween weekend -- mine was pretty tame, comparatively speaking. We were supposed to be going to a Halloween party at the American Embassy being hosted by the Marines (we have gone to a few other Marine parties and are friends with a few of them, so it's usually a good bet). Unfortunately, every other expat in Cairo under the age of 35 had the same idea as us, and there were MASSIVE lines to get in. So we took our costumed selves (there were like 15 of us) to El Mojito, a bar/lounge we go to pretty regularly. It was not an official Halloween party per se, but there were plenty of people in costume, so we had fun.

This is not the first time I have spent Halloween abroad, and it was just as underwhelming this time around. I don't know, I think that even though people try elsewhere, America is the only place where enough people have embraced Halloween (and its inherent tackiness) with enough enthusiasm to make it truly awesome. I have always loved Halloween; I love special showings of Nightmare Before Christmas and cheesy decorations and haunted warehouses next to Lake Michigan (which is what I did last year!). I mean, I had fun in Spain/London and in Egypt, but it's just not the same. OK, gripe over.

But something truly terrifying (not really, I just needed a segue) did happen this weeked. Cairo has a big cat problem -- they are just everywhere, dirty, starving, meowing, etc. One managed to find its way up to my floor (it climbed 14 flights of stairs, so that's true dedication), where it proceeded to sit in front of every door on my floor (there are four, and all face each other in a square) and just meow pathetically for extended periods of time. We felt bad, but giving it food is like giving it an invitation to stay, which none of us want. A few days ago we realized that part of the source of the meowing was that our dirty stray cat had 4 dirty stray kittens. Seriously, they can fit in the palm of my hand (if I tried to pick one up, which I absolutely have not done) and are tiny and so adorable. And they sat in the hall (vestibule?) and just meowed like crazy.

But yesterday we opened the door and found that the tiny adorable kittens had killed one of their brothers and sisters and were in the middle of EATING it. So disgusting. There were...parts...scattered around (paws, a head, other grossness). I slept through the initial sightings, but luckily A1 and A2 pointed it out to me later, lest I be spared the image of a dead cat's head becoming dinner in our hallway. Thanks, guys! Anyway, the bowab came and cleaned it up and shooed the remaining cats away, so that's good at least. But I think that might have taken care of any remaining desire I had to have pets.

dance, dance

My friend S3 belongs to a gym in Zamalek, and thanks to an offer to try a free class, she brought N and I along to a dance class last night to see the gym and think about joining. Our friend C was also there.

I am telling you, there is nothing more intimidating to someone as rhythmically-challenged as me than getting ready to go to a dance class with a roomful of women who have bellydancing in their national culture.

Luckily, it was not so much dance and more just basic movement, and there were other rhythm-less foreigners so I was not the only one flailing in the back. It ended up being a lot of fun and I am kind of thinking about the joining the gym now...

but i still want to see HSM3

It rained this weekend! It was on Friday morning so obvs I was asleep, but still: rain! I have not seen rain in four months, which is really weird to think about sometimes. Of course, there is no drainage system whatsoever in this country, so all the rain creates giant puddles/lakes in all the streets and tons of cars stall out after driving directly through them. At one point we passed streets with, like, post-Katrina New Orleans levels of flooding. From like one hour of rain. It's just that bad.

The rest of the weekend was good. I went to City Stars for a movie and Mexican food with N and S3 (S3 is the Egyptian friend who lives in Alexandria where I stayed last month). I seriously miss Mexican food. Whether it's one of the really good places near 26th and Cal where I went with Team Thomas, or Tacos del Lago in Evanston, or even Chipotle (don't judge me!), good Mexican food is just lacking in Cairo. So we ate at On The Border instead. (Again: don't judge me!) And then we saw Burn After Reading, which I thought was funny. I was pushing for High School Musical 3, but was outvoted. No worries, I'll get 'em next time.

On Saturday night I went to a little gathering for the Jews in Cairo, which we started talking about doing on Yom Kippur. There ended up being like maybe 25-ish people there, which was pretty nice turnout I think. We had Goldstar (!), Israeli wine (!!), kosher food (read: vegetarian), and plenty of nice Jews from America, Canada and Israel. Some of us are working in Cairo, others are students at AUC or elsewhere, others have grants or fellowships, or are just learning Arabic, so we made for a pretty varied group I think. We had a good time and exchanged many numbers, so I am hopeful that we will do something like that again.

The entire evening made me want to sing that old camp standby, "Wherever You Go (There's Always Someone Jewish)" and you can watch adorable children singing it here.

Also, the absentee ballot mystery was solved. It turns out that it went to my home in America instead of coming to Egypt, still not entirely sure why -- my best guess is that I did not format my address correctly, or the international zip code was not recognized or was incomplete, or some other small detail. Who knows for sure. But in any case, my parents were nice enough to ship it express, I filled it out, and it is back en route to NJ right now. Great success!

chicago on my mind

As some of you may recall (or may not, whichever), last summer, in June-August 2007, I interned at an investigative magazine in Chicago called The Chicago Reporter. I wrote several articles there and continued to freelance for them during the past year, and I also contributed research to several articles.

One of the articles I helped research was about police brutality in Chicago (you can read it here), a city which has had its share of problems with corrupt cops. Yesterday, one of the most notorious of those cops, John Burge, was indicted. That story is here. It's a really big moment for the people who have spent decades on this case, and it's still pretty big news for anyone who has heard about some of the atrocities he is alleged to have committed (and I have read a lot of those accounts).

Anyway, I know this post doesn't really have anything to do with Egypt, but it's my blog so you get to read about it anyway. And while you're at it, enjoy this as well. (Hint: it involves puppies.)

i love globalization

This has been a very productive week (and weekend?) for me. In addition to many getting settled things (see below), I also went to a fun party on a yacht on the Nile Friday night. They had a dance floor on the upper deck, and there was a nice breeze, and overall it was just really nice.

On Friday during the day I went to an AIESEC event, which was basically a welcome day for all the new members. They held it at the Sakkara Palm Club, which had a lovely pool and horseback riding and things like that. We used a big conference/meeting room, and the day also included a nice lunch. It was nice for me to see the AIESECers I know and also meet some other interns. Apparently there are like six interns who all work at the same place, so we exchanged numbers and hopefully will hang out.

This day was also nice because I enjoyed some of the AIESEC 101, like when they explained all the acronyms to the new members. AIESEC loves acronyms.

Trivia time! Did you know:
1. The GN (growth network) I am in is called MENA (Middle East and North Africa)
2. My LC (local committee) is CU (Cairo University)
3. I am an EP (exchange participant), though I skipped several steps in the AIESEC process, like I2A (initiation to AIESEC), TR (taking responsibility) and having an LR (leadership role)
4. If I want to help plan a conference, I could be on the OC (organizing committee), where I would work with the X (exchange) function to plan events for the interns and other AIESECers

Plus, in addition to the acronym explanation section (which was totally necessary as you can see), they also taught several role calls (I think I might hold off on those for now...) and had awkward ice breakers. I love awkward ice breakers. I think that's one of the main reasons I became a peer advisor in college.

The apartment is finally starting to look awesome. We have hung up some posters and arranged our books in a cool bookshelf-y way, not to mention some furniture rearranging and whatnot. To pick up a lot of apartment-related things we needed, we went to Spinneys (no, there is no apostrophe, and yes, that kills me) at City Stars. Spinneys is sort of like a Wal-Mart or K-Mart, in that they have appliances and cheap clothing in the same place as a large supermarket, but they still don't have quite as much variety as you might hope for.

Still, A1 and I spent a great deal of time just wandering through the aisles with our cart and admiring all the shininess. Bath mats! Cotton balls! Croissants! We were just so happy to be in a familiar environment and surrounded by Western products that we were overall just basking in the glow of globalization. And then we bought some truly unfortunate potholders that have pictures of ice cream on them, and also a spatula, tupperware, and various other things. I will try to post some apartment photos later this week.

Also, I heard (actually, read on The Daily's site) that Northwestern won the Homecoming game this weekend, meaning our record is 6-1 and we are bowl-eligible. Of course this would all happen after I graduate, but still, even in Egypt I can't help but feel a little NU pride.

homework and gossip

Lately, I've noticed myself understanding more and more of the Arabic spoken around me. This is particularly gratifying because when I first got here, that was not the case at all. True, I studied Arabic at Northwestern for a number of years, but the Arabic spoken in the classroom (fus'ha, or classical Arabic) is the language of the Quran and literature like 1,001 Nights, not the street Arabic I hear on a daily basis.

It was somewhat frustrating for me to find out that a lot of what I knew was completely impractical -- people would understand what I was saying but then reply in Ameyya (the Egyptian dialect), or ask me to repeat myself, or just turn to a friend and say "She doesn't speak Arabic." It turns out that what I learned was a really good background (it has helped an incredible amount with my studying), I just needed to build on that with some of the more useful stuff. And besides, it's from those classes that I know how to read and write in Arabic. (And I have to say that while my handwriting in English tends towards messy, my penmanship in Arabic is really nice. I have super-awesome handwriting.)

Recently, though, I just feel a lot better about my communication skills and my ability to express myself. Last week our TV was broken, and I was able to successfully talk to my landlord about the repairs. When two Egyptian friends were talking about plans for that evening, I realized that I no longer needed them to translate their conversation for me. I chatted with the eldery woman who lives next door while we were waiting for the elevator. I very rarely use the Spanish words for things I have forgotten (this used to happen all the time).

I think a lot of this is due to my tutor, E. Our lessons are pretty informal -- he teaches one-on-one out of his Zamalek apartment, where we have tea while we chat and review my homework. At first I was annoyed to have homework again (seriously -- did I not just graduate?), but I find that I am pretty motivated to do the work since I really do want to improve. One of the reasons I wanted to come live in Egypt for the year was to become fluent (or at least more proficient than I am now), so I am glad that I am on track to accomplish this goal.

The other great part is that through word of mouth, E is the default tutor for my extended group of friends. That's how I found out about him in the first place -- when I said I wanted to learn Arabic, three different friends gave me his number. Still, it's kind of funny because he always knows everyone's business and is a bit of a gossip, with the result that he sometimes knows things about me before I have told him myself. A1 told him about our new apartment during her lesson, so that when I showed up the next day, the first thing he asked was how the move went. I can think of several classes at NU that would have been a lot better if they'd included some gossip with all that homework.

where, oh where, is my absentee ballot?

The living situation has officially been finalized! A2 will move in with A1 and I, which we are excited about because he is a friend, and now we don't have to go through the trouble of screening someone from Cairo Scholars. Also, because we all have the same first initial we can now come up with a catchy name for the apartment. For example, I am pushing for "A-Team," because then we can make Mr. T jokes such as "I pity the fool who doesn't come hang out with us." But I bet my friends have more taste than I do, so I will probably be outvoted.

Other exciting things also happened! The magazine I edit celebrated its 10-year anniversary last week, so we had a big party at the Swiss Club. My boss really went all out, including hors d'oeuvres (I definitely spelled that wrong), an open bar, a live band and a DJ. It was basically a huge expat party, because that's pretty much the target audience for us, and it was cool because I actually knew a bunch of people. Plus I got to bring a lot of my friends, so that was fun as well.

Then another friend was working for a company that was sponsoring a bar opening downtown, so he invited all of us to come. Their theme for the opening was "baladi," the Egyptian word meaning "local," though it is often used in a derogatory way to mean low-class. We tend to use it to describe things that are very typical Egyptian. Anyway, this could not have been more appropriate for this bar, as it was located in a baladi downtown location surrounded by 'ahwas, they served baladi food (aka street food like kofta, ta'ameya, hummous, pita, samboussa), played baladi music, had baladi entertainment (i.e. bellydancers) and gave out baladi souvenirs (scarves and cymbals for the ladies, fez for the men). Overall, it was ridiculously over-the-top Egyptian in a fun way, plus they also had an open bar so we stuck around and had a good time.

A1 and I also decided this week that we could use a little pampering, and luckily that's cheap enough in Egypt. We went to a salon in Mohanessin not far from where I work, a place called Twins. It was just for women, though some of the hairdressers were men. It was not so much a place to get hair cut as it is to get styled -- upper class women just come in to get all done up for a big evening out. It's not a salon as you would think of one -- basically, you come and tell them what you want, and then you sit around chatting in folding chairs and people come to you. The facial-hair-removal operatives are mobile with their eyebrow threaders and mirrors, then you scoot over and the manicure-pedicure come around with large tubs of water for the feet and baskets of nail polish so you can choose your colors. We were just going to get our nails done, but on a whim decided to get our hair straightened as well.

The few times in America that I have attempted to get straight hair, it's always been an ordeal. If it was friends wielding straighteners it could take hours, and it was at the hairdresser it involved complicated products and multiple helpers. This was the easiest thing ever: all the women have thick, curly hair like mine, so it doesn't faze them at all. You just say curly or straight, they blow it out and then start styling. Mine took about an hour, which is the fastest ever. This could have been due to the hardcore straighteners they use, which are literally heated over an open flame. Then they came over to do my nails while I was getting the hair straightened (is that efficient or what?), so I felt like I was in that part of Miss Congeniality where Sandra Bullock is getting the makeover in the warehouse (aka best scene ever). Cost of everything together (manicure, pedicure, eyebrows, hair straightening): LE 80, or about $15. Awesome.

On a more serious note, I have been getting worried because I sent away for my absentee ballot more than a month ago (like seriously, in the beginning of September) and still have not received it. Nice job, state of New Jersey. According to all the other expats I know also freaking out over late ballots, I have other options. If I get it late, FedEx will mail it express back to the states FOR FREE (awesome!), and if I never get it then I can go to the U.S. Embassy and fill in an emergency write-in ballot (officially referred to as a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot, or FWAB), which they will mail in for me. I think this way I would not get to vote for the NJ stuff, but since I have not really lived in NJ for more than four years and don't plan to be back in the near future, I suppose that doesn't matter as much. I would prefer to send in my regular ballot, but if it doesn't come (I'm giving it one more week before I just go to the U.S. Embassy), at least I can still vote.

in which i find the jews in cairo

I realized after Yom Kippur that I never really wrote about my experiences here with the High Holidays. (For the non-Jews reading this, that's Rosh Hashannah, the Jewish new year, and Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.) Just a quick historical note: up until the 1950s, Egypt had a large, thriving Jewish population. There were about 60,000 in Alexandria, and a smaller but still substantial number in Cairo. As a result, there are a number of synagogues in Cairo and Alex, though most are just tourist sites now. In the Islamic area of Cairo there are a few, and there is a working one in Alexandria, though it's my understanding that they often have trouble making a minyan. There are around 100 Egyptian Jews left in Alex, and most are over the age of 65. The rest have left for Israel, America (many in New Jersey, actually), and elsewhere.

Anyway, I ended up going to services for both holidays at a working synagogue in Cairo, in an area called Maadi. The neighborhood where I live, Zamalek, is mostly younger expats and people who here for shorter amounts of time. Families of expats tend to live in Maadi, which is where there many international schools, nicer, bigger homes and a more suburban feel. The synagogue looks almost like a mosque from the outside, with a big dome, but if you look closely you can see all the Stars of David in the stained glass windows. The synagogue, called Mal'aab Yehudi, is locked up pretty tight; if you want to use it, you call the head of the Jewish community in Cairo and she comes to unlock it for you. Inside is really pretty -- lots of marble, a huge ark with at least three torahs inside (as far as I could tell, but maybe there were more), and huge chandeliers hanging from the dome. There is no separate women's section, so I guess it was meant to be egalitarian (woo!), but it's easy to have an informal split since there was just one really wide aisle in the middle.

For the holidays, the people asking for it to be unlocked were from the Israeli embassy in Cairo, who also provided security (quite strict, as you might imagine. I was told to bring a passport to get in). The security guards saw my passport, and they were like "oh, Aliza! Of course you're Jewish with a name like that." We chatted in Hebrew, they asked me some security questions (what do I do in Cairo, have I ever been to Israel and do I plan to return, do I carry a weapon, etc.). I didn't really have any problems getting in. Inside there were about 30 people, all Israelis and other temporary expats like me. On several occasions people started off by talking to me in Hebrew, and I must say that it was nice to be mistaken for Israeli instead of Egyptian for a change. Actually, one girl and I spoke to each other in Hebrew for a good 15 minutes before we realized we were both Americans. Whoops!

I first went to this synagogue for Rosh Hashannah. I called the Israeli embassy, they gave me the address, but then the taxi driver didn't know it so I wandered around Maadi for 30 minutes too freaked out to ask someone for directions because I was not sure that I was comfortable asking for directions to something with "yehudi" in the title. Eventually figured it out, but at that point I was stressed and just wanted to go on Eid vacation after a really long week, so I was in a bad mood and I didn't know anyone so I just stayed for a bit and then left. It was underwhelming, to say the least.

But Yom Kippur actually ended up much better. Basically, there was an e-mail on Cairo Scholars saying they were having Yom Kippur services and needed a minyan and e-mail if you wanted to come. I e-mailed, and received much more excellent directions (i.e. get off the Metro at this stop, make a right on this street, go past this store and then turn left, etc.), to a place that I assumed would be a small community service because of the different directions. But once I started walking I recognized the neighborhood and realized it was the same synagogue. Anyway, this time I knew/recognized a few people (a friend's roommate, some AUC students who are friends of friends, etc.), and then stuck around long enough to make friends after. I mean, it was Kol Nidre so none of us were going out that night, and what else did we have to do afterwards?

As for the services, well...that's funny too. The synagogue had no mechitza, but people had kind of loosely segregated themselves into a women's side and men's side, though there was plenty of crossover due to people wanting to chat with each other or chasing children. I don't think women led anything, but then it was Kol Nidre so there's not too much opportunity for that. And then although you might think it would be a Sephardic (i.e. Oriental) service due to there being many Israelis and taking place in Egypt, it was actually Ashkenazic, with tunes I mostly recognized. Such a change from Madrid, when I went to huge Sephardic synagogue with Spanish Jews, with Ashkenazic services led by the local Chabad rabbi in the basement. Most of the siddurim (prayer books) were provided by the embassy and were entirely in Hebrew, which was fine, but I was much more interested by all these really cool old siddurim, machzorim and Tanachs, some with print dates that were more than 100 years old. Those were in Hebrew with some Arabic. I was looking through a few of them, and I think they were pretty awesome.

When services were over people started talking and a lot of us have been having a lot of the same frustrations re: keeping Jewish identity a secret in Egypt. Almost everyone is planning to go to Israel as soon as possible (I have planned a trip for the beginning of November). Everyone tells very few people they are Jewish, and though they generally receive a positive response, they generally don't want to say anything just the same. We have all realized that it's possible to meet another Jew in Cairo but never know it because no one wants to be the first one to say anything.

Anyway, it ended up with a big group of us all saying that we should have some kind of cultural Jewish club so we could all drink and commiserate about being the token Jew in our group of friends and meet other nice Jewish professionals to tell our parents about. There seemed to be a lot of interest in this (a Jewish drinking club? Why not!), so one of the guys from the embassy passed out his card and told us to e-mail and said he would set something up. Am excited to hang out with the Jews!

This left me with two weird thoughts: 1. It's possible that this was my most fun Yom Kippur ever. Not really a holiday big with the fun, but I actually did have a good time in this case. 2. If I do in fact go to meetings of a cultural Jewish club, I will essentially have re-created my life from Northwestern in Egypt. My two major activities in college were Hillel (Jews) and writing for The Daily Northwestern or freelancing (journalism). Let's check Egypt: journalism? (My job, plus freelancing) check. Jews? As of last week, that's a check. Awesome.

acceptable outdoors-iness

I am now back at work after Eid vacation, which was pretty excellent. The place we stayed, El Hammra Eco-Lodge, was nice and relaxing, with the just the right amount of "roughing it." On the Aliza Scale of Acceptable Outdoors-iness, for example, there were mosquitoes and huts (roughing it!), but still indoor bathrooms with hot water and plenty of electricity (not roughing it, thank god).

Eighteen of us left Cairo in a caravan of four cars and a taxi, armed with plenty of bug spray, bottled water, speakers, and other essentials. The huts had room for 2-6 people in each, though sleeping arrangements varied. For example, some people claimed nice beds with mosquito nets, others got these kind of narrow cots, and others piled together a bunch of floor cushions and just kind of crashed. I was lucky enough to score a bed, which was awesome, though it did not have a mosquito net, which I now regret. We designated one hut as the "hanging-out" area, which was a nice place to set up camp. Two other friends joined later in the weekend, so we were a total of 20 people. There were other guests at the lodge, but we were definitely the biggest (and probably loudest) faction. It was actually kind of fun to take over the place for a few days.

Our stay also included three meals a day (though most of us managed to sleep through breakfast nearly every day). The meals were traditional Egyptian food and were generally pretty good, and were served in the main house of the lodge in an area fondly called the "restaurant" (though there were no menus and no one paid until the end of the weekend). The schedule was something like breakfast at 10, lunch at 4, dinner at 9. And whenever the meal was ready they would ring a bell; we were always hungry by the time mealtime rolled around, so there were plenty of good-natured jokes about our developing Pavlovian response to the food bell.

There were also some fields (grass! So exciting!), a pool, hammocks, three dogs running around, and some Egyptian-style gazebos with floor cushions for lounging. The whole place is run by a former police officer everyone calls "The General," who seems to spend most of his time wearing large hats, overseeing the cooking, and taking mildly creepy photos of guests by the pool. We spent plenty of time chilling in the hang-out hut, sitting by the pool reading and talking (a huge number of us were reading books on Middle Eastern politics -- imagine that. My reading list has just doubled), and just overall enjoying the "countryside" and being out of the city. The air was so clear, smog-free and breatheable, the skies were beautiful and we could see the stars, and it was overall just really lovely.

(Side note about the reading: I spent the weekend reading Thomas Friedman's latest book, "Hot, Flat and Crowded," which is about globalization, America's loss of purpose since 9/11, and the need for a "green revolution" and renewable energy. I am a big fan of his and mostly enjoyed the book, but part of it was kind of meta. The "crowded" in the title refers to overpopulation, and Friedman spends quite a bit of time talking about overcrowded mega-cities in developing countries. As I was reading about these cities, I could not help but reflect on Cairo, my current home, with its very definite overcrowding and population of approximately 20 million people. Weird to be reading about this phenomenon when right now, I am kind of a part of it...)

Anyway, the whole thing reminded me a lot of camp (in a really good way): late nights spent talking and bonding, meals as an event served at certain times during the day, sleeping in communal huts/bunks, spending so much time outdoors, just the overall feeling of relaxation, and of course, the mosquitos. (Hilariously spent 15 minutes pantomiming killing bugs in Metro since I could not figure out how to say "bug spray," only to have the guy finally go... "You want Off?" I was like... gah, I actually knew that one. But they ended up being out of it, so I bought the Egyptian brand, which judging by the number of bug bites I have does not appear to have worked.)

Though we were sad to leave, it was also really nice to come back to my NEW APARTMENT in Cairo. A1 and I are moved in now, and it is excellent. We still need to decorate, but we got all our stuff moved in before Eid, and that was enough of an ordeal.

Basically, to get from my old apartment to my new one, I had to walk all the way down a pretty major street called Ismail Mohamed. So after packing up everything from the old place, I divided it up into three trips. Cabs in Cairo are pretty cheap, but still, they all add up, and I am trying to save money. So I got my first load of stuff down the stairs (third floor, no elevator) and into a cab, brought it into new apartment (14th floor, multiple elevators, phew!). Then I walked all the way back down Ismail Mohamed to save cab fare. I grabbed the next load, hailed another cab, unloaded, and walked all the way back. At this point I was kind of exhausted, and the only stuff I had left was my two huge suitcases, which there was just no way I could attempt on my own. My bowab (doorman) was conveniently absent just then (I am convinced he saw me moving my stuff and decided to go elsewhere before he could be coerced into helping), so I was kind of stymied as to how I was going to move the heavy stuff.

I was standing around in the lobby trying to figure out what to do when one of the construction workers asked what was wrong. (In my old building the lobby was under construction, and since this was during Ramadan people mostly worked at night when they could eat, drink and smoke.) I asked if he had seen the bowab, and he said he not but asked if there was anything he could do. I told him I had two big, heavy bags and needed some help, and he said he would do it. He grabbed a friend and they did the heavy lifting for me, including heaving both bags onto a taxi's roof-rack (no trunk space). Trust me, that was one nerve-wracking ride, I just kept waiting for one of them to fall off in the middle of Ismail Mohamed. In any event, I tried to tip them but they wouldn't accept, so it was just two nice guys helping out, which I really appreciated.

So in short, everything is in the new apartment. It is nice and classy and clean, and has no cat hair (Pookie: adorable cat, lots of shedding). Will update when we have decorated and found another roommate so we don't go broke paying rent.

On the job front, the first issue that I was mostly in charge of came out this week, and I am really proud of the way it turned out. Everyone in the office has been telling me how nice it looks, so overall I am just really pleased. Here's hoping the next one is just as good!

apartment!

I got a new apartment! It's very exciting -- A1 and I will be residing in a 3-bedroom apartment in Zamalek (of course), with a 3rd roommate we have not found yet. It is in the building we wanted, which is a pretty perfect location. Some of our other friends also live in this building and across the street from it, so that was a big point in its favor. Also, there are lots of shops on the ground floor of the building, including a 24-hour dry cleaner and a 24-hour market called Metro, which I suppose is the closest thing Cairo has to ShopRite/Jewel/Publix, etc. Lots of great stuff is across the street or just down the block (Cilantro and Coffee Bean, which are two great cafes, and also some good restaurants and a place to get more cell phone minutes, etc.). We are high up, so we have a Nile view (awesome); it's rather spacious, so while the furniture is not amazing, overall we think the apartment has a lot of potential.

The apartment hunt last week was kind of miserable and soul-crushing, so I am just really relieved that the whole ordeal is over. We signed a lease through the end of June, which is when my position here ends, so that actually works out really nicely. We have planned some trips to Khan el-Khaleli to get stuff to decorate, so when it looks all nice and pretty I will post some photos. The landlord said he would get us internet in like two weeks-ish, so hopefully I will soon be able to Skype with everyone. Start reserving time slots now!

We're going to be making an extra effort to get internet this time around because this apartment is more long term, so it's worth investing in. Also, we're a bit more motivated since we can't rely on internet cafes anymore. It used to be that I could just bring my computer to a cafe, order a tea and then use the internet for free. But now all these chains have started charging for internet, and I am cheap. This is like how you now have to pay for internet in Starbucks and Barnes and Noble. Why go there when it's free elsewhere? There is one really good place in Zamalek called Cafe Arabica that still has free internet (and also really delicious fiteer and smoothies), but it's not as convenient. We'd much rather have it in our house, for obvious reasons, so hopefully we will be making that happen in the very near future.

Over the weekend it was my friend H's birthday, so he threw a big party at the British Club. Photos will be up on Facebook soon-ish, hopefully. I had also planned to start packing for the move, but that never really happened since my procrastination skills are truly spectacular. Instead, I will probably pack today and move my stuff in tonight and tomorrow.

The reason there is a rush to move in the next few days is that this weekend is Eid, a holiday that comes at the end of Ramadan, and I would like to be moved in before then. I am going away with a big group of friends (like 15 people I think) to Wadi Natrun, a small desert town between Cairo and Alex. We will be staying at a Bedouin-style eco-lodge, which also has horseback riding and a pool, and food is included as it's a sort of all-inclusive thing. And we are staying in huts. Apparently some of my friends have stayed there before and said it was really cool. I'm really looking forward to the days off, and just to having a relaxing vacation with my friends.

In other news: the first issue that I was mostly in charge of will be out next week, so I look forward to seeing copies of it around Cairo. Plus working on another freelance article, and have potentially found another magazine to write for. A friend of mine who writes a column for our site recently got a promotion at the magazine she works for, so I think she is going to let me do some writing for her magazine -- a little exchange, if you will. So job stuff looks like it's going well.

Otherwise, this week is Rosh Hashannah, the Jewish new year (5769, but who's counting?). I will hopefully be going to services at the Israeli embassy in Cairo. It's a little sad not to be at home or at Hillel, but I guess it's all part of the adventure of living in Egypt.

pretty pictures

I know I have written lots of posts about Ramadan, but a friend sent me this gallery of photos of people observing Ramadan around the world. I think they really show the best parts of this past month -- yes, there are a lot of rules and it can be frustrating sometimes, but overall there's a great spirit about this holiday. Enjoy!

Sorry for so many short posts this week -- we have a deadline this weekend and I have been pretty busy. I will post something longer next week.

reasons i will not be leaving cairo this weekend

Tourists have been kidnapped in Upper Egypt. Read about it here and here.

At first we didn't see anything about this reported in the Egyptian press (that wouldn't be a first in this country, sadly), but now it's all over the media. That second link is to The Daily News Egypt, a reliable English daily paper that comes as an insert in the International Herald Tribune.

too young for nicotine patch?

Seen in Cairo: a three year old smoking shisha. Seriously.

And they wonder why Egypt has a smoking problem.

hunting season

I spent a lot of time this weekend apartment hunting, and let me just say that I did not miss this particular activity at all. After more people needed to move around than originally thought (it's a long story), we ended up re-doing the housing situation a little, so M and H will move in with our friend K, and I will move in with A1. We know how much we want to spend and where we want to live (Zamalek is a must), so now all we have to do is...find something.

We are not overly picky, and I think our apartment wish-list is pretty reasonable.
1. mattresses (some beds come with these cot-like things...gross)
2. washing machine (there are plenty of dry cleaners in Cairo, but laundromats -- not so much)
3. air conditioning (last week in september and it is still 90+ every day. my friends claim it gets cold in the winter, but I'll believe it when I see it. and besides, I'm here through June and don't plan to move again, so it will just get hot all over again)

This does not seem unreasonable. We have called several simsars (rental agents), and some seem significantly less shady than others. One of them yesterday informed us that he had no 2-bedrooms in our price range, and then took us to see one that was about 2000 pounds over our price limit (that's like $400, also known as a ridiculous amount of money in Cairo). When we refused to pay anything near that and went to leave, he suddenly "remembered" that he actually did have something in our price range. Ohhhhh. Seeing more apartments tonight (after a company-sponsored iftar, aka FREE dinner!), so keep your fingers crossed for me.

phenomenal cosmic powers, itty-bitty living space

This has been quite the busy week for me, in a good way. My first freelance article was published this week. It's not available online (yet?), but I'll post it when/if it goes live...eventually. I like the freelancing work and I am excited for my next story.

On Tuesday night I went to an AIESEC meeting at Cairo University, and it was weird to be back on a college campus with other students but not have it be my college campus. Everyone was really nice, and I got to meet some other new interns and see all the other AIESECers I have been spending time with this summer. But still, this is back-to-school time, and it is my first year not going back to school, which is a little sad. Anyway, after that I headed over to the British Club for round 2 of the expat meet-and-greet, and this time actually succeeded in meeting people. Very exciting! Apparently they have these events once a month, so maybe last time was just an off-night since it was the summer.

Last night I had several fun Egyptian cultural experiences. I had iftar with some friends at Abu el-Seid, a really delicious restaurant in Zamalek. I had koshary, which is a kind of Egyptian peasant food. It has rice, lentils, pasta, fried onions, tomatoes, and this delicious garlicky sauce. So good. Then we all went to Khan el-Khaleli, which is a big bazaar/market/souk in downtown Cairo. In a previous post I mentioned that around Cairo there is a lot of special entertainment for Ramadan, so last night we went to one such concert; it was free, and featured Sufi music from Upper Egypt (Upper Egypt is actually the south, and it is home to Aswan, Luxor, and all these cool Pharonic sites) and whirling dervishes, an Egyptian style of dance that has men in these awesome spinny skirts twirling on stage for like 40 minutes (I would have been seriously dizzy) while doing all kinds of cool tricks. Photos below!

We also wandered around Khan el-Khaleli for a bit. We stopped and had tea and juice at El Fishawy, one of the oldest 'ahwas in Cairo. Egypt has the freshest, most delicious juices -- I have mango juice like several times a week. A particularly exciting point (for me) was a really cool antiques store where I found... an oil lamp! Like the one from Aladdin! Actually, they had a few. I tested them all, but no genies. Yet. Or maybe I'm just not a diamond in the rough?

After all that, we met up with some more people, and a group of like 12 of us went on a short felluca ride on the Nile to enjoy the breeze, then headed to Tahrir for sohour before heading home. Sometimes living in this city can be very frustrating, but other times I just look around and think, "This is so cool! I can't believe I get to live here!"

Khan el-Khaleli at night during Ramadan

Men playing traditional Sufi music at the free concert

Whirling dervishes!

YESS!! I found a lamp! Sadly it is genie-less, but don't worry, I'll keep checking.

new phone!

A couple posts ago I mentioned that my company entered a deal with a bigger corporation. Well, as a result of that deal, I got my first-ever employee benefits: a shiny new phone! My old phone is literally the cheapest phone that they had in stock in the Vodafone store when I first got here, so imagine my delight at getting a flippy phone (and I think we all know how much I love those) with free minutes and actual ringtones and a camera and other fancy things, the Arabic letters on the numbers so I can text bilingually.

As you can see, the classy (and shiny!) flip phone on the left is proof of my semi-legitimacy in Egypt. (I have a work phone! I've never had a work phone before!) On the right is the tiny, mostly functioning phone I picked up when I got here.

Also, successfully asked for first-ever official vacation time, in December when the fam comes to visit. Overall, feeling very adult and professional this week. Scary.

je ne parle pas français

This weekend I took a little impromptu trip to Alexandria, or Al-Iskandareyya in Arabic. For those without a map of Egypt handy, Alex is about 2 1/2 hours north of Cairo, situated on the Mediterranean, and is the second biggest city in Egypt with a huge amount of history (founded by Alexander the Great, home to Cleopatra, etc).

N has a friend, L, in town for two weeks, and she wanted to visit Alex. N's roommate S3 is Egyptian and her family lives in Alex, and she invited us all to spend the weekend. S3 and L left on Thursday night, but N and I had a party we wanted to stay for so we left on Friday morning early. (Brief note about that party: it was at this guy W's apartment, he is an AIESECer I had met very briefly before, but we have several friends in common. In any case, I introduced myself at the party and it turns out...that he also went to Northwestern! I know, awesome, right? Total number of NU alums I know in Cairo: 3.)

But I digress. So, Friday morning N and I managed to drag ourselves out of bed and hustle to the train station, arriving in typical Egyptian fashion at 8:55 a.m. for a 9 a.m. train. Tickets are cheap -- LE 30 (approx. $6) buys you a seat in air-conditioned second class -- and we promptly passed out. After missing our stop (I know, it takes skill), S3 arrived in her car to pick us up from the station. We went to her apartment and met her parents, sister, and the American exchange student living with them for the semester. It turns out she is on the same program as J, and their program is very strict in that they sign a language pledge not to speak any language except Arabic, ever. Even when it's just a group of Americans. We were welcomed by S3's family, ate a quick lunch (as it is Ramadan, there would most likely not be any food available near the beach), and then headed for the beach. On the way we also stopped to pick up two French backpackers S3 and L had met on the train (L is studying in Paris so they made friends and spoke in French). We spent a lovely afternoon at the beach, and on the way out we walked around the Montazah gardens around the former palace. Beautiful. I enjoyed the Mohamed Ali pool club in Cairo over the summer, but there's nothing like the beach. It was lovely to be back on the Mediterranean, and it was a private beach so we could wear our normal bathing suits.

After the beach, the six of us (me, N, L, S3, 2 French backpackers) went back to S3's for iftar with her parents, uncle, sister, sister's friend, and exchange student. That made 12 people sitting at the table speaking a combination of English, Arabic and French (Arablish + Franbic = ?), which was interesting. I was able to make it okay in Arabic (I understood a lot and even managed to form some coherent sentences), and as for French...well, when it's similar to Spanish I can understand a bit, otherwise we would speak slowly and wait for a third party to translate. The food was good, the family was fun, and overall it was one of those hilarious "only in Egypt" types of dinners. After iftar we spent some time at an 'ahwa, then hung out at home talking until late.

On Saturday, we slept in a bit, then headed out to be tourists for the day. Five of us (minus the two Frenchies, but with S3's friend Y) went to the new library, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, but unfortunately it was closed (screwy hours due to Ramadan), so we took pictures from the outside and I will go back next time I am in Alex. We had better luck at the Alexandria National Museum, which had lots of cool stuff including a tomb with a mummy and many other interesting pharonic, Greek, Roman and Coptic artifacts. It was nice to get semi-official tours from S3 and Y, who know their way around the city. Y also speaks Arabic and French but little English, though we were able to speak a little in Arabic and some French/English, while pantomiming wildly. We all considered an elaborate game of charades, but this never quite materialized, which is probably for the best.

For iftar on Saturday, S3 had plans with a group of friends at the Greek Club, a nice restaurant overlooking the port of Alexandria. We all tagged along, the food was delicious and the view was amazing. We also went and took some photos of Alexandria's Citadel and the sea. We drove around for a bit admiring the city, and then eventually headed back to Cairo on the 10 p.m. bus. (Pro: It was a double decker and we sat on the top! Con: They played an Arabic movie the entire time. REALLY loudly.)

Anyway, it might have been last minute, but it was a welcome trip. It was nice to stay with S3's extremely welcoming family (apparently we are all invited back), and it gives you a sense of what Ramadan is really about: a time for family and friends to gather. A couple times this month I have gotten to be a part of that family togetherness, and I appreciate those occasions. Plus, Alex is a lovely city; it's much quieter and cleaner than Cairo (although I think cleanliness is relative: Alex is not necessarily clean compared to Chicago, for example, but compared to Cairo it's pristine), and it's also a bit smaller. Unlike Cairo, much of the ancient history that made Alex so famous is gone now, under the sea (plans are underway for an underwater museum, apparently), or just destroyed over time. But many museums and historical sites are being renovated, so the city is going through a sort of renaissance. It feels a bit like other cities I have been to along the Mediterranean, like Marbella in Spain or Tel Aviv.

It is almost hard to believe that a lovely, understated city like Alexandria can exist so close to Cairo, which is by far the most overwhelming place I have ever lived. But in the end, it's that over-the-top nature that I love so much about Cairo; Alex is great for a weekend getaway, but it lacks the chaotic energy of Cairo. Anyway, those are my thoughts after just one weekend, but I am sure I will be back. In the meantime, enjoy some photos below!

This is the palace at the Montazah gardens:

This is the 'ahwa we went to...note all the lanes of Corniche traffic we had to cross.

Standing with some friends outside the Bibliotheca Alexandrina:

Mummy!

Port of Alex (check out the minarets in the skyline):

That's the citadel behind us: