and then i got locked in the bathroom

Here's an embarrassing/funny story about something that happened to me yesterday. First, you should know that my apartment, though I love it, has (or rather, had) a distinct doorknob problem, in that many of them were missing. Actually, not missing; it's not like we had them and then lost them, it's that we rent an apartment with a doorknob deficit. We could have gotten them fixed, but...we're lazy. Or we kept forgetting, either way. Anyway, the missing ones included the outside doorknob to the bathroom (solution: when you exit, leave the door open behind you so the next person can get in. This was never a problem for us), and the inside part of the front door. I know you're thinking that if we had no way to open the door from the inside it would be difficult to exit the apartment, but A2 is quite handy and he made a makeshift doorknob out of tape and maybe something else (don't ask), and it has been working fine for almost four months.

So yesterday morning I took a shower before going to work. As I went to exit the bathroom, the remaining doorknob (the one on the inside of the bathroom door) literally broke off in my hand. And if you'll recall, there is no doorknob on the outside, meaning it would be tricky for someone to come let me out. Problem. I tried to fix/reattach, but McGuyver I am not, and it didn't really work. Luckily, there is a small window above the shower that opens into a small courtyard-ish thing, where other apartments also have bathroom windows. Sometimes we can hear other people chatting or the radio, etc.

I opened the window, and then realized that I have no idea how to say "help" in Arabic. It's up there with useful words I should have learned, like "fork" or "towel" but never did. Anyway, I managed to get out, "Hello, is anyone there? I have a problem. I am in the bathroom and the door won't open." Someone heard, asked which apartment I was in, and said she would send up security. Sure enough, I soon heard someone ringing the front doorbell repeatedly. The following conversation then took place:

Me: That's the right apartment, I hear the doorbell.
Girl upstairs: Why don't you go let him in?
Me: ....stuck in the bathroom. Can't get out.
Girl upstairs: Oh right. And you can't get out at all?
Me: No. That's why I need help.
Girl upstairs: Can you call the police?
Me: I don't have a phone in the bathroom. And I would rather not.
Girl upstairs: OK, one minute. [Yells in Arabic with someone else for a minute.] We will get a locksmith. Wait there.
Me: Still not going anywhere.

Anyway, there is a locksmith on the first floor of my building. So they must have gone to get him, and soon after that he came up, unscrewed the lock on the front door, and came and rescued me from the bathroom. After sharing a nice laugh with the very amused bowab (doorman) who accompanied him, they went ahead and replaced all the doorknobs that were missing/broken. Total time spent locked in bathroom: about 30 minutes. I am not too traumatized, and on the bright side we now have all working doorknobs in our apartment. For now.

january is boring

For some reason, Egypt has the best fruits and vegetables in the winter. You can't really find things out of season like you can in the US, so sometimes you just can't get certain produce. Metro (the market we go to) has a small but mostly reliable section, so things like onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, apples and bananas are available year-round. But ever since I got back from traveling in January, they have magical things like avocados, strawberries (we have been buying these by the kilo), mandarins/clementines, and more.

This might not sound all that exciting to you, but this comes from shopping at a supermarket where finding tortillas, refrigerated milk or basil are causes for celebration. Normally when someone cooks they make enough for multiple people, operating under the assumption that someone else will show up to help eat. Or that if you are too tired/lazy/etc. to cook you can show up at someone else's place and be fed. Or sometimes just make plans to cook together. So we all tend to buy more or less similar things, just because there is not a huge selection. Anyway, there's not a whole lot of opportunity to branch out, which is why more choices make me happy. Also, they had tortillas, which I don't think I have seen since I got here (please see earlier complaints about finding Mexican food), so that was pretty exciting also.

In other news, this past weekend, A1, A2 and I finally inaugurated (see what I did there?) our apartment with a belated housewarming party. We had a fun theme of Hollywood/Bollywood (Cairo loves a good themed party), and overall had a good time being good host/esses. It was a good excuse to have everyone over because, let's face it... January is boring.

number 44, or Yes We Did redux

At work yesterday, I just had this huge grin on my face as I watched Barack Obama get sworn in as the 44th president of the USA. I watched the whole thing from the NYTimes site, which had a live video of the inauguration. If I had rushed home I might have caught it on CNN, but I was worried about traffic (always bad in Cairo, but for some reason it seems to have gotten even worse recently), so I just watched from the office. I thought the speech was nice, but didn't stick around to watch the parades.

Many people I have spoken with are waiting to see what President Obama (!!) will say about Gaza, especially now that the ceasefire is in place (though Hamas is violating it anyway) and the full extent of the damage is finally being uncovered. It's a difficult situation (understatement of the year?) but I am interested to see how this new administration will handle it.

and now for a weather report

I am in love with my space heater. It keeps my room warm and toasty and makes comforting noises and everyone is jealous. Winter in Cairo is not really so bad, especially compared to Chicago. On a good day I can still wear flip-flops, and on a windy day a fleece and scarf are a good idea. But no extra-puffy down jackets, no snow (not even any rain, so far), and definitely no below-zero temperatures (even in Celsius!).

The main problem I guess is that because the winters are mild, almost no buildings are heated. That might not seem like such a big deal, but it essentially means that the temperatures outside stays the same inside. So if it's a cold day (or more likely, a cold night), there isn't really anywhere to go and warm up. In Chicago it was freezing outside, but when you came inside it would be nice and warm and you could start shedding layers. But in Cairo, if it's cold outside then it's cold inside also. My apartment's large living room/dining room/reception area gets particularly chilly -- we have been wrapping ourselves in blankets while watching TV. And so that is why I love my space heater -- just when I think I can't escape the cold, I just crawl into bed directly in front of the heater. Glorious.

In other appliance news, A1 brought a George Foreman grill for us back from the US. Extremely exciting. I have made grilled cheese several times already. We still don't have a microwave, but small steps. We've survived without one until now, but who knows -- it could still happen.

the internets have arrived!

I am writing this post from (drumroll please....) MY APARTMENT! Where I finally have internet! Internet that is actually an account that my roommates and I purchased and own legitimately! Victory!

I have been living here for six months and this is the first time I have had internet at home. If you told me when I was graduating that I was about to go without internet at home for six months, I would have laughed...and then panicked. But truth be told, it was a lot easier to adjust to than I thought. Most evenings I am out and about anyway, and I sit in front of a computer all day so not checking my e-mail at night is just not a big deal. Plus, life here in Cairo is pretty chilled out, so I don't really have many emergency e-mails that need immediate attention. I suppose I just feel much less internet-dependent than I used to be, though I am sure that will all change now that I have a connection again.

Which means, fans of blog, that you can now reach me in my very own home and not just during my work hours. Contact me via e-mail and I will pass along my AIM and skype names so we can plan video chats and skype dates and whatnot. Just let me know and I will be glad to arrange a time with you.

neighbors to the north

Yesterday we had a day off for Coptic Christmas, which was a nice surprise. I didn't really find out I was getting another day off until like the day before. Some people also took off Thursday and gave themselves a four-day weekend, but I just took off a bunch of days to travel with the fam, so here I am at work on Thursday.

In more serious news, any of you who are following the goings-on of the Middle East will know that there is fighting in Gaza and rockets being fired into southern Israel (and apparently the north from Lebanon also). It does and does not affect my life in Cairo. Egypt is involved (Gaza is also bordered by Egypt at the Rafah crossing, which is closed most of the time but re-opens every now and then to let Palestinians into Egypt. It most recently opened for a few days a couple months ago so some Palestinians in need of medical attention could come to Egyptian hospitals), and the Egyptian government is pushing for a ceasefire and has offered to help broker peace talks.

And in the meantime, Cairo has been home to some protesting, the biggest of which was at Cairo University about a week ago (a week and a half?). I was traveling with my family at the time, but I read about it in the papers and online. I also heard about it from some other AIESECers planning to attend, since the AIESEC chapter I am affiliated with here is CU. We talk about the situation, of course. But there isn't really anything I can do from here.

I don't plan to use this blog to air my political feelings, or even my opinions on the conflict as a whole. But suffice it to say that while I stopped seeing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in black and white a long time ago, it doesn't make it any easier for me to always articulate what I'm feeling. All I know is that with every story and opinion piece I read on Israel and Gaza, I find myself heartbroken all over again. For both sides.

back in cairo

I've had a busy last two weeks with the family visiting. We spent some time in Upper Egypt and on a Nile cruise (see Jessica's guest blog below), and then five days in Rome. I loved Rome, of course. Italian was not too difficult to understand since it's similar to Spanish, and the food was amazing. It was nice to be back in Europe -- and out of the Middle East -- no matter how briefly. And now I am back in Cairo, ready for the second half of my time here. It's really weird to me that I have already been here for six months.

In Rome, I half expected to have some kind of culture shock about leaving the Middle East, but I didn't really. Maybe it didn't happen because I went from one culture that is not my own to another. But I did have a few moments. Best: It was nice to walk down the street and not be hassled. I really enjoyed that more than I thought possible. Worst: Cost of living. At one point we paid 10 euros (about 14 dollars) for a cab ride, which is nothing out of the ordinary, really -- I have certainly paid that amount in Madrid and Chicago. But at the same time, I realized that 10 euros is about 75 LE, which is an absurd sum of money for a single taxi ride. To put things in perspective, for me to get to and from work for an entire week costs only 50 LE. It's moments like those that make me really love the developing world.

I guess what I am trying to say there is that living in a place like Italy would certainly be a lot different from spending the year in Egypt, but I imagine it would also be a lot easier. And where's the fun in that?

Anyway, December was full of traveling and vacations (Jordan, Upper Egypt, Rome, etc.), so I think I will be staying local in January. I have a lot of things I wanted to do in Cairo, so hopefully I will start doing some of those things now instead of waiting until just before I leave to get around to everything else.