pyramid schemes

I'm at work on Sunday for my first full week (the work week is Sunday-Thursday), which I am actually pretty excited about. Everyone at the office is very nice, and it's a pretty fun environment. And as an added bonus, I don't have to be at work until 11 am, which is pretty much the best thing ever for a non-morning person like me. As many of you know, waking up before 3 pm can be challenging for me, so having a later start works out well.

For my first weekend in Cairo, I enjoyed a fun mix of tourist attractions and some time exploring the city. On Thursday night, I went to a concert with friends at Al-Azhar Park, a beautiful green space in a crowded city. The concert was a hip-hop showcase put on in connection with the Spanish Embassy. It featured several different MCs and rappers, including a really excellent Egyptian hip-hop group called Arabian Knights, and an excellent Spanish rapper named Frankt. I love Madrid, and it's always nice to be reminded of Spain. They were accompanied by a crew of hip-hop dancers, who were really talented, and the whole thing was in this cool outdoor amphitheater in the park. Apparently, they do cheap outdoor concerts all summer, and I would definitely come back to another.

On Friday, I went to the pyramids with three other girls from AIESEC. They all live together in Mohandessin, a neighborhood not too far from where I live, so I met up with them in the middle and we all took a cab together. Overall, I thought the pyramids were cool -- obviously extremely impressive up close, and being able to going inside was also really awesome. It's a bit of climb inside, and it's also a definite plus that I am not claustrophobic. I have seen other photos before, but seeing the pyramids up close was just so cool. The sphinx is also there (though a bit smaller than I expected... kind of like Mt. Rushmore). There are cool photo ops if you can position yourself correctly, and you can make it look like you've got your finger on the tip of the pyramid, or like you are kissing the sphinx. Judge the results below! The student ID card I got in Chicago before graduating already paid for itself with the student discount here, and I highly recommend it for anyone traveling.

And yesterday, I went to see Hancock at CityStars, the massive 6-floor mega-mall in Heliopolis. There are tons of chain restaurants (Romano's Macaroni Grill! Friday's! Chili's! Fuddruckers?) We had dinner at Wagamama, an Asian-style noodle house, and wandered around the mall a bit before the movie. It doesn't really feel like Cairo; everything is all clean and shiny, and there are tons of familiar stores that just seem out of place in Egypt. Like Billabong -- really? Cairo just doesn't scream "California surfer types." The movie was good, and I had fun trying to pick out the words I knew in the Arabic subtitles. I especially enjoyed the 5-minute cigarette break/intermission in the middle. Hafsaka, anyone?

I finally moved into my apartment in Zamalek with my flatmates H and M (using initials since I am not sure if they want their names used). My room is nice and big, and luckily the apartment came furnished (most seem to). There are still some things we will have to fix -- there is no shower curtain, and our fridge is in the hallway while the washing machine is in the kitchen. I kind of think it should be the other way around, but the landlady did not seem to think there was anything wrong with this arrangement. For now it's okay, but I think we will be doing some re-arranging this week. Mostly I am glad that I will finally be able to unpack and won't have to live out of my suitcases anymore.

Here are some pyramid photos: