what, no wal-mart?

So far, I have managed not to get lost too badly, which is a huge success for me. My apartment is just a few blocks off 26th of July St., which is the main street in Zamalek. So if I ever don't know where I am, I just ask for 26th of July and then I can find my way home. And on that street is the most delicious discovery ever. My friend and I were walking around last night, and he showed me this fruit stand that makes this AMAZING sugar cane juice. It's called as'hab and you can get a glass for like 1 LE (1 Egyptian pound = about 20 cents). So good, and very refreshing when you are dressed modestly in the 85-90 degree heat. And that's at night -- it's more like 100 during the day. Speaking of which, I have so much respect for everyone who dresses really modestly with long sleeves and long skirts. They must be dying. I wear jeans and t-shirts and that even feels like too much.

Nothing too exciting so far this week, except that my apartment is finally starting to look home-y. In the absence of a Target or Wal-Mart, we have been picking things up slowly -- a trashcan here, a pillow there, etc. Yesterday I started hanging up posters, including this really awesome black and white poster of Chicago. It's a shot looking down on the Wrigley Building/Tribune Tower/Chicago River/Michigan Ave. and is dated 1930, it's really gorgeous. Anyway, my room is coming along nicely, though we have not really tackled the rest of the apartment yet. The living room/common area in the apartment is huge, so each of us contributed some posters for that, though we still have a lot to hang.

Otherwise, I am at work a lot of the time. Since I start late, I am usually at work until like 6 or 6:30, which is fine. We are trying to get a Web site started for the magazine I work for, and the first step to that was a blog. I have fully embraced the blog, and am now in charge of posting fun events taking place in Cairo. It's weird because I have never really done this kind of reporting before -- normally, I am all about the cops stories and the wrongful convictions and whatnot. Interesting to go from Innocence Project to Egyptian hip-hop.

One last thing: download the new Girl Talk CD! It's called Feed the Animals, and it is one of those pay-what-you-want deals, like with Radiohead. Just google "Feed the Animals." It's so good!