challah back

Not an extremely exciting weekend, but at least I was able to catch up on my sleep. We went out on Thursday night to bar/club/lounge-type place in Maadi, a neighborhood in the southern part of Cairo. The DJ who was spinning that night advertised the party on Cairo Scholars, so I have to admit I was skeptical, but it ended up being a lot of fun. (See? Cairo Scholars has many functions!) Also, I found a local branch of Egypt Post, so I can hopefully begin sending people packages and fun postcards, which I know you're all waiting for with bated breath. I'll keep you posted (pun intended).

I have also been doing some thinking lately about buying a microwave. I know, I know: I'm weak. The thing is, it's not because I want to eat microwavable dinners (I don't even think those exist here), but more because I like to cook in bulk and then reheat for the rest of the week when I am too lazy to cook. Prices are a bit steep (more than $100 at an electronics chain called Omar Effendi. Seriously?!?), especially when compared with the $30 option available at Target. Right now we have a small gas stove that needs to be lit by hand (i.e. tie back hair, turn on gas, use lighter or matches for fire) and, to be honest, freaked me out quite a bit the first few weeks. And the oven...well, it took me a while to make peace with a regular American oven, so don't even get me started. It's not a problem now, but still -- I miss the microwave.

In Jewish news: It took me six weeks, but this past weekend I had my first Shabbat dinner in Egypt! Another Schechter grad, J (the year behind me in school, though we have plenty of mutual friends) is in Egypt for the fall, and neither of us has had a lot of success meeting other Jews in Cairo (not entirely shocking). We had a bottle of red wine for Kiddush and some kosher-friendly food from a nearby restaurant with lots of vegetarian options. I'm sure we both would have loved a slightly more traditional dinner, but Shabbat is Shabbat no matter what you're eating. (Thanks also go to Shira, if you're reading, for making the connection.)

I went to Israel a few weeks ago, but I really think that overall lack of Jewish activity has been a bigger culture shock for me than anything else I have experienced in Egypt. I had my first culture shock going from Schechter to Northwestern, where I was lucky enough to find a welcoming and supportive Jewish community. And to go from that to Cairo, where the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo doesn't even have enough people for a minyan -- well, that's true culture shock for a Teaneck girl who's spent her life at Schechter, Eisner and Hillel. So I guess what I'm trying to say is: when you come visit, bring challah!