democrats abroad

The Ramadan excitement has continued this week. My friend S2 (I think I mentioned a different S before), who is Egyptian, invited all of us over to his house for iftar. So much food, 15 hungry people, overall excellent. Plus it was cool to have a "real" Egyptian iftar experience. On Monday, T, N, H and I went to a party at a friend of T's in Mohandessin. It was on a rooftop with a nice view of satellite dishes. Just kidding, it was actually a very nice view. The weather outside is now approaching pleasant, especially at night, so it's nice to be spending time outdoors. (Fingers crossed for apartment with balcony!)

Speaking of balconies, the apartment hunt is officially underway. M and H looked at one already (I had other plans so they went without me, but I trust their opinions). Anyway, they report that it is a great apartment in a pretty perfect location, though because it is so perfect it is also quite a bit over our price range. We might try to haggle them down, or else live there anyway, but eat only ramen noodles and fuul. This is a distinct possibility. And of course, we will continue to look at more apartments.

Last night I went to City Stars to take advantage of some Ramadan sales. A1, A2 and I met up for dinner, then A2 split off to do his own shopping and A1 and I went straight for the sales. When we first got to the mall (around 5:30) we thought we'd be able to do a little shopping before dinner, but because it was before iftar everything was still closed. For some reason we thought that stores in City Stars would be open, but even in Cairo's little slice of Western paradise Ramadan is still Ramadan. We hung out in the Starbucks for a bit, then wandered around the deserted mall (seriously, it was like a ghost town) until we found the restaurant we wanted.

People showed up early to stake out their favorite restaurants before iftar, and then as soon as they heard the call that they could eat at around 6:10, everyone made a beeline for a table. And since everyone starts eating at exactly the same time, the waits are awful and the service/kitchen are overwhelmed. But overall, entertaining. Then all the stores re-opened at around 7:30-8, and stayed open really late. A1's Egyptian friend M also joined for some shopping, and after some good-natured teasing about the American girls going to the mall, she told us about a great area with cheap Egyptian shopping.

So we left City Stars (very successful shopping, by the way) and went into Heliopolis with M, who took us to this cool area with tons of cool little shops in this covered shopping area. Several of the shops had amazing knock-offs of designer purses and wallets -- like 10 times better than what I have seen on Canal St. in Chinatown. Real logos and everything -- really legit looking. And only like LE 35 (approx. $7). So if you want a good fake, let me know. Or come visit! Anyway, we had already done a lot of shopping so mostly we just looked, but we will definitely go back. It's one of the ways we can be more Egyptian and less ex-pat.

In other news, I got a most excellent e-mail on Cairo Scholars yesterday. It is the link to a Web site entitled the Overseas Vote Foundation, they had all kinds of cool stuff. I have been missing the election coverage here (last summer we watched all the debates), so it will be nice to get updates. I have the paperwork filled out for my absentee ballot, I just need to get it to the post office. And I have been encouraging other American friends to do the same (even the Republicans!), so I am pleased that there are sites like this that make it so easy. Then, just to make my day even better, someone replied to that e-mail with the link to Democrats Abroad, which I obviously joined. After joining, they forward your information to the chapter in your country, so hopefully I will get to hear from the other Democrats in Cairo soon. Now all I can is wait... and cross my fingers that the American Embassy has an election party.