family vacation

Until this weekend, I never knew that an entire country could lose internet connection. But that's what happened on Friday, when some undersea cable near Italy came loose or had some kind of problem, and all of Egypt found itself without any internet. People were still able to connect via iPhone or similar satellite-type thing, but all landlines weren't functioning. Seeing hordes of people panic as they run (in vain!) from one internet cafe to the next could have been funny, but when we heard that it might take five days to be repaired (actual time: about 24 hours), that panic hit me too. Anyway, it all seems to be fixed now, so no worries. I mean, it's still a bit slower than I would like but at least it's working.

In other news, my family (Dad, Mom, Michelle, Jessica) are coming to visit me/see Egypt. They were supposed to arrive in time for dinner this evening, but thanks to bad weather somewhere along the way they were rerouted through London and Amsterdam and will eventually arrive closer to 3 a.m. I am looking forward to showing them around Cairo, so it should be a fun week. Next week we will be going to Upper Egypt (Luxor, Aswan, etc.) to see all the Pharonic ruins and sites, and then to Rome for New Year's. I will try to post again this week, but if not, hope you all have a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!