So I’ve been in Cairo for a week. We only just got wireless in our apartment and before that, we were only able to steal internet sometimes from somewhere mysterious. Anyway, Cairo is very nice and warm, but my immediate reaction is rather mixed. I think a lot of it has to do with the drastically different social norms, the language barrier, and the knowledge that it will be a really long time until I’ll be able to see almost everyone that I know and love. I’m having a lot of fun meeting new people, especially since, you know, I can make guy friends here because it is co-ed, but it still will take some time to get used to it.

One thing that I really liked immediately is that it kind of reminds me of Taiwan. I mean, I was in Taiwan when I was six so I don’t remember much of anything, but something about the tall apartment complexes with people who hang out their clothes to dry and the pollution and the way it smells and the really gaudy things in our flat just remind me of Taiwan. Speaking of our flat:
The couch on the right is my favorite. It's just a bunch of cushions and it's low and I really like it.


The view from our balcony. Between those buildings, we can see the Nile and some of the house boats on it. We also found out yesterday that in the far distance, we can see the pyramids on a nice and clear day, right beyond the minaret that you can barely make out in the smog (because it is kind of polluted here).


Our kitchen. There is a fire in the hot water heater for our sink.

My bed is on the left. I guess the headboards don't look that tacky, but really, they are. My flatmates, Claire and Julia, found a flat with reasonably tasteful furniture, but something about the furniture is just really fobby. I can't explain it, but something about it reminds me of the furniture I've seen in Taiwan and in Asian-American houses all around.


My little bathroom. We have two bathrooms, but this one is closer to my bed and it has a bidet that, in my experience, only has cold water.

Here is our bathtub. It is really small. There are no shower curtains and it is kind of gross so I kind of have to squat to keep water from getting everywhere. It was especially miserable when the hot water didn't work.

This happy peacock adorns the wall of our bathroom. It is super classy and studded with sparkly glitter. It reminds me of when I was in Taiwan, and I was six, and I really liked all the really tacky things like stickers and rulers with cats and peacocks on them because they were sparkly.

Anyway, I’ve mostly been settling in, buying things I need, and going to and skipping orientation. The president of the university started his opening address with a reference to Lake Woebegone, which I thought was really cute. I've been exploring the city a little bit and figuring out how to get places and back without getting lost. On the last day of my survival Arabic class, my teacher took us all around Cairo and New Cairo, which was really cute. She showed us some great places to get stuff like house supplies and fresh produce around downtown, then took us to dinner at Rehab, which is kind of building into a sort of suburban community. I think it's too small to be a city, but everyone who lives there is rich and commutes to work either in Cairo or at some New Cairo university, and there is a huge brand name mall and a huge food court with random western food chains. It is pretty bizarre. Also it is weird because there is grass there and I keep thinking about how it's such a waste of energy and water to grow grass in the middle of the desert. Anyway, after we ate dinner, my teacher took us to her favorite cafe in Nasr City, and we smoked shisha and watched Lebanese music videos for a couple of hours.

One last thing: my skype is goodbye.goldfish. I might send postcards, unless they're ridiculously expensive. Things here are pretty cheap, but things for tourists are really expensive, and I expect that postcards are always going to be deemed as the item tourists buy. Anyway, give me your addresses so I can maybe send you postcards. Also, if you are somewhere cool, you should get me something really cheap. And if you want me to get you something specific and cheap, you should let me know. So I have a lot of time to look for things and learn how to say them in Egyptian Arabic so that I can bargain and not get ripped off.