2nd full day in Egypt....

June 2, 2009.

Well today is my second full day in Egypt and so far so good. One of my roommates arrived last night and the other will come sometime today. I also really like my apartment. It’s much bigger than my other ones and its in a good location. My apartment has 1.5 bathrooms, 3 bedrooms, 3 balconies (2 large and one small), 3 sitting areas, dining room, kitchen, washer, and AC in the bedrooms. The furniture is a little old but actually really comfortable…and also I have learned not to expect too much. The area is also quiet (for Cairo at least) and surrounded by trees making it cooler. The bowab (doorman/security guard/ sherpa, etc) is really nice too. My favorite thing so far about the apartment is that the apartment building is small and there are only 3 families living in it. The landlady and her family live in one apartment and a Sudanese family lives in the other apartment. There is no elevator, but I live on the third floor so it’s not too bad and there is only one apartment per floor. Meaning: I won’t have to run into any creepy neighbors. Last time when I lived in Agouza it seemed like every young guy who lived in the apartment building made sure I knew who he was. There was one guy who caused me a lot of problems too. He would always want to hang out and tell me how much he loved me (heheh I always said that I was American and didn’t fall in love). But then he turned creepy and I would always see him…and then he would insult me! It got even better when I met his older brother in the elevator. I seriously thought he was going to kill me in the elevator because he kept yelling at me. He was mad because a guy slept over in the apartment and apparently it was my fault (even though I was in Syria at the time…hmmm I still don’t understand his logic) But anyway it caused some drama and then I had to make it even worse when I moved apartments for the third time. I ended up moving right across the hall from him, making it even harder to ignore him. Oh well that is done and over with and people are really nice so far.

That’s it for me right now. I’m just settling in, trying to remember my way around, and getting ready for school. And I have managed two days without drama….but that doesn’t mean my life is boring. Last night I was able to ride on my friend’s motorcycle….which was a lot of fun but a totally different experience in Cairo because of the traffic. There is no set system in the streets so my friend was driving in between cars, and dodging cars and people. Some parts were a little scary but it was worth it! Unfortunately I won’t be able to get to ride it again because he is leaving for California on Saturday. But not to worry….the other forms of transportation can also be adventurous


Below is a photo album of my apartment. I will try to take more pictures of Dokki later and of course if you have any comments/questions let me know!

---Amy