Today was another beautiful day in Cairo (from a meteorological point of view, anyway). I did more laundry, ate more koshary, and end up going to CityStars, the obscenely large mall in the suburbs of Cairo with my friends Erin and Brandy. Because I am a responsible adult, I bought a sensible black shirt at H&M that was on sale and then a host of cleaning supplies and kitchenware at Spinney's. No more college-esque bachelor pad living for me; I own a colander now, and sponges! Anyway, on the way to said mall, our trio encountered a taxi-driver who explicitly told us that America was only good for money--I presume he meant making it. We assured him that with this financial crisis the only redeeming quality he found in our homeland might not even hold. He went on to share his incredibly racist views with us at which point I politely reminded him that our new president had African roots. This of course threw him off. Egyptians don't feel much camaraderie with the rest of their continental brethren, so he recovered quickly and came back with some ignorant retort. Ma3lesh, we said as many polite but firm things as could be said and then went on our way. The cabdriver on the way back drove like a maniac, scaring the girls. I was more miffed about the price he charged us. In the end, though, I was glad to have this mini-reunion/consumerist adventure with two of my favorite people in Cairo.
Back at my apartment, I chatted with my flatmate and made dinner and in the process received a call from an undergraduate from my alma mater, Bradley University. We'd planned to get koshary earlier, but his class ran later than I'd expected so I invited him to come up and hang out, which he did. It was fun having someone else who knew Peoria and Bradley and many of my friends and acquaintances.
Tomorrow, insha'allah, shall be a day of cleaning and unpacking and maybe a bit of reading for my classes that start next week.
Oh! And my honeymoon with a mosquito-free apartment ended abruptly this evening when some stealthy little bugger got me right between the eyebrows, on the forehead, and on my cheekbone. Thanks, mosquitokind, for reminding me about our bitter feud. I'll have you in the end.
News:
Middle East hopeful about Obama
Darfur activists arrested in Cairo
Egypt hosting Gaza reconstruction forum
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