I live on an island on the Nile!

The last week and half has been at times scary, amazing, hot, overwhelming, exciting, and last but not least frustrating. If you know about the all of the drama involved in getting me to this county, then you will understand when I say that everything was by no means all taken care of by the time I got here. I've spent the last couple of days trying to get finical aid stuff sorted out (STILL!!!! and half the school has the same problem!), trying to register for classes, and finally finding a flat. I was unable to get the first two sorted out, and because of that, could not even bring myself to start a flat-hunt. Over the last three days my stress level has increased to my pre-Cairo highs, which has rendered me unable to sleep more then a couple of hours a night and capable of a whole lot of nothing.

Sunday I was finally able to get my butt in gear, and started calling around to find a room to rent. I must have called ten places with no luck and I was getting a little discouraged. So I did what all good Seattleites do when stuck with a problem that can't be solved- I hopped on the Internet. In this case, I decided to check craigslist, and there waiting for me was a new post from person who was looking for a roommate in Zamalek. Zamalek is one of the most expensive, nicest, greenest, most western areas of Cairo. It also happens to be an island in the middle of the Nile, which made it impossibly cool in my eyes.

The post simply said that there was female grad student looking for a roommate with a two bedroom flat in Zamalek, and that she had a cat. The rent was 2400 pounds (about $418 a month) split between two people. I immediately emailed her back saying that I was interested, and hoped for the best. For once luck was on my side, and she called me later that night. We made a date for me to meet her and see the place for the following day.

After I got done with some school stuff, Christal and I got in a cab a headed across the Nile. The taxi driver didn't know the street that the flat was on, and had to stop several times to get directions, all which seemed to lead us in different directions. It gave me a chance to see Zamalek, and boy did I like what I saw. There was a Thai restaurant (this sold me the place without even looking at it), lots of little shops, a grocery store, and best of all, lots and lots of trees. Finally we found the place and I got to meet Hebah, the women from the ad.

Hebah is from California, and is Egyptian-American. She's doing her grad work at AUC, and seems to be really nice. She also has an eight month old kitten named Luna, and the idea of living with a kitty was wonderful. The apartment was small but really nice. There was a living room with satellite TV, and brand new bathroom & kitchen and two bedrooms. The second room was huge, and had a little alcove with a window & desk that would make a perfect little office. It also had a great big bed, and a tall cabinet to store all of my clothes. I immediately said yes to the apartment, and Christal and I went back to downtown Cairo to get my things.

We lugged my two humongous and heavy bags out of the hostel and on to the street. It took about ten minutes to get a taxi, but we finally were able to head back over the Nile. When we got to the apartment, the lift (which is on the shady side) wasn't working so we had to haul my bags up to the forth floor (thank you Christal!!!). Finally I was home, and I promptly started to unpack.

Later that night we went for dinner at a restaurant on the banks of the Nile, and was by far the best meal I've had while I've been here (for those who are interested, it was a chicken and vegetable mixture with a great sauce over rice). It was also the most expensive meal I've had at nine dollars including the tip (I love Cairo!). I got to see the sun set over the Nile, and my stress level went down with the sun.

As soon as I get unpacked, I'll take a ton of pictures and post them to the blog. In the mean time, I hope that all of you back home are doing well, and enjoying Seattle for me!