1st day--Thursday

I ended up sleeping all of today until dinner time. I could have gone back to sleep shortly thereafter. Turns out to have been a 95 degree day so maybe it was not so bad. Apparently Egypt is in the midst of a heat wave.

Once I got up we had dinner--salad, lentil soup with pita bread crisps and liver with onions. The onions were cooked into sweetness. And bread of course. Can't do without bread. I talked, or pretended to talk, to my aunt and cousins. I am g trying the Arabic back but I still can't manage streams of super fast talk or answer fast.

Later--I mean like 9 pm--we went out. It seemed like the whole world was out on the streets! People, mostly but not only men, everywhere. Walking, shopping, eating, talking... We went to the best juice place where I drank two big glasses of mango and one of tamer Hindi. Not quite what that is in English, but it might be tamarind. Yum yum yum! Bought my favorite nuts next door too--leib aswad. They are watermelon seeds, roasted and salted. They require dedication to enjoy--that and a lot of free time. I don't eat them much in the states as I guess I don't sit still on the same way at home. We also went to a sweet shop and bought some really good baklava. Nothing like pistachios! And round konifa. Although my aunt's homemade konifa is better. My father finally taught me to make that last winter thank heavens or I would have another reason to be annoyed with him!

We finally came back about 11 pm and went to bed later than that.

I am enjoying the different perspective of Egypt without my father. It's fun spending time with my uncle Nabil. I am curious to see what else develops without father's restrictions. At the same time I am enjoying talking about him and remembering him with my uncle and hopefully other people as well.

So I am never sure how to pack for trips like this. People tend towards dressy in Egypt but them again I am on not here to work or impress per say. Anyway, so I am lying here on the couch doing nothing at all and I recall in my closet a whole class of clothes or never even occurred toe to look at--short sleeve button-down shirts. Oh well! Nothing is perfect.

Now in Egypt

I am going to try to keep up this blog while I am the Middle East this time.

I arrived this morning at 3 am, which seems to be the de rigueur time to arrive in Cairo. Seems uncivilized to me but who am I to say? After the rush of customs and all, my uncle met me. I ran back in at his request to buy some beer from the duty free shop. We were back at his very nice apartment in central Cairo by 4. I had not seen it before as he and I are not usually in Cairo at the same time.

We had a beer--a first for me in Egypt!- and then heard the morning call for prayer. I love the call to prayer in the Middle East. Some of the men are better than others, but it is beautiful and evocative to me. It is a call to remember there is more to life than work and traffic and it soars across the city 5 times a day in an ancient rhythm.

Ah the cacophony that is Cairo. Sitting in my room I hear a constant stream of car horns. I will take some pictures of traffic later for those of you unfamiliar with Cairo traffic...it's a treat, I promise.