Settling in at the Longchamps Hotel

Here in Cairo, I’m in my new home, the Longchamps Hotel. It’s awesome, there’s no other way to say it. We have free internet, balconies, nice rooms, and friendly staff. Plus, you can do so much with the name (breakfast of longCHAMPIONS, anyone?). The 9 students in Arabic 2 plus Oscar are staying here, and our class is also in the breakfast nook. Hooray for waking up at 9 AM. The other 25 students here in Cairo are staying at a slightly less awesome hotel, and have to travel to AUC every day for class. Admittedly, their situation does have some advantages, like being forced to get out in the city more often. But I’m not too worried, as I want to go exploring anyway. This picture above shows me, Brett, and Katharine figuring out a cheap authentic place to eat dinner tonight! Al-Omda, here we come.

Monday was our first Arabic class, and I loved it. Our teacher, Nermine, is intense but a sweetheart at the same time. She’s doing a good job of picking up the pace where Dominic left off, and I think I’ll learn a lot this semester (aka for the next 4 weeks).

We also had a meeting down at AUC (American University at Cairo) about the expectations for the service work we will be doing this semester. Things still don’t seem to be hammered out too finely, so who knows yet exactly what I’ll be doing. Wednesday after class we are going to see one of the sites where I might end up working. A lot of people from the group are really angry about the changes that are taking place, like the hotel switches and the undefined service projects. It’s just one of the lessons of working and living in a developing nation, I think- you need to go with the flow and make the best of things, and it will all work out in the end. There’s no use in complaining, so just do what you can. I think a lot of the complaining also stems from the fact that many of the students in the group are either young or haven’t travelled much. That’s all fine and well, and this will be a great experience to open their eyes. After my experiences in DR, though, it’s a little different- I especially miss my group there, because everyone from the get-go was really eager to dive into the culture and enjoy each experience for the lessons that they taught us. I am glad that I have a little core group of my own forming and that we can go and do our own thing and make the most of our time here.

On a final note, I had dinner Monday for under $3 American. It was a delicious pasta dish with cooked vegetables and spicy tomato sauce, and it probably would have sold in the North End for at least $15. My level of excitement was pretty high. Next thing on the list? Going with Oscar to the shwarma place he discovered downtown and getting a crazy sandwich for L.E. 8 (~ $1.60 American). MMM. Also, because we are trying to save a little cash now that we’re back in Cairo, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches has become an integral part of the day. This is my roommate Katharine working on our daily sustenance.

Today (Tuesday), Arabic class was awesome again- I feel challenged, yet not to the point of frustration. Also, after class a few of us went to drop off our laundry (what we didn’t wash in the tub, at least…)at a nearby place and wander around a bit, and we were able to practice a little speaking with the locals. It was a thrilling moment when I was able to ask “Where are the children’s books in Arabic?”