Snapshot of a couple on top of El Alaa Citadel in Cairo, Egypt

A Day in Old Islamic Cairo: El Alaa (Citadel)
and Khan akhalili

Snapshot of Man and Woman in Nicab- Madan Tahrir

My favorite- Snapshot of the Saaid Family's veranda Embebba

El Massarah Street- Snapshots on my way home

this week...

It's been a busy weekend here in Cairo. On Friday, Kirsten and I went to Embebba to visit our old host families. She'dbeen in contact with her family for the past few years, but I'd lost Rasha, my host sister's email address. So, here I am in the middle of Embebba with crazy run down cars, taxis, old run-down micro-buses, and tuk-tuks meandering to and fro traffic, dodging crazy drivers, and donkey carts. Thank goodness for a good memory- I found my old host family's house by instinct and chance. . The only difference was my grown hair. My host mother, Mama Abd Wahlid hugged me close and tight and rattled of "ana biheb, ya eunice.....yah shahr kiteer kiteer, ya eunice ana wahashini...." over and over again...(i love you, eunice, your hair has grown long...eunice, i've missed you....). All to say the least, it was a great homecoming. I saw the grandkids as well. Mustafa, Yasmiin, Noora, and Axhmed. They were just the same...only a little bit bigger and taller than before. The last time I was in embebba, I went to baby Axhmed's one week old party, and now he was almost 2 years old....strange to see how everything was the same....Sometimes I forget that time exists in Egypt as well. Readers, you may think to yourself, "duh, Eunice...what do you think?" But really, think about it, we're all so wrapped up in our lives in the States, and it's difficult to recall all the things that go on outside of our bubbles.

Let's see what else...
-went apartment hunting around Cairo on Saturday...found a nice flat in Garden City, 8 minute walk to metro station and 10 minute walk to the AUC and downtown Cairo..perfect!
-finished my first summury report for the Palestinian refugee department and UNRWA: unfortunately met with chaos in the office...3rd meeting with Ms. Ailliyah scheduled for this Thursday
-picked up a 2nd job in the evenings since Arab league work days last from 9-3pm...started working for the New York Academy every Monday to Thursday evening from 5-8:30pm teaching English conversation to Egyptian adults
-2 nights ago: had 2 friends of a friends, Susan and Christen come and stay in our flat from Ethiopia- they met the family and we had a dance party in host family's flat...i mean egyptian dance party, with the belly dancing: women only of course, the Um Hani, the mother of the house, kicked her husband into a room and locked him in until the dance party was finished...
-yesterday: strange day- went all around cairo- walked around Tahrir looking for postcards and stampts, ate ice cream at El Abd, a famous sweet, pastry shop, went to pottery cafe near AUC, cabbed it Agouza to see Dr. Diaa, then took metro to Hadeyak el Maadi with Alissa, Kirsten, and Christen to go teach, went to Dokki with Dr. Oussama Mustafa, the director, to visit his other branch office...ate at the Dokki branch in their strangely fairlytale-like backyard...nothing like the rest of Cairo, and finally returned home to el Massarah on metro....talked with Gigi about her life story....

Photos are forbidden by the Abu Hani, but here are a few of my family and of our flat. Oh I forgot to mention; the Hani famiy had huge mural like pictures of Jesus and the Saints around the flats, not to mention a random backdrop of the Swiss Alps....As for the lime green bucket in the bathroom- yes, we sit under the running water. This is my shower experience, and yes, it seems primitive, but usually I'm so happy to be sitting uder the running cold water after the hot sweaty day that I could careless about the awkward experience.