Apartment living...in Egypt

We moved into our apartment today, around 1pm and Hunter mused, "this is the first apartment we've ever rented and it's in Egypt."
The past few days have been punctuated by a number of 'firsts': first time to be in a country where my command of the language is less than stunning; first time to order food using more hand gestures than words; first time to see the garbage collected by mule-drawn carriage; first time to take a shower and not be able to allow the water into your mouth; first time to buy groceries using only Arabic. Needless to say living here presents some very unexpected obstacles and challenges. But the people here are so hospitable you cannot be but smitten with the place. By 2pm the desert sun bares down on you with unbelievable intensity but luckily that is the generally accepted nap time. Cairenes, or in Arabic, miSreen, retire to an air conditioned or shady spot for a few hours until the worst has passed. Admittedly I believe I do stand out a bit more than Hunter--I don't think strawberry blond hair is a norm here. But the attention we receive from looking like obvious foreigners is not negative at all. Consider the seven times young teen school girls have giggled amongst their friends only to shout some welcoming phrase to us in English, followed by more giggling chatter with their companions. If you have a smile on your face people treat you accordingly and I believe that is pretty universal. But here people will go out of their way to return your greeting, smile, or nod, a practice many Americans could afford to learn.

Off the record, on the QT, and very, khush khush
~E