Adjusted

I’ve now lived in my apartment for 1 whole week. I have been in Cairo for just over 2. For some reason, it feels much, much longer than two weeks. I’m not sure if that means time is moving slowly or quickly. Perhaps, because the learning curve is so high and one must accomplish so much, so quickly, in order to set up a new life in a new country the amount of things I’ve accomplished makes 2 weeks feel absurd. Either way, I feel rather ‘adjusted.’

The transition has not been at all difficult for a number of reasons. One, is the wonderful network of people who agreed to host me the minute I stepped off the plane. Friends of friends of friends of a friend, who are now all of my friends!, have really made this the smoothest transition imaginable. (Insert here background music: “It’s a Small World After All.”) From the grocery story, to the book store, to the metro, to a local British watering hole, they have given me or showed me everything for which I could ask.

The second reason emerges from my other ‘experiences.’ I don’t think I’m capable of feeling awkward anymore. I don’t think I get embarrassed. Sweat doesn’t really bother me anymore. And I know for a fact that I can navigate a city and new cultures, by myself, with only hand/sign/body language!

Another reason is the amount of comfort or recognizable objects available- which make anybody feel more at ease. Wednesday night I walked out of class feeling overwhelmed after having read just the syllabi and I looked at my roommate and demanded a McDonalds’ milkshake! We walked across the street from campus to the McDonalds that sits between the KFC and Hardies. I went to buy hair products: do I want Pantene, Fructis, Dove etc? Peanut butter- Jiff or the kind from Saudi Arabia? Do I want Raisin Bran for breakfast, Activa yogurt, or an individual Quakers’ oatmeal packet? Yes, if one desires US products, all of the options are here too!

I can’t say that I honestly enjoy that, especially after living in Dakar where I didn’t see a McDonalds or Starbucks for 6 months. Yet, oddly enough, I have indulged in a McDonalds’ milkshake, a Snickers, etc. I very rarely eat any of that in the States. Perhaps this is really why the transition has gone soo smoothly...nothin’ like the power of comfort food. J

On the other hand, one other element of life in Cairo that I’m gluttonously enjoying is all of the fresh food. After living with the dictated menu of a Senegalese host family for 6 months followed by 6 weeks of breakfast, lunch, coffee, and dinner dates in the US it is absolutely wonderful to control my own diet! We’re on the tail end of peach season, I have bottle of fresh tamarind and hibiscus (bissap!!) juice in my fridge, spices assault your nose on almost every corner, and pomegranate season is on the way! Unlike in the controlled food markets of the US, the fruits and veggies here are perfectly deformed, of natural color and succulently delicious!! My good buddy John is also quite the cook and as his new sous chef I’m learning tons of new dishes that will make a very eligible Lebanese wife! yummy! It sounds like a “food blog” is necessary…stay tuned!