new apt and turning 32

I celebrated my birthday with new friends, all of which are teachers at the American International School in Egypt (AISE). Because of the intensity of the situation, many of us have become amazingly close in a short amount of time. It feels like I've been here for months.

Look at that freakin' cake. I can't believe the fire power I created with my age. Jen, a very sweet coworker of mine, baked the cake of all chocolate cakes. It is even more poinant because quality baking supplies are difficult to find here, and candles are non existant. Another teacher donated the candles that she brought from home. They're all so thoughtful and amazingly generous. Friends and family that intend to visit me should pack bday candles. (More requested items to follow. ) ;)



Leah, my housemate, and I invited everyone over to our brand spankin' new apartment last night, our 4th night in the place. We were the last teachers to find housing. Nearly half found something on the first day... but that is another unbelievable story for another blog.

We are so happy in the space and finally feel like it was worth all the stress, waiting and hard work. Here's my pink on pink on PIIINK bathroom. I'll take a 6th story , street front, nile river and pyramid view from a balcony over a tasteful restroom any day. The entry way looks a 150% better. We put the largest chandelier there, instead of the living room. We decided to just "go with" the over the top, yellow-gold mirror and table. I painted "welcome" in the long, waste of space hall that leads to the bedrooms. The ceilings are all office tiles in this half of the apt, so we got creative with fabric. Going to the fabric souk (sp?) was an experience. It was my first trip to Cairo proper, which is very different than Maadi, where I live. The section we went to is famous for their miles and miles of fabric. Leah, who speaks no Arabic, was a pro at haggling for better prices (maybe from the year she spent in Guatemala?). She and the fabric guy (who spoke no English) passed the calculator back and forth until the price came down from 48 LE (egyptian pound) a meter to 17 LE per meter!! We got the 12 meters of hall fabric and enough to recover the 12 couch cusions (26 meters) for around 550 LE, about 100 dollars.

In the studio and my bedroom I'm going to try wall papering the ceiling for something different.

The party was great. It was nice to meet outside of school and talk about something other than work. Also, it was fan-tas-tic having other people acknowledge all the hard work we've put into the apt the last week. Several of them saw the dump that it was before the realtor took it on: a maid for 3 days, a plumber, three men painting, a carpenter and an electrician were constantly in and out from the day we signed (the first) until yesterday. It feels good to lay around with Arthur, drink coffee and use the computer in my own place. :)

Our kitchen is the envy of many teachers. One as large as ours is very difficult to come by in Egypt. And even though our fridge leaks, the wood under the sink is rotted through, and the cabinets are still sticky with filth, and the florescent lights make me wanna hurl, it has come a long, long way in just a few days. At least the cabinet doors don't fall on our heads now when we open them.



The subway is far enough down that we don't really hear it. I've been told that riding it is quite the experience. It's only 5 dollars for the hour trip to Cairo. Nancy, the woman who let us stay w/ her while we waited for our apt, went with several people to the opera house to see a jazz performance. She said that tickets to the best seats in the house cost about 5 or 6 dollars, and that the building is gorgeous.




Most people had been at the ball park all day. There was a mens' softball tournament, and our guys made it to the finals, so most people didn't come by until 10ish. I haven't been to the ball field yet, but I am looking forward to it. Rumor has it that you can wear shorts and tank tops and that they have beer and hotdogs. wow!

(notice Mr. Arthur making his rounds? He snapped at all the right people.)




We have a great view of the sunset from our balcony. And on clear days we can see the pyramids off in the sandy distance. This photo of the moon was taken from the other side of the apartment, from my studio window. Notice the satelite dishes? They are ontop of most buildings. Some rooftops have a dozen or so crammed together, all facing the same way, like a captive audience searching for something in the distance.


Ok, that's all for now. Love to all! I'm missing everyone more than ever now that things are quieting down. Please update me when you get a chance. :) angela