VACATION!

My vacation has officially begun... and I am enjoying it by watching Hotel Rwanda on tv. It's actually a very depressing way to start my vacation... but it's a good movie so far! Update on my difficulties communicating with people: my bowab just came to my door and automatically pulled his phone out to call someone to translate! haha. I fail at Arabic. So far... And he always wipes his phone off after he's been talking on it before he hands it to me. It's so amusing. Oh Muhamed.

Yesterday I discovered the wonder of otlob.com. It's pretty much the most amazing invention EVER and I had no idea that Egypt could be so advanced. You register with them with your address and phone number... and you can order food from anywhere! And they deliver within 45 minutes! Have I mentioned that you can order ANYTHING and they will deliver? Groceries, medicine, food, pretty much anything you could ever imagine. So last night, I ordered Pizza Hut and they delivered to my door in 30 minutes. And it was glorious. So otlob is pretty much my new best friend.

I went to an art show last night where the artist was Egyptian and actually there talking about his work. It was really cool and I would have loved to buy one if I weren't poor. And there was free wine, which is always a bonus. Afterwards, I went to the ACE Club with some friends. I can't remember if I've talked about the ACE Club yet... but it's a club for expats living in Cairo. So I meet people from all over the world there. And by club, I mean a place where you can go, have a couple beers, eat food, and sit outside or at the bar if you want. It's a nice place to hang out.

I was at the ACE Club with a couple who has lived here for 1 year, but they have been teaching abroad for several years. I learned a lot more about the culture and the "class" system in Egypt. For example, the way a woman wears her headdress represents what class she's in. I also see a lot of women wear head scarves that are Gucci or Chanel or expensive brand names. I see a lot of Coach bags too!! So my Coach feels very at home here.

This JUST happened. I paid my landlord with the rent check that the school gave me, which is of course all written in Arabic. I can't read Arabic (I did teach myself the numbers though!). He looks at it and says it's not made out to him. It's made out to some other guy. Wow... I feel like a 1st grader. I can't even read to tell that it's not made out to him. So I call people from the school and they're working on it for me. You take things for granted in the states... like being able to read all the signs and names on checks. I did ride in a cab for the first time alone last night though and spoke in Arabic the whole time to get home! One small step at a time.