Thursday, December 31, 2009

December 31 Welcoming Committee

Ranya and I both arrived today. We're staying at the Meramees Hostel off of Talat Harb. I walked over to my old campus, AUC, went to the bookstore, my favorite juice bar, and walked along the Nile before managing to get cornered in small shop by a man desperate to sell me a papyrus with my mother's name on it. When I made it clear I wouldn't buy it, the man disappeared and his son asked what it was about New York City that made my eyes so sad. We're going to a nightclub tonight to see some dancing as the new year seeps in....(The cats were huddled beside the old elevator at the Meramees. Stray cats are everywhere in Cairo.)

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Cairo! December 31, 2009

I land at 12:15 p.m. on New Year's Eve day! Ranya and I plan to go to the Cairo Marriott to see Soraya dance the new year in........best to all.

Mt. Hope, Ohio


Last week, while getting ready for Cairo, I spent a week in Ohio with my family. We spent a day at an auction in Mt. Hope where my uncle was selling a load of hay. At the auction, people sat around talking and enjoying each other's company. Relaxation. It's good to know places like that exist. Next....Cairo!