Modesty

No, friends and family, I have not left for Egypt YET. But the travel process starts way before the airplane takes off. My flight is in less than two weeks, and I could not be more nervous or excited. Among other things, I have secured my visa (yay!) and have scoured websites and books about living in Egypt.
The one thing that I thought some of you would find interesting is the unofficial "dress code" for Cairo, which can be described by one word: modesty. Most of you who know me probably don't think of my wardrobe as slutty. Yet, I find that (at least according to what I have heard) I can not bring the majority of my clothes. This is a sad development since I have also had to leave most of my shoes behind in Chicago. :(
Unless I want to be the target of some serious street harassment, I need to have long sleeves, high-necked tops and absolutely no shorts or knee-length skirts. Modesty ordinarily wouldn't bother me if it were in the 70's (Fahrenheit), but when I arrive in Egypt it will be around 102 degrees!!!!!!! So, I'm not looking forward to that.
For fun, I went to an Egyptian women's clothing store near where I live in NYC, and I found a beautiful abaya to wear (sans headscarf) for excursions to more conservative areas. The picture above is an example of an abaya, and is very similar to mine.
More updates in the next few days!