No Running Water and Other Maladies

The title of this post basically sums up my Monday. My morning began with missing the bus because I made the mistake of waiting for my roommate. So we had to take a taxi cab in which the driver **surprise** didn't know where he was going. We made it to school in time, but when we handed him the cash, he acted as if we had stiffed him. Unfazed, we left him gesticulating wildly at the university gate.

Later, I returned home to find that there was not a drop of water coming out of the faucets in my apartment. However, my AWESOME landlord came over right away to deliver us a big tank of water for utilities and two smaller drinking water bottles. Sadly, he can't fix our problem because it's affecting our entire block AND, since this is Egypt, only Allah knows when the water will return. I'm also feeling a bit sick, because I woke up with a headache and a bit of a sore throat. Right now it doesn't seem like anything serious, and I'm considering it most likely due to the fact that I didn't sleep very well last night. :(

This weekend, however, was amazing. I spent time with two Lawrence University professors who are currently living in Egypt. In my time at Lawrence, I've had the pleasure of taking classes with both of them, and was delighted to hear that Carla Daughtry, one part of this professorial coupling, had been awarded a Fulbright to teach and do anthropological field work in Egypt. Her husband, Max, was my professor of Arabic last year, and is one of the kindest human beings I have ever met. They were so hospitable during my visit that they fed me four meals, and had me stay overnight in their apartment.
I also got the pleasure of meeting these two angelic children,


with whom I will be spending a lot more time throughout the semester as their babysitter. :) We watched Spongebob together in Arabic. Who knew?!

On another note, I've started to make a list of the things that I will appreciate much more when I return to the States (and that I am craving right now):
*The numbering is arbitrary

1) Indian Food. There are Indian restaurants here, but they are of dubious quality.
2) Netflix. Watching Youtube is getting old.
3) People. You know who you are.
4) Clean streets.
5) Taxi drivers who know where they're going.
6) Traffic lights, and other parts of an organized traffic system.
7) ALCOHOL. This is a Muslim country and very little alcohol is available (and the stuff that is smuggled into the country is bad quality).
8) Being able to wear low cut t-shirts and short skirts.
9) Dryers (laundry).
10) Drinking water that won't make me sick.
11) Autumn.
12) My cat.
13) No school on Sunday.
14) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I.
15) Pumpkin ice cream. (Extension of #11)
16) Meat substitutes. There is ABSOLUTELY no tofu, tempeh,seitan, or gardenburger within the borders of this country. Well, that may not be entirely true, but I have yet to find them. And I can't eat salads because they were washed in the water. :(

When I get back in December, I am going to have a whole new outlook on my home country.