Early Entry - Saturday, August 30, 2008

Yesterday went well (most of these are being written after midnight of the day they happened, so for the most part the date should be shifted up a number), though kind of long and drawn out. First was shopping at Carrefour with some folks to get a few final essentials, then we took cabs to the soccer match between some Egyptian students and the boys in our program. The ride was amusing, because our first cab brought us to the city’s stadium instead of the university’s, so we had to take another one. Also I had a million things with me that I had purchased for the apartment, some of which were quite large (i.e. a fan and a new pillow). So after some awkward hand-offs, we get to the soccer (I now want to say ‘football’) match, at which we were absolutely trounced. I had wanted to play, but forgot to bring the right shorts and hadn’t packed cleats, so when I did I jammed my (shoeless) foot into someone else’s very well cleated foot, which hurt a rather lot. So I stopped, sadly.
After the game, Phil and I had tea with some of the students from the match. The dorms overlook the fields, so it was a short walk up some stairs to their rooms. The gesture took about 4 hours, and I was getting kind of impatient towards the end because I needed to buy internet (the store closed at 9), but Phil was dilly-dallying despite my having told him and his having agreed. I don’t mind Phil that much, but I get the feeling our living together is going to be a bit uncomfortable.
After that we came home and used the materials from shopping to finally organize our living spaces. I went all-out in neurotic mode and arranged everything possible, including the bed. I’m going to ask if the storage room in the apartment has a desk I can use, because the table I’ve been using is wobbly and not very helpful.
Matt and Byron called me (rather than Phil, probably because they lack his number) to come visit our apartment. I can see how they would feel we have a good setup, but there are advantages to living in the dorms. Jeremy, one of the dorm-livers, wants to get out of them so he can have privacy and work on a research paper he’s writing, so if I wanted to I could switch into the dorms, which have meals and AC included, plus the convenience of group logistical efforts. All the same, I think I’ll just stay here. I may not have an Egyptian right across the hall to talk to, but I may well learn more about independence living essentially by myself in an apartment far-ish from everything. If I go off on enough excursions by myself, maybe it will even out.
The plan for today is to actually get internet, then walk around Muharram Bey (my neighborhood) so I know where shops are close by, local landmarks, etc. I may drop by the mosque next to my building (Awlaad ash-Sheikh) and (sort of) explain my religious situation, so someone could maybe teach me how to pray. Maybe I could try going to Jum’a prayers on Fridays regularly. Adrian, the British Muslim guy in the program, is probably fasting, so I wonder if we should do it together. I don’t plan to really do it when I go home, but while I’m in Egypt I think I should have the experience behind me.