Hamdullilah, we are home!

Sara and I made our first trek to Zamalek tonight!

Well, first - Sara got here! Hamdulillah! It is so so so nice to have her company, and it definitely makes this experience feel more real already.

Anyway, she is a trooper! She hasn't slept since Wednesday but she was totally up for a trip over to Zamalek to see the dorm and look for my friend Charlie. I wanted to see Alisa, too, but she went to bed while I was napping off my first minor bout of "ow, my tummy hurts".

Zamalek: Nice, quiet, Western. Sara and I agree we'd be happy to live there.

The dorms: We also agree we are happy NOT to be living in these. They are nice enough (from what we saw of the lobby and cafeteria), but very restrictive. Charlie is ready to bail already - but then again, Charlie is cranky (Hi Charlie!)

We wandered in and met some nice girls from Jordan and a boy from Syracuse, and then I called Charlie and we went out to eat at some pseudo-Western cafe. Sara got a tuna sandwich and she's not dead yet!

Taxi ride home: Oooohwee! The ride there was uneventful, but on the way home this dude had NO IDEA where he was going. Mind you, our hostel is on a fairly main road right off of one of the biggest intersections in downtown Cairo. It took him about 25 minutes and 6 or 7 stops for directions (from "police!" - one of his two English words) to get us on the right street. Not that he noticed or anything, but I recognized it and said "Okay! Okay! Funduq!"
Note: He was also convinced, as soon as we said "funduq," that we were looking for a hotel, any hotel, and consequently tried to kick us out on the doorstep of several random establishments.

Regardless - we made it! And for less than $1. Brilliant! I love this city!

Tomorrow - more wandering, but this time with a buddy. Can't wait.

Now, bed, or I will never get on a normal sleeping schedule.

Love to all, at home and abroad!