I woke up at 3!

Oops.

Jen (from Tufts) arrived, hamdulillah. She is staying at a hotel down the street for the night, but she'll be moving in to Desert Safari tomorrow.

We went out and about, the girls got their cell phones (much cheaper than mine, but Mama's added comfort is of course priceless!), and we found the CitiBank in Garden City.

Garden City is quiet and pretty. It was originally constructed during the British occupation, when British soldiers and diplomats were trying to feel more at home in the desert - and it does end up feeling like a little oasis in the midst of the dirt and honking that is Cairo.

I took some bad pictures in the half-light:



Then we wandered around the hectic downtown and looked for food, making lots of friends along the way.

I love this city! Everyone is friendly and they love to joke. In the Mobile Shop we made a friend who told us he would be our dictionary. Then he asked me if I knew how to say "You are very beautiful" in Arabic (I do).

Also, as Jen just pointed out "our Arabic is completely useless for anything except entertaining people," but I'm picking up little bits of Amiyya here and there.

We found a place where we could get dinner "bidoun lahm" (without meat) for Sara, who is trying to keep Kosher-ish (mumkin Kosher?). Dinner was delicious and simple and fun - pasta, rice, lentils, chickpeas, and tomato sauce. Lots of smiles and jokes from the guys running the shop. They wanted to take pictures of us, so then we had them pose with us - those are hilarious, but they're on Sara's computer so I'll them when I get a chance.

Okay, time to go over to Zamalek to watch the Egyptian soccer game! Yalla misr!

Ma salaama!