Is it weird of me that I think koshary and hardees deserve a whole post of their own? Maybe. Am I too food-obsessed? Maybe. Do I have a problem? Shut up.

Anyway, among all the happiness, rainbows, puppies and puddles of chocolate Cairo was providing me with, there was one area that had failed to shine: the food. Don’t get me wrong: I’m sure the food is amazing….for meat-eaters. As an only-chicken + vegetable lover, the food was kind of overwhelming. There was meat in EVERYTHING. And vegetables were hard to find. The day after we went to the pyramids, we visited a really nice restaurant (buffets are my best friends) where we had everything from rice in grape leaves, fried eggplant, to fried cauliflower, and falafel. delicious delicious delicious. Unfortunately, this was not an accurate depiction of what a typical meal in Zamalek would be like. To sum it up: I ended up eating so much Koshary and Hardee’s (for noobs: Hardee’s is the better version of McDonald’s. The ingredients are fresher (or so we tell ourselves) and it’s just so good.) that the workers at both places knew me and my order by heart. I got the same thing every time. Judge all you want. The spicy Santa-Fe Chicken was out of this world, okay? And those frenshy fries. <3

Now, let me explain what Koshary is….I actually have no idea. It’s some mixture of pasta, beans, lentil sauce, a tomato sauce and spices? Either way, it was 3 pounds (less than $1) for a filling bowl and pretty damn tasty.

NOM NOM NOM koshary

So yeah, in terms of food, I was a bit disappointed. In the beginning of the month, I never really felt satisfied after my meals; on the contrary, I was always eating to fill myself up but never really full or content. (Hardees changed this :3). But this is also probably because 1) I’m a poor college student so I was less willing to try better, if slightly more expensive, places, 2) If I’d taken the time out one day to really walk around and search for a different place, I might have found one. But I am stupid. Also the Pizza Hut in Cairo is really good. And the KFC. You can stop judging me now.

This has been a post.

Today. was. amazing.

I’m really glad (and I don’t want to jinx this) that the first day here did not let me down at all. After getting to Cairo last night at around 10pm, we met Abduh, Professor Sullivan’s habibi and our amazing tour guide, who drove us back to the hotel in Zamalek (it was about an hour away). We were ridiculously tired since the time zone change had taken a night’s sleep from us and when I get movie options on a plane, sleep is no longer a priority. (I watched Step Up 3, Slumdog Millionaire and The Hangover this time. Successful plane ride? I think so).

After settling into our rooms (which are decent, but the bathrooms. Oh man, the bathrooms. Think big, think porcelain and speckless. Best part? We have a butt-washer. Let’s not be embarrassed to talk about this now. It’s one of those amazing contraptions (in case you don’t know what I’m talking about) that is kind of like a lower toilet seat and you kneel over and it squirts a jet of water, cleaning errythang, errywhere. Let’s leave it at that).

So, this morning, we woke up (bright and early at 7:30 a.m. after sleeping at 2:00a.m. last night and being super tired from the plane) to head off to the Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx. It. was. surreal. There really is no other word for it. I remember spending 3 years in elementary school, studying Egypt and the Pyramids, learning about the Nile, how to write our names in Hieroglyphics, etc. The first thing you think of when you think of Egypt is either the Nile or the Pyramids. Being on a camel (named Whiskey, who was uber-cute, if rather unsightly) walking towards the Pyramids in the Sahara Desert was unbelievable. It was a culmination of all those years of study, and it did NOT let us down at all. The desert felt serene and quiet at the same time (besides the 30 American tourists on camels, posing and saying “Aloha” (don’t ask) for photographs every minute of the entire trip. I was obviously one of them :3), with a slight wind blowing at the same time (did I mention I LOVE the weather here? I LOVE the weather here). It was a very ethereal feeling to be honest, passing by dead horse carcasses as our camels made their way through the vast Sahara.

One thing I will say here (and I’m the first one to be guilty of this) is that I think we spent too much time taking photographs and not enough time appreciating the fact that we were in front of the Pyramids. I would be snapping away and realize that a photograph will never recreate the exact feeling and I should just try to take in as much of that as possible. So I did. For awhile. Because the other side of the argument is that we will (most likely) never be there again and it’s justifiable to want to take as much of the place back with you as you can.

This camel is ridiculously cute.

Next, we visited the Sphinx, which I’ve got to say was awesome but definitely less than I expected because of all those photo-shopped photos where the Sphinx is standing alone in the middle of the desert. In reality…not quite.

To round up the day, we visited the Papyrus Museum near the Sphinx (it’s literally leads up right to the edge of the city, it’s eerie and awesome) and learned how to make papyrus from the papyrus plant from a man who spoke 390493 languages (that is a rough estimate) and looked around the store and bought some things.

THEN, WE HAD LUNCH. At that point, I was starving and would have eaten someone’s arm without seasoning, but the restaurant we went to was (I’m not very creative with these adjectives, I know) amazing. We had authentic hummus (DELICIOUS. and this is coming from someone who wasn’t of big fan of hummus previously), Egyptian pita bread, Sticky rice wrapped in cabbage leaves, falafel, and the main course of chicken, lamb and beef grilled meat. I was stuffed to the top and would wait for a burp to make more room and continue stuffing (this sounds really unattractive. which is true. don’t judge me).

After lunch, we were on our own to make plans for new year’s eve, which was slightly disappointing at first, but in retrospect, it’s the best thing that’s happened in a while. (More on this later). Professor Sullivan did recommend an Oud concert by Naseer Shamma, renowned Oud player, that was happening that night in the neighborhood tonight. We decided to buy tickets and go to the concert and then see if we could perhaps make it out to the feluccas for a ride on the Nile on New Year’s Day.

The concert was phenomenal. I had average expectations, mostly because I have a short attention span and I was expecting to get bored at some point. I was engaged during the whole concert. The Oud is really a beautiful instrument; it kind of resembles a guitar but it has a hollowed out back (google it) that gives it a slight echo with each note. Every time I listen to Arabic music, and especially tonight, I felt like I was leaving something behind. That is always the feeling I get from it, a sad or sometimes happy feeling about moving away from something and remembering it through the song. And, oddly, it reminds me of the desert as well.

The second good thing about the Oud concert was that I sat next to someone who was being taught by Naseer Shamma, and translated/explained many things to us during the concert. It was really lucky of us, actually, because he spoke very good English and was very helpful. Egyptians are really friendly. And even if they don’t speak english, they will try to work something out for you. 🙂

For the rest of the details on what we did for New Year’s Eve, please just ask me because this entry is very long and I’m about to fall asleep. Wake up tomorrow at 8, we’re going to Islamic Cairo! And then during the afternoon, Ioana, Albina and I are hanging out with a new friend we made. 🙂

Good night/Good Morning Guys! It’s 4.am here. Some habits die hard. You already know.