First Days in Cairo-- again

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Cairo has been hectic.

I got in late the night of the 23rd, with a clanking giant red duty free bag chock filled with- guess what- alcohol. The guards gave me the most skeptical look and promptly confiscated it.

I am now 'the girl who tried to sneak booze in the first day'. but not even sneak!

Anyway, AUC (the American University in Cairo) has been... interesting. I have had ample opportunity to practise my zen-like state of indifference, tested in various trials such as registering for classes, getting student ids, getting email addresses, setting up bus shuttles and all the way to getting things like Breakfast.

I laughed at all the other students, frustrated and boiling, as I have had to deal with more than my fair share of this over the course of the last 6 months.

But yesterday. oh lord yesterday.

They didn't finish the student dorms on the new campus, which, by the way, is 1) not finished in itself and 2) is out WAAAAY in the middle of nowhere, so they've stuck a bunch of kids in hotels.

...the lobby is nice.

other than that, we have 2 keys for 4 people in the suites, where the former single rooms have another bed shoved in them haphazardly with no extra dresser, desk space... moving space. seriously, there's about a foot between the beds and on either side.

totally new meaning to roommate, methinks.

anyway, I have decided before and despite all these frustrations that I am going to love it here. and i do. so, so much.

Everyone i've met is either very very awesome, or so ridiculously obnoxious that i find it endlessly entertaining to prompt increasingly ignorant statements from them.

But in any case, I am loving it here. I FINALLY got my suitcase back (clean clothes! my LAPTOP!) so i have spent all day putting up pictures. I am so sleep deprived; thankfully people are still getting over jet lag, so I can justify my exhaustion, but despite not feeling like I've done that much, I still have no time to nap!

I love it here; you can sleep when you're dead.

Stacey

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