أسرة - Family

Uusra - family

January is so cold for so many reasons. Yeah, of course it's winter in most places, and it's an expensive month of reckoning for damage done at Christmas. But here especially, as the holiday season waned, memories of Greece chilled, and the test and final project season loomed, Alexandria just felt.... cold. My room catches wind through 3 of its windows that refuse to close all the way (Flagshippers, do any of you have windows that close all the way?), so my bed feels frigid at night and sleeping with 3 nestlé water bottles filled with hot water is just about the only way I can nod off. (I know, first world problems. At least I have that cozy room and the even cozier apartment.)

But the warmest of warm things came as a gift this month, a visit from family! Sarahsister  came to visit. (It's come to my attention that I often say "my sister" when I'm talking about one or the other, and forget to specify which. As such, some of my friends in the past have gone a long time thinking I had one uber multi-talented artistic and science-minded sibling, per the way I tend to rave about both of them like a grandmother. While this is could be true, I in fact have two. Sophiesister is the younger one) Sarah's on her way to South Africa and while it was still crazy getting tests done, and though I literally just typed and turned in a final paper without taking a second glance at it or even remotely checking the Arabic, it was a JOY to have her to play with for two weeks, and I think the tests all ended up fine. ma'alesh!

We explored places in Alexandria I'd been saving to savor with someone who also had never seen them (The Roman Catacombs, Pompey's Pillar, all of Montazah gardens) and ate a lot of fuul, falafel, and great Egyptian strawberries and tangerines ("faraaaawala and yuuuuusfi") like good Egyptian girls. (And like good budget-conscious Americans).

We rented a car to visit three Egyptian monasteries on a gorgeous, cloud-less day. The tour guide at one, who was present when I'd visited with the group the month prior, was so pleased to see a return visitor, he gave Sarah free medication for her swiftly developing cold, and gave us a bouquet of fresh basil as a token of friendship from the brothers. (He also chided us for not having the whole bible memorized. "You're Christians, aren't you? Why can't you recite it all?" Uuuuh, sorry kindly monk man, but we're not as incredible as you are at memorization, nor do we undertake 6 hours of bible study a day. Hmm.) We ate some of the basil leaves with fresh tomatoes and New Zealand cheddar cheese on the train to Cairo a few days later, and it was neat remembering where the basil had come from. We biked on the Corniche in the rain and tried a new bar and wandered a lot, and all in all, her presence made Egypt feel real and tangible and part of my actual world. Thanks for coming, Sarah.

We also had 3 gaaaaamed (awesome) days in Cairo, where we wandered in Old Cairo, Coptic Cairo, Garden City, Tahrir, Downtown, Al-azhar and some absolutely overwhelming markets, and of course made the obligatory expedition out to the Pyramids. We changed out our hotel after feeling incredibly insecure at our first one, and as we swiftly packed our bags to hightail it out of the first hostel (Lialy hostel in Talaat Harb, I don't recommend staying there!) and sort of skipped out into the street while I  called another place, hoping they had a spare room, I was deeply grateful that my sister was there. Sarah's a badass traveling buddy and there's no one else that I'd rather have had with me especially at that moment. We shared dinner with Kelsey, (who arrived that night to join us!) and celebrated our liberation from creepy hostel with jubilation, baba ganug, and many exclamations of "I'm so glad we just up and left!" Sarah, I can't wait for our siberian railroad adventure. Yalla bina. (let's go!)

Tomorrow our whole group leaves at THREETHIRTYINTHEMORNING to get to a train in Cairo that will insha'allah deliver us to Luxor, in upper (south) Egypt by early evening. We have a Nile Cruise for everyone in the group and we're STOKED. We'll visit the Valley of the Kings and lots of the famous temples in Luxor, Aswan, and Abu Simbel. I'm also excited, and thankful, for the opportunity to go to Paris immediately after the trip, the ticket for which was mileage and a Christmas gift from my parents. I'll be staying with the family I worked for as an au pair, three years ago (THREE YEARS AGO, WHAT?) and get to go with two great friends from my group. Fellow Flagship friends go to France. Oui, oui, oui.

There's also a method to the travelling madness, and that's the thought that I don't know if I will live in Egypt long-term. Of course, I hardly know what's happening in the short-term future (do any of us, anyhow?), but in the spirit of entertaining the most far-fetched and delightful of my options, I'd like to keep the idea of working in France alive and well. Keep that middle and high school dream kicking. And that means not letting my rusty french completely atrophy. It's onlly 9 PM and I have to wake up in a few hours, so that's enough for now.

Sarahsister at sunset in Alazhar Park, Cairo

A protestor named Ahmed shows Sarah and I around a tent in Tahrir square, displaying photos of martyrs and battles from the days of the Revolution.

Bahari on a sightseeing day in Alexandria. I had saved up a personal day for this Sunday and every moment was SO WORTH IT.

A good example of my part of Alex, in the rain. Things get mucky.

Les pyramides!

Tents in Tahrir set up by protestors from Alexandria

Zack and I cycling the Corniche on a rainy day. See the storm ahead? The skies soon opened. Our ride was cut short :)

Our tour guide at the Coptic Saint Bishoy monastery. I honestly forget why I'm in a hole in the ceiling.

Ca-iro gets ca-rowded.

Al-Azhar mosque. Really stunning place, and we were free to walk about as we wanted, wherever, even as women! Very pleased.