Lazy Summer Days

So the internet is back. And we have a new refrigerator. It’s wonderful to have cold food and water again. Alhtough, the landlord still thinks he can fix the old one. There was a repair man in the kitchen working all day on that busted old thing. I wonder when he’ll figure out that the fridge is beyond repair.

Our apartment is starting to show the signs of 8 people living in it with no cleaning schedule. So I spent an hour or two cleaning the kitchen today. Going barefoot in this place is an impossible dream. Even when we used to sweep more often, it was still covered in dust. So, we’ve just accepted it, realizing that this isn’t a permanent living situation, and we deal with it as best we can.

Today was nice. I did nothing. I slept in, watched a movie, did yoga, ate lunch, cleaned, and showered. Today was the perfect lazy day that I’ve been needing. Later, we’re going to our professor’s apartment for dinner tonight. He’s a great cook. The meals that he makes for us are some of the best meals that we eat in Cairo (even though he doesn’t have much stiff competition).

As my summer is winding down in Cairo, I’m starting to think about the different things I can shop for. If you’d like me to pick up anything, please let me know. I posted examples of things I can buy here in an earlier post, and I’ve put it in this post (with a few additions). So here are the options:

1. Custom silver/pearl/beaded jewelry. This shop has antique jewelry from the Bedouins, Afghanistan, Egypt, and all sorts of places. AND, they can even custom make jewelry for you.

2. Quilting. There are tons of shops that quilt pillows, blankets, and anything that you could possibly make. One of the merchants will even take a word or phrase and quilt it on something with Arabic calligraphy. He showed us how he can write our names in calligraphy in the shape of almost anything. He wrote one of the girl’s name into a fish shape. Most of the quilted products for sale are pillows and blankets/tapestries with Arab calligraphy sewn into it in all sorts of shapes.

3. Perfume. There are tons of perfume merchants everywhere. I can get knock-off perfumes. If you just tell me the kind you want (i.e. Chanel #5), I can get it for you at a decent price!

4. Copper market. It’s gorgeous! They sell cookware (pots, pans, utensils), lamps (for candles), serving trays, etc.

5. Silk. There is a merchant that Brooke introduced us to. He has a little shop here in Cairo, and he hand makes everything. He makes silk shoes, robes, shirts, etc. The shoes sell for about $40 and the robes for a little more. The funny thing is that Bergdorfs (the really expensive department store) buys everything from this man and they sell it at ridiculously expensive prices.

6. Spice market. They have everything you could possibly want! Iranian saffron is on my shopping list!

Anyway, in keeping with the lazy day theme, I think that’s about it for this blog post.