I have been thinking about this blog, naturally since my arrival to egypt was less than two weeks ago. But a number of contributing factors have restricted my ability to freely write about my experience. Currently I am dealing with cockroaches, pollution that burns my nose and gives me headaches, and bored children. Today I nearly got hit by a motor vehicle (screaming and crying ensued) and I am trying to determine if my bed is infested with bed bugs. On the positive side, I have picked up a considerable amount of Arabic. I have visited the Americian University of Cairo, navigated the Metro (inner city train), enjoyed the best cup of coffee in my life at Cilantro (a coffee shop), and most importantly, watched my children blossem under the influence of love and attention by their uncles and cousins.
A few days ago my husband and I went to a nearby shop that sells fresh fruit juice. The most notable thing about Egypt thus far is the absolute deliciousness of it’s fruit. Tomatoes that are bursing from ripeness; juicy green cantaloupe; lucious green grapes. It is a chef’s paradise.
I tried a drink made from sugercane, which my husband asserted was the national drink of egypt. The shopkeeper prepared the drink while we waited for a rather long time — he was preparing the sugarcane in the back of the shop — I could only see the long light yellowish green stalks protuding into the corrider. Large mesh bags hung from the ceiling, full of oranges and mangos. The shopkeepers son, about 8 years old, was nesting comfortably on the freezer — I wish I could do the same at home (a cool bed in a hot, humid climate). Another young boy assisted the shopkeeper with delivering orders to nearby parked cars. He was handsome, however he had really, really, really long fingernails. Yeech.
The drink was mediocure for my taste despite only being subtley sweet. I think this is one of the foods that fall into the ‘acquired taste’ category for foreigners. The color was also unattractive (a mossy, murky green with a thick layer of yellowish foam on top).
Did not spellcheck and too tired to proofread. I apologize.
