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I guess it's obvious that I am not actually the focus of yesterday's daily picture. This is the view from my new apartment. Yes, that's the Nile. The lights behind me are the party boat that is docked across the river. We think it hosts wedding receptions and the like. Every night it seems there's a party with drums and flutes. Of course, I think this is possibly the most wonderful thing ever. I just have to open the doors of my balcony, and I can dance the night away. Overlooking the Nile. Ahhhh. :-D

Yesterday was quite an adventure. Breakfast on the terrace was dreamlike. A perfect temperature, not too warm, but nowhere near cold, overlooking a rather colonial looking building with a lovely palm tree. Tea and croissants, butter and jam. I suppose it wasn't very typically Egyptian, but I wasn't cold, and the sun was shining, so I didn't really care which culture I was emulating. Then it was on the street, back to Sally Flats to finish up the deal with our apartment.

I don't think I've described Sally Flats yet. This is the apartment agency that was recommended to us by the Institute. The Cairo Semester kids have been using this company for years, so we knew they were trustworthy. Which is good, because otherwise I would have been a bit freaked out. Sally Flats is located in, well, a rather smallish broom closet underneath the stairs of an apartment building near the Nile. There we met Amal who led us around town showing us flats. Her English wasn't great, but we managed to find a great flat, and arranged a meeting for yesterday with the agency owner, Mr. Mohammad.

So, we arrived yesterday, and met with Mr. Mohammad, and went on a search for the apartment owner. Apparently, she's old, and rich, and has five flats in Cairo. She was asleep in one of them, and Mr. Mohammad couldn't find her. So, he gave us stools and put us in front of the agency, and left us in the care of his 11 year old son, and went off to find Amal, who could find the owner.

The boy was awesome. His English was excellent, and he talked about everything from soccer and his school subjects to professional wrestling and murder in Chicago. So friendly, so intelligent. He wants to be the best soccer player in the world. He thinks Cairo is the best city in the world. This kid will go far, I thnk.

Amal arrived at last, and we signed the contract and headed to the apartment. There we met with the house watchman, and handed over the money. We had to pay in advance since we're only here for two months. The apartment is about $1,500 US, plus deposit and such costs, and the Egyptian pound is weaker than the dollar. So we showed up with 18,000 Egyptian pounds! It felt like a drug deal. Two Egyptians talking in hurried Arabic, their cell phones constantly ringing. The three of us, whispering in Dutch. The two groups speaking broken English, mostly communicating with our hands. A table entirely covered with money. :-P

It took us a good three hours, but we got it all done. We got a few essentials, watched some music videos, listened to the party outside, watched the occasional fireworks that get shot off from the party boats now and then. Life was, and is, pretty good. The balcony off my room has chairs and a nice couch, so it's become the hang out spot.

So we watched the Nile slide past us in the dark, and we drank our tea, and let it sink in. We're in Egypt.