Happy New Year!

I liked 2007 a lot, but I'm willing to give 2008 a fair shot. At least I got to beat most of my friends to it, seeing as Cairo is seven hours ahead of the east coast at the moment. We spent it in Pauline's apartment with some friends and some wine, purchased of course from one of the few stores in Cairo that sells alcohol. Appropriately, it's named Drinkie's. They deliver.

I have also been rewarded for my sisterly looks. Pauline's neighborhood kiosk man did not charge us for the bottle of mango juice I had picked out. A gift for me, he said. Food seems to be regularly rained upon visitors as a welcome gesture. The downstairs neighbor fed us a dish called Fetah when we first arrived, consisting of ram, rice and tomato sauce. The ram, naturally, had been living in the courtyard up until Eid al-Kbir, the holiday commemorating Abraham's sacrifice. I'll let you put two and two together.

The food here is incredible. We ate at a delicious Lebanese restaurant on Markell's last night, a full feast of hummus, babaganoush, and grilled lamb and chicken skewers. I've had Koshri at least six times, a wonderful (and insanely cheap) form of fast food. Macaroni, lentils, rice, thin noodles, chickpeas, fried onions and tomato sauce all in a big bowl (that is called small when we order because the actual big bowl could cure world hunger). Followed by a tub of rice pudding and call me stuffed.

Only two more days and then on to Tel Aviv. I don't know if I'm ready for another round of school just yet, or the foot of snow that's waiting for me back at home, but I am looking forward to pedestrians having the right of way and air that isn't the equivalent of smoking twenty cigarettes a day. Call me crazy, but I like my lungs.