“So what are you doing in Cairo?” asked the young man. I explained about my PhD in belly dance, tourism, and globalization.  (That’s not what it was about to start with, but that’s a whole other story…)  Whereupon he said brightly, “Oh, I know somebody who’s doing a Fulbright about the same thing!” I nearly … Continue reading →

When the table crashed over spilling beer and broken glass everywhere for the second time, I decided to go home. Before I even say anything about this whole event I have to confess that I know who reads this blog and I’m afraid that in writing about it I’ll be setting a poor example and … Continue reading →

In the middle of downtown Cairo is a huge and imposing gray building known as the Mugamma.­  If you search for it on Google most of the sites that pop up are other people’s blog entries about trying to get visas renewed or do any other bureaucratic task that involves a government office here in … Continue reading →

About a week ago I went to a dance show with my friend Lorna, some visitors she was having and my roommates.  We went to see a dancer called Randa that none of us had seen before.  There is an internationally famous dancer named Randa Kamil; the one we were seeing wasn’t her. At the … Continue reading →

On Sunday my phone rang at 6:30 in the morning.  “Hnh?  Snzx!”  I said, looking at the screen to see that it was a number I didn’t know. Waking up a little more I thought to myself, “who on earth would be calling me from an unfamiliar cell number on Sunday morning at 6:30?!” And … Continue reading →

The other night I decided to go to a dinner party with some friends of my roommates.  Before we leave Eva warns me for asthma-related purposes that in the apartment there will be a kitten.  I happen to love cats despite being deathly allergic to them, so I am pretty excited. We arrive at the … Continue reading →

It’s raining.  It’s raining!  It’s raining here in Cairo! A more unexpected shower I’ve never seen.  The air is cooler now and suddenly the view looks clean with the pollution all tamped down by the rain.  Now I can see what it should really look like without all the soot.  Rain, rain, rain…lazy rainy weekend … Continue reading →

One of the women I am most grateful to for her general kindness, welcoming spirit and active interest in my research is my dancer friend Lorna.  She always invites me along to dancing events, always allows me to badger her guests and friends and herself about dancing.  She is always interested, always willing to help … Continue reading →

A few evenings ago I received another unsolicited flirtatious text message.  Here’s how it happened: I picked up a phone call from a phone number I didn’t recognize.  “Miss Catlin?  Miss Catlin?”   “Yes?  Who is this?”   “Miss Catlin?  Are you where now?” “Who is calling?”  They hung up.  About ten minutes later I … Continue reading →

On the way home from my encounter with the costume shop queens I caught a taxi in Doqqi.  As usual, I flagged him down, told him my destination while standing outside the cab so the driver could agree or disagree, then plunked myself down in the backseat.  On this occasion, the driver went about half … Continue reading →