To start at the end: I am currently in a small town in Pennsylvania, sitting at my aunt’s kitchen table.  Not long ago the churchbells chimed out “Good King Wenceslas.”  My aunt came and tucked me up on the couch with fluffy pillows and blankets.  I am surrounded by family, and more will be arriving … Continue reading →

The news from home being that my grandmother is not improving and may slip away from us shortly, I decided to cut my trip short by a few weeks and get myself back to the States.   I will be leaving Egypt this coming Monday.   I find it difficult to believe that in a few … Continue reading →

For the past day or so the internet in our apartment hasn’t been working.  Predictably, as soon as there was urgent news from home it became difficult to make contact.   My grandmother fell a few days ago and hit her head.  I last heard that she appears to be stable and in less pain than … Continue reading →

I went out yesterday to do a research interview and didn’t end up going home until the wee hours of the next morning.  My friend Lorna called just as I was leaving the interview and asked if I wanted to join her in Mohandiseen to get our nails done.  Yes, please! Our nails newly beautified, … Continue reading →

Greetings, Skirts!  Photos from my November excursions (so far) here in Cairo are now posted.  They include pictures of the Mugamma, me in my dust mask to try and reduce the lung-destroying particles in a taxi ride, the desert road out to the AUC new campus, and the day trip to Saqqara, Memphis and Wissa … Continue reading →

My fieldwork has taken a backseat the past couple of days.  I’ve been very busy – going to the mall, going to the movies, going to see a comedy show, going on a guided tour of various historical sites of Egypt. Let’s start with the mall, eh?  There are a lot of different places to … Continue reading →

­­A few days ago in the wee hours of the morning I found myself sitting on the couch scribbling furiously in my journal.  I’d just got back from a night out with two friends in a bar known to one of them. We wound up sitting with two diplomats Ghana who were interesting and fun … Continue reading →

I helped my roommate out a few days ago by mailing her ballot while she was at class. This actually turned into a whole rigmarole because unbeknownst to me the Fast Mail option in the Egyptian Postal system requires not only the address of the recipient but also their phone number plus the sender’s whole … Continue reading →

I woke early this morning to get ready for a talk I delivered to the AUC Foreign Students’ Association today.  (Only one person showed up for the talk; no surprise given the number of people I know who were staying up all night to watch the election results.)  Shortly after getting up I flipped the … Continue reading →