I live in a world where I stir soup with a knife. It's the only utensil in the kitchen. I wash it with a bar of soap that I found. I step outside while the soup heats up and look at the city. It seems clearer than normal, different somehow. I think that it might be a result of Ramadan, maybe since business' are closed and people aren't traveling to work as much, maybe the pollution is taking a break. Nope, I'm just wearing sunglasses. Why did I start cooking with sunglasses on? Hung over. I remember a snapshot of a really nice bed in a well lit room with a bowl of Doritos on the table next to it and 1 single Dorito on the pillow. I wonder if someone ever ate it.
Sitting here eating the soup, I swat flies away treat myself to a White Rock ginger ale. In a country full of interesting sodas no one appreciates a good ginger ale. I only know of one foreigner grocery store that even carries it. I can't get too many because they're expensive and we only have two college style refrigerators for an apartment of 6 people. Having always had the luxury of nice refrigerators I've always taken for granted the 'no frost' feature. We have to empty them out each week and let the ice melt from the freezer portion otherwise it threatens to overtake the limited space we have.
Sitting in the main room, I fulfill my need for space. The chairs are all broken somehow, the couches are not comfortable and the straw is falling out and it jabs at you when you sit. One entire wall is floor to ceiling windows. Thankfully it is the 8th floor so I have a great view. Directly across the street is a beautiful Coptic church surrounded by giant trees. Beyond that is the Cairo tower, which is covered in fancy Christmas lights that change colors very slowly. It would be tacky anywhere else but Egypt. Here it is a welcomed break from the beige landscape.
Sometimes you love food because it tastes good and sometimes you love food because it's good for you...
