And as a bonus, they have McArabia here! Where else can you get a McArabia? Not even in America!

I've got a new tooth! For those of you who didn't hear about my previous trip to Cairo, I got a root canal here in 2007. My dentist in Oakland has been vigilantly checking the tooth because, you know, it was done in Egypt but after a year even he has put his stamp of approval on it! Dr. Ahmed Kouedi did such a great job and his English is perfect and I'd happily get another root canal done by him if I ever needed one. I didn't get a crown, though, so since then I've been buying time and taking care not to crack the old tooth. Once I arrived in Cairo, I called him up and made an appointment to finish the procedure with a new porcelain crown! It's a real beauty! Feels just like a real tooth but it's even stronger! And it only cost 600 LE (or $113)!! I told myself that if I achieve just the crown, my trip will be a success. Mabrook, Andrea!

Another amazing thing about this trip is that I never suffered any jetlag. With the call to prayer at 4:00 in the frickin morning, an American traveler's ability to get a full night's sleep is in peril. Somehow I've managed to sleep right through it and then awake with the 1:00 pm call to prayer. It's like my personal alarm clock rousing me in my sweaty galabaya (the robe I use as jammies and house wear). Waking up to temperatures of 38 C don't give me much will to do anything other than go back to sleep, but once I take a cool shower and fortify myself with a small cup of potent and muddy ahwa I feel ready for anything! Murad told me that the best hours of the day to get anything done are before 10 a.m. (yeah right) or after 5:00 p.m. because at those times the temperature is cooler. Since I'm not likely to be ready for anything by 10 a.m. I've developed the following rhythm: Wake at 1:00, shower, eat, drink coffee. Run a quick errand such as mailing postcards or changing money. Seek air conditioning at a restaurant or shop or friend's flat for a few hours. Dine with family, then go out with either with them or with friends. Come home and watch TV, talk, or play with Mirna until 3:00 in the morning. (Sometimes the 4:00 call to prayer signals my bed time!) Sleep and dream and start again at 1:00 p.m! That's my rhythm here and it works well for me!

Today's source of a/c is McDonald's. You can criticize me all you want for going to an American fast food spot in Cairo but if you were in my shoes, you'd do the same. First, this McDonald's has FREE WiFi! Second, it has a/c! Third, it is just a block away from home! Fourth it is one of the only places you can get ginormous 32 oz Coke Light on ice! Everywhere else, all you can get is a tepid can of soda and no free WiFi. I rest my case.

As my battery runs out of juice, I'm sitting here in Mickey D's, savoring the feeling of goosebumps on my arms, and my bladder hatinfigl. Tonight for dinner we're having mukh and kibda--sheep's brain and liver-- as per my request. Last night as we were finishing dinner at TGIFridays on the Nile, I was looking through my English/Arabic phrase book and checking off the Egyptian foods I'd already tried. I've enjoyed meals of mulukhaya, bamya, maHshii, and for dessert basboosa, ba'lawa, and Om Ali. I announced to my hosts, half-jokingly, "I haven't tried mukh yet." They laughed but said it's good and I should try it. So tonight they have arranged to buy the best mukh and kibda in Cairo so I can check it off my list! How thoughtful is that?

In my next post I'll write more about what I've done and seen, but now I just just wanted to jot some random thoughts. Wish me bon apetit!