Mission Accomplished

So, I made some purchases I was pretty happy with today.

I (finally) bought a pair of sunglasses, for only 15 LE (<$3). They'll probably break in about a week, but getting a pair was long overdue. I'll especially need them as things start to heat up this summer.

I also enjoyed  a nice, big bottle of water for 2 LE, a delicious shwarma sandwich for 6 LE, and transportation on one of the world's best metros for only 1 LE each way.

Oh yah, and I also bought an apartment!

Well, not quite. I sign the lease this Friday. But everything should be good to go.

The apartment is a three bedroom, two bathroom flat in Maadi. I'll be sharing it this summer with Shannon, a fellow ND student who's been out here since January as well, and Conner, another Domer who'll be joining us in June. Shannon and I are both really excited. The apartment really appears to have everything we want: a huge, open living room with lots of natural light; three, spacious bedrooms; and an excellent location, mere feet away from a metro stop. The total cost is 4,500 LE a month and we'll be leasing it for three months, so I'll probably end up paying just under $800 when it's all said and done. I suppose it's not the cheapest place in the world, but hey, that's what grant money is for, right?

Just as I'm excited to get out of the dorm and into new living quarters, I'm also really excited to live in Maadi. It's not that I don't like Zamalek, it's just that I'm ready for a change of scenery, and I can't think of one better than Maadi. Maadi is any many ways like Zamalek, in that it has a plethora of Western amenities at your disposal (I saw an amazing Playmobil store today), but there's also a little more going on there than there is on "the island." I'd say it's a perfect blend between the calmness and classiness of Zamalek and the action and excitement of downtown. Within a few blocks of the new apartment are several supermarkets, restaurants, and other neat little shops that I can't wait to explore. Another significant plus is that the aparment is only a few miles away from the Hedayet Institute, where I'll be taking classes 5 days a week this summer, so I have the option to walk for twenty minutes or to take a two minute, twenty cent metro ride.

As I said, Shannon and I will be returning to Maadi on Friday to sign the lease. We should be able to move in as early as May 18th if we want to. Whenever we do, I'll be sure to provide you with a virtual tour of sorts.