Hello Blog!

I have had a pretty tame two weeks as the day before Coptic Christmas I actually came down with a cold. I spent the next 11 days trying to fight off a cold that just wouldn’t go away and as a result I didn’t really celebrate much. This is of course with the exception of my extended family taking me to a roller coaster park in celebration of the holiday. We spent the time ice skating, riding the merry go round, and trying to see who was the bravest on the rides. It was extremely memorable and while I did get sick from this experience it was still worth having.

I am really into coffee lately, and have been challenging myself to go try new coffee from local shops in my area just to explore more of the city. I got to try the one pictured below before I got sick, but hopefully now that I am starting to feel better I can retry this challenge.

In other news, I have planned a small dubai weekend trip for the end of the month with my cousins who were also going and let me tag along, I am really looking forward too it. I’ve never been to dubai but I am excited to explore the country and since its a short 3 hour plane ride it felt very manageable. I am excited to share how that experience will be with you all as well!

I have discovered that being sick is very boring and so I took up poetry writing again in order to pass the time and I thought I’d share my writing with you all, important context is that I really hate how hard dust is to clean:

Incessant dust clings to every building on my street, staining every architectural structure unsightly yellow. 

The dust greets me in the morning with my first breathe and hides in every imaginable crevice irregardless of the attempts to rid it from my 4th story home. 

Daily, I walk in this Sahara turned city and marvel at the cars that carve out their own path, squeezing through the gaps in the traffic, loudly claiming their place via a honking system still indecipherable to a mere tourist, but admittedly effective. 

The sounds of horns blaring fades to a dull background replaced by the loud merchants rhythmic chants, announcing their product of the day, hoping to score today. The urgency apparent in their boldness,quickly looking away you pray they don’t notice you. 

Continuing my walk I rehearse the phrase over and over again, moving my tongue in foreign patterns in hopes I could cox out the authentic accent, and successfully play the part my looks help sell. 

I stand firmly in line, actively try to hide the annoyance of being cut in line again and again by more eager customers who push past me money in hand. Carefully I pull out a crisp 100 and make eye contact with the cashier, though acknowledging my presence she looks past me at the father whose yelling his order over my shoulder, his arm outstretched and his breath heavy on my neck. 

Attempting to reclaim the space I take a step forward and recite my order, the whole ordeal a bigger struggle than it ought be, but a sense of pride swells in me nonetheless, 

I had conquered the basics. 

That’s all for now blog,

Until Next Time,

Nardien Sadik,

Cairo, Egypt