Friday, February 01, 2008

Scraps of Cairo



It might seem a bit funny that Craig brought me a bar napkin, a coaster, and a matchbook from his recent trip to Cairo.

But the Flamenco Hotel was my home for three months. I expected to be back there already by now. I left some things under my desk in my Dokki office, since I'd need them when I got back.

I'm settled now, and when the big boss recently said "I heard you wanted to go back to Cairo," I told him that I did not.

So here I am. JC. Renting from Yancey. Seven minutes from Greenwich Village by train. The passport has gone into the fireproof lockbox, along with the deed to my garage and my car title. And instead of being in Cairo, I have a matchbook, a coaster, and a bar napkin. And a return ticket from Barcelona to Cairo for March.

3 comments:

Don said...

If we graph Marie, she looks like the DJIA, ratcheting down into a travel recession.
Turned down Cairo?
What gives?

Marie Javins said...

You're right. The me-travel recession is disconcerting. I guess I'm done with Cairo, but I'd be open to other possibilities.

I was there half the year in 2007, which was a lot of fun. But right now, there are big changes going on with the university there, which mean that my friends in Cairo will probably have to move way across town, far from Zamalek. I'd be left all alone there, which would mean starting over... AGAIN. And whenever I come home, that feels like starting over again too.

Harder than it looks, this nomad stuff.

Nevertheless, I'd like to go visit some other places as a tourist. Looking at some options. Tunisia, Colombia, Dominican Republic. Some of the small group tour companies from Oz and the UK have local-transport Tunisia trips. Might join one of those later in the year.

I still want to go across West Africa too, but first I need to get a book written.

Yasir Khan said...

do west africa with me. i've always wanted to make a film there. it's about a journo who drove from marrakech to alex in a beat up chevy in the 1930s. think GM would sponsor the production?