The Elections

Experiencing the American elections from Egypt was a lot different than actually being in the States. Egypt is seven hours ahead of the East Coast, which meant that the results did not start to come in until 2 a.m. and we didn't get the final results until 6 a.m. Many of the Americans either stayed up all night or woke up at 4.

For the whole day, whether I was at the University or on the street, Egyptians said, "Mabrouk, mabrouk" which means congratulation. Several Egyptian students in my classes asked me how it felt to vote democratically, which was poignant because Egypt has never had elections free of voter fraud and rigging. After classes when I went to get tamiyya (falafel) the man gave me extra because I was American- that's the first time anyone's done that! As he handed me it, he said "Yes Obama".

Tonight for dinner, friends and I will be eating at Lucille's, in Maadi (where lots of expats live). It's owned by Americans and the highlights from the menu are: biscuits and gravy, tex-mex food and "the best burger in the world" according to Time magazine. I think that it is appropriate to celebrate Obama's election by eating American food in Cairo.