living the dream

last night, i felt like i was indulging in a dream. i was invited for drinks with my american girl friend and her friends.

we met at a place called the greek club, in the middle of downtown cairo. it sits right above the infamous, groppi's cafe, in an old and beautiful building, with one of those old and beautiful, all-metal, see-through elevators sitting in the lobby. as you ascend the stairs to the first-floor restaurant and walk through to the roof terrace, you could actually forget that you're in cairo for a minute, and imagine you'd been transported to paris. cairo was once considered the paris of the middle east, and many of the architects who designed and built the buildings in downtown cairo were imported from france. ignoring the fact that the buildings have been poorly (or not) maintained over the decades, and are laminated in a thick film of dust, dirt and pollution, you can still appreciate their beauty and imagine how glamorous cairo may have once been.

the waiter greeted us kindly with a light-hearted sense of humor, and happily served us a bottle of South African wine (pretty pricey by Egyptian standards). it is a strange but true assumption that seemingly any place that serves alcohol will attract expats and eccentric, educated egyptians. it's an environment where ideas are exchanged, politics are discussed, and plans are made, all the while unwinding with the help of your beverage of choice.

looking around at all the patrons, it was like living all the scenes that i'd enviously read about, of others who were living abroad frequenting cafes and bars, and socializing with expats and locals. it was incredible! i know it sounds corny, but i felt so lucky to be there. there were so many journalists who had transported themselves for the sake of their work. so many interesting people living in this city, writing for all the newspapers you've ever heard of. i really got a rush out of it; out of having this new kind of experience. i always dreamed of being an expat! i always dreamed of living somewhere new and meeting all different kinds of people and making new friends. i dreamt of sitting with friends discussing politics, current events, and telling jokes... and there i was living this dream!

just one month ago, i was sitting at a desk, miserably drowning my life away in boredom.

i can't believe how much more i have to look forward to.