limited heat

Heat in this apartment is still available only in the guest room. The repairmen came today and immediately discovered the problem with the other two heaters, but to fix them requires a part that they cannot obtain until tomorrow. Unfortunately, I am too busy for the next two days to wait at home for repairs. This is going to be a pretty cold place until Wednesday.

If you’ve never spent time in Egypt, it probably sounds pointless to complain about “cold winters” here. And true, my new heavy sweater from Maastricht will be all I ever need in this city when outdoors. But precisely because it is often such a hot city, buildings are designed in such a way as to trap as much cold air as possible, and in the winter that comes back to haunt you. Central heating is extremely rare, and you’re left with a/c window units that flip to a “heat” setting. These break down frequently, and even more frequently they don’t produce as much heat as you need.

One of the manuals for newly arrived faculty told us something like “most people have more trouble adjusting to Cairo winters than to Cairo summers.” I still think that’s a slight exaggeration– but not by much.

And outside, it’s a dream these days. You just want to return home to a warmer environment than this.