Shopping for Cairo

As promised, this is the part of the blog where I abandon talking about the application and acceptance process and instead talk about my own experiences as a UT student studying abroad.

The culture in Egypt suffice to say a bit more conservative than what I have grown up with in Texas. What amounts to my normal spring and summer wardrobe-- mostly v-neck t-shirts, shorts, and flip-flops-- I have been told will earn me plenty of dissenting looks from the women and cat calls from the men of downtown Cairo. On top of that the dorm I will be staying in, Zamalek, has a strict "decent clothing" policy while studying or socializing in any of the common areas meaning that wearing anything considered flashy could rid me of a place to live while in Egypt.
    
All of this in mind I returned from a week long camping trip ready to find a new wardrobe. Armed with an array of gift cards I had accrued from the holiday season I set my sights to the Woodlands mall.  Surprisingly it wasn't very crowded, but for someone who would choose a Firefly marathon over a shopping spree any day it was an exhausting 5 hours.  (Also, shame on you if you don't know what Firefly is).

Overall I returned with....
- 3 pairs of jeans
-1 light cotton sweater
- 2 cardigans
- 3 short-sleeved (high neck) shirts
- 4 button up shirts
- 1 pair of boots
- 2 pairs of flats


     Probably the weirdest item for me on that list were the cardigans.  Since they first appeared I have refused to wear cardigans.  I'm not sure why I never wanted one. Unlike my unparalleled dislike of nike shorts I just had never really thought twice about wearing a cardigan.  However, considering that I will be restricted to long sleeves and pants in 90+ degree weather on a daily basis, the lightweight cotton cardigan became pretty appealing to me.

So here's a picture of the first cardigan I've ever owned.

Okay, so this isn't the most exciting picture ever, but I figured posting at least one picture per blog will make reading it a little more interesting.  The really good pictures will hopefully start coming in on January 23rd, which will be my first full day in Egypt.

Speaking of which....19 more days till Egypt!!!


There's still plenty of things to buy before I leave but fortunately I've got some time.