We got an apartment!

(Click on the picture to see it bigger)

After waiting an absurd amount of time to hear back from AUC housing, Peter and I finally received emails today informing us of our living situation. We had assumed we'd be living in the AUC dormitories on Zamalek Island. There were, of course, pros and cons to that situation. Some pros were that we'd be living with a lot of other international students which might make it easier to make friends. Also, we'd be getting the "AUC experience." Furthermore, there is a gym locateed within the building, as well as a dining hall; there's wireless internet, and you get your room tidied and your bed made twice a week. There are really only three cons, but they're kinda big ones. First of all, women and men are pretty severely segregated. They can never enter one another's rooms, or even the side of the dormitory belonging to the opposite sex. They can see each other in lobbies only and even then only at predesignated hours. While this would kinda throw a wrench in the romantic gears of Peter's and my Egyptian lives, it bothered me more because it meant if any women (including my sister) came to visit, you'd have to get a hostel or something! Second, security is extreme, and they check your bag every time you enter the building. That means there is no chance that Peter and I could smuggle back an Egyptian beer or two. Shucks! Plus, it just sucks to get searched like that every time you enter the place you live. Third, cooking facilities are shabby at best, so we'd basically have to eat out for every meal, and there's no real meal plans, so that might get pricey. Also, it's kinda far from campus. You have to take a twenty minute bus ride.

Nevertheless, Peter and I determined the pros outweighed the cons, and that it was better than being put in some random oncampus apartment, about which we knew nothing, so we requested dormitory housing. Needless to say, when we got emails today informing us that we had been placed in oncampus apartments anyway, we were a little hesitant. However, the descriptions of said apartments more than quelled any fears we had:

As you are aware of, you have been selected to stay in one of the Residential Life apartments for the Spring 2008 semester at AUC. The address of the apartment is 24 Hussein Hegazy St., Garden City, Flr No.4. Your apartment no. is 18 in a double room.

As a reminder, the apartment is equipped with a fully furnished kitchenette (including a refrigerator, a stove, sink, etc…), a living room with couches, a dining table with chairs as well as necessary silverware and plates. Housekeeping will also be provided twice a month to make sure that everything is in order. Laundry machines will also be available for use in the apartment. In addition, this apartment is equipped with wireless internet connection.

This apartment is located close to the university, and as a result, you will be able to use the facilities (gym, computer lab, sports courts and library) during opening hours. There are also several cafés, shops and restaurants in the vicinity of the apartment.

Sounds pretty good to us! Especially the kitchen part. As you can see by clicking on the satellite picture above, we are a mere 4/10 of a mile from campus, and about the same to the Nile! Maybe the Nile part isn't that important, but something about living off the banks of such an historic river seems really awesome! I realize you all probably understand how much 4/10 of a mile is, but just for comparison's sake, for the Obies, it's the distance from North to King. For Y-towners, it's the distance from Handy Andy's to the library. In the end, I think we are both much happier with the apartment than we would've been with dormitory housing. Maybe this means we can have beer or even ladies over! Woot!