Ok, I just want to cry right now!

Mahmoud called me this morning (Aww, I knew he couldn't stay away for long!) and asked whether I had signed the contract for the flat I saw last night and whether I had paid the deposit. Which I both did. He then told me I shouldn't have, as he's the one arranging the contracts for foreigners and Hassan - this big fat crook! - has made me sign an Egyptian contract, which is not the same apparently, as there are some clauses which are unfair to us, poor foreigners lost in Cairo. Oh thanks for letting me know, you t***! He then said he'd try to get the landlord to agree on a different contract, but advised me not to move in until he does, because then he couldn't do anything for me... Which means that right now, I'm stuck in my hotel room, waiting for a sign or something, desperate to move into my own place! Especially since I met the other new teachers this morning who are all starting to settle in their flats and I feel like a pariah! It's so not funny!

Something else which is shit, and for once it's not about Egyptians but about British people! I went to the British Embassy to get my PGCE certificate authenticated - in order to get my work permit. By the way, it's just a matter of getting it stamped by officials. Anyway,I went to the reception, explained my situation and was sent to a room two floors above. I waited for an hour just to be told that actually I needed to get it stamped by the British Council! I was so annoyed and frustrated! I didn't know where the British Council was, the city centre was a gridlock, it was hot... What a nightmare!

What can I say? The Egyptians seem so cool about everything, they unashamedly take their time and they certainly waste yours... (British people are just annoying though!) but I must admit that, in the shaky minibus back to the hotel, sitting between a preppy student and an old lady wearing a headscarf, the wind from the open windows blowing in my face, looking at the rocky hills outside, I really thought I was living the most exhilarating experience in my whole life!

Why does it always rain on me?...

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