Sleeping Arrangements

Jessica and I really lucked out with our apartment. Last year's
teaching fellows offered it to us when they were moving out and the
landlord was kind enough to hold it for us over the summer. The place
itself is great: two large bedrooms, one big open living room, a big
bathroom (with a real shower and a non-squatting toilet), and a tiny
green kitchen. Coming from New York, it's so nice to have all this
space! And a hallway! And while I'm already in bragging mode, we're
each paying about $150 a month.The trade-off is that I'm living in a
country that does not understand how amazing cheese is.

The neighborhood is nice too: we are right near the north gate of the
university, and our street is full of little food stands and
restaurants and internet cafes and shops all jumbled together. Every
morning there is a market where they sell fruit and vegetables and
fried things, and there are also a lot of old people holding tiny
babies.

The university has four main entrances/gates (North, South, East,
West) and while there is quite a bit going on near me, a lot of the
restaurants and markets are by the West Gate. My problem is that I
keep calling it the West Bank. It's mostly been in my head, but I
slipped once and said it out loud. I need to practice calling it West
Gate: West Gate. West Gate. West Gate. West Gate.