An Animation

Close your eyes. Imagine a street lined with cars, haphazardly parked bumper-to-bumper. Some wheels occupy sidewalks while other cars are parked perpendicular to the curb. Litter, leaves, sand, and debris collect like snow-drifts between the wheels. Men in rubber boots haul buckets over cars, bathing tenants’ vehicles in precious Nile water. In the animated version, the water sloshes over me as I cycle up 84. I peddle through countless puddles in the cracked tarmac, hovering over my seat as I ride to minimize the muddied rim on my skirt and adjusting my hemline to hide my conspicuous legs.

Slowing into 2017

Through a window on Bisaw island in the Upper Nile of Egypt

While it seems for many of us that 2017 couldn’t come quickly enough, sick and buried under blankets with a hot water bottle tucked under my arm, I barely stayed awake until 11:30. There’s nothing quite like being sick to provide the time and space for introspection.