I've just returned to Agouza from the Luxor-Aswan Nile cruise and it really was wonderful. There are one million temples to see and approximately 2 billion tourists to see them. I took lots of pictures, don't worry. But I think I took more pictures of the funny tourists I saw than anything else, I especially love the Asians who go around wearing doctor's masks over their mouths. I mean maybe I'm not being PC, but I think the Asians have got it right, because I read in a Lonely Planet guide book that living in Cairo is the equivalent of smoking a pack a day, and to confirm my suspicion 18 of the 21 students that went on the cruise last week experienced intense Phaoroh's revenge and/or bouts of puking at one time or the other. My stomach still sort of hates me right now, but don't worry I'm on the rebound. Did you know that pepto bismol turns you tongue (among other things) black? Because it does and it might suprise you the first time a little bit.
Thankfully I wasn't ill until the tail end of our journey and I thoroughly enjoyed my time aboard the M.S. Neptune. One night Cecka, Lizzy, Dena, Jenna, and I laid huddled like little spoons on the top deck (five of us in a space made for three) and we watched the stars go by and we talked for awhile about the cute Lebanese boys, and then about the nature of God, but mostly we were quiet and this is maybe my favorite moment so far. Because I could hear myself thinking and it was good to be close, body and spirit, to these girls that I am coming to love. Then I longed for other girls that I love and for that night in a WDM backyard after puff painting t-shirts for Challenge, the princess bed, that redezvous in Fishers, a mattress on the floor of the room across the hall, a bed lofted high with three girls dangerously giggling on top, our rebellious night in the cornfields, a water drinking contest, "camping" that chilly fall night in Phil's backyard, and an Egyptian birthday celebration. And so what I'm saying is that I miss you.
Hey, I have something really cool to tell you about. We visited the Luxor temple and it was one of the most interesting sites I have ever seen. Okay so here we are marching through an ancient temple built in honor of Ramses the something or other and dedicated to Amon-Ra (do you honestly think I remember these things?) alongside all those Asians and then we hear the call to prayer and we are maybe a little confused because the call to prayer goes with Islam and we were in a temple to ancient gods. Then, we turned a corner and look up and there was a mosque, still in use, that was built a very long time ago sort of on top of the ruins (built before the ruins were found); that was interesting in itself. But next we started seeing Coptic crosses engraved in the walls and hieroglyphics on blocks that had been turned upside down; we were looking at the ruins of one of the first churches in history. We maybe walked where the apostle Mark walked. Okay maybe that didn't come out as fascinating as I thought--I'm a nerd and I'm not deleting that paragraph.
Here's something funny I want to tell you about. According to my ancient ancestors after you die there is judgment, where Osirous (don't quote my on the exact name our spelling)weighs your heart against a feather and if your heart weighs more than a feather then you're in trouble if not then you're in. Okay, but before they do the grand weighing in you make a set of confessions like: I never disobeyed my parents, I never forgot to feed the poor, I never murdered anyone ect...And there is a hieroglyphic associated with this confession and the little picture is of a man shrugging his shoulders in a "wasn't me" posture. I laughed and thought of all the times we've said that and that stupid song it makes me think of.
I am finally begining to feel like I am making good progress in Arabic and that I'm not lying when I tell people on the street that I speak a little Arabic. Mostly I just nod and smile and I've probably answered yes to things I shouldn't have, but really what can I do. And when I come home I'll have to teach you some Arabic words, because its almost as funny to interject Arabic into English as cussing. Okay I need to be going now, because procrastination is the name of the game and time is running out and hopefully I have all the research I need.
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Monday, February 21, 2005
Maybe They're Overworked
Tomorrow I leave for Upper Egypt and the Luxor-Aswan cruise; I will return on Saturday. I'm excited for this chance to see a different side of Egypt, but at the same time I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by this stack of essays, reading and Arabic I am packing along with my flip-flops and camera. Then I stop for a second and remember that it is my privilege to do homework on the Nile, because there are a lot of people slaving away in the Upland tundra. Yeah, I pick Egypt.
Nothing earth shattering has taken place in the past few days. My time has been spent working hard and talking to Muslims at the American University in Cairo about Islam. Its super intimidating to approach complete strangers and ask them questions about their religion, but I'm proud (maybe in the bad way) to report that I've done it four times without a hitch. Okay, maybe there was one hitch. I talked to this very sophisticated person, Nancy, who is doing her grad work in business management. She was knowledgeable and her English was beautiful--maybe my best interview. Then as I was getting up she asked if I would send her a copy of my paper when I'm done writing it. At that point I almost choked on my own spit. How intimidating to have this super intelligent Muslim woman read my first foray into understanding her religion. I think I might accidentally lose her email address...
There is something about Egypt that I think everyone should know about--it is sort of an evolution of observation that has occurred in the time I have spent here. When you first arrive in Cairo one of the first things you notice is that the city is crawling with men in uniform carrying intimidating (machine gun like) looking guns. As you stare out the window you notice all these soldiers; you see the tourist police following your bus and you are impressed with the Egyptian army and you feel safe because it is in the interest of the government to keep foreigners well out of harm's way. But then after a couple weeks you look closer and notice...is that duct tape on that gun? I know that duct tape is an all-purpose tool, but honestly, on a gun? And you wonder things like: why is that guard holding that gun pointed towards his head? And you think this can only end in tears. And then you maybe come to the shocking realization that most of those guns can't be loaded. A couple more weeks pass and as you become bolder you look into the faces of the soldiers at every street corner and realize that they are children--16 to 20 years old playing with guns and radios. Then it sort of becomes funny because you see them everywhere leaning on their guns and sleeping. I mean maybe they're overworked. Today, I walked passed a car that had four guards sprawled inside it dead asleep. I often find the tourist police officer that sits outside our building asleep cradling his gun across his chest--and then I feel real secure. Sometimes I stomp my feet and slam the door, inconspciously of course, and other times its my uncontrollable laughter that wakes him up, but then I feel bad. So I've taken to tip-toeing past, comforted by the knowledged that I have strong lungs and I could scream loud enough to wake him up if I needed him on the way up the stairs to my flat. I'm sure this indicates something about society, but I'm sick of analyzing so you are free to interpret as you will. Like Picasso or something.
Okay, that's all she wrote. Be watching for updates concerning my adventure in Upper Egypt. As a closing remark I am going to take the time to give a little geography lesson maybe you can impress all your friends or maybe you've known this since you were ten: Upper Egypt is southern Egypt. I bet you want to know why its because the Nile is the only river in the world that flows from south to north making the "begining" of the river in the south. And now you know the rest of the story...
Nothing earth shattering has taken place in the past few days. My time has been spent working hard and talking to Muslims at the American University in Cairo about Islam. Its super intimidating to approach complete strangers and ask them questions about their religion, but I'm proud (maybe in the bad way) to report that I've done it four times without a hitch. Okay, maybe there was one hitch. I talked to this very sophisticated person, Nancy, who is doing her grad work in business management. She was knowledgeable and her English was beautiful--maybe my best interview. Then as I was getting up she asked if I would send her a copy of my paper when I'm done writing it. At that point I almost choked on my own spit. How intimidating to have this super intelligent Muslim woman read my first foray into understanding her religion. I think I might accidentally lose her email address...
There is something about Egypt that I think everyone should know about--it is sort of an evolution of observation that has occurred in the time I have spent here. When you first arrive in Cairo one of the first things you notice is that the city is crawling with men in uniform carrying intimidating (machine gun like) looking guns. As you stare out the window you notice all these soldiers; you see the tourist police following your bus and you are impressed with the Egyptian army and you feel safe because it is in the interest of the government to keep foreigners well out of harm's way. But then after a couple weeks you look closer and notice...is that duct tape on that gun? I know that duct tape is an all-purpose tool, but honestly, on a gun? And you wonder things like: why is that guard holding that gun pointed towards his head? And you think this can only end in tears. And then you maybe come to the shocking realization that most of those guns can't be loaded. A couple more weeks pass and as you become bolder you look into the faces of the soldiers at every street corner and realize that they are children--16 to 20 years old playing with guns and radios. Then it sort of becomes funny because you see them everywhere leaning on their guns and sleeping. I mean maybe they're overworked. Today, I walked passed a car that had four guards sprawled inside it dead asleep. I often find the tourist police officer that sits outside our building asleep cradling his gun across his chest--and then I feel real secure. Sometimes I stomp my feet and slam the door, inconspciously of course, and other times its my uncontrollable laughter that wakes him up, but then I feel bad. So I've taken to tip-toeing past, comforted by the knowledged that I have strong lungs and I could scream loud enough to wake him up if I needed him on the way up the stairs to my flat. I'm sure this indicates something about society, but I'm sick of analyzing so you are free to interpret as you will. Like Picasso or something.
Okay, that's all she wrote. Be watching for updates concerning my adventure in Upper Egypt. As a closing remark I am going to take the time to give a little geography lesson maybe you can impress all your friends or maybe you've known this since you were ten: Upper Egypt is southern Egypt. I bet you want to know why its because the Nile is the only river in the world that flows from south to north making the "begining" of the river in the south. And now you know the rest of the story...
Saturday, February 19, 2005
I Feel Like a Quote out of Context...
What a week. My host family was wonderful and welcoming. Mona, the mother wanted so badly to marry me off and the 10 year old did her best to convert me to Islam. Don't worry there is no ring on my finger and I resisted the passionate evangelistic efforts that were headed my way. I got a unique view of what Isalm looks like to a regular family and as I continue to see deeper it all makes more and less sense with every step I take. So I sojourn on. Crack open the Qu'ran. Search the pages of the Bible and now I read the red words with extra care. You see, in Islam the word became book (the Qu'ran), but in Christianity the Word became Flesh. And so I read John 1 again and begin to internalize the truth that I feel in those pages. Friends, the world is so complex and history ebbs and flows and we forget what has gone before us. Sometimes I want to stop trying to make any sense of it, to stop thinking and just accept what I've been taught. Too bad there's something in me that won't allow me respite. So keep moving forward because I have to know the difference between the truth of Jesus of Nazerth and what the church has made it. Only gold can go through the fire unscathed so I confident that if what I know is truth than I can't deconstruct it, and the parts that are falling in around me must be done away with anyway. Welcome to the the world of post-modernity and welcome to my life my brain is on overload and I love it. I am studying what matters and I am learning what is important.
On a lighter note, last night I watched Titanic with my host family. It was seriously hilarious. I know I sound heartless laughing about all those people dying, but that wasn't the funny part. The funny part was that I couldn't get them to understand what it means to be cold. What it feels like to breath in on a cold, dry day and feel needle pricks on your lungs. Why is there ice in his hair? Why are their lips blue? How do you translate "hypothermia" into Arabic? Anyone? And then they were asking me about the ship itself and I was trying to tell them that no, the actors weren't really in the ocean and no, the ship you see didn't really sink like that. Trying to explain the concept of filming a model is really hard. I also showed them pictures of Iowa and they were blown away by the cornfields. Is this heaven? No, its Iowa. So in the words of Ben Folds sometime "I feel like a quote of context" out of place and oceans away from understanding this place that I am in, I miss you guys, but I love it here and plus while the temperatures are still dropping in Indiana its begining to warm up here the warmth wraps around me when I step outside and I think to myself that today might be a perfect day.
There are essays to write and interviews to do this afternoon so I'm leaving now and hopefully I'll talk to you soon.
On a lighter note, last night I watched Titanic with my host family. It was seriously hilarious. I know I sound heartless laughing about all those people dying, but that wasn't the funny part. The funny part was that I couldn't get them to understand what it means to be cold. What it feels like to breath in on a cold, dry day and feel needle pricks on your lungs. Why is there ice in his hair? Why are their lips blue? How do you translate "hypothermia" into Arabic? Anyone? And then they were asking me about the ship itself and I was trying to tell them that no, the actors weren't really in the ocean and no, the ship you see didn't really sink like that. Trying to explain the concept of filming a model is really hard. I also showed them pictures of Iowa and they were blown away by the cornfields. Is this heaven? No, its Iowa. So in the words of Ben Folds sometime "I feel like a quote of context" out of place and oceans away from understanding this place that I am in, I miss you guys, but I love it here and plus while the temperatures are still dropping in Indiana its begining to warm up here the warmth wraps around me when I step outside and I think to myself that today might be a perfect day.
There are essays to write and interviews to do this afternoon so I'm leaving now and hopefully I'll talk to you soon.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Technical Difficulties
As some of you have noted my email was experiencing some technical difficulties (I mean are you surprised?) I really thought I had cleared out my mailbox, but obviously I missed the "sent items" folders. Blame Phil Collins, the problem was the multitude of papers I sent to myself to print off for him at the end of last semester. So all I'm trying to say is that the problem should be remedied now and your emails should be able to safely reach my inbox. Thank you and goodbye. Oh yeah--Sara Boss, congratulations I wish I could've been there. Yeah, news travels fast doesn't it?
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Hunting Penguins
Uhh...I maybe want to pull my hair out right now. Because one false move of a foot under the table, a wire is knocked loose, and and a masterpiece is lost in cyberspace. I mean, all I'm saying is its not going to be as good the second time around.
Here is a synopsis of some of the things I said:
I am sick (I think my exact words were "my lymph nodes are as swollen as the Nile is long"). Homestays with Egyptian families started today, but my family couldn't come tonight (welcome to Egypt no one is bound by something as silly as a schedule) so I get to rest tonight and start my week with them tomorrow. I am thankful for that. There were also some things about "On the Run" and how I'm relatively certain it is the Eyptian version of Handy Andy (there were some hateful comments about Cirlce K included as well).
Thursday I spent the night with my cousin, Amir; his wife Yasmin (okay, so she goes by Jesse, but isn't Yasmin so wonderful and Egyptian?); and their kids Amin (3) and Lena (1 1/2). First, I should say that I had a marvelous time with them, my bed was warm, the company was wonderful, and the day relaxing. I love those kids. I'll just say they are much smarter than me, Amin speaks Arabic then German and then English. So it was hilarious when I tried to communicate with this linguist of a child. I attempted to practice Arabic, but who knows if he was teaching me Arabic or German. All I could do was look at him and say ich libe dich ("I love you" in German), because that's what Bonnie sometimes said to me before we crawled into our beds at night. This is what I know for sure: the child aspires to hunt penguins. I say shoot for the stars kid--if anyone will find penguins in Egypt it will be Amin. And then Lena is this charming little girl that you just want to squeeze and never let go. So yeah we ate a lot and I had a fabulous time. Amir and Jesse are great.
Friday night I attended a Better Life Service; it is singing ministry that my Aunt Nancy is involved in. The music was great, and although it was very different it made me miss Chorale. It was a powerful service and basically my aunt is a rockstar.
Life is moving quickly, homework is piling up. We aren't in camp MESP anymore, but I love my classes and everything we do feels relevant. I have learned more this past month than ever before.
I was planning on saying something of consequence today, but after losing my work I just don't have the time...I guess you'll have to keep checking in hope of hearing my profound thoughts.
P.S. Everyone should know that there is an Egyptian sitting next to me rapping along with Eminen, except I don't think he knows English so he's just mimicking the sounds and the mumbo jumbo result is really funny--I need to go before I do something socially unacceptable like lose it and start laughing out loud at him.
P.P.S. Really can the falling out of '04 please be reconciled? I mean we made it through the crash of '03 together I think we can survive this too...
Here is a synopsis of some of the things I said:
I am sick (I think my exact words were "my lymph nodes are as swollen as the Nile is long"). Homestays with Egyptian families started today, but my family couldn't come tonight (welcome to Egypt no one is bound by something as silly as a schedule) so I get to rest tonight and start my week with them tomorrow. I am thankful for that. There were also some things about "On the Run" and how I'm relatively certain it is the Eyptian version of Handy Andy (there were some hateful comments about Cirlce K included as well).
Thursday I spent the night with my cousin, Amir; his wife Yasmin (okay, so she goes by Jesse, but isn't Yasmin so wonderful and Egyptian?); and their kids Amin (3) and Lena (1 1/2). First, I should say that I had a marvelous time with them, my bed was warm, the company was wonderful, and the day relaxing. I love those kids. I'll just say they are much smarter than me, Amin speaks Arabic then German and then English. So it was hilarious when I tried to communicate with this linguist of a child. I attempted to practice Arabic, but who knows if he was teaching me Arabic or German. All I could do was look at him and say ich libe dich ("I love you" in German), because that's what Bonnie sometimes said to me before we crawled into our beds at night. This is what I know for sure: the child aspires to hunt penguins. I say shoot for the stars kid--if anyone will find penguins in Egypt it will be Amin. And then Lena is this charming little girl that you just want to squeeze and never let go. So yeah we ate a lot and I had a fabulous time. Amir and Jesse are great.
Friday night I attended a Better Life Service; it is singing ministry that my Aunt Nancy is involved in. The music was great, and although it was very different it made me miss Chorale. It was a powerful service and basically my aunt is a rockstar.
Life is moving quickly, homework is piling up. We aren't in camp MESP anymore, but I love my classes and everything we do feels relevant. I have learned more this past month than ever before.
I was planning on saying something of consequence today, but after losing my work I just don't have the time...I guess you'll have to keep checking in hope of hearing my profound thoughts.
P.S. Everyone should know that there is an Egyptian sitting next to me rapping along with Eminen, except I don't think he knows English so he's just mimicking the sounds and the mumbo jumbo result is really funny--I need to go before I do something socially unacceptable like lose it and start laughing out loud at him.
P.P.S. Really can the falling out of '04 please be reconciled? I mean we made it through the crash of '03 together I think we can survive this too...
Monday, February 07, 2005
Rockstar Monday
First of all, Happy Birthday to Bonnie Alice Green. She has officially exited the teenage years and entered the looming twenties.
Next thing that I should announce, so, Saturday night I had returned to Cairo from Siwa and was slaving away at my Arabic workbook when out of the clear blue sky the phone rang. A little irritated that I was the flatmate in closest proximity to the phone I got up to answer the device. And who do you think was on the other end of that reciever? It was Brittany Hanson and Bonnie Green and S.Fo and Abby Baldwin and Anna Drehmer and the rest of 3CMTE in the background. Tech yes, I love those girls. It was the most wonderful surprise. Now, these ambitious girls did not have my number in Cairo and instead of calling my parents (who do in fact live in the United States) they thought it would be a good idea to call Andrew (who lives in Egypt) to get my number. I thought that was funny. In conclusion to this subject its a comfort to know that it is Rockstar Monday in Egypt and Indiana today.
Aren't you all just dying to hear about my weekend? Because it was incredible. We got on the bus around 1:00 pm on Wednesday to begin our 8-12 hour (everything is up to slight variations in Egypt) trek to Siwa Oasis. The accomadations were lavish in comparison to Alexandria and we all slept well that night. Siwa is this place literally in the middle of the desert; it is this tiny town that survives because of the underground water sources and springs there. I began my first day with breakfast at this garden paradise like place with 5 other students. We watched the waiter leave to go shopping for the ingredients for our breakfast after we ordered and even though it took about an hour and a half to eat one meal we enjoyed every second of our time at the New Star Restaurant situated there in a grove of palm trees.
That afternoon I had what I am going to go ahead and call the most incredible experience of my life. I know that's a bold statement, but just wait and see. Before I begin: Mom and Dad don't freak out, it really wasn't all that dangerous. Okay, so that afternoon we hired some men to take us the Great Sand Sea, which is a region of the Sahara (yes, I am in Africa). The 24 of us plus a random Australian that we met piled into 4 land rovers that looked much like relics from World War II. As our vehicles left the pavement and plunged into the sand I was struck by the sheer expanse of the landscape; the sand dunes stretched before my eyes as far as my human vision would reach. So, these crazy men in the land rovers took us on the ride of our lives, at several points in time we executed 90 degree angles coming down the dunes. After that we stopped and played in the sand for awhile rolling down the hills and burying ourselves in the sand and then struggling to climb to the top again. After the crazy land rover men had quite fully gained our trust they asked if anyone wanted to ride on top of the vehicle. Severly out of character, I thought it would be a good idea to volunteer to go first. So, I climbed up the rickety ladder along with two other girls and I was having a good time, only slightly terrified, when we approached one of those 90 degree drops I was telling you about. I almost cried and then I realized that I was having one of the most incredible experiences of my life. The others had to beg to take a turn, because I felt like Indiana Jones or Cleopatra or something except even cooler than that and I just can't even express.
Later we visited what used to be a reef and I scavenged for sandollars and other shell type things. Apparently the Sahara used to be completly underwater. Then we watched the sunset. And later that day we walked back to the desert to watch the stars...maybe I'll say more about that later. In short the desert is amazing, one of my favorite things and you should probably go sometime. That night in the shower 3 tons of sand came out of my hair, ears, eyes and nose.
The rest of the weekend was relaxing and a good break from the chaos that is Cairo. There is probably more to say, but I don't have to engry to say it. So for now that's all and maybe you'll be hearing more soon.
Next thing that I should announce, so, Saturday night I had returned to Cairo from Siwa and was slaving away at my Arabic workbook when out of the clear blue sky the phone rang. A little irritated that I was the flatmate in closest proximity to the phone I got up to answer the device. And who do you think was on the other end of that reciever? It was Brittany Hanson and Bonnie Green and S.Fo and Abby Baldwin and Anna Drehmer and the rest of 3CMTE in the background. Tech yes, I love those girls. It was the most wonderful surprise. Now, these ambitious girls did not have my number in Cairo and instead of calling my parents (who do in fact live in the United States) they thought it would be a good idea to call Andrew (who lives in Egypt) to get my number. I thought that was funny. In conclusion to this subject its a comfort to know that it is Rockstar Monday in Egypt and Indiana today.
Aren't you all just dying to hear about my weekend? Because it was incredible. We got on the bus around 1:00 pm on Wednesday to begin our 8-12 hour (everything is up to slight variations in Egypt) trek to Siwa Oasis. The accomadations were lavish in comparison to Alexandria and we all slept well that night. Siwa is this place literally in the middle of the desert; it is this tiny town that survives because of the underground water sources and springs there. I began my first day with breakfast at this garden paradise like place with 5 other students. We watched the waiter leave to go shopping for the ingredients for our breakfast after we ordered and even though it took about an hour and a half to eat one meal we enjoyed every second of our time at the New Star Restaurant situated there in a grove of palm trees.
That afternoon I had what I am going to go ahead and call the most incredible experience of my life. I know that's a bold statement, but just wait and see. Before I begin: Mom and Dad don't freak out, it really wasn't all that dangerous. Okay, so that afternoon we hired some men to take us the Great Sand Sea, which is a region of the Sahara (yes, I am in Africa). The 24 of us plus a random Australian that we met piled into 4 land rovers that looked much like relics from World War II. As our vehicles left the pavement and plunged into the sand I was struck by the sheer expanse of the landscape; the sand dunes stretched before my eyes as far as my human vision would reach. So, these crazy men in the land rovers took us on the ride of our lives, at several points in time we executed 90 degree angles coming down the dunes. After that we stopped and played in the sand for awhile rolling down the hills and burying ourselves in the sand and then struggling to climb to the top again. After the crazy land rover men had quite fully gained our trust they asked if anyone wanted to ride on top of the vehicle. Severly out of character, I thought it would be a good idea to volunteer to go first. So, I climbed up the rickety ladder along with two other girls and I was having a good time, only slightly terrified, when we approached one of those 90 degree drops I was telling you about. I almost cried and then I realized that I was having one of the most incredible experiences of my life. The others had to beg to take a turn, because I felt like Indiana Jones or Cleopatra or something except even cooler than that and I just can't even express.
Later we visited what used to be a reef and I scavenged for sandollars and other shell type things. Apparently the Sahara used to be completly underwater. Then we watched the sunset. And later that day we walked back to the desert to watch the stars...maybe I'll say more about that later. In short the desert is amazing, one of my favorite things and you should probably go sometime. That night in the shower 3 tons of sand came out of my hair, ears, eyes and nose.
The rest of the weekend was relaxing and a good break from the chaos that is Cairo. There is probably more to say, but I don't have to engry to say it. So for now that's all and maybe you'll be hearing more soon.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Parallel Parking and Weekend Adventure
This is going to be quick, but there is much to tell so hold on. First, Madame Butterfly. Okay, so I'm a little embarassed to admit this and I'm sure JR would be so dissapointed, but I left before the third act. I mean we were so, so far away from the stage and I had some problems hearing and the "translation" was from Italian to Arabic. And after 2 1/2 hours of this I was satisfied with the synposis I read in the program
Okay lets talk about Alexandria. As I foreshadowed, accomadations were a little sketchy (my very hard pillow was sprinkled with pieces of mortar from the ceiling and I think we had to open the back of the toliet and reach in to get it to flush--you know things like that.) That wasn't really a problem though it just made coming "home" to Agouza feel that much more like coming home. The highlight of my weekend was meeting this Muslim family in the public garden there. We played football and ate cake and and chatted about politics and religion. Don't be decieved those veiled older ladies can put up quite the fight on the field. Then we went to Chili's and I had Mexican--mmm rice and beans. We did some other touristy things, but you can see those boring pictures when I come home.
I went out with my Aunt Nancy today and just for the record that woman can parallel park like nothing I have ever seen. I think I was appaulding at the end of those antics. She also talks on her cell phone while weaving though traffic so be sure you're wearing you're seat belt before she gets started. It really was a great afternoon--we went shopping for some essentials for my flat.
Tomorrow we leave for Siwa Oasis right after class. Also tomorrow I need to have all prepositions memorized and be able to describe the placement of objects in the room without pause in Arabic so I should be going now. I didn't proof read this so, yeah, maybe there are typos. (Sorry Alex)
P.S. Crossword puzzles most definetly fall in the small treasure category. Thank you. I laughed out loud and the others thought I was crazy...
Okay lets talk about Alexandria. As I foreshadowed, accomadations were a little sketchy (my very hard pillow was sprinkled with pieces of mortar from the ceiling and I think we had to open the back of the toliet and reach in to get it to flush--you know things like that.) That wasn't really a problem though it just made coming "home" to Agouza feel that much more like coming home. The highlight of my weekend was meeting this Muslim family in the public garden there. We played football and ate cake and and chatted about politics and religion. Don't be decieved those veiled older ladies can put up quite the fight on the field. Then we went to Chili's and I had Mexican--mmm rice and beans. We did some other touristy things, but you can see those boring pictures when I come home.
I went out with my Aunt Nancy today and just for the record that woman can parallel park like nothing I have ever seen. I think I was appaulding at the end of those antics. She also talks on her cell phone while weaving though traffic so be sure you're wearing you're seat belt before she gets started. It really was a great afternoon--we went shopping for some essentials for my flat.
Tomorrow we leave for Siwa Oasis right after class. Also tomorrow I need to have all prepositions memorized and be able to describe the placement of objects in the room without pause in Arabic so I should be going now. I didn't proof read this so, yeah, maybe there are typos. (Sorry Alex)
P.S. Crossword puzzles most definetly fall in the small treasure category. Thank you. I laughed out loud and the others thought I was crazy...
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