"Now I know how Mexicans feel." -Senna

Everything is packed, I am exhausted, and I have a lot to tell you. I actually don't remember where to start with this conversation, but until Thursday evening my life consisted of papers, studying, and more creative writing. Luckily everything got turned in on time, and I am officially a senior. I feel like everyone's facebook status is so excited to be a senior, but I'm a little terrified. I love college, and I have no idea what I want to do with my life yet, so I need time to go a little bit slower from now on.

After all my work was turned in, we went to see the opera Aida. I was so excited to see the opera written for the Cairo Opera House, in the Cairo Opera House, but I should have known that this would be an opera Egyptian style. The main character is supposed to be a slave girl/love interest of the commander of the ancient Egyptian army. She had a beautiful voice, but she was a very large girl, and I hate to admit it, but I feel like that distracted from the plot of the story. The male star was not a star at all! LOL! Sadly his voice wasn't really up to professional quality. But the best part was how bad the dancers were. You didn't even have to be familiar to dancing to recognize how off their timing was or how noticeable different leg heights were. I mean, I guess overall it was a good experience, but I think it might be better to see an opera somewhere other than Egypt.

Friday I slept in, stayed in bed doing nothing most of the day, then went into the city at night. We went to this restaurant called Abu Tarek...5 stories of the best koshery in Cairo. I love me some good koshery, so I thought it was very appropriate for one of my last meals in Cairo. Then we wandered the streets and I bought a carry-on sized suitcase...Joguar. It is a good little knock off. We also explored this market that obviously caters to Egyptians only. It was really fun. I bought some cute shoes for 15 le...less than $3. AWESOME! I love shoes.

Saturday was a whirlwind of a day. I have pictures, but I'm going to wait for the speed of American internet before I upload them...being anticipating awesomeness. We started the morning by visiting Garbage City and the Cave Church. The area was devastatingly poor, but the churches there were gorgeous. Maybe next post I will tell you more about the area and show you the pictures. Our cab driver was a Christian and stayed with us marveling the sights as much as we were. It was a great experience. We then left to explore some mosques in Islamic Cairo. I saw some rough neigborhoods, but I had the BEST banana ever! We finished with dinner out. It was an eventful and exhausting day.

Today I spent the majority of my day frustrated with the tedious bureaucracy/lack of organization here, but I'm not going to dwell on it because I am loving Egypt right now. After we packed and checked out, Mika and I went and ate dinner at the restaurant we ate at on our first night here. It was fun. Then we went to a friends apartment to hang out and eat watermelon. It was nice to have everyone around to see them before I leave.

When I think about coming home I am super excited, but when I think about leaving Egypt, I am really sad. Regardless, I will be home around midnight between Mon. and Tues. See you all soon. Happy Sunday!

"It is a fact, fat people look older." -Carrie

Moral of the story, in Cairo, we have lost our tact. Whatever comes to our minds, comes out our mouths...mostly because no one understands us. We were in a cab on Thursday night, just jabbering away like we always do. I'm sure our conversation was far from important, but we tend to talk about whatever we want in a cab because no one understands us. When I handed the cabbie our money, he said, in the best English accent I've heard from an Egyptian in Cairo, "Thanks, you have a good evening." I'm sure I had the same look on my face that Egyptians have on their face when the little white girl in front of them opens her mouth and speaks Arabic. It was funny.

So I know it has been almost a week since I last gave you a glimpse of my life, but I have been overwhelmed by finals. I still have a 10pg. paper due on Tues. and 2 Arabic finals on Wed., but then I am pretty much finished. I have from Thurs. until Sun. to edit all of my writing pieces for my final portfolio. The unfortunate thing is I have 2 10 pg. stories, 10 poems, and 5 other short pieces. At least it is work I enjoy.

Let's see, what interesting has happened to me since I last updated you. Well first I thought I should tell you about the article that appeared in the student publication called "I Hate to Love America." On an university whose brand new campus got embarrassing amounts of money from the US government, I was angry about how students here perceive us. The most infuriating thing is the students here treat the Americans as a ticking of a clock. It is always there, but no one really notices that they exist. I got hit in the face by a girl's notebook because she swung it at me, not noticing I was standing there, or worse...she did. Whatever, I will attach the link to the title. Check out page 3.

Next, I was sitting on the step on campus and I took a drink of my water. A random Egyptian came up and asked me for a drink of my water...I didn't know who he was. He says, "Oh, you are grossed out aren't you?" YEAH I'M GROSSED OUT! DUH! I have never seen you before in my life, I am not about to share your germs when there is a place to buy water right there.

Thursday night, Mika, Carrie, and I all went to the symphony orchestra concert in the Cairo Opera house that was opened for the inauguration of the Suez Canal. The concert was fabulous, but the best part about it was that we found out, starting on this Thurs., they are going to be having a performance of Aida. Aida is a very popular opera that was written especially for the Cairo opera house. We are so excited. I just wish I had fancier clothes here...small problem.

Pretty much other than that, I have studied, read, studied, wrote papers, studied...well, you get the picture. 9 more days and I will be comfortably back in the US. I'm very excited. Of course, I am sad to leave, but I just need to be home right now. I will be seeing you all soon. Happy Saturday!

HIP HIP HOORAY FOR MOMMIES!

Happy Mommies' Day! I'm going to stop apologizing for neglecting you, because I obviously don't mean it enough to stop doing it. I think I have found the heart of the reason why I have not been writing on my blog so frequently...Life here has become normal! Which is great, but also a little scary at the same time.

Yesterday I worked, and worked, and worked. Now on a normal marathon study day, I would find any excuse to procrastinate...I tell you, my room is never cleaner than when I have a paper to write. Anyways, yesterday I was working, but I didn't want to. I thought to myself, "I should write on my blog. I'm sure it has been too long." The problem was, I didn't have anything to write. Honestly, nothing of interest happened to me. I don't know how to tell you this, but the craziness of Cairo has suddenly become a little boring.

For example, I opened the door to my room and a huge cockroachy, beetle, some kind of nasty bug thing flew into my room. This resulted in me having to chase it around, swatting at it with my shoe until it was dead...felt normal. I just got "clean" sheets on my bed that look like they have a serious coffee stain (at least I hope it is coffee)...feels normal. There was a girl today in my class that was late for her own paper critique...normal.

I don't know if I can explain to you why this being normal is a little scary. You see, if I am used to all the weirdness here, chances are I have changed more than I have realized. Problem is, none of you have been here to experience this change with me. What if I come home a completely different person? What if the culture shock of heading back to the states is more than I can handle? What if I have become Egyptian, and it isn't acceptable in the States. I don't think anyone in the States finds it appropriate to be 15 min. late for class, or to wash your hands without using soap, or to push your way into "line" just to get food, or to yell to get what you want, because you won't get it any other way.

Maybe I am just being silly, but as the days I have left in Egypt dwindle, I get more excited and more nervous about coming home. I miss you all. Happy Sunday!

"We are in the teens now...19 days." -Mika

I'm so sorry for neglecting you the past couple of days, but since I last wrote to you I have had TONS to do. I have taken a huge Arabic exam, prepared a 15 min. presentation that we didn't even have time for me to give (ugh), written a 10 pg. short-story, and did 7 exercises for my Arabic class. The work is a little overwhelming right now, but I'm hoping I can get a lot done this weekend. My week is pretty calm now, so I'm already considering it my weekend.

Nothing really has happened in three days anyways, besides me losing lots of sleep. Until last night that is. I went to bed really early, and my mom called me at like 10, but I was already sleeping. Sorry, Mom. I'm hoping to get a lot accomplished this weekend, but in a relaxing way. Being so stressed with so much work really makes me hate being here. I don't want to end on such a bad note, because I have really enjoyed my time here, but I have been away from home too long. With all the work and all the things I miss from home, I'm afraid that my final impressions of Egypt will affect my overall outlook on the experience.

One good thing did happen yesterday. In my creative writing class, we had to present our latest poems to the class, and everyone really liked mine. It is pretty unusual, because I'm really bad at writing poetry, so that made me pretty happy. I chose to be the first to get their final short-story critiqued, so the whole class is reading my story and critiquing me tomorrow...I'm pretty nervous. We will see.

I'm pretty sure that is all the news I have. I think this Friday Mika and I are going to Garbage City and the Cave Church here in Cairo, so that should be fun and I will have cool pictures for you. Until then my life will be pretty boring, but I will try to keep you updated. Have wonderful Wednesdays.

"Life's not fair...Get over it!" -Dear ol' Daddy

Throughout my life, my dad has used many phrases, anecdotes, and downright crazy sayings to get his point across, but the one he uses the most is, "Life's not fair...Get over it." I think it is pretty appropriate for how I'm feeling today. It's not fair that I have to miss my dad's and my boyfriend's birthday today. It is not fair that my dad has to work, or Justin has to study for finals on their birthdays. It is not fair that I have to miss Mother's Day, and it isn't fair that I will miss my sister's graduation. But I guess that is what happens when you decide to go gallivanting around in foreign countries.

It isn't fair that I am in this amazing country, but all I can think about is how much I miss home and am ready to leave. It is not fair that I spent the first part of the semester just relaxing, doing pretty much nothing work wise, but now I'm TOTALLY swamped. Before I had lots of Arabic, but I was able to focus on it. Focusing on Arabic was why I came here. Now I have an Arabic test tomorrow, but I also have a presentation for a class and a 10 pg. short-story due on Tues. I am feeling the Duke syndrome of having too much to do, you know you can't do a great job on any of it. I'm just hoping I can do enough to suffice. Sigh...3 more weeks.

Yesterday was really fun. I went on a field trip to a part of Cairo that is not open to tourists yet because it is still being remodeled, but our professor was able to get us a special permit. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, and I am still kicking myself for that. I'm sorry that I can't share my mental pictures with you. I hope you will forgive me. Last night we went on a faluka, because it was windy, and we were actually able to sail. The captain sang me a Nubian love song, and we met a Mexican who is now living in Paris, but he was visiting Cairo. It made me realize just how small of a world it really is. I asked him how Cairo compared to Mexico City. He told me about the same except Cairo has much more chaos. LOL! I hope that can give some of you a perspective of just how insane Cairo can be.

I need to get back to work, but I hope you all have great days. Happy Sunday! Happy Birthday Dad and Justin!

"Remember that time I rode a caterpillar?" -Carrie

Last night we got back to campus, and there was a child's roller coaster/train thing that looked like a caterpillar. Apparently today is homecoming here, and no one told me. I never know what is going on here. I don't know if I'm not on a listserv that I should be, or if I'm not putting myself out there. I feel like I always find out about stuff after the fact. Oh well...25 more days.

Last night we went to see a movie. We watched Crossing Over with Harrison Ford and Ashley Judd. If you haven't seen it, it is about illegal immigration and how hard it is to become an American citizen. I thought it was fabulous. I highly recommend it, if you haven't already seen it.

The film really made me think about how much I take my US citizenship for granted. To watch how hard other people work to become an American citizen, and to see how much it means to them, I feel really blessed. Even outside of the US, I recognize how much more respect you can gain with a US passport versus one from somewhere else. In Egypt, if you are from the US and you are walking into a place with security, they will use the wands on the Egyptians and wave you right through. Even when I am embarrassed by how the US government is viewed elsewhere, I know that it is the best country to be a part of. Now I can't wait to come home. Even though I know I will miss Egypt...I can't wait to come home.

Happy Friday.

"What would you do in their shoes...I think I would be a suicide bomber." -guy in Palestine Lit.

Sorry for neglecting you. School is running my life. My friend who goes to UPenn said yesterday, "When did AUC get like school in the states?"

Today in my Palestine in Literature class we watched a film about suicide bombing called Paradise Now, which sparked some interesting discussion. First you need to know a little bit about the film. It wasn't a documentary of crazy men in turbans reciting the Qur'an, but a film about 2 Palestinian friends who have a mission to bomb a bus of Israeli soldiers. One of them falls in love with a daughter of a suicide bomber, who is completely against this form of resistance. While the film obviously criticizes the actions of the Israeli occupation, it also calls on Palestinians to question the effectiveness and justifications of suicide bombing as a form of resistance. Overall, I thought it was a fabulous film, giving insight into both sides of suicide bombing and understanding its existence but continuing to condemn them.

Anyways, so back to my story. We were discussing, after the film, how the movie gave airtime to both opinions on suicide bombing, and the difference between understanding and condoning these actions. That is precisely when a guy in our class posed the question. First of all, you don't ask people if they would be suicide bombers. Then he shockingly admitted to probably resorting to suicide bombing. Second of all, you never say out loud that you would be a suicide bomber. Then, to top it all off, he ASKED OUR PROFESSOR! Thirdly, you certainly don't ask a college professor if they would be a suicide bomber. She was speechless.

Well, that is really the only exciting thing that has happened in my life today. Just school, homework, and the like. Fun, fun. I guess end of the semester is difficult everywhere, or maybe it is just getting to be a little bit more like Duke. Anyways, I apologize again for neglecting you, but I promise I will always update when something worth writing about happens. I miss you all. Less than 4 weeks. Happy Tuesday!