Yep, it was stellar....

When I woke up this morning, I intended to pretend it wasn’t my birthday. I didn’t really want to get excited only to be let down by the fact that I am half a world away from my family. Little did I realize, my family is expanding to include my fellow ETAs.

Today was the dreaded day of our Arabic placement exam at the American University of Cairo. I woke up trying to be positive and optimistic about diving into the Egyptian dialect, but it was early and I did not sleep really well last night. When I opened the bathroom door after brushing my teeth, Megan (my AMAZING roommate) exclaimed HAPPY BIRTHDAY and showered me with balloons. I instantly smiled and knew today was going to be the best birthday yet.

The torture room...

I put on my favorite pants--my green Aladdin ones (check the photos; they are like pjs, but acceptable for public!!), and put my game face on for the exam. Soon after getting into the examination room, which looked like a tortuous interrogation room (check photo of Alex and Nick), all life drained out of me. Despite my intermediate knowledge of Modern Standard Arabic, I most likely managed to score a negative number on the Egyptian dialect test. Ok, it wasn’t that bad, but it sure wasn’t pretty!

After the test, we wandered downtown for a quick lunch before meeting our teachers for more information about the language courses we will start tomorrow. We ate at a hole-in-the-wall kind of place, but my tamiyah (very similar to falafel--fried mashed-up chick peas with seasoning; think hush puppy) pita was rather tasty. The sandwich was extra special because Megan and Ella lit candles and stuck them in the pita!!! The group sang happy birthday and everyone stared, but the sentiment definitely lifted my spirits after the grueling exam.

Me, Megan, and Grace

We returned to the hotel after meeting our teachers (and learning that the university has a gym we can use, for FREE) to relax for a bit before our night out. I did not have much in mind, but Grace, Megan, and Ella wanted to make the night a celebration for me. The group went to a nice restaurant where we reflected on our exam and how excited we are to work with our Arabic teachers. There was a little confusion with splitting the bill and the baksheesh (tip), but Nick and Eric were quite the gentlemen and treated the birthday girl to dinner: )

To finish the day off, we took a boat ride down the Nile River. Megan, Grace, and Ella brought sweets and surprised me (yet again) with a birthday cake complete with candles. This time everyone sang the birthday song in Arabic.

Carl, Ella, and Alex at dinner

Our group is great. Granted, we are still getting to know each other and eventually we might get annoyed with one another, but right now the dynamics are great. We have wonderful personalities, diverse interests, different strengths, and adventurous spirits. I am very lucky to be surrounded by such an awesome group of people this year and deeply moved by the generosity and effort they demonstrated to make me feel special on my birthday.

The party is over for now, though. We start intensive Arabic classes tomorrow….

Me and Grace after the boat ride (check the Aladdin pants!!!)