I figured it was time for a quick update on what's been going on for me here in Egypt.
Arabic classes are in full swing, and at times I have been concerned my brain might explode with vocabulary words. It has been nice to be challenged, though, in class and with friends in cafes (Adly and Mahmoud are wonderfully patient with me as I slaughter their language orally). Some days I feel like I am making real progress, and other days I feel like I need another year here to really invest in this language.
As for teaching, well, it is less than satisfying. I still only have one class- general English with the Petroleum Geology Society. I teach this afternoon, and we are working on summarizing an article. I have a feeling most of them did not prepare, which will be frustrating and inhibit the class activity. Oh well, one thing teaching has taught me is to think on my feet and do the best I can with what I have available.
I think I mentioned before that all the Fulbrighters have finally returned to Egypt and that we were going to a reception at our director's house this past Thursday in Cairo. Our plan was to stay the night with friends in Cairo, but at about 9:35pm a few of us decided to catch the 10:30pm train back to Alexandria. This turned into quite an adventure. Eric and I split from Megan, Carl, and Alex to divide and conquer. I needed to retrieve my bag from where I was going to crash for the night, the others headed to the train station to check on tickets and to hold the train if possible. Eric and I got into a cab from the reception and hit stand-still traffic. I jumped out of the taxi and ran (in high heels) through Zamalek to my friend's apartment. Eric had the cab wait for me blocks away on the main street, facing the direction of the train station. I made in back to the car, pouring in sweat, and then we waited in more traffic. I was in a total state of panic, it was 10:15pm and we were nowhere near the station. Then traffic cleared and my adrenaline kicked in even more. Our friends called, saying the train was there and it wouldn't wait. Then it was 10:20, and I still couldn't see the station ahead. The taxi driver claimed we would make it without any problem, but then we hit traffic again. Eric asked if we could run for it. Nope, not yet, we weren't close enough. 10:28, we pull to the station door, throw money at the driver and thank him as we bolt through the station towards platform 8 (unfortunately not 9 3/4 like in Harry Potter). Another train had just arrived so it felt like we were swimming upstream, and instead of making way, they just starred at the crazy foreigners. Time seemed to stand still during those two minutes because we covered a lot of ground, and somehow we made it. Our friends were right there on the platform, waiting to jump aboard with us. What a total rush!!! I was in total shock that we actually pulled it off. That might have been the most anxious I have been since being here, but the relief of stepping on the train as it was pulling away was so satisfying (of course in a very trivial way, but nonetheless, it makes for a great memory).
Unfortunately, I did not take the time to photograph any of this. Oh well, sometimes pictures aren't enough to capture the emotions anyways.
The rest of the weekend was great, too. Megan stayed through this morning and it was wonderful to catch up with her since it had been since February since I saw her last. All of us went to our Egyptian friends' basketball game Friday night and then to a cafe to celebrate Seif's birthday. Saturday, Megan, Eric, and I went to play basketball at the school, and then Megan and I cooked dinner for Grace, Carl, Eric, and ourselves. It was a lot of fun to just sit around and laugh together again. I never thought we would be returning as Fulbrighters. Some days life seems too perfect here. For that, I am spoiled but very thankful.
This coming week will be a little busy for me. I teach today and have Arabic Monday through Wednesday. Wednesday morning, I am modeling for my friend Mahmoud. He has been hired to take pictures for the Four Seasons Hotel advertisement magazine and I get to be on the cover! Then, in the afternoon, Grace and I are meeting Megan and Kristin in Cairo because we are headed out on a long weekend excursion to Upper Egypt! We have a sleeper train down to Luxor and then a Nile cruise is awaiting us. We will be touring all the major temples and historical ruins. I am so exited because I have been waiting to see this part of Egypt for months now. We will return Tuesday morning of next week.
So, things are good. Things are great. Things are busy. But, life is (nearly) perfect.
As for teaching, well, it is less than satisfying. I still only have one class- general English with the Petroleum Geology Society. I teach this afternoon, and we are working on summarizing an article. I have a feeling most of them did not prepare, which will be frustrating and inhibit the class activity. Oh well, one thing teaching has taught me is to think on my feet and do the best I can with what I have available.
I think I mentioned before that all the Fulbrighters have finally returned to Egypt and that we were going to a reception at our director's house this past Thursday in Cairo. Our plan was to stay the night with friends in Cairo, but at about 9:35pm a few of us decided to catch the 10:30pm train back to Alexandria. This turned into quite an adventure. Eric and I split from Megan, Carl, and Alex to divide and conquer. I needed to retrieve my bag from where I was going to crash for the night, the others headed to the train station to check on tickets and to hold the train if possible. Eric and I got into a cab from the reception and hit stand-still traffic. I jumped out of the taxi and ran (in high heels) through Zamalek to my friend's apartment. Eric had the cab wait for me blocks away on the main street, facing the direction of the train station. I made in back to the car, pouring in sweat, and then we waited in more traffic. I was in a total state of panic, it was 10:15pm and we were nowhere near the station. Then traffic cleared and my adrenaline kicked in even more. Our friends called, saying the train was there and it wouldn't wait. Then it was 10:20, and I still couldn't see the station ahead. The taxi driver claimed we would make it without any problem, but then we hit traffic again. Eric asked if we could run for it. Nope, not yet, we weren't close enough. 10:28, we pull to the station door, throw money at the driver and thank him as we bolt through the station towards platform 8 (unfortunately not 9 3/4 like in Harry Potter). Another train had just arrived so it felt like we were swimming upstream, and instead of making way, they just starred at the crazy foreigners. Time seemed to stand still during those two minutes because we covered a lot of ground, and somehow we made it. Our friends were right there on the platform, waiting to jump aboard with us. What a total rush!!! I was in total shock that we actually pulled it off. That might have been the most anxious I have been since being here, but the relief of stepping on the train as it was pulling away was so satisfying (of course in a very trivial way, but nonetheless, it makes for a great memory).
Unfortunately, I did not take the time to photograph any of this. Oh well, sometimes pictures aren't enough to capture the emotions anyways.
The rest of the weekend was great, too. Megan stayed through this morning and it was wonderful to catch up with her since it had been since February since I saw her last. All of us went to our Egyptian friends' basketball game Friday night and then to a cafe to celebrate Seif's birthday. Saturday, Megan, Eric, and I went to play basketball at the school, and then Megan and I cooked dinner for Grace, Carl, Eric, and ourselves. It was a lot of fun to just sit around and laugh together again. I never thought we would be returning as Fulbrighters. Some days life seems too perfect here. For that, I am spoiled but very thankful.
This coming week will be a little busy for me. I teach today and have Arabic Monday through Wednesday. Wednesday morning, I am modeling for my friend Mahmoud. He has been hired to take pictures for the Four Seasons Hotel advertisement magazine and I get to be on the cover! Then, in the afternoon, Grace and I are meeting Megan and Kristin in Cairo because we are headed out on a long weekend excursion to Upper Egypt! We have a sleeper train down to Luxor and then a Nile cruise is awaiting us. We will be touring all the major temples and historical ruins. I am so exited because I have been waiting to see this part of Egypt for months now. We will return Tuesday morning of next week.
So, things are good. Things are great. Things are busy. But, life is (nearly) perfect.
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