Thursday is Friday

For May 13th: Because Friday is the Muslim day of prayer, "Thursday is Friday" in Egypt. Today we had class in the morning, and I am still really enjoying it. During our break we talked with a security guard out in the courtyard and he was teaching us all the slang words for clothing, a lot of which were really similar to French and Spanish. Then we grabbed lunch at a little falafel stand across the street from the Flamenco. The falafel cost us 2 Egyptian pounds which is roughly 40 cents American. Then we bought tickets for a motorcross event at the pyramids(!) that Riley suggested.

Then at 3:30 we left to go to the American University of Cairo, which is a pretty long drive. We met with students from the university and talked about our experiences in Egypt so far. After, We sat out on the quad and discussed the first book we had to read, The Man in the White Sharskin Suit. Then we headed back and we went to the grocery store, which was an interesting experience. I bought some water and some fruit and we ate out on the patio. We walked around the city a little and then met up with the people staying at the Flamenco.

1. Spontaneity: I'm not a huge fan of motorcross. But motorcross with the backdrop of the Giza pyramids and the sphynx? When in my life is that ever going to happen again? No regrets.

2.

The American University of Cairo. Such a beautiful campus, but definitely a drive from the city. The girl I talked to at the dialogue was from New York and was doing a semester abroad at AUC, but she had an apartment in Zamalek and said that a lot of students commute because apartments are so cheap and the campus is pretty secluded.

3. language: I'm finding that it's really fun to speak in Arabic to people, especially now that we know a little more about the daliect. People really appreciate it when you just say "shukran" (thank you) or "ahlan" (hello). I even tried out "bikam" (how much) at the falafel stand today. It's really rewarding when people respond and you know that they understood you. Everyone is also really eager to teach you. The man working at the front desk of our hotel always makes us tell him our room number, "itnasher" (12), and taught us the word for key, "muftaH".