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An Effect of Spring

One day the air was mild, the Luxembourg Gardens were flooded with sunshine and shadow, the sky was as clear as if the angels had washed it that morning, the sparrows were twittering in the depths of the chestnut trees, Marius had opened his whole soul to nature, he was thinking of nothing, he was living and breathing, he passed near this bench, the young girl raised her eyes, their glances met.

But what was there now in the glance of the young girl? Marius could not have old. There was nothing, and there was everything. It was a strange flash.

She cast down her eyes, and he continued on his way.

What he had seen was not the simple, artless eye of a child; it was a mysterious abyss, half-opened then suddenly closed.

There is a time when every young girl looks thus. Woe to him upon whom she looks!

This first glance of a soul which does not yet know itself is like the dawn in the sky. It is the awakening of something radiant and unknown. Nothing can express the dangerous chasm of this unlooked-for gleam which suddenly suffuses adorable mysteries, and which is made up of all the innocence of the present, and of all the passion of the future. It is a kind of irresolute lovingness which is revealed by chance, and in which is waiting. It is a snare which Innocence unconsciously spreads, and in which she catches hearts without intending to, and without knowing it. It is a maiden glancing like a woman.

It is rare that deep reverie is not born of this glance wherever it may fall. All that is pure, and all that is vestal, is concentrated in this celestial and mortal glance, which more than the most studied ogling of the coquette, has the magic power of suddenly forcing into bloom in the depths of a heart this flower of the shade full of perfumes and poisons, which is called love.

At night, on returning to his garret, Marius cast a look upon his dress, and for the first time perceived that he had the slovenliness, the indecency and the unheard-of stupidity, to stroll in the Luxembourg Gardens with his "every-day" suit, a hat broken near the band, coarse teamster's boots, black trousers shiny at the knees, and a black coat threadbare at the elbows.

Disney movies are so sad...

BEAST: You came back.

BELLE: Of course I came back. I couldn't let them - Oh, this is all my fault. If only I'd gotten here sooner.

BEAST: Maybe... it's better... this way.

BELLE: Don't talk like that. You'll be all right. We're together now. Everything's going to be fine. You'll see.

BEAST: At least... I got to see you... one last time.

(BEAST caresses her cheek with his paw running his fingers through her hair. She holds it with both hands feeling his touch. His paw falls and his head drops back, and his eyes roll back into his head and close. BELLE puts her hands to her mouth in shock.)

BELLE: (Crying) No, no! Please! Please! Please don't leave me! (She places her head on his chest and whispers)

...I love you.

Between posts...

You Should Drive a Black Car

You're the type of driver who's totally dominant and even a bit aggressive. You see the road as a "dog eat dog" world... and you're not about to get eaten! You like to drive a vehicle that conveys power. Big engine. Big price tag. You rule the road - and you like everyone to know it.

What Color Car Should You Drive?

You Are Totally Like Your Mom

You and your mom are practically clones. You think alike, and you even seem to read each other's minds. You're definitely you're mother's child... and that's just fine with you.

Are You Like Your Mom?

Your Life is Rated PG-13

Your life isn't totally scandalous, but you definitely don't shy away from adult themes!

What is Your Life Rated?

apologies...

It has recently come to the attention of Complete Works of BS that part of our last post was untrue. While we strive to meet the highest levels of journalistic integrity here, at Complete Works, we can not always achieve them despite our best efforts. The report that Brian would be coming home a week earlier than expected was published before it could be properly confirmed. Our deepest apologies go out to our loyal readers; we hope that they will continue to enjoy this blog with our assurances that measures are being taken to prevent such an occurrence in the future. And, on a separate note, Brian will be returning home in 28 days as previously scheduled on the 2nd of June.

21 days and counting...

Two rather big things of note... First, I'm gonna be back a week early. Basically, that last week is for finals, just like at Penn State, but since I don't have any finals during finals week there was really no point to my sticking around. My mom should be making the bookings today at some point, so it's not quite official yet. This is good, cause otherwise I would have spent that last week here just getting stir crazy. The only bad thing is that it cuts down on packing time. And for a big pack like this, it's good to do it smart. But, knowing me I'll probably start a good while in advance especially as a procrastination technique.

Second, my compy has decided to break. For a long time the screen was really picky like it wouldn't stay in certain positions. Now it'll only stay in two, all the way open or all the way closed. So, of course, I'm gonna see if I can fix that when I get back to the States. If I can't do that though, it's gonna be time to look for a new one. There is huge pressure on me to get a mac. We'll see.

You Are a Ham Sandwich

You are quiet, understated, and a great comfort to all of your friends. Over time, you have proven yourself as loyal and steadfast. And you are by no means boring. You do well in any situation - from fancy to laid back. Your best friend: The Turkey Sandwich Your mortal enemy: The Grilled Cheese Sandwich

What Kind of Sandwich Are You?

What People Think of Your Mouth

People see you as both demanding and irresistible. You are often the center of attention - and that's how you like it. You are up for anything and very energetic. People sometimes propose wild ideas to you. And who knows? Maybe you'll take them up on it. You are known to be a little freaky!

What Does Your Mouth Say About You?

More of the same...

Your Star Wars Name And Title

Your Star Wars Name: Brisi Crann Your Star Wars Title: Adeora of Ffets

What Is Your Star Wars Name and Title?

Your Kisses Are Spicy and Wild

Your kisses are powerful stuff. They'll start a fire in almost anyone you kiss. You kiss with passion, skill, and endurance. Anyone who kisses you is in for a long, intense ride. You better watch out though. Your incredible kisses are likely to get you in trouble!

How Hot Are Your Kisses?

You Are the Ego

You take a balanced approach to your life. You definitely aren't afraid to act out on your desires - even crazy ones. But you usually think first. Morals drive you as much as hedonism does. You've been able to live a life of pleasure... without living a life of excess.

Are You Id, Ego, or Superego?

You Are a Believer

You definitely believe in God - and you're very unwavering in your religious beliefs. In fact, religion and spirituality are definitely big parts of your life. Religion shapes how you view right and wrong, as well as the decisions you make. It's hard for you to imagine how your life would be without your beliefs.

Are You an Atheist, Agnostic or a Believer?

Your Love Life Secrets Are

Looking back on your life, you will only have one true love. You're a little scarred from your past relationships, but who isn't? You expect a lot from your lover - you want the full package. You tend to be very picky. In fights, you speak your mind and don't hold back. You know you're right, and you can get quite angry about it. Break-ups can be painful for you, but you never show it. You hold your head high.

Your Love Life Secrets, Revealed

Your Love Quote

Life is one fool thing after another where as love is two fool things after each other.

What Love Quote Suits You?

Damn Brits

So, one major thing that I forgot to mention in my post on South Africa: driving. I'm pretty sure that I did mention that I drove from Jo'burg to Kruger. Yea, so not a big deal really except for the fact that South Africa is a former British colony and have decided to do like the Brits and drive on the wrong side of the road. So, this was a bit weird getting used to. The weirdest part at first was the fact that the steering wheel was on the wrong damn side of the car! So I was checking the mirrors incorrectly; I kept looking up and to the right for the rear view mirror not to the left. And, this was the really dangerous part, I was reading the wrong side of the lane. Like you know you look at the left line of the lane to keep you in it? I was doing that and kept sliding into the lane to the left. Fortunately, I realized I was doing it before anything bad came of it. The other crazy thing, mainly this applies when it gets down to one lane each way, is that it's legal to drive on the shoulder in South Africa. So, if there is someone going faster than you behind you, you are expected to drive in the shoulder and let them pass you. They give you a cute little flash of the turn signal lights as thanks. The big problem with this is that there are a lot of hitch hikers in South Africa, too and they just stand on the shoulders. Makes for an interesting time. Fortunately, Kruger is pretty much void of a lot of traffic, so what would have been tricky - turns - wasn't really. If I turned into the wrong lane, there wasn't really any one to crash into, which was handy because I did that a lot. Other than that the driving was pretty straight forward.

It is interesting to note that the reason the Brits drive on the left and have their steering wheels on the right is because of jousting. And now you know!

In other news, it is starting to seem like I will be in State College for the summer working for a publication called Voices of Central Pennsylvania. We'll see how that goes. It also looks like I might be lined up for a position writing at Town & Gown in the fall. Both should get me a good bit of experience which is really what I need if journalism is something to consider for the future.

Springtime in Cairo

So, with something like a month and two weeks or so until I return back to the states winter is becoming spring here. The police have switched from their heavy, blue winter uniforms to their light, white summer ones. The weather is getting warmer; even the Egyptians are starting to shed layers. And, of course, the coming of sandstorms. So far there's only been one, but the locals guarantee us more. It wasn't insane such that I couldn't see my hand before my face or something. However, I've probably lost some time off my life from breathing that in. The world gets covered in a layer of sand, but it is the high wind that is most noticeable. The beautiful thing about sandstorms is how they end; it rains and the next day is clearer than ever.

With a vengence...

What Your Favorite Color Orange Says About You:

Joyful --- Enthusiastic --- Optimistic Outgoing --- Accepting --- Confident Loud --- Unruly --- Impulsive

What Does Your Favorite Color Say About You?

Your Travel Personality Is: The Sophisticate

You're well educated and cultured, and the places you travel to reflect that. You appreciate the best art, food, architecture, and local flavor. A true traveler, you are destined to be multi-lingual and very worldly.

What's Your Travel Personality?

You Are the Middle Finger

A bit fragile and dependent on your friends, you're not nearly as hostile as you seem. You are balanced, easy to get along with, and quite serious. However, you can get angry and fed up with those around you. And you aren't afraid to show it! You get along well with: The Index Finger Stay away from: The Pinky

What Finger Are You?

You Are an Intense Kisser

When you kiss, it's deep and powerful You don't take kissing lightly Your kisses always have meaning And they always make your head spin

What's Your Kissing Style?

You Are a Night Person

For you, there's nothing worse than having to get up and moving early. In fact, you probably don't hit your peak until well after the sun has set. So if your struggling to make it on a normal schedule, realize it's not your fault. You just weren't meant to do anything during the day!

Are You a Morning Person or Night Person?

You Communicate Like a Woman

You empathize, talk things out, and express your emotions freely. You're a good listener, and you're non-judgmental with your advice. Communication is how you connect with people. You're always up for a long talk, no matter how difficult the subject matter is.

Do You Communicate Like a Man or a Woman?

You Mostly Fight Fair

When you fight, you tend to remember your end goal of resolving conflict. However, you can get a little too wrapped up in your own feelings. Remember that there are two sides to every argument. And even if you think you're totally right, you should take more time to hear your partner out.

Do You Fight Fair?

Your Personality is Very Rare (ESTP)

Your personality type is dominant, driven, poised, and self-aware. Only about 5% of all people have your personality, including 3% of all women and 6% of all men You are Extroverted, Sensing, Thinking, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique soul like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

You Will Be a Cool Parent

You seem to naturally know a lot about parenting, and you know what kids need. You can tell when it's time to let kids off the hook, and when it's time to lay down the law. While your parenting is modern and hip, it's not over the top. You know that there's nothing cool about a parent who acts like a teenager... or a drill sergeant!

Would You Be a Cool Parent?

The Part of You That No One Sees

You are wise, insightful, and brilliant. Your wit is sharp and occasionally hurtful... Revealing your scorn for people with less intelligence. Underneath it all, you feel burdened by the stupidity of humanity. You know what's right in the world, but it's overshadowed by everything that's wrong. People see you as arrogant. While this is partially true, you are also very sensitive.

What's the Part of You That No One Sees?

Your Expression Number is 7

Very intelligent, you are usually thinking, introspecting, or analyzing. You have a good mind, and you are especially good at finding out the truth. Very little ever escapes your observation and deep understanding. You tend to obsess over wisdom and hidden truths. You are likely to become a authority on any subject you undertake. Operating on a different wavelength, most people don't know you that well. Very logical and rational, at times you tend to lack emotion. So much so, that you often have times coping with emotional situations. You are not very adaptable - you may tend to be overly critical at times.

What's Your Expression Number?

Your Movie Buff Quotient: 80%

You are a total movie buff. Classics, blockbusters, indie favorites... you've seen most of them. Your friends know to come to you whenever they need a few good DVD rental suggestions.

Are You a Movie Buff?

You Were Born Under:

Fierce and courageous - you are the king of every situation. You pounce and attack, until others give you want you want. Daring and magnetic, you inspire others to follow your lead. And while you're wild at heart, you have some hidden soft spots. You are most compatible with a Horse or Dog.

What Year Were You Born Under?

Your Pickup Line Is

I love every bone in your body, especially mine.

The Magical Pick Up Line Generator

You Are More Yang

Masculine Creative Angry Spring Summer Morning Sun Space Active Wood Chocolate

Are You More Yin or Yang?

Your Mind is NC-17 Rated

You're mind is so filthy... you should should be washing every part of you out with soap. If your thoughts can go dirty, they do. Almost everything is NC-17 to you!

Do You Have a Dirty Mind?

The True You

You want your girlfriend or boyfriend to be together with you always, no matter when or where. With respect to money, you spend as little as possible. You think good luck might come your way, but if it does you'll be so surprised you'll burst out laughing. The hidden side of your personality tends to be methodical in your ways - with trouble adapting to the rules of society. You are tend to think about others' feelings a lot, perhaps because you are so eager to be liked. When it comes to finding a romantic partner, you base your search on information from your friends.

Who's The True You?

Your Brain is Blue

Of all the brain types, yours is the most mellow. You tend to be in a meditative state most of the time. You don't try to think away your troubles. Your thoughts are realistic, fresh, and honest. You truly see things as how they are. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about your friends, your surroundings, and your life.

What Color Is Your Brain?

You Are Adventurous... Sometimes

You like an adrenaline rush as much as the next person. You like your thrills in small doses. You're generally pretty calm and level headed. But sometimes you have to go wild and have a crazy adventure.

Are You a Thrill Seeker?

You are a PC

You're practical, thrifty, and able to do almost anything. Appearances and trends aren't important to you. You just like to get the job done.

Are You a Mac or a PC?

You Sometimes Hold a Grudge

You aren't exactly vengeful, but you're not going to forget when someone wrongs you. And while you'll forgive the small things, you don't hand out too many second chances to people who really screw up.

Do You Hold a Grudge?

Your Love Type: ENFP

The Inspirer In love, you are passionate and eager to develop a strong bond. For you, sex should be playful, creative, and affectionate. Overall, you are perceptive and bring out the best in your partner. However, you tend to hold on to bad relationships after they've turned bad. Best matches: INTJ and INFJ

What's Your Love Type?

You Should Paint Your Room Red

Dramatic and bold, a red room brings energy. Your red room will inspire you to try a new activity... And bring out even more passion for the things you love.

What Color Should You Paint Your Room?

You Are Somewhat Mature

You definitely act like an adult sometimes, but a big part of you is still a kid at heart. While your immature side is definitely fun, you're going to have to grow up sooner or later.

Are You Immature?

You Are Fall Flowers

Beautiful yet often forgotten.

What Part of Fall Are You?

Your Famous Movie Kiss is from Romeo + Juliet

"Has my heart loved 'till now? Forswear it, sight! For I never saw a true beauty 'till this night."

What Famous Movie Kiss Are You?

My spoon is too big!!

I apologize for how long this has taken me to finally get to. Basically, I came back from South Africa and then had to write two papers rapid fire. I should have done them before I left, but where's the fun in that? So yes, South Africa with my amazing, good looking funny and altogether awesome girlfriend... go!

The trip actually started off not with Steff. I had two days by myself in Kruger National Park. Kruger is the size of Wales and is the place in South Africa to see wild animals, namely the big five: lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino. So, my flight on Thursday (technically Friday) left at 125 in the morning. It was an 8 hour flight so I got there at 9 the next morning, which would be perfect if I got some sleep on the plane. If. I don't sleep well on planes but I ended up getting a few winks in. The next leg of the journey was picking up the rental car then driving the 4 hours or so to Kruger. Yea. That was fun. And when I stopped, I was dead tired. I got some food, took a shower, then totally plunked out. Which was good, cause you are supposed to get up early because the animals do. They hate the heat of the day (who can blame them) so they are out mainly in the morning and in the evening.

So, I was up and ready to go the next morning at like 630 or so. Got in my car and drove all around the next day. It's really all a blur now, espeically after being with Steff, but the elephants were my favorite part. There were so many, I couldn't get away from them. It almost started to seem like every way I turned I was destined to run into (figuratively, of course, though running into a rhino was my April Fool's story to Steff... and she bought it :-*) an elephant! They are quite big and noisy eaters, but also calm and kind looking. That day I also saw: zebra, impala, crocodile, hyena, baboons, giraffes, hippos (I called them something else in South Africa), wild dogs, kudu, monkeys, warthogs, either a buffalo or a wildebeest (but, I'm going to claim it was a buffalo) and some zazou looking birds. Altogether a good day, but hardly scratching the surface of Kruger. Once again, it was early to bed for me after food and a shower as I had been in the car all day.

This morning I allowed myself to sleep in a bit, but considering how early I went to bed the night before this was hardly sleeping in. So, I got up, finished packing up a bit, got some breakfast and headed back to Johannesburg where I had to return my car and catch a plane that would be taking me to my girl in Cape Town. I got to Jo-Burg quite early to say the least, so there was a lot of waiting around in the airport. Then a weird thing happened. I saw something that looked all to familiar and out of my past, almost from a different life I'd lead before. It was Steff! "Hey, you!" didn't work too well. "Steff!" After a second (she's a little slow on the uptake) she recognized me and a big beautiful smile was pointed in my direction. Then it was time to fly out and do important things like checking in. Her flight was left a half hour before mine, so I waited with her at her gate then said a goodbye; a much smaller one than our last. Then went to go catch my flight. We got to our hotel and started to settle in and realized just how hot Cape Town was. It was humid with no AC in our hotel, pretty much killer, but a shower helped. We got some chicken from a restaurant a few blocks down and called it a night.

The next day after breakfast we decided to get all the boring and easy stuff out of the way. We went to the Castle of Good Hope, the District Six Museum and the South African Museum. The Castle was cool, though far from the water. It had originally been built right on the water's edge but at the beginning of the 20th century, they filled in some of that water to extend the city a bit. District Six was a neighborhood in Cape Town that was completely destroyed by the Apartheid government there. Once a vibrant and colorful part of the city, it was declared a whites only area, the occupants were forcibly removed to townships on the Cape Flats and bulldozed. The sad irony is that the area is still barren, nothing was really done with it. A lot of the land has been bought back by trusts and eventually the idea is to bring back those who had once lived there, but that is going to take some time. The South Africa Museum was nice, much like any natural history museum here though. It was still really awesome to hang out with my girl and just putz about. Then, the next place we went was really dangerous: a diamond factory. Yes, I dared to go there and made it out alive. For a time there, I didn't think I would see the light of day again. :-p After all of that we called it a day and went back and had dinner at our hotel and chilled for the rest of the evening.

The next day was Table Mountain and the amazing views from the top. It really doesn't take all day to 'do,' but we would just find an awesome view and a comfortable rock and just sit and talk and be in awe. Unfortunately, both our camera battery's died through the day so we don't have pictures of everything. Steff fell totally in love with the place it was clear to tell. I won't get jealous though, cause I think I did a bit, too. Both her and the environs = heaven. Oh! But I had sex on the mountain! I nearly forgot (it wasn't that good). Cocktail in the restaurant on top of Table Mountain, don't worry. That night we went to a Kurdish restaurant called Mesopotamia. For those who read who are CVers and former victims of Bej, it was a lot like Marrakesh, the restaurant where we went for our DC trip. And also the place we had to witness Bej belly dancing. **BARF!** This place also had a belly dancer and no Bej, الحمد الّه. The dudes next to me left early and gave me the last of their hookah, much to Steff's displeasure. But it was funny that I had come all the way to South Africa and yet I still couldn't avoid things that surround me in Egypt. Again, that was it for the night.

The next day we slept in a bit and then went out to the University of Cape Town because Steff had to do something academic to make up missing a weeks worth of classes to her professors. So, I sat around and looked like an idiot as she was discussing architecture with various people (not that architecture is all that complicated, but they were always like why are you here and not somewhere like a beach? crazy Americans). Then it was to the waterfront. I was free!! :-p The Victoria & Albert Waterfront was quite awesome. It's kinda fake as you can tell it's built up to be all nice and stuff. Like there is a huge shopping market there and lots of nice fancy restaurants and all. But, we found out that this is where all the night life is in Cape Town, as the downtown is empty. I think there is too great a fear of crime in the downtown. But yea, we discovered this and went back every night the rest of the time we were there. Before we went to dinner, we went to the Two Oceans Aquarium. It was very nice. Steff flipped seeing the penguins (they smelled bad, like wet dog). I liked the lion fish and just sitting and watching the huge fish go around the predator tank.

The next day we slacked off and joined a tour. We were off to Inverdoon, a private game reserve a few hours out of Cape Town since Steff was jealous that I had seen animals in the wild. Our driver was German and kinda weird. Then the girl in front of me, also German, puked. We got there safaried about for a bit, Steff was very happy. Then we had lunch and headed back. This was my favorite part though. We stopped at a pub in the middle of no where. There was such beautiful scenery about. And the guy's dogs were just roaming about; big dogs, too (one of them is in my facebook picture now). I've always said I want to travel with my life, but if I had that, I might change my mind. Beautiful scenery, my family, my dogs running a pub. Yea, that would be nice. However, the beautiful scenery got better as we went through this gorge. Amazing. There was no real way to take pictures, sadly. I'll have to try to hold on to the memory. We got dropped at the V&A Waterfront again, ate and went back to our hotel.

Again, we did a tour and it was a good thing. Cause if we took the train to Boulder Beach we'd have no way to get anywhere else. But, yea, the day started with a coastal drive. Oh, I should mention that the Tablecloth set in and it was all kinds of windy, just in the city even. So it was insane on the coast. The first place we stopped for pictures, Steff was wanting to fall back to see if the wind would catch her. But, the day was beautiful, the scenery was matching it and with Steff there to top it off, only heaven could be more beautiful. The next stop was Hout Bay where Steff and I opted to take the boat ride out into the bay to see the seals. It was windy as I noted and the trip was more interesting than I suspect it normally is. Of course, I'm sure Steff's screaming when waves hit her alone made it all the more interesting. Then it was penguin time where Steff flipped even more. It was kinda weird to be walking around with these penguins all over the place. I think they were annoyed with us though as they just wanted to take a nap without girls yelling, "oh, how cute!!" Next to lunch and Cape Point. The lighthouse there provided an amazing view that I wish I could have gotten better in my panorama shots. We got our pictures taken both at Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. Neither of which is actually the southern most tip of Africa. But, historically that was the point the sailors considered the tip and the one they were big on rounding. Next stop was Kirstenbosch gardens. It was a pretty enough place, but I think the fact that it was nearing the end of our last day was taking its toll. Again we got dropped off at the V&A, ate dinner and went back to our place where we wrote postcards and fell asleep together one last time.

The next day was hard. We got up for some breakfast and to send the postcards then to checkout and head for the airport. My flight out of Cape Town was first, but we would meet up in Jo-Burg like we had before. The problem when we got there though, was that Steff had to check in for her flight and head back, but I couldn't follow as my flight was long enough after that I couldn't check in for awhile. Well... yea....

Overall, an amazing trip! I really hope that I get the chance to go back someday. If any of you get the chance to go, then take it!! Random thoughts after the fact: I started drinking ciders down there; very nice. Egypt Air has a camera on the front of their plane that they show on their screens when taking off and landing; pretty spiffy and I've not seen it anywhere else. Steff bought me 101 Things to Do Before You Die. So I'm working on the things in there now. It's sad that the first thing I accomplish is probably going to be seeing all the movies on the list. *sigh* Oh well...

Happy Birthday and Anniversary, dearest! :-*

And I thought I was in the Middle East...

So this weekend was my long awaited excursion to Jordan. I got there and it was cold. So cold, in fact, that there was snow on the ground in Amman. LOL. Oi. I did not see that one coming. I actually thought I had overdressed. Nope. So, yea, this is apparently the time of year when people aren't visiting Jordan, I believe. So the hotels we were in were not all that busy. They weren't all that warm either, actually. I don't think they can afford to heat them all day so they just turn on the heat at night. Oh, and the hot water is linked to that, too. So that made things interesting. I just avoided showering the first day altogether. I wasn't about to freeze in the shower especially if I was just going to come back out to an equally cold room. The good thing was that the beds were really warm though.

During the time we were there the weather was pretty cloudy. Which was unfortunate. Though, Petra and the Dead Sea were beautiful, they would have been more so if it was sunny (plus it would have been warmer, too). Yea, so, Petra. Crazy. It was beautiful; there were great colors and it was just insane that people were carving these things into the side of mountains. And like the Treasury, a lot of them were very intricate. With the Treasury, it just comes out of nowhere. You are walking through like this gorge thing and then there it is. Crazy. This day was capped off with more craziness. I may have told some of you about the Cave Bar. The name isn't quite right, it should be more like "Tomb Bar." As it is in a bar that dates back to the first century BC. It was great. I had three drinks, the first one had licorice alcohol in it, so not so good. But the second and third (third cause I had them show me how they made it) was amazing. I shall have to try to replicate it in the States. And I also can't wait till I'm 21 to hit the bars again. Oh, wait! The drinking age in South Africa is 18 so I will be doing it again soon! (more about that later)

The next day we made our way to the airport by way of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth. The temperature here was a bit more pleasant, unfortunately not pleasant enough to go for a dip and attempt floating in the very salty waters of the Dead Sea. I'll just have to come back and try that another time. Above the Dead Sea is a place called Bethany-Beyond-The-Jordan (as opposed to Bethany, the one not beyond the Jordan). This is the site where, according to some, that Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan. So, we saw the site where he was said to be baptized, but that is along the ancient river bed. The tour continued on, however, to the modern Jordan. For those of you who don't know, the Jordan (with the Dead Sea) creates the border between Jordan and Israel. The river itself is quite dirty and ucky (look at my pictures) so the craziest part of going there was being right on this border that is so influential in the world these days. There were a pair of Israeli soldiers just chilling across the way and there was a Jordanian soldier on our side. Jordan and Israel have a peace treaty, but apparently this is the only place were civilians can be at the Jordan on this otherwise militarized and secure border.

After this, it was back up to the mountains and more Biblical history. Mt. Nebo is the mountain Moses looked down into the Promised Land before dying. On days with good weather you are able to see the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. The day we were up there, of course, was not a good weather day, so we were unable to see anything hardly. Afterwards, it was back to the airport and after an hour and ten minutes we were back in Cairo, where, unlike the thick and healthy air of the Dead Sea, I could once again taste what I was breathing into my lungs.

So, I guess I should explain the ticker at the top of my page finally. Though many of you have figured it out. It's official now, though. I'm going to Cape Town, South Africa for spring break. Pretty good, eh? How about tacking on the fact that I will be down there with my totally hot 5'10" nothing but legs girl friend? And as I mentioned before the drinking age there is 18 (so maybe I will have to make up for the past two years that I could have been drinking there :-p) plus, while it is the winter in the northern hemisphere it's summer in the southern hemisphere. So yea, I'll be spending a bit over a week with Steff in South Africa and I pretty much can't wait. Except I have a bit of work to get done before I can go. :-( But it'll all be good soon! :-D

And for those of you who missed it last time my pictures are now HERE

Btw, who is still reading this thing these days?? real fast, all i ask is just leave a comment with your name in it, i'm just curious... please?

:-* see ya soon, dearest

At least the burning bush would have kept us warm

So this weekend the destination was Sinai and, more specifically, Mt. Sinai. This involved getting up early for a bus that ended up leaving at 1130. Pretty much 7 hours and what seemed like a million passport checks later we were in the town of St. Katherine's. It was already dark out, but we started realizing that something was in our favor. There was a gorgeous full moon lighting up the night sky. We ate a bit of a dinner then played cards for a bit before going to this campsite to hang out in a tent with a fire. It was warmer than being outside and some people got some sleep. Others like myself, stayed up all night and played cards. Of course, when I say all night, I really mean until 130ish when we decided it was a good time to start climbing the mountain. Probably the most insane part about starting the climb was the number of people. It is the middle of the night and there are soooo many people climbing this mountain. It was insane, basically. But, I was one of them so I can't really talk. Now, you have to understand, climbing this mountain was a total sensory overload. It was cold outside, but I was hot from climbing, there was the smell of camels all about, with people flashing flashlights in my eyes. It really kinda sucked a whole lot. I totally didn't have enough energy in my system to do it. Towards the top I was drunkenly walking up the path cursing Moses for picking such a high mountain to climb up. So basically that was a good time. The thing about this mountain though, was that it was so deceptive. You could see the top of the section you were climbing and once you got to the top of it, it looked like it did when you were at the bottom. Not cool. Plus the original plan was to sleep on the mountain so I was carrying a sleeping bag as well. It wasn't really heavy just awkward to carry. Once you reach the top of the camel trail, you meet up with the Steps of Redemption to go the rest of the way up. The Steps were made by a monk, there are 3750 of them. When you climb up the camel trail you only have to climb up the last 750 of them. Haha. I just said 'only'. After the camel trail these last steps are killer. I had to stop like 3 or 4 times to catch my breath (Sinai is 2285m and so I'm sure there is definitely less oxygen at the top than there is at the bottom). It was really torture since the first few steps after a break were easy then your legs just lock up again. So finally we get to the top and I search for a place to sit down and I put my head in my hands and shut my eyes pretty much passing out right there. The girl I was with, Allison, however, managed to find others of our group and so we moved to join them. They were on this big ol' rock that was open to the wind, so it got really cold now that we weren't moving. So I sat there shivering until the sun came up and you can see the gorgeous pictures that resulted. We hung around for a bit to let the rest of the crowd go back down. I still wasn't convinced this had been worth the climb. Then we went down the Steps of Redemption, all 3750 of them. It was amazing. The views, the colors, the random arches, the stacks of rocks, the surrounding mountains.... I wish there was a way you could climb down the Steps without having to climb up the mountain first. lol. Then we went into St. Katherine's Monastery. It is the world's oldest monastery and is home to the descendant of the Burning Bush which God used to speak to Moses. It was a tiny little place packed with pilgrims. We were all pretty tired so we just poked around for a bit. I wrote a prayer to leave at the Bush. We went and got some lunch then took a bus back to Cairo. It ended up being an enjoyable weekend. When it was all over I passed out and probably had one of the deepest sleeps of my life. It was good though.

This weekend I'm once again pushing off Jordan. We're going to catch some more stuff in Cairo and I can use this weekend to get some work done in advance so I can get to travel to some other places. I'm starting to think that Capetown is where I'm heading to for spring break. I read an article about the city and I can't wait. Apparently the penguins chill on the beaches there and sunbathe next to beach goers, and you can hang glide down off of Table Mountain as clouds roll off the top of it. All sorts of crazy shit like that. *Is pumped*

**Public service announcement** Picasa filled up and now my pictures are here

As always, much love from me to you guys! I love you, dearest, you are always there to make me smile. :-)

St. Michael, Mary, Jesus,
How great you have been in my life. I owe all achievement and joy to your love and watching over me. I pray for your continued intercession and that you will continue to watch over me, my family, my loved ones, and all those in my prayers. May their lives be full of happiness, health, joy and love.
Amen.

An Egyptian Sweeney Todd?

So this post is going to be all about one event, because it was just that insane. I needed a haircut; like bad. My hair is really thick so it gets poofy and all. Like a 'fro but not at all. So, I was supposed to go to this nice place my roommate went to, but my roommate gives poor directions and I couldn't find the place. So I found this other place that looked fairly decent. So, I start out saying I want it shorter. He gets the clippers out, and he's like, "two (the little teeth have numbers for different sizes, the lower the number the closer the cut and thus the shorter the cut)?" "Yep." Exactly what I get at home. I get him to do the whole thing at that level. He goes for my beard and I'm like, enh... why not? it's looking pretty enh anyways. So he takes the clippers to it and all. Looking pretty good. He gets the comb and scissors out to trim somethings up. No prob. Then he runs the comb through my eyebrows and starts cutting them too!! OK.... so this is getting a bit weird. Then he gets out a spool of thread. And I'm like, there is no way he's going to floss my teeth. Nah, this is not gonna happen. I now wish that's what did happen. He somehow twisted it in his fingers and mouth and would twist it over my skin as to pluck all the hairs from my face. Holy hell it hurt. I was about to like give him anything he wanted from me. Afterwards, out came the straight razor. Which was pretty creepy. I'm really not racist. But when this guy had the razor at my throat I was a bit creeped out, cause he could kill my infidel ass no problem. And at the end of this whole ordeal? A massage, a backslapping and a back cracking. It felt pretty good actually. So what did this adventure cost me? LE40 (about $7). That's like what I pay at home but I get none of this extra attention and excitement that I did here. I shall likely not forget this (especially since I'll probably have to go back soon).

Tomorrow I get up early to sit my infidel ass down on a bus for a long time, to climb my infidel ass up Mt. Sinai, to sleep my infidel ass on the top of it, to see the amazing sunrise on the summit. I will miss you so much then. :-*

more pyramids?? crazy egyptians...

So this weekend saw me at more pyramids. These had more distinctive names than the last ones. There was the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. Then the Red and Bent Pyramids at Dashur. The day was mainly encompassed by sitting in a taxi to get to these places going through the Egyptian countryside. Our driver spoke about no English so that made things kinda interesting, especially since I was somehow made the point man for talking with him. We did manage to get there and back though, so we can chalk that up to a success, right?

The Step Pyramid is believed to be the oldest pyramid in Egypt and is surrounded by any number of tombs (a new one was just found there last week). I don't think it's quite as tall as the pyramids at Giza but it is impressive in it's own right. But my favorite part of the site (I was here once before) is the hallway of columns that is the entrance to the site.

That being said the Red Pyramid had to be my favorite for the day. The climb down up the side of it to then climb down into it was crazy. But like the Pyramids at Giza the end goal wasn't quite as exciting. But it's still really cool that you are climbing into the heart of this massive ancient structure.

Then we got to the freaky one. The Bent Pyramid is called that because it is... well, bent. The Egyptians tried to build a steep pyramid but realized the had over done it as it started cracking. So they just lowered the slope a bit (this new slope is the same one used for the Red Pyramid that came after). The result is a very bent look to this pyramid. However, the one neat thing is that it has a lot of its casing still intact. So you can see what it would have looked like all the way back. It's a pretty impressive thing to transpose the casing you see here in your mind to the Pyramids at Giza.

It's starting to look like next weekends trip is going to be to Sinai and the weekend after to Jordan. I still can't wait for Jordan! As always, much love back home! Missing you all. Especially you, my love. :-*

Did I do that?

I just saw an Egyptian Steve Urkel. Didn't have the suspenders or the highwaters. But, did have the thick glasses on a strap thing. And this kid was licking a lollipop in the most ridiculous way. Totally made my day.

That's all. Thought I'd share.

Big stacks of stone

So, yea. You'd think I'd be faster to post about going to the pyramids. But, I guess I'm not. I was there before and this time, the only thing that really changed was going inside two of them. That, in itself, isn't so amazing until you consider the fact that you are fucking right in the middle of this huge icon that everyone on the face of the planet knows. So, that was kinda cool. Well, actually, it was a bit like a sauna in there.

In other news, guava juice freakin' rocks my socks. So yummy. Good thing they have it back in the states; though, it's not as common. Karkaday, too. I figured it out. It's the name for hibiscus tea over here. Now, that, I'm pretty sure, I can't get back in the States. I'll have to bring some back for everyone to try and to have a secret stash of my own.

This weekend, I also need to crack down and apply for some internships. I've been a bit bogged down with work and a lack of sleep. But, I really need to do this. Ugh. But, I'm going to find a way to distract myself... I just know I will.

Also, this weekend, I believe the trip is going to be to see more pyramids. This time older ones as they tried to perfect their pyramid building skills. And actually they just uncovered some new stuff at the same place: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6379431.stm. So that should be exciting. I'm looking more forward to getting out of this country once I get my passport back (had to hand it over so they could put a student visa in it). Jordan is the destination. I plan to see Petra (the place that the Holy Grail supposedly is at the end of Indiana Jones (it's not actually there, btw)) and the Dead Sea, the lowest below sea level you can get without actually going to the sea. As a result it's super rich in oxygen, which, mixed with the super salty waters that you can float in, is supposed to be super good for you.

But, yea, about that - I'm afraid I'm starting to get sick. Not hot, Btw. So, I think I shall cut this post kinda short and head to bed, in hopes that I can kill this thing before it starts. Peace all who read this and even those who don't - you know who you are! I love you, dearest and I hope you also aren't getting sick.

"H" shall be the letter thou shalt spell, and the letter of the spelling shall be "H"

If you comment, you get a letter; list 10 things you love that begin with that letter.
Steff gave me H:

1. Ham Sandwiches
2. Harry Potter (the books, I think he's a whiny bitch and a git)
3. Haribo
4. Having nothing on my agenda for the day aside from Hanging out
5. Home (wherever that might be, just to kick back and relax from time to time)
6. Hibiscus Tea (it's got a name over here, I'll have to figure it out)
7. Hamburgers
8. Hugs
9. Hobbes
10. Her! :-D

A Week's Worth of Classes

Well, I used the excuse of "going to class" for the whole week. And now that classes are done for this week (you got to love the weekend starting on Thursday!), I should post. Someone told me that classes aren't the best part about going to school here at the AUC and I'm inclined to believe them. That being said, you could say the same thing about classes and Penn State.

Sunday started off nicely. First class was at 1 and it what is going to be my easiest class by far. Egyptology taught by a Greek. His accent takes a little getting used to, but he promises the class will be fun. And we have 3 field trips. And I know people in the class, which is nice. The reading is pretty light, it's only 50 mins 3 times a week, two projects of up to 1,000 words. Very nice. Then, it was Arabic afterwards. Taught by Sophie, a nice little old Egyptian lady. She may be old, but she's still very sharp and mobile. Maybe she's not as old as I think, but she looks pretty old. Oh! and she has glasses to rival Joe Pa's for thickness. She's very helpful with questions and her English is very good. So, this is probably going to be my next easiest class as long as I can stay on top of it. Plus, this year I'm surrounded by other students who know Arabic so I can ask for help, which is nice. This class ended at 350, and so did my day!

Monday started with a class that I have now dropped. It's a bummer because from the title of the course, "Social and Political Thought in the Modern Arab World," sounded so cool. But, it's a lot of ideology and me and ideology don't mix so well. Especially when the prof just floats about in her discussion. Oh, well. Afterwards it was another round with Sophie except a one hour and 20 minute version this time. My day ended with Arabic again.

Tuesday would normally start with Egyptology but, our prof went to England and so we had the day off. My first class this day was Arabic then. But it didn't end with it. Not this day. I had my first 2 and a half hour long courses (4-630). It's only once a week, but it's going to be a bitch to sit there that long in a class, even if it's interesting. But yea, this class is basically all about Israeli domestic politics. Which is interesting, just not what I was expecting when I signed up for the course. I'm thinking this semester is a big lesson in don't judge the course by it's title. But, this prof seems like the best I'm going to have this semester. I'm saying this now only cause I'm going to be cursing her for the rest of the semester as she is piling on the readings and work. Every week we have to write a two page reaction to the readings (this week about 80 pages) plus there is a take home essay, a 15 minute presentation and a 20-25 page term paper at the end of all of this. Oi.

Wednesday, I went to the class I have now dropped again. I was sure of it after this class. Then to Arabic again. Then my second 2 and a half hour long class (430-7). This one on International Relations of the Middle East taught by the head of the department. This guy is super long winded and takes forever to say what he wants to get across. It's going to make for a really long 2 and a half hours. Though, he's been recommended. So we'll see. I haven't gotten the official syllabus for this class, but it's prob going to be similar to above but with a book review as well. So yea, I don't know how they tell you to make sure you do lots of traveling here then pile you under with work. Ugh.

Thursday sees me in one class: Egyptology. Which is nice cause then I'm done at 150 and have the rest of the weekend to do what I like, even if that's reading till my eyes fall out of my skull. Today, however, I went to the market of Khan al-Khalili. I will put pictures up later. But this place is really pretty cool. Lots of tight winding passages with lots of stuff, mainly touristy. But the bargaining is fun, you can get already cheap stuff for cheaper. I think I'm heading back there this weekend again, we'll see. I want to get some worry beads for myself, maybe a little something else for Steff. It's sad that the shopkeepers there harass you so much. It would be such a nicer experience if they didn't.

Random thoughts will come to me later. Much love to those back at home, and especially to my beautiful girl.

random thoughts with no real context

So, there's been random stuff that I've failed to mention in previous posts and such that I feel should be mentioned. They are pretty much random observations or whatever. So, without further adieu:

I was on the shuttle back from campus one day and, I swear that this is God's honest truth, I saw an Egyptian guy crossing the street wearing a sweater that said "Enjoy Pennsylvania."

It rained today here in Cairo and it's a good bit chillier than it has been. The breeze off the Nile doesn't help much, either. The funniest part though, is the fact that this is like cold to the Egyptians. So I've seen a few people and policemen with their scarves and gloves on.

Mon's going to enjoy this the most, but there is a church across the way from our dorm. And like every couple of nights there people are getting married. As I have walked out of the dorms, I've heard ululating coming from the mass of people gathered outside.

Communicating with people here is interesting because they can tell you are a foreigner so for the most part if they can speak English they will with you even though I want to try speaking in Arabic with them. And then when they can't I get bogged down in the fact that I can't speak Arabic well enough. It's pretty crazy, I just have to work harder at learning new phrases.

Hmm... I thought I had more, but, I guess that's all I've got for now. But, hey, two posts in one day. Who loves ya?

Love you.

For the first time in my life I know what a moonbeam is

I apologize for apparently I didn't do a good enough job telling you guys that I was going to be gone for two nights in Alexandria. But, I was! It was a pretty alright trip, for the most part. I met some new people, had some good food, saw some pretty stuff and waited around a lot. That's the problem with going in such large numbers; things get bogged down as you wait for people to get their acts together and get going.

So, I got up at the crack of dawn to get to campus in order to get on the buses. However, I got there, did some waiting, checked in, did some more waiting, got on the bus waited some more, and then 30 minutes after we were to leave we finally left. As we were getting to the edges of the city, you could tell the population got poorer and poorer. It was a sad sight. But, it was nearly overshadowed (perhaps literally) by the sight of seeing the pyramids off in the distance. They are huge, like mountains in the far off distance. Except, these mountains are built by man.

When we got to Alexandria, there is something called the Corniche. Basically, the stretch of road along the beach. It goes on for what seems like forever, we traveled up and down it so many times, too. The thing about it, though, is that there are like bays? along the coast. So, the buildings and the road all curve and you can see this point in the distance, but when you get to that point, another bay starts. We had to go back and forth on this deceptive road for both dinners and back and out sightseeing the next day. I don't know why I spend so much time on this, but I do. :-p

The first day was kinda laid back, we showed up, took forever to get to our rooms, then had lunch and I napped pretty much until dinner then. Dinner was good, it was a fish place and was very yummy. I wish I had taken my camera, because one of the pieces of fish was basically a fish cut in half and thrown on the grill. So by the time it got to us it still had it's scales, fins and all.

The next day, we had breakfast and then it was orientation time. This basically, consisted of our associate dean getting up and telling us all what we should and shouldn't do in Egypt then addressing some of the worries and concerns that they forced us to write down. One of these concerns was kinda funny, "What if the Israelis attack Egypt like they attacked Lebanon?" Then it was time for a bit of lunch and then I did some exploring, where I took must of those pictures. Then it was out for dinner (I remembered the camera for this one) and again it was very yummy. Then it was back to the room where Brian, the other one on the trip (they do things by first name here), and I experienced the joy of international tv. We watched Italian roller hockey (roller skates not blades) where the crowds were insane, ALF dubbed in German, some French news, Premiership football, CNN, Spanish soap operas with a western theme and an Arabic music video about (we're approximating here) a guy dumping the girl and she decides to dump gasoline on his couch and light it on fire. It was an enjoyable evening to say the least.

The next morning it was up early to check out and eat breakfast and get ready to go sightseeing. The first stop was some Roman catacombs it was a small site, but impressive. All of it was cut out of the bedrock and there were columns and tunnels and reliefs all with a mixture of Egyptian and Roman symbolism. Unfortunately, cameras weren't even allowed there, so I have no pictures of the catacombs for you guys. Sorry. Next, we went to a Roman Amphitheater, which is nothing new to me, except for the fact that it was U-shaped for musicians instead of a semi-circle for performances. The last stop before lunch was the Fort of Kaytbay (or Qaitbay). It was neat and about on the sight where the Lighthouse would have been. The most impressive thing about it was how well the color of the fort matched the sky and sea. Lunchtime! Again, it was yummy. The last stop in Alexandria before heading back to Cairo was the Library. I thought this was the coolest place on the trip.

Then on the way home in the desert, the moon was so bright and as it was peaking through the clouds I could see the rays of light falling towards earth. It was truly a sight to behold. And, I wanted you there with me.

Do we actually need another reason to hate the French?

So, yea. I'm really pretty tired right now from getting up early and being in orientation all day today. So this is going to be a little short. Please don't hate me for it. We have to get up early again tomorrow, too. Even earlier, actually. We leave for Alexandria tomorrow for the off-campus orientation. Where they basically put us up in five star hotel (which are really cheap over here) and take us out to dinner. We do have to listen to a few more talks and they are a bit strict about keeping a hold on people. There was a contradicting message: on one side they were like, why go into town? The beach is here. But the other side is that it is still January here and though it's on the Med the water is still really cold. So yea. Apparently, Alexandria is a bit colder that Cairo in the first place and it rains up there. Today, even in Cairo it was kinda cloudy and chillier than usual. I mean, I guess I don't have any right to whine to you guys. :-P

In other news, I have classes!
My schedule - Cairo time
My schedule - Eastern Standard time
(ignore the CAMS class, I had to put one real Penn State class on there to make it work. I picked an Egyptian Civ class. I thought it was appropriate.)

And, fyi, my mailing address here:
Brian Siembieda
The American University in Cairo
Zamalek Residence
16 Mohamed Taked Street, Zamalek
By Mara'shly Church
Cairo, Egypt

I know there was other stuff I wanted to bring up, but I'm really tired now as I said before. And, I need to buy like a small book or something to write down what I want to write about so I don't forget about it like now. Though, I have meant to mention this: that after further review, I don't think that drink was alcoholic after all. They sell a lot of non-alcoholic beverages here. So, I think it was simply meant to taste like it was alcoholic, but it, in fact, was not.

I will leave you with this though. One of the people who spoke today at the orientation was very fascinating. He had a very roundabout way of talking, like he got sidetracked really easily. It didn't bother me too much because, as I said, I found him fascinating. He talked a lot about our (the United States') link to Egypt, mainly in the past. And after a while, he finally got to the biggest way that the Great Pyramid in Giza has affected us as Americans. Basically, there was this guy in Scotland in the 1800's who wrote a book about the Great Pyramid. Claiming that the 10 lost tribes of Israel (there were 12), went to Egypt built the Pyramid, moved on to Morocco, turned north to Spain and France, then crossed the English Channel, intermarried with the people living there and fathered the British People.

So, it doesn't stop there. Starting from the entrance to the Pyramid, there is a path that starts downwards, then it splits. One path continues to lead downwards to an empty chamber, what modern Egyptologists think was a mistake. The other path starts upwards and after awhile it opens up with 21 foot tall ceilings. Right at this opening there is another split off that goes horizontally to what is referred to as the queen's chamber, though it's actual use is unknown. The interesting thing is that a little ways into this pathway there is a hole that leads downwards all the way to that first chamber at the bottom of the downward sloping path. If you continue along the grand gallery (what the open path with the high ceiling is called) you eventually get to a horizontal path that leads to the king's tomb.

So, this guy looked at this, made some measurements and came to a conclusion. The Pyramid was able to record the past and predict the future. He measured the length of these pathways and determined that if for every inch of pathway a year went by some astounding things could be determined from this Pyramid. *Now, I'm recalling this from memory so bear with me.* The Pyramid starts recording at 40,000 BC and about at 20,000 BC is where the split upwards is. This marks the point where some people continue their decent to hell (the mistake tomb in the bedrock under the pyramid) and some are lifted towards enlightenment by Abraham. The upwards path continues on to about 0 BC when it opens up to the gallery. Jesus' coming. And the path that shoots off horizontally? The Jews, whose rise ends as they refuse to follow Christ. The hole that is 30 some inches down that path is to represent Christ's death and resurrection. It is at the end of the gallery where strange things happen and this was interpreted to be the end times. It was originally predicted by the writer that this would be sometime in the late 1800's. The end times didn't come then, Btw. But others have remeasured and recalculated the end times. A notable example was a group of Koreans who believed the end was coming. They sold all their belongings and went to the Pyramids to await then end. This was also used as an example to show us that some people really believe all of this.

Anyways, the book concludes, and the professor starts to work towards his point of how the Pyramid as Giza has affected us the most as Americans, by saying that with the measurements here, this is prove that the system given to the Jews by God - our inches, feet and pounds - should not be given up in favor of the Metric system developed by those damn socialist, communist, Godless French. Pretty incredible, huh? Of course, a few years later, the British did adopt the metric system. But this book was used on the floor of Parliament to argue against it. And was also used in the States to do the same thing. So there you go!

But, yes... Alexandria is supposed to be beautiful. I will take lots of pictures and will be back on Thursday for the weekend then classes start...

Love to all! Especially you, my love. :-*

One for the money... two for the show... three to get ready... and four to go!!

Damn, that really needed to be for the number three. I would have used "third time's the charm," but everyone uses that line. However, it would have properly described my day two days ago (Friday)...

It was around lunch time and I went in search of a restaurant nearby that I had seen from the shuttle. However, along the way I must have taken a wrong turn and realized that I was on my way to the campus. So, I shrugged it off and decided to walk the rest of the way there. I took lots of pictures which you can see on my web albums site :-D. So, I'm strolling across the bridge taking pictures every now and then (I still feel like a dweeb doing it and it instantly marks me as a tourist), when this Egyptian guy walks up next to me and says hello and welcome to Egypt. He continues to talk in decent English about the American University where he says he studies English and tells me that if I ever need help I should turn to him (which, even at that point I was going yea, right). He tells me that he will give me his card and that his sister works in an office just beyond the bridge. There is still time before my survival Arabic class starts, so I follow gladly. As soon as we get there and I see the papyrus on the walls, I silently cursed to myself. I'd been had. Papyrus is the ultimate touristy thing in Egypt. I mean if you want some, it's nice. But the Egyptians know what they are doing. They jack up the prices to western levels. So, I know at this point they are going to try to sell it to me one way or another, I just don't know how or when. So, the guy who drew me in introduces me to his 'brother' and 'sister' then sits down and zones out. The 'brother' speaks much better English, to his credit, and he was very friendly and maybe only a year or two older than I am. He tells me that tomorrow his sister is getting married and he points to her. She's sitting there staring at the wall, not looking at all excited, nervous or anything about her big day tomorrow. As a result, I must have some coffee or tea. I decline, but he says that it would be an insult. So, I have some tea. He talks about America with me, saying he's been to Oklahoma and it's as flat as Egypt. I have no idea where he picked that up, but it was humorous to me. Then he tells me that he used to study art and history at the AUC and that I should pick out any of the papyrus paintings on the wall and he will tell me what the meaning behind it is. So, I do and he explains. Then he offers to show me some of his 'art.' He grabs a big ol' stack of papyrus and starts flipping through them asking me if I like any. I know that he is going to try to sell me the ones I say I like. So, I try to hold off, but he forces me to say I like some. Some were actually very nice. Don't get me wrong, it's just I didn't want any at the time and you have to bargain hardcore and very well to get them to get the price down to where it should be. He then demonstrates that the papyrus will not break and shows me that he has these awesome tubes to put them in. Here comes the sell. Btw. He says since his sister is getting married, he will give me a gift. Free?? Haha. Yea, right. He wants 200 LE for it. That's about $35. He rapidly goes down in price as I start getting up to leave. 150 LE. 100 LE. I left saying thank you and goodbye in Arabic.

I then went to class as usual and for the second half of it, since it was our last class, our teacher took us on a little tour of the area. When she was done we were all in the Midan al-Tahrir where I was taking some pictures with the other guy in my class. When an Egyptian guy slowly came up to us and politely started talking in English. He said he was learning at the American Embassy and showed us a card (don't worry, it's very plausible that he is/was, the Embassy here has a library for Egyptians to study the US). He asked us where and what we were studying and started talking about the army. He wanted to know if we had a choice if we could enter the army or not and how much soldiers get paid in the US. At first, when he was asking questions he asked something about how long stay and army. I thought he was asking how long we were going to stay in Iraq and that the shit was going to hit the fan. So, it was all very nice until he told us that he owned a perfume shop and that we should come with him and he'll give us his card. We immediately told him that we had a bus to catch and we couldn't. Two sells avoided.

So, the guy I with and I decided to grab some dinner. We circled back to the place where we saw when we were on the tour. As we were scoping out how to buy the sandwich we wanted (very good, btw... I've been back since, didn't get it spicy like the first time, cause that was really spicy... oh... so you know the like cones of meat that you always see in movies or shows about the Middle East where they carve little bits of meat off... they put that together with some like onions, tomatoes and other things I can't quite place on a sandwich, quite good, like an Egyptian version of a cheese steak maybe?) and this guy came up to take our order. We followed him in to pay for the sandwich he told the guy what we wanted and then helped us back out as we got the sandwiches. We were standing on the street eating them and that's when I noticed that this guy was showing us a lot of attention if he was working at the restaurant. He was actually really funny and probably spoke the best English of the guys who tried to sell me stuff today. With Steff, I like to tease her by doing the whole, "you've got something on your shirt" and then getting her in the nose thing. So, this is especially embarrassing for me to admit to, but this guy got me with that. Not once. Twice. Sigh. So he then tells us... ready for it?? ... Let's go to my shop so I can give you my card. I dunno why we went with him. Maybe cause we had food and we were then looking for entertainment. I don't know. But we got to his place and it was a perfume shop. Probably the same one that the other guy was trying to get us to. So he shows us, these pictures of Muhammad Ali supposedly when he visited. I asked him how long ago that was, he said seven years (I'm doubting Muhammad Ali visited, nice try though). He asked us if we wanted something to drink like a 7up or a Coke, we declined but again, we were insulting him by doing so. This does actually have some basis in Arab culture, they are supposed to welcome in guests and offer them lots of food. However, this was also, as we found, a delaying tactic. So he let us eat our food. Then when I was done, he asked me if I wanted to smell some men's or women's perfume. Thinking of Steff, I said women's. He asked me if I had a girlfriend. To which I, of course, responded, yes. Here? No, back in America. He asked the guy, Dan, with me if he had a girlfriend. No. Why? Are you small? LOL! It was amazing. The Egyptian guy and I high fifed. I was totally not expecting that. Dan was laughing, but clearly didn't like the joke as much. So he then dabbed some perfumes on us and they smelled alright. To shorten this, I ended up getting Steff some perfume after haggling a bit for prices.

Needless to say that was a very interesting day. The nice thing about these encounters is that because you know what is coming like a telemarketer you can fuck with them a bit. But also you get to practice your Arabic. There was another attempt today, so maybe the title actually works. This time it was an older guy sitting on a chair on the sidewalk. He greeted me and welcomed me to Egypt. He asked me how long I was there for, if I liked it, where I was staying and studying and how long I was there for. He clearly was out for just the sale or didn't have the patience anymore, because at that point he stood up and said "I have a shop" and turned the corner. I said fuck this and turned back the way I was going before he stopped me. I could hear him yell after me and I felt bad. But if this is going to happen for the whole four months, I'm going to have to learn to deal with it.

Once again, much love to you all back at home. Steff, you are the best and I love you dearly!

I've had to develop strategies for crossing the street...

Nothing really noteworthy as far as events go has happened lately, so I'm just planing on writing about more random observations that I've noted over here.

As I've mentioned drivers in Cairo are pretty insane. And thus, as my title states one has to develop strategies for crossing the streets here. One is the "in Egypt do as the Egyptians" strategy. This is done by waiting on the side of a street with a local and then waiting for them to cross. Cross with them. This works best if they are between you and the traffic. Even better if you can get a woman carrying a baby between you and the traffic. (I did this once. She was stopping cars all over the place.) Another, more boring strategy is the wait. Simply put you wait until there are only two or three cars barreling down at you instead of the usual six or seven.

There is some kind of buddy system for parallel parking in this city that I must figure out before I leave. When someone starts to pull into a spot to park there always seems to be someone there to block traffic and help them figure it out. And on top of that, this is the really crazy thing, to make room some how cars are left in neutral so one can push them forward or backward as needed. I don't know if people just leave them like this out of common courtesy or if there is some hired guy watching over the cars. This "put it in neutral and push" scheme also works for pulling out, too. They don't bother using their rear view mirrors and guessing where the car behind them is. Screw that! Open the door, stick your head and a leg out, and push. I saw this done once as I was passing on the sidewalk, where the guy knocked over the motorcycle parked behind him using this trick.

This next thing I read about before I came over, so I thought I was ready for the shock of it, but really I wasn't. It still causes me to stare when I see two guys walking down the street one with his hand in the other's arm. I don't know if I put that correctly, but what I'm trying to say is that think of how instead of holding hands at like a wedding, the bride puts her hand just in the bend of the groom's elbow. Yea, that happens here with guys. Not just old ones; ones my age do it too. Just today, I saw two guys actually holding hands. I mean, this isn't a judgment of them, I'm just saying it takes me back that a country where you can see women in the full body coverings with just their eyes showing. The two are probably not even related in the minds of Egyptians.

I should point out after mentioning it above, that the vast majority of women cover their heads here. Most of those that do wear modern - but conservative - clothing. Fewer where traditional clothes. And fewer still are covered completely. Every now and then you will see a woman without a head covering. I'm not sure yet if for the most part that means she's a really modern Muslim or if she's Christian. You see more women without head coverings on campus though, but I don't think that's all too surprising.

Otherwise, things are looking up here. But no matter how good they get, I'll be missing you all. Especially you, Steff! Much love, all!

OH! and I've started taking pictures: My Egypt Album

Cairene -adjective of or pertaining to Cairo, Egypt, Btw :-p

So, after taking my first Cairene shower, I can tell you I like the ones at home better. Even more so than the ones in Camp Hill where the water pressure is low, but at least there there is only one temperature knob and the hot water doesn't get depleted quite so quickly. And I don't think anyone wants to know why I prefer State College showers to this one. ;-)

I'm now eating a sandwich I got around lunch time today. It's not quite as good as when it was warm, but at least I don't have cats harassing me for scraps. But, yes, for those of you who have not been informed directly (which is quite a few, sorry, I've been busy and time zones are a pain) I have arrived in Cairo!

Last night was pretty rough getting in late here after having to put up with wailing kids in the row ahead of me. It took me awhile to get up to my room (like 1 in the morning local time), and when I did I found out that I'm sharing it with two other guys. Both are American, which I guess is a relief. The one goes to Emory and the other to Arizona State. And one of them snores. I got to sleep right away after writing a quick e-mail to my parents and chatting with Steff a bit before I had to get some rest (the next morning, this morning, was the general advising meeting at 9 in the morning). Yet, I was woken by one roommate as he came back in from wandering the streets at 3 in the morning. This one is the snoring one, and I know this because there was no snoring before he came back.

After that I couldn't get back to sleep and thoughts of doubt were entering my mind. A lot. Through part of last night I was convinced that I was going to be trying to catch the next plane out of here the next morning. Part of the night I felt like I couldn't breath because I felt I was so constricted. Many of you don't know the shy me, since you met me through friends or the rambunctious me has blown the shy me from your memory. But it was back to being shy me. Which I think was only hurting the situation, since I hadn't really talked to anyone that night.

Don't worry too much though, after today, I'm feeling a bit better. I'm still not entirely convinced that this is still where I want to be spending my semester. I did talk to some other people today. None of them were anywhere close to the friends I have back home. But, I shall have to keep trying with them, lol.

Well, yea... I'm taking it slow with this sandwich since when I originally tried eating it, I quickly lost my appetite and wanted to puke. It's not Cairo that's doing this to me, I'm pretty sure. I wanted to puke during my layover at Heathrow as well. So, I believe airplane food is to blame here. But, I'm hoping I make a recovery soon. Nothing sucks worse than being sick in a foreign country.

On somewhat of a lighter note: I'm afraid for my life! Drivers here are insane. Not only do they drive wickedly fast and crazed but they love using their horns and high beams when it's night time. Makes for crossing the streets a bit too scary. And on another note, I think I accidentally bought alcohol today. I was at the coffee shop buying my sandwich and I wanted a big bottle of water to have, but they didn't have it there and I didn't want coffee. So I looked in the case and it looked like they had flavored sodas there and I was like are these sodas? and he's like umm... it's the same stuff as [insert name here] as he points to a can. It was pineapple flavored. That's all I saw and I was sold. I sat down on campus to eat my sandwich, popped it open and read the label telling me that it was a sparkling malt beverage. I didn't finish it cause of my appetite loss, it wasn't really that good and I didn't want Egyptians walking by going "figures, americans boozing up at lunch."

That's about all I can think of for now... plus, it's getting kinda late. Much love to everyone back at home, but most of all to that very special girl of mine! Missing you, Steff. :-*