You're Right This Place is Magical

This weekend I visited one of Pablo Neruda's homes in Valparaiso, Chile. This is the exact spot where he sat and wrote the words that have repeatedly brought me to tears.(these aren't the words, but this poem is one of the most sensual poems I have ever read I had to share an excerpt: Kinda makes my toes tingle...too much, yeah I know.

He ido marcando con cruces de fuego
El atlas blanco de tu cuerpo
Mi boca era una arana que cruzaba escondiendose
En ti, detras de ti, temerosa, sedienta
-Neruda

The sunrise is

the greatest simplistic beauty that we are given routinely. The first hint of orange sneaking through the navy sky is something that cannot be described in words.

Catch a sunrise and see for yourself.

Just For Kicks



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNm2Ec2T-js&feature=channel




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqJd3d3RHFE&feature=channel

Do You See What I See...?

CUTIE PIESSSSSS!!!
weaving at Ntonso

queen mother
elmina castle independence square

view from hostel jamestown beach

Schools Out!!

Okay so in case I haven't done a great job of conveying the "Egyptian way" is kind of like whatever makes sense at the moment is what is done. The thought process that proceeds actions was at first kind of strange and confusing to me. But now I'm kind of getting used to the fact that things do not form a regular pattern. A meal that I ordered yesterday and took 5 mins to cook, could take an hour to cook this week. A bus driver who is supposed to ask me for a ticket to ride the bus MAY or MAY NOT ask for the ticket. The guard at the pyramid who is supposed to confiscate cameras from visitors who are entering the pyramid will just let you me in with a wink and a smile. And so keeping up in trend with that Egyptian way...yesterday I was informed in my class that starting today we would all be on break for Ramadan until OCT 3rd...or 4th. The reason being that the government officials are afraid that people who are going to Hajj(Pilgrimage to Mecca, the holy land for Muslims) may return to Egypt with symptoms of H1N1. So they want those ppl to be in their homes away from public for at least 7 - 10 days before they reemerge. So no classes for me, a two week vacay of sorts. GOD I LOVE THIS PLACE.

A Tale of Two Cities

This past weekend I visited Alexandria, the also famous, much cleaner, less crowded, Mediterranean sister of Cairo. History buffs will tell you all about the significance of Alex as the place of the great library and the lighthouse (which burned down a whiiiiiile ago) as well as its evident Roman and Greek influence. There are also the its ties to the love story of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony as well as their reign of power. All these things aside, the one thing that I got from Alex is that while its really interesting and on the beautiful Meditteranean, Cairo is definitely where its at. I'm not one for regional beef (Biggie over Pac ANYDAY lol) but Alex just wasn't cutting it for me. I think that its the type of place you go to when you want to be close to the sea or if you don't like crowds. But if you even spend two hours in Cairo and then go to Alexandria I'm pretty sure you would find it less than amusing as well. Now it is not my itention to offend any Alexandrians this is just my experience and the opinions...in list form.
CONS
- Why did I go to like four different Cafe's and was refused to see a menu at ALL of them. One clever man quickly responded "I AM the menu"...umm yeah no thanks.
- The waiters serving my shisha were not nearly as helpful as the ones I've come used to in Cairo
- Not as crowded, more conservative = not as fun!
- The amount of tourists is more noticeable.
- Please take better care of your beaches... its the Mediterranean dammit.
- Slower pace lifestyle
PROS
- BOMB ASS seafood
- The Citadel is a beautiful spot to visit
- Not as hot or polluted as Cairo
- Roman architectural sites...if that floats your boat.

All in all it was still a fun weekend in Alexandria, and at least the hotel will serve you booze even during Ramadan :)

Ilhamdullilah

So this may sound kind of cheesy and may be somwhat reminiscent of that disney movie "The Color of Friendship" but I had to donate some time to explain the amazing new friend I have found here in Cairo. Well actually I didnt find him, but its no big deal. We all know how WES is everywhere, and usually this can be so damn annoying. But there is that 1% of the time when wes connections turn out to be great and then you find yourself thanking wes for being so small. Shout out to Karimah '09 for introducing me to her friend Mohamed.
I have always known that one of the points of studying abroad is to exchange culture and ideas with local people and learn more. But I think we find it more often than not, that students studying abroad stick together in an All American group and never really branch out. I have done some of this with the friends that I have made here, which is great, but I truly am blessed to have met Mohamed. I find myself talking to Mohamed about anything...anything at all, and our deep conversations topics ranging from religion to love to Common sometimes have even distracted me from practicing my arabaic (the original purpose of our meeting). His mind is brilliant and yet comforting. Sometimes I find myself forgetting that we are sitting by Khan el Khalili and I am in the middle of Cairo because it feels like I have already known him for so long. It is also interesting to learn about issues from his male and muslim point of view. Despite being enrolled in 5 courses, all reading intensive, I know already that my greatest lessons will be what I learn from hanging out with Mohamed. I know that this will be a friendship that will continue long after I leave Cairo (a date marked as D -DAY on my calendar) and for that I truly am blessed.
I think my man Humphrey Bogart said it best in the last line of Casablanca...

"...I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship"

ilhamdulillah(thanks to god)