Words of Wisdom on Why I Miss Egypt: vol. 1

Ok, so. I have to go to bed. But! I was thinking, about London and about Egypt, as I apparently do a lot these days, and I decided that my time would be well spent investing in some typing of thoughts. I do not know why I think this. That is not important! This might be, though:

Things In London That Make Me Really Miss Egypt:
-No one smokes in London. Ever. At all.
-Traffic...not quite the same graceful, elegant, deadly dance between ghetto 80s car and crazy pedestrian.
-I have found one place that sells koshery. It was 5 BRITISH pounds.
-Shisha???!!
-I would do many, many things, some of them perhaps quite unseemly, for a fresh ta'amiyya sandwich from felfela. This 'falafel' that they have here is just not the same.
-Mango/strawberry juice???
-I don't like experiencing Egyptian/Middle Eastern culture from outside the Middle East. I don't want 'Middle Eastern' food, I want to go to Cairo and get some koshery.
-Hummus is great, really, but I was fine with tahina.
-I miss the call to prayer.
-Extreme napping? Not societally acceptable in London!
-I see women from the Gulf, occasionally, here. I try furiously to think of some covert sign to give them, some sign that conveys that I feel differently about them than they might imagine the majority of random London people do. Then after thinking this, I feel weird about assuming my superiority in some way over others just because I was in Egypt once. And then I just feel nostalgic, and I stare. I'm like those people that stare at foreigners. Or the people who are a minority who stare at others in the same minority, like all the Indian frats and sororities at UT? I'm like those people, except worse somehow in a way that I do not understand!

I really don't know why I'm doing this to myself. I really, really loved Egypt, for some strange reason. I mean, on a certain level, I am very appreciative of the fact that I am not there, and that I do not have to deal with the hassles associated with being there, and I am endlessly appreciative of the luxuries here that are not there. But, on the other hand, I really gave myself totally over to the idea of being a person who lived in Cairo, and it's hard to come back from that.

Some dude called me out the other day for claiming that life is simpler in Cairo. He told me that I was imposing my Western concepts or something, I can't remember what he said but I knew what he meant. I tried to explain that it wasn't that, I didn't mean it that way. And I don't, but it is hard to say what I do mean. I guess it was simpler because what I had to deal with on a day to day basis was complicated in a very predictable, familiar way. Everything was relaxed, things took a lot longer, places were a lot warmer.

I'm getting used to London, again. I've been going out a bit, to clubs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I think that helps. I'm developing a very difficult relationship with the Waterloo bridge, which every day collaborates with the horrible weather to form some sort of psychotic partnership and attempts to throw me bodily into the river. It's pretty weird. The wind, it is like some sort of thing that is alive. It rushes around like an excited dog, knocking people stupidly in every direction, against the bridge railings, against each other, pushing and pushing and then letting up, so the person stumbles sideways. It rushes around you and then practically rips off your coat, blows your scarf off to one side, so you are walking along looking decidedly un-stylish, hoping that all the other people on the street know that you honestly did not set out this morning intending to look like this. The other day, a bus drove past me, and the wind blew my scarf up in the air, in front of me, and then covered my face with it. It was ridiculous.

Also, a dude got hit by a bus today! I think it hit him in the backpack, I don't know why he was hanging out in the road where it was painted red and said 'BUS LANE' in really big letters, but whatever. He was fine. My friend was probably the most shocked of the entire group of observers. She thought it was a very serious thing, a dude getting hit by a bus. She refused to cross the street, afterwards, at a zebra crossing (pedestrians have the right of way, there). I decided not to tell her about the taxi in Cairo that hit those schoolgirls that one time.

OMG OMG BED TIME!!!! It is time for bed. I hope you all have lovely dreams about adventures or something, and that you all have lovely, delightful, fulfilling Fridays tomorrow. Oh, also? If you get the chance, read the book 'American Gods' by Neil Gaiman. It is so good.

Kisses!

Perfect.

You guys.

Best thing ever? My favorite part is at the end when they dive into the water and then start having a big dance party, all together. To me, right now, this song is perfection.

Head over heels, as I'm driving through the fields

Happy Sunday! Or, at least, it was Sunday, all day today. Here is a quick update of what I have been up to (hint: it is not much!).

Thursday: I had a boring class and a really good class! We discussed the relative value (or lack there of) of Che Guevara's skills as a strategist. It was fun. I also applied for a job as a call center person! Then I took refuge from a sudden rainstorm in the doorway of a place that was really warm and smelled like bread. After that, I met Jason and some random art girls (who were actually pretty nice!) for some coffee at STARBUCKS, because I miss America a little. And I love things that I haven't done in ages. After all THAT, I was appropriately social, cooked dinner, and went out for drinks with my flatmates. They discovered that I lived in Egypt, and I discovered that Fosters is a tasty and worthwhile beer.

Friday: I accomplished remarkably little! I did laundry. I went out to our newly instituted Poker Night, and lost my five pound buy-in. But I won at hearts! Which didn't entail money. But whatever. We stayed up till 5.

Saturday: I slept a lot! And then I went on an adventure and bought a mug! And a really good Neil Gaiman book about Gods in America. It is the best. Then Jason came and we watched Pushing Daisies, which is so good.

Sunday: I messed around, and then got Jason really lost, and then we had a Modern Art Experience at the Tate Modern. It was exhausting, so I walked a really long and circuitous route back home because I was out of money after buying a pretty poster and even prettier postcard. We did discover a really cool park with a lit-up blue pathway which may or may not be a passage into another, magical dimension, so there's that. Due to the strenuous nature of all the modern art, I bought myself some delicacies from M&S, and retreated to read my book. Which is awesome. I may or may not be approaching 200 pages in. It may or may not be 2am. Whatever, comment on the back of the book that says I will "be enthralled and stay up all night to finish the book". You're not the boss of me.

In other, London-related news...I got nothing. I'm trying to take this experience slowly, and treat myself like a recovering invalid or something. I don't know why, it just seems smart, given that I still feel weird about being back here, and I really miss Cairo a lot. Oh, and America, I guess. I just miss things that I used to be able to do, in Cairo and in the US. I miss houses. And bathtubs. But you know what? Oh well! It's not really an active missing thing, more just something residual that is not really that bothersome.

This week should be nice, I'm planning on pretending to be a real person and going to the library or something. Then I should go out, at least one night. Also: an adventure to the Old Neighborhood??? And this weekend: day trip to Stratford? And a visit from Emma? Excitement!

I'm kind of itchy to start this whole traveling thing. Or, you know, this whole going out to trendy clubs and having amazing, crazy times. Either one. I figure they aren't mutually exclusive. So. I'm going to go listen to Neil Diamond and then go to bed!

Kisses!

IR Introspection Time!

I know, I know....updates on London coming soon, complete with pictures if you're lucky. But, for now, I am up waaay too late. I've successfully messed with my sleep schedule to the point where I think that jet lag has become ingrained in me. I do not even know what to do with myself. But! Here is what I came here for: I was doing some research on that Birthright trip to Israel (don't ask....), and then I somehow was just following random links involving Judaism, and I stumbled upon something that spurred me to action! I even posted a comment on this person's opinion blog! Anyway, there was a big uproar over this article in the Washington Post by Gandhi's grandson, or something. Read it here.

The comments there are very interesting, but the comments on the original blog where I first learned about this were what really annoyed me. They seemed to be all uniformly attacking the author, attacking him as a person and attacking his intelligence. I...found it a little disturbing? I hope that no one responds offensively to my comment, because I honestly do not know what to say about this. I just wrote that I respected where everyone was coming from, but I think that we all need to take a step back and stop taking cheap shots at each other. Then, we need to realize that more than one person can be right at a time. But I'd better not start, otherwise I'll get carried away. But I'm curious what people think about this article, the wording, etc. The author apparently had to put out an apology about his "poor wording", which was very interesting. Anyway.

Time for bed! Miss you all terribly! Kisses!

Everybody dance now!

So, I've been kind of despondent lately. Or, I don't know. I miss being in an exciting new culture, and London is just kind of naturally depressing. Also, the future is a damn depressing place. I have no idea where I'm living in the fall, and Austin is like a place that I used to live but have not been to in a while. I miss my friends. I don't know if I can say that I miss home, because everywhere that I am at is my home. Oh well. Maybe this is the start of a new, 'international' lifestyle! I miss last year. Sort of. Whatever, this year is perfectly fine. Jason is here, and Dave just got here yesterday, so life is good. Tonight we went out with some randoms from Jason's program and celebrated all (or at least some) that London had to offer. Tomorrow: maybe sightseeing? Next week: I start classes (finally!). That is as far ahead as I want to think. Although, I may or may not have reliable Arabic classes soon (cross fingers!).

Anyway, that is all I have to report. Oh, yeah, in the past few days, I've finished: the movies '1408', 'Waitress', and 'Evan Almighty', and the book, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time'. It all left me confused, happy, distressed, thinking I was autistic, and praising the miracle. I do not even know. So! How's life wherever you are? I miss hearing about it.

Kisses kisses!

London!

Well, I'm in London! There's not much to say, really, except that I'm in London and it's being very typical--grey, a bit cold, alternating icy wind, manageable weather, and strange not-quite-raining weather, but overall alright. I'll take some pictures in a few days of my soon-to-be daily walk to school...it's a little amazing. It definitely makes me miss the Nile and my old trip to school, though. I got a phone and everything, even some towels and some bathroom cleaner to scrub my nasty ass bathroom. Oh yeah, my room is super ghetto. Actually, my whole apartment place is really sketchy. The complex as a whole is nice, I suppose, for London. It's just my tower, which gets accessed with a swipe card, is always pitch black. You go in the door, and you're faced with total darkness where there should be a stairwell. I have not taken the stairs except for once, and that was in the daytime. It's really sketchy. And my hallway is always dark.

Also, my 'apartment' is not what I expected, at all. It is a narrow, dark hallway with individual rooms and locked doors leading off it. My room very narrow, and the walkspace is as wide as the door. There's a tiny closet thing, a desk with drawers and one shelf, a small bed with a really not firm mattress, and this hilariously sketch bathroom thing. It's like a trailer bathroom at a state fair, or a bathroom in a train or airplane. It's really not nice. There is no shower curtain, and the floor is permanently sticky. I had to buy towels because we didn't get any, and I haven't washed them yet but I think I'm just going to have to use them anyway, because I need to shower! I even bought cleaning stuff and washed the bathroom floor. Ugh. This place is sort of gross. The carpet is putting the typical college dorm/apartment carpet to shame in terms of dirtiness. Oh well! At least I have a mini fridge! And the kitchen doesn't look too bad....I don't know where to keep all my food, though, or where to find pots and pans....

Ok, enough complaining about things! Tomorrow I am doing Arcadia orientation (they're the stupid school I had to come through to get here), and we're supposedly going out to dinner (I hope they pay) and going to see the Lord of the Rings.....stage show? I don't know if it is a musical or not....I'm sort of hoping it is........anyway. Lots of love from London! I miss you all!

xoxo

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Oh man! It's 2008!!! When did that happen?! I hope you are all enjoying a lovely day-after-new-year's-day wherever you are. I am currently in a hotel in Chicago, where I have been since yesterday when I missed my flight to London due to our lateness and a blizzard. Oh well! I got to sleep in a king size bed! And hopefully everything will go off without any hitches tomorrow when I finally get there. Ok, gotta go shower and sort myself out. Adios!!

xoxo