Well then.

It seems I have some explaining to do. I have not written in quite a while. I'm so sorry! These things happen, you know. I just keep thinking, oh I should write, and then I just don't. I get all my best ideas on the tram, in the shower. I get all motivated, and then by the time I am actually by a computer that motivation is gone. Someone should invent a shower idea-taking device. I feel like this already exists? Anyway. This is probably not very important to be discussing.

I also haven't posted to our flagship blog (the program's blog, where we all contribute), which I also feel bad about. Again with the ideas and empty promises. But anyway. I should move on. What has been happening lately? What are the haps?! How is it where you are?? I hope everyone had a delightful Thanksgiving, and also a good November in general. This was quite an epic month for all involved, I feel like. I will attempt to recap.

Siwa
We went to Siwa! I can't even remember how many times I promised to write about Siwa (I even did that the first time we went, over the summer! Haha oh good times). Here is what you should know: Siwa is fantastic. It is very relaxed and laid back and the best place to go if you enjoy things like palm trees and relaxing around fires and riding in jeeps in the desert and rolling in the sand and having dance parties under the full moon and stars and having midnight parties at hot springs in the desert. We all got the desert madness, some people saw like tracks from a one-legged creature of some sort, we partied with Bedouins, we had some truly epic cuddling. It was magical.



Wednesday is the new Thursday
Remember how sometimes, in college, Thursday is the new Friday? Well, since our weekends here start on Friday, we finally made Wednesday the new Thursday after we totally accidentally had a ridiculously epic party on a Wednesday after class. Seriously, it started at like 2pm, and then next thing I know, someone is building a pyramid out of beer cans and calling it a beeramid, there is crazy dancing going on, everyone is ridiculous, and we're all passed out by 9pm. It was magic. Then we spent the entire weekend watching movies and having more parties. Truly productive. (picture: festive times commence! aka we bought Christmas lights)



Sick, and also Secret Clubs
Then I got sick for like a week. I just felt really run down, and had a sore throat a lot, and felt really nauseous a lot, and threw up a few times. Oh also there was some football madness for a while, Egypt vs. Algeria for a spot in the World Cup? They played twice, and Egypt won the first round but lost the second. I saw one of the games at this magical place called the Portuguese Club, which is ridiculous for a few reasons. Reason number one: there is no sign on the door, just a gate which you knock on and there is even a little panel that gets pulled back so someone can see who is outside. I really wanted to give the guy a password but couldn't think of anything, and he let us in anyway.

Thanksgiving!!! (Flagship style)
So, that brings us to Thanksgiving. Not real, America Thanksgiving, but our fake Thanksgiving the weekend before the real thing. We did it on Saturday, and the day before we went shopping and got some Christmas decorations. Nothing major, just some tinsel and lights. So, now our bookshelf in the living room has become a Christmas tree, and our balcony is extra festive. Anyway, Thanksgiving. We all made a list of who would make what, and spent the day preparing. We wanted a Turkey, and I was skeptical about that but lo and behold, Jake suddenly showed up with a 28lb turkey and proceeded to cook it to deliciousness. It was really impressive. Also, I elected to make pumpkin pie, which would've been easy if we had gone to Cairo and bought canned pumpkin stuff, but we didn't. So, I set about looking for pumpkins, and actually got lucky. The fruit guy down our street had some nice, pumkin-y looking things (they are small, roundish, and like tan coloured?). I didn't ask what they were, so I'm still not sure. I read that there are pie pumpkins and regular, and regular aren't as sweet, but my pie turned out lovely. So, verdict is out on what I actually cooked. But anyway. We also didn't have evaporated milk, so I evaporated some of my own, and used half condensed milk to make it sweeter. I also made my own crust, didn't even roll it out, and cooked the whole thing in a metal frying pan because we don't have a pie dish. I also hand ground some cloves, steamed a pumpkin, and 'pureed' it by hand with a fork. And guess what? It turned out amazing! I plan on making another soon, since I definitely have the second half of the sketchy pumpkin left. (picture: my pie! It sort of looks like quiche or something, so I figured I'd best clarify)



Real Thanksgiving!
We had half the week off for the holiday (there is a Muslim holiday at the same time, Eid al-Adha, which is all about slaughtering sheep! Look it up! Apparently the streets were running with blood, slaughter happening in the streets, good times!). I ended up going to Dahab with a friend, and we had an amazing time. We literally did nothing except sleep, eat, nap, read in the sun, and eat and sleep some more. Very very nice. Dahab is so ridiculous, there was this tiny militia of 7-year-old boys with fake guns that roamed the streets looking menacing, and they had this fierce rivalry with this band of dogs that also roamed the streets. I also saw way too many pantless guys (in all fairness they were wearing t-shirts and speedos, but come on). Oh, new favorite? Lemon milkshake. Think really good lemonade juice (basically lemonade) and vanilla ice cream, blended. Amazing. It tastes like melted lemon ice cream.

Hilarious
So, we almost missed our bus back to Alexandria! We took a bus from Dahab to Sharm al-Sheikh, and then had to buy tickets and wait for another bus. I had taken some Egyptian motion sickness medicine, which had totally kicked my ass, so I felt incredibly loopy and like I was dreaming. We were awaiting the bus, and guys kept coming over and being like, "you want bus to Dahab?" and we were like, no, Alexandria, and they said that bus wasn't there yet. So, we had faith that someone would come get the two foreigners once the Alexandria bus showed up. I guess we weren't keeping track of time, since suddenly one guy is like, "the bus is here!". So we gather our stuff, go outside, and look around. No buses look particularly like people are getting on, so we ask some old men, and one of them gets up and starts rushing around the side of the building. We follow, only to see our bus driving off through the gates of the station. This old guy starts running after, yelling at the driver, but to no avail. We're standing around stunned when a Bedouin guy jumps out of the bushes and is like, "come on! come on!". We follow to his pickup truck, throw our stuff in the back, and have barely climbed inside when he peels out of the parking lot and takes off after the bus. Meanwhile, I'm rolling around in the back of the pickup, having failed to secure myself properly, feeling quite groggy, and wondering what the heck is going on. The bus was really booking it, and we didn't catch up for quite some time, but finally we made it, pulled up along side, and after much horn honking and whatever the bus pulled over and we climbed aboard. I was super embarrassed, but there turned out to only be like 5 people on the bus, so not too many accusing stares were given at the stupid foreigners. Good times.

Ok! That was fun. I might have other stories to tell later, but mostly they are all boring and about how I hate going to classes. It is the birthday of one of the guys today, so we're having a party. We got party hats and a cake and sparkly pink candles that say '63' because we couldn't find any other numbers. We're going to have balloons, and play Apples to Apples! It's going to be great. And then it's Thursday! And the weekend! And oh my goodness guess what in less than three weeks I'll be home!!!! Like, America style!!!!

Back again!!!

So, I'm back in Alexandria. I know, I know, pretty much last time I posted was freaking back in the summer and I was all, "oh I'll post soon about Siwa haha", and I totally didn't, but yeah. I'm sorry! These things happen. I think that the link I posted to another girl's blog that one time about Siwa should about cover it for you, though, and if I ever think of anything I could just write it. But for now I have other things to tell you of. I went home for about 6 or 7 weeks, and it was lovely! Here are some highlights:
-Michigan: saw my cousin who is now in CAMEROON!, ate at Zingerman's (i hope that is right) in Ann Arbor, went to a wedding of a girl I hardly know, had an awesome family picnic in Grosse Pointe Park, and had some nice home cooked meals. It was basically a really good time, and my mum and I listened to a really good story tape on the drives, too.

-Illinois: I relaxed, saw friends, had a special classy evening hosted by Sasha and ending in a drag show at a gay bar (the drag queens! they can dance! like, they will own your shit! in a dance contest, and otherwise!), went running, read books 4-7 of Harry Potter, had Netflix!!! and watched several really good movies I'd missed, and had an all around good time. There were shenanigans, it was awesome. Oh! And I had a bath!

-Austin: Woooo! Ate at some of my favorite places (although Sao Paulo's chicken was not amazing for the first time in recorded memory...), saw my awesome friends, saw old friends, played drunk mini golf, accomplished goals, and basically was forcibly reminded of how totally wonderful Austin is. Then I drove back to Illinois.

So now, that leaves me in Alexandria. I got here, oh, Friday? I think? I left America on last Tuesday, arrived in London (!) on Wednesday, and had a lovely day around town with a boy (!). Then Thursday I did whirlwind shopping and then, weeping dejectedly, boarded a plane for Cairo, where I just got progressively more and more disillusioned and angry. On the plus side, I read The Time Traveler's Wife? It was pretty okay. Crazy premise!

My apartment is nice, so that's a plus. I am feeling really uncertain guilty shadows of feelings about not doing a host family, because I know it would be so nice to have a family just ready made and there to take care of you and love you. Maybe I would come out of this year being the kind of bubbly, exuberant, large-close-family-having person I've always dreamed of! More likely, however, is that it would be rather stressful for me, I think. I'm just not used to that, and however beneficial it would be, at the outset of all of this business I promised myself that I would get an apartment. I figure that I am going through a time (not a rough time or a bad time, but certainly a time) of change, perhaps, or a time of uncertainty or volatility in my personality, so I'd better do what I can while I'm here to ensure success. If that makes any sense. And I already made this decision, so I'm going to stop being wishy-washy and pretending like I regret it, right now! Ok.

Although, honestly having an apartment is weird right now. I haven't really lived with other people much! I mean, there's two years of dorm rooms, and then there's a summer of total stress and other people in an apartment, and then there's a year of solo living/dorm rooms, and then a year of what was basically solo living with an ever-absent roommate. So, I don't know what to do with two other people who I care about liking me. You know? And, plus, I'm all jetlagged and confused, so I keep having these feelings like, what am I supposed to do now? What do we do with our time? It's really stupid. I'm sure I'll get the hang of being a person soon. I mean, I better, because man!

Anyway. Oh, news! The boys got quarantined! It was a stupid swine flu paranoia thing, involving one of our number getting taken to the hospital against his will, breaking out of the hospital, and then getting a whole floor quarantined. And, because Egypt is so great, the staff in the dorms was trying to stop them using AC or showers, because those are things that will make you get sick! (.....) But, good news, I don't think anyone actually has swine flu, and I just got word that the boys organized a breakout in order to go drink beer by the sea. So, good news?

Food is another weird thing right now. I'm not obsessive about my food, by any means, but I am particular. I'll seriously eat anything if I'm hungry enough, but I do like what I like. I like having access to good quality, healthy food, preferably with minimal artificial things in it. Lately, just the idea of tons of extraneous ingredients in food makes me feel weird. But, so far, this kind of thing is going to be difficult to come by here. I mean, I can get vegetables (what's in season, anyway...peppers, tomatoes, some basics). I can get seasonable fruit. I can get bread. I can get white pasta. I can get low fat plain yogurt, juice from concentrate, skim milk, and (from the right places) tuna in water. There are loads of lentils and beans and peas and such. But, I am having a hard time with the following: lack of good cheeses that I am used to, lack of meat that I trust (where is the good old organic chicken behind it's reliable fly-proof counter at Central Market?!), lack of whole grains. I don't know. I know I'll get used to this, but it's hard right now. Little things like this really throw me off kilter. I splurged and paid way more than necessary for brown rice, but am sadly without any kind of hard cheese to grate on top. I'll figure it out?

Speaking of rice, mine has been sitting on the stove for a while, so I should go eat. Oh, we have a gas stove! Which I guess is desirable? Although ours is quite...not modern. Anyway. I'll update soon with more exciting insights (haha)! Chances are, I miss you!

Oh no oh dear

So, I'm in Washington D.C. I've been here since Wednesday, and we're leaving tonight for Egypt. We fly to Frankfurt at 10pm tonight and get in at noon Frankfurt time, then have like 9 hours in Frankfurt and then leave that night for Alexandria. I am so not excited. Just doing this for 2 months is already bad enough. Like, it is exciting, in theory. I can understand the excitement. I think I'm just tired, and I guess that I am one of those people that needs a break from constant socialization. Like, with people I know well and am friends with, it is okay. But otherwise I don't know. It's like those quizzes that ask about your personality and whether you find being around mass groups of new people exhilarating or exhausting. I find it a little exhausting, particularly on low sleep and when it is raining and we have to sit through long hours of boring orientation on cultural differences and blah blah etc. I am being pretty boring right now, actually, and whiny too. I'm sorry.

On the plus side, I saw the White House! And the Washington Monument! And the Lincoln Memorial! Very cool. Even though it was raining the whole time pretty much, both times I saw it. I'm a little excited about the airport, I do love airports and the idea of being a traveler. In reality it is mostly often tiring and I just end up feeling dirty, but I like the idea. I'll do my best to update semi-frequently on more exciting stuff than my own complaining (my mum is actually offering to pay me to write intelligent, informative blog posts!), but we'll see. Maybe I'll even post some pictures!

I don't really have anything else constructive to say, other than talking nonsense about the various people going on this program with me (most are ok, some are cool, some are weird, several are super annoying, etc). We have to start loading stuff on buses and gathering and milling around in about 15 minutes, so I'm going to go get my stuff prepared. I will update upon my arrival! Kisses!