The Nile's Pretty, Just Don't Touch It..

I apologize for the paucity of posts, but as I mentioned before, a post without pictures just isn't really much of a post at all. Now, this week marked the beginning of classes and the end of Ramadan (going on right now actually). I am taking two Arabic classes, one Fus7a (foos-Ha, not fu-sha), and one 3miya class.

*Quick transliteration tutorial: 7 is used to represent the emphatic 'h' in arabic. Its very similar to the sound you make when you're trying to clear food out of your retainer (come on, we've all been there). 7 is not to be confused with that phlegmy KH sound that Ahmad the terrorist has made us all so familiar with (if you're confused see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouDRDzqTu0M ). 3 represents the latter ayn, technically known as a voiced pharyngal fricative. Its the sound you make while choking/throwing up.. kinda of. See wiki for more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayin .*

A little more about those two arabic classes, fus7a is also known as Modern Standard Arabic, or MSA. This is what you will hear spoken on news broadcasts or in formal addresses/speeches and written in newspapers, some books, and, most importantly, the Quran. 3miya is the colloquial Arabic, in my case 3miya muSree, or egyptian colloquial. In addition to these two classes, I am taking an Arabic music course and Economic History of the Middle East. I just recently realized I actually have space for one more course, so when I choose it I'll be sure to let you all know. Now the school week is four days long, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Some students who are taking science class have labs on Tuesday, but for the rest of us lazy humanities children Tuesday is one of our three days off. On this particular Tuesday I was kindly invited by a new friend from Georgetown to take an evening felluca ride on the Nile. I realized once I arrived that it was partially in honor of another Georgetowner's birthday who we sang Happy Birthday to in all our respective languages: English, Arabic, Hindi, Hebrew and Spanish. See mostly finished cake pictures below. Actually just see all pictures below. Theres not much more to say about the felluca ride that can't be said more effectively using graphic information:

View of the Nile from the street above the dock

Our felluca!

City view from the dock

One of the other hundred fellucas on the Nile

Our cheery felluca captain

Fuzzy city view with spotlights

yummy birthday cake with Hannah Montana, Winnie the Pooh, and Barbie plates

Hanging on for dear life

The city got a little drowned out, but other people took pictures, just waiting for them to get put up on facebook

The Nile, like so many other beautiful and timeless things in Egypt, has unfortunately fallen prey to the inability of Egyptians to put trash in trashcans (similar to my apartment's balconies). So, it may be beautiful, but it's also polluted and full of things that can kill you. So don't touch.

Now after this delightful evening we headed over to Zamalek to have a little shisha, a more than common past time for Egyptians. We ordered four for the table one of which ended belonging almost exclusively to me because it was too far from everyone else, oops!

The sheesha lineup

Happy smoking children

Ihsaan and Seth (Georgetown kids)

Ihsaan goes triple

This weekend marks the end of Ramadan and therefore the celebration of the Eid for which all of us studious students received a four day weekend. In honor of this holiday I/my parents are treating me to a weekend in Dahab. I arrived early this morning, but lest any of you should ruin my vacation with your jealousy (I don't blame you) I'm going to slightly delay my posts of the trip.

Happy Eid!