More pictures!!! Today’s trip was to Maqhatam and the Citadel. Maqhatam is where all Cairo’s garbage goes and people live there to try to find stuff that's still worth something and sell it. There’s also this amazing Monastery there – built into the side of a mountain.
See:
Maqhatam and Citadel Pics
Username: jpics
Password: easy
So we’re going tonight on the 12:30am bus to Dahab. (Dahab is about 9 hours in a bus from Cairo – on the Sinai Peninsula, near Saudi Arabia)
The trouble is, there isn’t a 12:30am today.
Tonight is the night in Egypt to “spring forward” and that happens at 12am. So 12am becomes 1am and that means there’s no 12:30. *laugh*
It’s very silly to think about and it amuses me a lot! We’re presuming that the bus will leave 31 minutes after 11:59pm. Odd way to think about it.
Thursday, April 24, 2003
Holiday time!!!! I have 11 days away from class! Now, what to do??? Answer -- relaxing a bit today then taking a night bus tonight with Darren to Dahab. We’re just going to hang out on the beach Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
*smile*
I think this is a good time to leave town b/c it’s starting to get really warm!
On an unrelated noted, what’s the deal with the movie Bend it Like Beckham? How many of you out there have seen it? From what I can tell, it’s a British indie comedy that’s gaining popularity in the U.S. Check out the trailers, if you're interested. I had seen one awhile back, but forgot about it...
I first heard about it from British friends in my teaching class. After that, my friend Julie wrote to say that she went to see it and then David mentioned in his Blog that he had gone… I guess I’ll have to check it out sometime. I’m pretty sure it won’t make it to Egypt, so I’ll probably have to wait a couple of years!
*smile*
I think this is a good time to leave town b/c it’s starting to get really warm!
On an unrelated noted, what’s the deal with the movie Bend it Like Beckham? How many of you out there have seen it? From what I can tell, it’s a British indie comedy that’s gaining popularity in the U.S. Check out the trailers, if you're interested. I had seen one awhile back, but forgot about it...
I first heard about it from British friends in my teaching class. After that, my friend Julie wrote to say that she went to see it and then David mentioned in his Blog that he had gone… I guess I’ll have to check it out sometime. I’m pretty sure it won’t make it to Egypt, so I’ll probably have to wait a couple of years!
Wednesday, April 23, 2003
Tuesday, April 22, 2003
Had a nice Easter service on Sunday. We took a very formal communion at the end, which was somewhat unusual. Especially for me -- this was complete with kneeling down at the front of the sanctuary with a group of 5-6 other people to take the bread and juice/wine.
On the way back home, however, I felt like I was a walking target!
Why?
Well, at the end of the service, they encouraged us each to take a flower home. So, I was carrying a 3 foot long stalk of Easter lily down the street as I was walking home. Quite the way of saying “hi, I’m a western Christian!” *grin*
But that’s an exaggeration – most of the population here wouldn’t make the connection between the flower, Easter, and me. However, I was amused while thinking about all this.
On the plus side, the lily seems to be surviving quite well. I put it in some water right away and now 2 days later, it’s looking good! Some additional buds have opened up and I put it out in the sun today to try to perk it up a little more.
Pictures of Plants on the Balcony and the Easter Lily
Username: jpics
Password: easy
I've been eating lots of leftovers or food here at the flat, lately. Part of that is I'm realizing how much food I have sitting around that I should try to eat before moving to Tanta! *laugh* Not really that much, I guess -- mostly bags of pasta and some tomato paste to go with it. I could give it away to other MCC'ers, but it just seems easier to eat it!
Pictures of Baking and Food Items
Username: jpics
Password: easy
Everyday that I have class, I eat lunch in the cafeteria there. The food is pretty good and a bit more expensive than on the street, but it's really convenient to stay there, chat with people, etc. Now that we are getting to know some of our students better, we talk with them too -- especially our "Upper-Intermediate" group because they are fairly good at conversation, but still want/need more practice.
I had class on Monday and taught a lesson. It definitely went better than the one I did last week, but I still messed up in a few areas on the Language Focus and showing the form of the Present Continuous verbs. It was better than last week, but I still got the same grade. *laugh* Grade = Pass, but edging toward a Weak Pass. That's just for the individual assignment. Overall with the class, I still think I'm at a Pass with no danger of going lower, but also not much opportunity to get a Strong Pass. That's reserved for people who are really, really impressive and they don't give that high mark very often. Maybe 1 person out of my class will get that as an overall grade.
Getting ready for class again on Wednesday. I don't officially teach, but one of our classmates isn't teaching anymore b/c of health problems, so 2 of us are going to split up her lesson and teach it. Not for a grade, just to get more experience, so our tutors are helping us more with the preparation than they would with our graded assignments. They really are requiring us to be much more independent now.
Too bad we're not going to be using the same textbooks when I'm in Tanta! I have all these plans together and some materials. *smile* Well, they'll be good for reference!
On the way back home, however, I felt like I was a walking target!
Why?
Well, at the end of the service, they encouraged us each to take a flower home. So, I was carrying a 3 foot long stalk of Easter lily down the street as I was walking home. Quite the way of saying “hi, I’m a western Christian!” *grin*
But that’s an exaggeration – most of the population here wouldn’t make the connection between the flower, Easter, and me. However, I was amused while thinking about all this.
On the plus side, the lily seems to be surviving quite well. I put it in some water right away and now 2 days later, it’s looking good! Some additional buds have opened up and I put it out in the sun today to try to perk it up a little more.
Pictures of Plants on the Balcony and the Easter Lily
Username: jpics
Password: easy
I've been eating lots of leftovers or food here at the flat, lately. Part of that is I'm realizing how much food I have sitting around that I should try to eat before moving to Tanta! *laugh* Not really that much, I guess -- mostly bags of pasta and some tomato paste to go with it. I could give it away to other MCC'ers, but it just seems easier to eat it!
Pictures of Baking and Food Items
Username: jpics
Password: easy
Everyday that I have class, I eat lunch in the cafeteria there. The food is pretty good and a bit more expensive than on the street, but it's really convenient to stay there, chat with people, etc. Now that we are getting to know some of our students better, we talk with them too -- especially our "Upper-Intermediate" group because they are fairly good at conversation, but still want/need more practice.
I had class on Monday and taught a lesson. It definitely went better than the one I did last week, but I still messed up in a few areas on the Language Focus and showing the form of the Present Continuous verbs. It was better than last week, but I still got the same grade. *laugh* Grade = Pass, but edging toward a Weak Pass. That's just for the individual assignment. Overall with the class, I still think I'm at a Pass with no danger of going lower, but also not much opportunity to get a Strong Pass. That's reserved for people who are really, really impressive and they don't give that high mark very often. Maybe 1 person out of my class will get that as an overall grade.
Getting ready for class again on Wednesday. I don't officially teach, but one of our classmates isn't teaching anymore b/c of health problems, so 2 of us are going to split up her lesson and teach it. Not for a grade, just to get more experience, so our tutors are helping us more with the preparation than they would with our graded assignments. They really are requiring us to be much more independent now.
Too bad we're not going to be using the same textbooks when I'm in Tanta! I have all these plans together and some materials. *smile* Well, they'll be good for reference!
Sunday, April 20, 2003
Happy Easter!!!!
Well, Western Easter, that is… There may be some drawbacks to being a Western Christian in a country with mostly Muslims, but in this case there is an advantage. I get 2 times to celebrate Easter! Yeah, today is Easter like many of you are celebrating, but then next Sunday is “Eastern Easter”. No, I haven’t found out yet why we celebrate on a different day. But hopefully, I will.
It’s a gorgeous, sunny day but I’ve been inside studying so far this morning. I’ll make a break for it and be outside a bit later!
So in case any of you have been wondering, “Jason, is it a bad idea to leave your laundry outside on the line for 4 days?”, the answer is “yes”.
*laugh*
I put sheets out to dry on Thursday and just remembered to bring them in. With the wind, they were all wrapped around each other and the other drying lines, so it took awhile to get them untangled, while making sure that they didn’t fall to the ground.
Everyday is a learning experience. For me…and for all of you… Remember that.
On this day, remember to think about more than chocolate rabbits.
Well, Western Easter, that is… There may be some drawbacks to being a Western Christian in a country with mostly Muslims, but in this case there is an advantage. I get 2 times to celebrate Easter! Yeah, today is Easter like many of you are celebrating, but then next Sunday is “Eastern Easter”. No, I haven’t found out yet why we celebrate on a different day. But hopefully, I will.
It’s a gorgeous, sunny day but I’ve been inside studying so far this morning. I’ll make a break for it and be outside a bit later!
So in case any of you have been wondering, “Jason, is it a bad idea to leave your laundry outside on the line for 4 days?”, the answer is “yes”.
*laugh*
I put sheets out to dry on Thursday and just remembered to bring them in. With the wind, they were all wrapped around each other and the other drying lines, so it took awhile to get them untangled, while making sure that they didn’t fall to the ground.
Everyday is a learning experience. For me…and for all of you… Remember that.
On this day, remember to think about more than chocolate rabbits.
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