Quite the day...

This afternoon, Darren and I met up with John (another MCC'er) and Carmen. John wanted to
take us to see Coptic Cairo. It's the part of town that has Christian churches dating
back to the 5th century! Quite the sight to behold. There is one called the Hanging
Church b/c it is built on top of Roman pillars and there is a spot where you can look down
to see how the whole thing is supported. Odd. Great architecture and very interesting
history.

After that, Carmen and I decided to check out another one of the local churches for
worship. This one ended up being about 30 people in their 50s-70s, one 20-something, and
the 2 of us! *laugh* Not quite what I was expecting, but their music was great and the
people were really friendly! One big bonus is that there were a number of Egyptians
there who like to worship in English for practice and they just prefer it to other
services in Arabic. I guess there is worship and Bible study on Saturday nights, so
that is when a few younger people go. I'll have to check it out.

On the way back from the service, I decided that I was going to have my first coffee
shop experience. Now, this isn't what North Americans would think of when you say
"coffee shop". No latte' or espresso here! Just tea, coffee, pepsi, lots of smoking
and the sound of dominos or backgammon pieces being slapped down on the gameboard!
Up until now, I had been hesitant to go into any b/c I wanted to have a bit of Arabic in
my mind so that I didn't seem _completely_ clueless. Also, there aren't any of these
places right in the neighborhood where we live, since we're in a more upscale neighborhood,
I guess.

Anyway, I went in, ordered tea and sat for a few minutes as everyone in the place looked
at me and tried to decide what I was doing there... After a little bit, some guys
motioned me over to play dominos with them. I won't even try to explain how the playing
and scoring worked b/c I'm a little fuzzy on that. But it definitely involved dominos
and connecting them together with matching numbers. I don't know who won, but eventually
the guys switched to backgammon and I watched them play.

These weren't any backgammon rules that I've ever seen and they played 2 different ways,
so I need to try learning. The guys were really funny and kept having me order drinks.
After my tea, I had a Pepsi, and then some other kind of tea with lots of milk in it.
Some of the guys knew a bit of English, so that was helpful for explaining things but I
also got to use a lot of the Arabic that I know. I don't know that much, so I used it
pretty quickly! *smirk*

Of course, as I was getting ready to leave, the men I had been with insisted on paying
for my drinks! That's Egyptian hospitatlity!

Now for some email, studying, and then bed.