Coming up for air...

Wow. It's been awhile. Apologies for my absence these last few days, but things have been a little crazy on my end. I'm officially in the home stretch, with just over two weeks of classes left, and I got caught up in a nasty patch of final papers. But a few all-nighters later and I'm no worse for the wear. Anyway, I thought I'd take the chance to fill you in on some developments in my life that you might be interested in hearing about.

Last week, I paid a $500 dollar deposit for the Hedayet Institute's intensive Arabic program, confirming my participation in it this coming summer. I took the trip to the institute early one morning, and had the chance to check out the facility and learn more about the program. It sounds like an incredible opportunity. I'll be sending upwards of 4 hours a day receiving Arabic instruction, and it sounds like the staff is fully committed to providing students with an immersive experience. You even have to sign a pledge that says you will refrain from speaking any other language but Arabic while in the building. Now that's what I'm talking about! I've been disappointed with my progress with the language this semester, so hopefully a summer with Hedayet is the type of swift kick in the butt I need to get back on top of my game. Tuition for the program, which lasts from June 14 - July 31, is more than covered by the $5,500 grant I received from ND for language study.

As a result of the over-generous grant from ND, as well as the fact that I'll have over three weeks free after AUC ends but before Hedayet begins, I've decided to go to Turkey for a week. I'll be flying out of Cairo on June 2nd and coming back on the 10th. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this trip is that my dad is coming out here all the way from Minnesota to join me. I haven't got down to the nitty gritty of planning, but I imagine we'll spend a few days in Istanbul, then head down the Aegean coast, and maybe relax at a Mediterranean resort for a day or two before heading north again to Ankara. Should be a fun trip.

Even with those eight days in Turkey, I'm still going to have nearly two weeks where I'm unoccupied. I'm planning on going to a Red Sea resort town, like Dahab, for a few days to hit the beach and snorkel, and then cap it off with a dead-of-night climb up Mt. Sinai in time for sunrise at the top. I'll probably do this mini-excursion sometime during the last 10 days of June.

Summer in Cairo means I'll need to get an apartment. I'm pretty excited about this prospect. I'm never lived "off on my own," as I've been in a dorm my entire college career and obviously back at 30404 Papago before that. I'm looking forward to the relative freedom and also the endless cooking possibilities that await me. Koshari's been good to me, but I won't mind being able to whip up a salad, or cook some chicken, or store some yogurt in a fridge. Since the Hedayet Institute is in Maadi, I'm pretty set getting an apartment in that area. Even though it's one of the nicer parts of town, rent is still incredibly cheap, sometimes less than $250 a month per person for a fully furnished apartment. I'm headed down that way on Friday with another ND kid who's staying out for the summer to check out some of our options.

And finally, possibly the most important development. After weeks of uncertainty and anxiety, I finally have a return ticket back to the States. Originally, I was told that there were no flights available that would allow me to switch my return ticket from May to August, even though I'd been informed that I'd be able to do this when I agreed to purchase the round trip airfare. However, in a classic case of the squeaky wheel getting some oil, my insistence paid off. I now have a return flight scheduled for August 2nd, departing Cairo at 9:30 AM and arriving in JFK a little after four in the afternoon. I still have to figure out switching the domestic leg of my trip, but just knowing that I have my airfare back to America confirmed makes me feel really good inside. I can't wait to visit the lake, eat a ButterBurger, and just see my friends and family. Oh yah, and WeFest.

Well, that's the big news in my life. As I said, just over two weeks of school left- my last day is May 20th. I can afford to relax for a bit before I have to start getting to work on my 15 page research paper for Women, Islam, and the State. In addition to this paper, I have four finals during the last week of school, an in class presentation, and that's about it. Not too shabby. Can't wait to be done.