So, first a little general news. Classes started on Sunday, and for the most part they've been pretty good. I'm taking Intro to Islam, Arabic, The Historical Jesus and Cultures and Peoples of the Middle East and North Africa. We only have class 4 days a week, so no complaints there, and the classes, in general are not too difficult. Arabic, of course, is quite a bit of work due to attempting to remember everything I've forgotten by this point and also adding on new information. But, the teacher is wonderful and sweet, and my classmates are great (there are only 4 of us). Life is good.
Unfortunately, I got food poisoning Sunday night, so I ended up leaving school early on Monday and then using our free day (Tuesday), to sleep and try to recover. Definitely NOT a fun experience. Luckily, i'm blessed to have two wonderful roommates who went out and got crackers for me, made sure to ask how i was feeling and just generally check in on me whenever they could. While i'm not FULLY over it yet and only just today ate my first somewhat full meal, I do feel MUCH better than before. So thank you for your prayers!
Finally, on a more serious note, I want to let you all know what's been happening news-wise. Yesterday, when we got back to the dorms, per usual there was a soccer match on. It happened to be the match between Cairo club al-Ahly and club al-Masry. Everyone was cheering and yelling until the game ended and suddenly madness erupted. The winning team's fans (al-Masry) rushed the field towards the al-Ahly team and fans. People were getting attacked with knives, fireworks, hand to hand fighting, it was terrible. Two students from AUC died in the tragedy. At least one of the bodies is missing....i'm unsure about the other. There were protests on campus today as angry students demanded answers for what had happened. As of right now people, in general are assuming that this was at least in part some sort of governmental conspiracy. Whatever the case may be, our prayers are with the families of everyone who didn't make it out of that game.
If you haven't heard of this or simply want more info here are some good resources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/16854554
http://news.yahoo.com/40-killed-clashes-egypt-soccer-match-191558932--soccer.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16848473
Unfortunately, I got food poisoning Sunday night, so I ended up leaving school early on Monday and then using our free day (Tuesday), to sleep and try to recover. Definitely NOT a fun experience. Luckily, i'm blessed to have two wonderful roommates who went out and got crackers for me, made sure to ask how i was feeling and just generally check in on me whenever they could. While i'm not FULLY over it yet and only just today ate my first somewhat full meal, I do feel MUCH better than before. So thank you for your prayers!
On a more positive food note, in general the food here is WONDERFUL. There is shawerma, koshari, falafel, and kebabs. Along with of course, general Americanized foods. EVERYTHING is delicious. I'm angry I can't stomach them quite yet. I miss it already!
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| Falafel |
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| Koshari |
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| Shawerma |
Finally, on a more serious note, I want to let you all know what's been happening news-wise. Yesterday, when we got back to the dorms, per usual there was a soccer match on. It happened to be the match between Cairo club al-Ahly and club al-Masry. Everyone was cheering and yelling until the game ended and suddenly madness erupted. The winning team's fans (al-Masry) rushed the field towards the al-Ahly team and fans. People were getting attacked with knives, fireworks, hand to hand fighting, it was terrible. Two students from AUC died in the tragedy. At least one of the bodies is missing....i'm unsure about the other. There were protests on campus today as angry students demanded answers for what had happened. As of right now people, in general are assuming that this was at least in part some sort of governmental conspiracy. Whatever the case may be, our prayers are with the families of everyone who didn't make it out of that game.
If you haven't heard of this or simply want more info here are some good resources:
http://news.yahoo.com/40-killed-clashes-egypt-soccer-match-191558932--soccer.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16848473
