Smooth Move

Masaa' il-Kheer! (Good Evening)

Today I took the train from Alex to Cairo in order to move into my dorm. When I came here in 2007, I don't remember ever taking the opportunity to really savor the views through the train car window as we made our way down the Nile. The river transforms from a delta, as many of you probably know, to a very big river once you get close to Cairo. I loved watching the children playing soccer in a make-shift soccer field while others tend their fields of rice, citrus orchards, and many different kinds of vegetables. These things are very plentiful in the within the delta.

The move into the dorms was very uneventful, thankfully. In fact, I've already made friends with many students, many of them in similar or the same field of study. We headed to a café and exchanged stories. To top the evening off, we had a wonderful and educational conversation with our cab driver. After, I had to assure my dumbfounded dorm-mates that their comprehension of Egyptian Arabic would eventually improve, slowly but surely. I am just starting to get used to the accent, and I have so far to go.

In case you're wondering, the Egyptian people love Americans and have many good things to say about them. :)

*** in response to one of the questions asked: I'm not sure of the exact percentage of particular nationalities at AUC, but so far I've only met Americans at the dorms. We'll see.

Ma'assalama