But first, the less interesting stuff. Yesterday I got my class schedule! I placed into High Elementary Arabic, which isn't so bad considering their standards. The other people I've talked to who placed in the same level have also completed chapter 15 in the first book of Al-Kitaab, so it sounds like I'm exactly where I should be. My Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) classes run from 9:30 to about 12:45, and then I have Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (ECA) until 2:30. Classes start Sunday, and I can't wait!
Wednesday night I went out with some friends again. We had Iftar (the breaking of the fast at sunset) with Ahmed and Sherif, then to a cute cafe/lounge for hookah and tea. Katie sang Hotel California and was asked for an encore, and we all played Truth or Dare and Never Have I Ever. It was so much fun. Ahmed and Sherif are excellent hosts.
Which brings me to... THE BEST PART.
Last night was epic. Our Egyptian friends met our small group of Americans in Zamalek at 9pm with a bus they had rented for the evening. We went to what I can only describe as an outdoor lounge/club on the outskirts of town, by the desert. We could see the pyramids from the club. We ate, smoked hookah, and danced our asses off. There was even a lion cub! Which I nommed on, of course.
The music and energy of the place was incredible. The entertainers came out dancing and dragged us all on stage. Somehow I ended up with some sort of dancing stick, which Dana and I held (without hands) for a game of limbo. Dana, by the way, is my really awesome suitemate. We are planning on getting an apartment off-campus together next semester, where we will hold parties like last night ALL THE TIME.
When the music stopped at 4am (please don't stop the mu-sic, mu-sic, mu-sic...), we decided that would be a good time to hop on some camels. The sun was just beginning to peek through Cairo's polluted skies when we set out for the desert. We stopped for tea in the middle of nowhere with a beautiful view of the pyramids and played a game with the locals before heading back. Finally got home at 8am, and when I woke up this afternoon I was afraid it had all be a fantastic dream. People don't really play with lions, dance with strangers, and ride camels through the pyramids all in one night, do they?
(Sun peeking through polluted Cairene skies at sunrise and Ahmed on a horse with the pyramids)
(some of the crew, from left to right: Sherif, me, Dana, Frankie, Danielle, Katie, and Ahmed)
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