Etc, Etc

I've just got a few miscellaneous things to blog about and some pictures from a small class tour to add.

First-
We went to see Transformers 2 last week. Actually, we went to see some Arabic movie called the suspect but it was terrible, so we snuck into Transformers during the isteraha استراحة (the break). Every movie in Egypt has a break about half way through. It's brilliant. Inevitably when you go to the movies you either have to get up to a get refill on popcorn or another snack or use the bathroom and you always miss something. Not here- there is about a ten minute break. Fabulous. It was fun to see transformers with our Egyptian friends since part of the movie aka the huge crazy robot battle at the end, takes place in Egypt. But we all had a few complaints. First- Egypt is not all desert and camels as they would have it seem in the movie. Second- the pyramids are not on the Sinai penininsula or anywhere close to Petra, which is located in Jordan. Petra is the large temple in the side of the mountain they go to. Yeah, not close to the pyramids, which are in Cairo. Third- the Pyramids are not all by themselves in the middle of the desert, they are right next to the city.
When one of the robots was climbing up and smashing one of the pyramids, our friend was yelling at us in the theater- حرام عليك! الاهرام بطعنا! haram alek! alahram bitana! Shame on you! The pyramids belong to us! It was entertaining. We actually saw the last few remants of movie gear from the filming when we were at the pyramids a month ago.

Second-
One of the girls in our program, Laura, got accepted to Oxford for graduate school. How cool is that!!?? So we went out with our Egyptian friends to celebrate on Monday night. We ate dinner and played some pool and then went to the bar. One of only two I'm pretty sure exist in Alexandria. It's maybe the greatest dive bar I've ever seen. It usually plays English music too. Our beer of choice: Stella of course, Egypt's national beer. We ended up playing Egyptian spin the bottle. Don't worry, it doesn't involve any kissing. It's like truth or dare, without the dare. You spin the bottle and whoever it lands on, you get to ask them a question. It was very interesting. We didn't have any idea of what the boundaries are of what is and isn't appropriate to ask. We learned quickly that anything past the PG-13 point is مش مناسب mish munasib! (inappropriate). The Egyptians kept asking us who we thought were the cutest boys in the Flagship program or the rotary club (the club they all belong to). We would ask them who they thought the cutest girls were and they would immediately conference all together and whisper at the end of the table and giggle. It was cute.

Third-
We took a tour as a class of sharia Fouad, a street that is part of old Alexandria, together as a class this week. That is where all of the pictures on this blog post are from, just wondering around. We stopped at this delicious bakery called Pumpkin and had some amazing cake! We also stopped at an Italian restaurant and some people stayed and had pizza for lunch. I opted to run back to the dorm so I could eat quickly and get to the Dar to do homework and blog where the internet is faster.

Fourth-
Speaking of the internet in the Dar, facebook and all "social networking/dating" sites have been banned on the college campus. Luckily not yet in the dorms. The faculty at the college banned the sites. We're not sure exactly why. But we're bummed.

Fifth-
I though I'd post a picture of myself up close since I've done some changes since I've been in Egypt. I got my nose pierced. Maybe not the best idea here, but the place was clean and legit, I promise. I also colored my hair with Henna. It made it a brown/red color. The henna will wash out in a few months and I'll be blonde again. Until then, I'm just enjoying the ride as it lightens and changes colors on me. It's a lovely shade of auburn this week!

Sixth-
We are now seme-famous in Egypt. A picture of five of us from the Program made it into the magazine- Nus adunia or "Half the World" which is a woman's magazine. The picture is from when we attended the Tamer Hosny concert. I'm trying to get my hands on a copy buy haven't been successful yet. Inshallah I will find one soon.