Welcome to Alexandria

I thought I was going to commit homicide in the airport. In the bus. On the plane. Again on the bus. People start getting awfully chatty and talk deliriously about nothing when they are nervous/excited/exhausted. I tend to be quieter. Much quieter.

Last night was the best sleep I've had in a while. The bed is pure Egyptian cotton, meaning no springs! Alexandria is so beautiful! We're near the ocean, and the weather is warm and breezy. I even turned down my air conditioner because I was freezing to death.

I met the Egyptians that I'm sharing this floor with last night. It's amazing how much I didn't understand them. I kept moving from small group to small group, trying to either listen or introduce myself. It was made more difficult by the fact that I don't even know the guys on our trip. I'm the only one from U of M, the others were girls. Before we left, everyone stuck to their schools, it was very clicky. Now I wish I would have branched out a bit before, it's just making things more difficult.

At first before I got there, I thought of saying I had a headache and walking right to bed because I was so exhausted and cranky. I knew they all wanted to talk right when I got there. It's one big difference between American and Egyptian culture, the privacy issue. It doesn't really exist here, so it's important to make it known beforehand so as not to hurt anyone's feelings. I snuck away eventually nonetheless to eat the box of dinner that awaited me in my room: a couple pieces of French bread with meat and cheese, and condiments of honey, jelly, and cheese spread. There were also some tasty mini deserts to go with it.

I'm about to go to breakfast and I don't remember anyone's name. It all happened so fast that I actually can't remember if they were telling me a greeting or telling me their name. 'Afif, I remember his name. I'll talk to him. They're all really welcoming though. Then off to the school for a crash course in Egyptian Arabic. Thank god, I won't just smile and nod hopefully by the end of the week. Here I go, outside my box.