I have three main things I want to do while in Egypt this week:
- Speak Arabic as much as possible. Last week, as part of a favor to a teacher-friend who is getting certified to test students in Arabic, we had a 45 minute structured conversation, exclusively in Arabic. I hadn’t known I could talk that much and that long, so this week I want to try for longer.
- Decalcify my brain. I was upset on the plane to find my brain muttering darkly about the weird food and English-second announcements. Those kinds of gripes are not ones I want in my brain, even when it is percolating on less than 18 hours of sleep for four days of work.
- Put faces to online-names. I have a batch of friends in Cairo: friends from CMU, friends who I met while applying for the Fulbright, friends of my Mom’s, friends of NGO-running friends. I want to put my body where my head has been these last few months and get into conversations in real time with people I’ve been chatting with online.
Also, sleep. Also, be a total tourist and visit the pyramids again. Also, sleep.
Inspirational Quote:
“I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine.”–Caskie Stinnett
