A Short One

So this is going to be a short one, since all of a sudden I am extremely busy and I don't know how that happened. cause before I didn't know what to do with myself. I guess having class from 9 AM til 5:30 pm (with breaks of course, but I can't come back to the apartment) helps pass the time. ;)
All right. So a lot of things have changed. A) I have become much happier here since realizing that I can have a good time without being able to completely be myself or do the things I did in America. B) I have started to worry a lot less. Both very good things.
Let's see. I went to church yesterday, which was actually really cool. I ended up leaving the service a little early because it was nearly two and a half hours long and I had other places to be. But it was really cool. I took the risk of going to the service in Arabic, and I understood a surprising amount, even though the format of the service is quite different than it is in America. The words are sort of similar, but much more about giving yourself up to God, and less about repenting. Also, the people get really into, like clapping and singing real loud (oh no, there goes my English), and the kids were playing this fake little guitar. It was pretty cool. And I guess there's going to be a big service with all the clergy from England, and like, the Archbishop of Canterbury, there, next Sunday. And I think I'm going to go. I sat next to this British woman who has lived here for a really long time and she translated a bit for me.
Then let's see. Yesterday I also walked around this neighborhood that seems to be composed almost wholly of open air souks. It was really really cool. I want to go back with not just myself, and hopefully with some Egyptians, because the harassment was much more prominent than usual since souks are a place where you don't really ever see foreigners. I'll try and take pictures once I'm more comfortable with looking like a tourist.
And then today, I was eating lunch by myself near the library of Alexandria, which isn't a loner thing to do or anything, I just like to think sometimes. But then this Egyptian girl like, descended upon me and was like, Where are you from? What do you study? You speak Arabic?!?! We have to go around the city together after exams! And then she took my number with her, and I also met two of her friends. Hopefully she'll call me, if not I'll call her once exams finish for the university students. Pretty cool. I feel like stuff like that couldn't or maybe just doesn't, happen very often in America. Part of the reason for that is that it seems that like, mental/interpersonal problems are not very open or obvious here, and when they are found they are usually between men and women. This translates into a lot of really bad things, such as no mental health care system to speak of, and a lot of mistreatment of women by their husbands. But it also means that it is fairly safe to make friends with just about anybody you meet.
Okay. That's all for now. I'm traveling to an oasis this weekend. oh snaaaaaaap.
love,
me