Ma Lish

So Egyptians have an amazing capacity to go with the flow. Phrases like "ma lish" (nevermind, oh well) and "in sha allah" (if God wills it) epitomize this attitude, and you hear them at every turn. When I was stressing about classes last week, my roommate Hend assured me that none of it mattered, everything would be all right in the end. If I don't sleep enough tonight, I will later. If my schedule seems chaotic at first, it will improve. It may have seemed trite in the beginning, but I think she's on to something. As I sit here reminiscing about the weekend and watching Egypt play in the African Cup finals, I feel a sense of relief and satisfaction.

Friday morning 120 study abroad kids dragged ourselves out of bed at 8 am to board a bus to Alexandria. In true Egyptian and AUC fashion, we ended up leaving at least 45 minutes behind schedule, but after 3 hours we reached the coastal city. We were all hoping for lunch, and instead we got the catacombs. Not a bad trade, considering that we saw a mixture of Greek, Roman, and Ancient Egyptian carvings and sculpture hidden deep underground. And we did eat eventually, scarfing down all sorts of spreads, fresh bread, grilled meats...One of the girls informed me that the Kofta (minced meat) contained not only the usual lamb but also camel meat. My reaction? Oh well, it tasted pretty good. I just hope there are some camels left to ride :)

After that very late lunch, we trekked over to the Alexandrian library, the second largest in the world after the Library of Congress in the U.S. The architecture begged to be photographed, and an electric buzz cut the silence. Outside, I managed to snatch a few photos of sunset on the water before we left for the hotel.

Woops! I'm gonna head out with a few folks. We want to see if the streets are crammed with riotous soccer fans. I'll have to leave you with just this little taste for now :)