Wowza! Thank heavens it's the end of the week--we made it! I think everyone was feeling the pressure this week, what with midterms (although I was mercifully spared) and a gross lack of sleep. What better way to celebrate than to go out dancing and stay out all hours of the night?! Now that is Egypt style.

So what happened this week? Well, last Saturday evening I returned from the desert and gathered up a stockpile of sleep, 11 hrs, which I felt so grateful for later in the week.

I think Sunday and Monday passed without much excitement, just homework and spending time with friends.

But along came Tuesday, a grand extravaganza! I got the day started off write with some coffee and my 8 am Arabic class--2 hrs. Then I met a friend to grab falafel, smoke sheesha like an Egyptian (ie. at a surprisingly early hour of the day--sorry mom!), check out his amazing downtown apartment literally a block away from campus, and to watch an old Comedy Central show called Stella. I had classes from 2-4, and then I waited around for a bus for an hour, again in true Egyptian form. Nothing more Egyptian than waiting. The bus intended to take us to Sixth of October City to teach the refugees never came, so we grabbed mini-bus and went throttling down the dusty highway toward class. I have to admit that I was feeling terribly insecure about teaching as of last week, and I was considering resigning my position. I just felt incompetent, unsure of how to approach the teaching and frustrated. But as my partner Tom and my dad both guessed, after class on Tuesday I was glad that I stuck with it another week. This class went just a bit more smoothly, and I think we covered just a bit more ground. In shah Allah, we will actually arrive at class on time next week, and things will only continue to get better. After an hour long ride home, I got picked up for dinner and coffee, so that I ultimately rolled on home to the dorm at about 11:30. At point I smelled strongly of smoke, as seems to always happen here, due to the extreme addiction of the population as a whole, so I showered. Then there was a spot of homework done and a few hours of sleep before my 8 am Wednesday began. Let me tell you, it was a good day. I felt pretty proud of myself afterward.

Wednesday was my dear friend Allison's 21st, so of course, in between classes we had to get our hair done and go shopping for a birthday outfit for the lovely lady. In the evening, it was the Hard Rock Cafe for a huge group dinner and La Piste for salsa dancing afterward. In my case, there was more watching and talking than dancing, but I'm considering taking lessons starting next week.

Allison and I met again at 8 today, cause we have that delightfully early class together. Throughout the day, there was laundry, a cat nap, homework, a colloquial quiz, sugar cane juice, learning how to play backgammon, dinner with friends, a trip to the grocery for muesli and the atm, and now I sit preparing for the evening ahead. We're heading out to After Eight for a live music boogy night, and then don't worry, I can sleep in tomorrow morning. Woo! Although I did get an offer to get up at 8 to head to the Birqash camel market, which I'm so tempted to do. Somehow, though, I don't think I'll make it this time around.

What a whirlwind!