The Nice Long Weekend!

Let's see, I am just going to go from where I left off I suppose.

One week of classes if over, but you can tell that we are still in the preliminary stages of the semester. I still have to add on my one-on-one class which will take up another few hours, but no worries, it is on an interesting topic (Arab-Israeli conflict) and since it is only the professor and I, I will most likely learn the most stuff. :-)

I went to Mass that Sunday to talk to the priest about possibly volunteering, but as I was leaving the church, a much older priest approached me. He had a huge beard at I for sure thought he was Egyptian, but he starts speaking English to me in a somewhat audible accent, "I thought I saw an unfamiliar face in Mass." As it turns out, he is actually French-Canadian, and he has been serving in the Middle East and the Holy Land for 42 years as a Franciscan friar! I continue to speak Arabic to him, until he says "I don't speak much Arabic". haha He said that he has been doing all of his ministry in the Latin Rite churches so the majority of people know either French, Italian, English, or Spanish, so he fairs well with those languages, but not Arabic. He said that when he speaks Arabic, it is a mix of Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian, Jordanian (Levantine) and Egyptian, so he prefers not to speak it.

I got to talking to him, and he told me to drop by this Sunday and speak with one of the sisters here who will help me find some volunteering work! Excellent! So that ended up working out well!

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This weekend, I was able to do a lot of sight seeing around the city. Some of my friends and I went to a nice fish restaurant called Semekmek. It was definitely the best fish I have ever had. It was sea bass, and it was incredibly fresh.

The next day, my friends and I went on a hunt to find a map. A really good (non-touristy) map for Alexandria is extremely hard to find, so we had to go to a hole-in-the-wall place above a shoe store called Mr. Sanyo. It was more of an apartment than anything. It was a map made by an ex-engineer, and it is called the "Key to Alexandria".

After, we went to the only Synagogue left in Alexandria. Back 60-70 years ago, Alexandria was a bustling cosmopolitan city with a thriving Jewish community. Four hundred people would go to weekly services, but now, it is a building almost completely sealed off. About 15 police personnel keep watch throughout the day and night. We actually had to come back the next day to get access. Because we were American, it was easier for us to get inside. When inside, we had to wear the yamaca (the little hat)-- it is the sacred space of the Jewish faith. Later on, an old man at the synagogue ended up inviting us to there holy day in a 2 months for a celebration. We told that we weren't Jewish, but he insisted and said he was going to call us. I have no doubt that he will :-)

Afterward, I came back and did homework and edited the video I am about to post.

Today, we are going to be playing soccer at one of the fields Middlebury rents for us. Later tonight, I am going to be going to a Wasat al Balad concert. It is the band I have been playing in my videos. I hope to have a more variety of music in them later on. I don't have my external hard drive with all of my music.

This weekend is a FOUR day weekend! We get the day off for a state holiday-- Police Day! -- I'm not sure what that means exactly, but I am thinking of making the 8 hour trek to Mt. Sinai! I should have a really nice video/pictures for you all then! Hopefully it works out and I can go. It is a 2 hour train ride from Alex - Cairo and 6 hours bus from Cairo to the St. Catherine's monastery (where the mount is and the remnants of THE burning bush!)


Welp I hope you enjoy the video!