Classes are all settled and I am halfway through the second week of school now. Although I am currently still sleeping on a couch in some friends' apartment, I will be moving into a houseboat on the 15th.
That's right. A house, which also happens to be a boat, which also happens to be on the Nile. Jackpot. Even though it is a two bedroom place we will most likely be fitting three occupants in (somehow), so my total rent will be somewhere in the realm of 700 LE a month ($126!). It has a wonderfully large deck with a gate that opens into the river (even though I probably shall not be swimming due to the disgustingly polluted and parasite-infested nature of the water), a sailboat, windsurfing equipment, new appliances, a new bathroom, and, of course, it is a houseboat on the Nile.
I'm excited.
My schedule is as follows:
I am also taking an independent study (which, for some reason, doesn't show up on my schedule) that involves reading about anthropological linguistics and discussing it with the professor and Kat, this other aspiring linguist.
I like my classes.
Also, apparently a student named Phillip Rizk was abducted by the Egyptian security forces during a political rally encouraging solidarity with Palestine. No one knows where he is or when (if) he will be released. There have been a few gatherings on the AUC campus with people screaming through loudspeakers and carrying signs and everything. It is all rather surreal, but hopefully it ends with a positive outcome as soon as possible. Just thought you all should know.
This weekend I am going to the Black and White desert. The following weekend will be the houseboat house party. April involves at least 16 days of traveling (perhaps with my sister?) due to the awesome way the holiday was scheduled. Ummm... that is about it.
See you later.
