Stay true to the dreams of thy youth

I apologize to all my avid followers (sorry Uncle Bruce) for not updating my blog for the last month while I have settled into Egypt. To make up for lost time, here is a quick recap of recent events:

1. Obama spoke at Cairo University in Cairo. The reception by Egyptians was unbelievably friendly and gracious. In all truth, Egyptians are just so glad to have Bush out of office, that any alternative looks like a God-send.

2. Found an apartment in downtown Cairo in the Saad Zaghlol area. His masoleum is just down the street and is built in a Pharoanic style. Zaghlol was one of Egypt's true nationalists mobilizing support for independence from British occupation and colonialism.

3. Russian PM Putin was here two days ago. I live only two blocks from both houses of the Egyptian Parliament. On Tuesday morning when I was walking to campus, I must of passed 300 security officers and multiple plainclothes mukhabarat preparing for Putin's motorcade.

4. Egypt is bloody hot. Fortunately, the weather will be dropping ten degrees in the next two days... down to 95 degrees.

5. Arabic classes are going well. We have five hours a day of class and then five hours of homework, so life is rather intense.

6. I also picked up a temporary editing job on the side affiliated with al-Masry al-Yom, an Egyptian newspaper.

7. The US beat Egypt in an important match for the Federation Cup. Egyptians were pretty bummed.

8. Egyptians have been surprisingly silent on the current events in Iran. I can't tell if that is because they fear a foreign power (US) taking advantage of the protests for regime change, or if it because they don't support the protesters.