Oh the Wonderful World of June!

Today has been heavenly- except for that wretched, pflegm filled cough of mine...but even that could not significantly drag down today. I'm sure perhaps to the disappointment of those who had their fingers crossed that I would realize that travel and time spent abroad was not the life for me, I am really enjoying things here now, and really do not foresee myself changing my mind about my insistence to travel and see the world. Last night when I went out to dinner with Richard, he told me of all his different field stories, ones in kenya, Iran, and Turkey...I'm sorry but I love this work and I want to have those stories too. There are definitely some down sides to this line of work as I have had explained to me. If you thought that there was drama at your job, imagine having to live with your coworkers for months at a time and in some rather obnoxious arrangements and environmental conditions. It's kind of like summer camp for adults, and this rings true of the field flings as well. What happens when you put a group of girls and guys together for a few months, in a foreign country without any other social network...convenience happens, convenience and hormones apparently, and it is all the gossip. I lucked out since I came towards the end and by now most everyone is gone, but I have been forewarned about some of the ridiculous things that go down.

So far i am still pretty content on doing my next work in China...even though I hate Chinese food. This of course would take place after my excavation apprenticeship next year in Egypt and actually I probably wont get into China for another year or two. But that gives me the time to start learning the language and developing research questions i want to pursue.

I spent most of today in bed, with a mug of coffee reading. If you know me, you know that this is perfection. I was actually reading my professor's report he just completed on the area of the site. It will be a good contextual component for my thesis. It was funny though, after he sent it and I told him I started reading it, he said, "well it's just a rough draft" etc...I told him that I wouldn't judge it too harshly and any commentary I have is intended to be constructive and not taken personally...this is funny because it is usually the exchange he and I have about my writing samples. Again it is just another instance where I find myself being acknowledged as a peer and not just a student, though I'm sure he doesn't really expect me to find any problems with his report...but hopefully I can develop some questions about it.

Most fridays i am off somewhere else around noon, but I was here at the apartments today. Since Friday is the Holy Day, call to prayer lasts for an entire hour, so this was the first time I had to listen to it for that long. Again you just kind of tune it out and it becomes background. At around 1:00 Richard and i left to get lunch. We went to that sushi place again. Delightful! He actually has an allergy to wheat and eggs so sushi works out well since he knows that he can get something there. The sushi place is in the marriot in Zamalek. Zamalek has that store Nomad that I like as well as the grocery store. While at the marriot, Richard picked up a paper and told me that he was going down by the pool to read, and that I was to walk to Nomad and shop. This was an excellent way for me to navigate around the town by myself and to also go shopping! And I walked there all by myself, again feeling liberated, and refreshed, and just very happy. A few cabs tried to follow me around asking if I needed to be driven somewhere. i exercised my little known arabic and would say, "No thank you, I walk" or "No thank you, I have no need"

So as expected, the more familiar I am getting with the culture, the language, and the area, the better I feel about being here which I'm sure is a relief to all. Regardless, I am looking forward to coming home, though part of me is wishing that I was staying in royal oak the rest of the summer. But I guess that just means everyone else will have to come to me in ann arbor!

Tonight we are going to have dinner at felfella. Yay! my favorite, and it looks as though we will be eating lunch there every day frm now on since the villa is now closed and meals are no longer provided. What an excellent excuse to try everything on the menu.

okay back to reading for me!

My weekend is winding down just as everyone elses is getting started. But I know what weekends mean...emails from everybody!! right? please?? :)

Michele you just got a novel from me. Hope you get an extra long lunch break!

byeeee everyone!

here are the pictures of the view from my balcony. The wires are from all the air conditioners.