6/6/6…

Ok, so it’s 1 am and technically 7/6, but that date is not coming around for another 1000 years; I have to “preserve” it somehow, especially with the scary connotation to it. I just came back from watching “The Omen” with my brother in City Stars, which is the only mall worth going to in Egypt if you can stand the hoards of tweens running around. Really creepy movie, but the original soundtrack still beats the new one hands down; that “TA ra ra RA” music shall haunt me to the end of my days. But kudos to Egypt for releasing it on the same date as it is worldwide; gone are the days when we had to wait months for the release of a new movie…

So I’m FINALLY done with the semester, and my grades were pretty good elhamdulela (Thank God). I went to the Student Awards Ceremony (SAC) and I got voted as the best member in Dimensions, which was pretty unexpected, but very welcome nonetheless.

Speaking of Dimensions, I’m running for editor-in-chief, and my plan is actually due on the 8th, but as usual I’m not even half way through. I will finish it though, no worries There are two other candidates running for the position, and one of them is the senior Arabic editor. He’s a really great guy and really qualified; even if he gets the position instead of me I’m sure he’ll be great. Don’t really know much about the other candidate, but good luck to him too. And me of course

I’ve basically been lazing around for the past week, staying up late and sleeping till noon to compensate for all the sleepless nights I went through. I’ve had an OC marathon weekend, and I’ve FINALLY gotten around to reading those books I ordered from Amazon and cairobookmark (Cairo’s version of Amazon) weeks ago. I had a big party when semester ended to celebrate, and the only sad thing was saying goodbye to so many of my friends. That’s the worst thing about having study-abroad friends; they’re only here for a semester and then they leave to all four corners of the world. I’m gonna miss you guys soooo much

The one thing I have accomplished this week is that I’m finally driving alone!! It doesn’t sound like much, but trust me it’s huge. I’ve had my license since November, but have always had my driver sitting next to me when I drive. You see, in Egypt people:

1) Never signal
2) Cross 4 lanes in under 30 seconds
3) Don’t even know what those red/ yellow/ green things are for
4) Never pay attention to stop signs
5) Think a slow driver is one who isn’t going 20km over the speed limit

and so on and so forth. Plus it’s always SO crowded, and I think the most telling sign of this is that people always refer to distance in minutes and not in km. And no one EVER sticks to lanes—it’s like they don’t exist. And if you signal that you’re switching lanes, the people next to you speed up to overtake you before you do. Seriously, driving here is one of the scariest things I’ve ever done, especially since I’m so bad with parking and with directions (which as Egyptians people have to give you, regardless of whether or not they actually know where you’re going). I got lost in Tahrir my first day on my own, which was kind of scary since it’s so crowded and it was so late and I found myself in these really run down alleys. But I found a nice taxi driver to show me the way, so all’s well; hopefully, I’ll get better with time Now I’m only waiting for a new car as my (very late) birthday present hehe.

My “lazy time” is now officially over. My little brother is turning 10 tomorrow, and I’m in charge of organizing his birthday party at Mirage City, which is where (according to him) “everyone” has their parties. Two of my friends are getting married this month so I need to start choosing material and making dresses which I’m really bad at FYI. There’s also the Dimensions issue coming out at the graduation ceremony which we need to get started on, only most of my reporters are on holiday so I’m not really sure how we’re going to go about it, but hopefully it’ll be ok. I also really need to clean out my desk, if I leave it any longer I’m sure I’ll discover some hitherto undiscovered species living there lol

I still haven’t decided how I’m going to spend the rest of my summer, it’s just that there are so many options it’s difficult to choose the one that will be the best for me. I got offered the chance to go to another conference related to the Litaarafuu one I was on, but this time in Denmark. It would be a great experience, but since everything (jobs, trips etc) all start in or around July 3rd, I need to pick only on thing. But until I do, I will of course keep you updated on my life, as messy and unorganized as it may be

Until next time…
Salam Alaykum (Peace be upon you)
Ethar