Walk Like an Egyptian

Just how does and Egyptian walk? To answer that I interviewed one and he said, "with two feet, on stilts." Boring if you ask me... Here is a picture of him.

However, yesterday I the name of the co-teacher to teach with me next year was given to me. His name is Ahmed Abdelrazek Mohamed. He is an English teacher at an all girls school in Egypt. Kind of suits us since there is a 3:1 ratio of girls to boys here. So, everybody, let's give Ahmed a big السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته to him when he gets here!

Please, don't stab me with that.

What do I hate more than my current health insurance loopholes? The shot's they won't pay for.
Keep in mind, the Egyptian government does not require any immunizations to enter the country. Nonetheless, given the natural weight loss program I undergo against my will every time I travel out of country, I decided that some shots would best help me.
I had a total of four. Flu, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Typhiod (not paid for by insurance). Two in the left arm, two in the right. The needles were so tiny. What ever happened to "the Peanut Butter Shot?" Not that I prefer that one.
I also bought a pro-biotic called Align for building up by digestion by the time I get there. It was cheepest at Costco. And I bought an anti-biotic called ciprofolaxin in case I get Montezuma's revenge on the Nile. On top of that, I need to buy a mosquito net to prevent Malaria (in case some bug craves american style breakfasts). And with that, I leave you with a picture. Enjoy.

Someone must like me... No, it's probably not you.

So back in January (2010), two grant applications were emailed to me with the recommendation to fill them out. Both grants are federally funded through American Councils. One is the Teachers of Critical Languages Program (TCLP) program, where a teacher from Egypt will co-teach in an American classroom for one school year, and the other is the Arabic Institute of Summer Languages Initiative(ISLI), where an American teacher will travel abroad to Alexandria, Egypt this summer for 7 weeks to study immersion Arabic.
And to my fortune, having never written a grant, I got both of them! I found out mid-April that a teacher was coming here and a week later, after having successfully passed a 30 minute oral exam in Arabic two weeks prior, that I was going to spend my summer in Alexandria!
Unfortunately, I will not be able to take my family. And yes, my wife is jealous. As a matter of fact, this was the thought that went through her mind when I broke the news to her.


Just kidding. But surely she was sad. That being said. I am taking her back next year with some of my students for about two weeks. It will be awesome and she will like me again. Only 387 days until she likes me again. Either way, wish me luck and keep watching the posts!