Catch-Up 3: Day Trips

This years program coordinators are really great about organizing events even when we don't have official breaks from school. So far this year we've taken two day trips on random weekends and have been promised many more.

Trip 1: Rosetta

About an hour from Alexandria in the Nile River Delta lies the village of Rosetta (al-Rashid in Arabic), best known as the city where archaeologists discovered the Rosetta Stone. We toured some old mills and the citadel where they display a replica of the Rosetta stone, then had lunch, took a boat ride on the Nile, and climbed a giant sand that filled my shoes with so much sand I swear I grew two inches. It was a nice day, but overall not too much to talk about.

Trip 2: Nelson's Island

About forty-five minutes from Alexandria off the coast of a city called Abu Qir is an island that's really more of a giant brown rock, best known as the site of a famous battle between Napoleon and the British. We took a boat out for a nice, relaxing day of sand and sun. A lot of people went swimming and I passed the time taking a break from Arabic by reading the Hunger Games. Great book, by the way. I tried to stay in the shade of our umbrellas, but still managed to get a sunburn. It wasn't too bad, and it did help my psoriasis, so there's always an upside. I had pictures from the excursion, but they seem to have gone missing. I like to think it's a conspiracy because photography was forbidden on the dock we launched from that happened to be right next to an Egyptian navy base. In reality, I probably just didn't notice my camera was out of memory.

I think that's all for my catching up. Of course there are all the little cultural things I've noticed or liked, but for now I'll leave you with this: I have a new addiction that goes by the name of halawa. It's an Egyptian desert of tahini (seasame paste) and sugar that's usually eaten on bread, but I'm quite content eating it with a spoon or, when I'm trying not to be a pig, with an apple. If you can find it wherever you are in the world I sincerely suggest you give it a try.