BREAKING NEWS: I’m going to Cairo next week! I would not have predicted Egypt as a weekend destination, but we found a really cheap airfare, and the opportunity was just too good to pass up. I will have to miss one probability lecture and I’ll be gone from late next Thursday to late Sunday night, but I think the chance to see the pyramids is worth the hassle of having to work ahead in my classes.
I have also received some criticism for not replying to questions left in the comments. Here are the answers to all of the questions in the last few comments. Let me know if I missed any…
whoa sweet! how’s the living conditions?
Our apartment is pretty decent. It’s nicer than any of the dorms I’ve stayed in since it has a bathroom and kitchen, but it’s very small compared to some of the apartments that other people in the program are staying at. Theirs are just ridiculous though (13 ft ceilings, multiple bedrooms, one even had a piano), so I can’t really complain. My parents keep asking me for pictures, and I intend to post some soon, but I need to do some cleaning first :).
How‘s Adam learning the language if he got in after it finished/while it was finishing?
He’s picked up what he needs to know from living here. To be honest, most of the things we learned in the language program aren’t particularly useful on a day to day basis. Yes we learned how to conjugate verbs, but the odds of remebering all of the rules and knowing the appropriate verb in a conversation are slim to none. He’s learned the essentials, like how to buy fruit, and you can really get by with English for everyhthing else.
what were you in the language program?
I believe this was in reference to my statement that I am now a student again (after starting math), rather than being a general existential query. The language program really felt more like summer camp than school. We certainly had lots of class and even homework, but there were no tests or grades, so there wasn’t really much pressure to study a lot outside of class. Sure I probably would have learned Hungarian better if I had gone home and reviewed it for hours on end, but I think it was more important to get to know people and learn more about the city.
I know I owe several of you some emails. I have actually started them, but I ended up spending some of this morning on line buying a plane ticket instead of writing. I will finish writing the emails this evening and I will send them when I get back online tomorrow morning.
And now, off to class…
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! YOU’RE GOING TO EGYPT! I AM SO SUPREMELY JEALOUS!
but…err…the pyramids are in Giza…map is proving unhelpful in this area, but I’m going to guess that you know what’s going on.
It is so cool that you’re getting to see a place where so much of human history started. Oh wait. I found Cairo. It looks to be only across the river from Giza. right.
but AHHHH you’re going to Egypt!
p.s. benji.
Wow. Egypt. Rather than repeat what’s been said or drift into cliche, I’ll stop there.
Request though.
Actually context first…. quote from Divya’s e-mail (Divya, sorry if this wasn’t sharable.)
“you would never know it from his posts, but I was looking at his photographs online and : Ben has friends! well, at least, he has people in his pictures!”
So the request is take the pictures, but give more context? We realize you’re short on time etc. So not too much, but a little.
And thank you, Benji, for finally answering the questions. Just keep on doing that. Yeah
I concure with the above comment. It would be cool to hear about the people that you’re hanging out with. oh, and wait until the romantic drama starts. and if you’re involved, we want details.