Substitute

~~~~ Relaxed

Sunday - What a crappy way to start out the week! Made it to Historiography to write a response paper but had to throw in the towel after that... food poisoning. yuck. I blame it either on the sub sandwhich I had at the Jordan airport or the grilled cheese sandwhich I had that night that might have had some mold on it. No good. So I spent the rest of day in bed unable to do anything.

The rest of the week went by pretty normally. Tuesday Brian came over because he needed to get away from his flatmates. Awww. Everyone's planning their Spring Break trips. Allison and I made out hostel reservations. We're staying at the Zeus Hostel. Just so we can scream "Zeuuuus" :laugh: I also made my hostel reservation for Rome. Just one night because I'm getting there the day before Steph. I'm actually really looking forward to that. I'm gonna be in a new city, in a new country completely alone. With just my Italian to get me through the day. It should be a really good experience for me. I have amazing friends here. But because they are so great and I want to do things with them all the time I never do anything on my own. I think these 24 hours by myself in Rome will be really good for me. I'm gonna try to go to do some of the really touristy things before I meet up with Steph. Just because I can. I'm staying in the "Pop Inn Hostel" because they get there. Get it? ;) I sent out emails to hostels asking if they had rooms available and, just because I can, I wrote them in Italian. And guess what? They understood what I said and responded in Italian! I am so happy... I can pseudo use the language! This week I also figured out my schedule for next semester. It turns out that international students get to schedule before everyone else! I totally went through all the courses I need to graduate and picked out the hardest ones to get into. I should study abroad more often! One more reason I love Cairo!

Thursday - Woke up thanking the gods it was almost the weekend. Went to Historiography then to the ATM to get money out to pay back Brian for Jordan. Turns out I can only take 1000 pounds out a day so it looks like I'll be paying Brian in installments. Afterward headed back to the library to get my work done so I didn't have to do any this weekend. Decided I had a craving for a good salad so I went to McDonalds for a salad and a chocolate fudge sundae... let's be honest... one of the real reasons I wanted the salad! I sure am gonna miss the McDonalds here. Went to Egyptology and talked about the field trip on Friday. Got out early so I had time to get back to the flat before my schedule time. Can only register for 17 hours the first time around so I didn't get into my art history class (I have 18 hours) but since it's a huge class I think I'll be okay. Def. taking that class pass/fail though! After that I was really bored so I went to see Allison. After breaking her bed (she has the most cracked out bed ever!) we decided to walk to Zamalek to get her a camera. No luck but the walk was fun. Got back and played around with the idea of going to City Stars and seeing a movie (I really want to see Last King of Scotland) but never got around to it. Otlobed Chilis and watched Lost episodes instead. After walking in on Chris and Cori three times finally kicked Chris out because I needed to go to bed. Of course, I needed to change my bedsheets first because someone spilled wine on them... yeah, I have a problem with that.

Friday - Woke up early to catch the bus to Fayuum with the J-Swan. Of course, not before being woke up at 5 in the morning by a text message. :@ Oh well... First stop was to Karanis. The Museum there was closed but it was interesting to see the temples used on an everyday basis... instead of the grand temples in Karnak for example. Then we picked up a police excort who took us to the pyramid of Lahun. Lahun is one of the collapsed pyramids. This particular one belonged to Senusret II. Then we headed over to Hawara where the collapsed pyramid of Amenemhet III. But my favorite pyramid of the day belonged to Sneferu in Meidum. It looks pretty cool because it was built in three layers and only the bottom-most layer still exists. It was also one of the best pyramids to go into. The other two weren't open but in comparision to the other pyramids I've been in Meidum was right up there with the Red pyramid in Dahshur. Then we went into the great Mastaba near the pyramid. What an experience! It was a crazy climb / crawl through dust and dirt and we all came out looking like we had survived an explosion but looking back it was a lot of fun and I'm really glad I went in. The burial chamber inside was also really fantastic with a large sarcophogas still intact. Then we headed back to Cairo. After a much needed chower Allison and I went out for Koshari. We tried the place near Garden City. Other then being a little heavy on the lentils it was still good. And watched more Lost episodes. Everyone is officially caught up. Then I came back and watched the Boondock Saints until I passed out. Before, of course, taking careful measures to turn off my alram :)

Saturday - What a fabulous day it's been. Slept in until noon. And have done NOTHING since. Watched a movie and some friends. Otlobed Pizza Hut... waiting for that to come. And I have literally not left the flat. I haven't had a day like this (not counting my food poisoning) since I've gotten here. Especially on the weekend. It was a break I dearly needed. Tonight I'm just gonna eat my pizza and watch some more Friends episodes and get ready for the last week before spring break.

I can't believe in a week I'll be in Athens... and then Rome! I'm so excited. What an amazing life I actually have.