عيد الشكر = "Thanksgiving" plans

أنا إسمي بنجامين. أنا طالب في الجامعة بورديو في ولاة إنديانا. يعيش والدي و والدتي في ولاية أوهايو في مدينة طفولتي. في هذا الفصل الدراسي أدرس في مصر بالجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة. أنا مشغول كل يوم مع العمل بسبب فصل العربية. أحب اللغة العربية ولكن عندي واجب كثير و أعمل من الصباح إلى المساء. هذا الشتا‍‍ء سأسافر مع زميلي إلى مدن كثيرة في مصر. الجو في الشتاء أحسن. لا أحب الطقس في الصيف بسبب درجة الحرارة العالية. بعد هذه السنة سأذهب إلى إنديانا لأني سأحصل بكالوريوسي بعد ثلاثة فصول دراسي

I thought I should show off what I've learned after being in Egypt for almost 3 months now. Considering I started from nothing, I'm pretty pleased with the progress I've made so far...but there is a lot more to learn! They say it takes 7 years of study before someone becomes fluent in Arabic.

Tonight is the qualifying game between Algeria and Egypt for playing in the 2010 World Cup. The game is in Sudan. It is basically a HUGE deal. They've set up chairs around our auditorium so that people can stay on campus to watch it since many students wouldn't be able to commute home in time to see the game. Many students are carrying Egyptian flags and have the flag painted on their faces. It's definitely a day to wear red, black, and white.

Because of the game, security measures, once again, are up. I had to swipe my ID three times and tell a security guard my room number just to get to my room. I suppose it's a good thing because, as I said, soccer is a really, really big deal and people tend to get "passionate," as the US Embassy has warned us on multiple occasions (example-spraying an aerosol can in front of a lighter to make a make-shift flame thrower...fun times!).

One other thing--on Tuesday night I will be traveling to Israel for Thanksgiving break! I'm so excited about this. More details and certainly more pictures to come!

Have a good Wednesday!