What IS That White Stuff?

There is white stuff on the ground in Istanbul, and it`s freaking me out. Actually, I`m quite happy to see snow for the first time this winter. Yesterday was cold and rainy all day. Today is cold, windy, and snowy. Hopefully my plane out of Istanbul won`t be delayed...

Since today was terribly cold, I bought a novel by Nobel Prize winning Turkish author Orhan Pamuk. I felt so cultured as I was drinking my white hot chocolate (amazing!) and reading this well-known author`s work. I had several Turkish people comment about how much they like the author because he speaks the truth of what life of Turkish people is like.

Another really good book I read this semester is one about cab drivers in Egypt, appropriately called, Taxi. It`s a book that makes you feel guilty about arguing with cab drivers about them wanting to charge you an extra 50 cents. It has some really interesting stories ranging from women changing in the backseat of the cab from a niqab into a short skirt to the daily struggle of many cab drivers of having money to provide for their families.

Once I get back to Cairo Johan and I will be hunting for apartments, and I will be reviewing my Arabic because I have to take a placement exam soon after I get back to Egypt. I don`t think I ever mentioned that this next semester I`m only going to be studying Arabic. I was originally going to take more engineering classes, but my scheduling fell through and, at the moment, I`m primarily interested in learning the language...so Arabic it is...

I`m pretty sure it`s Sunday; HAPPY SUNDAY!