I'm back :P

Well, after another payment-related misunderstanding, I have returned to the world of blogger. xP

First, I'll write about the weekend, I guess:
So, first up, on Thursday (which, very strangely, was my first - and only day- of school last week) night, I went to a concert with Fatma and a friend of hers named Mohamed in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, which was WONDERFUL. Here's why:
There were two bands; one was an Arabic one called Wasla, the other was an American one on tour in Egypt called the Boston Boys. At the end, they played a piece that was written especially for that occasion, with a country tune, and Arabic lyrics! :D
Then afterwards we went and ate some koshary in a nearby restaurant.
Koshary is basically a quintessential Egyptian dish that is described (very accurately) by my Lonely Planet phrasebook as: "a carbohydrate extravaganza of rice, macaroni, and lentils topped with fried onions and a spicy tomato sauce"
IT'S GOOOOODDDD. :3
And it's such a common dish here that no one could believe that I hadn't tried it in the almost two months I've been here! So now I don't have to disappoint anyone anymore. :)
Then the day after I went out with Melanie to the Corniche, and we bought some ice cream, which was also a fun evening, even if we weren't able to stay out very long. :)

Now, a little update about little things that have been making me very happy:
I am realizing how independent I'm starting to become now, and it's making me SOO happy!
I'm noticing this by way of little things: my host family asking me to go out and buy things for them, feeling confident going to buy stuff, no longer being terrified about answering my host family's phone, getting mistaken for one of my host brothers (or even my host dad!) when I answer their phone, feeling comfortable riding taxis alone, having an ever-more developed mental map of this city, being able to ask people for directions all in Arabic(and UNDERSTAND them!), so on and so forth.
And moreover, I just feel so much more comfortable here now. I know more or less what to expect from, where to go in, and how to get around this city that so few weeks ago may has well have been a different planet. And I'm very proud of that.

On that happy note, I will leave you for tonight, my beautiful readers, and try to get to bed early.
Since I took a nap today that was originally intended to last a half hour - and ended up lasting THREE and a half - we shall see how that goes. XD
Tisbahu 'ala khayr!
Good night everyone!
-Nico :)

Wasla

The Boston Boys

Also, I took some videos with my camera. But sadly, blogger is being mean and won't let me upload them, so I guess we'll have to do without them. :(

But I do, however, have two other videos I'd love to share with you guys!

The first is an English song called "Home" by Phillip Phillips, which is another song that I think beautifully describes the exchange student experience.

Now, for an Arabic song by Amr Diab, who's one of my favorite Egyptian singers. The song is called "Heya Hayaty," which means "She is my life." 

Enjoy! 

                                     

That's all.

See you guys!