Post 2

Let's see where to begin.

Yesterday, I had an oral proficiency interview(OPI) in the Egyptian slang Arabic so the directors could place me in the right class. I've never had a class about this, so obviously I really had nothing to say. I managed to get my interviewer talking about why Egypt didn't qualify for the World Cup, which of course ate up some of the clock. Savvy move by myself if I do say so...myself. I'm sure I'll be put in the beginner's class though; if not, I'll seriously question the legitimacy of this program. Although that would never be the case, since they are amazingly professional and results from former students are very consistent.

It's amazing how much a person can learn when they have no choice. The first day here, I literally didn't know how to express myself during the niceties of formal greeting, but now I'm a lot better and gettin somewhere near not sounding like a complete novice. Which I guess is a syntactically confusing way of saying I sound like I might know what I'm doing.

Today, we had a scavenger hunt, so that we'd kinda be forced into exploring the city on our own, as if I needed a second invitation. I was in a group of three others; our goal obviously was to find everything, and we had to be back in time for lunch. We could only take a taxi once, but any other means of locomotion was fair play. I suggested we hire a horse and buggy, but in the end I was overruled...Probably with good reason, due to the cost. At point, I and my group were waiting for a tram at the central tram station. It was a very busy place, and I felt very much like the foreigner I was. Or am. Anyways, I started talking to a random dude who looked like he'd be a sucker for a pretentious American trying to mumble and uhm his way through Arabic, and he asked where we were going. I told him, and he immediately threw his hand up; think of Borat saying "Wait here, my friend." Although the guy was nothing like Borat, thankfully. Anyways, he proceeded to jump onto the tram and tell the conductor where we needed to go, and I'm rather certain the conductor's compliance caused a domino-type changing of the city's tram schedule. My self-importance was rising, and I was looking for a podium from which to declare that I was Alexander the Great reincarnate, when he told me to get on. I got on the oldest, most blue-collar tram you can think of. The no-smoking sign was literally drawn in marker. On the tram. But everyone was nice on the tram as we essentially wasted their time due to the schedule change, except for one guy. I was stuck in the middle of the aisle, in front of the entrance, which also happened to be the exit. Therefore, i was a constant ping-pong ball between aisle left and aisle right. i had a bag on, and couldn't help but hit people in the face with it, due to there not being space. The old man mumbled a few insults, but ultimately the tram never revolted against me. I was going through all kinds of contigencies, but when one is in a foreign country and looks so obviously foreign, there's no options. (disclaimer: everyone is so nice here, I never worry about danger, the previous story was for effect.)

Tomorrow, classes start. They go from 9-2 p.m. I have 2 2-hour block classes; the first will be in the classical Arabic, and the second will be in the slang. I bet tomorrow will be a long day, what with having to get used to a new schedule and all, but eventually I'll be happy with a routine.

I'm still amazed with how cheap everything is. I took a 10-15 minute taxi ride and was going to give the driver 5 pounds, which is less than a driver. I didn't have any bills that small so I asked if he took American money. I gave him a dollar and he thanked me, as if he had just been given a life insurance plan. The same length of a ride in D.C. last week cost around 12. I also bought a pop today, I'd say it was between 25 and 30 ounces. It cost 5 pounds, which as mentioned is less than a dollar. The funny thing is the guy was trying to cheat me; I understood what he was saying to a coworker and caught on that they were ripping me off, but I just laughed and went. I'm a rich American, after all...

I guess I'll leave it at the above. It's funny how I can actually find my English getting little quirks in it. I'm not forgetting words, so much as making meanings unclear because clauses are switched around. I've only been here 4 days, so I'm stoically excited (there's an oxymoronical phrase for you) about how much I can learn this summer. Sometimes I feel like it's all getting crammed in my brain and will never come out, and sometimes I think I'm getting very good. I suppose that's the ups and downs of learning any language, especially one as complex as Arabic. Anyways, I suppose I'll update in a few days. L8r