Day 1 Post Mortem

I have some extra time, due to not having classes yet and therefore no homework, so I figure I'd fire off another post.

Breakfast was interesting, to say the least. I've broken many fasts in Egypt and was expecting similar food, but was mistaken. We were served only bread, frosted flakes with the option of putting them in yogurt, and hard boiled eggs. It's just something I'll have to get used to. Also, special mention goes to the cockroach who I disturbed while he was hiding under the orange juice. Carry on my friend.

The students here are few in number but the West is well represented. There are those from America, Britain, Denmark, Italy, Germany, Canada, and Texas. So, 7 countries in total.

We returned to our apartment and succumbed to jet lag's effect on our sleep cycle and took a nap for a shortwhile. Later, we joined up with a couple friends and rode a taxi to a yemeni restaurant. The food was amazing, my favorite being how they brought the flat bread and laid it on the table like it was a tablecloth, and left us to ourselves to tear it and dip it into the different soups. We later walked around the city a bit, and returned to our apartment.

I had my placement test and so have classes tomorrow beginning at 9. I'm looking forward to them as right now I'm kinda outta the loop of everything, which is cool in the long term because they more or less leave us to ourselves.

We later went and ate shawarma from an outside stand; it was okay, I've definitely had better, but it's something I've missed since Egypt so enjoyed it nonetheless. We then walked around Tahrir Square, and then up and down a few streets before returning.

One of the guards here is rather talkative but very nice. We talked with him for easily an hour about all things, and got some pointers on the yemeni dialect. It's never a bad idea to become friends with those tasked to protect you, a savvy PR move by us if I may say so.

Everyone here is nice; it's a lot more conservative than Egypt but that doesn't make anyone unapproachable. The dialect really isn't difficult to understand or anything; I already feel as proficient as I was the last day I left Egypt. I'm hoping after 3 months I'll have made similar strides in the language, so I'm anxious to see where I end up. I like Sana'a a lot and think the next 3 months are gonna be very enjoyable. I don't want to compare Yemen to Egypt for many reasons, the foremost of which is that I'm much more experienced in the first days of my time here than I was when I first went to Egypt.

I'll sign off now, I don't at all feel like sleeping but probably should to combat the jet lag. I didn't take pics today like I was expecting, but I'm going to explore the Old City soon and will have a lot by then.