Back in Action

After spending a perfect winter vacation in the chilly Midwest and not-much-warmer France and Belgium, I am soaking up the beautiful upper 60s weather here in Cairo. My Rotary host counselor, Omaima, sent someone to pick me up at the airport when my flight got in early this morning and let me tell you, it was so convenient. He helped cut through the crowds, customs, and the people asking if I needed a taxi. He even had "shortcuts" to avoid driving through areas where there was radar that made cars slow down and queue up. Savvy, that one.
Anyway, this arrival was completely unlikely any before it. I'm sure a part of it was that I'm not jet-lagged having just come from three weeks in Europe, only an hour behind Cairo time, but beyond that, I had the strange sensation of feeling comfortable riding through the streets of Cairo, seeing familiar neighborhoods. Today, Ross and I went out into the perfect weather to get koshary. I wore sandals! Heaven, really. Walking about, I was so zen. Absolutely nothing bothered me which, having read some of my acerbic entries about life in Cairo, my readers may be hard-pressed to believe. I felt cheery and patient--who knew that was possible? After koshary, we made a bee-line for the juice shop where I had some delicious sobia (which I followed up with a chocolate macaroon I brought from Ladurée in Paris). Life is perfect. I'm sure my honeymoon take two won't be longlasting what with classes and everything starting up, but I'm certainly liking it now!
Speaking of classes, I'll be taking Comparative Migration Law, Psychosocial Issues in Refugee Studies, and Research Methods. Gradewise, I did all right last semester, getting As in my law and Middle East migration classes and a B+ in the intro class (I certainly wasn't happy, but nor were a broad swath of other students who were also sleighted by the professor who, thankfully, I won't have to take again).
Though I heard about the Gaza protests, I've seen nothing even suggesting there's a nearby conflict. I guess things are calm for now.
During this new semester, I hope to be more proactive about finding more volunteering opportunities and bettering my Arabic. As for my blog, realizing the breadth of people that read it, I am aiming to make it a little more informative and "professional", but you'll probably still here me indulging in descriptions of my culinary adventures.

News:
Israel continues to bomb border tunnels
Obama's Middle East envoy in Egypt
Promising reforms to Egyptian organ donation policies