work and play

So turns out I’m even worse at putting up blogs here than South Africa. About a week ago the wireless part of my internet decided to stop working and since then I haven’t been able to stay connected. This is probably a good thing, because those 36 hours of uninterrupted internet kept me on facebook, gmail, and skype. What’s happened so far…
Our video thing really hasn’t happened, but it should soon. My partner for the video has officially put me off and I’m finding it awkward to be around him. I spend quite a bit of time with the refugee children and they’ve proved to be just as rotten as almost any other group of children I’ve dealt with. I look at the silver lining with the kids though. Their behavior is a testament to the resilience of a child’s spirit. Despite their unimaginable pasts, and presents for that matter, they are just as troublesome as their mates worldwide. The basic Egyptian attitude toward the Sudanese refugees sucks. I “chaperoned” a bunch of them on a trip and we had to take the city trains. I’ve never seen more disgusted looks in my life. The Egyptians don’t know how to hide the racism on their faces; they actually probably don’t care to. But the kids didn’t seem to mind, they were so used to it and went on laughing, joking, and playing. I found myself speaking more just to let the people on the train know that the kids were with an American (this sounds gross, but I really feel it made a difference). I did the same thing in South Africa when I’d walk into a store. I would start speaking immediately so they’d know I’m not just some random black girl. I’m too tired to analyze why I do this, I actually probably do it because I’m not the fighter I thought I was. I am totally fine with that.
I’ve already created a decent social circle here of ex-pats, upper class Egyptians, and other travelers. I have spent more nights out past 4am than at home, for several reasons: there is so much to do here, the city never sleeps, it’s incredibly safe, the public transport and taxi system puts this city of 20million at your doorstep, I’m running with a bunch of vagabonds, and things are hella cheap.
Got an email from UTMB about Match stuff and that brought me back to reality for a while. I haven’t had any nightmares about that day since I’ve been here, but our dear sweet dean could change all that.