I probably should be getting a jump on my homework, but I think I can take a few minutes to post another entry. I first would like to think F&M College, specifically the Office of International Programs, Dean Kent Trachte, and the Arabic Language Program (Uri and Lucie) for making this opportunity possible. Why am I saying this now? Well because I originally was going to open this post with a thank you shoutout to whoever runs the F&M facebook and, I assume by autoposting extension, twitter page for publicizing my blog and that made me realize that I had never said thank you to the people that made this trip possible in the first place. So thank you all very much!
Today was spent on an architectural tour of Cairo. Our guide, Dr. Shahinda Karem, took us on as choronological a journey as she could. We visited 4 mosques, one of which is in the Citadel of Cairo. Each successive place clearly illustrated the advances in architectural design and the implementation and borrowing of designs and themes from other cultures, prominently those of the Basilicas of Catholicism and architectural stylings of both the Ottoman and Persian persuasion. I am not an architect but I do appreciate patterns and history, so I was absolutely fascinated throughout the tour. Dr. Karem was fully engaging and even though I didn't understand all the terms she used, I gleaned enough information to be able to piece together that very short synopsis I piece together for you. At one of our stops we were treated to a beautiful rendition of the Call to Prayer and a reading of a passage from the Quran. Here is the video and a few pictures from the day:
Now to the literal heart of the post, I finally got to vidchat my Mom a little earlier today. I know she, I guess I can say you since you are probably reading this, won't like this much but that simple "face to face" conversation would not have been possible if I hadn't downloaded the video chat plug in for gmail chat behind my Mom's back. I couldn't believe she didn't want to do it herself, but now that she has it, I think she likes it...least of all to be able to tell me that I look like I haven't lost weight. Thanks Mom. She also "strictly forbade" me from thinking of dropping the Architecture elective that is being offered by the Institute here in Egypt. I would like to focus on the Calligraphy elective that I am also in, but Mom would like for me to take advantage of as much as I can...I will take her forbidence under advisement :)
And of course almost as soon as I was done with Mom, up popped a facebook chat from the General, Mrs. Audrey Daly-Hinds, who I have known for as long as I can remember. Mom and Ms. Daly met while working together for the City of New York while I was little and they have been friends ever since. Ms. Daly is probably also another person I need to thank for being on this trip because when Mom had reservations and concerns, Ms. Daly helped both her and myself to understand those concerns and try to alleviate them as much as possible. Ms. Daly is also the master food critic, and even though she didn't have a good experience at one of my favorite pasta places (you know what I'm talking about), when she finds a place to have a good meal, you go because you know you will have an excellent meal. In any case she told me that she loves reading my posts and that I have a way of getting down to the heart of the story without much fluff. Even though there is some fluff, by way of needed backstory, in this post, I am sharing this because I want to make a point. I want to hear reactions, comments, questions, concerns, editing tips (because truth be told, I don't edit these posts much, usually for time reasons) that you may have because I would like for a dialogue to form from my experiences. Cyperspace is a big empty vacuum if you don't engage it, and I for one want to engage it and be engaged through it...so please, leave a comment, voice an opinion, don't be shy, let me know what you think...Ms. Daly already has.
Thanks for reading!
-Diggs
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