I am about two hours out from Cairo. This flight has been very nice. The jet is the same size as the one I took from Houston, but I am on the opposite side. This makes twice that I have seen the sunset from the sky.
Today I got to sit next to a beautiful older Arabic speaking man. He was kind enough to speak with me about the language and to encourage me to consider teaching English as a second language to Arabic speaking peoples. He informed me that those who speak both languages are in great demand, educationally speaking, throughout the middle east. It’s an exciting thought. I’m not going to put the cart before the carriage though. First, to see how I do with the language itself.
I slept the first hour and an half of this trip. I didn’t even hear the safety information. I leaned against the window as soon as we were off the ground and I was gone until I started smelling coffee and dinner.
I woke up just in time to miss the warm cloth one sometimes gets on flights to freshen up the skin and energize. Dang it!
Dinner was very impressive. This time despite my deep love of chicken, I chose beef. It was awesome. Several strips of very tender beef cooked in a sauce (no clue what it was,) saffron rice, a salad with lettuce, cucumber, and olives and what was called rich dressing (YUM!) Included also was a wheat roll, a tiny tub of butter, a wedge of Laughing Cow spreadable cheese, and a piece of carrot/spice cake. They followed it all with a perfect cup of coffee. It really was perfect.
I am a bit frustrated with myself (not too much, just kind of shocked.) I played that Arabic game for hours and hours yesterday on the flight from Houston to London and though I know I could win again and again if it were right in front of me, I can’t remember much of it to just spout it out. I definitely need to learn this in a classroom/immersion setting. I think the hardest part will be re-teaching myself so I can read from right to left.
I will be in Cairo soon. Eeeeeeeee!
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