Saturday, February 21, 2009

Whirling Dervish

I have definitely been a slack blogger this past week. Lots of business and deadlines. Most of it not interesting enough to blog about, though I do want to talk about teaching a little bit. Soon.

One sad note: In my African Literature class, we are scheduled to begin Tayeb Salih's Season of Migration to the North this week. Salih just died in London at the age of 80. (Here is BBC News obituary.) But I am glad my students will be able to experience his classic novel (most of them for the first time).

So instead of bringing only excuses and sad news, I wanted to make up for my neglect by hitting you hard with some video from the Nile dinner cruise that we took aboard the Golden Pharaoh last night. These things are very popular here; the job organized this one. Here are some short clips (sorry, there is no sound) of the whirling dervish who performed on the moving ship.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I was googling 'expats in Cairo' when I found this blog. If possible, can I please ask a few questions?

I am currently a first year student at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. I was hoping to spend a year abroad at the AUC's Arabic Language Institute in my my third year (September 2010).

A few questions:
1) What is your general impression of the AUC?

2) Are you aware of international students at the AUC? Are they a sizable minority?

3) Do you have any impressions of the Arabic Language Institute? If so, are these positive?

4) What is your general impression of Egypt?

5) Is the supply of water and electricity reliable/continuous? How is the internet in Cairo, is it slow?

Thanks a lot!

irad said...

1) I like the university where I work.
2) It is probably correct to call international students a "sizable minority."
3) I don't know enough about ALI; it has a good reputation.
4) For my general impressions of the country, you can read the blog. In brief, I love it.
5) For the majority of Cairenes, water and electricity are not reliable; however, on campus and in neighborhoods frequented by international students, service is excellent. There is a wide range of isp here. You can find service generally equivalent to what you have in the US (and I presume Canada).

Good luck to you.