Hooding

Last night, I got to "hood" a graduate student, who earned her M.A. in Comparative Literature. My first time doing it. Pretty cool. And well-deserved. By her. Not me. I was a reader on the committee but nothing more.

People are Friendly

I took baby r for a walk today. A short cab ride. Pay the internet bill. Market. Bookstore. Fruit stand. Nothing exceptional. I noticed how friendly people are to me when I have a baby. Much more so than when I was babyless and empty-handed. I experience public space differently. I found it similar when I was in the US--conversations with strangers in lines at the store or in elevators or parking lots or coffee shops or post offices. There is one difference. Here, what I like is that this means many more chances to practice my Arabic. A daily Cairo outing with r looks like a great way to make progress on my Arabic...

Egypt 1, Ghana 0

This is a basic way to try to get my blog groove back on. Big match tonight with Egypt defending their African Nations Cup crown in Angola. The finals win was almost as big as their humiliation of arch-rival Algeria (who prevented Egypt from qualifying for the World Cup) a few days ago. En route to the title, Egypt beat four World Cup qualifiers: Nigeria, Cameroon, Algeria, and Ghana. Now, it is after midnight, and I am enjoying cars honking in celebration.

This is a great opportunity to meditate on the meanings of nationalism and the flag, a topic which I can hopefully return to once I am *really* back.

I try to avoid making excuses, but if you feel like you need one, look at my previous posting from about three months ago.

Peace.