and now time for a real post.

I am exhausted. Everyone came from Cairo and Minya yesterday morning to visit and just left tonight and I don't know if I can even make it until midnight. I would probably be less exhausted if the last two days had not been the first break we'd had since.... last Friday. Otherwise my life has been dominated by teaching, lesson planning, and hunting for a meal.

Oh, and good news on the food front - we finally figured out where to eat. I always pronounce (and in this case spell) the name of the restaurant wrong but Abu Radiae is about three blocks away and for twenty cents I can get some pretty amazing falafel in a pita. I have also became quite the sucker for batatas - or french fries, which they treat like falafel and put in a pita with some cucumbers and a humms like dressing (but I think it sesame seed based). Delicious. Now a falafel and a batatas dominate my diet at less than .40 USD a meal. You really can't beat that. I have been meaning to take a picture of me chowing down on my delicious lime green (why is falafel this color?) meal, but never have my camera around when I am eating. It is excellent.

Of course, with everyone being here from other cities Daniel just followed the fruit and we also discovered a pretty amazing juice shop where I had excellent sugarcane juice for $.15USD. The strawberry juice there is also the best we have had since our first glass in Cairo - but is $.40USD. Now that I consider it, today I had a lot of juice.

We finally made it to the library today. With people here to show around we had quite a bit to do and see here in Alex... and yesterday was spent being lazy at the beach (where I swam in my shorts and tank top, yes I did), so we trekked all over the city. I wish I was a blogspot genius so I could figure out how to put pictures with each section of this post, but I am not quite competent enough yet.

So. The Library. I want to live in Alexandra just for the library. It is incredible. You will have to google it to get a better idea of the shape and how amazing it is on the outside (or just check out my Picasa web album), but the building slants in a way that you wonder what it will look like inside. We were charged 5LE (1USD) to get inside, but Jake and I are wondering if we can get some kind of season pass for the building... I want to go there to do lesson plans just so I can say I worked on it's tables and sat in it's curved back chairs.

We also visited the pillar of Potelmy, which only Julie and I payed the 10LE to get into, but it was completely worth it. Of course, there is one single pillar that is perfectly in tact, and two sphinxes framing it as if the Romans (it was the Romans, right?) knew that only that one pillar would remain standing... and then all sorts of other artifacts and statues laying around.... and of course because it is Egypt no one cares that you are walking right up to these ruins that are THOUSANDS of years old, and touching them and creating ridiculous photographs.... but Julie and I also met the most ridiculous police officer who after asking our nationality decided to show us underneath the ruins.

Of course, the whole thing was rushed, hushed, and he was very serious about us not taking any pictures of him.... but he showed us the water system that was used for the city. It was some pretty incredible stuff.

We also saw the Catacombs and while I could write pages I am too exhausted.

Granted, after all the time in the sun everyone was keen on eating somewhere Western with AC.... so McDonalds was the obvious choice. I am so happy to be curling up in a blanket right now, but am dreading the work load I will have tomorrow.