The Best Place in the World...

...BUT, before I get there, let's talk about a few other things, shall we? :)

I'm doing laundry this morning in preparation for homestays that start tomorrow. Doing said laundry here in Egypt makes me so much more appreciative for the washing machine and dryer that I have at home. Whereas at home all I would have to do is turn the machine on to start the water, throw my clothes in, and add some soap; here I have to use a hose to run water from the bathroom sink into the washing machine for the wash cycle, throw my clothes and soap in, wait 10 minutes or so, drain the machine manually (another hose that hooks up to the drain on the floor--I'll take a picture sometime), refill the machine with aforementioned hose for the rinse cycle, wait another 10 minutes or so, drain the machine manuallly again, then switch the clothes in the washing machine half to the spinner half. Now, the spinner is significantly smaller than the washer, so basically, one load of clothes turns into about 3-ish loads in the spinner. Then after that, I hang all the clothes on a drying rack. Thankfully, here in Cairo, clothes dry much, much faster than in the states.

Anyway, homestays are next week, so I really won't be on the internet at all. Everyday after classes finish, I will leave almost immediately from the Villa to take a taxi/the Metro/a microbus to my homestay family. This family will be Muslim, and likely as not will speak very little English (the perfect opportunity to practice my minimal Arabic). I'm looking forward to the experience of feeling like a part of an Egyptian family, but I'm pretty nervous, too.

The results of the Zamalek football match: Zamalek lost 0-1 (which apparently isn't much of a surprise here). However, I had a great time with all of the other students and one of our Egyptian friends at the match. Many of us bought Zamalek flags (pretty cheap looking and 10 LE -- the tickets themselves were 15 LE) and waved them around during the game. To get to the game, though, we took a bus, and a bus full of white North Americans and one Egyptian looks a little suspicious to the police, so we ended up being quite protected. We even left the match a good 30 seconds or so before the end... Hopefully later on in the semester, though, we'll get a chance to go to an Ahly or an Egypt match...that would be sweet! :)

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Ok. The best place on earth...(drumroll, please!)...Anafora. We went there yesterday for our meeting with Coptic youth (my Egyptian friend was unable to come--it was sad), and it's really hard to describe. The place serves as a retreat center for Christians (run by the Coptic church, but available to someone of any background) and is also a sustainable farm. They make their own soaps, olive oil, pesto/misto, dried herbs for teas and things, knitted items, the rugs and blankets of the kind that we have in the Villa on the roof and that are found all over...they're pretty sweet. I plan to lay out my living room like that when I have one. :)

Being a farm, the scenery is much more green than most of the rest of Egypt. We saw many fields and orchards--even orange trees! There is also a small canal system that runs around the building were we were for most of the day. I can't really compare it to anything I've seen before...we saw the stars, and the silence was heavenly.

We also met with Bishop Thomas (one of the Coptic bishops who founded Anafora) who is one of the most amazing Christian people I've ever met. We also spend most of the day in conversation with Coptic youth about their church and traditions, and the differences between their church and our church. Before we left, though, we had a praise and worship service and a Coptic prayer service in the Anafora chapel (which is one of the most beautiful chapels I have ever seen). The floor is made up of the rugs that I mentioned earlier, as are the pillows that we sat on, and the whole chapel was filled with candles... Again, it's hard to describe if you haven't been there, but the beauty of the place and the beauty of worshiping beyond doctrinal issues was wonderful and amazing. I hope you all can see this place someday... :)

Today, though, we're meeting with people from Islam Online and going bowling with some of our Egyptian friends. No real weekend for us this week...or next week either...