Khalas, AUC.

My semester just officially ended with my last exam. I am so incredibly relieved that it is over. And although everyone is talking about their plans for going home, I've got my own plan for the coming two month break. Not that I don't want to go home - it just didn't work out that way.

So - my plan:

Reading. I just borrowed 10 books from the library. yes, 10. There will be a lot of reading going on. And writing, insha'Allah.
Sleeping. So much sleeping will occur you won't even believe it.
Finding a new apartment with fast internet and a comfy bed for said sleeping.
Traveling. Paris and London for sure, and hopefully somewhere else, too. Maybe Israel/Palestine or Lebanon or Jordan or Syria or Siwa or something.
Showing my Mom what living in Cairo is like.
Fixing things that have been broken.
Getting more involved with AIESEC again.
Working on my Arabic.
Seeing touristy things that I still haven't seen since moving here in June.
Celebrate Christmas and New Year's Cairene style. With a touch of Americana.
Get ready to restart AUC in February.

And on another note - I was looking at my dashboard and basically the only thing on it are sticky-notes, the weather, and countdowns.
The weather is just a constant reminder that I live in the desert, but it's not too different from Atlanta weather honestly. It's about 60 degrees here pretty consistently, but it will keep dropping more.
The sticky-notes are mostly reminders - things I need to do, music I'm interested in, magazines and editorials that I want to look at getting subscriptions to in the states, and things like that.
But it's the countdowns that got me really. Here they are:

20 days until London and Paris
1 month until Mommy comes to Cairo
3 months until Audie comes to Cairo

All exciting upcoming events in my life. But why I mention them at all are the next two:

5 months and 11 days until home
6 months and 19 days since you've lived in the sandbox.

I have lived in Cairo for more than 6 months. And I am well past my halfway point. And there are less than 6 left. There are times when I walk down the street and can't remember what it's like to see stoplights. Or street signs in English. I don't know what it is going to be like not to listen to the call to prayer or smell limes and ta'amayia and shisha smoke when I walk home. Or when I was reading a website in Arabic and I didn't even notice it. Life in Cairo has become so natural that I don't even think about it, and that is both weird and kind of amazing too. It's just hard to make sense of it all sometimes.

Hibbity-jibbities.

In the middle of writing my first piece for my creative writing class (amidst the plethora of readings for Human Rights Law and Contemporary Political Islam and my new AIESEC work), and I realized how terrified I am of actually writing work to be reviewed by people who are serious as they describe themselves as authors and poets who live on their art and breathe and talk and sleep and eat words.
I have written, but not ever for anyone else - unless you count the random blabbery of this blog or the assignments from sophomore year at Central. This is going to be quite a step. We'll see how it goes.

A note on Ramadan: Still going strong. I think, more than anything, I suffer from lack of sleep instead of lack of food. The boys just sleep until Iftar, which is highly impossible given I have a life to keep up with that does not function nocturnally. But with only a little over two weeks left, I think that I can ride it out - I just need to figure out what to do for Eid el-Fitr. I have a week at the beginning of October, and I could spend it either in Marsa'allam with AIESECers and roommates, in Spain with my beloved future roommate, or somewhere else yet to be decided. Insha'allah, kids, I will be doing something exciting.

In the past month

this is what has happened to my life.

1. I got a new sister.

2. I spent a significant amount of money.

3. I have accomplished no great feats.

4. I realized how homesick I am for Georgia Tech.

5. I fell in love with Russell Brand.

6. I have significantly freaked out more than usual.

7. I have not yet packed, or gotten any closer to packing.

8. I have read no less than seven books.

I leave Sunday for Cairo. Let's hope I don't break down before then.

if you like giggling...

...this is the video for you. It is fantastic, ridiculous, and oh man - very India.

If I ever told you the story of me dancing in a Punjabi music video after working all day (read 6am to 2am) in the Indian heat, driving around Punjab, nauseous from the amount of food and chai shoveled into my mouth from various relatives of my employer, without shower, make-up, brush, or sleep. Here is the proof that it did actually happen. Me and my Dutch roommate, Femke, dancing away. From what I hear, we are still on TV in Chandigarh.

one year later...

so i got the wonderful chance to seriously enjoy some sushi with one of my favorite people ever tonight. i had not seen Sara for almost six months, and in high school we saw each other for hours every day, knew so much about each other, and promised that we would utilize our limited distance between us to take advantage of continuing some aspect of that.
well, due to complications, communication gaps, and my serious states-absence this summer, its been six months. and its not like you would have expected, it was in no way awkward for me (like it usually is) I was simple excited to see her, to be with her, and to have her a part of my life again. But it has been so long.
When we talked about everything that has happened to us since then, everything that has impacted the world we lived in in high school - it was strange. and it got us to thinking - what changes will there be in a year? in two? who will we be in five years?

certainly not who I was in high school. oh god, i hope not. i don't even feel like a shadow of that kid that knew nothing of the world or herself, but maybe that is why i am doing all that i am doing. to get away from that. it's hard to know what to keep and what to toss, kind of like everything in my life right now.


anyways, dear nomads, this is post number 100. hope you like it so far.

Secret-Agent Maddie?

So, on somewhat of a planned whim (if that is possible), I applied to the CIA for an internship program they offer.
And, as I was told last night, they are interested in furthering my application to the next step of the security clearance process.
Which slightly boggles my mind.

they got their Eye on you.

if you walk down the street in India, people stare at you.
if you are a white woman walking down the street in India, people stop and stare at you.
if you are a white woman with red hair walking down the street in India, people will stop their motorcycles in the middle of traffic, take off their helmet, and stare at you as long as you are in sight.

i'm here.

here. at last.
after about 20 hours on the plane in total, 8 hours of waiting at the airport for the trains to open, 5 hours of driving to Chandigarh, and one crazy night - i am here.

it is incredible - i don't know where to start or what to do. but i am here, and i guess that is the first step.

3 days 23 hours 18 minutes 14 seconds

and i am nowhere near ready to go.

You rock, Rock.

these people makes my life look lame.

7 days. 18 hours. 34 minutes. 10 seconds.
and i will be flying.

oh.my.god.

in 4 weeks, i will be working in India.
that is so incredible - it's still a little hard to believe.
and i have been talking to Mohammed all morning - and it's getting more and more exciting.
new development for my nomading: Nepal. how incredible would that be.


talk about a sweet summer vacation.

stress? what stress?

i feel like my brain is about to explode. i say that, and i realize i say that quite a bit. but, believe me when i say that it is a pertinent possibility in the next few days.
presentations, papers, tests, reviews, preparations, attempting to sleep and eat and maintain my ability to function without biting people's heads off.
it's a lot to handle. and i hate that i am complaining about it which i feel like that is all i am doing. don't get me wrong - i love all of the things i am doing and am passionate about doing the best i can for all of it - but i am worried about my ability to do the latter. i want to do so well and keep pushing myself to do well for it, but how? ideas?

i think the only way i will relax this week is to here from MENA LDS. i need to know. now. i want morocco so badly. pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaassssssssssse, let me go!!

ok, back to banging my head against a brick wall...