Everything.... ok, not everything
Time? What is this time thing? I feel as though time has been passing me by so quickly that I wish for a remote and pause button, just so that I can catch my breath. And update all of you lovely people who read these blogs and are wondering what the hell I've been up to.
It can all be explained in a single word. School. Yes, school has taken its hold on me and refuses to let go. The clincher is that I'm holding on just as tight. School has been pretty awesome so far.
Let me give you lovelies a 'week in the life of Marissa'.
Sundays and Thursdays, as the work week begins on Sundays in Egypt, I awake at about 6:20am to catch the 7am bus to the campus located in New Cairo. The bus ride takes anywhere from 40-75 minutes, depending on traffic. My first class of the day is Arabic. As I arrive early, I will sit in the classroom, review my notes, and sing along to my Zune. I've decided I don't care who hears me, I'm relaxing. After Arabic class, I usually head up to the Theban Mapping Center to see if Magdy has anything for me to do (unless I have other things to do). If not, which is my fault as I, "did 6 months of work in 1 week", I will sit there, use the computer, and study. Magdy doesn't mind because I'm quiet, and I like it because it is quiet. No large groups of students to jockey for a free computer in the library, a fridge to put my sandwich, and good company. My next class is Art & Architecture with Dr. Salima Ikram, so far my favorite class. It's always interesting, due in part by the subject, and also due to her enthusiasm for Egyptology. Note for teachers... if you are excited about what you teach, your students will be excited too. After class, I catch another bus to Zamalek (atleast 75 min), arriving in time to decide what I want for dinner. My evenings are usually taken up by homework, reading, or watching TV shows online with some friends.
Monday and Wednesday mornings are identical to Sunday. The difference is that my afternoon classes are Ancient Egyptian Literature in English Translation and Hieroglyphics I. Starting with AE Lit, the readings are never boring. There is so much description, poetry, humor, and wit that I never realized existed in the literature before. I can honestly say that had I known what the literature was like, I would've started reading it ages ago. Hieroglyphics is also interesting, but we are working slowly. That's good, because there are a lot of grammatical rules and words/signs to memorize. I have a midterm (already!!!) in a week and a half. I should be studying, but I'm writing for you all instead. Don't you just love me for it???
Tuesday is my different day. I don't have Arabic class this morning (yes, I have Arabic 4 times a week!), so I get to sleep in. After Art & Arch, I have my EGPT 499 class, Gender and its Role in Ancient Egypt. This is a really cool class, but there is a TON of reading involved. We have articles plus chapters in 2 books every week, and every other week or so, we have to write a critique for the articles. We are also doing research papers/presentations for this class, but I'll tell you more about that shortly. The class is very discussion based, instead of lecture based as my other classes. I like it, and it has really changed the way I read things about the past. To better explain, I'm not taking things for granted as to the gender of the activities or artifacts uncovered. I never really understood just how much a single room in a house can cause disagreement amongst scholars because of the decoration found within. It's making me question how I think, and I like that.
Research.Oh, the research I must do. I have, in 3 classes, either a paper, presentation, or both, due this semester. None of the topics have anything in common with each other except that they deal with Ancient Egypt and they require a lot of research.
My topics are:
- Paper for Art & Arch, write a paper about a wooden statue from the 6th Dynasty. Do a cross comparison with the piece with others from its time. If I write the paper well, it may be used as the source for a museum tag in the Egyptian Cairo Museum, to possibly be seen by millions of people. Yeah, I'm just a little excited.
- Paper & Presentation for 499, Legal Disputes among the families and workmen from the town of Deir el Medina.
- Paper & Presentation for AE Lit, comparison and study about how foreigners are depicted in AE Lit.
- Paper for AE Lit, Snakes in AE Lit.
So, not only do I have my regular homework/studying, I have research to do. I also have field trips. For example, I've had a field trip to the Cairo Museum (Art & Arch) and we have another one planned. I've been to Meidum and Dashur to climb their respective pyramids (or see them, we weren't allowed in the Bent Pyramid). Lastly, I've been volunteering with Dr Ikram to do a bibliography of her personal library, a vast project. Thankfully, she also lives in Zamalek, so I can go on weekends/after class.
So, as you can see, I've been busy. Because I get up so early in the morning, I am unable to call Andrew until the weekend unless I stay awake until 1am. I am, after all, 6 hours ahead of the East Coast. I know that he'll love it here. When I called Andrew and told him about going to the Bent Pyramid, he said, "I've heard of that! The guy who built it discovered a flaw in the design, so he had to change the angle so it wouldn't collapse!". My son is the smartest almost 9 year old I know! His description is, indeed, one of the theories as to why the Bent Pyramid looks the way it does. All of my photos from my field trip, as well as my trip to Luxor I'll write about later, are on Facebook. The two blogs before this one have the links.
Oh, for those who want to know... I've already sent in my absentee ballot. Even though Obama is ahead in the polls, I still want him to have my vote. I encourage everyone to vote.
So, that's how I've been and what I've been up to. I do hope I can update this more, and I'll work on it.... when I have time.
In the meantime, Cheers!
It can all be explained in a single word. School. Yes, school has taken its hold on me and refuses to let go. The clincher is that I'm holding on just as tight. School has been pretty awesome so far.
Let me give you lovelies a 'week in the life of Marissa'.
Sundays and Thursdays, as the work week begins on Sundays in Egypt, I awake at about 6:20am to catch the 7am bus to the campus located in New Cairo. The bus ride takes anywhere from 40-75 minutes, depending on traffic. My first class of the day is Arabic. As I arrive early, I will sit in the classroom, review my notes, and sing along to my Zune. I've decided I don't care who hears me, I'm relaxing. After Arabic class, I usually head up to the Theban Mapping Center to see if Magdy has anything for me to do (unless I have other things to do). If not, which is my fault as I, "did 6 months of work in 1 week", I will sit there, use the computer, and study. Magdy doesn't mind because I'm quiet, and I like it because it is quiet. No large groups of students to jockey for a free computer in the library, a fridge to put my sandwich, and good company. My next class is Art & Architecture with Dr. Salima Ikram, so far my favorite class. It's always interesting, due in part by the subject, and also due to her enthusiasm for Egyptology. Note for teachers... if you are excited about what you teach, your students will be excited too. After class, I catch another bus to Zamalek (atleast 75 min), arriving in time to decide what I want for dinner. My evenings are usually taken up by homework, reading, or watching TV shows online with some friends.
Monday and Wednesday mornings are identical to Sunday. The difference is that my afternoon classes are Ancient Egyptian Literature in English Translation and Hieroglyphics I. Starting with AE Lit, the readings are never boring. There is so much description, poetry, humor, and wit that I never realized existed in the literature before. I can honestly say that had I known what the literature was like, I would've started reading it ages ago. Hieroglyphics is also interesting, but we are working slowly. That's good, because there are a lot of grammatical rules and words/signs to memorize. I have a midterm (already!!!) in a week and a half. I should be studying, but I'm writing for you all instead. Don't you just love me for it???
Tuesday is my different day. I don't have Arabic class this morning (yes, I have Arabic 4 times a week!), so I get to sleep in. After Art & Arch, I have my EGPT 499 class, Gender and its Role in Ancient Egypt. This is a really cool class, but there is a TON of reading involved. We have articles plus chapters in 2 books every week, and every other week or so, we have to write a critique for the articles. We are also doing research papers/presentations for this class, but I'll tell you more about that shortly. The class is very discussion based, instead of lecture based as my other classes. I like it, and it has really changed the way I read things about the past. To better explain, I'm not taking things for granted as to the gender of the activities or artifacts uncovered. I never really understood just how much a single room in a house can cause disagreement amongst scholars because of the decoration found within. It's making me question how I think, and I like that.
Research.Oh, the research I must do. I have, in 3 classes, either a paper, presentation, or both, due this semester. None of the topics have anything in common with each other except that they deal with Ancient Egypt and they require a lot of research.
My topics are:
- Paper for Art & Arch, write a paper about a wooden statue from the 6th Dynasty. Do a cross comparison with the piece with others from its time. If I write the paper well, it may be used as the source for a museum tag in the Egyptian Cairo Museum, to possibly be seen by millions of people. Yeah, I'm just a little excited.
- Paper & Presentation for 499, Legal Disputes among the families and workmen from the town of Deir el Medina.
- Paper & Presentation for AE Lit, comparison and study about how foreigners are depicted in AE Lit.
- Paper for AE Lit, Snakes in AE Lit.
So, not only do I have my regular homework/studying, I have research to do. I also have field trips. For example, I've had a field trip to the Cairo Museum (Art & Arch) and we have another one planned. I've been to Meidum and Dashur to climb their respective pyramids (or see them, we weren't allowed in the Bent Pyramid). Lastly, I've been volunteering with Dr Ikram to do a bibliography of her personal library, a vast project. Thankfully, she also lives in Zamalek, so I can go on weekends/after class.
So, as you can see, I've been busy. Because I get up so early in the morning, I am unable to call Andrew until the weekend unless I stay awake until 1am. I am, after all, 6 hours ahead of the East Coast. I know that he'll love it here. When I called Andrew and told him about going to the Bent Pyramid, he said, "I've heard of that! The guy who built it discovered a flaw in the design, so he had to change the angle so it wouldn't collapse!". My son is the smartest almost 9 year old I know! His description is, indeed, one of the theories as to why the Bent Pyramid looks the way it does. All of my photos from my field trip, as well as my trip to Luxor I'll write about later, are on Facebook. The two blogs before this one have the links.
Oh, for those who want to know... I've already sent in my absentee ballot. Even though Obama is ahead in the polls, I still want him to have my vote. I encourage everyone to vote.
So, that's how I've been and what I've been up to. I do hope I can update this more, and I'll work on it.... when I have time.
In the meantime, Cheers!