I'm not as creative a writer as Casey, but seriously who can compete with her! I will try to add my two cents. Its pretty funny how different each area of Cairo is. When we first got here we were in hotels by the Nile, which is close to my University, but its really crazy down there, which I'm growing to LOVE. As Casey has already mentioned we live in Maadi now, which reminds me of a rich white are in South Africa, kinda like a little European town. We have little bakeries and cafes here and tons of expats from the embassy live out here. Its the is the area I feel most comfortable letting Casey get around alone when I'm gone all day. Also, everyone here in Maadi speaks english b/c of all the american influence here, so it works out well for us as I can use that as a crutch when I need to use more than 3 word sentences and can't seem to express myself that well Arabic.

For those of our friends that we invited that I haven't talk to in a while I'd like to catch you up on our life. Casey and I were married in the Dallas TX Temple on the 10th of August then flew out to Cairo the next day. It was quite a trip! We flew from Dallas to D.C. to Germany, to Cairo, then got on a small plane to Sharem El Shiek, then took an hour bus ride to Dahab. It was the most spectacular place I've ever been. Casey told me a few days ago Dahab was her favorite place that she has ever been.(besides home:) We were able to go snorkeling at the coolest place ever, called the blue hole. The water was so clear we could see down more than 50 feet! We were debating if we could see down further, but depth in water like that is very deceiving! There were the most beautiful fish, coral, and sea life we have ever seen! I went snorkeling in the East China Sea once of the cost of Okinawa and from our hotel in Dahab I kept comparing what I saw with my breathtaking experience in Okinawa, but when we put our masks down in the waters of the blue whole their was no comparison. It was like nothing I could have imagined. It was like an aquarium that never ended. It went down so deep and we could see so far until it faded into dark blue. The fish were so used to people they swam right up to us. It was great! The coral was many different colors and their were underwater caves and just lots of beautiful sea life to see.

After of our 7 days in a desert paradise we made it back to Cairo, where we struggles for the next couple of weeks to find an apartment. Then, after much faith and prayers from loved ones we found a great apartment just in time for school to start. SO here we are living in Maadi, Cairo Egypt for the next year while I try to master this awesome language. I say awesome because their is so much to say about this language. I enjoy the learning process, and I've been told by many people who have learned to speak beautiful Arabic that I must learn to love the learning process because it take a lot of time and energy to learn. I'm so blessed to be able to do it here in Egypt at the American University in Cairo. I can honestly say so far I have never been in a better educational system. I'm in the intensive Arabic language program so all day from 8am-2pm I'm in class learning nothing but different aspects of Arabic. It feels as if I'm learning 3 languages simultaneously. I'm learning a new written language system, spoken language, then a different Egyptian dialect. I have one class that teaches the written language, another that teaches grammer, one that drills us on what we have learned, then what I consider the most difficult--the oral language of Egypt. Since the 5th of Sept. my colloquial Egyptian arabic class has gone over 30 pages of vocabulary! My brain is trying to keep up!!! :) I'm doing great, I never thought I would have learned what I have in this short time!

The part I love about my program is that the teachers don't care about grades or testing they just want us to speak, read, and write Arabic. They meet everyday to discus our little class of 10 students and plan our lessons together so all of our classes overlap and build on each other. Another cool part about my program is that we go on tours around Egypt every Saturday. An Egyptian historian at AUC and an Egyptologist lead the tours. They set it up so its all in chronological order starting from 3,500BC-modern day. By the end of this academic year Casey and I will have gone on 22 tours all around Egypt, now that is pretty sweet! I've really learned a lot from the tours. Its a great way to get to know Egypt and Egyptians!

Anyways, Casey and I have had some really wonderful experiences. It has been great to be here with her. This weekend we will be off to Saqqaura, which is the oldest pyramid dating back to 3,500BC so we will have some more pics and experiences to write about. The weekend starts tomorrow!!! Yes I love Thursdays! It gives me time to catch up on my vocab! Its tough going to the same classes everyday, no time to slack off! On the other hand, their is much more learning when things are done with diligence and a steady pace which my teachers are great at getting out of us!