my first BUDGET in cairo

My first tutoring session with E went very well, and I already feel like I am hearing the new words I learned all over the place. I basically have two lists: one for new words to learn, the other for words that I know incorrectly (in fus'ha) and need to re-learn the right way (in ameyya). E says I have a lot of potential if I work at it, so I am trying to practice with new words and phrases as much as possible. I should be speaking like a Misriyah (Egyptian) in no time, insha'allah.

Things are going well at work. Right now, the magazine where I work is a portable entertainment guide, about 96 pages, and includes sections for cultural events, interviews, short features, cooking, cocktails, movie previews, book reviews, horoscopes, and several other sections. We are hoping to transfer some of this to the Web site (that is in the process of being built) and the blog, and then update the magazine to include more features and interviews and a greater emphasis on the magazine part. This is where I come in, and I am very excited about it. I will be putting my Medill education to good use here, though it is too bad I never took Magazine Editing.

Thanks to The Daily, my budget-writing skills are top-notch, and I am glad to be doing that once again. But here I don't think I can write e-mail subjects with creative budget titles, like "i would do anything for love but i won't do BUDGET," "should i stay or should i BUDGET," "smells like teen BUDGET," "you give BUDGET a bad name," and etc. I could go on forever... and actually I kind of did, all Fall Quarter. Wow, missing writing budget headlines: the first sign you worked at The Daily for too long. (For all non-Medill tools out there: the budget is the list of available stories. Editors put it together, writers claim stories, and it's basically a way to keep track of what's going into the paper/magazine/etc.).

Nothing too exciting this week. Last night I had another AIESEC event, an Egyptian cultural night to hang out with the other AIESECers and talk about interesting aspects of Egyptian culture. Our selections? Body odor (aka hygiene problems), harassment of women, dating/relationships, bureaucracy/corruption (tellingly, these two kind of go together...), and several others. The evening also included those two stalwarts of any Egyptian cultural event, tea and shisha (hookah). The whole thing took place in this place called the Basata Club (I think?) which was out in the desert with a cool view of the pyramids at night. It was also nice because a bit farther out of the city, the air was much cleaner (which I always appreciate).

This weekend I will be hanging out in Cairo, which I think will be nice after traveling the last two weekends. I am looking forward to catching up on some sleep and finishing up a freelance article I have been working on.

Have a good weekend!