Back in the Saddle
Sorry for the recent hiatus in posting. I have been a bit lazy and let-lagged this week. 10 in the evening in Kalamazoo feels like what I have been calling 5 in the morning for the past year. It has been as rough transition, but getting better every day. The best part [...]

What is the name of this thing?
I am sitting here this morning eating a grapefruit for breakfast and musing on that word. Guess what the word for “grapefruit” is in Arabic.
Come on, guess.
See, my rule for language acquisition is this: if I don’t know the name for something and how to ask for [...]

Is that “inshallah for real,” or “inshallah, it’s never going to happen?”

We’re shaking things up a bit, Egypt-style.

After nearly a semester here in Alexandria, I feel as though I haven’t accomplished nearly as much as I might have liked to. This is not for lack of trying. I have been met at every turn by roadblocks, bureaucracy, and—frankly—bullshit. I have had endless trouble getting an internet [...]