It's the numbers. Sure, I know it's always tricky to learn numbers in another language because we all count in different ways. Arabic is different. It's not that they see 96 as four "twenties" and a "sixteen" like the French do, it's that the rules are unbelievable. Here. I'll run down some of the rules for you, and let's see if I can make your head spin.

A) Every number can be declined (i.e. categorized into different cases: genitive, nominative, and accusative). That means that the case of every number (except 11-19) depends on its role in a sentence (subject, adjective, etc).
B) 1 & 2 function like adjectives. They agree in gender and case ending...except that you only use them for emphasis. One is usually expressed by using the singular and two (God help us) is expressed in the dual. Yes, that's right. Arabic has singular, plural, and dual cases.
C) 3-10 are always followed by a plural noun in the genitive case, and the gender is always polarized. That is, you use the opposite gender of the noun you are counting. (Did I mention that the numbers have genders?)
D) 11 &12 act like one and two, but they are always followed by singular nouns in the accusative case.
E) 13-19 are always followed by singular, accusative nouns. Unlike all the other numbers, 13-19 are always in the accusative case and they are always definite. (Did I mention that numbers can be either definite or indefinite?)
F) 20-99 are always followed by a singular, accusative noun, but they can be in any case (depending on their role in the sentence).
G) 100 and up are always followed by a singular noun in the genitive case.
H) Numbers like 51 are expressed as one and fifty.

Not too bad, right? Wait for it.

I) Complex numbers are written THOUSAND HUNDRED UNIT (ONES) DIGIT (TENS). Example: 8,463 is (literally) "eight of thousands and four of hundreds and three and sixty."
J) When expressing longer numbers, the case and number of the noun depend on the last word. So, in the case of 8,463 the noun would agree with the number 60 (i.e. singular, accusative) because sixty is the last word that is written/spoken.
K)  HOWEVER, the unit (one's place) is always polarized if it is 3-9 or the digit 10. That means that if the number 8,463 is referring to men the three is feminine, but if it is describing women it is masculine.
L) Any number (of any length) that ends in a 1 or a 2 must NOT be polarized. This is because ones and twos behave like adjectives and must agree in gender.
M) ADDITIONALLY, the number 8,000 (as you've probably noticed) is expressed as "eight of thousands" and 400 as "four of hundreds." Because we're dealing with the numbers 3-10 the genders have to be polarized again. So, 8 is feminine because the word for thousand is masculine, and 4 is masculine because "hundred" is feminine.
N) FURTHERMORE, the number 8,000 (or "eight of thousands") is a possessive construction, which is called an "idafa" in Arabic. This means that the word "eight" follows the normal rules of declension. In other words, its case ending is determined by its role in the sentence. The word "thousands," however, is the last term of the idafa. So, it has to be in the genitive case.
O) Every number is indefinite unless it is the first term of an idafa. That means that the 8 in 8,000 is definite, but the "thousands" is indefinite.
P) Even worse, every number construction is considered a form of an idafa. That means that the phrase "eight men" is literally "eight of men." So, the number eight must be definite. This gets especially confusing in complex idafas like "800 men," which is literally "eight of hundreds of men" ( I suppose it's actually "man," since it should be singular following "hundreds," but let's not get carried away). So, "eight" and "hundreds" are definite, but "men" is indefinite.
Q) To make matters worse, the 3 in handwriting is the same as the 2 in formal writing.

Essentially, this means that the rules are completely different from number to number and sentence to sentence. I'm not complicating things to make it seem more difficult than it is. The numbers are just that confusing. Even the instructor struggles with it on occasion. With rules like this, it's no wonder the Arabs invented the number zero. Once you've mastered the syntax, creating a new number is nothing. (Get it? Nothing? Hee hee.)

Yeah, it's just awful. To me, this number problem represents the challenges of the entire language. So much of Arabic is like that. You just have to practice until it sounds right. And a lot less of it makes sense right off the bat than the romance languages. Don't get me wrong, I really really like it. It's just hard. In fact, it's the second hardest language in the world.

Honestly folks, this is rocket science.

I'm having a nice bout of reverse culture shock. It's all so hopelessly Midwest. I'm a bit overwhelmed by the need to graduate and get the heck out of here. Now.
 
One more year.
  
In other news, I had a nice holiday. Turns out my irrational fear of changing planes was completely ridiculous. Airports are designed for idiots, and they're certainly more clearly marked than Cairo. So, no problems from Cairo to Vienna to London. By the time I got to London I was exhausted and couldn't think. I called my dad for help, and he told me to go shell out the extra bucks for a hotel room in Heathrow rather than hoof it into the city. He was right. I got checked in, turned on a Robbie Coltrane/Eric Idle movie on the BBC and passed out. The next morning I made it to the airport with time to spare. I sat next to the message boards, waiting for my flight to be called and listened to Christmas music while I stared at people. People watching is a bad habit of mine. The flight to O'Hare wasn't bad. It didn't even feel that long, considering it was 8+ hours. Heaven forbid you should have a pilot with a sense of humor. As we approached Chicago he said, "the people on the left can get a great view of downtown...and the people on the right have a great view of the people on the left looking out the window." He also pointed out "Santa's plane" to the kids on the flight. By the way, Chicago at night from the air is AMAZING!! Wow. One of the most beautiful sights ever, and proves that Chicago is the best place on earth. Breezed through customs (although I broke my suitcase) and then my parents met me and we headed to my sister's house for Christmas.
 

So, I've spent the past week been trying to cram in all the touristy places I haven't visited yet. I started with the Pyramids. Well, I've been to them a few times, but never in the daylight and never very close. Anyway, last Sunday my roommate Beth and I took a cab over to Giza and had a desert adventure.

We just took Amira to the airport.
  
It's funny the way you wave at someone until you can't possibly see them anymore. Then, you leave the building, but you turn around one last time to look at the place you last saw them. Why is that? Why can't we just hug our goodbyes and walk away? What is it that makes us strain our eyes for one last look? And keeps us waving all around the corner?
 
All I know is I had tears in my eyes. It's technically Tuesday now (although I haven't been to sleep yet), which means I only have four full days left. Le sigh. I've never been terribly good with goodbyes, although it's not something I really want to learn to do well.
  
Nadia left last week. For better or for worse, the posse is broken. It's weird to know that they won't come bursting through or door at all hours of the day and night. Very weird. It's really the end now.
 
I went to the pyramids and the market yesterday. I'll update more about "business camels" when I get a chance.

I just finished two finals, and it's quite probable that I passed, although not necessarily with flying colors. Considering what I've been through this semester, I'm lowering my standards and settling for Bs. As a rule I don't tend to get Bs, but it's been a rough few months.
  
It's funny how little I've written about the real problems and frustrations of living here. I guess I'm terrified of adding to the bias against Arab culture, so I hesitate to talk about my difficulties. I'm so afraid they'll be misread as comments on Egyptian society rather than just the circumstances of living abroad. Anway, just because I've gotten over the culture shock doesn't make it any easier. There are still days when it's all I can do not to put my head down on my desk and sigh. But with each day comes another victory. I now know that I can handle just about anything. I might not be happy about it, but I can get through it. That which does not kill you only makes you stronger, right? Well, I feel like steel now. I've mastered Cairo and I've managed to get control of my personal life. I've learned to walk away and to let things go. Being trapped in a room with people who treat me like dirt won't be the worst thing to happen to me, but it's made me strong enough to handle the future. It's also made me realize how my actions can affect others, and I'm also a lot nicer (and much less sarcastic) now. So, thank you study abroad. You've made me a better, calmer person.
   
Now, only two more papers to finish and one final. COUNTDOWN=5 DAYS!!

All I wanted was a Christmas internet radio station that plays outside the US and doesn't play Josh Groban.
  
45 minutes and 20 stations later we finally found xmasradio.ca.
Thank you Canada.
  
Now if only John Lennon would come on.
  
Edit: Nope, this one sucks too. Guess there's no Christmas coming.
Edit 2: Okay, they just played Nat King Cole followed by John Lennon. Perhaps it's Christmas after all. Life is good. :-)

I just joined a facebook called, "No, I haven't read that great literary classic--But I've seen the Wishbone!"
   
I'm so excited. Although, it speaks volumes about the American public school system that the group has 15,000 members.
  
Wisdom from my roommate Beth: "At least they're watching PBS."
 

  
Sign the petition to bring Wishbone back to PBS.

So. Sandra has been playing the UK's Radio One on her laptop all day, and the top story is:

Obese should have health warnings on their clothes

Yes, that's right. In an effort to combat obesity the UK has proposed to sew obesity helpline numbers into your elastic waistline. Imagine. No need to ask your boyfriend if your butt looks fat in those jeans because your pants will do it for you.
  
Here's the thing. The size at which they start including these tags? UK size 16, or US size 12. That's right. 40in waist equals total humiliation in the dressing room. I think that's a bit much.

God Bless America.
Land of the fat.
Home of the burger.

George Clooney and Don Cheadle were on campus Wednesday!!
  
No fooling. Here's the Article.
 
They came to talk about the crisis in Darfur, but only people with invitations could go. To get an invitation you had to be part of the Internal Refugee and Forced Migration Studies Program. So, not me. My roommate saw them though, so that's very exciting.
  
In other news, the countdown is now 3 finals, 2 papers, and 9 days!!!

Chun-Yu just took a look at the file, and he says it's way too small to contain a paper. I guess there's nothing left to do but admit defeat.

A look back at the life of a great paper:
Page 1: Introduction. Catchy, thought-provoking, left you wanting more.
Pages 2-5: Failed state-building attempts in Iraq. A critical look at the past three years.
Pages 6-7: The interest groups. A very "interest"ing section.
Pages 8-10: Political theories of state-building. Informative. Enough said.

Oh paper, you were a constant companion even in the wee hours of the morning. Not a day went by, but I thought of you with excitement...or was that nasuea? You will be sorely missed.

If there's one thing I learned from Nils, it's that no file is irretrievable.

I found the file. It's in the temp folder, where it decided to save itself as ~$ate Building in Iraq.tmp. You know when you go to the desktop halfway through a paper and find about 20 "~paper's name here" icons in a shadowy grey? It looks like that. And if you try to open it, Word says you need to install some sort of import converter.

Apparently, this computer's Office package is missing a .msi patch (proplus.msi to be exact). No, I don't know what that is. But, after some research I learned that you CANNOT fix the problem without the installation CD, which I obviously don't have. Did that deter me? Nope. I still spent an hour on the Microsoft site and the IU Knowledge Base (a tech support site) trying desperately to update XP and Word with security patches and converters. I think I was hoping that if I installed enough garbage, it would spontaneously fix itself. It didn't. Anyway, I finally had the bright idea to call my RA. She's sending over a tech guy, and in the meantime I have other work to do.

If it turns out that I have to rewrite all that work I might jump in front of a bus. Maybe.

The computer just ATE MY PAPER!!

About thirty minutes ago, I decided I was too tired to know whether I was still making sense, and so I decided that I would go to sleep for about fours hours. Since this is a public computer lab, I very carefully closed all my windows so that someone else could use the computer while I slept. Then, I went to the desktop to move over my four files (2 notes, 1 outline, 1 paper) to the right-hand side of the screen for easier access when I returned.
  
Except that there were only three files on the desktop.
  
After a moment of panic, I reopened Word to try to access it from the "recent documents" screen. It's there, but when you click on it this message appears: "The document name or path is not valid." More panic.
  
I did everything. I did a search for it under more than one name. I manually looked through all the WP folders on this computer. I did everything. It's GONE. In fact, when I go to the "recent documents" folder in the Start menu it isn't even there. It's as though I never wrote it. Only the broken link in MSWord proves that I'm not crazy.
  
10 pages...of 15. GONE!!!! Does anyone have any better ideas? (I want you to know that I'm a dedicated saver. I hit ctrl+s almost every sentence. Why did this happen?!?!
 
Now's the bit when I quit school.

You know those moments when you're so sleep deprived  that your upper body starts to swivel on its torso pivot? (that's why I'm not in med school.) I'm starting to get to that point. Four hours last night and there's almost no hope of bed tonight.
  
Cramming is good for your health. Cramming is good for your health. Cramming is good for your health. Cramming is good for your health. Cramming is good for your health. Cramming is good for your health.
  
Maybe if I say it enough, it'll be true. And maybe I'll get over this cold. I'm not sure I'm going to make it this time.
 
Now it's your turn. Whine about finals with me.

Do you have a lot of trouble getting your mind around the Big Bang? I mean, really need to go and have a good think about it?

Yeah, me too. Especially when I should be doing other things.

The meaning of life is always more interesting at the end of term.

Well, we tried to ride camels at the pyramids yesterday. Key word, tried. I had no idea that camels were so agressive. They bite and they buck. Let me tell you, if there's anything you don't want throwing you, it's an eight foot camel. I'd always heard that you had to be really careful at the pyramids because some trainers will give you crazy camels. Now I understand.

My roommate Sandy had already had a bad experience in Aswan, so she refused to ride alone. I said I'd ride with her, but before she got a chance to get on, my camel stood up. Have you ever seen a camel stand? First they pitch you into their neck and get their hind legs under them. Then, they get the front legs out and toss you back into the saddle. If you have prior warning, you can lean into it, but if the camel goes nuts...well, hang on to your hat. We got the camel back down and Sandy got on, but seat wasn't secure, so we started to slide around to the camel's middle. Finally, Sandy had enough so she got off and they brought her a horse. Then, the guide said he was going to ride with me. Absolutely not! There is no reason for him to be that close to me ever! And while I raged at him, Sherine's camel had a fit and started bucking her. That was the last straw. We got off and went home, but not before the men chased us for three blocks demanding money for the pictures we took. So, we started to get the police (because what they did was very illegal in Egypt) and they screamed at us that they would never do business with (insert unkind words here) women again.

Unbelievable.

We're going to go back to the pyramids next weekend (since the sun was down by the time all the nonsense was over), but on foot this time.

It's the farewell dinner for the study abroads tonight. I'm not going because I need to write a paper, and I'll see all the study abroads I care about next week in class. I'm going to my Arabic professor's house tomorrow, and Satrday is the hotel's farewell party at the Pyramids. I'm definitely going to that. I just can't belive it's almost time. Nadia leaves next Friday, and I'll be home two weeks from Sunday. These past few weeks have gone so fast! Now, if I can only finish my term papers. 
    

What can I say? I have to step away from my term papers every so often or I'll go nuts. I managed to snag the only computer without a sticky space bar/ctrl button, and I'm not giving up my seat for anything. So, I journal and obsessively check my email every few hours.
  
Anyway, I'm thinking of going to Yemen or Turkey for the summer. All expenses paid if I get accepted.
Here's the link.
Yemen would be more practical, but the Turkish program is in ISTANBUL.
Most important point: they only take 15 students. From the whole country. That's why the if up there is in italics. Hey, I can dream right? And I don't want any of this "you can do anything you put your mind to" nonsense. Sometimes, there are just smarter kids out there. And by smarter I mean completely out of my league. Can't hurt to try though...right?
 
What do you think?