Kathy's travels: My other class

Today I had my other class. This class is only on Friday afternoons at 12:30 to 3:30. There are four Americans in this class. They are all students at American University in Beirut. They're very friendly. There are two others in the class - a Dutch guy and a Russian woman from Paris. This class is Beginner Conversation. They have been studying Arabic for a lot less time than I have, but the class isn't too easy because there are many terms that I don't know in Levantine. I have the same teacher as my other class. I like her a lot. It's kind of funny because often she reminds me of me teaching ESL to adults. She uses the same techniques. She's also very funny. After class, the AUB students seemed to need to get going because they were working on moving in. (No one in the class lives in Saifi). I asked the Russian woman if she had had lunch. She said she hadn't, but she needed to get to a meeting. So, I went to the cafe and had lunch on my own. They have a different "plat du jour" each day. I've never ordered it before because I like to look at the menu at home and be prepared to order when I get there, but I'm feeling more confident now and also getting to know the guy you order the food from. I asked him what the plat du jour was. He said it was mulukhiya. He described it as chicken with greens and asked if I wanted to taste it. It was okay - not my favorite, but I ordered it because I thought it would be a healthy meal.

I went for a walk after lunch because I feel like I just sit and study all day. It really is difficult to walk here, because sidewalks tend to be blocked and then you have to walk in the street where there is always traffic.

A couple photos from my street. Motorcycles tend to have these plastic roof/ windshields. Maybe because it rains so much here. Sara (my teacher) didn't seem sympathetic when I complained that it rains so much. She basically said that's winter in Beirut. It's kind of like when we complain about the cold in January and February at home.

Also, this motorcycle is parked on the sidewalk. Notice that sidewalks here, as in Fez and Istanbul, are not concrete. They are made of tile.