busy busy bee

it's impossible to get things done when you have an endless amount of time to do them. but, when i have no time, then i'm really efficient and organized and happier and etc. that's why i recently loaded up on the extra-curriculars. because it's a really nice relief to get away from the busy streets and the roommates and reading, i go to the gym six times a week (i probably would go seven, but it's closed on friday)... i'm not really pushing myself and i don't really have any fitness goals. it's just nice to get away from sedentary student life. i'm also taking aerobics with about six middle aged egyptian women who call me their baby and usually can't finish the class because they smoke too much beforehand.

but, the activity i'm most excited about is teaching english to sudanese refugees. there's a student run program called 'STAR' (student, action, refugees or something like that. i'm pretty certain that's not right, actually. sorry). anyway, this program organizes free english and arabic classes along with counseling and access to legal channels and counseling to refugees in the area. obviously, because of the close proximity to sudan, most of the refugees are from darfur. the majority of them walked from sudan to egypt to escape the genocide. and most of them live in rooms smaller than the bedroom of my apartment with around 14 to 16 others. they pay higher rent because they are not residents and higher taxes, but they are unemployed. learning english is the first step to employment and the eventual move to a western country, they hope. i will be teaching 2 one and a half hour classes a week with one other auc student. there will be around 20 students and most of them are men, since women are put in a separate class so they feel more comfortable. but, in general, there are so many less women than men in the program. they have had such a hard life, and the abuse that many of them suffered in the camps before they arrived in egypt is really unspeakable. anyway, i'm incredibly excited to start teaching. we do assessments all next week to put each student in the appropriate class level and then we have a lottery to see who gets a spot in the program. it's really sad, but we can only take 250 students. there just isn't room for any more than that. and over 2,000 showed up at the orientation to sign up. it will be really hard to turn people away. but you have to take into account the fact that if we make class sizes bigger, no one will learn and the retention rate will be much lower than in a class of 20.

if you need some background on the situation in darfur, this is quick and easy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darfur_conflict

oh, and i'm spending the weekend in alexandria. we're touring around the city, eating great food, and hanging out with some egyptian students. it should be really fun.