1/4

I am one-fourth done with my stint here in Egypt. As I've always experienced to be true, time seems to have flown by when you look back on it. The snails come out when you're in the present. Days become years, until they're over and you look back and think "It feels like I just woke up and now I'm going to bed". I do my best to not count the days till I go home because I know it just makes it worse. So instead I count the months............  Because 8 sounds a lot better than 226. (I swear this is the first time I have ever counted the days till I go home and it will be the last because it was a lot more than I expected)
        

Fall weather has finally hit Egypt. This morning I went for a short run before I did my sit-ups. (I'm going for the Shannon Sharpe abs Dad) The early mornings have been chilly for about 2 weeks now but today it stuck around. I wore a long sleeve and jeans for goodness sakes. Alec wore his coat. (Forgive him he's from Georgia) I came home from work, made a cup of Nescafe, and sat down on the coach to read. The cool breeze coming through the windows and the smell of Fall filled the room. It was one of the best feelings I've had since being here. Thanks Jessica for being as excited about it as I was. I can honestly say I'm comfortable here. No it's not home and I'm sure it never will be but I don't feel like such a foreigner anymore. I can go outside the wall without feeling like a billboard. I've even gotten to know some locals. Every Friday I eat breakfast at Achmeds bean and salsa stand. Nothing like a stack of bread, a dish of beans, and a dish made with tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions. That's the "salsa". And all for $1.18. He speaks pretty good English to. Whenever I buy bread, I go to the same shop on the corner where a girl about my age works. She is the first and only Egyptian woman to be somewhat friendly to me so I keep going back. It's understandable because of the culture here but you have no idea how much you miss heterosexual interaction until you know longer have it. Anyways she always smiles at me and even though she doesn't know any English she does her best to communicate and be patient with me. I've also gotten to know the students a lot better which has made me feel more at home. I still have my challenges though.

My Dad gave me some of the best advice I've had so far last night. He told me that life is about how we handle our trials, not how we avoid them. I'm not going to avoid the fact the every time I see a plane flying over head I want to be on it. But I can decide whether I let that affect my attitude and how I live my life here. I recently read a letter of encouragement that a friend gave to me before I came here. It was one of the most encouraging letters I've ever read. She didn't say anything extravagant, she just reminded me of things I already knew. Let me share a bit of it with you. "Someone once told me that a person show's their true self when life is Hard not easy. Remember that whatever your going through, the Lord designed for you to go through and persevere. You're there because you wanted a chance to define yourself by Your standards and to show people the type of man God intended you to be, not the previous perceived thoughts that others already set upon you." Like I said, she just reminded me of things I already knew and yet I felt more encouraged than ever after reading that. She didn't give me something new to think about or a new idea. She just assured me that I could accomplish the things that I originally set out to do. It brought me to tears. One of the many times a letter from home has done that so thank you to all who gave me one.

Life is definitely a journey. One that we can decide to survive in or thrive in. I'll admit that I survive a lot and thrive little but I try to focus on the positive. I've started to try and remember at least one happy moment of the day before I go to sleep. Seek and you will find as Jesus says. Once again in the words of my wise father, "Embrace Egypt and love the people, give them all you have and you will be blessed for sure."

-Keep that left heal down Dad.