All quiet in Zamalek

In case anyone is concerned because they heard about THIS – Jack and I were eating Chinese food at home when it happened. We are fine. We were blissfully ignorant until we heard about it on the news feed.

Bassily Hall

We now “live” on a huge state-of-the-art campus in the middle of the desert.  That is what the PR people tell us.  I’m still not sure what state they mean, nor which art.  And it is not just the whiny, soon-to-be-leaving profs that are wondering about the choices for this move. All that, however is… Continue reading Bassily Hall

Perception and Praise

I have mentioned in the past that I am currently the coordinator for a general education course. This course is mandatory for all who will graduate from the University. It is supposed to give them the tools to think “scientifically” (a.k.a. critical thinking). Each semester we offer about 20 individual sections of the course and… Continue reading Perception and Praise

Post-election

The much-touted US election has been blogged to death elsewhere, so I will add merely a little slice of Egypt to the mix. All the hoopla and run-up to the election was felt here, but only for one candidate. As far as I can tell (and remember, I’m firmly ensconced in the proverbial Ivory Tower)… Continue reading Post-election

Adventures in Stupidity – part 2

Transport-stupidity After my nearly-aneurysm-inducing meeting with the Bb specialists, I decided it was time to go home. New Campus is in the middle-of-nowhere-Sahara-Desert. My commute is between 1 hour 15 minutes and 2 hours 30 minutes EACH WAY. It is Ramadan, so there are only 3 scheduled departures from NC to my neighborhood. However there… Continue reading Adventures in Stupidity – part 2

Adventures in Stupidity – part 1

Techno-stupidity I am frequently amazed to find that my “technical expertise” is substantially beyond that of others in my field (although the empirical evidence is vast), however I usually assume that the IT/ACT/Tech people know more about the systems and software than myself. I have been proven wrong. The university has changed its “Classroom Management… Continue reading Adventures in Stupidity – part 1

Small Victories?

Picture, if you will, the following New Campus vignettes: Two faculty members bump into each other on the way to their respective classes. They exchange the usual pleasantries, Fac #1 – “So, do YOU have an office yet?” Fac #2 – “No, I’m camping out in [insert other faculty/department name here]’s office for now. They… Continue reading Small Victories?

Seasonal food

Jack posted recently about eating seasonally, in reference to an OUTSTANDING Tomato Lime soup from the Moosewood. We have come across certain recipes, over the years, that we really enjoy during “season”. Egypt is all about season. Eat the mangoes/figs/apricots when they are in season, then you don’t have them for another 3 or 4… Continue reading Seasonal food