Happy Birthday to me!

If you've been reading this blog on a regular basis, you know that I had a touch of homesickness a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully I had a big break to get over all of that, and am now back to my normal (for me at least) self. That all being said, I still miss Seattle, and really miss the weather and change of seasons that Seattle is experiencing right now.
It may sound strange to say that I miss the rain, but I do. I miss the sounds of rain- the quiet tap on the window and roof, the hiss of water under tires. I miss the smell of damp earth and ozone, and I miss the feeling of being totally clean after rain. Imagine my surprise then when I woke up today and heard the rain on my window. Unlike other cruel mornings, this really was the tap rain of rain on the window and I was thrilled. For some people, rain on your birthday may seem like a bad thing, but to me, it was the perfect gift. It was rather funny to see the people of Cairo deal with the unexpected visitor. Streets were flooded (and believe me when I say that it didn't rain that much!) and there was scary black puddles to jump over everywhere. The picture above is of Midan Tahrir, which is the big square that my school is on. After the rain, the air was clean, and although it didn't last long, Cairo's buildings looked a bit brighter. So to all of you who wished a bit of Seattle my way, good job. If you can get some snow over here, I will be truly impressed!

And being my birthday, I can't forget to thank my Mom (and my Dad for his part) for going through 43 hours of labor and still taking me home. Bet you didn't know what you were gettting into huh? ;)