"Address the Muslim World and an Indirect Apology for the Past Administration" - NileTV

In the past 8 years more or less, I have never felt this proud of my President. There was just something about the way he addressed the Muslims of our World that made me feel proud to call President Barack Hussein Obama my leader.
As many of you know President Obama came to Egypt on June 4th after visiting Saudi Arabia, where King Abd-allah gave him his blessing (big ups to King Abd-allah!), in order to addres the Muslim world about societal issues rather than talking politics. The entire city has been preparing for his arrival for the past two weeks. In Heliopolis (Pres. Mubarak's residence) and in Zamelek, streets have been cleaned and the gardens have actually been shaped up in order to make Cairo look presentable for perhaps the most powerful political leader in the World. Schools and work places also closed down for the day as there would be a tremendous amount of traffic. So we all enjoyed a nice day off to watch his historical speech.
What made me so impressed with his address was that he wasn't talking AT Muslims, but to them. During his entire speech, I never felt that he was belittling anyone even if he had to give some tough love to the Islam World about certain issues (especially the Isreal-Palestine conflict). It was this issue specifically that I was looking forward to the most. Because of the long ties America has had with Isreal, I was so interested in how he would attack this issue. I was impressed. He was extremely upfront about what both sides need to work on in order to acheive 2 separate states. While he was talking about women's rights and education, I felt that he was really speaking as a father. You could tell that he really felt passionate about female Muslims receiving all of their rights as citizens of the world. Talking about democracy also was an important part of his speech. He emphasized that HE is aware that every nation is not the same and the U.S. has NO right to say what kind of government a country should have, however there are basic human rights that we can ALL agree on regardless of our faith. I felt that he had certain parts of his speech to specifically show that he is not Bush and to 'apologize' for the way the Muslim world has been treated and has appeared under his administration....which was very cool. His connections he made between Jews, Christians, and Muslims were incredible. He really showed that we are all the same at the core and that we all want the exact same things.
All in all, it is time for action. The speech was received VERY well by Egyptians here but now we are ready for action on the American side. I think that Muslims around the world are still behind President Obama and understand that he is extremely positive about the next 4 years of relations. Experiencing his speech here in Cairo is something that I will never forget. This proud feeling I have that my President truly cares about the society I have become a part of really makes me excited about what President Obama has in store for the next 4 years.
"Obama...The next King Tut" - Tshirt in Khan el Khalili

Fried Tamaya vs. Gym...Tamaya wins in Egypt

As much as I love to keep up with TRYING to stay fit and not getting too fat off of tamaya and constant chipsy, the local gym makes it a little challenging. It seems as though my time at the gym is always an adventure. So in Egypt the vast majority of the gyms are separate. One gym for las chicas and one for the chicos, and they are usually just next to each other. It's the little differences such as these that I have somehow gotten used to. One thing that i noticed from day one is the apathetic attitude many people in Egypt have when it comes to health and exercise. Maybe I am biased coming from the States, but it bothers me that so many Egyptians are incredibly unhealthy and hardly ever workout. And even those that do bother to go to the gym walk at 1.3 miles/hour on the treadmill while they yell across the room to their friends about their lives. Frustration perhaps, but it makes me feel so uncomfortable when I do my running workouts for 40 minutes and actually break a sweat. I look like the crazy girl in the gym.
My favorite moment by far was when i was doing my abs excercises and the instructor was trying to persuade me to attend her abs class she was providing for the rest of the ladies....she was overweight and old. Enough said. I appreciate AIESEC at Cairo University for taking initiative and doing the iLive project promoting healthy lifestyles at their university. Hopefully the project did some good, however I know the majority will continue along with their unhealthy lives. But as for me, I will keep turning down the shisha, Miranda soda, and late-night Egga sandwiches.