I just finished up this semester's classes and giving all of my finals early. In one of my conversation classes, we filmed a documentary on Turkish food, dance, and music. I am excited to see how it turns out after editing.
Thirty six more hours until I leave for Cairo. I plan to spent 16 of those hours sleeping, 6 packing and getting to the airport. That leaves me approximately 14 hours to finish grading my papers, learn how to use the online grading system (in Turkish), and finish putting together my presentation. (I know, you are probably wondering why I am taking the time to update my blog. I am wondering the same thing.) At this point, I have to make some triage decisions. . . Much as I'd like to avoid it, I am going to have to bring my grading on vacation with me.
Since I am going to be standing in front of a large group of people on Wednesday evening for 45 long minutes, I am going to redirect my efforts towards my presentation. This is actually the first professional conference I've ever attended , let alone presented at. I don't even know what sort of register people use in presentations - formal and academic, relaxed? Oh well, I am not very good at being formal and academic, so I'll just be me.
I am looking forward to Egypt. I can't believe that I will be seeing the pyramids and all of those things that I've only ever read about. Beth and I decided to leave the tour early (day 10?) and head off to Jordan after we climb Mt. Sinai. Kirk will meet us near the border and cross over into Jordan with us. We will see Petra for a few days, and then Beth has to return to the real world. Kirk and I will spend about five more days exploring Jordan before we fly out of Amman on February 11.
I'll try to update the blog as we move through Egypt and Jordan.
