A Saturday afternoon stroll

Yesterday was Darrell's birthday. We began the day with a brunch with friends here at our little apartment. In the early afternoon we headed downtown to attend the weekly Arabic ch'ch service. It was a great blessing as always and growing in number weekly as people's fear subside and they begin to venture back to their routines. After the 2-hour service, we headed out to walk down the main boulevard and see what what going on there. The crowds are just incredible; so thick you can hardly push through. People sell their wares along both sides of the streets. On the main street, there are still large crowds that spring up spontaneously and huge shouts & cheers as speeches are made. We stopped by a restaurant to have cous cous for dinner and enjoyed watching the crowds down below. We ended up walking for over an hour after dinner toward our home since the taxis were scarce and the weather was nice and we needed the exercise! This city went wild the other night when Egypt's president stepped down; the horns honked late into the night and people cheered & waved flags & danced in the streets. The atmosphere around here is just one huge celebration. The region certainly is in flux and everyone is nervous about what the future holds. Meanwhile, we are forging ahead with our language studies and enjoying the beautiful weather. Most days are sunny and in the 60's. Soon we should be able to show you pictures of our new van!