A Thanksgiving Approaches!
Posted November 21, 2006I spent the last couple of days wrestling with computer code when I wasn't doing school-related things. If you couldn't access this site through a bookmark or link for a bit, it's probably because all of the pages are no longer html files but shtml files. If your bookmarks had saved the URL for this site as www.urbanglows.com/index.html, you'll need to update it to www.urbanglows.shtml (best done by deleting the old bookmark and adding the site again).
The aim of introducing new code to the site was to simplify the navigation links. To the left, you see images that link to various pages on my site, with text equivalents at the bottom of every page. This works fine with a small site, but if I wanted to add new links, I'd have to manually go through every page and change the links to reflect the additions. Fortunately, people much smarter than I created something called Server-Side Includes, or SSI.
SSI allows me to take those links on the left and at the bottom of the page and keep them on a separate page on the server. This page has code in it that retrieves that page of links whenever someone accesses this page, inserting it in the proper position. Now, when I want to make a change to those links, I only need to change the separate file once. Kinda neat, huh?
(Don't worry if this doesn't make much sense on an initial reading. I did a lot of very slow reading and had it explained to me several times before I understood it. )
Putting technology aside, I have some exciting developments going on. I've giving guitar lessons now, to an Egyptian friend of mine, Sarah. She had me fix up her classical guitar, which needed some serious work (and in fact probably won't last more than a couple of years without drastic body work, something the guitar's not worth at this point). I've started her on music theory and basic exercises. Any excuse to play some music is a good one.
If things go well, I will be traveling through Europe for part of the winter break. My German friend Tarek has invited me to his home in Munich for Christmas, and to Austria for New Year's. After that, I hope to meet my friend Stephanie, who is currently studying in Scotland, in Spain. Finally, there is a chance that my friend Sara will be in Portugal in early January, so I may see her, too. I've never been to any of those countries, which is all the more reason to go, I say. For some or all of this trip, I may be traveling with my good friend Molly. We'll see how plans work out.
Arabic is going as well as I can expect. I had midterms a couple of weeks ago. I did well in all of them, but only because I studied a lot. Now people are gearing up for finals. Mine fall on the 21st or 22nd of December, I believe. I'm not really worried, because now that I know I can test well in the ALI system, I should have no problems with their finals. But midterms tired me out, and I spent one weekend not doing anything in order to recuperate my mind.
One thing that I did not expect is the practical differences of the various dialects on Arabic. I am learning Modern Standard Arabic, the written language and supposed "border-less" dialect. Egyptian natives speak Egyptian Colloquial Arabic, which is not written and has its own idiosyncrasies. (ECA is much simpler, grammatically and phonetically, than MSA.) My roommate, Colin, told me his teachers impressed upon him the utility of learning MSA, since it is understood in all Arabic-speaking countries. The reality is that only the highest educated segment of the Egyptian population understands MSA. This is a very small percentage of people. Most people look at you funny if you try to speak in MSA. Thus, most of my linguistic skills are unusable.
My guess is that MSA is border-less, as long as we take border-less to mean that very few people in any country will understand it. I'm consoling myself by anticipating being able to read any Arabic.
This weekend, the ALI has a trip planned. We're going to Aswan, Luxor, and Abu Simbel! My first trip to Upper Egypt! Luxor, in particular, is a personal Mecca of mine. Ever since I saw David Roberts's prints of the great hypostyle hall at the Temple of Karnak, I've wanted to visit. The trip includes a Nile cruise, which is said to be wonderfully relaxing. I'll come back with pictures aplenty.
This weekend is also Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday. I can think of no better reason to celebrate than acknowledging things we are thankful for. My own list far too long to even begin, so I leave you with this sonnet, which I wrote last year.
On Thanksgiving
As soon we give our thanks for those we love
For what we have, for what we have to gain
For earth below, for moon and sky above
A moment, still, reflect on this refrain
We are the lucky children of the world
Fortune's fortune's got scant nought on us
Our problems others' pleasures when unfurled
Contentment our decision follows thus
Remember in this time of selflessness
Those on whom Serendipity smiles not
In every laugh and every heart's caress
Be joyful and give back what you have got
Vest to the world all things the world is due
And lot provides its own thanks back to you
As soon we give our thanks for those we love
For what we have, for what we have to gain
For earth below, for moon and sky above
A moment, still, reflect on this refrain
We are the lucky children of the world
Fortune's fortune's got scant nought on us
Our problems others' pleasures when unfurled
Contentment our decision follows thus
Remember in this time of selflessness
Those on whom Serendipity smiles not
In every laugh and every heart's caress
Be joyful and give back what you have got
Vest to the world all things the world is due
And lot provides its own thanks back to you
Happy Thanksgiving!
