So the maid situation here is strange to us American students. They do EVERYTHING for us. They change our sheets, clean up our bathrooms, take out our trash, and if we leave dirty dishes out they will clean them for us…. I have a hard time asking them to do any of this. It’s embarrassing for me, but it’s embarrasing for them if I try to help them with anything. But it’s so strange to stand and watch them cleaning up after me. Yet, the egyptian girls and girls who’ve been here longer then I have no problem with this, to the point of grossness. I walk the loooong walk to the bathroom in the morning (I’m on the other side of the building from the bathroom, it’s a loooooong walk especially when half asleep and a challenge having to greet people nicely on the way) and pass by dirty dishes, smelly trash cans, and in the common area they’ll order fast food then just leave the wrappers and bags sitting out…ewww!! I know I’m here as the outsider, and I’m the one who’s strange because even the maids get wierded out when I try to help them with something of mine, but this is still VERY strange for me! And the girls bathrooms, holy cow, I’m not going to go into details but some of these girls are like little children who have no clue how to take care of their bodily functions…some of them have never had to clean up after them selves… I’m venting here, and some of these things are probably exaggerated but where I come from, I clean up after myself, sometimes less than my mom and roomates wouldn’ve wished but three thousand times more than the girls on my hall do!!! *sigh* Some of this may not be fair, but this is my blog and I can vent about whatever I choose! (now I sound like a petulant child…) end result: I’ve learned to just smile nicely when the maids clean up after me and not help for fear of embarrassing them. And to hold my nose when walking down the hall at the end of the day.