Tonight I spent two hours underwater. Not something you can say everyday, is it? For two hours, the only sounds I heard were the bubbles coming from my mouth, and this strange air-noise-sucking from my mouth piece when breathing in. Rhythmic and quiet… Ahhh…such a relief from the incessant honking and noise of Cairo. I was doing the pool part of my scuba certification…so exciting! They offer it here for so very cheap through an agreement with AUC…they include the gear, and a trip to Hurghada on the Red Sea this weekend for at least half, if not a third, of the cost it would be in the states. Well, we still have to pay for accomodation this weekend, and the five hour bus ride all of which comes to a grand total of 60 USD. Red Sea scuba diving this weekend…here I come! I’ve spent this last week in scuba diving classes. They cram what usually takes about three weeks in the states into one week...it’s still the international PADI certification and they sure don’t skimp on any of the material. It’s suprisingly technical and detailed in some aspects. I’ve been getting home from the classes between 11 and midnight everynight. But the group is great, we’re all students taking the class and the instructors are fun so time tends to fly by. We got a ride home from the pool tonight with one of the instructors, Ahmed. An amazingly nice and easygoing guy. Of course, he puts on an ancient tape of Bob Marley to ride home to. Hmm, strange I guess, spending all night underwater in Cairo, then listening to Bob Marley on the way home…I love it! Made me so happy to hear some Bob Marley again. The beach/water culture is the same all over the world, I swear. These guys spend their lives in water doing one thing or another, and have this laid back easy going attitude about EVERYTHING! Can’t wait to dive in the Red Sea!