There are these places in Cairo, where men (usually men, ONLY), sit and smoke shisha while drinking coffee or tea. They’re called Ahua’s. All these places sell coffee, tea or shisha. Men sit, smoking, playing backgammon and chess. Well, one of these places, owned by and employing Coptic Christians, sells Stella as well. Stella is locally brewed beer. So, as can be imagined, this place (called Horeya, which means freedom) is usually filled with American students. It’s a dingy place, looks like it could be a saloon if it were in the American Southwest, but filled with café tables and chairs and cigarette smoke filling the air. It’s dingy but somehow comfortable. It’s become sort of a pub, centered around socializing. For those who don’t drink alcohol, there’s tea and Turkish coffee, for those who do, it’s Stella’s all around. It’s become the place where most of us are Thursday afternoons right after class (Thursdays are our Fridays, we have class Sunday – Thursday)... Anyways, this last Thursday afternoon I walk into Horeya after my last class. And there are two older American men sitting with the group I join. They are from Boston, members of Boston’s astromony club. Really funny and enthusiastic guys. They, and 80 other member’s of Boston’s Astronomy Club, have come to Egpyt in order to view the eclipse the day before. They were continuing on in Egpyt to sight-see for about a week longer. They were sitting in Horeya, waiting for their film to get developed at a photographer a block away. Photos of the eclipse. One was a retired air force guy, had studied astronomy at UofA, funded by the Air Force. The other guy was a Cardiologist. Both were intensely excited by all things astronomy. Went on and on about a HUGE, record-breaking, telescope the cardiologist and others from the Boston astronomy club were building to go in an observatory that the cardiologist had built on top of his five story mansion sitting on an estate just outside of Boston. (maybe he didn’t phrase it like that, the guys were too humble, but that’s what I heard). The retired air force man who studied astronomy at UofA gave me the name of someone to contact at a Planetarium down there. Might actually try do it if I ever get down there, just for the randomness of it. Anyways, it was super fun to talk to these guys, and I loved it that this astronomy club is active and enthusiastic enough to plan a trip to Egypt for the viewing of the Eclipse. They had been planning for three years. The cardiologist was the one getting his film developed. He was peeing his pants he was so anxious to make sure he had caught the eclipse properly. Kept going on and on about the different phases he had attempted to capture, the different apertures for different phases…pretty intense. He went to pick up the negatives and found two or three that were to his liking. It was like the cardiologist had died and gone to heaven. I haven’t seen someone that giddy in a very long time. They were both the nicest men, and called our experiences as students here in Egpyt “additions to our life story”. Thouroughly enjoyed meeting them. Their pictures of the eclipse (only saw the negatives) made me even more angry at myself and Crazy Brit for not making more effort to see it. Sigh.