19530310 Cairo
Dearest Florence,
Thank you for your letter. My name is Nessim Amin. It is also my pleasure to meet you, “in the pen” as you say. I am in my final year of study in secondary school. My plan, God willing, is to attend Cairo University when I finish. It is the most prestigious University if Egypt and only they only admit the top students. I am also very fortunate to have the opportunity to write you. You see, my school recently had an English essay contest and I received the top prize for my entry. They awarded me with a full year of stationary, stamps and five classics books of the English language. Perhaps you know them?
But may I ask you a question? I am thinking about the words "jumping for joy”? Why must you refrain from doing it? If it is truly “for joy” as you say, then why is it a bad thing? When I read your letter, I ran down to the street and kissed Uncle Sa’eed because I was so happy. Everyone in the street laughed at me as I hugged and kissed him on the cheek several times. I was mad with joy because they knew that I had been waiting for a letter from the Friends in the Pen Program for two years. I remember the days as if they were yesterday. But I am thinking that I will tell you this story later.
It was just after the Revolution. I was with Hany Salem and Mohammed Negm. part of a class field trip that was supposed to
I am also thinking about your wish to
I am very pleased that you love ancient Egypt. Many foreigners are fascinated with this period of our history. I have only been to the Pyramids once. It was on a class trip. After our visit, we had tea at a nearby cafe. We did not drink sodas. Is this RC Cola famous like Coca-Cola? We were also scheduled for a lecture about the history of the site from one of the guides, but at the last moment he was transferred to speak to a group of British tourists who arrived shortly after we did. But I do have another friend. His name is Tarek Rashid. He lives in my neighborhood. He is a tour guide at the Museum. He speaks very good English and has ascended the pyramids many times. I will ask him about your Mr. Halliburton.
Your stories sound quite amusing.
[put this in the next letter] You know what! I just had an idea. Maybe I’ll put you in one of my mystery novels sometime. The main character, Ellery Drew [illustration], sails around the world on her yacht, roaming among the exotic ports of call. She’s been looking for her childhood friend Edgar Keene [???] for just over a dozen years. He gives her the slip at every port, but the flip side is that she solves a new case and helps the locals in need. Yes. Yes. I see it now. You could be The Sheik of Arabee. My fourth story (Shhh. It’s still in the works, so don’t share the idea) is about a Bedouin tribal leader who helps Ellery repair her boat after it wrecks on the shores of Tripoli. The two get off on a rocky start because she won’t tolerate a man who doesn’t respect her. He eventually learns that women are not merely objects of his desire, but individuals who should be treated as equals. Now I know what you’re thinking. Didn’t she just tell me that she wanted to be an international correspondent? Well that may be so, but a girl’s got to separate her dreams from reality. I know it won’t happen overnight, which is why I’ll have the correspondent job as a safety net. And besides, I’ll spend most of my time in hotels and cafés anyway. I might as well be writing while I’m having my afternoon tea and biscuits.
The map you are looking at might be a little incorrect. The Petrified Forest is known as the White Desert. The name is quite suitable because the area is filled with massive formations of calcite. The Oasis town of Bahariyya is the closest . The Oasis town of Bahariyya is the closest place to . It was once the floor of an ancient ocean that has long since disappeared. I have visited this special desert last year with my class.
Say, I’m looking at Cairo on our map of Egypt [map illustration with Neverland theme]. It shows that there’s a great Petrified Forest near you and that there are pyramids all around you. Now I consider you very lucky to live in such a fascinating and thrilling place. Just think of the Nile, the camels, and the sands all around you!!! Ha! I’m listening to a song on the radio as I write this. It’s called "Never Smile at a Crocodile.” I’ll bet you know all about that!
What a coincidence! Egypt is a cotton growing country much like your Lamesa.