The Aftermath

Who here has accidentally handed over pounds instead of quarters at starbucks? I have.

I thought i was going to die when i got off the plane at the airport in boston, it was so incredibly humid out and i couldn't stand the heat. Everyone kept asking me, "why are you sweating, You were just in EGYPT, how could you possibly be hot here?!" No ONE understands...DRY HEAT DRY HEAT DRY HEAT! It's magical i tell you.....that dry heat. Humidity is horrible.

I must say that things happen a lot quicker around here. Ordering an iced coffee doesn't take 20 minutes and you don't have to play charades when telling the people behind the counter that you DON'T want whipped cream on your iced mocha that was supposed to be a latte.

Oh but nostalgia kicks in at times too, especially when I see someone beeping only once at someone else. I sometimes just wait for another beep to bring me back to egypt, but it turns out people are pretty sane here with the beeping, and i should probably embrace that.

anyways. i can't bring myself to retire this blog. so i'll find ways to keep it going. you should too.

June 2nd

Happy Birthday Libby!

Ok, so the weather today for Cairo made me laugh out loud. I love how it just says "sand"

I don't think i've ever been so excited to see rain and clouds in my whole life!

Thoughts on Sakara Pyramids

So after seeing the Giza pyramids, I didn't think it could get any better. Though smaller, and less "put together," we were able to get close enough to touch the Sakara pyramids which was incredible. Kelly and I stole some sand surrounding the pyramids even though it was "prohibited."

I was able to to go inside my first pyramid! It was perfect because May isn't the ideal tourism season since it's so hot, so we were the first people in, out, and around each pyramid. Inside is pretty awesome, although you have to deal with the feeling of suffocating for a good 10 minutes on the descent into the pyramid....but once you make it down there (I don't advise wearing sandals) and are able to look up.... it is totally worth it. The hike back up, however, is pretty horrible....and you're crouched at a 90 degree angle the whole time!

Oh, and down inside the pyramid kind of smelled like dead people....which makes sense i guess...ahh it was so FUN!

Felucca Ride

Feluccas (big sail boats) are one of my favorite activities here in Egypt. We have been lucky to go out on one more than once...they are especially scenic at sunset when it isn't as hot out and the wind picks up enough to push us down the Nile. They are big enough to fit a big group which is especially fun after some vino, or "Sakara's" if you will, and more importantly, fun to photograph on... right Rob? ;)

Today

Today is our last arabic class. We were going to bring Hassnaa (our teacher) a bagel because she said she had never had one. When she told me this i was shocked and drew a picture of a bagel with cream cheese on the white board to see if she would recognize it.

I will miss arabic class. It's not the most intense course i've taken in my college career (we only meet 3 times throughout our months stay here) but so far it has taken me verbally far enough to get in and out of a cab, saying "shokran" (thank you) at a grocery store, and "bas" (Stop/enough) when a street haggler is trying to get me to buy the most ridiculous trinkets.

Dream Park

Let me just start off by saying that this was the sketchiest place i have ever been to. Our professor, Rob, thought it would be fun to go to the egyptian "disney world" because they stole the "D" from Disney on their website...that's how ghetto this amusement park was. He also thought it would be an interesting place to photograph..which it was, i have to admit. I of course was scared to go because I assumed the rides would just fall to pieces and we would all fall to our deaths while on the ferris wheel. Obviously I have survived, but I did not survive the sketchiness that is "Dream Park."

I was so amused by this place that i bought a 15 LE hat, (3 american dollars) because it was the only one they had in one of their deserted gift shops, which made me laugh to myself, and eventually purchase it. The hat must be 20 years old, all the guys on the trip were telling me i looked "special," while wearing it. I did.

The whole park is pretty much a scam, you have to buy a ticket (about 20 LE's) and then once you get in you have to pay for all the fun rides (rollercoaster, bumper cars), so i was unenthused by that aspect of it. The only free ride we could find was "bumper boats" which were hovercrafts you could steer in the water..... let me just say that the water smelled like dead people to the point i was looking for a body to submerge from below. Matt and Doug found a dead frog floating in the water and threw it at Kelly and I and that's when we decided our Dream Park adventures must come to an end.

OH, and I did end up paying for the roller coaster, it was fun, surprisingly!

Sakara Pyramids

Great pyramid, great beer.