I survived the Sahara Desert...

Hello again. I guess it’s time for another post, so I’ll do what I can to remember this past week. Egypt was absolutely amazing…but don’t be deceived. It was SUPER HOT!!! Ha ha. The bus ride there was pretty long, and getting across the border was quite the experience. Let’s just say we have a South African girl with us on the trip, and she held us up quite a bit. She got taken into a back room and questioned, but then they finally let her through. :) Driving through the Sahara Desert was long, and I found it weird that there were random camels walking around. There were even street signs that said “Beware of camles on the road”. My friend Greg and I decided to try and play the ABC game on the way – bad idea. He got to G and I got to K, and then all the sudden the English signs were replaced with Arabic ones…end of story.
We stayed in a little community called a kibutz that first night, and enjoyed a delicious dinner and dance party. Some “kibutz dwellers” (as we called them) provided music for us and we all went crazy. We all went swimming that night and then got up early the next morning to make the rest of the trip to Egypt. That night we went to a Sound and Light Show put on in front of the pyramids. It was incredibly cheesy, and I’m afraid our laughter may have carried a little too far, but we enjoyed ourselves.
The next day we got up early and headed straight to the pyramids. All I have to say is those babies look a LOT bigger in real life! We got to go inside one of ‘em, and I think I was sweating more in there than outside! It was literally a furnace, and the entire tunnel was about 4 feet tall. It was still great, though, and I took more pictures than I’ll ever use. I have to admit I pulled “an Ali” though…meaning I may have dropped my camera off one of the huge limestone blocks I was standing on. Whoops! Not to worry, though, after a few procedures it was good as new. :) Sorry for giving you all that crap, Al. Let’s just hope I don’t ruin another 2 cameras by the end of my trip. After the pyramids we got lunch at a questionable place (I had a roll) and naturally I was somehow the last one in the bathroom…meaning the bus almost left me. Good thing I have good friends who realized I was MIA. That night we took a Faluka (sailboat) across the Nile to the West Bank. The view was gorgeous, and I could hardly wait for the evening’s festivities. We got to go on an hour camel ride, and I had the time of my life. My guide was about 16, named Ima, and was adorable. He asked if I had a husband, told me I had the number one smile in Egypt, and then kept telling me we had to be friends forever. I even hoaxed him into leaving the path to get me a banana from the big fields there…I love this place. :) Oh, I almost forgot…earlier on that day I purchased my first ever vacation hat. It was only $5 and is dynamite when I wear it, so I think I got a good deal. Ha ha. I love it.
Anyway, I won’t go into too much detail for the rest of the trip. We took a plane to Luxor a few days after the camel safari and I was so happy to shower once we got there. Bad idea. I turned on the shower and hopped in without scoping it out. It was only after I finished my shower that I looked down and realized the water was brown. I about died. Let’s just say the next two days went by with me “showering off” in the pool instead of that nasty tub. Luxor was beautiful, and we hit up a few ancient temples and museums in the two days we were there. Everywhere we went we got whistles and men commenting on our “beautiful American eyes”. So funny. We got some good bargains, though, and I was proud at how little I spent.
We took a midnight train back to Cairo, and I guess expecting the Hogwart’s Express was the wrong idea. I guess it wasn’t too bad, but I felt like I was sleeping in a dirt and bug-infested bed. Ugh. My roommate was awesome, though, so we avoided the “food” they gave us and just talked in our little cubby. Once we got back to Cairo, we saw a few more museums, and the actual mummies of some of the big-shot Pharaohs – Rameses II, Tutmosis, etc. I was loving it after just having taken Anatomy! We headed back yesterday morning at 5:00 AM, and had the longest bus-riding day ever. We got to stop and snorkel at the Red Sea, though, which was gorgeous. Besides getting loads of salt water in my snorkel and goggles, the day was great. After two hours of that, we all showered and got changed. It was only then that I realized I didn’t have my sports bra I needed to put on…whoops! I’d lost it somewhere between the beach and the bathroom, so I sent my girls to look for it, who ended up telling all the guys to look for it. No shame here, right? Ha ha. Meanwhile I’m in the bathroom trying to figure out some way to get around the dilemma, praying it would turn up. Thankfully someone found it half-way buried in the sand, so that was a blessing. :) Everyone knew the story by the time I got on the bus, so that wasn’t embarrassing at all. Ha ha.
All in all, Egypt was unreal. It was rough not really being able to eat most of the food, but I guess it paid off. I didn’t really get sick at all, minus one night when I had a really bad back/stomach ache. It went away in a few hours, though, so thank heavens I didn’t need an IV. :) I also failed to mention my amazing chicken-fighting skills in the pool. My friend Elizabeth and I took everyone on (yes…guys included) and took them all down. Everyone started calling me “the rock” after that, and we had quite the reputation. The next day, however, we had a re-match against the two biggest guys in the group. After about 7 minutes of lack of air, we went down…so we have to go at it one more time to see who the real champion is. :)
Well that’s about it. Sorry it’s so long, but it’s hard to tell everything about a packed-full week in Egypt. It was so fun, but it’s good to be back in Jerusalem. We have 3 exams this week, and a huge paper and map project due tomorrow…so busy week of school. We got to go see the Garden of Gethsemane today, though, and it made this whole trip worth it. There were about 7 of us who went, and we got the guard to let us in the fenced area. We each picked our own corner and wrote in our journals and read our scriptures for about an hour. I loved it, and am planning to go back as many times as I can. As for now, though, I’m going to finish up some homework and then hopefully relax and watch a movie. Our program is done a month from tomorrow, and all the sudden it’s going super fast! I can’t wait to come home, but I love this place. :)


This is the Wilderness of Zin, which is where the Israelites were lost for 40 years...doesn't look all that inviting, does it? This place was huge!

We couldn't resist taking this picture, but somehow I got picked to be the "ape"-looking creature we evolved from...go figure. We thought we were clever, though.

This was at the kibutz where we stayed. They had hundreds and hundreds of date trees...so beautiful. Everything is shared in these little communitites, so it's straight-up socialism. Kinda crazy, but I loved it there. Great food (edible at least). :)

My first reaction when I got out of the bus!!! I couldn't believe I was actually there...so amazing. All I have to say is those Egyptians were incredible architects. DANG.

Love it. I couldn't stop posing.

A bunch of us decided to get together for a group shot, but we had to take quite a few shots to make sure the girls in the front were fully covered with their skirts. Ha ha. Boy am I glad I wore pants that day... :)

The Sphinx makes for the greatest pictures...I'm afraid I took quite a few kissing pictures this day. Most of them were just statues ;)

The view I had from my camel. The sunset was unreal, and I felt like I was dreaming. I'd recommend an african safari to everyone.

Me, Ima, and my camel - 50 Cent. Ha ha. This was right after the ride, and as you can tell, I'm standing kinda funny. Not the most comfortable thing I've done.


Ugh. I still can't believe I showered in this filth. Probably straight out of the Nile.

A few of us girlies at the Karnak temple - the oldest temple ruin in the world. There were amazing hieroglyphics here, and was a great place for a photo shoot.




Oh yeah...ha ha. Although it may look like my skirt's see-through, it just has a million ruffles on it, and the light is shining on it, making me look immodest. Whoops.



Do I look African to you? This was during free time when about 20 of us rented a faluka for $2 an hour. The best deal of my life, and the Nile was unbelievable. We may or may not have had a "dance-party walk-off" on the roof of the boat, but no worries, we got it on film.

Of all places to get Pizza Hut...Cairo. :) It had a strange sauce on it and looked a little sketchy, but it was served with ketchup so naturally I loved it. Thank heavens we ordered this business because later that night we got on the train, where the food was basically plastic. Ugh.

The average market in Egypt. I loved shopping there...but what's new.