Hello everyone,
I know its been a long time since I've updated you on my adventures here in Egypt. I'll begin with a class trip to the Arab League in downtown Cairo. On Monday before the Luxor trip the students and staff took a trip to the Arab League to talk with the chief of staff of the Arab League. We discussed majors issues and conflicts within the Middle East including the Iraq occupation, Israeli/Palestinian/Arab conflict, Iran, and the crisis in Sudan. It was fascinating to get to hear the opinion of the Arab League and have an open and candid conversation with a top official within the Arab world.
On Tuesday night we left at 9 pm for Luxor by train and arrived at 10:30 am the next day. Over the next two days we went to three temples and the Valley of the Kings. The temples and ancient ruins were awesome. My favorite temple was Ramses temple near the Valley of the Kings. It had the deepest inscriptions and many of the pictures still had their original color. There is a picture of me standing in the middle of this temple that I posted. Overall the trip was just okay. The ancient ruins are great but the city of Luxor is not as good. Many of the store owners and restaurants bank on the fact that tourists that go there are clueless so they always overcharge everything. Many of us ended up getting in arguments with waiters and getting menus to show them what is worth what and tell they finally agreed and gave us the correct price. Overall the trip was good, the city of Luxor was just not that enjoyable outside of the temples and tombs.
After we got back on Saturday morning I began an intense week of homework and studying. That Wednesday I had a final for Islam and a paper due. This last Sunday I had two more papers due and today I took an Arabic final. I also caught a cold on Tuesday, but I am feeling close to 100% now. Also today the those of us that took a tabla class had a little concert for the rest of the students and staff. It was a lot of fun. The Dabka, a Palestinian dance, group also gave a performance. I was able to hang out with Alyssa, my friend from APU who has been living in Cairo since June, one last time before she leaves on Friday to go back to the states.
So overall it has been an extremely busy week, but the most exciting news is that this Wednesday morning we will be leaving for Istanbul, Turkey by plane. We were briefed and given a general outline on what we will be seeing, the people we will be talking, and other things. I am really excited to go see explore other countries and get out of Cairo for awhile. Basically we will be flying to Istanbul on Wednesday and stay for a few days then drive to Ankara the capital. After that we will drive back to Istanbul to catch a flight to Syria and hang out in Damascus for a few days, then drive to Jordan for two days and swim in Dead Sea. After that we will go to Jerusalem. During our time in Israel we will be traveling into the West Bank, the Golan Heights and Sea of Galilee area. We also visit the cities of Tel Aviv and Jaffa. I arrive back to Cairo on November 26th.
I hope to update my blog a couple of times while I'm gone, insha' Allah. Well it's time to go to bed. I hope everything is going well. Next time I update my blog I should be in another country, insha' Allah. Ma' salaama.
10.27.2008
10.12.2008
Dear Family and Friends,
This last week was the homestay week of the MESP program. Last Sunday night we met our respective homestays at the Villa and then left with them to go back to their homes. Two of my flatmates, Josh and Andrew, and I lived with the same extended family in the same building. Andrew lived with the grandparents, Josh lived with the eldest son and his family, and I lived with the younger son and his family in Imbaba, which is 10 to 15 minute taxi ride north of where we live in Agouza.
None of the family members knew any English, which made communication and everything else a little bit harder. It was good because I was forced to use Arabic and though I don’t know if I retained much of what I learned it made me more confident and less shy about speaking with Egyptians. Despite the struggles of language, it was really cool to not only see how a typical Muslim family in Egypt interacts, but to be apart of the family and experience it first hand. The hospitality and generosity of Egyptians is phenomenal. My host parents gave me their bed to sleep on, while they slept on the floor for the whole week. When I tried to say I was fine with sleeping on the floor they refused. They also made sure I had plenty to eat. There was not a single meal that I was able to finish everything on my plate. In addition to giving me a lot of food to eat, they also introduced me to a lot of their friends and other relatives where we were offered more to eat.
In all the experience helped me to very much appreciate the simple things that I experienced. For example I got to see how important family is and living in community with each other. I could see that they all loved, cared, and looked out for each other. Probably one of my favorite times that I had with the family was when we played cards. Josh and I taught them how to play blackjack using and they taught us how to play this fun game called Arba (Four). We also watched a lot of television, specifically American action movies with such renowned actors as Jean-Claude Van Dam and Steven Segal. One night we were watching a movie and my host dad turned to me and said how pleased and honored he was that I was staying with him and his family. Needless to stay it was a good experience.
I came back to Agouza on Saturday morning and then around one in the afternoon a group of students took a trip to the pyramids. It was a fun experience and yes I got on a camel and had my picture taken with the pyramids in the background. Overall it was good to finally see them and check that off the list. I posted a couple of pictures of that as well as a couple of homestay pictures.
Well I need to go study for an Arabic quiz. This Tuesday we live on a train for Luxor and arrive back on Saturday. So until next time I hope you all are doing well and are having a great week insha’ Allah.
Scott
This last week was the homestay week of the MESP program. Last Sunday night we met our respective homestays at the Villa and then left with them to go back to their homes. Two of my flatmates, Josh and Andrew, and I lived with the same extended family in the same building. Andrew lived with the grandparents, Josh lived with the eldest son and his family, and I lived with the younger son and his family in Imbaba, which is 10 to 15 minute taxi ride north of where we live in Agouza.
None of the family members knew any English, which made communication and everything else a little bit harder. It was good because I was forced to use Arabic and though I don’t know if I retained much of what I learned it made me more confident and less shy about speaking with Egyptians. Despite the struggles of language, it was really cool to not only see how a typical Muslim family in Egypt interacts, but to be apart of the family and experience it first hand. The hospitality and generosity of Egyptians is phenomenal. My host parents gave me their bed to sleep on, while they slept on the floor for the whole week. When I tried to say I was fine with sleeping on the floor they refused. They also made sure I had plenty to eat. There was not a single meal that I was able to finish everything on my plate. In addition to giving me a lot of food to eat, they also introduced me to a lot of their friends and other relatives where we were offered more to eat.
In all the experience helped me to very much appreciate the simple things that I experienced. For example I got to see how important family is and living in community with each other. I could see that they all loved, cared, and looked out for each other. Probably one of my favorite times that I had with the family was when we played cards. Josh and I taught them how to play blackjack using and they taught us how to play this fun game called Arba (Four). We also watched a lot of television, specifically American action movies with such renowned actors as Jean-Claude Van Dam and Steven Segal. One night we were watching a movie and my host dad turned to me and said how pleased and honored he was that I was staying with him and his family. Needless to stay it was a good experience.
I came back to Agouza on Saturday morning and then around one in the afternoon a group of students took a trip to the pyramids. It was a fun experience and yes I got on a camel and had my picture taken with the pyramids in the background. Overall it was good to finally see them and check that off the list. I posted a couple of pictures of that as well as a couple of homestay pictures.
Well I need to go study for an Arabic quiz. This Tuesday we live on a train for Luxor and arrive back on Saturday. So until next time I hope you all are doing well and are having a great week insha’ Allah.
Scott
10.05.2008
Hello Everyone,
I hope you are all doing well. Last night I got back from our trip to Siwa, a desert town about 10 kilometers from the Egypt/Libyan border. It was an amazing trip and the best excursion we have gone on so far. After an 11+ hour bus ride we finally arrived around 2:30 am on Thursday to our hotel called the Desert Rose. The hotel has no electricity and all of its water comes from a natural spring. Also it's the first time I have ever used a mosquito net.
After sleeping in and eating some breakfast we rented bikes and explored the city of Siwa on our own. The town is built on an oasis in the middle of the desert. It is also historically significant because Alexander the Great visited an oracle there in of the temples. We visited several ruins including the temple that Alexander visited, a mountain of ancient tombs and some ancient Egyptian art and hieroglyphics. We also went to one of the large natural salt lakes that Siwa has. Some people actually swam in the salt lake and then washed off in a natural hot spring nearby. Then we came back to the hotel, ate dinner, and enjoyed traditional Siwan music by a band that came and played for us. It was definitely a fun night of dancing, singing, and laughing.
So then the next day we packed up some of our stuff and headed out to the desert in jeeps. We went off-roading through the desert and over sand dunes, went sand boarding down the dunes, and then cooled off in a cold spring. After all of that running around we drove to a small camp site run by Bedouins. We hung out there and ate chicken that they cook underneath the ground. They developed a system where they put the meat on skewers and hang them in this metal box with a lid. Then they cover the box with sand and put out coals on top. Needless to say the food was delicious. After that we talked, played games, and went to bed. The next morning we got up and drove back to the hotel, cleaned up and then left.
That was the condensed version of my time in the desert. The only bad thing that came from that experience was the 20+ mosquito bites that I now have on my legs, feet, arms, and hands. Now I am preparing for living with my homestay family which begins tonight, which you will hear about next week. I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your weekend. Ma' salaama.
Scott
P.S. There are new pictures up.
I hope you are all doing well. Last night I got back from our trip to Siwa, a desert town about 10 kilometers from the Egypt/Libyan border. It was an amazing trip and the best excursion we have gone on so far. After an 11+ hour bus ride we finally arrived around 2:30 am on Thursday to our hotel called the Desert Rose. The hotel has no electricity and all of its water comes from a natural spring. Also it's the first time I have ever used a mosquito net.
After sleeping in and eating some breakfast we rented bikes and explored the city of Siwa on our own. The town is built on an oasis in the middle of the desert. It is also historically significant because Alexander the Great visited an oracle there in of the temples. We visited several ruins including the temple that Alexander visited, a mountain of ancient tombs and some ancient Egyptian art and hieroglyphics. We also went to one of the large natural salt lakes that Siwa has. Some people actually swam in the salt lake and then washed off in a natural hot spring nearby. Then we came back to the hotel, ate dinner, and enjoyed traditional Siwan music by a band that came and played for us. It was definitely a fun night of dancing, singing, and laughing.
So then the next day we packed up some of our stuff and headed out to the desert in jeeps. We went off-roading through the desert and over sand dunes, went sand boarding down the dunes, and then cooled off in a cold spring. After all of that running around we drove to a small camp site run by Bedouins. We hung out there and ate chicken that they cook underneath the ground. They developed a system where they put the meat on skewers and hang them in this metal box with a lid. Then they cover the box with sand and put out coals on top. Needless to say the food was delicious. After that we talked, played games, and went to bed. The next morning we got up and drove back to the hotel, cleaned up and then left.
That was the condensed version of my time in the desert. The only bad thing that came from that experience was the 20+ mosquito bites that I now have on my legs, feet, arms, and hands. Now I am preparing for living with my homestay family which begins tonight, which you will hear about next week. I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your weekend. Ma' salaama.
Scott
P.S. There are new pictures up.
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