Happy Dinner - Egypt

Happy Dinner is this funny phrase that my friends and I said all throughout Egypt. The reason why comes from our overnight train to Luxor from Cairo. The meals were included and the server came in and said, "Happy Dinner!", as he served our dinner that night. We thought it was hilarious and said the phrase throughout Egypt. This blog is for them!! The train was nice, it was clean and cozy. This was in stark contrast to the one in India. I didn't get much sleep on the train because we could feel and hear every bump, but other than that it was nice. After the train in India, i really couldn't complain!

I want to apologize for not updating recently - my computer has died and many of my documents, pictures, and journal entries have been lost. Well, not completely lost, but I have not been able to access them. I don't think the problem is that bad, but it is not too much fun not having my computer... oh well!

Egypt

As a woman, I was both warned and concerned about traveling in Egypt. In order to save money, my friends and I planned to travel independently of Semester at Sea, which is something I have done in almost every country. This had some people a little concerned. These concerns were not justified at all. I felt so safe in Egypt. I did not feel uncomfortable because I was a woman in a predominantly Muslim country, as some had warned we may. I loved Egypt. I found Arab people to be completely welcoming and friendly. They were not like the stereotypes created by American media.

For those (like my sister) that want the abbreviated version, this is how Egypt went:
Day 1: Alexandria to Cairo to Luxor (all by train, but to Luxor was an overnight train)
Day 2: Luxor – Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut’s Temple, and Karnak Temple followed by a ride on the Nile, then flight to Cairo
Day 3: Cairo – PYRAMIDS, we rode on camels to the pyramids and it was AMAZING, this is by far the coolest thing that I have ever done!
Day 4: Cairo Museum – more mummies, sarcophagi, and old Egyptian stuff than you ever thought existed, then train to Alexandria and evening in Alexandria
Day 5: Alexandria Library and walking around city

It was so amazing to me to see all of the things that I did in Egypt. Egypt was the reason that I chose to do the Fall voyage, instead of the Spring. I am so glad that I did. I have always been fascinated with Ancient Egypt – the pyramids, pharoahs, heiroglyphics, and all things Egypt. It was so surreal to actually see it up close. I cannot explain the feeling that I had the morning in Luxor walking to the Valley of the Kings and visiting tombs that are literally thousands of years old. I touched heiroglyphics on the wall that had been carved several thousand years ago. They are still there, the paint is still there and scholars cannot explain how all of it was done. We went in three tombs at the Valley of the Kings and none of them were exactly the same. There was differen tartwork and rooms designated for various things. We even saw a sarcophagus in one. The artwork was amazing, I wish I could have taken pictures.

Later, in Luxor, we visited the Temple of Hatshepsut. It is interesting that in this temple, the figures of Hatshepsut are carved out as if trying to hide the character because her successor (someone in her family) was mad that she tried to keep the thrown from him. It is quite an interesting story that I am excited to learn more about in the future. Later we went to The Karnak temple, which was amazing – it was HUGE!!! I took tons of pictures there, too. There were huge statues and artwork and many rooms and such a large facility. That night, we took a ride on the Nile with our guide, Monsieur and our buddy Ray Ray. They were really fun. Then, we flew to Cairo.

The next day, we were off to the pyramids! I rode a camel over sand dunes and desert to reach the pyramids. It was quite literally the most amazing thing that I have ever done! I just can’t describe it with words. WOW!! My camel was really cool – the guide called him Mickey Mouse. It was funny, too – the guide told me that there was something wrong with my camel’s saddle so that he would have to ride with me. I don’t know if it is true or not, but he definitely wanted me to think so. He was really nice and not weird at all. He even offered me the pyramids as a souvenir. haha!! When we got there, we walked around and even climbed up the pyramids for a while, which was just awesome!! Then, we went inside Cheops pyramid (The Great Pyramid). My friends and I each got in the sarcophagus, which was really freaky, but fun!

The next day we went to the Cairo Museum, which is huge and has tons of artifacts. I feel like they had more stuff than they knew what to do with. I saw mummies and all of King Tut’s stuff. It was all really awesome. The mummy display was really cool because they set it up so that the descendants and families were all next to each other. It was interesting to see the mummies of the people whose tombs I had been in two days prior.

That night, we returned to Alexandria. We walked around the city and i ate the best falafel ever! It only cost 10 cents. We also met a man named Mohamed who helped us navigate the city. He also taught me a few phrases in Arabic. The next day, we went to the Alexandria Library and walked around the city.

Egypt was awesome- it was very different than I expected.

Birthday in Croatia

I had my BIRTHDAY in CROATIA!!! It was AWESOME!! Honestly, I could not have asked for a better birthday. We began the day (our second day in Croatia) by walking the city walls. It did not rain all day, which was great. We have had a lot of rain on this trip, so for it to hold off on my birthday was awesome. After walking the city walls, which were beautiful, we got sandwiches and had a picnic lunch by the water. We sat outside the city walls on the coast and enjoyed the view. It was a great lunch! Then, we went into a palace in the walled city. After that, we went down by the water and climbed up a hill and took more pictures. We kind of took it easy that afternoon and went up the hill and sat around for a while. Then, we climbed down to some rocks, where we watched the sun set over the water. It was absolutely beautiful. Then, we went back to the ship and got ready for dinner. We went to dinner at a charming restaurant named Mimoza. I had the best steak I have probably ever had (filet mignon and my friends wouldn´t let me pay for anything). After dinner, we went to a club called Fuego to dance. Overall, I had a great birthday and I am so glad I got to spend it with good friends in a beautiful place.

Turkish Delight

In Turkey, I visited Izmir, Ephesus, Pamakkule and Istanbul. I think Istanbul may be my favorite city in the world. It was so interesting to me with the east meets west feel. It was just such a neat place. I went to the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Underground Cistern, Grand Bazaar, and so much more.

Ephesus was a really interesting place for me - i saw the house where the Virgin Mary lived the last twenty years of her life. I also saw the ruins of Ephesus, which is where Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians. As I walked through the city, I stopped every few hundred yards and sat and read a chapter of Ephesians. It was awesome to read as I was sitting where it had first been written. We only stayed for one day in Ephesus, but it was worth it and we got to see pretty much everything we wanted to.

The next day, we went to a place called Pamakkule. We heard about it from a man on the plane and decided to check it out. I´m glad we did. It was so beautiful. It started out as a park with ruins and things to see. We went, though, to see the tiered hot springs. They were so neat. I don´t really understand how they were made, but they were teired pooles down a hill. We climbed down the hill and into the town for lunch. Later that day, we returned to Istanbul.

I know that my family was worried about me going to Turkey, but I didn´t feel that it was dangerous at all - in the city or otherwise. I am so glad that we went there and so glad to have experienced the unique mix of the european and middle eastern culture. Istanbul was definitely very European, but the other cities showed another side to Turkey.

Egypt

As I am sitting in an internet cafe in Barcelona, Spain, I will try to update briefly my time in Egypt. As you may have read, my computer is broken, so I have actually written a blog, but i am unable to post it because it is on my broken computer.

Egypt -
Day 1: Alexandria to Cairo to Luxor (Cairo to Luxor by overnight train)
Day 2: Luxor - Valley of The Kings, Temple of Hatshepsut, Karnak Temple (we walked in tombs that were over 3000 years old, it was AWESOME) then flight to Cairo
Day 3: Cairo - PYRAMIDS AT GIZA - this was so surreal for me.. seeing the pyramids as I was riding a camel in the desert.. wow, no words!
Day 4: Cairo Museum - more Egyptian artifacts than they know what to do with, then train to Alexandria
Day 5: Alexandria Library and walking around city

Egypt was great! I was warned about traveling there independent of SAS and did not feel the fears were justified at all. The trip was amazing. Arab people are great, they are warm and friendly - not at all like how they are portrayed by American media. I had a nice conversation with an Egyptian man about politics. He found out that I was from America (after some good guessing.. they thought I was from about any country in Europe, which is a compliment because I didn´t look or act American, which does not necessarily have the best connotation). When he found out he turned his head and acted like he didnt want to talk to me anymore. After we talked for a while, he basically said that he likes Americans as people, but dislikes the American government and foreign policy. After traveling quite a bit, I realize that this is the way many people feel around the world. It is good, though, that (unlike many Americans) people can tell the difference between the people and the government or the stereotypes. Hopefully, my friends and I have helped to change the stereotype.

I will definitely write more later .. i already have, i just cant post it - but I will just say that Egypt was awesome, it is the reason why I went on the Fall voyage, instead of the Spring and I am so glad that I did. It was amazing to see heiroglyphics that were carved thousands of years ago and paint on walls that scholars are still unsure how it got there. I am so glad that I got to go there... it was amazing!!!

Computer Problems!!!

I am very sorry that I have not updated recently... i wish I could.. my computer has crashed and the journals and blogs that I wrote on my computer cannot be reached right now. I was able to recover some stuff on the ship, but could not get everything right away. It is not a big problem and will likely be resolved easily once I get home.. the sad thing for now, though, is that I will either have to wait til I get home to update or do shorter updates now without picture

Thanks to everyone who has been reading my blog and to all who have sent me messages, letters and everything!! i love yall and will be home soon!

Service Visits

In both Vietnam and India, I participated in service visits. In Vietnam, I went through Semester at Sea, but in India, I went by myself. In both countries, I went to orphanages. These have been incredibly emotional experiences for me.

I recently read in my Bible that "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." (James 1:27) This is pretty heavy stuff. As I have been traveling the world, it becomes incredibly difficult not to be stained by it. I feel, though, that i have not been stained, but that i have been changed. My eyes have been opened, my heart has, too. I have seen and experienced so many amazing, beautiful, sad, ugly, interesting, and different things. This has not stained me and made me jaded as it has to so many people. My heart has not been hardened, but has been opened to the marginalized peoples of the world. I do not know what i will do with this new realization, but I have no doubt that it is something that God is doing in my life to lead me. I do not know where it will take me, but I am excited to see.

In not even trying to, I have been practicing the pure religion that James talks about. More than the beautiful sights and landmarks (and the Taj Mahal was beautiful), I remember the children in these orphanages and my desire to love and help them. One girl in particular touched my heart. She is from India and her name is Roja. She was the most precious child that I have seen in quite some time. All i could do was look at her, hold her hands and hold her. She is very small and has very thin limbs. She is bed-ridden and cannot move much at all. Her leg was broken and it did not look like she ever got out of bed. Her muscles seemed very weak, all except for her hands. She used her small hands to grasp my fingers and hold on to my shirt as I held her. She could not open her eyes. I held her and whispered affirming words into her ear and rocked her. I know she could not understand me, but it didn't matter. I could tell that she really enjoyed this because I could see her smile and she held on to my shirt tightly. I was heartbroken when I had to put her down because she began to cry. She showed me so much without using any words.

This was so tough for me because many of the children at the orphanage had physical or mental disabilities. It broke my heart that God could allow people to be born this way and have children born to families that don't want them. I have never understood this and seeing it up close made me confront the issue even more. I still can't understand it, I don't understand a lot of things about God, but this one bugs me more than others. It is something that I am working through, even though I may never find an answer that satisfies me. I think this drives me to want to change it and help the situation even more. I have always wanted to help people and change the world (i know I am idealistic), I still don't know what contribution I will make to make the world a better place, but this is certainly an area that I have a lot of passion for.

An interesting thing about both orphanages is that the children there are incredibly happy. I thought it was so beautiful that these children were so happy despite the sad things that are in their lives. They do not have a basis of comparison, so they do not understand that they are missing out on anything. This made me happy to realize because they are not sad about their own situation. This gave me hope.

Varanasi, India

The night after my visit to the Taj Mahal, we traveled on an overnight train to Varanasi (my favorite city in India, so far). The train was sketchy at the very least. The windows did not have glass, but they had metal bars. There were eight people in each section and the beds folded down from the walls. The train smelled pretty bad and there were people everywhere. Luckily, I was very tired and slept during most of the ride. We boarded the train around 9pm and did not arrive until noon the next day. The train was late by several hours. The next morning, we were offered breakfast from a salesman that didn’t have any shoes on. I did not have breakfast this day. I also did not use the restroom on the train because it was more than disgusting. Two of my friends that traveled with me did not sleep at all while we were on the train. This was not the most enjoyable experience of my visit to India, but I am glad that I had it. It makes me appreciate other forms of transportation more.

My visit to Varanasi was worth the terrible train ride. Varanasi is amazing. It is a perfect picture of India. We had the first day for free time. We went to a mall and watched a Bollywood film, which was in Hindi, so we could not understand it. It was funny, though, to be in the audience and see how Indian people responded to movies. They were very into the movie and even talked during it. It was interesting to see. We left at intermission, which was over an hour into the movie. Bollywood films are an average of 3 or more hours.

That night, we went toward the Ganges to see the ceremony in which the river is put to rest for the day. We never made it. We were walking down a road with tons of vendors on each side. We were also told that there was a festival going on that day (apparently, India has festivals almost every day). They celebrate the holy days of all major religions, so they have many festivals and holy days. Anyway, on the way there, we met this man that was quite nice. He took us on what he called a “short cut”. It wasn’t a big deal because there were many people in the streets we were walking down until we got to one alleyway that was sparsely populated. My friends were like, let’s go this way ok… I started walking with them until I turned around and noticed a man that had been kind of following us and he was on his cell phone. As soon as he saw me see him, he shot out of the alley. Then, I told my friends that I had seen some of our friends that we were trying to meet. They had no idea what I was talking about and it took a bit of odd persuasion to get them to realize that I didn’t want to go down there. We walked back the way we came and found some people that looked like they spoke English so that we could lose the guy that had been leading us. We ended up talking to some eastern Europeans who thought we were nuts, but helped us out. About five minutes after we got to the main street, all of the lights turned off. This happens every night in this area of India. Everyone was used to it and expected it. We still have no idea what would have happened if we had gone with the guy down that alley. We stopped at this nice lady’s stand and bought some necklaces and things. She had one of the few stands with a generator for supplementary electricity. She gave each of us bracelets for good luck. I have not taken mine off since. I don’t really believe in luck, but I like that the bracelet was tied on by a woman in India.

The next morning, we got up very early and went for a boat ride on the Ganges at sunrise. It was amazing. This was the most poignant picture of India. The sun was very bright and the river was busy with people bathing on the sides and boats rowing up and down the river. I expected the river to smell badly, but it did not. It was very dirty and you could not see through it at all. The Ganges River, however, is one of the most sacred places for Hindus. There were gats on the side of the river, which are places that people pray to various Hindu deities. People were on the bank washing clothes. The river was alive.

Some children sold us flowers with candles placed in them to light and send up the river. They told us to wish or pray for someone and place the candle in the river. I did this and made a silent prayer for my family, friends, and this journey.

We also saw the section of the river where people go to burn the dead. They have a particular ritual for completing the cremation. First, they take the body into the river, open its mouth and fill it with water. They submerge the body in the river. Then, they let it lay on the bank for a few hours to dry. After this, they cremate the body on a wooden platform and spread the ashes in the river. There are variations to this depending on the financial stability of the family. An interesting thing about funerals here, though, is that nobody can be sad at them. The sadness is thought to follow the loved one into the next life. Therefore, families cannot mourn their loved ones at their funerals.

Varanasi was quite an awesome place and taught me a lot about Indian culture. It was amazing to me because I have seen documentaries and pictures of the river and the city, but to actually be there was incredible. I felt like I was in the Channel One documentary, which is where i saw Varanasi for the first time.

India - October 15-19, 2007

I haven’t updated about India yet because there is just so much to say. India really stole my heart. I saw so many things that I did not expect. Really, I didn’t know what to expect. I saw children that were working instead of attending school. I saw cars dodge cows in the middle of the street. I saw whole families sleeping on the street. I didn’t have any expectations for India, so none of what I saw was what I expected.

I visited Agra, which is where the Taj Mahal is. I went to Varanasi, which is a holy place for Hindus because it is situated on the Ganges River. I visited Delhi and then returned to Chennai, where the ship was docked.

The Taj Mahal was amazing. It was so beautiful. It was literally a huge slab of marble. To see it in real life was just incredible. I have seen pictures and all sorts of depictions of the Taj, but to see it for real was awesome. We arrived there at sunrise and were able to stay for a few hours for pictures and exploring. There were Indian tourists there as well and they were very excited to see us and eager to take pictures with us. Several families stopped my friends and me for pictures. It is also interesting that the children wanted us to take pictures of them so that they could see themselves on our digital cameras. Later that day, we visited the Agra Fort. It was a large building and was once ornately decorated. There were also many Indian tourists there. It was funny that in each place the other tourists would take pictures with us in the background instead of the Taj Mahal or Agra Fort. It was quite obvious that they wanted pictures with foreigners.

Another interesting thing is that outside of the Taj Mahal, there is a dirt road and a few street vendors. I expected it to be heavily developed and very tourist-friendly. I found it quite funny that the exterior was just a dirt road like any other place in India. There was a large cow in front of the entrance when we were there. The term “holy cow” really does come from India. I rode down many streets in India where the cars dodged out of the way so that they would not hit the sacred creatures.

One thing that I noticed in India that I did not expect was the beautiful traditional dress. The women wore beautiful saris in a variety of bright colors. I knew this was traditional dress, but I did not realize that it was daily dress, as well. It was one of the most beautiful parts about India.

I also really enjoyed Indian food. I was afraid that this food would make me sick because we were strongly warned about water quality and health standards in India. The administrators on the ship basically implied that most of us would get sick. I did not, which was great. I ate a lot of local food, too, so this was surprising. I am excited to try Indian food when I get home because this was my first experience with Indian food, so I am interested to see how authentic the food is in America.

I have so much to say about India, so I am sorry that this blog seems really random, I will write some other, more direct entries soon.