Luxor

Last week we went to Luxor (ancient Thebes) for 5 days and then stopped in Asiyut for acouple days on the way back to Cairo. Soon after we got off our sleeper train and unpacked at our hotel which was right on the nile, we went on a tour of the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut's Temple. We went down in to the tomb of Tuthmosis III in the side of a moutain and walked through the beautiful tomb of Ramsis IV covered in colorful hieroglyphics and coptic graffitti from the 4th century (christians hide in his tomb when being persecuted by the Romans). We even popped our heads in to Tutankhamon's tomb where there wasn't much to see but we had a fallah (farmer) fan us and point out the giant baboons painted on the walls.



On the second day we went to a village called El Aiaisha and got to see what literacy programs and small local buisnesses that were started by BLESS which is funded by MCC. I spent most of the day coloring and doing puzzles with the children in the hadana (pre-school). On the third day we went to a village further away from Luxor than El Aiaisha. It was called Dare El Nagamish. It's 100% christian and a multitude of villagers (very excited about us visiting forigners) showed (or just followed) us around the village as Abuna Daniel took us to the projects in their village. One weird thing about this town was that there were 8 corpses laying in glass cases inside the church there. The villagers don't know who they are or when or how they died but they assume that they were monks and martyers (since all the bodies have mouths open in agony and were found buried under the church with crosses). The villagers pray over these cases.

On the fourth day we went to a monestary called Dare el Shaib. It has 33 monks and 33 domes throughout the monestary. An elderly monk showed us around the monestary and told us about his daily life there as well as the history of the monestary. There was a stone there that was used to decapitate christians during the Roman era in Egypt and the monk had many stories of miracles that took place in the monestary.

On the fifth day before we caught our afternoon train to Asiyut we went to Karnak temple and the Luxor temple. The Karnak temple was massive and grand with giant pillars decorated in hieroglyphics, a man made lake, colossal statues, and obelisks reaching high in to the sky. Luxor temple was interesting because it had a mosque built in to it and had been used as a church as well. After a lunch at McDonalds right next to the temple we were off to visit Barrette and Sandy in Asiyut.

Beni Suef

"There was a definite process by which one made people into friends, and it involved talking to them and listening to them for hours at a time."

Earlier this week my friend Sarah and I took the train down to Beni Suef to visit the Smith family and to participate in their English camp at St. Marks language school. This trip, however, was unlike any other trip down to Beni Suef...it was my last one (at least while the Smith's are still there). It was a bittersweet visit spent reminicing over the past three years and making the best of my last visit with them.

We ate crepes, rode a felucca, watched shows on their computer, graffittied the roof walls, had a water fight, rode motorbikes, and helped out at the camp. At the camp we danced the cha cha, played games, and baked cookies. It was pretty fun and the kids really didn't get out of hand at all. The boys were facinated by the art of cooking and Becca made sure i didn't get to close to the batter for fear of me cursing the dough with my horrible cooking skills!

Becca, Nick, and I really didn't get much sleep at all. Becca and I talked. Nick listened to music...and spied on us. I remember the days when Nick had boy cooties and Bec and I built forts and played cops and robbers. Now we mostly talk...and for some reason it seems just as fun. We talk about everything. It was very theraputic having Becca around to talk to during the years and know that she was experiancing some of the same things i was. We've been through a lot together. A LOT. I'm going to miss you guys!

- Becca and I on our motorbike

remember...

- Buttocks, Canada - oranges - dutch blitz - aquapark - maya - upside down pineapple cake - emily's underwear - nights at Anafora - locked in the room in Alexandria - johnny clegg - mike's friend ahmed - Gloria getting her groove on - eddie murphy the donkey...........

parties and a graduation

"...remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Travel. Get plenty of calcium. Respect your elders. Floss. And always wear sunscreen."

This weekend was one of the most eventful weekends i've had in awhile. I feel like i'm coming out of a deep sleep and summer is under way! My exams have come to an end and the craziness of summer is about to begin. Kaily and I have started a list of 'must-do' things this summer and it keeps growing!

Thursday Priscilla came over after our last exam and then in the evening was the ice-cream/movie night at church. Friday, after church, we piled in to cars and formed a caravan of enthusiastic teenagers as we all drove out past the pyramids to Amy's humongous house out in Saqqara for a pool party! The highlight of the day was doing a skit with Kaily. It was hilarious and everyone couldn't get over it! I don't think they knew how much talent our youth group has.

After the food, skit, and a slideshow of the year i slept over at Kaily's. She did my hair in to little twists and it looks pretty much awesome because that's what we are.

Saturday Kaily and I dressed in our best and caught a ride out with the Megalaas to school for Bekah's graduation! It was crazy, but when you squeeze thousands of Egyptians on to a soccer field it's inevidable. Everyone was screaming, the band was out of tune, and the guy who gave a speech didn't make any sense and was b...o...r...i...n...g. We had acouple after parties and i didn't get home till early sunday morning.

ahoy maties!

A.I.S.

“The person whose problems are all behind them is probably a school bus driver”

So dawned the day of my last day as a sophomore. I turn up my ipod as I sit in the cramped, elementary school infested bus as it drives through the busy streets of Cairo to Qatamya, one of my last trips of the year. AIS, the fortress of doom, looms out above the sand dunes surrounding it. It is an oasis of stress, torture, and hilarious moments with friends. The hallways are bustling with excitement as the final minutes tick down and the pile of food brought in for end of the year parties slowly disintegrates in to a heap of empty wrappers and cardboard boxes. However, the enthusiasm for school to be finished is dampened by the thought of up coming exams. This last day of school is dedicated to asking questions about exams and to simply fool around since the classes don’t have much structure anymore, seeing as the school year is pretty much already over, if not officially yet. This is where I spent most of my time the past nine months, and I feel that I definitely need a summer break to rejuvenate my self-motivation and positiveity since I’ve slowly been going downhill this year, sinking in to a muddle of self-pity and depression.

Biggest school related event: my basketball trip to Doha
Favorite teacher: Mr. Dailey (history)
Favorite class: photography/digital imaging
Class with best grades: ESW (effective speaking and writing), A+ average!
Loyal friends: Bekah, Sarah, Priscilla, and Nowara