Sakkara

The Black Pyramid

Our trusty guide book

A Hippo!

The Tin Man on a brick road

Me, riding a camel named Antonio

Bowling Night Revisited

I forgot my camera the first time we went bowling in Cairo so we re-created the experience on a day I did remember.  

I heart bowling shoes

"My partner and I are ready to go pro"

Bowling Shoes!

From left to right: Hady, Yasmine, Derrik with an H, Lana

A different view

I've had the opportunity to go to a few beautiful Mosques while I've been here. Here are a few of pictures. I forgot my camera, yet again, but luckily Jonas had his.

If I only had a camera

I have a terrible habit of forgetting my camera whenever I go out. I would have photos of me bowling at Citystars, playing with children at an orphanage, my new apartment, hanging out with Cairo friends, a boat ride along the Nile and other various hijinks. My plan is to recreate these situations when I do have my camera. : )

To Oz? To Oz!

There was another big protest in Tahrir over the weekend. After being chased by riot police during the last protest we weren't sure whether to should attend this one. A friend suggested that we rent a room at the Intercontinental Hotel which overlooks the entire square, (and most of Cairo) where we could watch the potential tear gassing from a safe distance. The demonstration went on throughout the day and night with no military intervention. 

Room with a view

Protesting works up an appetite

The man behind the curtain

I saw your soccer ball today!

Fast Food

Although I'm doing my best to immerse myself in the local culture I can't help but crave a good burger every now and then. Lucky for me even McDonald's delivers here! They have the classics, Big Macs and nuggets as well as some local faves like the McArabia. Yumo.

I know this is a photo of Pizza Hut but it's still considered fast food, right?

That's a horse of a different color!

This weekend we decided to take a vacation from our vacation. We took a six hour bus to Hurghada, a great ole town on the Red Sea. Our hotel was the bees knees! All inclusive, three swimming pools and a private beach! The first and second day were spent poolside with a cold drink in hand. We hung out at the beach on day three, did a little sun bathing and snorkling. We had such a great time we skipped class to extended another day in paradise. Our nights made up for the lazy days. We found an awesome disco on the beach called the Ministry of Sound and danced into the sunrise. What a scene! We hardly got any sleep trying to take everything in. Good stuff.

View from our second balcony.
Thats right, we had two!

Late breakfast at the pool bar. We missed buffet breakfast because of the Ministry of Sound

The Red Sea 

We're off to see the futbol match!

The last time I watched a soccer game was the FIFA world cup with my dad. 
Last nights game was team Zamelek vs. Al Ahly, who are local rivals. We don't have this kind of passion or devotion in the States. The streets were filled with supporters and every TV was tuned to the game. It ended in a draw. I had a good time but I would've preferred to watch the game with dad. I miss you daddy. I'll try to keep smiling.

Lions and Tigers and Riot Police, Oh My!

There have been many peaceful protests in Tahrir Square since the revolution in Egypt. My housemate Wes heard about a protest scheduled for this evening and we figured we'd check it out, maybe have a few drinks at a neighboring cafe.

It was about 7:30 pm when we arrived in the square and NOTHING was happening. We changed our plans and took the Metro to a carnival in another area. We hung out there for a couple hours, smoked some sheesha, got spit on and groped and headed back via Metro to Tahrir. We walked out of the station to about a couple hundred protesters peacefully meeting in the center of the square. We stood at a barrier and watched the protest for a few minutes when out of nowhere we heard screams and saw people flee the street to our left. Seconds later riot police in full body armor exploded from same street and chaos ensued. Protesters and street vendors ran in every direction in fear of tear gas and baton wielding Central Police Forces. We watched for another minute before the crowd and CPF turned our direction and we took off for dear life. 

Protesters in the middle of Tahrir

Riot Police. This isn't the best quality photo. Wes shot it right before the crowd turned our direction.

By far the most interesting night I've had in Cairo so far.

Over the weekend (but not over the rainbow)

My housemates and I took the train to the beach in Alexandria for the day (everybody's looking forward to the weekend! the weekend!).

The Mediterranean was beautiful!

We sat at a pier (we being: Lana and Wes [my housemates] and me)for hours drinking lemonade and smoking sheesha (Lana and Wes smoked while I drank [lemonade]).

Last night

Went to CityStars Shopping Center.
Probably the biggest mall I've EVER been to.
D A N G

Came home around midnight.
Left home around two am to stroll around Mohandaseen.

Ate some pizza at Pizza Hut.

Good stuff. Pretty solid night.

We're not in Kansas anymore

I think I'm taking this blog-posting nonsense too seriously. 


Facts about me: I'm twenty-something, single(ish) and at the moment, I'm in Egypt.


I don't journal regularly and I hope blogging will be a bit easier. 
Also, this give the peeps at home (prob just shelly) a peek at what I'm up to.
:)
(insert 'photo of me in Egypt' here)