Okay, where are we?

So, personal inventory. I just got back from Egypt.....almost 48 hours ago.....and you'd think I'd have already given massive updates, but darn it, I'm tired!! We didn't really ever sleep enough on that trip and it's hard work sitting on a bus.

I really enjoyed the trip. I think I said plenty about the first part of the trip, so I'll pick up where I left on. Off, rather. See, I told you I was tired...and obviously too lazy to back up and fix a mistake. Okay, a whole line later.......

I wrote from Luxor. We lived like kings, I tell you! I'll try to include some pictures to put your doubts to rest. Very few people actually contracted the "Cairo Quickstep" or "Pharaoh's Revenge," otherwise known as traveller's diarrhea. Yay! We simply had to avoid ingesting the water and any fresh fruits or vegetables......but toward the end, I broke down and ate some strawberries, which were awesome......and I didn't get sick! Apparently the group from last semester had a 60% rate of ick.

The last day in Luxor, that is after the boat and camel rides and all the other great stuff, consisted of touring the Luxor and Karnak Temples, which are collosol restored ruins of columns, statues and high ceilings. There was also so bartering in the bazaar. I think I won! I drive a hard bargain. Makes me want to go back to Hawaii, so I can successfully barter with the vendors at Swap Meet.

That evening we boarded a train to travel overnight back to Cairo. I think the trip took 5 or 6 hours. It was a fun experience - made me feel like I was living "White Christmas," minus Christmas and Vermont and Bing. Everyone should have that experience at least once. We checked back into our hotel and then hit the Cairo Museum - THE Cairo Museum! It was fantastic, of course, and contained way more than I could even appreciate. We did get to see a bunch of mummies, including Rameses II - probably the most widely photographed mummy, the face that saw the face that saw the face of God. So......I now have the face that saw the face that saw the face that saw the face of God! And what rounds out a trip to Egypt like lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe in Cairo?

After a bit more shopping began our pilgrimage to Mt. Sinai. We drove back under th Suez Canal and around the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula to the Morgenland Hotel, where we enjoyed a nice cold night before waking up at 2:15 AM(!!) to climb up the very rocky 4 mile trail, dodging camels all the way, to the summit of Sinai. It was pitch black, ice cold and holy windy!! Then the sun started coming up VERY slowly and eventually was glorious! The summit was packed with Koreans and various Europeans, all singing hymns as the sun rose. It was another neat experience of joining with lots of fellow believers in a once in a lifetime, faith-building pilgrimage. So cool. We had a testimony meeting at Elijah's Spring on the way down.

After St. Catherine's Monstastery, we checked out of our hotel and then stopped to lunch at a resort on the Red Sea. I MISSED HAWAII SO MUCH!@! The water was warm, the sand was lovely and I ran down the beach like a little kid, trying to get far away from the group and just bask in the glory of the waveless beach. I picked up some great shells. They finally coaxed me back on the bus. Crossed the border. Tried and failed to sleep on the bus. Laughed my face off with my classmates. We've bonded so much in the last week. It's been awesome for me, forcing me to break out of my shell and make a bunch of friends. But I've realized that in order for this experience to make a big impact in my life, I need to invest emotionally. It's beginning!