Sorry I am soooooo late!!!

I am sorry that I am so late with writing this blog! I know that I haven't posted in a while. But I am trying!!!  Not surprisingly, things have been very hectic. They sure know how to keep us busy!! But let's get started...First off, I am no longer sick which is very good. I'm not sure what I had, but whatever it was, I was happy to see it go. A few doses of nyquil and rehydration packets (which taste like sweat and the flavor can only be masked by Gatorade packets) took care of that is a few days and I am feeling quite ready to go. The last post was Tuesday, so I will start from there with a quick summary of what we did each day.

Wednesday, we had Arabic class. We split the class into two different groups which is awesome!!! It is so much easier when you aren't in a class of 16. It was just too easy for me to tune out and not pay attention. Arabic is still the most challenging thing I have ever done in my life (no exaggeration at all there) but My teacher Noora is great and makes it a lot easier. After classes ended (they go from 9-1), a few of us went to downtown Cairo. We had lunch at a little cafe and then walked around, with the ultimate goal of finding Groppi's. Groppi's is a cafe/chocolate shop that has been open since the early 1900's and was mentioned a lot one of our required readings for the course. After much searching and help from two different tourist policemen, we found it. It was a little run down and not that amazing, but it was still cool being there. Having read the book, I felt like I understood its historical significance and the role that it played in how sophisticated Cairo was during and after World War Two. After that, we came back and got ready to go with the group to go to a music performance, but we ended up getting there and it was sold out. Our vans had already left so we were stuck in Islamic Cairo. Islamic Cairo, like its name implies is predominantly Muslim, but the name more refers to the type of architecture of the place. It is very historic and the building are amazing. This is one of the monuments that is in Islamic Cairo. Expect more pictures because we are doing a full tour of Islamic Cairo on Sunday with a tour guide and everything.

 On Thursday, we had Arabic and then I slept all afternoon. I was so tired, I think that it was still some of the affects of being asleep. At 8:15 though, we left for the train station so that we could take the overnight train to Luxor, where all the famous temples and tombs are. The 13 hour overnight train ride was certainly an adventure but worth it. Luxor was absolutely gorgeous. It was exactly how I had picture Egypt in my mind. We were definitely still in the middle of a desert but the banks of the Nile were lush, green, and amazing, just as I had thought they would be. We got an early start to the day and got going right after we got off the train at 7:30 in the morning, with our first stop at Karnak temple. This temple is amazing. Just the sheer size of it is awe-inspiring to me, especially when I think about the machinery that they had available at the time. To build the walls so tall, they constructed HUGE mudbrick ramps around everything and then dragged all the stuff up there. Our construction process is so much easier now but I feel like the product just doesn't have the same quality and appeal that these building do. The ones that we saw were all roughly 3000 years old and could still make any person stop dead in their tracks. I can't think of one building like that today. Anyways... that was a tangent. After Karnak temple, we went to Luxor temple which was really cool as well. As we speak (well I guess as I type,) I am trying to figure out how to make my photos available to all of you guys that don't have facebook, so hopefully you can see the pictures soon. I think I got some really neat ones. Friday afternoon, we just hung out at the pool and then took a boat ride on the Nile at sunset. Saying it was beautiful is an understatement. My pictures turned out amazing as well, better than the sunset I would say. Although they are stunning, they are much more dramatic than the sunset actually looked and I have no idea how that happened.

Saturday we went to the Valley of the Kings!!!!!!! It was AMAZING!!!! I feel like I overuse that word on here but I am just too tired to care haha so too bad. We only saw three tombs but they were absolutely incredible. Words can't even describe them. They are still painted, almost completely and are very much intact with long winding passageways and low ceilings. The whole time all I could think about was being the first person to discover one of those must be the most phenomenal thing in the entire world. I am so jealous of the people that get to do archaeology as a living. I would kill to be able to do that, even just work on one dig. While the Valley was great, it was so hot as well. It was at least 100 degrees and the tombs are even hotter than outside and they are more humid as well, I think from all the people that go in them. It took all my willpower to keep a positive outlook through that. After the Valley of the Kings, we went to Hatsepshut's temple. She is totally my favorite Pharaoh. She took control from all these royal men in her life and proved to be a successful woman who helped Egypt. Her temple is amazing too. It looks like it is carved into the side of a mountain, although it really isn't. It has three layers all of which have multiple pillars, giving a very regal affect for the whole thing. Picture take forever to upload on here, so I can't put one up, sorry. Again, it was hard to stay focused because it was so hot and beginning to near noon. After we went to the temple of Ramses the Third. He basically fought a lot of people for the whole time that he was pharaoh and his temple showed that. It was very violent. His is different from a lot of the others because he carved all of the hieroglyphics super deep so they could never be scratched out. It doesn't really sound like a big difference but it definitely gives the temple a different feel.

That was basically the end of that day, we just flew home really late at night.

Blah blah blah, this is probably all boring to you guys, all my rambling. Just one last thing I swear.

This morning (Sunday) we went to the Arab League. It was AWESOME!!!!! We met with this guy who was fairly high up and he actually answered out questions!!!!!! No one ever does that!!!!!!!!!!! People were asking him about terrorism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the huge wealth gap, and many other issues that are pressing in the Middle East today. To take a step back for those of you who aren't so familiar, the Arab League is kind of like the United Nations, just on a smaller and regional scale. It is the unification of a bunch of Arab countries that just come up with official "stances" on different issues. Although the UN has trouble having much real influence, a lot of countries in the Middle East are vying for the support of the Arab League on their issues.  There is also a co-op at the Arab league through Northeastern and this definitely made me more interested in that.

I am tired and I want to go to bed now. If you guys have any questions, post them as a comment and I will answer them in the future!!! I love hearing from people that are following my trip! I will keep you updated better in the future, I swear!!!!
XOXO
Katie