I'm in Egypt!

BIG sigh of relief! I have arrived safely and I'm in good hands... so everyone can chill out now. As soon as I got off the plane I was met my a representative from the tour company. He seemed stand-off-ish at first, but as soon as we got my bags and started walking to the van, he says "So, you live in the State?" (yes) "Congratulations." (?) "Barack Obama!" Haha! That made me laugh. Driving to the hotel took about a half hour. The traffic was insane! I don't know how these people don't get into accidents everyday. When we arrived, the bellman took my bags up to my room. Wow - not exactly a 4 star accomodation! There were stains on the floor, the sheets creeped me out, no window... I slept in my sleeping bag with the light on! I was feeling very lonely and freaked out that I was alone in Egypt. I couldn't sleep, even after being up for over 30 hours! I drugged myself to sleep with some Tylenol PM.

After 6 hours of sleep, I actually woke up refreshed. I knew I had to change rooms to I got dressed and walked down to reception. They then introduced me to the guide of the tour. His name is Hamada, he's from Luxor, Egypt, and seems very cool. He seems VERY concerned with our safety, as well as our comfort. He asked me what room # I was in replied with "Ugh, I'll get you a better room tonight."

I then met 2 other people in the tour. Raj, from Chicago, had just finished the tour and gave us some tips which was very helpful. Sharlene, from Canada is starting the tour also. We then were introduced to 3 other girls on the tour: Chrystal from Canada, and Stacey and Grace from Taiwan. ALL seem very cool. Hamada then walked us to the Sheraton hotel to exchange money. He told us how to act when Egyptian men approached us, and other various tips. Oh - and he also gave us a lesson on crossing the street! Crossing the street is scarier than sky diving! He made us all hold hands and run! He then led us to the metro station where the 5 of us got tickets to go to another part of Cairo to see Coptic Cairo - the Christian part of town. We handled the metro very well - we even had to change lines, but all went smoothly. They had cars for just women! So strange. I'm going to have to ask Hamada later, why they do that.

I took many pictures of the Coptic area but I may not be able to upload them just yet. I am so relieved to be with other girls that were just as frazzled as I was when I arrived. Chrystal and Sharlene slept in their sleeping bags with the light on too! Cairo is not as dirty as I expected, although it's nowhere near as clean as U.S. cities. SO far, everyone has been extremely friendly. I did feel a bit out of place on the metro, being the only women without covering our heads - but nobody seemed to mind.

It's so cheap too! We rode the metro for 1 Egyptian pound! That is USD$0.20! And I bought a bottle of water that cost the equivalent of USD$.030!

Tonight the tour actually starts. Today everyone is slowly arriving from the airport. We had a meeting tonight and then tomorrow we take off to see the pyramids! I'm so excited for this tour - most of my original fears are gone, now that I have met up with the tour group (not the whole thing yet). We are told that there are going to be 19 people in the tour.

Egypt isn't yet what I picutred. There are lots of green, deciduous trees - I was expecting cacti and dust. Well, there is PLENTY of dust. I wore my sunglasses even when it wasn't sunny, just to shield my eyes. The weather is perfect! Partly cloudy, upper 60s or lower 70s.

That's all for now - I have no idea how often I will get to post during the next 2 weeks, but I will upload pictures as soon as I get to South Africa! Wish me luck and pray for my safety!

My New Set of Adventures Begins!

I am headed to Africa for 6 weeks! I fly out on January 29th and I will first be headed to Egypt for a 2-week guided tour with a group of other young solo travellers. The brief itinerary: pyramids, temples, sailing down the Nile, snorkeling the Red Sea... and who knows what else! On February 15th I will be headed down to South Africa. After arriving in Johannesburg I have a short domestic flight to get to a small town called Plettenberg Bay, which is a small coastal town on the south coast - somewhat of an upscale resort town, but not too touristy (or so I'm told). During those 4 weeks I will be volunteering for a marine research organization. I'm not totally sure what I'll be doing, but it could be anything from rescuing beached dolphins, to testing water samples, to helping out in a local school. I will then be headed back to the U.S., arriving on March 17th!

I am SO excited for this opportunity. I will admit though, that I am a bit anxious/nervous about travelling to these countries alone. It is definitely going to be different than it was going to New Zealand alone. So please pray for my safety, and keep in touch! I know that I will have internet access everyday in South Africa, but Egypt will be a bit more sporadic, so if you don't hear from me for a few days, don't fret!

I'm going to Africa!!! Eeeeeeek!