That's my update. Everything seems to be more or less on schedule. I got extra passport stamps from Egypt, which I was a big fan of. Also, here you undergo a mandatory pat down (awkward), but don't have to remove your shoes.
They did make me check my carry-on, due to additional security in France. I'm going to be a little upset if it doesn't make it, as it has everything but my passport and wallet, my netbook, my iPod, my brother's Sony Reader, and my toothbrush.
And now I need everyone to hope really, really hard for me. I have carried 20 Euro in my wallet since I left Germany, so that if ever I was in a position to buy real pretzels again, I would be prepared to take advantage of the opportunity. The Paris airport may be that opportunity. Think positive thoughts!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Last post from Egypt
Hey everyone,
It's 4:15 in the morning, and we're leaving Farah's house in around 15 minutes to head to the airport. My flight leaves at 7:30, and gets in to Paris at 11:30 local time. I leave Paris at 1:30 pm, get to JFK at 4:30 pm local time. At 6:15 pm I fly from JFK to Boston. Man, am I happy that I'm not flying through Heathrow (totally closed due to bad weather) or Geneva (Baggage Handler Strike - though I am only doing carry-on back.
I'm looking forward to being stateside, but I really want to thank Farah and her family for letting me come stay with them and showing me what Egypt is all about, from the tours and museums, to the food and culture. Thank you so much!
Egypt was awesome. Now if I can only get some sleep on the flights home...
It's 4:15 in the morning, and we're leaving Farah's house in around 15 minutes to head to the airport. My flight leaves at 7:30, and gets in to Paris at 11:30 local time. I leave Paris at 1:30 pm, get to JFK at 4:30 pm local time. At 6:15 pm I fly from JFK to Boston. Man, am I happy that I'm not flying through Heathrow (totally closed due to bad weather) or Geneva (Baggage Handler Strike - though I am only doing carry-on back.
I'm looking forward to being stateside, but I really want to thank Farah and her family for letting me come stay with them and showing me what Egypt is all about, from the tours and museums, to the food and culture. Thank you so much!
Egypt was awesome. Now if I can only get some sleep on the flights home...
McDonald's Lovers Unite.... in Egypt
Well, it's lucky Farah didn't have me try the fries earlier in the week, because that might have significantly colored my Egyptian experience (as in, we would have had to eat more McDonald's). They are some darned good fries. Better than the ones at home? Hard to say. Certainly competition. But in order to be sure, I feel that we need to do some blind taste testing (with American Diet Coke... though Egyptian Diet Coke is pretty good), with many replicates and some paired t-tests. So basically, this blog will probably stay up, because I will likely need to come back.
That is all.
That is all.
Possible Blasphemy
Okay. So hopefully if you're reading my blog, you know me pretty well. And if you know me pretty well, I'm sure that you know that I am a fast food junkie. Particularly McDonalds. Shout out to Shannon, right there.
They have McDonalds here (of course) and it delivers (which is about the coolest thing I've ever heard.... except that I would eat McDonalds ALL the time). I mentioned that I would like to get a meal at some point, because in my business classes with Dr. Showalter, we talked about how you can use McDonalds to determine relative costs of living and whatnot. For example, the same meal in Massachusetts costs $1.50 more than it does in North Carolina. So it's more expensive to live in Massachusetts than it to live in North Carolina. Moral of the story? Eat more Mickey D's in NC and build up anticipation in MA.
Anyway, when I said this, Farah said that she felt that the McDonalds french fries in Egypt were better than any she had tasted elsewhere. This is fascinating to me, because I thought that McDonalds was pretty on top of things in the states. I HAVE TO INVESTIGATE! But I will keep you posted, Loyal Readers, so that you can all determine whether you have to make a trip to Egypt to experience these awesome french fries.
That is all.
They have McDonalds here (of course) and it delivers (which is about the coolest thing I've ever heard.... except that I would eat McDonalds ALL the time). I mentioned that I would like to get a meal at some point, because in my business classes with Dr. Showalter, we talked about how you can use McDonalds to determine relative costs of living and whatnot. For example, the same meal in Massachusetts costs $1.50 more than it does in North Carolina. So it's more expensive to live in Massachusetts than it to live in North Carolina. Moral of the story? Eat more Mickey D's in NC and build up anticipation in MA.
Anyway, when I said this, Farah said that she felt that the McDonalds french fries in Egypt were better than any she had tasted elsewhere. This is fascinating to me, because I thought that McDonalds was pretty on top of things in the states. I HAVE TO INVESTIGATE! But I will keep you posted, Loyal Readers, so that you can all determine whether you have to make a trip to Egypt to experience these awesome french fries.
That is all.
Museums and Feluccas
Hey everyone. I'm writing this on Wednesday morning, which means that this time tomorrow, I'll (hopefully) be starting my final descent into Paris :(.
Yesterday was awesome. We got started a little later, which was nice, and we went to the Royal Palace and the Coptic Museum. The palace was interesting. The majority of it seemed to be different guns (many of which looked quite uncomfortable to shoot) and swords. There was a whole section on all the presents that the President of Egypt has received. He's gotten some kinda lame gifts. Lots of plaques and vases. There was a very nice palm tree from the Emirates, but that was pretty much the top of the list.
The Coptic museum was also pretty neat. Probably the best thing about the museum itself was the fact that all the rooms had these really ornate carved ceilings. I would have taken pictures, but alas. They stole my camera. Other than the intense woodwork, the museum had a lot of stone carvings, paintings, textiles, and manuscripts. While I don't wish that every book in existence today was a foot and a half by two feet, written in calligraphy, I feel like everyone needs one or two really fancy old books. I have none. Boo.
After the Coptic museum, we headed back, had lunch, and went out for the felucca ride. Feluccas are large sail/party boats. We hit the Nile just before sunset for an hour and a half cruise (which was approximately $4 per person). Around sunset, Farah decided that now was the time to collect the Nile water that was promised to Alissa, so she but a plastic bag over her hand and leaned out over the side to collect the water in a Dasani bottle. I filmed and narrated. That's the video that I have yet to upload. I'm now thinking that I may have missed my true calling in film. Luckily for everyone else.
Around ten last night, we went over to Farah's friend's house for a get together. Little wine, lots of fun.
Today we get to go to the market (massive), and see some more mosques. Yay souvenir shopping!
Yesterday was awesome. We got started a little later, which was nice, and we went to the Royal Palace and the Coptic Museum. The palace was interesting. The majority of it seemed to be different guns (many of which looked quite uncomfortable to shoot) and swords. There was a whole section on all the presents that the President of Egypt has received. He's gotten some kinda lame gifts. Lots of plaques and vases. There was a very nice palm tree from the Emirates, but that was pretty much the top of the list.
The Coptic museum was also pretty neat. Probably the best thing about the museum itself was the fact that all the rooms had these really ornate carved ceilings. I would have taken pictures, but alas. They stole my camera. Other than the intense woodwork, the museum had a lot of stone carvings, paintings, textiles, and manuscripts. While I don't wish that every book in existence today was a foot and a half by two feet, written in calligraphy, I feel like everyone needs one or two really fancy old books. I have none. Boo.
After the Coptic museum, we headed back, had lunch, and went out for the felucca ride. Feluccas are large sail/party boats. We hit the Nile just before sunset for an hour and a half cruise (which was approximately $4 per person). Around sunset, Farah decided that now was the time to collect the Nile water that was promised to Alissa, so she but a plastic bag over her hand and leaned out over the side to collect the water in a Dasani bottle. I filmed and narrated. That's the video that I have yet to upload. I'm now thinking that I may have missed my true calling in film. Luckily for everyone else.
Around ten last night, we went over to Farah's friend's house for a get together. Little wine, lots of fun.
Today we get to go to the market (massive), and see some more mosques. Yay souvenir shopping!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Felucca Ride Pictures
Man, I am on a roll with this uploading thing...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025168&id=81900905&l=380a5b92ad
I'll post an actual blog about today at some point soon. Also, there is video coming...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025168&id=81900905&l=380a5b92ad
I'll post an actual blog about today at some point soon. Also, there is video coming...
More Pictures!
Alexandria:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025161&id=81900905&l=71e9802641
Success! Yay!!!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025161&id=81900905&l=71e9802641
Success! Yay!!!
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