Last Trip Home

Well, since this is my first travellog/blog I'm not exactly sure how it goes. But I’ve always wanted to write something about my time spent in Egypt. I just got home from my last trip there for, probably, a long time. I lived there from 2000-2003, went to the American High school in Ma'adi, a beautiful, relatively sheltered "suburb" just south of Cairo. I really love to travel and reading the blogs on this site i realise how much there is out there for me to still see! here's a map of countries I visited Visited Countries Map




I used to think of my self as well travel- but once again, the blogs here have showed me what it REALLY means to be well travel! But anways on to my first blog:
*Ok i dont know why the map shows up here, I didn't think it was supposed to do that-oh well

Cairo!

It’s hard for me to give a good description of Cairo for fellow travelers as after a certain amount of time in the country one loses the ability to see their place through the virgin eyes of a new arrival. However this is balanced out with the capability for more subtle observations lost in more superficial passes.

So here goes my last trip home. These are all written from the comfort of a local coffe shop in my university town back in Indiana, so i wont have as detailed info as I would had I been writing during the actual trip:

Arrival I think this was on the 18th, but im not too sure. I met up with my friend Jen in the Frankfort airport, along with several other buddies who I went to school with at CAC. It was Jens first time to Egypt and she was pumped. I didn’t know her so well at this point, she was coming to stay at my house in Ma'adi along with Katie, a really good high school friend of mine who went to school with Jen and was already in Ma'adi waiting on us. She turned out to be a great traveler

As we walked off the jetty-way in Egypt I waited for a waft of the unique smell of Egypt. It’s my first memory of the country when I first arrived 5 years ago in 2000. It’s that blend of sand, dust and massive amounts of most pollutants known to man. I miss it! Jen got introduced to the country right away as a bunch of the luggage from our flight was lost, mine included, so we had to file a lost luggage claim, along with about 50 others. The ever smiling, shining faces of American customer service were a long way from here, as was the western tradition of forming a line (also called a queue for you Brits). With my "when in Rome" attitude I gingerly pushed my way past mixture of half dazed western tourist desperately trying to form some semblance of a line as groups of Egyptians happily shoved their way to the front. After getting my issue sorted out I attempted to help some of the dazed and obviously frustrated Brits behind me, but they just couldn’t quite overcome a lifetime of British discipline to do much but stick to their admirable, yet undeniably doomed effort at a queue. I think they still may be there now!

I know I spend a lot of space on such a simple task, and what might be considered a relatively minor culture clash, but it helps form theme that runs throughout the trip. I've seen and heard of so many people who could not just let go and enjoy the culture, and it ended up marring their whole travel experience. Little situations like these happen a lot in Egypt, and they add up quickly; it’s easy to get frustrated and burnt out!

Well after the airport and meeting my parents me and Jen went home and pretty much passed out. For me at least the sleep was almost divine.

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