Ramadan Kareem b'lay! (Happy Ramadan!... I think) Sooo. Yesterday was the first day of Ramadan, where, during daylight hours, you don't drink, you don't smoke, you don't think sinful thoughts and (this is the kicker), you fast hardcore a la no food and no WATER. Anyone who knows me, and has seen me hungry, will know that me trying this from about 430 am to 630 pm is at once hilarious and kind of frightening. Yesterday wasn't too bad. I took a lovely hour long 'nap' before Suhoor, which is breakfast, at 330. I am consistently and determinedly becoming nocturnal, by [View Full Entry]

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Cairo has been hectic. I got in late the night of the 23rd, with a clanking giant red duty free bag chock filled with- guess what- alcohol. The guards gave me the most skeptical look and promptly confiscated it. I am now 'the girl who tried to sneak booze in the first day'. but not even sneak! Anyway, AUC (the American University in Cairo) has been... interesting. I have had ample opportunity to practise my zen-like state of indifference, tested in various trials such as registering for classes, getting student ids, getting email addresses, setting up bus shuttles and all the [View Full Entry]

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It is officially the last day of my foolhardy North African adventure (volume I). It has been packed. Did I actually say that I would be able to relax in Tunis? I vaguely remember using the words 'chill out'. Today I went to my first and second legit museums of my entire 6 week trip. I am so le cultured. I visited mostly all the old Carthaginian ruins near Tunis in the 35 degree, humid weather. Able to look at the crystal clear blue Meditarranean but never close enough to go in! I shopped for souvenirs, bargaining with shopkeepers, trying to [View Full Entry]

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Louage: (n) a six or eight person taxi; a ubiquitous form of transportation in Tunisia. Also, Stacey's place of residence during most of her sejour. Since Tozeur, I have continued my whirlwind trip of the south. I've driven across the Chott el Jerid, a dried up salt lake... where Luke contemplated the two moons on his home planet in "A New Hope." Yup, I'm still geeking out. I've sprinted through Saharan sand dunes. Myself and 6 other people spent a night under the stars in the desert, riding out on camelback and having a lovely after lunch-snack of sand on the [View Full Entry]

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"What a difference a day makes... 24 little hours" For those of you who haven't seen "Run Lola Run", do it. Anyway: Reasons I was Tired Yesterday 1. lack of sleep 2. that freaking call to prayer at 430am 3. its hot 4. did i mention its hot? 5. two long bus trips back to back 6. giant backpack 7. lack of sleep Anyway, I was really ready to call it quits yesterday. Thankfully, my sarcastically mentioned 'genius idea' actually ended up being a pretty good one- no mosquitoes (where would they breed anyway? This is the Sahara desert), no bed [View Full Entry]

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Im tired. Its hot. Im tired! It sucks- Im in TUNISIA, on the verge of going to see both the desert and Star Wars (yes, I'm a geek) sites, and all I can think about is doing absolutely nothing. Going back to Cairo, and going to sleep. Argh! In dire need of kind words of encouragement, please. Either that, or a very good night's sleep. Which, as my choice of budget 'this might be an interesting experience' bungalow camping- no aircon, lots of ants- accomodation, might not be in the cards. Stacey [View Full Entry]

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Due to a sheer apathy, I have not posted in the last couple of days. As in, I was waay to lazy to leave the little oasis I found on Cap Bon. But I get ahead of myself. One only has to read my journal entries of the day and the night from the 9th to the 10th of August. To say the least, I was a wee bit cranky at my captivity in the Doukhane household in Annaba, and of my 3am scheduled departure time for Tunis. Exhaustion hit me like a hammer in the middle of the day, and [View Full Entry]

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Whew. I dont have time for another long entry, as Im at the cybercafe with this other girl and I dont know how long she wants to stay. And THIS is the great thing and the problem about Algeria. Backtrack: So I spent a great and relaxing day in Tipaza before heading back to Algiers, hurtling in a bus in the 35+ degree heat and again having barely the foggiest clue as to what was happening. Im getting quite used to the feeling- in fact, Im quite thrown when I do know whats going on... I finally get to Madame Ranis [View Full Entry]

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It is with sheer frustration that I RESTART this freaking entry. When I havent posted for a couple of days, feel free to assume that Ive had all my money stolen, that Ive been kidnapped, or that Ive been a victim of a terrorist bombing. Seriously, Im joking. It is much safer to assume that Im having a ridiculously wild time. And Algeria is that: a wild ride of epic proportions. That really quite unfortunatly, suffers from one of the worst raps out of any country in this big old world of ours. But Ill get to that. (obviously, unless the [View Full Entry]

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I JUST SPENT THE LAST HALF AN HOUR TO THREE QUARTERS OF AN HOUR WRITING AN ELABORATE POST THAT GOT DELETED. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. seriously. I remember even thinking to myself about how proud I was of my wit. and it was detailed. and it described my entire time in Algeria thus far and I was ALMOST FINISHED. I hoped against all hope that the site would have saved it. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. seriously, I am far too distraught to try and recreate another masterpiece. merde merde merde merde. all I can say is that, other than being devoured alive by mosquito [View Full Entry]

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