Blogs from Africa - page 3056

To walk on the land of the Pharaohs is an enchanting feeling, and the sensation of revisiting history that dates back to times of B.C. is nothing short of magical! Egypt was AWESOME! So...you know you are a backpacker when... -Having somebody pick you up from an airport with a sign reading YOUR name makes you feel like a CELEBRITY! -Home-cooked meals are much more a NOVELTY than eating out! -After traveling India, trains in Cairo are "no biggie!" We arrived to Cairo from Greece, ready to explore the land of the Sphinx! We had planned to meet our good friend, Shereef (our token Egyptian friend), but unfortunately at the last minute, he wasn't able to make it and us 5 girls became the unexpected responsibility of his father, Muhammed. POOR MOHAMMED! But...LUCKY US! Amu Mohammed ... read more

Well my last blog entry was a week and a half ago and due to a mix of (1) an unreliable internet connection in Alexandria and (2) the onset of severe travel blog fatigue (yes it did kick in eventually) I left the conclusion of my Egyptian adventures to be told another day. I am now back in London, and with the down time that one has when you are on the job hunt, now seems as good a time as any to finish the story and recap my last few days in Egypt. We arrived back in Cairo having endured an epic 13 hour overnight train ride north from Aswan in surprisingly good shape, considering the sheer length of the journey and the fact that most of us had not sat quietly and stayed out ... read more

Hello, friends! Well, it is almost time for me head back to the States---just TWO days left! I am filled with mixed emotions--it is so difficult saying goodbye to the people here...and yet at the same time, I am so excited to see all of you again! I am looking forward to huge hugs from family and friends, no longer smelling like insect repellant 24-hours a day, running water, and Subway sandwiches (yes, this has been my weird craving while abroad:) Seriously though, this has been an amazing experience that I will definitely never forget, and overall, I am ready to come back---as I feel like I am leaving with the knowledge that I have experienced everything I wanted to and much much more. This entire experience has been such a blessing...at least once everyday I ... read more

Well it's been another two weeks in the village and not a whole lot has changed. Since the kids are out of school I mostly pass my time playing football with the boys, going to the well (it has not rained in some time), napping, working out using the jerrycans of sweety water, and finally, helping out with some of the construction that needs to be done. There is a lot that needs to be built and I would like to leave something solid and useful behind before I leave. Our first project is building a platform for one of the water containers using bricks and concrete. With any luck it should be done sometime before 2007. While I have noticed travelling through Africa and other parts of the world how much workers rest and how ... read more

Labe was a pretty nice town. Everyone had little motorcycles, and that was the main way to get around. We would hire two when we wanted to get anywhere and it usually worked out, although one time one took me to the wrong hotel and Alex was there worried when I didn't arrive. They had a pretty good market full of clothes that come in huge shipment containers from American Goodwill....all the Goodwill rejects are available for purchase over here. You see a lot of funny shirts... shirts with weird slogans, old mission trip or family reunion shirts and shirts with bands that I vaguely remember. Oh and in case you were wondering what happened to all the billboards in America once they are taken down... they are actually all here too, because they are a ... read more