I am leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I will eat again....

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Well, it is Ramadan, after all, and I will be on a plane to Egypt. So, I am anticipating (fearing, dreading?) that the lights in the airplane cabin will come on tonight mid-Atlantic (around 2am), so that the observant amongst us (looking around the waiting room at JFK, that is most of us), can eat before the sun comes up. Otherwise, it will be a long, hungry day, as the sun sets in Cairo around 6pm, and, even for non-Muslims, eating publicly during daylight hours throughout the holy month is taboo, or at least in very bad taste.

Of course, this also means, once I land in Cairo, my attempts to get over my jetlag will be compromised by the men with metal drums who will be making a God-awful ruckus in the streets an hour before dawn. When I was an inexperienced traveler I always tried to cover my head with my pillow until they moved on and I could go back to sleep, but then someone pointed out that they get paid to make sure that everyone wakes up in time to cook a meal before the fast begins. So, now I get up and turn the lights on, and THEN cover my head with my pillow and go back to sleep.

Can't wait to land in Egypt. It is freezing in New York!

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Photos

Brian and Randy at the airport
If they look a little mystified, it is because they were questioning how I could be leaving the country for three weeks with fewer bags and fewer changes of shoes than I needed for the Ordination. Makes you wonder...

Comments

[Helen H]

Freezing?
I looked up the temperature in NY. I think your definition of freezing must be different from mine! Have a great time.