The Pyramids & Ramadan

okay sooo updates!

I went to the pyramids which was so amazing and breathtaking and fabulous and hot! but i climbed a pyramid- and got yelled at lol, saw the sphynx, rode camels throughout the desert and ate awesome Bedouin food.We got to climb up inside the pyramid to the Pharoh's chamber- which was by far one of the coolest things. You have to crouch down low and climb straight up a 50% slope from the bottom to the exact middle of the pyramid, which I guarentee you is no easy task. The inside of the pyramid was dark and beautifully sculpted. You climb up a set of stairs (they installed handrails) with no AC (to be expected) inside of a big block. Kind of crazy, but worth it when you get to the chamber with the coffin. It is mindblowing to think I was standing where a King was buried thousands of years ago, not to mention I was inside one of the Wonders of the World.

This week I started all my Arabic classes. 12 credit hours of all arabic plus a calligraphy class and language partners outside of class. plus trips and then you know a little fun on the side ;) just kidding...really everything here is fun.

I fasted for Ramadan for three days. Basically you cannot eat or drink anything (including water, gum, medicine, etc) from sunup till sundown everyday. It was/is a really cool culture/social/ body awareness experience.

Last weekend we went to the Desert Oasis, you know like those crazy springs in the middle of the desert - then the Black and White Desert and a bunch of mummies and stuff. super super fun!

I eat on the streets of Cairo almost everynight -- really good food like kofta (beef kabab things) rice with liver and tehina. soo good. cause when i fast- i am like super thirsty, your stomach shrinks but you are still sooo thirsty.

This weekend we went hiking in the Sahara desert- seriously crazy I know. We visited the Bahiriya Oasis and the White and Black Deserts and all these cool natural monuments. I cklimbed a mountain with some friends in the black desert(my rpfile pic is ffrom that). We actually had a guide which was nice-otherwise we wouldve died lol. Oh we also got to see to desert springs- "oasises" which are basically pools of water that you can "swim" in. lol but not really. I will post pictures soon. We got caught in a sandstorm at the end of our day- seriously like the movies, crazy crazy lol. You couldn't see anything in front of you. We ate Bedouin food and drank this amazing mint tea- played mafia and were just silly under the stars. After the storm died down, we played in the White Desert- climbing everything. The stars/galaxy was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I have never seen the sky that way. You could see the Milky Way perfectly, all the constellations, some planets and the moon. It was so gorgeous- dwords cannot describe. I hung out with all my friends and stayed up till like 3 in the omrning, got up right after sunrise, at breakfast which consisted of fuul (beans, with onions and tomatoes) with khubz arabee (arab bread) and arab coffee all cooked over an open fire. soo cool...then we journeyed the long 7 hours home. It was an amazing weekend!