September 24, 2007

Shannon White
Class Journal Entry—To Egypt
September 24, 2007

We had an early start this morning, waking up at 5:30 A.M. We loaded the buses and ate breakfast at the Kibbutz before heading to the border crossing between Israel and Egypt. It took about two hours for both buses to get through security and passport checks, and then we began the long bus ride to Cairo.
Much of the scenery on the drive reminded me of Nevada, with desert as far as the eye can see. We stopped at a way station for lunch, which turned out to be an interesting experience. We had not as yet had the experience of Egyptian bathrooms, so many of us were surprised at the style and sanitary state (or lack thereof) of those bathrooms. About an hour later we were on the road again. Many people on the bus slept for much of the time, while others attempted to read or play games.
We passed underneath the Suez Canal on our way into Cairo. Many were disappointed we were not able to actually see it, but it was neat to think that the canal was right above us as we went through the tunnel. Just past the tunnel exit we stopped at another way station. It was here we began to recognize the persistence of store owners to come into their shops and buy various items. Little did I know this was only a taste of what would happen as we continued our trip in Egypt. Many students bought ice cream and, after a brief rest, we were on our way again.
We entered Cairo and began our journey to the hotel. Traffic was crazy, with cars weaving in and out of each other, along with being stuck in wall-to-wall traffic. The ride did give us the opportunity to see the large amount of urban sprawl going on in Cairo right now. Most of the buildings looked very hurriedly made, without much attention being paid to making the outside look polished or attractive. The size of the population, I suppose, has made this type of building planning necessary. Before we reached our hotel, we had our first glimpse of the Pyramids. Everyone was whipping out their cameras trying to get pictures, which was very difficult from a moving bus. We were all in awe! It was at this point that many of us truly realized we were actually in Egypt.
We made it to the Oasis Hotel and checked into our rooms. We had a couple hours until dinner, so most of the group decided to go swimming. We played some games and just enjoyed the time to relax. It was very refreshing! We had dinner in a restaurant inside the hotel. It was a really good dinner, except for the fact we could not eat any of the fresh fruits and vegetables because of the risk of getting sick. After dinner many went exploring in Cairo, while others played games and wandered around the hotel. Our first stop tomorrow will be the Pyramids. We are all very excited for this, and for the other wonderful experiences we are going to have on trip in Egypt.