Day 4

Day 4: Relaxation, Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple

Hey everyone!

I feel like the last few posts have been very preachy, and I am sorry for that. I don’t mean to be, I have just faced so much opposition trying to get here that I feel I need to justify why it is worth it. (You can read about my opposition in the post: Pocket-Dial). I thought I would fill you in on some things I have learned so far on my trip.

1. 1)      It is harder to pee on a moving train than an airplane.
2. 2)      It is harder to pee on a moving bus than a moving train.
3. 3)      Peddlers are REALLY annoying.  You can read my rant (here).
4. 4)      Egyptians eat with forks and knives, not chopsticks. (Yes, someone I know in America asked if they used chopsticks in Egypt.)
5. 5)      Egyptian food isn’t that much different from American food; only different in flavor and spice. (They eat LOTS of chicken.)
6. 6)      I have not had to use any Immodium or laxatives (thank God!).
7. 7)      Our tour guide, Izzat, likes me and makes fun of me occasionally; he has a great sense of humor.
8. 8)      King  Hapshetsut  can be remembered as “Hot Chicken Soup”.

Right now I am writing on the train as we ride back from Luxor to Cairo. Today, we visited the Karnak Temple and the Luxor Temple. They were very impressive! I posted some videos you can watch here (Coming soon). I found out that the trains we are riding on are the same ones they used back in WWII. Wow! This whole country is just loaded with history from all over!

One of the nicest things about today was our ability to relax. We didn’t have to be anywhere until 1:00PM. It was so nice to be able to sleep in and relax. My girlfriend and I stood on the dock next to the Nile for a while just talking and enjoying the night air as we watched boats go by. We ended up going back to my room to watch The Mummy Returns, which although does mention Luxor, doesn’t follow ANYTHING CLOSE to Egyptian mythology or archeology.  But besides the horrible ‘90’s plot and cinematography, we enjoyed the film.

I felt so accomplished today. Even though we had time off to relax, I still managed to work. I managed to wake up late, take a shower, do laundry, and read some chapters in my books. I also managed to catch up on journal entries and get them all taken care of. After that, I headed down to the pool for an hour while my clothes dried on the balcony. I swam for a bit, sunbathed for a bit, then went back to the room.

I was reading some more when my roommate walked in and we started to talk. But we didn’t just talk about our trip; we got into some deep conversations.  We talked about our lives, our beliefs, and who God was to us. It was a very interesting and good heart-to-heart conversation.

In fact, today was full of interesting conversations. In between the tour guides, we ended up discussing deep topics such as politics, international policies, historical controversial events, foster care, and transsexuals. There was some "bloodshed" in the conversations, but overall, nobody killed each other. At the end of the day, we all laughed together and generally enjoy each other’s company.

At first, I was worried after the topics of today’s conversation. We are supposed to spend five weeks together here… this could end up bad. However, I am optimistic about the future and believe we are becoming more and more like a family, learning to rely on each other and build each other up.  I am looking forward to the weeks ahead! But tonight, I am going to let the sway of the train lull me to sleep.

Following His Call,

Adam