Rubbing Noses with the Sphinx. (Thanks Danny)

We visited the Pyramids and the Sphinx two days ago - wow. It has left be speechless and continually imagining how on Earth humans could have built such magnificent creations. They are very close to the city, which many people don't realize because well taken photographs place them well out in the middle of the desert, but it was only about a 30 min bus ride from our hotel. We also road on camels across the desert in front of the pyramids for only about six dollars! Although I feel for such a once in a lifetime oppurtunity I would have paid 20 dollars anyways... We also got to go inside the Great Pyramid which was just an amazing expierence. Just to imagine that people have been in that room for 4500 years; and more so how much history the world expierenced while the room was sitting undisturbed until discovered in modern history.

Tomorrow we head down to Luxor and Aswan for a week - which will make Cairo seem cold. Yuck! Although I will say my body is adjusting quite nicely and I can honestly say the 85 degree nights are getting rather cool - how sad! Down south is supposedly in the realms of teh 120s and 130s compared to the "pleasant" 100s we have in Cairo. After that we travel north to Lower Egypt to see Alexandria for a couple days and then off to India.

Last night we broke the fast (called Iftar) with some new friends we'd met at a Shesha bar across the way. It was a feast! And so delicious! I will try and put some pictures up on my blog soon. And on a final note, I have finally discovered a meat that I do not prefer - "mutton neck".

CM

A New Mindset.

After the first week of Global was definitely a vacation, we are now settling into a more academic atmosphere. Mainly our mornings consist of bus or walking tours and sightseeing to various mosques, parts of Cairo, and the AUC campus located in the suburbs. Lectures follow in the afternoons usually lasting two to four hours, on topics ranging from Ancient Egyptian History to Modern Political Theory of Egypt to Art. For the most part the lectures are very entertaining and everyday I learn something entirely new; and almost all the professors are exceptionally good at lectures so it's not a chore to try and follow their organization.

Cairo is amazing and has so drastically changed so many of my values and beliefs and outlooks on life. People here are so welcoming and hospitable; I am going to cry when I come back to the States and see Arabs and Muslims portrayed in our propagandist media as killers and devils - I look forward to being able to educate Americans on how nice these people are. Many have invited us in for Eftar and tea when we are just walking by on the streets! Everywhere we go Egyptians are saying "Welcome to Egypt" - and not shopkeepers trying to sell us something, but REAL people on the streets! Like you'd ever get that in America? HA!

Like the Bible and Torah the Koran has a set of commandments including "Thou shall not kill" and tells its readers to abstain from drinking and smoking. People here are way more religious than the States, and it is not uncommon to see many people reading their Koran on the streets, subway, or at a Shesha bar. We have been going to a Shesha (Hooka) bar on the roof of this building almost every night now and are becoming good friends with the owners (Ismail and Ali). We are going to try and do Eftar (the breaking of the fast during Ramadan) with them soon. Talking with them has enlightened me (and many others on the trip) in ways we never expected to be touched. We have discussed politics, economics, government, religion, and what it means to be alive. It has just further reinstated my view on life that we need to take full advantage of every opportunity God presents us with and live every day to the fullest. A popular saying here is "el-Sha Allah" which means "If God Wills." How appropriate...

Talking further with Ismail and Ali we have gained deep insight into Egyptian culture and way of life. Ali's idea to deal with Jurusalem is to make it a holy city, like the Vatican, and give it to the UN. Then all - Palestinians, Israelites, Jews, Muslims, Christians, etc. - people can use it and there would be no wars needed to be fought over it...how insightful. I continue to be impressed and surprised at how literally everyone can separate American Policy (which they hate) from Americans (who they love). I believe I will continue to find this in the coming months, as it was also true in Geneva and Paris. These people despise Islamic Extremists just as much as we do, and want peace just as much as we do. At the end of the day, whether Muslim, Jew, or Christian, we truly are all the same...

Tomorrow we leave for the Pyramids and the Sphinx, and on Monday we depart for Luxor and Aswan; I am so excited!

CM

Cairo...where the most dangerous event is crossing the street.

We landed in Cairo at about 18:00 two nights ago. Yesterday was spent getting familarized with the American University in Cairo (AUC from here on out) and then a nap in the afternoon during the hottest parts of the day. It's only about 95 to 100 degrees here right now - yes, ONLY - a cold front is moving through. It will be 120 - 130 when we visit Luxor and Aswan, but luckily it is a dry heat (30 - 40% humidity) so I am managing. Our classrooms and hotel rooms have A/C so that is a blessing. At night its only 85 or 90 so we can go out and look at shops, etc. Last night Rachel and I walked to the Nile River (only about 20 minutes away) and just tried to take it all in. We are in Egypt! How incredible. It really hasn't set in yet, but since we are here for awhile and able to finally unpack our suitcases I'm hoping that I will be able to appreciate it all. I'm just trying to take advantage and live everyday to the fullest. It's been such a shock coming here and everyone speaking Arab and many of them being Muslims. In our media we hear all the time how these people are the anti-christ and are terrorists and want to kill us, but there are very nice people. George Bush is the devel - that's really all they know and are told. It is unfathomable to them how we could have elected him a second time, and our Professor (who's been here for 30 years) told us he's never met an Egyptian who was pro-American policy, and it's been on an even steeper decline in the past half decade. This is also attributed to America's pro-Israli policy over the past decade, which obviously will not please a single Egyptian because of all the history of the West Bank. It will surely be an interesting culture to absorb.

Frankly it's a little ridiculous that you at home be worried about us being victims of a terrorist attack - we have an armed guard with us on the bus at all times, and to get into all the hotels here and the AUC you must pass through metal detectors and show ID's...with at least five policeman outside of all the entrances. Really, I'm much more scared of crossing the street here. It is quite a spectacle to watch. NOBODY obeys any traffic laws/signs/stopsigns; you just step into the middle of the street and play frogger. Ironically, it's more safe if you just keep walking because they aim to miss you, and they aim where you would be one second ago, so if you stop and you're still there when they get there then there's a problem! Basically, I've looked death in the eyes about 7 times now just crossing the street!

We've also started a male bible study. I've been struggling a lot with my faith lately and I think this will be a good oppurtunity for me to explore my relationship with God further and more indepthly. There are two religion majors on the trip as well as Biology majors so there have been some excellent philisophical and theological discussions. I am learning to respect other people's opinions and have a more open mind to why somebody would be pro-life or think homosexuality is a sin. In no way do I agree with either point of view, but at least, as Danny put it, "I am beginning to see the value in respecting someone's opinon, but I don't yet have to respect their opinion." haha. This will be very hard for me, but I think it's time I learn to respect other people for their opinions and beliefs even if I completely and 100% disagree with them. No guarentees I won't come back a red-letter christian, but I promise I will come back pro-choice and pro-gay rights...don't worry, I won't allow them to brain wash me that much!

Today is a free day, so we are all working on our papers. Lectures start more formally soon - not excited. Up to this point I've been on a ten day vacation, and now need to switch into a mindset that I am studying abroad. We'll see how that goes...

CM

Paris Pictures

Eiffel Tower.



Notre Dome at Night.



Sacre Cour




Hayley and myself.



Dana at Versailles.



View from Hotel balcony.

Sacrilegious Fun

Last night after dinner Bret and myself went on a date and decided to go to the Notre Dome plaza and just hang out for awhile with a bottle of wine. It was good to get to know him better - you truly can't read a book by its cover. At about 11:30 we decided to go to the Eiffel Tower, but half way there the metro stopped running and we had to walk the rest and didn't get there until just after midnight. After more wine and good conversation we started our return home at about one o'clock in the morning along the banks of the Seine River with the Eiffel Tower at our backs. Had it not been for the 1.5 hour walk home, I think I would have really enjoyed the night!

Today was much more leisurely, with a boat ride along the Seine in the evening, followed by another dinner date with the other Chris on the trip. I am so enjoying being able to meet new people that I would otherwise not have ever met in my life. It is truly amazing what path God puts us on and why. We have been having many, many in depth and great and interesting discussion on theology and religion. So many people on this trip are so knowledgeable and have so many various opinions that its been sweet sitting down and talking to various members of the group about it.

After dinner with Chris, we met up with some people at Notre Dome and Chris played guitar, Brita played violin, and I sang improv. It was so much fun, we have named our band "Sacrilegious Fun" with a self-titled album and hit single. Hopefully we can put some of this stuff on You Tube, it's actually quite hilarious.

Tomorrow we leave for Cairo in the morning. Not only am I not ready to say good-bye to Paris, but I know once we enter Cairo the true culture shock begins and I'm not sure that I'm quite ready for it. Also, that means school actually begins. So far it's been a two week vacation and it's tough to believe that I am studying abroad. However, I am fully confident this will change with my time in Cairo.

Paris

After spending the first 20 minutes of the flight to Paris discussing how long the flight was, we realized we were already descending and the flight was only 30 minutes. They divided us into small groups to tour the city in the morning by ourselves, and then we were free to wonder in the afternoon. This worked out really well because I was able to meet people I wouldn't have otherwise hung out with. The first day we were here we saw the Arc de Defense, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dome, Eiffel Tower, and the Pantheon. In the evening we found this restaurant called (in English) The Fondue Refuge which is by far the sweetest restaurant I've ever been to in my life. For 15 euro we got all the meat and cheese fondue you could eat, plus a bottomless "baby-bottle" full of the most disgusting wine you have ever tasted. The place probably legitimately sat 12 people, and yet they had crammed nearly 50 of us in there. The waiter was great, and the experience unforgettable. From there one of the guys on the trip and I met two French girls and went to a Pub with them, before having to leave way to soon to catch the metro home (we were a 40 minute metro ride away from home, so I can only imagine how long of a walk it would have been).

Yesterday was spent touring in the morning (we went to Versailles) - wow! And then in the afternoon/evening/night we went to the Sacre Coeur which is an amazingly beautiful church on top of a hill overlooking the city of Paris. The city at night was so gorgeous. We ate dinner at a small cafe (very french, took us about 2.5 hours to eat; and that was fast by standards here) which was perfect. Then we met up with people and sat on the stairs leading up to the church (about 200 of them) overlooking Paris. It was fascinating because the world was represented there -- we heard french, english, italian, german, russain, spanish, chinese and others we didn't recognize. There were people with an amp playing mostly American music as well but it was like Eric Clapton and such so very cool.

This morning I went to mass at the Notre Dome (it was all in french but still a cool experience) and then climbed to the top -- way cool and well worth the 4.80 euro! I'm taking a 30 min break now before I head to the Museum D'Orsay and the Louvre this afternoon. Tonight we are going to dinner as a group (I don't know where though).

I am truly loving Paris...the city is so big it's hard to get bored because there is a ridiculous amount to see. I am so exhausted and yet I don't want to sleep because I want to see as much as I can! It's expensive, but the memories are worth it.

Geneva - Pictures

Jet D'Eau on Lac Leman.



Dana and myself in front of our "Conference Center" where we stayed in Geneva.



Woman on bench on top of Mt. Seleve overlooking Geneva.

Geneva

Saturday morning dad made me some of his delicious omelets and I was on my way to the airport. After saying good bye to my parents (with minimal tears - congrats mom) I was on my way. Our flight across the pond was met with slight turbulence but nothing very exciting. A full flight, but plenty of room in the overhead compartments for my large bag. Landing at 7:45 in the morning we took a bus and walking tour of "Old Geneva" (in Geneva) and learned about the history of the city. Our first evening we walked to Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) and went swimming with the Alps in the background. Not many Swiss were in the water - but us Minnesota kids thought the 60 degree water was quite comfortable. The next two days were spent exploring the city, trying new wines and cheeses, and appreciating the tens of thousands (literally) of roses planted throughout the city. Geneva claims itself to be the "greenest" city in Europe, if not the World - there are numerous public parks and trees all around the city. The best part was a waterfall that shoots 142m (425 ft) into the air - I have some sweet pictures but I can't get them up here. The second half of our stay was spent touring the UN, World Trade Organization, International Telecommunications Union, and the World Health Organization. And just as soon as we had arrived, we were already off to Paris...