Eating Falafel and chilling by the Nile

So in case you couldn't figure it out by the title, I got to Egypt yesterday. I knew instantly that I would love this country. So far, it's pretty freaking sweet. But, I'll get to that in a moment.

I spent my last day in Nepal hanging out with friends, packing, and spending the last of my rupees. I put all my pictures on CD and then had enough left for a pair of silver drop earings with turqoise stones. They're pretty gorg. and turquise is my birthstone, so that's sweet.

I was going to take a taxi to the airport, but my friend Birat insisted we should take his bike. (In case you didn't figure it out, I was kind of dating him my last week...). In any case, riding on a motorcycle with no helmet is one thing. Riding on a motorcycle at night, through traffic, with no helmet and 2 large bags is quite another. We made it fine, despite the fact I almost fainted from fear, lol.

At the airport, we met up with Shanika (who was on my flight) and our friends, Chrissie and Ruth, who came to see us off. After lots of hugs, photos, and goodbyes, Shanika and I left. One of the police guys at the airport was flirting with Shanika. When I walked up, they asked if I was her MOTHER!!!! This is ridiculous for many reasons. First, Shanika is 2 years OLDER than me. Second, Shanika has a British accent and I am American. Third, Shanika is, by birth, Sri Lanken, so we are obviously completely different races. Then we decided that, hey, it's nepal, they judge age based totally based on height, and since I'm about a foot taller than her, I should logically be 20 years older than her. The airport was a bit nerve wracking in itself, but everything went smoothly and our flight was on time.

I'll save you the details of my trip.... Basically, I said goodbye to Shanika and then slept on the floor like a homeless person while I waited the next 12 hours for my flight to Cairo. The woman sitting next to me on my way to Cairo was really nice. She was from the UAE and was telling me about all these places I should visit in Egypt. Before we got of the plane, she asked "So you're Christian, right?" After a brief pause, I nodded. It just seemed easier. She proceeded to tell me about some churches I should visit. I'm sure if I'd said I was Jewish, she wouldn't have cared, but I felt like there was no need to announce that to the crowded plane. Besides, yes was clearly the answer she was expecting.

As I was getting off the plane, I realized how incredibly unprepared and stupid I'd been about this trip. I was supposed to get picked up at the airport, I knew, but I'd never actually had any sort of conversation with the agency itself, I'd arranged everything through STA travel. I assumed STA had given them my flight info and stuff, but I wasn't entirely sure. I didn't know whether I was supposed to have gotten an Egyptian visa before hand. I didn't have the phone number of the tour operator, or any sort of way in which to contact them. I didn't even know the name of the hotel I was supposed to be staying in. I speak no Arabic, and I don't know what sort of currency they use. I could have been totally fucked (excuse my language)... but luckily, I wasn't.

There was a guy holding a sign for my tour. I made eye contact and he said "Jennifer?" I breathed a BIG sigh of relief. He asked if I had a visa already, and I said no. He said "Here, give me your passport. I'll fill out the arrival form and you go to that window and buy the visa. It's $15 US." Perhaps it was because I was so exausted and disoriented, but I did that and walked over to the window. After I'd bought my visa, I looked around. I didn't see the guy. I thought "Oh shit, I'm in a foreign country I know nothing about, and I just handed my passport to a total stranger who happened to be holding the right sign. I'm a total moron who perhaps has just had her passport stolen." Luckily, I heard him call my name, and saw him waving me over. As he'd said, he'd filled out the arrival form and handed me back my passport. I went through immigration and waited for my bag. When it came out, he took me outside to a van with the tour group logo on it. We got in and I safely got to the hotel. After a good night's sleep, I realize what and absolute moron I was, but at that point, it seemed like I'd acted logically...

After a shower, I went down to find out if anyone else had arrived. One girl was getting to the front desk at that time, and she was on the same tour. I think we were the only two who arrived a day early. Her name's Gemma, and she's from England but currently lives in NZ. She's really nice and we hung out all day today. Last night, she and I walked around a bit and found the Nile River. SO COOL!!! Then, we ate dinner at the hotel and went to bed. we both had Mousakaa, which was delish. I don't think I've ever had it before, but I plan to eat it aprox. once a day for the rest of my life, it's so freaking good!

Today we walked around downtown. There's this really gorgeous Opera House here, as well as elaborate mosques around every corner. The city itself kind of reminds me of Miami, if you removed all the gay people and aging seniors and replaced them with Arabic people. (Please don't judge me for that stereotype). There are palm trees everywhere and the traffic seems so managable (if only because I've just been in Nepal). I mean, there are actually LINES on the streets and traffic lights here! Crazy!

I woke up in the middle of the night last night and couldn't remember where I was.... I thought I was somewhere in Nepal, like a new hotel or something. I then realized that a mattress this comfy wouldn't be found anywhere in Nepal, which is when I remembered I was in Egypt. Like I said, this country's pretty freaking sweet. I love it already. We have a meeting tonight in 2 hours about the tour, and then we depart tomorrow. Gemma has the whole itinerary and the Lonely Planet. I remember reading the itinerary at some point, but I don't have it with me. I think it's good for me to travel without so much preparation. I'll figure it out as I go along. Besides, I've been fine so far! It's a group tour (follow the flag sort of deal), so it's not going to be too hard to just go with the flow on this one!

I may not have e-mail all week, but i'll be sure to write an update before I leave the country! I fly out of the 16th, btw.