Egypt Day 2

Today was a TON of fun!

-I met up with Kathys friend (now my friend) Karim!

-We hung out and drove around, He showed me some of the local spots and we went and talked for a while at a cafe before going to eat at a local restaurant where i had a food that i cannot pronounce, Koshardi (sp?) but was so good i cannot wait to have it again, Then we went to another cafe where we showed each other pictures of our life and exchanged music. He then went and hung out with his girlfriend and then came back and picked me up again.

- We then went to a movie, Hangover 2; which was sooooooo funny, but i think the funnier thing was all the jokes that I was laughing at that he did not understand, I tried to explain them later. Then we met up with his friend, whose name i cannot remember, and we went to the Khan, the outdoor market that has been around for more than 400 years and he introduced me to a local drink that is made out of pure sugar cane (very sweet) and then we walked for a while, him saving my life from speeding motor bikes twice! We then went and sat at an outdoor garden with couches and smoked some peach sheesha! I have smoked hooka in the states but i wanted to have the real experience, you know, laying on a couch, drinking mint tea and smoking some sheesha, it was definitely an experience to remember.

-After more driving (there will be a video posted of the traffic in Egypt, you have to see it to understand how crazy it is) We dropped his friend off and then he dropped me off, and here i am.

I have to say one of the best nights i have ever had in Egypt and with more of Karims friends to meet it will definitely get better!

Well im off to bed, The Citadel is tomorrow and then who knows!
Night!
Jess

Egypt Day 1

I am happy to say that i got here in one piece and so did my luggage (I literally jumped up and down when i saw it roll down the baggage carrousel). Thursday Erin was off at a friends house so Tim and i cooked up a nice frozen pizza and had a chill night watching movies, it was a very nice and simple change of pace from a long day.

Friday is another chill day since there is supposed to be a demonstration in Tahir Square and we just felt that it would be our best bet just to relax inside (the heat also played a role in that decision). Well since there is nothing to report on today i will do what i promise and let you all know how i prepared for this massive trip and i will explain how i fit it all in, in under 40 lbs.

Clothes:

-13 undies

-2 bathingsuits

-3 sports bras

-2 bras

-2 capris

-2 jean capris

-1 long jean pants (nice dark wash)

-7 tank tops

-8 short sleeve shirts

-3 long sleeve shirts

-1 zip up hoodie

-1 pullover hoodie

-1 skirt

-2 dresses

-2 flip flops

-2 TOMS

-1 Sperrys

-1 scarf

-1 hat

Dubai

Well I have gotten to Dubai and i just have to say that i envy people who can sleep on a plane...

It was a 12 hour flight and i had forgotten to charge my iPod which i was very upset about until i sat in my seat and realized that every people had their own touch screen computer above the tray table. Just imagine my excitement when i figure out that this computer was not going to show us all the same movie like in every other international flight i had ever been on before, no, it let us choose between 50+ movies, 100+ Tv episodes, All different kinds of music (even some that i would like) and it had games on it!

I was in flight heaven! Not only were these computers at our service, so were the Flight attendants, and i was in Coach!

These men and women were always around with water and snacks and when meal time came they happily switched your main course out for another if you were not happy.

A long and tiring flight, Yes, An awful headache inducing flight, No.

They even had Stars on the ceiling when everyone was sleeping :-)

Let me just say, If you are flying to the Middle East or even around here, FLY EMIRATES!

Well I appologize if that seems like a bit of an advertisement lol, but that is about all that has happened since my last post.
I have already met a few fellow travelers and had some great conversations about where they are going and what they are doing and its definitely getting me ready so when i leave the airport.

Well, im going to try to find a nice spot on the floor to crash on for a few hours, so...

Until i get to Egypt!
Jess

Washington DC Airport

And so it begins....

This post will be short and sweet since i am running out of battery and these airports do not like to have working power plugs, go figure...

3 bags and about 50 pounds later i have packed up my life, It was very suprising that my back pack was only 30 pounds but i guess thats a good thing since i will be collecting things from the places that i go. I do have to admit it was sad leaving home, I shed a tear for Hampton Roads and waved goodbye for i will not be back for 6 months.

I am excited and nervous and weary and very tired, so i just want to thank My parents for supporting me, my friends for being behind me and especially Josh for waking up at 4am just to drive me to the airport, You are all AWESOME!

My next post will be about my preperations and then i will post from Dubai with a video!

Adventuring,
Jess

Introduction

Hello Friends and Family,

 So being as this is a new thing for me, as I have never written a blog or even a journal before I thought I would start by explaining a few things, and I apologize if I am longwinded. Some of you may already know why I am putting this together and some of you may be absolutely in the dark about why I am writing this in the first place, so this is for the people in the later category.

 A while ago I was unhappy at College and so I left. A big step for someone who usually likes to make everyone happy, but I realized that while trying to do that I was making myself unhappy. So I came home and while talking with some friends a question was posed, “what do you really want to do?” The answer came very quickly because it is something I have loved doing for as long as I can remember, “Travel.”

 And so with the amazing support of my family and friends that is what I plan on doing.

 As some of you may know my sister is graduating from High School at CAC (Cairo American College) in June and that is where I will start the first leg of my journey. I now know what the phrase “the world is your oyster” means and I’m excited (heart palpitations as evidence).

 I can’t wait to have adventures, meet new people and see amazing things.

A new chapter in my life has started and although it will be a minimalistic one I will come back with more stories than I can remember.

And so for now I am off learning what textbooks couldn’t teach and getting lost along that way.