Animal Tales

I saw a goat slaughtered at the butcher shop down the street from my house one sunny afternoon.  They killed it on the sidewalk and then brushed the blood into the road.

A few weeks ago, we were eating out at a pretty nice restaurant when I noticed the waiter walked through the restaurant and past our table with a large white trash bag that clearly held a freshly beheaded animal...  looks like it was the meat for the next days dishes. 

On our way to a mosque in downtown Cairo, we were traveling in a taxi through a busy street when I looked out the window and saw a dead horse laying in a large pile of trash on the side of the road.  Andrew said, "Well, what else would you do if your horse died?!"... um, BURY IT, that's what I would do.

Cairo is the breeding grounds to what I am sure is the worlds largest cat population.  They used to be worshiped in Ancient Egypt... now they just prowl the streets and sometimes sneak into restaurants and try to steal your food while you're eating it.  I see more cats than women during the day.  Which says a lot for the 24th most populated city in the world.

Tonight while Andrew was eating his first pigeon (one of Egypt's delicacies...) I saw a waiter carry a bag of bloody, de-feathered, headless pigeons into the kitchen next to our table.  Really, how has that happened twice to me???

I always thought camels to be a tame, noble creature.  Until I went to the pyramids and the rabid camel Aryel and Becca were riding kept snapping it's teeth in anger.  No one ever told me camels SNAPPED like that.  Many people almost had their limbs snapped off by the angry camel that day.

Welcome in Egypt everybody.

Even though it is our last night in Africa (*tear....) I still have lots, and lots of stories and pictures to share!  Stay tuned...

Here's to the animals,

M 

This is all about me.

I've had a thrilling, thriving, and thoroughly enjoyable life for the past 23 years.

I grew up in a happy home, surrounded by lots of love.
I rode a trolley in San Fransisco without my pants on once because I was a really naughty little girl.
I got the social butterfly award in 3rd grade.
I started playing the cello and never stopped.
I only got a couple of home school communications (yellow slips?) in elementary school.
I was in "Advanced Drama" in 8th grade.  (Drama queen since birth.)
I waited to kiss a boy until I was past the age of 16 (and then it all went downhill from there, bahahaha)
I went to see a Broadway play with my parents, instead of going to my senior prom.
I got a music scholarship to EAC.
I worked as a riverguide in Moab, and I wasn't super good at it, but I was great at camping, making up stories, and getting really funny tan lines.
I went to Mozambique and convinced 22 kids to march behind me chanting "Viva Megan" through their rural village.
I played with baby lions in South Africa. 
I dated lots of boys.  And once when I was dating 5 or 6 boys at once (it was just a stage!) I happened to meet one cute boy who made me never want to date anyone else again....
I had a skinny dipping club in Thatcher.  (Don't worry Mom, only girls were allowed.)
I got married to the man of my dreams when I was 21, even though I was voted "Most likely to marry in her first semester of college" in Seminary the year I graduated.  HA!  You guys got punk'd by me!
I waded in the Reflection Pool in D.C. on my honeymoon and ate a giant cone of Tom&Jerry's Half Baked ice cream for my 21st birthday.
I got called "classy" by a mean Provo boy once, and it inspired years of "classy" and "suck it" jokes.
I stayed in my first hostel in Barcelona, ate veal (and cried about it) in Southern France, sat on the floor of the Louvre in Paris, and had real British fish & chips with my British Aunties in London for my first anniversary/22nd birthday celebration!
I lived in Egypt.  For 3 months.  I rode a camel at the pyramids, I touched the Nile, I took illegal pictures in the Valley of the Kings, I snorkled in deep, amazingly clear water, I swam in the Red Sea 4 times, I hiked Mt. Sinai, I explored every corner of Cairo, and I pretty much just had the time of my life with my boyfriend/built in best friend.

And now, I'm going to London (again.) and we are going to see Les Miserables for my birthday and take the Beatles walking tour and I'm going to kiss Big Ben, and hopefully sing some London inspired songs and have a marvelous time before we return back to grown up life in the real grown up world.

I love my life and my adventures and I love my Mom.  Thanks for giving birth to me 23 years ago, Momilla!!!  You are momtastic in every single way, I owe my free spirit and my sassy-ness and my gypsy blood all to you. 
..................No, really.
None of this life could have happened without your love and encouragement and support!

Consider this the end of my boasting (that was for you, Millie) blustering, snotty, big headed, hoitty-toitty obnoxious, border line annoying, blog post.  I am just high on life.
Can't wait to see what the next 23 years bring!  Or even the next year, I feel like 23 is an age that will change my life forever.  I feel really good about it.

CHEERS TO ME!
Megara, the goofy, crazy, braggy birthday girl.

... was that too much?  That was definitely too much.  It's 340 in the morning, I think I'm going to regret this post when I wake up.
Eh.

Things I won't miss.

The honking and noise pollution.  Especially since we live on a seriously busy main road.  The honking only lets down between 3 and 6 am. 

The taxi drivers that have no idea where ANYTHING is.  Seriously, I've met maybe 2 that actually know where I need to go and I had a really bad experience with a crappy taxi driver by myself in the middle of the night.  Not ok taxi drivers...

Living without a/c.  The recent heat wave has made living in our place totally miserable.

That's all.

I'm not even going to bother making a "things I WILL miss" list because it would just go on and on.

We don't want to leave.  But, ready or not, we have one week left. 

Since living in Egypt...

...I'm proud to say that I have become quite the expert at peeing in holes, like the one shown below.

It's a skill that I'm sure will come in handy for the rest of my life.
Thank you, Egypt.

Siwaaaaaaat? Oasis

We took a weekend to go to the Siwa Oasis.
See it on the map???

If you are ever in Egypt... we highly suggest taking a weekend trip to Siwa.  It is totally worth it.  It was probably the greatest trip Andrew and I have ever done.

We left right after Friday church and drove 10 hours to get there.  We could have walked to the Libyan border, but to reduce the risk of being sex trafficked or kidnapped by terrorists, we stayed at our camp.  And a great camp it was!!!  We were with a Bedouin tribe in the middle of nowhere.
We all sat on the ground inside this huge tent and ate delicious food, and then they threw us a party at 2 am with lots of music, dancing, and tea.
And then, we slept under the stars.  GAAAAAAAAH, those stars!!!!!!!!!!  I can't even begin to use words to describe it.  It was the clearest night sky I have ever seen in my life.
Just try to imagine being in the middle of the Western Sahara Desert, where there is no pollution, haze, or lights.... we could see every single star in the universe.  Ok, I'm exaggerating, but you get the point?  Seriously though.  Every star.
We couldn't sleep because we were all so in love with the sky.

Anyways, we woke up, got into our Safari jeeps and took off to play in the natural springs, see the ruins in Siwa town, and ride the dunes of the great sand sea.  Really.  Best trip ever.

And here is a serious picture overload.  Good luck.

Inside our tent.  And there's Becca, taking a nap.  Don't let her fool you though, she slept outside under the stars too!

The outside.  Clearly the inside is much more lively and colorful.

The natural hot spring at our camp.  The Bedouins bathe in it every morning.

Campsite!

Our lil' Safari Jeep!

Jumping into Cleopatra's Bath, the most famous Oasis in Siwa!  It's ancient people!!!

Us, being naked.

The ancient Temple where Alexander the Great came and was told by the oracle that he was the son of God. Pretty cool if you ask me.....

Dare devils!

The city of Siwa, and part of the ancient fortress.

MegAndy on top of the Mountain of the Dead... all of those holes below us are tombs in the ground.  We found bones and everything.

Inside one of the tombs at the Mountain of the Dead.

Just us, our jeeps, and the great Sand Sea!

I bought that shirt for $5.  It is an XXL, and the sun has faded the color in some spots, but I am in love with it.

This is our jeep pointing straight down.  Literally.  I thought we were going to die more than once on that ride.  Those dunes are steeeeeeeeep.

This is not a mirage.  That's a lake.  In the middle of the DESERT.

Andrew, sandboarding down a ginormous dune.  The second time he went, he got going so fast that he crashed into the sand at the bottom.... he's had a scab and a black and blue and purple eye for about 2 weeks now.  He is proud of his battle scar.

This is me, and the Western Sahara Desert.

The perfect sunset to end the perfect day.

We love you, Siwa!

M.

Compare, Compare, and Compare some more.

This is not a travel post.  This is a conversational post.  
I'm writing it because it's been happening for days and months and years and I am sick of it.


Us ladies have a problem in this world.  We compare ourselves to each other.
We compare, and compare and COMPARE!!!


And I don't like it!  But I do it, far too often.  
I will NEVER be as crafty as this girl
I will NEVER be a strong mother like this one
I will NEVER afford cute clothes like her
I will NEVER write as well as that girl


Over and over.  Comparing ourselves on Facebook, on Blogger, and on every other website out there and in every other real life situation too.
But why do we do it???
Aren't we all in this game together?!  Don't we all want to make it to the same place?  


We should be lifting and encouraging one another.  We should be able to stand together as women and support each other in everything we do.
Who cares if I'm not crafty because I am really adventurous.  Who cares if I can't afford cute clothes, at least I can afford clothes period.  Who cares if I'm not as classy and eloquent as that girl because hey, I'm goofy and hyper and fun, and I like that about myself.  


We all have special divine qualities in ourselves that are unlike anyone else's.  We all have something unique to offer to this world, and until we can get over comparing ourselves to the other women around us, we are going to get nowhere.  
I am going to get nowhere!  
I need to get over it.  (Ok, this post might have been for mostly me....)


We can all be amazing women.  We all have the capacity to be outstanding mothers too.  Let's take the negative energy and turn it into something good.  I have been blessed with an AMAZING Mom who has always taught me that I can do anything... but sometimes I forget.  I have so many family members and close friends that support me and love me, but sometimes life gets in the way... and again, I forget that I am surrounded by strong women that I can learn from.  They have always helped me grow and succeed when I start comparing my life to what I think it "needs" to be.


Whether you are a Latter-Day Saint or not, I think my favorite talk from President Gordon B. Hinckley pretty much sums it up.


Gordon B. Hinckley, "To the Women of the Church," Ensign, Nov. 2003, 113

Someone has said: "Be kind to the women. They constitute half the population and are mothers to the other half."

My dear sisters, you marvelous women who have chosen the better part, I stand in great admiration for all that you do. I see your hands in everything.

Many of you are mothers, and that is enough to occupy one's full time.

You are companions—the very best friends your husbands have or ever will have.

You are housekeepers. That doesn't sound like much, does it? But what a job it is to keep a house clean and tidy.

You are shoppers. Until I got older I never dreamed of what a demanding responsibility it is to keep food in the pantry, to keep clothing neat and presentable, to buy all that is needed to keep a home running.

You are nurses. With every illness that comes along, you are the first to be told about it and the first to respond with help. In cases of serious sickness, you are at the bedside day and night, comforting, encouraging, ministering, praying.

You are the family chauffeur. You are driving your children about on paper routes, taking them to athletic events, driving them on ward outings, hauling here, there, and everywhere as they pursue their busy lives.

And so I might go on. My children are now all grown. Some are in their 60s. But when they call and I answer the phone, they say, "How are you?" And before I can answer, they ask, "Is Mother there?"

She has been their strength all of their lives. Since they were babies they have looked to her, and she has always responded with affection, guidance, teaching, blessing their lives in every way.

Now we have granddaughters who are mothers. They visit us, and I marvel at their patience, at their capacity to calm their children, to stop them from crying, and it seems to me to do a thousand other things.

They drive cars, they run computers, they attend the activities of their children, they cook and sew, they teach classes, and they speak in church.

I see their husbands, and I feel like saying to them: "Wake up. Carry your share of the load. Do you really appreciate your wife? Do you know how much she does? Do you ever compliment her? Do you ever say thanks to her?"

Well, you dear women, I say thanks to you. Thank you for being the kind of people you are and doing the things you do. May the blessings of heaven rest upon you. May your prayers be answered and your hopes and dreams become realities.

You serve so well in the Church. You think it is so demanding. It is. But with every responsibility fulfilled, there comes a great reward.

Many of you think you are failures. You feel you cannot do well, that with all of your effort it is not sufficient.

We all feel that way. I feel that way as I speak to you tonight. I long for, I pray for the power and the capacity to lift you, to inspire you, to thank you, to praise you, and to bring a measure of gladness into your hearts.

We all worry about our performance. We all wish we could do better. But unfortunately we do not realize, we do not often see the results that come of what we do.

I remember going to a stake conference in the East many years ago. On the plane coming home, I felt that I had been a total failure. I felt I had not touched anyone for good. I was miserable with a sense of inadequacy.

Then, some years later, I was at another conference in California. At the conclusion of the meeting a man came up to me and said, "You were at a conference a few years ago in such-and-such a place."

"Yes," I said, "I was there, and I remember the occasion."

The man said: "You touched my heart. I came to that meeting out of curiosity. I really had no interest. I was on the verge of leaving the Church. But when it was announced that one of the Twelve Apostles would be there, I decided to go.

"You said something that started me to think. It touched me and stayed with me and stirred me. I decided to alter my course. I turned my life around. I am now living here in California. I have a good job, for which I am grateful. I hope I am a good husband and father. And I am now serving as a counselor in the bishopric of my ward. I am happier than I have ever been at any time in my life."

I thanked him, and when I left him I said to myself, shaking my head: "You never know. You never know whether you do any good. You never know how much good you do."

Now, my dear sisters, that is the way with you. You are doing the best you can, and that best results in good to yourself and to others. Do not nag yourself with a sense of failure. Get on your knees and ask for the blessings of the Lord; then stand on your feet and do what you are asked to do. Then leave the matter in the hands of the Lord. You will discover that you have accomplished something beyond price.

Now, we have a very diverse group to whom I am speaking. This includes young women who are still in school or who are working. You are single. You are hoping to catch that perfect man. I have yet to see one who is perfect. Aim high, but do not aim so high that you totally miss the target. What really matters is that he will love you, that he will respect you, that he will honor you, that he will be absolutely true to you, that he will give you freedom of expression and let you fly in the development of your own talents. He is not going to be perfect, but if he is kind and thoughtful, if he knows how to work and earn a living, if he is honest and full of faith, the chances are that you will not go wrong, that you will be immensely happy.

Some of you, unfortunately, will never marry in this life. That turns out to be the case sometimes. If that happens, do not spend your life grieving over it. The world still needs your talents. It needs your contribution. The Church needs your faith. It needs your strong, helping hand. Life is never a failure until we call it such. There are so many who need your helping hands, your loving smile, your tender thoughtfulness. I see so many capable, attractive, wonderful women whom romance has passed by. I do not understand it, but I know that in the plan of the Almighty, the eternal plan which we call God's plan of happiness, there will be opportunity and reward for all who seek them.

To you young women with small children, yours is a tremendous challenge. So often there is not enough money. You must scrimp and save. You must be wise and careful in your expenditures. You must be strong and bold and brave and march forward with gladness in your eye and love in your heart. How blessed you are, my dear young mothers. You have children who will be yours forever. I hope that you have been sealed in the house of the Lord and that your family will be an everlasting family in the kingdom of our Father.

May you be given strength to carry your heavy load, to meet every obligation, to walk side by side with a good and faithful and caring man, and together with him rear and nurture and bring up your children in righteousness and truth. Nothing else you will ever own, no worldly thing you will ever acquire will be worth so much as the love of your children. God bless you, my dear, dear young mothers.

Then we have you older women who are neither young nor old. You are in the most wonderful season of your lives. Your children are in their teens. Possibly one or two are married. Some are on missions, and you are sacrificing to keep them in the field. You are hoping and praying for their success and happiness. To you dear women I offer some special counsel.

Count your blessings; name them one by one. You don't need a great big mansion of a house with an all-consuming mortgage that goes on forever. You do need a comfortable and pleasant home where love abides. Someone has said that there is no more beautiful picture than that of a good woman cooking a meal for those she loves. Weigh carefully that which you do. You do not need some of the extravagances that working outside the home might bring. Weigh carefully the importance of your being in the home when your children come from school.

Mothers, take good care of your daughters. Be close to them. Listen to them. Talk with them. Lead them from doing foolish things. Guide them into doing the right thing. See that they dress in a comely and modest fashion. Safeguard them from the terrible evils that are all about them.

Nurture your sons with love and counsel. Teach them the importance of personal cleanliness, of neatness in their dress. Sloppy ways lead to sloppy lives. Instill in them a sense of discipline. Keep them worthy of service to the Church as missionaries. Give them things to do so that they may learn to work. Teach them to be frugal. Labor and frugality lead to prosperity. Teach them that nothing really good happens after 11 o'clock at night. And do not spoil them. If they go on missions, they may be compelled to live in circumstances that you would not wish for them. Do not worry about them. Give them encouragement.

Stir within your children the desire for education. This is the latchkey to success in life. And at the same time, teach them that as President David O. McKay was wont to remind us, "No other success can compensate for failure in the home." 1

Now I speak to you single mothers whose burdens are so heavy because you have been abandoned or have been widowed. Yours is a terrible load. Bear it well. Seek the blessings of the Lord. Be grateful for any assistance that may come out of the quorums of the priesthood to help you in your home or with other matters. Pray silently in your closet, and let the tears flow if they must come. But put a smile on your face whenever you are before your children or others.

Now to you dear grandmothers, you older widows, and older lonely women. How beautiful you are. I look upon my dear wife, soon to be 92 years of age. Her hair is white; her frame is stooped.

I take one of her hands in mine and look at it. Once it was so beautiful, the flesh firm and clear. Now it is wrinkled and a little bony and not very strong. But it speaks of love and constancy and faith, of hard work through the years. Her memory is not what it once was. She can remember things that happened half a century ago but may not remember what happened half an hour ago. I am like that, too.

But I am so grateful for her. For 66 years we have walked together, hand in hand, with love and encouragement, with appreciation and respect. It cannot be very long before one of us will step through the veil. I hope the other will follow soon. I just would not know how to get along without her, even on the other side, and I would hope that she would not know how to get along without me.

My dear friends of the Relief Society, whatever your circumstances, wherever you may live, may the windows of heaven be opened and blessings come down upon you. May you live with love one for another. May you reach down to lift up those whose burdens are heavy. May you bring light and beauty to the world and particularly into your homes and into the lives of your children.

You know as I do that God our Eternal Father lives. He loves you. You know as I do that Jesus is the Christ, His immortal Son, our Redeemer. You know that the gospel is true and that heaven is near if we will cultivate it in our lives.

You are the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There is no other organization to equal it. Walk with pride. Hold your heads up. Work with diligence. Do whatever the Church asks you to do. Pray with faith. You may never know how much good you accomplish. Someone's life will be blessed by your effort. May you know the comforting, rewarding embrace of the Holy Spirit, I pray in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

OK, that was long.  If you got through the entire thing, I am seriously so impressed right now.  

This is the end of my rant.  

We just need to believe.  

Believe that we can do anything, because we are women.  Let's start bringing light and beauty to this world and start helping each other.

Now, who's with me?????

{I promise I'll get back to posting about my regular Cairo life now, thanks for indulging in my mental breakdown about comparisons!  I might delete this post when I re-read it again in the morning, ha-ha I guess we'll see what happens}

Much Love, 

Megs

Top 3 Culture Shock Stories from my Egypt life.

#3.  Everyone in Egypt exchanges phone numbers when they meet.  Which means, Andrew has about 100 random phone numbers from random people he has met all over Cairo.  When one of those random people (a man he once met at the airport) called, he told Andrew that he was "coming over for dinner" and to "have that nice wife of yours make me something good to eat."
I mean... that could happen anywhere.  But still.  Really random man?  Really???  I don't cook.  And that's definitely not how we roll.


#2.  In Africa, it takes a village to raise a child.  Which also means, members of that village are allowed to discipline your kid when you're not around.  The other night during the world cup final game, there was a group of little boys fooling around on the steps in front of the TV store where we were watching.  They got a little rowdy and next thing we knew the store owner was out and "disclipining" one of the boys.  I was shocked at first; is that his Dad??  Is he allowed to do that?  The kid was FINE, and he wasn't beating him by any means, but the way the shop keeper handled the situation was... shocking to me.  I think in America we are so careful with boundaries like that, especially when it comes to disciplining a child, but here, if you're parents aren't around and you're causing a scene, you better believe one of the elders around you will put you in your place. 


#1.  There's a group of men that sell goods by our metro.  Andrew is fairly good friends with all of them, especially one named Mahmoud, who periodically sends goodies home with Andrew to give to me, like street grilled corn, popcorn, roses, or cans of coke.  [Clearly, he knows the way to my heart.]  We love Mahmoud sooo much.  Some of the other guys that hang there?  Well, not so much.

They are all very devout Muslims, and some of them think the Muslim way is the only way.  One night Andrew and I were walking home after a nice dinner at a fancy restaraunt nearby.  We walked by the tunnel and one of the guys from the usual gang was still there- the one who always tries to convert Andrew to Islam and gives him lessons on Mohammed daily- He pulled Andrew aside and started talking in a hushed tone, ya know, in case the wife who doesn't know Arabic actually hears the Arabic being spoken?  They whispered for a few minutes and I later learned that the conversation went a little something like this:
Friend:  "Andrew, you must learn to leave your wife at home!  She isn't supposed to be out with you, ever, especially just the two of you!"
Andy:  "Well, that's not how we do it in America.  I know it's different here, but she is my wife and we do things together and spend time together, so it's ok."
Friend:  "I know, I know, it's different in America.  But here, I leave me wife at home where she belongs!  You need to leave your wife at home too, she shouldn't be outside walking next to you!"

We understand there's a cultural difference here.  There are many complicated Egyptian rules involving religion, class, manners, and we won't get into those.  But I think me walking home with my husband is completley acceptable (we weren't even holding hands, in fact, I was walking BEHIND him!) and sometimes I just want to scream, "GET OVER IT!!!!" when people get their panties in a twist about stuff that is so silly and trivial to us in America. 

Other than those, there hasn't been any serious "culture" shock for me.  I feel really comfortable and at home in Egypt and in the Egyptian culture I've been exposed to thus far.  If you talk to some other people on the program, I'm sure they would have some stories for you. 
I think Andrew and I have been blessed with the capability to comfortably adapt to our surroundings, whether we're in the States, or in Mozambique, or France, or Egypt.  
We just kinda go with the flow.

Have any of you readers been out of the country?  ...Do you have any tales of culture shock to share with us???

Here's to 3 more weeks of our beloved Egypt life,
Megs

Happy Anniversary to Meeeeeeeeeeeeee

this.  is.  sappy. ----->consider yourself warned.

2 years ago I slept in my parents bed for the last night of my single life.

2 years ago I got my hair done, and then went to IHOP for breakfast with Aunt Trina where we talked about sex and marriage and weddings.

2 years ago I went home and shaved my legs and packed my bags.

2 years ago I was worried Andrew wouldn't make it on time to the Temple.  And even more worried that maybe he wouldn't even show and I would get stood up on my own wedding day.

2 years ago I drove with my parents to my Temple sealing and we had a nice conversation about my choices and my life and I distinctly remember my Dad telling me to come straight to the reception after the Temple.  Which basically means he didn't want us to have sex before the reception hahahahaha.

2 years ago I was treated like a princess in the Mesa, AZ LDS Temple by all of the sweet old ladies.  I was the only one getting married that late in the afternoon, so I had the whole brides room to myself and all the attention was on ME!

2 years ago I was scared to go into the sealing room.  All of the important people in my life were there, just waiting for us, and Andrew and I sat outside awkwardly and nervously.

2 yeas ago the man who would later perform our sealing came to calm us down and spoke to Andrew in French, made us laugh, and gave beautiful advice and support.

2 years ago I cried with joy through the whole ceremony and my makeup ran down in streaky tears across my cheeks.

2 years ago when I was staring into Andrew's eyes across the alter, I had an out of body experience, and it was the sweetest, most powerful feeling I've ever had.  I could have stayed in that moment for eternity.

2 years ago I was married in the same room that my parents and I were married and sealed in 19 years before.

2 years ago my fake eyelashes fell off from all my tears and I didn't even know.

2 years ago I panicked when I saw my eyelashes stuck to my eyebrow, and my mom laughed while I was trying to touch up my makeup and reapply my eyelashes before taking pictures outside.

2 years ago it was 115 degrees in Mesa and we still had every single family member and close friend to see us and take pictures with us on the Temple steps that day.

2 years ago I wore purple shoes with my gorgeous white wedding dress.

2 years ago Andrew and I got into his car and we went to eat at Pete's Fish and Chips.

2 years ago we casually relaxed with our families for a while before the party started.  We have the most incredible and supportive families anyone could ask for.  Not just our parents and siblings though, I am so blessed with many close aunts and uncles and grandparents and cousins that take great care of me, and Andrew.

2 years ago we had a rockin' party, with great music, awesome decorations by my amazing parents, BEAUTIFUL bright flowers everywhere thanks to Andrew's parents, and tons of candy, popcorn, soda pop, cookies, ice cream, cupcakes, and other goodies.  YUM!

2 years ago I was giddy all night from excitment and joy and love.

2 years ago we stood in line greeting friends for over 2.5 hours.  The line was out the door the entire time.  We felt lots and lots of love.

2 years ago Andrew and I packed up, changed clothes, got into the car and drove away, and I felt really sad to be leaving my family and the party. 
..... But the adventure had only just begun!

We started off with a bang, honeymooning in Maryland, Virginia, D.C. and NYC for 3 weeks.  Our 1 year anniversary was spent touring Spain, France and England for a month, and now, here we are, living in North Africa together. 
Who knows where we will be or what we will be doing next year, but I can tell you that we will be just as happy (probably even more happy!) as we have always been together.

Andrew is the light of my life.  He is my dream come true and I do not want to imagine my life without him in it.  I know we were brought together by a higher power and I am grateful that my decisions led me to him in the end.  He brings me so much happiness and love and laughter and adventure and fun, every single day.  I don't even deserve it. 
I am the luckiest,.  And I just LOVE loving him.

I love you to the max, honey pie!

Really though,

 those purple shoes were stellar.....

Ok, consider my sap over now.

Get married to your best friend.  It's the best life decision you'll ever make.
M.

Picture Post: The pics you've all been waiting for.

"Man fears time, but time fears-- THE PYRAMIDS."

[Actual quote from the super tacky Sound and Light show the Pyramids put on every night...]

I've been hearing horror stories about the Giza Pyramids for a few months. 

They're not even that big.
You'll be attacked by men trying to scam you and take your money!
It's too hot!
I didn't like them... they were underwhelming.

While all of those things may or may not be true, my personal Pyramid experience was one for the books.
It was PERFECT.

The weather was the coolest it had been for weeks.  I never once broke a sweat or needed water and there were dozens of clouds dotting the sky- that's right- clouds!  In Cairo!?!!

We went on a Friday and late in the afternoon near closing time, so there were barely any people there, tourists and merchants and camel drivers alike.  Who can beat having a tourist attraction like the Pyramids all to yourself??

We had a nice, long camel ride and paid a decent price for it too.  The only downfall was that one of the camels was rabid, but that's another story for another post.  Oh, and my crotch hurt for 3 days- riding those things was terrifying so I must have had a death grip with my thighs trying to stay on.  Man, was I soooore.

I think they size of the Sphinx and the Pyramids was just right.  The 4th grader inside me who once dreamed of seeing the Pyramids in real life could not have been happier.
Alhamdulillah.

Here's the fun we had:

Good weather, good times, and good friends, what more could we have asked for??

Here's to more adventures.  Cheers,

M.

Random Thoughts: Part II

Today Andrew and I went on a shopping spree.  We bought a load of tacky souveniers, for the fun of it.  Then we did grocery shopping and bought over 90 EGP (about 18 US dollars...) of foreign cheese.  That's more money than we spend in a week living here.  We have a cheese problem.  And then we went to the vegetable market, where I bought 3 LARGE grocery bags full of assorted veggies for less than 1 US dollar.  YOU CAN'T BEAT IT!  It's all fresh, and it's all delicious.

At said veggie market, a man selling mint stopped Andrew and asked if I was his wife.  Andrew said yes and the man congratulated Andrew and gave him a big high five.  He then turned to me and said, "Miss, you are very beautiful and you are very sugar."  We don't know what me being sugar actually means. 
I got a rad henna tattoo done from a Sudanese woman.  It was at her apartment that she shares with her mother and her children.  She told us many Egyptian brides get henna done, and they often dress in traditional Indian clothes for their wedding's here in Egypt.  Before I knew it, we were all playing dress us up in their home, wearing Indian sari's and loads of gold jewelry and dancing around like we were in a Bollywood film.  Lots of pictures were taken.

I rode a camel at the Pyramids and my crotch STILL hurts.  And those camels almost ate us alive, they are terrifying creatures.

Once I got spit on by a random man.  And then when I yelled [and cursed] at him, he didn't even look at me or flinch so I still don't know if it was an accident or totally on purpose.

Tonight we went to a carnival.  We don't know why there was a carnival, and we're still wondering what all those people were celebrating.  All I know is that it was super shady, with lots of wandering hands trying to touch my down under girl parts, an excessive amount of LOUD music, plenty of street food, tons of lights, and just about everyone in the area showed up.  There were also shoddy looking carnival rides that are going to break down any second.  Oh, and there were fireworks thrown at us from balconies.  All in all, it was AWESOME.  I had a good time!

There are only a couple more weeks left for us here in Cairo.  I am sad, I love my Egypt life and I honestly don't want to go home yet, it's too soon for us!  I still have lots of pictures and stories to share, so be prepared for post overload the rest of this week while I play blog catchup.

Until next time,
your beautiful and sugar friend.  bahahahahahahhaa.
  

Luxor Trip

A few weekends ago, the +50 peeps in our study abroad group made a mass exodus to visit the ancient city of Luxor and it's surrounding tourist attractions. 
It was great.

Here's the proof.  (Please note- blogger takes 4 EV ER to load my pics, SO if you're dying to see the pleathora of shots we captured from our trip, feel free to look on facebook ...or add me on facebook if we aint frenz yet.)

First stop... the Temple of Karnak

Together in the Karnak ruins

The Luxor Temple

A felucca ride down the Nile.

The Colossi of Memnon

Ramesseum Temple (my personal favorite.)

Valley of the Kings

Al-Deir Al-Bahari Temple

Last stop- Hurgada for some more Red Sea fun.

It was a great trip couple of days and I thoroughly enjoyed the sites we visited, even in the 105 degree weather.  I wish we could have gone to Aswan and Elephantine Island, but we'll save those for the next time we're in Egypt.  When YOU come to Egypt, I highly recommend touring Luxor, but make sure to plan accordingly- we were up at 6am everyday trying to hit the sites before the hellish heat really turned on by 10 or 11.  I think I would have loved it even more if we came in the cooler season and had more time/energy to really explore our surroundings.  Still, what a great trip!  

Happy travels,

M.