My Angel (Falls).....

On the morning of Thanksgiving, we awoke in a little Posada outside of Ciudad Bolivar, a large city in Southeastern Venezuela. I didn't grab any breakfast because I was hoping for some sort of empenada or arepa at the airport. When we arrived there, I managed to find a small hole-in the wall store, where I picked up a tasty little chicken & veggie empenada and we waited for our flight. (Shaun, another teacher, managed to have his first real doughnut in months at this same time...."real" doughnuts are tough to find down here).

After sitting around and getting checked in, we waited for about another 25 minutes until our pilot told us it was time to go. So the three of us (Shaun, his wife Susan, and myself) boarded a little single engine crop-duster with an Englishman and German and flew to Canaima, the launching point for any trip to Angel Falls.

In there air we had some spectacular views of the countryside as it slowly went from slightly occupied, to uninhabited jungle in the span of an hour. Suddenly on the sides, we saw these huge mountains, rising straight out of the ground. They are called tepuis (te-poo-e) and are supposed to be some of the oldest rock formations on Earth. The plant and animal life on top of these things are sometimes only found in that one spot....and oddly enough, these were also the inspiration for The Lost World, written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Eventually we landed in Canaima, on the bumpiest runway (and saddest airport) I've have ever seen. The airport was essentially a small shack with locals selling souvenir jewelry and other items and another small shed, where you payed your entrance fee to the park.

From here we went into the city, got a brief chat from our guide, split into two groups of 10 (thus losing our German and English passengers) and began our tour. We were in the lucky group: 7 Germans, 3 Yanks and a local guide....we were to board a long wooden boat with a single motor engine and head for the falls immediately. The other group would follow the next day.

The boat trip lasted for ever. 3.5 hours on this little boat, meandering our way up river. Luckily this was broken up by a 45 minute hike (while the boat went through some dangerous rapids) and lunch. Still, I was ready to get out of that boat when we finally hit the camp site.

From there we rested for the night and were given some brief views of Angel Falls from our side of the river. Sadly, it was cloudy and there really wasn't a good view, so we instead played cards, read books and relaxed for the night. Our Thanksgiving dinner composed of a quarter of roasted chicken, yucca, and some cheesy rice w/ veggies....not bad really. That evening we all slept in hammocks, which to be honest wasn't too bad, once you adjusted to it.

The next morning we awoke early and were treated to scrambled eggs, a slice of ham and cheese and two arepas, each weighing roughly a pound (and that is without anything inside). Normally you stuff the arepas with the eggs, meat and cheese, which is what I did and the meal will sit with you for about 8 hours, at least. It's very heavy, pretty filling, pretty tasteless and simple/cheap to make.

Next we got in a boat and crossed the river to begin our hike. The hike wasn't too bad and only took about an hour, possibly a little longer. Our trek took us from a rocky river, into a damp and muddy jungle and then we began going up in elevation, hitting a more dense forest. Eventually, after many slips, near-falls and almost twisted ankles, we came upon this view:

Stunning.

I won't lie....it was pretty impressive. After taking a few pictures and staring at it for a while, I was ready to go back to camp. I mean, what else can you do so far away from a huge waterfall? But we stayed for roughly 30 minutes, until finally Shaun, Susan, Tina (one of the Germans) and myself decided to start heading back.

The return trip was a lot faster (aka downhill) and it was much easier. Once we reached the river, we were really far ahead of everyone, so we took the opportunity to soak our weary feet in the river.

At this point, two incredible things happened. One, Shaun saw a river otter playing on the opposite bank of the river and pointed it out, which was pretty amazing to see (I always loved the otters at the zoo). The second thing was that we turned around to look at the Falls one last time and were blessed with this view:

After that we went back to camp, had lunch and then went back to Canaima. The boat ride back only lasted 2 hours, which was much more bearable. Then we got to spend the evening at a little Posada just on the outskirts of town. My bed wasn't as comfortable as the hammock, but it worked.

The next morning we awoke and had to pack everything in preparation to head home. We were going to eat breakfast, then go see Sapo Falls and the lagoon and finally come back for lunch before heading back to Ciudad Bolivar.

Sapo Falls was beautiful and the lagoon was pretty impressive as well. We ended up walking behind the falls, which was cold and wet, but a blast. After Sapo Falls, we ate lunch and tried to head home. Sadly, we had to board a larger plane (carrying 14 passengers) and when everyone was ready and waiting.....we had to head back to the "terminal" (the hut). Suddenly no one could find our pilot, although we think he was playing cards with some of the locals.

A 45 minute plane ride later, we were back in Ciudad Bolivar. We boarded our mini-bus, made a stop at Wendy's (which is a real treat since we don't have one in Anaco) and then began our 3 hour ride home. All-in-all, a good trip, even though I was ready to jump out of the little boat at one point.

God Bless and I hope things are well, wherever you are.

My Thanksgiving in the Falls

Greetings to all! I hope this finds you well. I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! We are having a feast this afternoon at school and then this evening I will be leaving with two of the other staff members for Angel Falls. I will get to spend my Thanksgiving traveling to the largest waterfall on the planet....how cool is that?

We will be returning to Anaco on Saturday, so hopefully Sunday I will be able to put up some pics for you.

Again, Happy Thanksgiving!!

God Bless

My MUN Experience....

Greetings to all!

The good news is that we have returned safely from a wonderful little MUN experience in Caracas. Luckily there weren't any major problems and believe it or not, all of my kids behaved extremely well. To be completely honest, I was extremely impressed with their behavior and I think they represented our school and our community very well.

MUN was a really intense experience at times. I learned a lot about how it works and about how the UN works as an organization. During the GA (Generally Assembly) meetings, three of my students got up and spoke in front of everyone. One was a Freshman having her first MUN experience, another was a Sophomore who had never spoken at MUN before. Finally (and probably my happiest moment) was when one of our Seniors, who has some difficulty with her English, got up and defended her resolution. Unfortunately, I was at the US Embassy, attempting to get my passport and I missed her speech, but from what I was told (by numerous sources), she did very well.

Politically, there wasn't a lot going on in the city. There was only one demonstration by the Opposition, but it was quite small and lasted only a few minutes.

Overall, it was a fantastic experience and it has laid the foundation for our trip to Germany in April. We will be heading to a city in northeast Germany called Lubeck for a conference and we are very excited about it.

Dios te bendice

My Visit to the Other Side.....

Once in high school I had the opportunity to take a trip on a bus with a bunch of other students. I remember how much fun I had with my buddies and how much mischief we managed to cause without being detected by the teachers/adults.

Now I'm the adult.

It's awkward for me being on the other side. I remember what we used to do and I KNOW what happens on trips like these. How does one manage to watch over their seven students, while at the same time, attempting to give them the freedom that a high schooler needs to make their own decisions and learn from their mistakes?

I remember staying up late, sneaking out of my room, listening to loud music, ruining the group photos by looking in different directions (if not straight up in the air)....and those are just the things I feel as though I can post.

I've been very honest with my kids. They know the rules, they know the repercussions. I just find it hilarious that now I find myself on the other side of the hotel. The guy trying to stay away from his students, so that they can do what high schoolers do and I can continue to see them as the innocent students that they are.....

One of my kids took this picture one afternoon in Puerto La Cruz.

(No, he did not receive extra credit for it....but it is a sweet pic)

My Foot on the Gas.....

It seems as though the past 22 days have flown past. I'm sorry for leaving anyone hanging and I had one or two emails asking me if I was still alive! Luckily, I am.

Things at school are moving along quickly, but at a better pace. Our Director returned safely (with his family and new daughter Ocean). We got a new high school science teacher (who also teaches PE on the other days) and we picked up an ESL teacher. This means that those replacements we have been hoping for have finally arrived and things are moving a little more smoothly.

In other interesting events, one of the local companies down here, H & P, are celebrating their 50th Anniversary this year and decided to hold an Olympics to celebrate. I entered the volleyball, bowling and basketball competitions. Bowling was fun (and I got a free polo--awesome) and volleyball was a bit disappointing, losing in the 2nd round. Basketball though was hilarious!

We were waiting and waiting for the bball tourney to start and every time we were told to show up, no one was there. So finally, after our volleyball match we were told to go over to the basketball courts and our first game would start right away. So Shaun, Bill (the Director) and myself went over and waited.....and waited. Still nothing. Then three locals showed up and wanted to play, so we played for about forty-five minutes....just for fun.

Suddenly a man that looks like he could be a ref comes over and says we're about to begin. "Begin what?" we asked? The tournament. So sadly, we were exhausted and near death and our game had yet to start. The odds were not looking good.

The tournament was played on a court that was a little bigger than half a normal court and it had a hoop on both ends. So it was 3 v 3, full court, if you will. The other team had a big guy that was pretty good. I'd say he was about 6'3" or 6'4" and he was solid. He had decent post moves and you could tell that he could play. Sadly the rest of his team wasn't as solid, so we tried to defend him and let the others do what they would. We ended up winning by 14 points, which was hilarious because I thought I was going to vomit after the first 7 minutes (luckily, only two 10 minute halves).

We then waited and waited to play our second game. Last Wednesday was rained out. Last Thursday--rained out. Last Friday--rained out. So I went to the BBQ Picnic Finale assuming that the bball tourney had been scratched. However to my surprise, as they were handing out medals, the representatives from Escuela Anaco took first place!!! Sadly, I was the only one from our team at the picnic and I laughed to myself the entire way up to collect our medals. I even got my picture taken with the three young ladies that handed out the medals! So to sum up, we went 1-0 and were the champs. Hilarious.

With everything that is going on, sadly the ride isn't about to slow up. This week is short, due to our Halloween Celebration Thursday night, Friday night I head to Puerto with my MUN students for a workshop and then on Saturday we have the elementary bball tourney in Puerto. Next week I head to Caracas with the MUN students on Friday for five days and then the week after that is Thanksgiving (and a trip to Angel Falls). Needless to say, I'm going to be a little busy.

I'll try to find some time to post some pics and other fun-filled stories during the next few weeks. I hope all is well wherever you are.

God Bless

My Beat-down.....

I'm tired....we're all tired. I don't really know how else to put it. It seems that over these past two weeks, we've all been run ragged. All of us really. It's almost as if we are a unit of soldiers, repelling wave after wave of attacks......but we're short-handed. Some of our crew have left, others have been wounded or sick at times and some just disappear, right when you need them most.

Luckily, we've all pulled through. Everyone has played their part and filled in where needed. Some have battled through illness, others fatigue and still others have fought through the frustration. All we need are some reinforcements....two or three, heck, even one would be a blessing right now.

Luckily one is coming......one. Just having that one will free up so many others. Maybe some of our crew can rest........

soon.

God Bless.

My Fun Experiment.....

You may not have heard, but something really cool happens when you drop a sleeve of Mentos into a 2 liter of pop. My students brought it to my attention and since I was wanting an experiment for science class, we decided to try it today. Here's what happens:

How cool is that!?!?

I know, now we need a brief explanation. According to Steve Spangler science, what happens is the carbon dioxide in the bottle (put there when the bottle was bottled) attaches itself to the Mentos when you drop them in, forming bubbles on the tiny pits that are on each Mento. The Mentos sink to the bottom and when the gas is released, it pushes the liquid up and out of the bottle. I'm not going to lie....it was a lot of fun.

I hope things are great wherever you are!

God Bless....

My Deserted Island (Three Books version).....

Since I haven't been feeling well for the past couple of days, I've been able to watch a lot of TV from the comfy confines of my couch. While watching an episode of The Office (which I've come to really enjoy) I saw the gang from Dunder Mifflin playing Deserted Island while waiting for the firemen to clear their office. The topic was, "What three books would you like to have with you on a deserted island".

This question made me think a bit. What three books would I want? I've always wanted to read The Idiot by Dostoevsky, but I haven't had the chance. I've also wanted to finish Don Quixote by Cervantes, but I got bored 200 pages in and just couldn't finish it. There are many others that I would like to read, but what if I didn't like them and became bored with them? Then I would have wasted one of my three choices on what would soon become firewood (and in the immortal words of Dwight, "....keep myself warm for like seven seconds."

I've decided upon these three:

1. The Bible (maybe I can finally get to some of those Old Test. books I've been meaning to read....)

2. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis: I really liked this series, except for The Horse and His Boy, which I didn't think really fit in with the rest of the series. Possibly a few months on the island will help me get a better feeling for it (or remove it from my copy of the book entirely and use as tinder).

3. The Lord of the Rings series, by J.R.R. Tolkien. I really enjoyed the movies and when I started reading the books, it actually helped me get interested in reading again (a part of me that Middle School, High School and some of College destroyed).

Those are my three, take it or leave it. Feel free to post your three choices!

God Bless

My First Washboard Solo (intro....)

So this weekend we had our first Bible Study Fellowship (or as I refer to it, the Fellowship Jamboree). I was chatting with my friend Emily and she suggested a tambourine for the Jamboree. I thought, why stop there? Lets add a woodblock, triangle and a washboard. I played a mean triangle in high school and since then I've really been improving on my washboard skills and I'm not going to lie....I'm probably the best washboarder in Venezuela. Probably.

So Emily thought it would be fun for me to post a video of my rockin' solo from Sunday (It was around 10 minutes long, but I was just feelin' it). Unfortunately, we can't go back in time, so last night the Jamboree crew and I got together outside the school and had a bit of a concert. You'll see me, looking a bit different here (I have on a cowboy hat and a wig) but it was a lot of fun. The video is right below here....enjoy.

My First Washboard Solo (video)....

My First Washboard Solo (the truth).....

(Okay, so truth be told, this is a band called Rocking Dopsie performing at the Crawfish Festival in Biloxi, MS back in April. It was the best washboard video I could find. I was really hoping to find some old bald man with a long beard playing the washboard, but no luck...)

My Entertainment.....

It's funny sometimes living down here. I spoke with Agnes (my mom) not three hours ago and told her how it hasn't rained for the past three days or so, which is rare at this time of year. However I told her not to worry, I'm sure it would all be resolved soon enough.

Now I'm sitting in my classroom, soaking wet because I had to sprint outside to save our class tortoises, Jennifer and Ariana, from nearly drowning (again). I had accidentally left them outside one day and as it poured for a couple of hours, I was just happy to be inside. Then I realized they were still out there, sprinted up to where I keep them and sadly found them wading in a few inches of water with their little heads barely above it. Luckily they were still alive so I took them home, dried them off and let them sleep inside for the night.

But I continue on to the real purpose of this fun-filled post. One of the best parts of living abroad is all the amazing television shows and movies that we get. Last year in Egypt, we were able to watch some fantastic movies, like The Castle, which is one of my personal Australian favorites. We were also blessed with such sitcoms as Sister, Sister (possibly popular in the early 90s, but that's questionable), Reba and many British shows that I had never heard of.

I thought with the addition of direcTV, the entertainment would be a bit of an upgrade from last year and while yes, there is an improvement (Scrubs, Seinfeld and The Simpsons on almost nightly) there are still some awesome additions to our entertainment package.

For example, this evening I noticed one of my favorite movies from 1987, Harry and the Hendersons! Add to this spectacular movie, Vice Versa, Too Wong Foo (on VH1?) and, dare I say it.....nightly episodes of Quantum Leap (!!!) and you have an entertainment package that is second to none.

Honestly, who wouldn't want to watch this hilarious adventure?

However, I truly can't complain. There have been some absolutely amazing things on lately. I recently caught Bon Jovi Unplugged (awesome). I have also become addicted to La Prueba de Todo, or better know to you as the Discovery show Man vs. Wild. While the translation isn't anywhere close to the American name, usually most shows are. However there are some titles that are just hilarious because of the translation. For example: Brokeback Mountain, or which has been translated to something like: The Incident in the Mountains. Seriously, I sometimes crack up just checking the TV Guide. I hope things are as entertaining where ever you are.....

God Bless

My Bday pics.....

Okay, so I borrowed some pics from my Director's flickr page. Here are some pics from my bday picnic for you to see.

Here is a pic of me and the yummy chocolate cake that Alejandra made.

Here I'm reading a card from Sherri.....

And finally a nice group pic!

It was a lot of fun and big thanks to all the staff for throwing it and bringing some tasty food (including the 2 liter of Coke...they know me so well!).

My Second Birthday Abroad......

So birthday number two abroad has come and gone and I am officially 27 now. The staff here had a nice little picnic for me on Sunday night and then we just sat around and talked for a while. It was very low key (much like myself) and a lot of fun.

The next day (Monday) was great. All of the teachers said cumpleanos feliz (happy bday) and my 6th graders even sang to me, although that was probably just to waste some time in Math!!

I was talking with Gary, one of the other ex-pats here, and came to a funny realization. When you're young, birthdays are great and you get so excited because of the cake, the party and most importantly.....the presents!!! But as I've become older, I don't really look forward to a party or even gifts (cake however, is always great), but it's more of hearing from people that I haven't talked to in a while. I had a lot of messages on Facebook, and even a few on the blog, which was great. It's very humbling to know that there are people out there that want to wish you a happy bday, even though you may be on another continent and haven't been able to connect with them for a while.

I hope your day goes well,

God Bless

My Address and Adjustment.....

I've been here for roughly one month now and sadly the adjustment period continues! I've been up for part of the night twice this week due to something that I ate. Sadly I didn't actually get sick (which would have made me feel better), I just didn't feel well at all. So the adjustment to the different foods and ingredients continues.

I'm also still attempting to adjust to the mosquitoes. They still have a taste for my new flesh and blood and they continue to leave spots all over me. Sadly, one of my students thought they had the dengue earlier this week, which is a pretty serious fever. It is passed by mosquitoes and if left untreated can eventually lead to death. Fortunately, my student is on antibiotics and he's doing fine now. For more info on dengue, here's a link to the Center for Disease Control's page on the fever:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/dengue/facts.htm

On to other news: I finally have an address!! We only get mail once a week, on Thursdays, but if you would like to send anything down here, this is the address:

William Flinn

Escuala Anaco

c/o Jet Cargo International

H & P de Venezuela

PO Box 020010, M-42

Miami, FL 33102-0010 USA

I know that will result in many, many questions, but that's the address. More info on a cell phone number to come soon (hopefully...I have it, but I need to get it activated).

I hope to hear from you soon!

God Bless

My Wildlife.....

One of the great things about living here in Venezuela is seeing some of the amazing wildlife that lives in and around our little school. Aside from my two tortoises, the workers found a rare naked tailed armadillo on the school grounds last week. I've decided to call him Dillo (though the school is having a vote on what they want to call him). I've spent the past couple of nights with my flashlight searching for him, but I can't seem to find him. After showing him to the kids, he was released on the school grounds, but it is possible that he got out or was on a different side of campus from where I was searching.

Aside from Dillo, I've also seen some HUGE iguanas running around the campus. One was easily about two feet long (not counting a majority of his tail). We also have a large number of other little geckos and other types of lizards.

Then there are the large number of birds that reside here. I've seen so many colorful birds that it's really amazing. Little yellow and red birds are flying around and sometimes you can even see a humming bird flying near some of the flowers.

Then there is the large ant and insect population. While I'm sure you've heard and read about my battle with the ants, the true battle is with the leaf-cutter ants. These ants literally climb up into the trees, cut off some leaves (which fall to the ground and are picked up by others) and take them back to their nest, where they use it to grow fungus. According to one website, the path that they take to their nest can be as long as 250 meters (think yards). One of our colonies has an extremely long path that they take nightly and it includes climbing over a nine foot cement wall!

When I get a computer, I'll try to post some pics for you, but until then, you can do an Internet search for the pics!! Until then, you'll just have to picture this amazing place in your mind. Until next time....

God Bless

My First Week in Anaco.....

Greetings friends!!!

Yes, despite the rumors circulating on the Internet, I am alive and well here in Venezuela. I have yet to die, although the mosquitoes have banded together and are trying to give me dengue (seriously, there are thousands and they NEVER DIE).

School has begun and we are almost finished with our first week (only 176 days till school is out--yes!!). I have a grand total of 9 students in my two classes and one student is leaving in mid-September, so I will have four 5th graders and four 6th graders. The drawback is that the public schools start in September, so we'll probably pick up a few more students in the next couple weeks.

Life in Anaco is pretty interesting. There is really only one mall type of place, called Unicasa (I swear I've been there almost daily). There is a grocery store, some clothing shops, two Internet cafes and a shwarma place (reminds me of Egypt!). There is also a McDs across the street, which isn't too bad (I know, I broke my boycott after getting sick in Egypt).

I live on campus, which is pretty cool. We have some mango and cashew trees growing around the houses, as well as some banana trees and a coconut palm. You can even find a lime tree, if you look closely.

My class is also the proud caretakers of a tortoise named Jennifer (the boys voted for it). She is a native species that the locals eat as a delicacy around Easter. The director here is looking to save some and start up a little reserve at the school, which would be pretty cool.

Other than that, life isn't too bad. Soccer is on all the time (sweet) and I finally figured out my stove. A brief note though, the president here has said that any foreigner that bad mouths his regime will be expelled from the country. I don't really wish to test that statement, so don't expect too many negative comments coming from here. They own almost every utility and even the Internet provider that we use and I'd prefer to stay out of trouble for a while. Although if you want an interesting read, check out BBC.com and read about his speech to the national assembly yesterday. Awesome.

God Bless

My First Venezuelan Night.....

Well....I´ve made it! I´m currently sitting in a tight little Internet cafe in Anaco. I don´t have a computer yet, so postings will be infrequent until my Mac gets here (sorry about that) and I don´t have a cell phone yet either, so you´ll have to wait to contact me.

The first impressions are interesting. I was greeted by a beautiful storm last night and the lightning was quite impressive. I arrived at my house and the door was left open for waaaay to long, which meant I had to sleep with my sheet over my head to protect myself from all the mosquitos. Then this morning I had a battle with a bunch of ants trying to come in through the opening near one of my ACs. It was a lot of fun.

The people here seem pretty friendly and all the teachers at school are great. I´d love to post more, but we are here to get some supplies before heading back to school.

God Bless!

My Upcoming Departure......

As I'm sitting in Agnes' computer room and trying to make sure all of my bags are within the current weight requirements (so far, so good)....I was trying to think about all the amazing things that have happened over the past month. I went on an amazing road trip. I was able to spend a week with my dad, seeing movies, going out to eat and taking some fun walks around DM (I also got to pick on mom a bit here and there too!). I made brief 23 hour trip to Minneapolis and back with my friend Jennifer to visit our mutual friend Laura (and to get some textbooks that someone is letting me borrow....I owe you big time!!!). I even went out and baled some hay for the first time, in an attempt to get back into my aunt Lola's good graces (although I still have a lot of work to go). And finally, I made some new friends at Ephemra, an awesome little store at the intersection of Grand & 4th St. in the East Village (GO VISIT THEM NOW!!!).

The one thing that I loved the most though is just being here.....home. I had the opportunity to see so many friends and family members (thanks for the bbqs Burgins!), that it truly made one both humble and grateful. I was able to see my grandpa Flinn for the first time in years and I saw Aunt Lola and Uncle Butch too. Lola had mentioned that she followed the blog and it made me recall how many people actually said that they kept up with this thing (I'm still in a state of shock really) and for that I would like to thank all of you. I really had fun hanging out and visiting everyone that I was able to and for those of you that I didn't get to see, I'm sorry and I hope to see you at Christmas.

This all reminds me of when my buddy Dustin used to live in England. I remember that he would come home for around 2 weeks and he would be booked solid for the entire time he was home. I never understood why he had to see everyone, or even how he knew so many people! Now I understand though buddy, and I'm sorry if I was ever a jerk about any of it.

And now I'm about to begin the next adventure. Tomorrow morning I leave for Miami and then on Tuesday afternoon I fly down to Venezuela. I don't know how long it will be before I have Internet access again, but I will try to get online and update you with my contact info as soon as I can. In the meantime, I want to leave you with some lines from a song that has really been hitting me over the past few months. It's from the new Linkin Park album:

When my time comes,

forget the wrong that I've done

help me leave behind some,

reasons to be missed.

And don't resent me,

and when you're feeling empty,

keep me in your memories,

leave out all the rest.

You've all left me with some great memories from this summer, so thanks a ton and I'll see you on the other side!!

God Bless

My Road Trip (Part 2).....

After a short drive to Lexington, KY, I arrived at the home of my friends Mike and Lianne. I arrived early in the morning (only an hour drive) and was able to relax for the afternoon in their beautiful home. It was great to have a chance to just relax for a little while.

Mike in front of the WWI Memorial in Lexington.

That evening, Mike came home and we hit the town! Okay...not really. He showed me around the city a bit and took me to a fantastic pizza place. I was really impressed with the town and it was really beautiful and easy to get around.


The next day I spent reading and watching TV again, as well as trying to figure out the washer/dryer (they were new and I was having some trouble). That night Mike and I went out to eat again and tried to figure out how to build a retaining wall. He had everything measured out, but then we got a little worried that we might hit some type of line, so he called the people to plant the flags and we had to delay the construction project for another time.


The next day we took some pics around the city and had lunch with Lianne before I had to begin my drive to Washington D.C. to see my buddy Dustin and his wife Sara.

It took around 8.5 hours to drive to DC, but luckily I was listening to A Walk in the Woods the entire way. It was really a nice drive, through the mountains and wilderness of West Virginia, a state that I had never been through before.

Sara and Dustin

In DC, I was staying with Dustin and Sara, who were staying with a great family that Dustin knew from his time in England. I won't lie, I had a blast in DC. I was able to see some great sites and Dustin and Sara took a few days off, so we were able to cause a bit of trouble in the area.

We saw a couple of Smithsonian Museums (Natural History and the Air & Space), a ton of memorials, Mount Vernon and we even had a tour of the US Capital Building, where we saw a sweet statue of the first king of Hawaii.

King Kamehameha of Hawaii

Sadly the trip had to start winding down....so on Wednesday night Dustin and I went to a SuperLiga match between DC United and Monarcas Morelia of Mexico (more in the next post). It was a fantastic game with an amazing atmosphere. Whenever I decide to move back to the States, I would love to live in a city with an MLS team. There were 14,000 people at RFK Stadium and we had some great seats to watch an entertaining game. It was a pretty sweet bday gift (even though it's a month away...thanks buddy!!)

The next day I decided to try and drive all the way from DC to Iowa City (the most foolish decision of the trip). After stopping in Pittsburgh to have lunch and chat with my cousin Sarah, I was back on the road and I made it back to Iowa City at 11 pm after a long and exhausting drive. The next day I visited with my friend Megan again and then I drove back to DM the next day.

Overall the trip was a blast!! Thanks to everyone that let me stay with them and for spending a bit of time with me before I have to take off again.

My Road Trip (Part 1)......

While I was in Egypt, many of my friends decided that they were going to travel to different parts of the US to either continue their education or to do an internship for the summer. So, I figured that since I was home for almost a month, I would spend a few weeks driving around and visiting them.

Now I love road trips. I love to drive. I love to put my ipod on the radio and jam out to whatever music I'm loving at the time. If I was able to throw all of these things together and see some great people in the process.....how could that not be fun??

The trip began with a short 90 minute drive to Iowa City. I used to live in IC, so I knew a few people and was able to see a lot of friends in my two days there. I visited the Before and After School Program at Lemme (where I worked for 3 years) and some of my kids that were so small when I started (as kindergartners) are now huge 5th graders (and I subsequently felt really old). I then spent the rest of the day visiting with some friends. I hung out with my friend Kim and her daughters Fiona and Sophie. I was also able to see my friend Kandi and two of her kids and my friend Susie. That night I hung out with my friend Megan before leaving the next day for Elmhurst, IL.

Fiona and I hanging out.

After an eye appointment in Iowa City, I made the foolish decision to begin my drive to Elmhurst, IL with my eyes dilated. Probably not the best decision that I've ever made, but it probably wasn't even the most foolish on the trip......(no, really).

Travis, outside of Portillos

While there I was able to stay and visit with my friend Travis. Travis and I met while he was working in Youth Ministry at a church in England. I was there visiting my buddy Dustin, whom Travis (or Captain Independence, as he prefers) was working with. Travis and I took a day and went into the city to visit the Imperial War Museum and from then on, we've become friends. Travis and I had some wings, then hit the batting cages and go karts before calling it a night. Then next day we went to Portillos, where Travis explained to me how being able to eat at Portillos is the essence of freedom.

After Portillos I left Travis and drove 5 hours to Louisville, KY to see my friend Richard. Richard and I worked at the Blank Park Zoo for a couple of years together. He was the manager and I consider the Zoo as one of the best jobs I ever had. We had a ton of fun at the grill and it had been a few years since I went to Louisville to see him, so I figured this would be a great opportunity.

We had a good dinner and I was able to chat with him and his fiance Sarah (another teacher) as well as Mike and Lianne (more to follow on them). Then Richard and I went back to his place to chat and he gave me the audio book, A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson, a DM native (which is hilarious, I recommend reading it or listening if you get the chance).

In the morning it was off to Lexington!! (see Part 2)

My MLS hopes.....

As some of you may know, this man has just arrived in the US to play soccer for the LA Galaxy. Today was the day that David Beckham was officially welcomed and announced as a player for the Galaxy.

His face has been plastered all over the place in recent weeks. Billboards, the Internet, ESPN and he is even on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Even as I write this, he has an Adidas ad playing on ESPN News. If you didn't know who he was before all of this, it seems almost impossible for anyone to ignore his presence now.

I am not a big fan of Beckham (my buddy Dustin can confirm this). I think that he is a good midfielder. He is well known for his ability to cross the ball, take free kicks, set up his team mates and he is in amazing shape and can defend well. He is also very marketable and I've heard that a few women find him attractive. He has already helped bring unprecedented publicity and exposure to the league and LA has even changed their jersey, logo and team colors (for the first time ever) just before his arrival--and have sold 250,000 jerseys of since.

While all of these positives are great for the league, I still have a few concerns about his arrival. Yes, Beckham will bring people into the stands and will get people to watch MLS on TV. But I hope that people aren't thinking he is going to come in and save the league. Beckham is not a goal-scorer or a highlight machine. Looking back at his stats since 2001, he scored 16 goals that year....and it has fallen since. He had 11 in 2002, four in 2003, four in 2004, four in 2005 (but 13 assists) and three goals and five assists this year at Real Madrid.

I will admit that he has battled some injuries, including some this year and during one or two of the last World Cups. These numbers however are not exactly impressive and he is coming into the league as the highest paid player.....ever (roughly $6.5 million/year not including endorsements which push it to possibly $25 mill). That's a lot of money for a guy that plays wide, defends well, sets up his team mates and takes free kicks.

I am optimistic however that Beckham will improve MLS' standing in America. I've already seen other former stars from Europe and Mexico coming over to play in the States and get a high pay-day while doing it. Juan Pablo Angel is having a great year in NY and Cuauhtenoc Blanco agreed to play in Chicago. There are rumors of other big names coming from Europe in the near future and as long as they are coming over to play (not just to be payed), I welcome the additions, but I don't want MLS turning into a western version of the league in Qatar, where players go for one last pay check to finish their career.

So the attention turns to Beckham. His first game is on July 22, an exhibition against Chelsea oddly enough. Normally this game might get highlights on Sportscenter, but because of Beck's debut, the game will be shown live on ESPN. Beckham as already began to put the wheels of change in motion.....

My Visitors....

For my last few days of Egypt I had my first two visitors coming in from the States. My Mom and my cousin Sarah came over to see what Egypt was all about (and possibly to check out some of the cool sites).

There visit was pretty crazy. The first day we saw a lot of pyramids, including Saqqarra and the pyramids of Giza, as well as the Sphinx. Then we went to the Egyptian Museum for the afternoon (ahhh.....air conditioning). Mom was looking a bit pink and possibly starting to overheat, so we then went back to my place for the night. We had to get up early the next day to start our cruise because we had to fly to Abu Simbel (see picture above).

The cruise was a blast and I would just like to thank my friend Abi for helping me set that up. We were on a nice boat and we were able to see a ton of sites:

The Philae Temple

Kom Ombo

Edfu

Karnak Temple

and the Luxor Temple

After a few days of the ship, we took a flight back to Cairo late one night. This gave us two full days in the city before they had to head back to the States. So we met up with my friend Reham and we took them to experience Khan-al-khalili market one day and then we took a felucca ride the next night as a final good bye.

I hope they enjoyed their time here and I hope that if you are at least interested in seeing these things, go to Egypt and see them. The people are very friendly and willing to help you out with any problems that you may have (if you need it ;-)

His Story

On the eve of the eve of my departure, I could hardly contain the joy I found exuding from my spirit (as evidenced in the look on my face in the above photo). It's been an incredibly difficult year, and my exodus is upon me. But before I go, some wiseacring about the year behind me...

Having come to Egypt almost on a whim (that's too long a story to add here), my time here might have been marked before I even arrived. This fact--that I turned my life upside down in a two week period of time just to come to Egypt to teach--sounded the first note in a sordid and dischordant octave that has been my year here. I become almost physically ill when I think about all the insanity that has befallen my professional life here this year; but I will think of it here for the sake of you readers out there. (Actually, so much craziness went on this year, I'm finding it hard to make a starting point on this point. I think I'll just make a top-ten list for ya!)

10. (admittedly not a professional matter) Our Christian housekeeper greedily begging and pestering for us to give her all manner of items before we leave the country for good (i.e. shoes, clothes, kitchenware, school supplies, electronics, etc.). Topped by the fact that she definitely stole several albeit inconsequential items such as hand soap and an extention chord.

9. Second term of school starting with an impromptu field trip to the Citadel (this one was just dropped in my lap when I got to school that day!)

8. A student poking a hole in the bottom of my water bottle with a compass point without me noticing Of course, he lied about this multiple times later, despite many reliable witnesses. (stupid punk)

7. Having a taxi driver preach and proselitize to us about the necessity of converting to Islam lest we burn for all eternity in a fiery pit.

6. Being accused and blamed for both punching and tripping a student. (police involvement was threatened for one of these.)

5. Having to change a student's grade because the parents called and complained.

4. (a general one) Having my salary used as a threat against me if I didn't do some irrelevant task for the school.

3. Being one game away from winning the softball tournament in the league I played in, and then losing it in a shameful fashion. (The other team had to beat us twice in a row to win the tournament, which they did on one day, each game decided by no more than two points.)

2. Getting a bout of the Pharoah's Curse two days before leaving Egypt for good! (blasted country just won't let me forget about this one)

1. Watching some excellent students (and my best one) get terribly disappointed at not being able to participate in a spelling bee because the bus driver got us there almost two hours late! (This was a result of the transportation manager at the school completely dropping the ball with directions and planning. We drove for over three hours looking for the spelling bee site, wound up way out in the desert by the Darshur pyramid--a trip which should have taken no more than one and a half hours. This experience was the most crushing as an educator, and a prime indicator of the essential problem in this culture, or at least the strata of it that we taught in this year. The problem being, namely, that those who are responsible and hard working tend to get punished for these very virtues.)

And so, it is with little regret that I leave this land for what probably will be the last time. However, the year has not been filled with only non-positive experiences. I'll sum up:

Around September, I became friends with a shop owner in a huge mall here in Cairo, a souvenir shop for oils, papyrus paintings, statues of all kinds, etc. He and all his employees truly welcomed me into their world; I graciously entered. Over the course of the year I have spent many many hours just hanging out in the shop, talking with the employees or Saber, the owner, or with customers, or watching the painter paint, or the metal engraver engrave metal, etc. I became friends with all these guys (and one gal). So when I left the shop for the last time the other night, these folks were genuinely sad that I was leaving not to return. And the biggest hug I got was from the guy who spoke the least amount of English (and consequently with whom I conversed the least this year). He really bear hugged me, and hesitated with letting go. I walked out of there feeling like a part of a family of friends in the truest sense. My heart was touched, and I shall take that with me along with all the other madness touched on above.

It's been a pleasure being a guest in Mr. Flinn's blog here. Hope you enjoyed!

Bill's greatest roommate ever,

Alex

My last entry in Cairo.....

School is finally out (YES!!) and since things are starting to wind-down here, we are beginning to pack and get ready to depart this oven. We will be losing our Internet access today and so this (and the subsequent surprise post) will be the last ones for nearly two weeks.

My mom and cousin are arriving tonight, but before that I will be attending another wedding (my second in two days) and hanging out with my roommate and some local friends for one last time before everyone departs for the summer and to greener pastures.

To be honest, I've enjoyed my time here in Egypt. I had a lot of misconceptions when I arrived and I was scared to death the very first time I stepped outside my flat. I thought I would be harassed, bothered and I didn't think anyone would be able to speak English. I was also worried that I would receive some sort of harassment due to my faith....but this has not been the case. Many Egyptians are amazing and extremely kind. I can't tell you how many people have assisted me in finding a shop, or trying to purchase something or even some people that just wanted to talk. I have been so impressed by their hospitality that I sometimes wish that places in the US were more like this.

Now don't get me wrong, there have been some negative experiences, but overall the positives completely out-weigh the negatives. I was so worried about not finding any Christians here, but I have been pleasantly surprised. There is a small, but strong Christian population here and one great thing is how well the Christians and Muslims get along. Unless you are dating (or about to date), no one gives a second thought about your faith. I was very worried about this when I came over, but now I can see that it was only ignorance, and nothing more.

I will miss my coworkers, my students and the amazing friends that I've made since I've been here. I hope to keep in touch with many of them (thank God for Facebook) and hopefully I'll be able to come back and visit Cairo one day in the future and who knows, maybe one or two will come and visit me......wherever I am.

My Good News.....

May 24th? May 24th? Has it really been an entire month since I've posted anything??

To be honest, I held off posting for a while because I was frustrated looking for a job. I was having some difficulty finding anything and I didn't want to say the exact same thing in two or three consecutive posts, so I held off. But now I'm back.

First off, the good news: School is almost over. It's been extremely hot in Egypt for the last week and today we went to the pool. Imagine how nervous I was that my pale white body was going to come back looking like a lobster, but luckily I seemed to have made it out without a scratch. We only have three more days left and one of those days we are having a 2nd vs 3rd Grade football match, followed by a dish party. Needless to say, I'm excited.

Then comes the other good news.....I finally got a job!! I accepted it last weekend and I know I should have posted sooner, so my apologies. In August I start teaching 5th Grade at Escuela Anaco in Anaco, Venezuela. I'm pretty excited for the opportunity. The pay is better and I get the chance to coach football (soccer) and possibly basketball. I will also be the Model UN sponsor for my school, which is a program that allows students to represent a country in a setting similar to the real UN and try to solve global issues. It's a great program and it should be fun. The best part about my new job though.....I only have 6 kids in my class right now!!!!

Now before I get any silly emails or messages about how scary Venezuela is, I want you to know that I've already researched it and I'm fine. The city I will be in is only 100,000 people and it is pretty far from Caracas (the capital). I'm also only about an hour from the beach (sweet) and the people at the school seem extremely nice.

I will try to post more soon about the school and possibly get their website on the links section so that you can check it out. In the meantime, I only have a few weeks left and my mom (Agnes) and my cousin Sarah are coming to visit in less than a week! I better get cleaning.....

God Bless

My Pictures.....My Old City Streets

This is a shot of one of the streets of the Old City, Jerusalem. It was taken in the Jewish Quarter (a lack of shops and the overall cleanliness of the street is a clue). I loved wandering around on these streets. It was truly like a maze with something new waiting to be discovered around every corner.

My Search.....

My job search for the upcoming school year is in full swing and the answers that I'm receiving are roughly the same:

"Sorry, but we need more experience."

"Actually, we're almost done with the interview process."

"No."

And my personal favorite:

....................... (the no response....awesome)


To be honest, as I said before, it has become a bit frustrating. I know that God has a plan and that what He wants is what will happen, but it's just the waiting that is disheartening. Possibly the spot that He wants me in isn't open yet.....possibly I'm supposed to sub for a year......possibly I'm supposed to end up in Guam, where I'll learn a life-long lesson or meet a life-long friend or have an impact on one specific student. Perhaps I'm supposed to learn the lesson that schools start doing interviews in Jan and Feb for the following school year (learned that the hard way).

I've told Him that I'm prepared to go anywhere (and I mean anywhere) that He wants to send me with this thingy called an Elementary Education Certification. So far it has put me on three continents in the past year and possibly a fourth next year....who knows.

It's times like these that my faith is truly tested. I know that He'll take care of me and that I'll be okay wherever I end up.......but can't I just know now??? : )

Here are the recent results:

Woodward Granger-No, (filled)

5th Grade in WDM--No, (filled)

Waukee------No, (almost done with interview process)

Japan------No, (lack of experience)

5th Grade in KY----No, (filled)

Aruba-----No, (lack of experience)

Venezuela------........

2nd Grade Clive---........

I have recently applied to schools in Quito, Ecuador and Hong Kong and I'm continuing to watch for openings around the DM area (however many schools do not have vacancies). I may have to expand the search to other areas in the States that I would consider moving to, which might not be a bad thing to be honest.

All-in-all, my faith continues to hold strong and knowing that He is in control is what gets me through times like these, especially when the unknown lies ahead.

I hope all is well, wherever you are,
God Bless

My Lengthy Absence.....

Greetings to friends, family and folks that just happen to drop by!

First off, sorry for the long delay in writing. To be honest, it's been a bit busy here in Cairo. The school year is winding down and I'm working with my 3rd graders on our production for the annual show. We have around 4 weeks until we perform, so hopefully all will go well.

I'm also trying to find a job! I applied to a few districts in the Des Moines area (Waukee and West Des Moines). So if anyone out there knows a principal in Waukee or at Clive Elementary or Westridge Elementary in West Des Moines, put in a good word for me!! (Please?)

I've also contacted a few other schools about a teaching post for next year. To be honest, the job hunt is a little frustrating, especially when you are doing it from another continent. It's difficult to get all the paperwork turned in and to have ANYONE actually take notice of you. Good Times.

Other than that, I've just been hanging out here. The weather has become extremely warm (borderline hot if you will). It was so warm today that I had to let the cold water run in the shower for a while before I got in.....it was hot!

Alright, more to come later. I hope all is well. God Bless.

My Pictures (cont).....

This is a picture of The Monastery, a huge structure carved into the rock at Petra. It was pretty impressive. The only drawback is that you have to walk up 850 stairs, cut into the stone to get to the top.

My ANZAC Day (a year removed).....

Happy ANZAC DAY!!

This post goes out to the Aussies, because today is a special day for them, ANZAC Day. Today is the day that Australia celebrates and honors the fallen soldiers of her past. It was on this day, back in 1915, that Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) landed at Gallipoli in Turkey during the First World War. It was the first major military action fought by the Australian and New Zealand troops. Over 8,000 Aussies were killed at Gallipoli and it's on this day that they remember those who have fought in battle. It is a very important holiday in Australia and I was introduced to it at 4:30 am, one year ago in Brisbane.

The ceremony was incredible. Before dawn, a fire was lit at ANZAC Memorials all over the country. I was at the one in Brisbane with John, the man I was staying with. Truly a special memory for me.

My Pictures......My Five Sided Adventure

Here is a shot from the Pyramids that was taken earlier this year. Yes, that is the Sphinx on the right and the building next to the Pyramid is where a Solar boat is kept.

My photos......My Golgotha......

Since I'm now able to actually upload some photos on this thing, I thought I would share some over the next couple of days/weeks from my travels. I thought of this one first, since it is the one that I wanted to share all along....

This photo is of Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, located just outside the Old City of Jerusalem. It was here, according to my NIV Bible, Matthew (27:33), Mark (15:22), Luke (23:33) and John (19:17) say that Jesus was crucified, here....on this hill that overlooks Jerusalem.

For me, this was a somber, but exciting place. To see where Christ was crucified is something that I will never forget. To be able to sit and look upon this hill, to see what looks like a skull in the hillside (which is truly amazing and how it got it's name) and to think that I am able to stand, to sit and to pray in the place where this all took place......where the Son of God was crucified for me, for us, was incredible. I hope that all who wish too, can experience it one day.

I had feelings here that I have never felt before in my life.....almost as if I finally realized the sacrifice and the significance of that day, so long ago.

.......(the sound of sand being blown through the air).....

Here's a picture from bbc.com of downtown Cairo today during the sandstorm.

My taxi driver in Jordan.....

For some reason, I'm being allowed to upload pictures right now, although I have to do it one at a time. Here is a picture of myself and our taxi driver from Aqaba to Wadi Musa. He's pointing out Petra in the Jordanian countryside.

My First Sandstorm.....

So we've experienced a lot of wind here before and definitely enough to have a layer of dust in the apartment, but today was the worst so far.

I should have known something was going to happen this morning when it was extremely cloudy, but I didn't think anything of it. I left the windows open in the kitchen, dining room and one other window in the entry, thinking that it would allow the apartment to stay cool.

A few hours later, I was changing classes at school when one of the teachers came in and asked me why I still had the windows open.....I had yet to notice that there was sand blowing everywhere outside. We can usually see beyond the school wall and all the way to some buildings that are pretty far away, but they weren't there. To be honest, I couldn't see another building that was a hundred yards away.

Suddenly, I got really excited when I realized what was going on. The wind was so strong that it had blown over one of the trees on our way home. It even knocked down some of the signs that were on the road. Awesome.

When we got home, there was a nice thick layer of dust over everything. If only I had remembered to shut the windows.....

My Challenge......

I've been doing this blog for over a year now and many folks have said that they are, "living through my experiences" or that they are seeing these places through my eyes.....

Well, now I have a challenge for you.

I would like to challenge everyone to leave the United States at least once a year, if possible. If not, go for once every two years.

Some of you might be thinking that this is impossible, that you can't do it. Well, to put it frankly, you're wrong. Canada is very close by and if that's all you can do, do it. Mexico is a pretty cheap place to go, so you can always visit there.

My point is, I feel as though many Americans don't actually try to get outside their comfort zone.....to go out and experience and see what the world is actually like. We instead stay at home and let the television tell us what it's like and we say to ourselves, "oh, that's a nice place, but I'll never be able to get there." That's crap, in my opinion. Save up and go. See the world and bring it back with you and educate others on what it's really like.....not by what CNN, Fox or the Travel Channel tell you. What are the people like? Do they actually like Americans? Is it a friendly place? How is the food? These are all things that people want to know and that you would be able to tell them, just by going.

I have accepted the challenge as well. God willing, I plan on trying to leave the US at least once a year. Even if I don't end up settling in the US, what ever country I live in, I will try to leave at least once a year, to visit new places, new cultures and to discover new sites (at least new to me).

And if at all possible, go some place where YOU are the minority. It has been a crazy experience here in Egypt. I get stared at.....a lot! Sometimes because of my shorts, sometimes it's my bald head and other times it's because of how pale I am. It's awkward, it makes me uncomfortable, but most importantly, it allows me to see how people feel in the US when the roles are reversed and it makes me realize that maybe I should try to be a little more friendly to those people, after all, they helped me.

So please, take the challenge, get out of your comfort zone and see the world. Don't get me wrong, I'm flattered that some people read this and love where I go....but wouldn't it be more fun to experience it on your own?

The Western Wall in Jerusalem.

My Breaking Point II......

After arriving in Sharm, we were both tired and a little frustrated about the events of the day, so we ate and then went back to the room. Alex went to sleep and I went for a walk and then played some pool till midnight before going to bed.

The next day was alright. We went to a beach, got some sun and then went to Na'amba Bay, the tourist/shopping/party part of the area. Now, those of you that know me know that I do not party. I do not drink and I don't like really loud music that prevents you from having an actual conversation with the people you are with.....all these things are what Sharm is known for, so it's not a wonder why I was ready to leave. Don't get me wrong, we had some fun for the brief time we were there, but it was enough.

The hotel that we stayed at was very nice. One of the other teachers at school is the daughter of the man who owns it. It's called the Uni Sharm Hotel and it actually has a lot of Russians and Estonians that stay there. Someone thought that I was Estonian one day, which was a little weird.

One of the highlights was speaking what little Arabic we knew with the workers. They seemed to be excited that some tourists actually could speak some of their language and we were treated very well once they knew that....so that was a plus.

One of the drawbacks to Sharm though were the taxi drivers. Twice we got a driver that had no idea where he was going and that trend continued the morning we left. We knew where to go and told the driver, who then thought he was headed in the right direction. I told him that in fact he wasn't and that the bus station we needed to be at was across from the hospital. He shrugged me off and said okay, then asked a local. I then pointed in the direction of the hospital, saying "HOS-PI-TAL, the International Hospital, it's right there! Go to the Pyramid" (the hospital was shaped like a pyramid...awesome). Again, he ignored me and asked another local, who pointed him in the right direction. At this point, our bus left in 15 minutes and I was a bit frustrated.

We arrived with 10 minutes before the bus left and we then got out of the cab. The bus driver looked at us and said that the ride would cost 50 LE (Egyptian Pounds). At this point I lost it because the ride was only 20 LE, probably 15 or 10 for a local. I told the man he would get 20 and that's it. He said no, 50....and so it began. As I was yelling at the man, telling him that is was bull what he was doing to us. I said again and again, 20 is what you will get, just take it and we'll leave. He would reply, "No, okay, 40 LE".

"No, you don't get it buddy. You're ripping us off because we're tourists and you think we're stupid. This is bull____ and I'm tired of it. You get 20." (this phrase was repeated a lot by me).

The man said he would take thirty and then tried to look at Alex for help. Alex was having no part in this argument because he had never seen me like this. I'm not proud of it by any means and I handled it the wrong way, but you can only be taken advantage of so many times before you've had enough....I was at that point.

I finally told him that he could either take the 20 from me, or I would throw it in his car and we would walk away. He again said 30, at which point I threw the 20 LE note in his car, said "Ha-laas" (or finished) and walked off.

This ended our fun-filled time in Sharm. The bus ride back to Cairo was actually quite nice. We rode on a Super-Jet, which is much cleaner, more spacious and actually has a bathroom in it that is relatively clean. I will probably never go to Sharm again (not my scene), but I had a lot of fun in Jordan and I would like to go back one day.....

My Near Death Experience.....

We left Wadi Musa on Sunday and headed south to Aqaba. We were supposed to meet the taxi driver at 10 am, but he was a little late due to car trouble, which should have been our first warning sign for the day.

After attempting to get the taxi started again, we finally got going 15 minutes later. We had made it through the King's Highway and half-way to Aqaba on the Desert Highway before the taxi died again (warning sign #2). Luckily, after letting the car rest again, we were able to go another 10 km before the car died for a third time (after previous deaths in Wadi Musa and on the highway).

This time the driver called another cabby, who came to meet us. By the time he got there, our taxi back in action and we had continued our journey. We only had 10 km until the border stop before the car died for the fourth and final time. What should have been a 90 minute trip, ended up taking around 2.5 hours. All this time we were a little worried because the last bus to Sharm el Sheikh left Taba at 3 pm (in Egypt), which was only 2.5 hours away and we were still in Jordan and had to clear customs in two other countries!

Fortunately, the Jordanian Customs went pretty quickly, but we then had to wait for a taxi driver to come to the border. We got some 26 year old kid, to drive us to the Taba border, where we were feeling pretty good because we had 2 hours until the bus left.....then we saw the Indians.....

Sure enough as we hit a group of Nigerian pilgrims heading into Israel, we met a group of Indian tourists leaving Israel. Of course the Egyptian authorities weren't prepared (again) and it took forever to get across the border. Luckily, after an hour, we made it across and quickly walked to the bus stop in Taba (which has probably the second worst bathroom in Egypt, next to the one at the Giza Zoo in Cairo).

We then realized that we gained an hour when we came into Egypt (time change) and so we actually now had to waste 90 minutes, at an empty bus station....awesome.

Finally the bus left at around 3:10 (even though it had been sitting there longer than us, it still was late departing). The bus was actually pretty empty, which was a change from the norm....buses here are usually extremely crowded and smelly, but not this time. Our bus driver was cruising down to Sharm, which is supposed to be a 3.5 hour trip.

After stopping in Nuweiba and at numerous resorts and random places along the way, we were flying down to Dahab, another resort town. This was when it was starting to get scary because the bus driver was going fast, in a beat-up old bus and it was getting dark. See, here in Egypt, the lines on the road for lanes are more suggestions than anything else, so when we take a corner turning left, we are usually in the left lane when we do it (you know, the lane where the cars are coming at you). After avoiding a few cars and having to stay in our own lane, we then nearly got into a few accidents while trying to pass other large vehicles, all the while other cars were coming at us.....it was a little scary at times, but we survived.

Finally 4.5 hours later.....we arrived in Sharm. We were both really excited to be off that bus and I couldn't wait to get a bite to eat and go to bed.

My Second Day in Petra......

On the second day, we decided to check out some of the caves and tombs that were off the beaten path. We started out by heading to the Mughar an-Nasara, which were some Christian caves and tombs a little off the track. It was a lot of fun because most of the people that visit the site don't actually make it out here. We were all alone to climb around on the rocks and check out the tombs, which were pretty cool. We were trying to make it to the Al-Wu'eira Fort, a Crusader fort that is really far away from everything, but unfortunately, we didn't find it, so we settled for this area. One of the highlights was that as we were coming back and following some other caves along the basin, some camels were grazing around 300 yards from us. It was pretty cool.

After having lunch, we decided to hike up to the High Place of Sacrifice, a little area at the top of Jabal Madhbah (a mountain I believe). The hike was pretty steep and it took a while to get up there, but once we did the view was amazing! You could see the surrounding valleys on every side and it looked spectacular. We took some fun pics before beginning our decent.

Then we decided that we had enough for the day. We had done a ton of hiking and it was time to leave Petra. Truth be told, I didn't actually get to see everything that I wanted to. The tomb of the prophet Aaron is supposed to be near-by and I would love to be able to see the Crusader fort one day as well. Maybe next time.....

My picture from the first day....

The view from As-Siq as the Treasury is coming into view.....

Sorry, but it took a lot of screaming and patience to even get this one picture up for you. I wish the connection/computer/internet were working better so that I could upload more, but this is what we get for now....sorry!!

My First Day in Petra.....

(Quick note...this is part two of the Petra Series and if you haven't read the first post, scroll down and do that first!)

We decided to sleep in before starting the first day of Petra. After buying a two day pass, we started the walk down As-Siq, the 1.2 km long entrance to the city, most of which is a canyon that was created by many, many earthquakes. It was a good start and the inside of the canyon was amazing. The canyon walls were extremely colorful, filled with different shades of reds and browns.

Then suddenly through the canyon walls you see a bright light and what looks to be a huge building and As-Siq opens up and you suddenly have Al-Khazneh (the Treasury) staring at back at you. This building is the one that you usually see when looking at pictures of Petra. It is an amazing site. It is absolutely huge and carved right into the sandstone walls! You really start to wonder how these people were actually able to do this 2,000 years ago.

After taking some pictures, we turned and headed down the Street of Facades, a little street that has the remnants of tombs on either side. A short walk later and the street opens up to the Theatre, a 7,000 seat, Roman style amphitheater in the city. It was stunning.

From there we continued down the path and then veered to the right to check out some tombs high up on one of the mountains. We then went back down to the path and it lead us to the Colonnaded Street (an ancient street) where you can see some old pillars and the remains of what were probably stalls for vendors. We then passed the Qasr al-Bint (the only free-standing structure left after thousands of years of floods and earthquakes). We stopped to have lunch before beginning the next leg of our journey.

After lunch we began the ascent to Ad-Deir or The Monastery, which is probably the second most popular site in Petra. It is an 850 steps up a long rock-cut staircase, donkeys that carry up tourists (not to mention the remains of what the donkeys had to eat earlier). It took us around 45 minutes to climb up, but when we did a huge building was awaiting us. Ad-Deir is a bigger building than The Treasury and it is very well preserved. After taking a few pics and stopping for a Coke, we went back down the mountain (this time only taking 25 minutes).

We were exhausted at this point and decided that we would call it a day and we walked back to the Treasury, As-Siq and eventually out of Petra. Luckily our hotel wasn't very far away (roughly 300 m from the entrance) and we were back at the hotel pretty quickly.