Egypt

I'm in Egypt! This has been quite an adventure already, but the best
is yet to come. My flight from Cleveland to JFK was rather
uneventful, but my trek through JFK was rough. Since American
Airlines doesn't have a baggage agreement with Egypt Air and I booked
two separate flights, I had to pick up my checked baggage at the
baggage claim and then head to Terminal 4 for my Egypt Air flight. I
currently have a bruise on my left collar bone from my duffel bag
strap, and I was nearly crushed by my two 50lbs suitcases on the
escalator. Of course, this was definitely something I could handle
and the workout helped me sleep on the plane. I slept for about 3
hours straight with my head resting on my pillow on my tray table,
then for another hour after the woman in front of me decided she
wanted to put her seat back (but then sit forward – how does that
work?) which jolted me awake and made me sit back.
I was fortunate enough to sit next to a very kind woman, Ginny. I
loved hearing her advice and stories, and she was such a beautiful
person. Her compassion for others was evident and she made me feel
welcome. She also said she had a good feeling about me and wished me
the best in my adventure to come. That really made me happy, so I
hope to really live this year to the fullest and take advantage of the
opportunity I have been given.
I had a funny adventure when I arrived in Cairo. Apparently I could
have a complimentary hotel room during my layover (10 hours).
However, I didn't really want to do that. The gentleman at the
counter finally convinced me to go to the hotel, but then sent me to a
different counter. The hotel is approximately 10 minutes from the
airport, and I would have to get a Visa, and it was getting too
complicated for me so I decided I just wanted to stay in the terminal.
I went back to the first counter and several of the customer service
agents laughed at me. "You want to stay HERE?" Why was it so weird
that I wanted to stay in the terminal? "Don't you want to go to the
hotel? You can sleep and refresh yourself." First, I didn't want to
sleep at a hotel because I knew I'd sleep for the entire 10 hours and
I really need to sleep on my flight tonight. I'm trying to get on
their schedule, not stick with EST. We laughed together as we all
kept enforcing "HERE" and in the end I got a voucher for a
complimentary lunch, which I never used. I spent the first 5.5 hours
sitting in a chair reading A Manual for Pioneers and taking short
naps. My first nap was exactly an hour – I did that without an alarm
clock; I'm rather impressed with myself. [P.S. It was really cold in
the area I was sitting. I am SO thankful I bought this jacket and
brought it with me. Thanks for the advice, Mona!!!] In total, I
think I got an extra 3 hours of sleep in the airport so I hope I will
be able to fall asleep on my final flight. If I can do this, I will
probably be functional tomorrow (Monday) and will be able to attend
the first day of school! I am so excited!
My computer makes me laugh. It says it's 12:12pm but the sun just set
here. Cairo is 6 hours ahead of EST, and apparently Daylight Savings
happened early this year (due to Ramadan, Ginny thinks). I could go
buy food at the Burger King next to me or the Hippo Restaurant down
the way, but I have been content thus far with my bottled water and
bagel. I have an apple and a dinner roll in my bag from the flight,
and half a Milky Way plus two Chocolate Chip Cliff Bars. 4 hours
until I head to Addis, so I might actually be able to make it without
buying anything extra.
Oo, quick funny story from JFK: After profuse sweating, carrying my
luggage through the airport, and finally checking the baggage I headed
to my gate. On the way, I found a bookstore (I forgot to bring a
dictionary so I've been trying to find a pocket-sized one in airports
– no such luck) and explored it. There was an English medical
dictionary and then the rest were translation dictionaries which were
useless for me. I grabbed a 1 liter bottled water because I knew I
needed to stay hydrated on my flight in order to avoid jet lag. After
heading around the next corner I saw the security line. Wait. I
hadn't already gone through it? In my haste (I was told I had to be
at the gate at 5pm; she told me at 4:51pm), I had not noticed that I
hadn't gone through security. So I walked up to a trash can and threw
away my brand new, never opened 1 liter over-priced bottle of water.
After I left the security line, I walked to the first shop and bought
the exact same water bottle. What a waste of money.
I guess for the next 4 hours I'm just going to read. Fun stuff! I'm
sleepy again so hopefully that means I will definitely be sleeping on
my flight to Addis. My flight from JFK to Cairo was 10 hours. My
flight from Cairo to Addis is 5 hours. Does that seem right? Africa
is HUGE!