Ciao everyone,
As you may know (it'd be hard not to at this point I'd believe), as a country we've elected a new president, and I couldn't be more proud of the outcome of this election. In the past, I've waded through 2 elections where I believe I had an interest, and both ended with much bitterness and sour defeat. Gore / Bush was painful just because of how close it was and the popular vote issue, and regardless of which of the two you supported, your candidate should have won, as one won the popular vote, one one the electoral. In 2004, my political interests were fully formed and I followed with a gusto that comes with enchantment with the political process. Again, I was sourly disappointed once again, and the way everyone piled on a reasonable candidate in John Kerry was just sad, even in the face of the terrible leadership we received from the executive over that time frame.
Today marks a new era in American politics, one where there is a consensus victor, and one who is offering change over the failed policies of the last decade, really. I know some who say Barack Obama is a socialist, an Arab, a Muslim, crazy, you name it, I've heard it, but before you write him off, give him a chance. Living abroad and having followed this election for well over a year now, I have been entirely impressed with his steadiness, his poise, his demeanor, and his solutions he has presented. These next few years are going to be tough, there's no two ways about it, but when you're down and hurting, when you feel like the walls are closing in, there's always one thing to keep you moving, and it cannot be understated in its value, nor achieved easily:
Hope.
Barack Obama has helped heal my wounds over the past few years as I got to know him as a politician (highly skilled and charismatic, which in International Relations is hugely important. Plus, the rest of the world already likes him, you can take me at my word on that one through life experience), as a person and family man (unlike John and Cindy McCain, the Obamas actually look happy when they look at each other, and they seem as real as you next door neighbor) and as a leader (steady no matter the odds). I could not give a more emphatic endorsement for Obama as our 44th President, and I cannot wait to return home to a country where I know I'll be on his watch. The past 8 years, I've had very little to be proud of in terms of government, and now's my chance to see the other side of the coin, to see just what the other side can do.
I know not everyone agrees with me, already with 84% of the votes counted, McCain has 51 million votes, Obama near 57 million, but still, if you look at it, McCain won over 45% of this country's votes, and while 55% of America is a large share, it's not a consensus. I know some are disappointed, but I ask you to give him a good chance. You don't have a choice anymore about the President, he's going to be it, so what do you have to lose to really hope it works for this guy? Our country needs a leader right now who's competent and can do the job, and I couldn't be more assured that we've got our man.
Thanks for bearing with me on this historic evening. I know some of you are elated too, and for that, I can only say "Yes we did," and our work is not done yet. We are a nation of brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, friends, individuals and collectives, families and neighbors, but most of all, we are the United States of America. We can stand firm together and make this world a better place than it has been, and not just for the few, but for all of us. Say I'm naive. Go ahead. I'm only 21. Say we're too different or divided, and that we're too partisan. Well, maybe we have been, but this country has been a lot of things: a country of slaves and slave-holders, a country that denied women the right to vote, a country where civil equality in race, gender, and sexuality are still major issues, but we've always done one thing: stand strong in the face of adversity.
Obama won Virginia, Iowa, Colorado, Ohio, Florida, and New Mexico, all states that voted for President Bush 4 years ago. He's ahead, or at least got almost exactly half the vote in North Carolina, Indiana, and Missouri, and made the strongest Democrat showing in Texas, Georgia, and Tennessee's modern electoral history. We are looking for unity right now I think, and don't be afraid to back Obama and to give him this chance to try and make things better. I know dissent is part of the political process, a necessary one at that, and you are free to disagree with me and literally despise Obama, but I encourage you with all my heart to give hope a chance.
Allow yourself to be "naive". Be young again. Believe in the promise of our country as a whole, not in a party or a opinion, but as a collective. United we stand, divided we fall. Where some are weak, many are strong. Our country is something so worthy of being proud of, and this man is resolved to show me its' promise anew. I couldn't be more proud of the result, of our next President, and most of all, our country. May we all work towards getting along and working together to create a more perfect union, one where we can all be proud to say we are America, and we support all of our people through thick and thin.
Happy Election Day America, and I'll see you anew in December.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Egypt part two
Ciao everyone from Athens, once again. Before I start, today is November 4th, and that's election day, people. I know not all of us are on the same page politically, but I sure hope, regardless of your political affiliation, that you vote. Seriously, the time it takes to read this blog is about how long it takes to vote, so if you must, please, don't read and go vote. It's worth doing. I've been waiting since this day 4 years ago for this day, and for over a year I've been pulling ofr Obama. To be this close to history is amazing, and I can't wait to see the results soon. But seriously! Go vote!
It's a bit weird to be writing about Cairo, in Athens, and I'm going back to Rome tomorrow. Before I came to Rome, I'd only ever been to two countries ever, and now, in less than a week, I'll have been in three. Just weird to think about.
You know what else is really strange? All the languages there are in the world. Holy cow. I mean, I'm just starting to learn Italian, and then you travel for just a few hours on a plane and NO ONE speaks the same language. It's insane. You can do this over and over again, and every language will be different. Just feels weird. It's a small yet diverse world out there, and it's a shame that not everyone can travel and see at least a little something different to learn just how different yet the same we all are.
That's really a theme of today's post: so different, and yet very similar. In fact, today's post is really going to harp on that idea and cross many themes that I talk about, so hopefully you can appreciate them at least a little bit.
I am writing about Saturday today, or my last full day in Cairo. We didn't have to be up quite as early, so we got to sleep in a bit and get some breakfast at our leisure. Kirsten and I met up with Brad and Sue, and Amr and Abby, our tour people, got us together and we went over to visit some Mosques. Now, I know Islam is perceived in a very negative fashion in many places in America, and yes, what some Islamic people have done to our country in the past has been atrocious. But to lump an entire religion into the category of terrorists is simply foolish and uneducated, in my opinion, anyway. Some of the worst atrocities in history were commited by Christians, and Roman history studies of the Crusades, etc, really shows a similar thread: people do terrible things in the name of anything, and religion often gets tied up into it.
The mosques we visited were outstanding. On the way to visit the first two, we passed by the Citadel, where the Tellams visited before I came and I saw on my way there. A really beautiful structure, and several mosques are inside the walled area that overlook Cairo. Also on the way there were the Limestone quarries where all the blocks for the Pyramids came from, really cool to see that as well. It's tough to see in the picture, but that's the Citadel from the car.
Anyway, we went up and visited these two mosques, and I realized upon entering I'd never been in a mosque before. First time for everything! We
heard behind us the prayer calls coming through the speakers, a common feature in Muslim life. We took off our shoes (something that you must do in every mosque) and entered to find some amazing geometric works and hanging lanterns that have been there since the creation of the mosque. It felt so weird being inside, as the structure of the mosque and the decorations were incredibly similar, and in some ways contemporary, of the Christian churches of a similar time frame. Islam as a religion wasn't created until the 7th century, but the mosques created around that time had a distinct simliarity to those of the Christians. Really, really cool to see.
One major difference, however: in Islam, they don't depict human forms in their places of worship. None. It's all geometric and plant forms, vegetables, and mathematically brialliant designs. Every step we took deeper into the mosque, I felt more and more intrigued by how similar they seemed to what I'd been studying, but that's not to say they didn't have their own flavor: they certainly, unquestionably, do.
Another interesting note: all mosques have an alter like apse in them that points directly towards Mecca. Christianity, as you may or may not know, used to orient themselves towards their holy land too, Jerusalem. They stopped this later after they didn't control the lands anymore, but still, really, really cool to think about the similarities.
Some of the Mosque we were at first was open-aired, which was really cool, but we went inside the covered area and saw what was designed in there, it was brilliant. So intricate and beautiful, and having studied Christian churches of a similar era, it was so interesting to see the different shapes and designs used in decoration while the structure remained ultimately semi-similar. Really cool stuff.
I'm including a picture of some of the designs in there, just to show it off. I'll Picasa them when I have a chance. Oh, and by the way, all my Egypt part 1 photos are on there, so check it out if you want!
From there, we went into a second mosque, constructed in the 19th century that was so elaborate, but dark, so difficult to photograph. I'll post them later though, don't worry, you can see them all you want there if you'd desire. However, some really interesting things to note in this mosque: King Farouk of Egypt, who died in 1965, and the last Shah of Iran, who the Ayatollah Khomeini overthrew in 1979, leading to all sorts of madness that most of you probably know much much more about than I do in my limited studies. But yes, the Shah died there as he couldn't return to Iran, but his wife still has huge bouquets of flowers delivered there on a weekly basis. King Farouk's story is another one that's much more contemporary, and I won't take too much time on here to say much about it beyond that it was really cool to see both of their graves.
That picture, in Arabic, obviously, is Farouk's grave. Arabic is beautiful to see written, but I feel hopelessly illiterate looking at it.
We then hopped in the van to go to Ibn Tulun, which was my favorite of the places we visited that day. It's surrounded by a huge walled exterior, then a covered area of tons of columns, but the most amazing part is the huge uncovered area in the middle of the compound. When we went in here, we didn't have to take off our shoes, but they did tie these cloth sacks around our feet so we wouldn't mark up the place or defile it somehow.
I liked this place a lot, if I may say.
So much so I took a video and lots of pictures. You can hear our Egyptologist, Abby, in the background, but the interior is really what I wanted to show off anyway. So please, enjoy
, and I'll post pictures too just in case you can't enjoy the video.
We spent a little while just walking around the expansive interior, and the little structure in the exact middle had a fountain there used for Islamic purposes at one point but since has been decomissioned. Most of the monuments in Cairo fell into disrepair at one point due to the horrific death numbers around the time of the plague and the general lack of people to take care of things after that point, but the preservation and reconstruction efforts were very well done. You could still see the thousand-year old paint on some things, which was most excellent indeed.
From there, it was time to break out and head to the airport. Trust me, there's so much more I can say, but for brevity and attention span sake I'll save it for later. We got back to Athens all fine, but I'll explain everything else at a later date my friends.
Until next time,
Ciao
It's a bit weird to be writing about Cairo, in Athens, and I'm going back to Rome tomorrow. Before I came to Rome, I'd only ever been to two countries ever, and now, in less than a week, I'll have been in three. Just weird to think about.
You know what else is really strange? All the languages there are in the world. Holy cow. I mean, I'm just starting to learn Italian, and then you travel for just a few hours on a plane and NO ONE speaks the same language. It's insane. You can do this over and over again, and every language will be different. Just feels weird. It's a small yet diverse world out there, and it's a shame that not everyone can travel and see at least a little something different to learn just how different yet the same we all are.
That's really a theme of today's post: so different, and yet very similar. In fact, today's post is really going to harp on that idea and cross many themes that I talk about, so hopefully you can appreciate them at least a little bit.
I am writing about Saturday today, or my last full day in Cairo. We didn't have to be up quite as early, so we got to sleep in a bit and get some breakfast at our leisure. Kirsten and I met up with Brad and Sue, and Amr and Abby, our tour people, got us together and we went over to visit some Mosques. Now, I know Islam is perceived in a very negative fashion in many places in America, and yes, what some Islamic people have done to our country in the past has been atrocious. But to lump an entire religion into the category of terrorists is simply foolish and uneducated, in my opinion, anyway. Some of the worst atrocities in history were commited by Christians, and Roman history studies of the Crusades, etc, really shows a similar thread: people do terrible things in the name of anything, and religion often gets tied up into it.
The mosques we visited were outstanding. On the way to visit the first two, we passed by the Citadel, where the Tellams visited before I came and I saw on my way there. A really beautiful structure, and several mosques are inside the walled area that overlook Cairo. Also on the way there were the Limestone quarries where all the blocks for the Pyramids came from, really cool to see that as well. It's tough to see in the picture, but that's the Citadel from the car.
Anyway, we went up and visited these two mosques, and I realized upon entering I'd never been in a mosque before. First time for everything! We
heard behind us the prayer calls coming through the speakers, a common feature in Muslim life. We took off our shoes (something that you must do in every mosque) and entered to find some amazing geometric works and hanging lanterns that have been there since the creation of the mosque. It felt so weird being inside, as the structure of the mosque and the decorations were incredibly similar, and in some ways contemporary, of the Christian churches of a similar time frame. Islam as a religion wasn't created until the 7th century, but the mosques created around that time had a distinct simliarity to those of the Christians. Really, really cool to see.One major difference, however: in Islam, they don't depict human forms in their places of worship. None. It's all geometric and plant forms, vegetables, and mathematically brialliant designs. Every step we took deeper into the mosque, I felt more and more intrigued by how similar they seemed to what I'd been studying, but that's not to say they didn't have their own flavor: they certainly, unquestionably, do.
Another interesting note: all mosques have an alter like apse in them that points directly towards Mecca. Christianity, as you may or may not know, used to orient themselves towards their holy land too, Jerusalem. They stopped this later after they didn't control the lands anymore, but still, really, really cool to think about the similarities.
Some of the Mosque we were at first was open-aired, which was really cool, but we went inside the covered area and saw what was designed in there, it was brilliant. So intricate and beautiful, and having studied Christian churches of a similar era, it was so interesting to see the different shapes and designs used in decoration while the structure remained ultimately semi-similar. Really cool stuff.
I'm including a picture of some of the designs in there, just to show it off. I'll Picasa them when I have a chance. Oh, and by the way, all my Egypt part 1 photos are on there, so check it out if you want!
From there, we went into a second mosque, constructed in the 19th century that was so elaborate, but dark, so difficult to photograph. I'll post them later though, don't worry, you can see them all you want there if you'd desire. However, some really interesting things to note in this mosque: King Farouk of Egypt, who died in 1965, and the last Shah of Iran, who the Ayatollah Khomeini overthrew in 1979, leading to all sorts of madness that most of you probably know much much more about than I do in my limited studies. But yes, the Shah died there as he couldn't return to Iran, but his wife still has huge bouquets of flowers delivered there on a weekly basis. King Farouk's story is another one that's much more contemporary, and I won't take too much time on here to say much about it beyond that it was really cool to see both of their graves.
That picture, in Arabic, obviously, is Farouk's grave. Arabic is beautiful to see written, but I feel hopelessly illiterate looking at it.
We then hopped in the van to go to Ibn Tulun, which was my favorite of the places we visited that day. It's surrounded by a huge walled exterior, then a covered area of tons of columns, but the most amazing part is the huge uncovered area in the middle of the compound. When we went in here, we didn't have to take off our shoes, but they did tie these cloth sacks around our feet so we wouldn't mark up the place or defile it somehow.
I liked this place a lot, if I may say.
So much so I took a video and lots of pictures. You can hear our Egyptologist, Abby, in the background, but the interior is really what I wanted to show off anyway. So please, enjoy
, and I'll post pictures too just in case you can't enjoy the video.We spent a little while just walking around the expansive interior, and the little structure in the exact middle had a fountain there used for Islamic purposes at one point but since has been decomissioned. Most of the monuments in Cairo fell into disrepair at one point due to the horrific death numbers around the time of the plague and the general lack of people to take care of things after that point, but the preservation and reconstruction efforts were very well done. You could still see the thousand-year old paint on some things, which was most excellent indeed.
From there, it was time to break out and head to the airport. Trust me, there's so much more I can say, but for brevity and attention span sake I'll save it for later. We got back to Athens all fine, but I'll explain everything else at a later date my friends.
Until next time,
Ciao
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Halloween in Cairo, Day One
So I'm back.
And whoa, what a trip.
It's really difficult to say exactly what Egypt was like beyond, well, phenomenally interesting and everything you can imagine and more. I mean, wow. It's tough to really know where to start, so I'll just start in with my trip to the airport and getting out of Roma.
The strikes I mentioned in my last blog by the students was in full effect, and it really did mess with people. On my way over to the train station and trying to get to the airport, the Metro was insanely packed with chanting students. I really like seeing young people making the effort to get out and make their impact felt (hey, any students on here? Go out and make that difference tomorrow!)
Anyway, I got to the airport over three hours before my flight, but I was not going to be late for a trip I've waited a lifetime for. My counter had to change from Uzbek Airlines to Egypt Air, and I was first in line, so I got to request a seat towards the front and got to my gate, only for them to change it, without telling anyone, half an hour before boarding.
I made it though and hopped on my flight to Egypt. Now, Egypt Air was nice, yes, but the seats were oddly sand colored, started with the 20s row, and their attendants were really conservatively dressed, which somewhere, the Alitalia people hoped it would convince the sleazy men to fly them instead. The 3 hour flight felt pretty long, but I was so excited to get there that doesn't surprise me at all.
When we did eventually land, I hopped off as quickly as I could, and there I was: in Africa, in Egypt, where I've wanted to go my entire life. I didn't check any bags, so I just walked up to customs and met a man named Amr carrying a red clipboard with "David Hill Egypt Magic" on it. I assumed since Egypt Magic was the program, and my dad was not on this flight. He eagerly shook my hand and guided me through some Middle-Eastern garbed men to the customs area and passport control, where I got some really awesome stamps and a Visa for Egypt, and 15 minutes later we were in the cab and off to Le Meridien Pyramids Hotel to meet up with the Tellams.
Now, a quick thing or two about Cairo that you may not know (I didn't, anyway): it's the third most crowded city in the world, with Twenty-Two MILLION people there. And they all drive. All the time. It was night, and there was a traffic jam. During the day, traffic jam. Any time during the any time: traffic jam. Why? The number of people and the terrfying way that people decided is optimal to drive. And man, they just go where they want. My driver honked the horn at least 50 times; I stopped counting at that point. Amr talked to me the entire time, telling me really cheesy stories that turned out to just be a trained story, but hey, I learned some things.
But what really struck me (outside the number of people) was the Arabic writing everywhere. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. I mean, I had no clue what it said, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate it. Amr was interested when he heard I was a PoliSci major, and asked me what to do to solve the Economic Crisis and whether or not he should buy his house right now or see if it gets worse. I told him to not take my opinion for anything, but man, he really, really wanted my help. The all-knowing American I am not.
We got there an hour and 40 minutes after leaving, and that's a longggggg drive in traffic. Man. But when I got there, Kirsten was waiting for me and it was awesome to see her again. We put my bags away and met up with Brad and Sue to get some dinner. We actually got Mexican food at the hotel, which was really good. We had a nice time catching up on everything going on for the past week. We had a lot on the palate for the next day though, so it was off to bed for the night.
After a pretty good night's sleep, we woke up and got some breakfast at the Hotel, which was a nice way to start out. I got to have an omelette and pancakes, which I've missed greatly being in Italy, since no one seems to eat breakfast there. We met up with our Egyptologist, Abby, a
nice Egyptian woman who got us in our cab and we went to Memphis to start it off. The drive during the day was nice to see the city, but man, it was dirty. Like whoaaaa dirty. Trash everywhere, canals flooded with dead animals, garbage, and lord knows what. But Memphis was very clean, full of excavated statues and hieroglyphs, which was awesome. It was my first "this is the Egypt I imagined moment." There was a Sphinx, hieroglyphs, and several statues of Ramses II, which were absolutely fantastic. They were all really tall, and they were so cool to think about being made in 2700 BC.
Yes, that's 4700 years ago.
And yes, they are as cool as you could imagine.
The most amazing statue there was the unfinished statue of Ramses, which was so undescribably huge, and the face, chest, arms, and torso were finished, but his legs were not. I mean, look at the people there next to his head, it was over thirty feet in size. Great, great stuff, and we were there just the right amount of time to see everything and yet not get anxious to leave at all.
After Memphis, it was off to the Step-Pyramid, which was where the first attempts at building the pyramids took place. All of the planning that went into the ones we know as tourists really unraveled there in the few generations before the Great Pyramids were constructed. This pyramid was interesting as the sides were not smooth not evenly distributed blocks, but rather large looking steps that unfurled in about 5 layers or so of limestone. Pretty tall, and really, really interesting to think about these being over twice as old as the oldest stuff in Rome. I mean, Rome was founded as a city supposedly in 500 BC; these pyramids were build about 2000 years before that ever, so chew on that for a minute if you want to put it into perspective.
We went through a old burial structure to get to the really large opening where the step pyramid was, and I tried to take a video that would give indication of just how it looks from actually being there, but I'm not going to say this is nearly as impressive as being there, since sorry, you just can't know it until you're there.
We spent about an hour there with Abby describing different important points and historical significance, which was a lot of really interesting things that I would gladly get into on a later date, but for the sake of trying to keep this at least RELATIVELY reasonable, I'll tone i
t down and remember that wikipedia is your best friend for any unanswered questions.
The surrounding tombs around the pyramid were almost as cool as the pyramid itself. There was one partially excavated tomb there that was still mostly under that sand, and I was really jazzed about seeing that. I mean, everything there was pretty much under sand until a hundred years ago or so, and it's still in the process of being excavated. I'll include the picture if I can.
So this site was awesome as well. Halloween keep on rolling I suppose. And FYI, I've taken well over 200 pictures on my stay here, and they will make it to Picasa soon, I promise. Now, from here, we went to the Carpet Institute.
A little about Egypt again: there are all these places where kids are sent to work if their families can't afford school, and the kids go their to learn a trade and they can earn money to support their families from a young age. Papyrus, Glass, Alabaster, Cotton, and Carpet were all popular ones. These places make their money by the kids making their various wares which they then sell to tourists who roll through on guided tours, and they really do pressure you into buying somethin
g, even though you may have no room. They took us down to where the children were weaving the carpets, and the way they worked the looms was magical. I mean, really, they were like lightning. They then serve you drinks and pull out tons of things to try and sell you, but the Tellams (and I'm so sorry about this) had already been to several of these institutes and knew the game, so we got out of there after tipping and were off to Giza.
Now, here's another fun game: tipping. Everywhere you go, no joke, everyone rubs their thumb and pointer finger together after doing seriously next to nothing, wanting a tip. It's really silly in some instances, but you can't go anywhere and be free from the tip searchers. They are seriously everywhere, but what are you going to do.
Anyway, Giza! The Great Pyramids were pretty close to our hotel, but
due to the intense amount of smog, they are often hidden or shrouded from any real distance. But we got closer and you come around a corner and BANG, th
ere they are, in all their glory. We hopped out and took a ton of pictures, the highlights I'll post here. This is really just the start of the pyramid fun, but you have to take pictures here! I mean, whew, what a place to see, and it's everything you imagine and then some. Really, really cool stuff. They were much more segmented than I imagined though, and maybe that will come through in the pictures. Each block of limestone is about 5 feet tall, and supposedly, as a whole, the pyramid has about 2,300,000 (yes, 2.3 million) stones in total. The three are all so impressive in size, but only get more so the closer you get.
Abby got us some tickets to go under one of the Pyramids too, but first, we had other business to attend to.
Camel business.
Yessss!
Now, you can't go to Egypt and not ride a camel now can you? I used this logic profusely to get Sue to get up on one and surprisingly enough, Kirsten got up on one too without any real convincing occuring.
Before we got on to our camels, we came to a little clearing after a short drive and got to take some pictures with the three Great Pyramids as a backdrop, and that was pretty darn cool. I took some pictures trying to get it, and a video too, so here's to hoping it gives you a taste of what it's like to really be there.
But from here, we got up on our camels, (yes, all four of us did) and our Egyptian teenaged guide took us on a brief tour of the Pyramids surrounding area, which was surely something I'll remember for the rest of my life. Between the cries of terror from the camel scares to the oooohing and ahhhhing, I really can't imagine not looking back on that ride as one of the more memorable things I've ever really got to do. Good times all around, and the pictures, I think, reflect
that.
Try and tell me I'm not having fun when you look at that picture. Go ahead, try. It'd be tough to derive anything but happiness out of that'd I'd imagine.
After our 15 minutes of camel fun (which I guess I have a calling for . . . really wasn't all that tough. Who knows? Maybe it's the Hermiston in me or something . . . ) we got off at the second Pyramid and we went under into the tomb. Now, you have to bend down about half way to get into the shaft, which descends 70 meters (or about 230 feet) and then you come to a little flat space and climb back up 70 meters to the tomb. Oh, and if claustrophobia isn't the scare, then maybe the 150 degree, full-humidity environment will be. And boy was it ever hot. Brad, Kirsten and I descended into the pyramid only to leave almost immediately after we got in since it was SO hot.
But yes, it was something to remember, no doubt about it.
From there, we went to see the Sphinx, but this post is long enough. Part two will come soon enough, I promise, but Sphinx, mosques, Nubian food, and more, all coming in part two.
Until next time,
Ciao.
And whoa, what a trip.
It's really difficult to say exactly what Egypt was like beyond, well, phenomenally interesting and everything you can imagine and more. I mean, wow. It's tough to really know where to start, so I'll just start in with my trip to the airport and getting out of Roma.
The strikes I mentioned in my last blog by the students was in full effect, and it really did mess with people. On my way over to the train station and trying to get to the airport, the Metro was insanely packed with chanting students. I really like seeing young people making the effort to get out and make their impact felt (hey, any students on here? Go out and make that difference tomorrow!)
Anyway, I got to the airport over three hours before my flight, but I was not going to be late for a trip I've waited a lifetime for. My counter had to change from Uzbek Airlines to Egypt Air, and I was first in line, so I got to request a seat towards the front and got to my gate, only for them to change it, without telling anyone, half an hour before boarding.
I made it though and hopped on my flight to Egypt. Now, Egypt Air was nice, yes, but the seats were oddly sand colored, started with the 20s row, and their attendants were really conservatively dressed, which somewhere, the Alitalia people hoped it would convince the sleazy men to fly them instead. The 3 hour flight felt pretty long, but I was so excited to get there that doesn't surprise me at all.
When we did eventually land, I hopped off as quickly as I could, and there I was: in Africa, in Egypt, where I've wanted to go my entire life. I didn't check any bags, so I just walked up to customs and met a man named Amr carrying a red clipboard with "David Hill Egypt Magic" on it. I assumed since Egypt Magic was the program, and my dad was not on this flight. He eagerly shook my hand and guided me through some Middle-Eastern garbed men to the customs area and passport control, where I got some really awesome stamps and a Visa for Egypt, and 15 minutes later we were in the cab and off to Le Meridien Pyramids Hotel to meet up with the Tellams.
Now, a quick thing or two about Cairo that you may not know (I didn't, anyway): it's the third most crowded city in the world, with Twenty-Two MILLION people there. And they all drive. All the time. It was night, and there was a traffic jam. During the day, traffic jam. Any time during the any time: traffic jam. Why? The number of people and the terrfying way that people decided is optimal to drive. And man, they just go where they want. My driver honked the horn at least 50 times; I stopped counting at that point. Amr talked to me the entire time, telling me really cheesy stories that turned out to just be a trained story, but hey, I learned some things.But what really struck me (outside the number of people) was the Arabic writing everywhere. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. I mean, I had no clue what it said, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate it. Amr was interested when he heard I was a PoliSci major, and asked me what to do to solve the Economic Crisis and whether or not he should buy his house right now or see if it gets worse. I told him to not take my opinion for anything, but man, he really, really wanted my help. The all-knowing American I am not.
We got there an hour and 40 minutes after leaving, and that's a longggggg drive in traffic. Man. But when I got there, Kirsten was waiting for me and it was awesome to see her again. We put my bags away and met up with Brad and Sue to get some dinner. We actually got Mexican food at the hotel, which was really good. We had a nice time catching up on everything going on for the past week. We had a lot on the palate for the next day though, so it was off to bed for the night.
After a pretty good night's sleep, we woke up and got some breakfast at the Hotel, which was a nice way to start out. I got to have an omelette and pancakes, which I've missed greatly being in Italy, since no one seems to eat breakfast there. We met up with our Egyptologist, Abby, a
nice Egyptian woman who got us in our cab and we went to Memphis to start it off. The drive during the day was nice to see the city, but man, it was dirty. Like whoaaaa dirty. Trash everywhere, canals flooded with dead animals, garbage, and lord knows what. But Memphis was very clean, full of excavated statues and hieroglyphs, which was awesome. It was my first "this is the Egypt I imagined moment." There was a Sphinx, hieroglyphs, and several statues of Ramses II, which were absolutely fantastic. They were all really tall, and they were so cool to think about being made in 2700 BC.Yes, that's 4700 years ago.
And yes, they are as cool as you could imagine.
The most amazing statue there was the unfinished statue of Ramses, which was so undescribably huge, and the face, chest, arms, and torso were finished, but his legs were not. I mean, look at the people there next to his head, it was over thirty feet in size. Great, great stuff, and we were there just the right amount of time to see everything and yet not get anxious to leave at all.
After Memphis, it was off to the Step-Pyramid, which was where the first attempts at building the pyramids took place. All of the planning that went into the ones we know as tourists really unraveled there in the few generations before the Great Pyramids were constructed. This pyramid was interesting as the sides were not smooth not evenly distributed blocks, but rather large looking steps that unfurled in about 5 layers or so of limestone. Pretty tall, and really, really interesting to think about these being over twice as old as the oldest stuff in Rome. I mean, Rome was founded as a city supposedly in 500 BC; these pyramids were build about 2000 years before that ever, so chew on that for a minute if you want to put it into perspective.
We went through a old burial structure to get to the really large opening where the step pyramid was, and I tried to take a video that would give indication of just how it looks from actually being there, but I'm not going to say this is nearly as impressive as being there, since sorry, you just can't know it until you're there.
We spent about an hour there with Abby describing different important points and historical significance, which was a lot of really interesting things that I would gladly get into on a later date, but for the sake of trying to keep this at least RELATIVELY reasonable, I'll tone i
t down and remember that wikipedia is your best friend for any unanswered questions.The surrounding tombs around the pyramid were almost as cool as the pyramid itself. There was one partially excavated tomb there that was still mostly under that sand, and I was really jazzed about seeing that. I mean, everything there was pretty much under sand until a hundred years ago or so, and it's still in the process of being excavated. I'll include the picture if I can.
So this site was awesome as well. Halloween keep on rolling I suppose. And FYI, I've taken well over 200 pictures on my stay here, and they will make it to Picasa soon, I promise. Now, from here, we went to the Carpet Institute.
A little about Egypt again: there are all these places where kids are sent to work if their families can't afford school, and the kids go their to learn a trade and they can earn money to support their families from a young age. Papyrus, Glass, Alabaster, Cotton, and Carpet were all popular ones. These places make their money by the kids making their various wares which they then sell to tourists who roll through on guided tours, and they really do pressure you into buying somethin
g, even though you may have no room. They took us down to where the children were weaving the carpets, and the way they worked the looms was magical. I mean, really, they were like lightning. They then serve you drinks and pull out tons of things to try and sell you, but the Tellams (and I'm so sorry about this) had already been to several of these institutes and knew the game, so we got out of there after tipping and were off to Giza.Now, here's another fun game: tipping. Everywhere you go, no joke, everyone rubs their thumb and pointer finger together after doing seriously next to nothing, wanting a tip. It's really silly in some instances, but you can't go anywhere and be free from the tip searchers. They are seriously everywhere, but what are you going to do.
Anyway, Giza! The Great Pyramids were pretty close to our hotel, but
due to the intense amount of smog, they are often hidden or shrouded from any real distance. But we got closer and you come around a corner and BANG, th
ere they are, in all their glory. We hopped out and took a ton of pictures, the highlights I'll post here. This is really just the start of the pyramid fun, but you have to take pictures here! I mean, whew, what a place to see, and it's everything you imagine and then some. Really, really cool stuff. They were much more segmented than I imagined though, and maybe that will come through in the pictures. Each block of limestone is about 5 feet tall, and supposedly, as a whole, the pyramid has about 2,300,000 (yes, 2.3 million) stones in total. The three are all so impressive in size, but only get more so the closer you get.Abby got us some tickets to go under one of the Pyramids too, but first, we had other business to attend to.
Camel business.
Yessss!
Now, you can't go to Egypt and not ride a camel now can you? I used this logic profusely to get Sue to get up on one and surprisingly enough, Kirsten got up on one too without any real convincing occuring.
Before we got on to our camels, we came to a little clearing after a short drive and got to take some pictures with the three Great Pyramids as a backdrop, and that was pretty darn cool. I took some pictures trying to get it, and a video too, so here's to hoping it gives you a taste of what it's like to really be there.
But from here, we got up on our camels, (yes, all four of us did) and our Egyptian teenaged guide took us on a brief tour of the Pyramids surrounding area, which was surely something I'll remember for the rest of my life. Between the cries of terror from the camel scares to the oooohing and ahhhhing, I really can't imagine not looking back on that ride as one of the more memorable things I've ever really got to do. Good times all around, and the pictures, I think, reflect
that.Try and tell me I'm not having fun when you look at that picture. Go ahead, try. It'd be tough to derive anything but happiness out of that'd I'd imagine.
After our 15 minutes of camel fun (which I guess I have a calling for . . . really wasn't all that tough. Who knows? Maybe it's the Hermiston in me or something . . . ) we got off at the second Pyramid and we went under into the tomb. Now, you have to bend down about half way to get into the shaft, which descends 70 meters (or about 230 feet) and then you come to a little flat space and climb back up 70 meters to the tomb. Oh, and if claustrophobia isn't the scare, then maybe the 150 degree, full-humidity environment will be. And boy was it ever hot. Brad, Kirsten and I descended into the pyramid only to leave almost immediately after we got in since it was SO hot.
But yes, it was something to remember, no doubt about it.
From there, we went to see the Sphinx, but this post is long enough. Part two will come soon enough, I promise, but Sphinx, mosques, Nubian food, and more, all coming in part two.
Until next time,
Ciao.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Back from the depths of my bed
Ciao everyone, I hope you've been well. I know it's been a bit longer than usual since my last update, but I got pretty sick Saturday night and had to really rough through that bit this week, getting about 11-14 hours of sleep a night and trying to just keep it from getting too settled in. It didn't, however, and I am feeling great, just in time to go to Cairo tomorrow!
Basically, I couldn't be more excited if I tried. It's been so busy here these past few days, between less hours in the day to do work because of sleep and the paper prompts, travel prep, etc, it's been a whirlwind. I am at school right now updating actually, since we had a really terrible lightning storm last night that was among the best I've ever been a part of, and it knocked out power all over the city for a lot of the day, and I know internet all over the city has been messy, so I wanted to make sure I at least got a little post in, and who's to say I won't update after class tonight again with more insanity.
This week hasn't had too much to report outside of the sickness until today. This week has had a brewing storm about public school funding here in Roma (see? It is similar to the U.S!) and we've been hearing bits and pieces about it getting bad, but yesterday the Italian Congress stepped up with a new proposal that really messes with the funding and some are passing around making the Sapienza, Roma's university of over 100,000 people, a private school instead of public, and people blew their lid. Massive strikes, protests of tens of thousands of people, it's been really intense around these parts. The Military police stopped me today on site visit as I was wearing a red shirt (communist color, you know) and asked in Italian if I was going to the rally.
I was not. Sono Americano, and if I go, unfortunately, I get kicked out of the program. It's the rules and they stink, as I'd love to see it just to witness it. But the Carabinieri, or military police, were in full riot gear and had automatic rifles and looked really intimidating. Apparently, in 2001, similar protests occurred and they turned violent. Very violent.
Here's to hoping that doesn't happen!
Today is my last day in Roma, as tomorrow I'm going to Cairo to see the Tellams, and no offense to Brad and Sue, I can't wait to see Kirsten. It's been over three weeks now, and we get to meet up in Egypt? Wooooohoo! I can't wait! Egypt is somewhere I've wanted to go my entire life, and if you know me, you know that's true. I will take millions of pictures, worry not, and I will have the time of my lifetime, fear not at all. I'm there until Saturday night after getting in Thursday evening, then to Athens until Wednesday, where I'll report back fully!
Enjoy your week folks, off to class! Ciao!
Basically, I couldn't be more excited if I tried. It's been so busy here these past few days, between less hours in the day to do work because of sleep and the paper prompts, travel prep, etc, it's been a whirlwind. I am at school right now updating actually, since we had a really terrible lightning storm last night that was among the best I've ever been a part of, and it knocked out power all over the city for a lot of the day, and I know internet all over the city has been messy, so I wanted to make sure I at least got a little post in, and who's to say I won't update after class tonight again with more insanity.
This week hasn't had too much to report outside of the sickness until today. This week has had a brewing storm about public school funding here in Roma (see? It is similar to the U.S!) and we've been hearing bits and pieces about it getting bad, but yesterday the Italian Congress stepped up with a new proposal that really messes with the funding and some are passing around making the Sapienza, Roma's university of over 100,000 people, a private school instead of public, and people blew their lid. Massive strikes, protests of tens of thousands of people, it's been really intense around these parts. The Military police stopped me today on site visit as I was wearing a red shirt (communist color, you know) and asked in Italian if I was going to the rally.
I was not. Sono Americano, and if I go, unfortunately, I get kicked out of the program. It's the rules and they stink, as I'd love to see it just to witness it. But the Carabinieri, or military police, were in full riot gear and had automatic rifles and looked really intimidating. Apparently, in 2001, similar protests occurred and they turned violent. Very violent.
Here's to hoping that doesn't happen!
Today is my last day in Roma, as tomorrow I'm going to Cairo to see the Tellams, and no offense to Brad and Sue, I can't wait to see Kirsten. It's been over three weeks now, and we get to meet up in Egypt? Wooooohoo! I can't wait! Egypt is somewhere I've wanted to go my entire life, and if you know me, you know that's true. I will take millions of pictures, worry not, and I will have the time of my lifetime, fear not at all. I'm there until Saturday night after getting in Thursday evening, then to Athens until Wednesday, where I'll report back fully!
Enjoy your week folks, off to class! Ciao!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
"It's fascinating, seeing people!"
Ciao everyone. I am on my weekend relaxation day, which tends to be Saturday or Sunday. I plan on getting quite a bit of work done today, but planning and ability to do so are very, very different things. I am bound and determined to try and get ahead in my work, at least a little bit, but that is always easier said than done. I believe this week, with Kirsten in Egypt (which is making me more and more jealous by the second, but more on that later), midterms over, and rain on the way (yes, it's raining a bit today and more to come this week), I figure I should really just buckle down and try to get ahead.
There is, however, a major problem with that ideology: I actually have to do work and do it ahead of time in a foreign country where all I want to do is just go and explore, using my free time to really see everything I can. It's not easy, you know.
But yes, Thursday after I got out of class, I napped and took it a bit easy; it was such an intense string of days with classes, papers, visitors, limited sleep, studying, and I was really just ready to kick back and relax for a night, which is what I did. Chad, Bert, and I watched Burn After Reading, which someone had on their computer. It was really funny, very twisty and odd, enjoyed it thoroughly. We started streaming Eagle Eye too, but we got about 20 minutes in and it died. Contrary to what the movie execs think, I would not have seen it before I saw this part, but now that I have had such a taste of it, I may end up seeing it when it comes out over here. We had a bunch of people over from the apartments around us and just all relaxed, hung out, and went to Art Cafe, which a really nice club here in Roma. We got in for free, and the group I went with was probably one of my favorites to date, just as it was all really good people I've known for a while and feel pretty comfortable around. I laughed pretty hard that night just at the sheer ridiculousness that Euro clubs evoke out of people. Dancing, hysterical music, and way too much unintentional comedy for one man to handle.
I got back and crashed, but it was pretty late, and we had to get up early to go to Celano, or this little town to the East of Roma in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Now, my professor is an Oxford alum Sociologist and Anthropologist, and he lives in this little village known for its very communist outskirts and rather outlandish people (side note: people in Italy think of the Celanese people as very backward and kind of hick-like, as they once beat the living tar out of a ref in a soccer match years back and got banned from their league for a while. Pretty much cemented this ideal).
Now, our professor is as Oxford as they come, complete with accent that is so easy to mock and completely loveable in an "I am so enthralled by these people that you can't possibly help but be too" kind of way. We got into the central town square and got a grand tour of different churches in the region that are patronized by people who probably wouldn't be classified as good Catholics, but still care about religion. It was really a pretty Hermiston-esque place in terms of country locations, and the scenery reminded me heavily of the gorge. Really, really nice.
There was also this beautiful castle, a mixture of Medieval and Renaissance work, and we spent a good while in there getting a local history lesson from a man who couldn't look more out of place if he tried, but he speaks flawless Celanese dialect and the people all seem to know him and look at us as if we were some sort of oddity. We are, though, I suppose. The only people that ever come through there are Italian and very, very few tourists ever venture out to that region, although everyone was very nice and I had a great time people watching. I tried out some Italian with a group of kids from a class, about 8-9 years old, trying to ask them where they were from and what they were doing there. They understood and talked to me for a minute, and besides one kid who I was informed didn't speak Italian, they were fun to talk to.
I like Italian. Especially when I'm doing ok with it.
There was a market set up, and this shop was there that sold supposedly the best biscotti (in Italy, biscotti is cookie) in all of Italy. I had to see this, as if you know anything about me, I am a cookie fan to the absolute limit. A few of us went into this shop and two old Celanese women helped us out. I spoke as much Italian as I could and they were very confused as to how I was an American who spoke Italian, for two months, no less. They were impressed and complimented us several times over, but I know they had an agenda.
The biscotti were amazing, by the way. Amaretto, or almond, biscotti are their specialty, and they were really very good. A+. And I understood what the people were saying, and once again: I like Italian. Especially when I'm doing ok with it.
From there, we went over to the middle of the drained lake, about 10 miles away from Celano the village, to this dust bowl style town, shanty-buildings and filled with nothing but about 5 native Italian, 20 migrant Moroccan and Tunisian workers, and us. My class has about 5 guys and 25 girls, who were all stared at frequently. They had never seen Americans before, apparently. They spoke broken Italian and African French, and I tried to talk with some of them for a while, but it was not easy.
Vincenzio, the proprietor of a bar / general store in that town (if that's what you can call it) set up a feast for us of sandwiches, wine, beer, coke, and Italian twinkie-like desserts. We feasted, attempted to talk with the migrant workers, and laughed hysterically about our professor's talking with the people and looking so out of place yet fit in so well. They had a soccer videogame there, which Phil (a guy who lives next door to us) and I played for about half an hour against each other with the migrant workers watching us curiously. I offered them to play, but they looked very intimidated.
We eventually left and I can't really convey to you how odd the day continued to get from here. We went out to as far from civilization is seems you can get in Italy to this farmhouse of a communist news publishing group who wants to have the freedom of the press here in Italy, something that currently doesn't exist. He showed us this movie he and his friend had made (an Iraqi expatriot) and it was so campy and corny in its attempt to be in English and appear American, but an "admirable" effort on their part. I'm all about freedom of the press, and the people were very earnest in their efforts, but it was an hour long about something we don't really understand being foreigners.
After it was over, there was an equally painful Q&A portion that I wish we could've avoided like the plague, not going to lie. After that though, there was a snack spread and I talked with Kirsten for a minute. In Cairo. It was amazing to hear about her first day in Cairo, but man, I'm so jealous. It's crazy. I mean, I'd had such an interesting day that I will remember for quite a long time, but the fact that she was in Cairo, seeing all of these amazing things, I was just blown away. It sound amazing, and in just a few days, I'll be there too; I just wish I could be there right now! It sounds so cool!
But yes, we rode the bus back after that, and Amber, Cara, and I discussed what we would do if we won a million Euro and had to spend it in a week over here. The answers were fun, and the rolling countryside out the window with a sunset was very fitting as an ending to our day. We rolled back in and many people wanted to go out, but Amber, myself, and a few others were a little over being up and about, so we made our way back to Candia.
Meg and Kelly came over again after I took a quick nap; they had just arrived back from Florence and came over for a simple dinner. It was really nice to see them again, and Phil (the same one from earlier) came over with us and went out to this fantastic donut shop with 30 cent donuts that will blow your mind; I only wish I could show you. On top of that, we went over to a gelato shop and chatted for over an hour outside about politics, the election, and people from high school. It was a really nice evening that ended pretty abruptly after Kelly and Meg left, as I had to get some sleep. Some people went to the chocolate festival today; I needed to get some work done so I passed on it and saved some money.
If you're wondering why I was short on pictures, I concede that I took hardly any since my battery in my camera was dead from almost the get-go. Heartbreak. I have permission from friends to use theirs at a later date, and I believe I'll post them when that occurs. Today it's off to go write and Ethnography, but I'm doing it with my eyes on Cairo, where I'll be in less than a week, Munich in 2 from right now, and Istanbul in 4. Awwww yeah.
Until next time,
Ciao.
There is, however, a major problem with that ideology: I actually have to do work and do it ahead of time in a foreign country where all I want to do is just go and explore, using my free time to really see everything I can. It's not easy, you know.
But yes, Thursday after I got out of class, I napped and took it a bit easy; it was such an intense string of days with classes, papers, visitors, limited sleep, studying, and I was really just ready to kick back and relax for a night, which is what I did. Chad, Bert, and I watched Burn After Reading, which someone had on their computer. It was really funny, very twisty and odd, enjoyed it thoroughly. We started streaming Eagle Eye too, but we got about 20 minutes in and it died. Contrary to what the movie execs think, I would not have seen it before I saw this part, but now that I have had such a taste of it, I may end up seeing it when it comes out over here. We had a bunch of people over from the apartments around us and just all relaxed, hung out, and went to Art Cafe, which a really nice club here in Roma. We got in for free, and the group I went with was probably one of my favorites to date, just as it was all really good people I've known for a while and feel pretty comfortable around. I laughed pretty hard that night just at the sheer ridiculousness that Euro clubs evoke out of people. Dancing, hysterical music, and way too much unintentional comedy for one man to handle.
I got back and crashed, but it was pretty late, and we had to get up early to go to Celano, or this little town to the East of Roma in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Now, my professor is an Oxford alum Sociologist and Anthropologist, and he lives in this little village known for its very communist outskirts and rather outlandish people (side note: people in Italy think of the Celanese people as very backward and kind of hick-like, as they once beat the living tar out of a ref in a soccer match years back and got banned from their league for a while. Pretty much cemented this ideal).
Now, our professor is as Oxford as they come, complete with accent that is so easy to mock and completely loveable in an "I am so enthralled by these people that you can't possibly help but be too" kind of way. We got into the central town square and got a grand tour of different churches in the region that are patronized by people who probably wouldn't be classified as good Catholics, but still care about religion. It was really a pretty Hermiston-esque place in terms of country locations, and the scenery reminded me heavily of the gorge. Really, really nice.
There was also this beautiful castle, a mixture of Medieval and Renaissance work, and we spent a good while in there getting a local history lesson from a man who couldn't look more out of place if he tried, but he speaks flawless Celanese dialect and the people all seem to know him and look at us as if we were some sort of oddity. We are, though, I suppose. The only people that ever come through there are Italian and very, very few tourists ever venture out to that region, although everyone was very nice and I had a great time people watching. I tried out some Italian with a group of kids from a class, about 8-9 years old, trying to ask them where they were from and what they were doing there. They understood and talked to me for a minute, and besides one kid who I was informed didn't speak Italian, they were fun to talk to.
I like Italian. Especially when I'm doing ok with it.
There was a market set up, and this shop was there that sold supposedly the best biscotti (in Italy, biscotti is cookie) in all of Italy. I had to see this, as if you know anything about me, I am a cookie fan to the absolute limit. A few of us went into this shop and two old Celanese women helped us out. I spoke as much Italian as I could and they were very confused as to how I was an American who spoke Italian, for two months, no less. They were impressed and complimented us several times over, but I know they had an agenda.
The biscotti were amazing, by the way. Amaretto, or almond, biscotti are their specialty, and they were really very good. A+. And I understood what the people were saying, and once again: I like Italian. Especially when I'm doing ok with it.
From there, we went over to the middle of the drained lake, about 10 miles away from Celano the village, to this dust bowl style town, shanty-buildings and filled with nothing but about 5 native Italian, 20 migrant Moroccan and Tunisian workers, and us. My class has about 5 guys and 25 girls, who were all stared at frequently. They had never seen Americans before, apparently. They spoke broken Italian and African French, and I tried to talk with some of them for a while, but it was not easy.
Vincenzio, the proprietor of a bar / general store in that town (if that's what you can call it) set up a feast for us of sandwiches, wine, beer, coke, and Italian twinkie-like desserts. We feasted, attempted to talk with the migrant workers, and laughed hysterically about our professor's talking with the people and looking so out of place yet fit in so well. They had a soccer videogame there, which Phil (a guy who lives next door to us) and I played for about half an hour against each other with the migrant workers watching us curiously. I offered them to play, but they looked very intimidated.
We eventually left and I can't really convey to you how odd the day continued to get from here. We went out to as far from civilization is seems you can get in Italy to this farmhouse of a communist news publishing group who wants to have the freedom of the press here in Italy, something that currently doesn't exist. He showed us this movie he and his friend had made (an Iraqi expatriot) and it was so campy and corny in its attempt to be in English and appear American, but an "admirable" effort on their part. I'm all about freedom of the press, and the people were very earnest in their efforts, but it was an hour long about something we don't really understand being foreigners.
After it was over, there was an equally painful Q&A portion that I wish we could've avoided like the plague, not going to lie. After that though, there was a snack spread and I talked with Kirsten for a minute. In Cairo. It was amazing to hear about her first day in Cairo, but man, I'm so jealous. It's crazy. I mean, I'd had such an interesting day that I will remember for quite a long time, but the fact that she was in Cairo, seeing all of these amazing things, I was just blown away. It sound amazing, and in just a few days, I'll be there too; I just wish I could be there right now! It sounds so cool!
But yes, we rode the bus back after that, and Amber, Cara, and I discussed what we would do if we won a million Euro and had to spend it in a week over here. The answers were fun, and the rolling countryside out the window with a sunset was very fitting as an ending to our day. We rolled back in and many people wanted to go out, but Amber, myself, and a few others were a little over being up and about, so we made our way back to Candia.
Meg and Kelly came over again after I took a quick nap; they had just arrived back from Florence and came over for a simple dinner. It was really nice to see them again, and Phil (the same one from earlier) came over with us and went out to this fantastic donut shop with 30 cent donuts that will blow your mind; I only wish I could show you. On top of that, we went over to a gelato shop and chatted for over an hour outside about politics, the election, and people from high school. It was a really nice evening that ended pretty abruptly after Kelly and Meg left, as I had to get some sleep. Some people went to the chocolate festival today; I needed to get some work done so I passed on it and saved some money.
If you're wondering why I was short on pictures, I concede that I took hardly any since my battery in my camera was dead from almost the get-go. Heartbreak. I have permission from friends to use theirs at a later date, and I believe I'll post them when that occurs. Today it's off to go write and Ethnography, but I'm doing it with my eyes on Cairo, where I'll be in less than a week, Munich in 2 from right now, and Istanbul in 4. Awwww yeah.
Until next time,
Ciao.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Whew, it's the weekend
Ciao everyone!
The internet has returned, and Craig feels like a million bucks. My midterms are over now (and thank God they are), I'm going to Egypt in a week, Munich in two, and Istanbul in a month, and I am going to have a really great weekend I have the feeling. How do I know?
One: I have internet and in theory, it's totally fixed. They had the guy come out twice and it's been totally rectified. The internet really is my main connection to home, and without it, I feel almost naked. I've really wanted to blog these past few days, but it's been really tough to do so. I have a few pictures to upload, but I just want to make sure the internet holds out for long enough to blog before I go that crazy.
Two: I have a lot of really cool things I can do this weekend, and I have so many invitations of places to go and people to hang out with it's crazy. I'm not used to having to pick between three invitations, and feeling like the two groups I'm having to say no to are really going to be disappointed. It's really cool to feel like I'm making friends in several groups, and that I feel like I could hang out with any number of people and have a really great time.
Three: Midterms are finished and although I have a lot of work to do this weekend, the in-class pieces are finished. Woohoo.
And finally, four: I'm going to Celano tomorrow, this really supposedly awesome and cute town in the middle of nowhere, Italy. I can't wait. I've really enjoyed seeing the not-touristy places of Italy, and supposedly (according to my professor), one of the areas we visit tomorrow as a class gets only two groups of visitors per year, and they're from this program when our professor brings them. Cool stuff. Plus, there's all you can eat food and desserts and whatnot, and I'm really just excited in general for that.
This week was so crazy that I wouldn't have had too much time to blog, even if I had internet. I had about 20 pages worth of writing for my two midterms yesterday, and they were really, really long and trying to finish. However, that being said, I feel like I probably did a pretty fair job all things considered, and so far I know I'm doing ok in my classes as I got my first Italian
Midterm back today and I got a 92%, which was 9 percent above the average, which makes me feel pretty good.
Yesterday was all midterms in general, with a site visit in the morning. We saw two really interesting churches, but we really didn't get much time at the second one due to having to be back for our midterm at 11:30, or 30 minutes after. Santa Maria Prassede was beautiful, simply awesome inside, and you would never know it from the street. I love when that happens, it's like you have to be looking for it. The Apse was beautiful and intricately designed in mosaic fashion, complete with ridiculously intricate Biblical imagery of the 6 lambs from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, the phoenix as the symbol of the resurrection, Peter and Paul, etc. It was pretty beautiful, as everything tends to be here, and considering it's about 1200 years old, not really sure how it's possible that it could be this amazingly old and inspiring in it's intricacy and portrayals, pretty cool stuff.
In this church, to the right of the picture above, there is a chapel, also
mosaic worked, with a roundel of Jesus being lifted by four angels and if you can see each individual tile piece in the work, it's amazing to think of just how accurate all of this stuff is, you know? I wish there were ways of showing it to you, but I hope these pictures do it some justice of showing just how cool it looks.
I went back to class with about 4 other people who needed to be back for Culture and Identity's midterm, and we were really far away. We took a taxi and it was like 7 Euro total to get back, so it was less than 2 euro a piece and it took hardly any time at all. I hadn't been in a car in over a month, and THAT was a little bit weird to think about. When in Rome, do as the Romans do: don't drive. I guess.
My midterm wasn't too bad, all things considered. Tough? Sure. Horrible? Not at all. After it was over, I went and got this really awesome salad with Marcela, Emily, and Phil (a guy who lives next door to us in the program and is in Science and Religion with me) all studied over lunch for the next midterm just a few hours later. The salad was the first at a restaurant I'd eaten since I've been here, and it wasn't toooooo expensive, like 8 euro for water and the salad and bread. And 8 euro is no longer like 12 bucks, it's more like 10.25. Why, you ask? Because the exchange rate is at its best point in over 2 years. Woohoo!
We went back to the study center and I had a little more study time, and it was off to the test. It was really, really long; in fact, it may have been one of the longest tests I've ever taken in a 2 hour period and DEFINITELY the longest midterm ever. It took everyone the full two hours, and my hand was dead. I never really write on paper anymore, it's so often on computer when I do write that my hand just goes kaput after a while.
I came back here and chatted with everyone for a while, taking it easy and just relaxing. It's been a busy, stressful week. My mind liked the slight break. I had a bunch of Italian homework, which I did finish, and got some good rest before class this morning. Today was all tandem exchange with Italian students from the Sapienza, or the University here in Roma. It's about 500 years old or so, and it makes me laugh to think it's been around 10 times longer than UCSD. Weird.
The students were great, and my Italian has improved, I know so. They wanted to speak English, too, so I tried to speak in Italian as much as I could while they spoke a lot of English. But when they spoke Italian, I felt pretty confident I was understanding what they were saying, which signifies MAJOR progress on my part.
But yup, that's about it. I am trying not to think about Kirsten being gone to Egypt, as she and her family are at the airport heading for Cairo as we speak. I am really, really jealous, but I just have to wait about a week from right now and I'll be there too. I'll have her in my thoughts a lot as I just worry about her in such a foreign place, but she'll be in good hands. I can't wait to experience Africa (whoa!) in just a few days! YIKES!
But that's about it, everyone. I hope your Thursday goes well and do email or check in, and until next time,
Ciao.
The internet has returned, and Craig feels like a million bucks. My midterms are over now (and thank God they are), I'm going to Egypt in a week, Munich in two, and Istanbul in a month, and I am going to have a really great weekend I have the feeling. How do I know?
One: I have internet and in theory, it's totally fixed. They had the guy come out twice and it's been totally rectified. The internet really is my main connection to home, and without it, I feel almost naked. I've really wanted to blog these past few days, but it's been really tough to do so. I have a few pictures to upload, but I just want to make sure the internet holds out for long enough to blog before I go that crazy.
Two: I have a lot of really cool things I can do this weekend, and I have so many invitations of places to go and people to hang out with it's crazy. I'm not used to having to pick between three invitations, and feeling like the two groups I'm having to say no to are really going to be disappointed. It's really cool to feel like I'm making friends in several groups, and that I feel like I could hang out with any number of people and have a really great time.
Three: Midterms are finished and although I have a lot of work to do this weekend, the in-class pieces are finished. Woohoo.
And finally, four: I'm going to Celano tomorrow, this really supposedly awesome and cute town in the middle of nowhere, Italy. I can't wait. I've really enjoyed seeing the not-touristy places of Italy, and supposedly (according to my professor), one of the areas we visit tomorrow as a class gets only two groups of visitors per year, and they're from this program when our professor brings them. Cool stuff. Plus, there's all you can eat food and desserts and whatnot, and I'm really just excited in general for that.
This week was so crazy that I wouldn't have had too much time to blog, even if I had internet. I had about 20 pages worth of writing for my two midterms yesterday, and they were really, really long and trying to finish. However, that being said, I feel like I probably did a pretty fair job all things considered, and so far I know I'm doing ok in my classes as I got my first Italian
Midterm back today and I got a 92%, which was 9 percent above the average, which makes me feel pretty good.Yesterday was all midterms in general, with a site visit in the morning. We saw two really interesting churches, but we really didn't get much time at the second one due to having to be back for our midterm at 11:30, or 30 minutes after. Santa Maria Prassede was beautiful, simply awesome inside, and you would never know it from the street. I love when that happens, it's like you have to be looking for it. The Apse was beautiful and intricately designed in mosaic fashion, complete with ridiculously intricate Biblical imagery of the 6 lambs from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, the phoenix as the symbol of the resurrection, Peter and Paul, etc. It was pretty beautiful, as everything tends to be here, and considering it's about 1200 years old, not really sure how it's possible that it could be this amazingly old and inspiring in it's intricacy and portrayals, pretty cool stuff.
In this church, to the right of the picture above, there is a chapel, also
mosaic worked, with a roundel of Jesus being lifted by four angels and if you can see each individual tile piece in the work, it's amazing to think of just how accurate all of this stuff is, you know? I wish there were ways of showing it to you, but I hope these pictures do it some justice of showing just how cool it looks.I went back to class with about 4 other people who needed to be back for Culture and Identity's midterm, and we were really far away. We took a taxi and it was like 7 Euro total to get back, so it was less than 2 euro a piece and it took hardly any time at all. I hadn't been in a car in over a month, and THAT was a little bit weird to think about. When in Rome, do as the Romans do: don't drive. I guess.
My midterm wasn't too bad, all things considered. Tough? Sure. Horrible? Not at all. After it was over, I went and got this really awesome salad with Marcela, Emily, and Phil (a guy who lives next door to us in the program and is in Science and Religion with me) all studied over lunch for the next midterm just a few hours later. The salad was the first at a restaurant I'd eaten since I've been here, and it wasn't toooooo expensive, like 8 euro for water and the salad and bread. And 8 euro is no longer like 12 bucks, it's more like 10.25. Why, you ask? Because the exchange rate is at its best point in over 2 years. Woohoo!
We went back to the study center and I had a little more study time, and it was off to the test. It was really, really long; in fact, it may have been one of the longest tests I've ever taken in a 2 hour period and DEFINITELY the longest midterm ever. It took everyone the full two hours, and my hand was dead. I never really write on paper anymore, it's so often on computer when I do write that my hand just goes kaput after a while.
I came back here and chatted with everyone for a while, taking it easy and just relaxing. It's been a busy, stressful week. My mind liked the slight break. I had a bunch of Italian homework, which I did finish, and got some good rest before class this morning. Today was all tandem exchange with Italian students from the Sapienza, or the University here in Roma. It's about 500 years old or so, and it makes me laugh to think it's been around 10 times longer than UCSD. Weird.
The students were great, and my Italian has improved, I know so. They wanted to speak English, too, so I tried to speak in Italian as much as I could while they spoke a lot of English. But when they spoke Italian, I felt pretty confident I was understanding what they were saying, which signifies MAJOR progress on my part.
But yup, that's about it. I am trying not to think about Kirsten being gone to Egypt, as she and her family are at the airport heading for Cairo as we speak. I am really, really jealous, but I just have to wait about a week from right now and I'll be there too. I'll have her in my thoughts a lot as I just worry about her in such a foreign place, but she'll be in good hands. I can't wait to experience Africa (whoa!) in just a few days! YIKES!
But that's about it, everyone. I hope your Thursday goes well and do email or check in, and until next time,
Ciao.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Part two?
Ciao everyone, and welcome to part two.
I think I'm going to get this in, but understand if I get limited pictures, video, something along those lines. But yes, Saturday was beautiful and we went up to the Papal residency as a class. We took a charter bus from Piazza Repubblica, and we got on our way about 9 in the morning (after catching a bus home from that same stop just over 6 hours earlier).
We got on the bus and rolled out of Roma, which I always enjoy. Rome has very little in the way of nature, and when you get out of it, it's such a rewarding and calming feeling to see nature in play again. After about half an hour on the bus, we arrived, and Father Larrey gave us a brief r
undown and we ascended this little staircase and came out into an open area, which is shown here. The papal residence is right behind me in this picture, which we'll get to in a minute or so.
It was an adorable little town, set on the volcanic lake Albano. I really could get used to living here, and after I ascended into the Castel Gandolfo, I am not the least surprised the Pope would like to have his summer digs here.
There were many guards around the doors, which we large in their own right, and a little portal opened in the center, revealing a Wizard-of-Oz style window which a guard asked who we were there to see, and Father Larrey responded "Padre Matteo."
Now, Padre Matteo is pretty much the most awesome guy ever. He's in his mid 70's, Italian through and through, and speaks pretty good second-hand English. He's an Astronomer, and has lived most of his life there at Castel Gandolfo, which has 5 telescopes set up for observing the stars. We actually came to visit this Castel because it was set up after the Galileo affair in the 17th century and the Vatican realized it'd probably be a good idea to see what Galileo was talking about, albeit a little too late to save much face.
Anyway, Father Matteo was adorable. He was very sweet and cracked incredibly corny yet hysterical jokes, and was so excited to show off his home to a bunch of Californian students and try and make them laugh and get the importance of the place across to us students who may not otherwise get it. He really is quite nice. He showed off all of his "toys" and such, his telescopes, and gave quite long speeches in his decent English, all the while telling us terrible jokes that I just enjoyed thoroughly. He pointed the telescope at the sun and held up a piece of wood, and it was literally 4 inches thick and it burned through almost immediately. It was pretty darn cool, I gotta say.
My internet has been so terrible the past few days and I'm really not sure if I'll get this all posted, but know that you should check out my pictures, which all are now online with the exception of just a few, at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/NoMomentWasted
I'm captioning them too, and they're making it on there very gradually, so let's hope the internet keeps up and I can keep blogging!
Anyway, that break aside, we just soaked in the views and enjoyed the lovely time with such a nice old man, filled with stories about how John Paul II (yes, the Pope) liked having people around all the time, and Benedict is more of a recluse, it's really interesting. For sure, it was excellent for the day.
Buy yes, just enjoy the view. It's quite the place, and yes, as the girls do say in the video, it's GORGEOUS hahaha.
We hung out in the town for a little while longer, just exploring and taking some pictures. There was a wedding in the nearby church that they hurled bags of rice as the bride and groom left which looked more painful than anything, but it was pretty cute to see them dash even more quickly into the car to speed away.
I like little Italian towns. Bracciano, Gandolfo,
Saronno, they're all just so picaresque and beautiful, plus, the food always smells nice. But all good things come to an end, and I headed home to get some work done and to just relax. I napped and just relaxed, doing some studying, and later, Meg and Kelly arrived from Finland, bearing gifts of chocolate and good cheer, even though it was near midnight when they arrived. We went on a really nice walking tour of the city over to Gioletti's Gelato, aka the best ice cream in the world, and they were definitely in accordance with me and the general consensus on that front. Just excellent. It's really nice to see some more familiar faces, that's for sure.
We hopped the very last Metro back here, and they headed out and I got to sleep, and sleep I did. I slept in and got up, did some work and grocery shopping, and Meg and Kelly came over for dinner on Sunday. We wanted to watch Roma/Inter on TV, but it wasn't shown as it's on a cable network or something, but good thing we didn't: Roma lost 4-0.
Ouch.
I made my now famous Prosciutto and Cream Garlic Pasta, which was pretty nice, and we had some good wine and bread before they headed out for the evening, but not before a little Flight of the Conchords and the newest episode of the Office. Good times all around.
Yesterday, Monday, was just busy as all get out: studying, 6 hours of class, 2 hours of commuting, and eventually, sleep. Today is all about hoping the internet has been fixed for good, which maybe it has been, maybe it hasn't, but for now it's working and that's what counts. Remember to check out the picture site, as there are seriously over 500 pictures on there with most of them captioned, so seriously, if you want to see all of what I'm taking, that's the place to be.
Tomorrow I have two midterms, so I guess I should get back to studying for those . . . oh joy. But after tomorrow, the weekend is almost here again, and it just felt like the weekend ended. Funny how that works.
Until next time,
Ciao.
I think I'm going to get this in, but understand if I get limited pictures, video, something along those lines. But yes, Saturday was beautiful and we went up to the Papal residency as a class. We took a charter bus from Piazza Repubblica, and we got on our way about 9 in the morning (after catching a bus home from that same stop just over 6 hours earlier).
We got on the bus and rolled out of Roma, which I always enjoy. Rome has very little in the way of nature, and when you get out of it, it's such a rewarding and calming feeling to see nature in play again. After about half an hour on the bus, we arrived, and Father Larrey gave us a brief r
undown and we ascended this little staircase and came out into an open area, which is shown here. The papal residence is right behind me in this picture, which we'll get to in a minute or so.It was an adorable little town, set on the volcanic lake Albano. I really could get used to living here, and after I ascended into the Castel Gandolfo, I am not the least surprised the Pope would like to have his summer digs here.
There were many guards around the doors, which we large in their own right, and a little portal opened in the center, revealing a Wizard-of-Oz style window which a guard asked who we were there to see, and Father Larrey responded "Padre Matteo."
Now, Padre Matteo is pretty much the most awesome guy ever. He's in his mid 70's, Italian through and through, and speaks pretty good second-hand English. He's an Astronomer, and has lived most of his life there at Castel Gandolfo, which has 5 telescopes set up for observing the stars. We actually came to visit this Castel because it was set up after the Galileo affair in the 17th century and the Vatican realized it'd probably be a good idea to see what Galileo was talking about, albeit a little too late to save much face.
Anyway, Father Matteo was adorable. He was very sweet and cracked incredibly corny yet hysterical jokes, and was so excited to show off his home to a bunch of Californian students and try and make them laugh and get the importance of the place across to us students who may not otherwise get it. He really is quite nice. He showed off all of his "toys" and such, his telescopes, and gave quite long speeches in his decent English, all the while telling us terrible jokes that I just enjoyed thoroughly. He pointed the telescope at the sun and held up a piece of wood, and it was literally 4 inches thick and it burned through almost immediately. It was pretty darn cool, I gotta say.
My internet has been so terrible the past few days and I'm really not sure if I'll get this all posted, but know that you should check out my pictures, which all are now online with the exception of just a few, at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/NoMomentWasted
I'm captioning them too, and they're making it on there very gradually, so let's hope the internet keeps up and I can keep blogging!
Anyway, that break aside, we just soaked in the views and enjoyed the lovely time with such a nice old man, filled with stories about how John Paul II (yes, the Pope) liked having people around all the time, and Benedict is more of a recluse, it's really interesting. For sure, it was excellent for the day.
Buy yes, just enjoy the view. It's quite the place, and yes, as the girls do say in the video, it's GORGEOUS hahaha.
We hung out in the town for a little while longer, just exploring and taking some pictures. There was a wedding in the nearby church that they hurled bags of rice as the bride and groom left which looked more painful than anything, but it was pretty cute to see them dash even more quickly into the car to speed away.
I like little Italian towns. Bracciano, Gandolfo,
Saronno, they're all just so picaresque and beautiful, plus, the food always smells nice. But all good things come to an end, and I headed home to get some work done and to just relax. I napped and just relaxed, doing some studying, and later, Meg and Kelly arrived from Finland, bearing gifts of chocolate and good cheer, even though it was near midnight when they arrived. We went on a really nice walking tour of the city over to Gioletti's Gelato, aka the best ice cream in the world, and they were definitely in accordance with me and the general consensus on that front. Just excellent. It's really nice to see some more familiar faces, that's for sure.We hopped the very last Metro back here, and they headed out and I got to sleep, and sleep I did. I slept in and got up, did some work and grocery shopping, and Meg and Kelly came over for dinner on Sunday. We wanted to watch Roma/Inter on TV, but it wasn't shown as it's on a cable network or something, but good thing we didn't: Roma lost 4-0.
Ouch.
I made my now famous Prosciutto and Cream Garlic Pasta, which was pretty nice, and we had some good wine and bread before they headed out for the evening, but not before a little Flight of the Conchords and the newest episode of the Office. Good times all around.
Yesterday, Monday, was just busy as all get out: studying, 6 hours of class, 2 hours of commuting, and eventually, sleep. Today is all about hoping the internet has been fixed for good, which maybe it has been, maybe it hasn't, but for now it's working and that's what counts. Remember to check out the picture site, as there are seriously over 500 pictures on there with most of them captioned, so seriously, if you want to see all of what I'm taking, that's the place to be.
Tomorrow I have two midterms, so I guess I should get back to studying for those . . . oh joy. But after tomorrow, the weekend is almost here again, and it just felt like the weekend ended. Funny how that works.
Until next time,
Ciao.
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