My+updates

Well I am officially leaving. Headed to the Bangor airport to start the long journey across the Atlantic. .

Ok so after being stuck in the middlle of the nor Eastern bliZzard and airports for FOUR DAYS, the two Canadians finaly arrived in Cairo last night. It was worth all the hastle and waiting!!! Egypt is amazing. It's like no other place I've ever been. Some initial impressions: the traffic... Wow. No lanes or blinkers exist and cars horns have aquired a language of their own. The roads are shared by donkeys and pedestrians and trucks loaded with people. It is a constant game of real life froger. The food has been spectacular!!!! The fatyr, kofta, tameya...mmmm! Oh and I cannot forget, the people!! They have been more than hositible. They are kind, welcoming, generous and easy going. Right now I am actually back in an airport *gasp!* waiting for the last member of our IPP, she is coming from the USA (and was also stranded by the storm). Then, finaly, we will go to the desert. I hope to update later (this is from my iPod and taking forever) and continue to relay stories from my amazing Egyptian adventures!

Hello from the Sahara! It has been a couple weeks and connecting to the internet has been difficult. I have seen and done so much in so little time. I spent the new year in the white dessert sleeping under the stars, I have seen and ridden on a camel, went swimming in hot springs, built walls, shovelled sand and garbage, visited classrooms, sang on stage at a festival (with a group of course) met hundreds of Egyptians and made wonderful friends. I cannot wait to show pictures and tell some of the many stories I have accumulated so far. The IPP has been keeping a blog with information and stories. The website is: http://ippfarafra.wordpress.com/

I will try my hardest to connect to skype once in Cairo. Mes eleves, j'espere que vous avez passe un tres joyeux noel et vous me manquez. Je pense a vous souvent (et je renconte des histoires aussi :) A bientot!!!

- I am now back in Cairo and enjoying my last days here in Egypt. Farafra was truly amazing! It was a tearful departure from the family, kids and community as a whole. On the long drive back into the city a few of us took a detour into the sand dunes of the desert. Well...we got stuck. We spent a few hours trying to get the truck out of the sand and finaly had to call in some help and get pulled out. It was actually really incredible. We saw sunset on the dunes and got to run and slide down them. All the digging and pushing were worth the effort for that experience. In Cairo I went to see the pyramids. WOW! It was more than I ever could have expected. We rode Arabian horses around the site, climbed some of the stones, saw the Sphinx and even visited a papyrus museum. Last night we rode a Faruka (a typical Egyptian boat) down the Nile and went out for a late bite to eat (the food is still DELICIOUS). Today, my last day, we will be visiting the bazaar, mosques and the Historical museum before leaving for the airport for our 4am flight. This trip has been a once in a lifetime opportunity and I have loved every second of it! It will be very hard to leave this amazing country and all of the wonderful friends I have made over the past few weeks.