40 Acres and a mule vs. 600 camels...

Bonjour mes amis!

I'm still not really able to recount my activities, but I will take a few moments to share how I came to know my worth in camels...

In the streets and markets of Egypt, female tourists are often approached by men, especially those selling things but often times others as well, who make various proposals. I've been proposed marriage by several men since my arrival. Heather, one of my fellow travelers, has turned this into a sort of competition and whoever gets the most proposals by trip's end gets a drink on the loser.

One day Betty and I were out browsing a local market. I believe we were in Luxor, but it might have been Aswan, when a man offered Betty 600 camels for me. Another day, a man said that Betty was worth 10 million camels and a chicken. When we asked him why the chicken, he said that he needed it to eat on the first night...

The most bizarre proposition I've been given so far went something like this...
Random man: Are you married?
Me: Yes.
Random man: I'm married too. I want to love you.
Me: No thank you. (walking away)
Random man: I just want to love you. You won't love me?!

I get asked a lot if I'm Jamaican and they yell "Rasta never die" at me. My current hairstyle is only associated with Jamaicans here. They also say "color like me," "my cousin" or call me "Nubian." Many men refuse to believe that I'm not at least partly Egyptian.

I can't quite compare camels to 40 acres and a mule because the camels aren't reparations to right a wrong, but more of a purchasing price (more polite people might call it a dowry). Adel says it's all ridiculous because it's an antiquated tradition with no real meaning in today's society.

I'm currently in the Baharia Oasis in the Western Desert. Tomorrow morning we head to the Siwa Oasis. After two nights there, we're off to Alexandria for 2 nights which marks the end of the trip.


Bises,

Mlle. Alicia

P.S. My camera stopped working yesterday morning. I got it up and running again, but it's still randomly malfunctioning on me. Hopefully it won't drastically affect my picture-taking but I was really bummed yesterday because I had to miss out on some great photo ops.

How many camels are you worth?

Apparently my current worth is 600 camels. Anybody got a better offer?

These last few days have been terribly exhausting. I guess the heat and the activities have been wearing me out. As a result, I haven't had any energy left to blog. And tonight is no different. We had a wonderful time in Aswan and 3 great days in Luxor. Tomorrow morning, we're off to the Sahara Desert for 5 or 6 days. I have quite a lot to share about my adventures over the last few days, but you'll have to be patient with me. Just wanted to let you all know that I am safe, happy and healthy.


Bises,

Mlle. Alicia

I'm in Egypt!!!

I left Normandy on Thursday afternoon. When I arrived at the train station in Flers, I noticed several members of the gendarmerie waiting on the platform. I thought it was a bit strange, but I didn’t give it much consideration. However, when I boarded the train, they all got on the same car. As soon as the train started moving, they began asking everyone for valid photo identification. When I gave them my U.S. passport, the first officer looked at it with a puzzled expression and handed it to another who walked away with it and proceeded to call someone from his cell phone. After 15 minutes of telephone conversation and inspection by 3 different officers, my passport was returned to me with a “Merci, mademoiselle, bon voyage.” And they moved on to harass other travelers…

The train’s second stop after Flers was Argentan, where a curious looking Black man boarded my train car. He was clearly intoxicated and trying to hide the open bottle of beer in his hand from the gendarme and the conductors. He ended up stashing the bottle under a seat when one of the conductors walked by. Something about him was off, but since he didn’t bother me, I just hoped the gendarme didn’t return to cause some sort of scene with him. Fortunately, we made it to Paris without further incident.

I got to the airport and boarded my flight without any problems, arriving for my layover in Frankfurt stress-free yet extremely tired. I fell asleep in the airport and was knocked out before we even took off. I remember the plane taxing away from the gate but it apparently never took off. I was aroused from my sleep, but not fully awakened, by the words “swine flu” coming from the PA system.

Apparently, one of my fellow passengers was experiencing flu-like symptoms and demanded medical attention, but thought it should wait until we’d already pulled away from the gate. As I said, I was really sleeping through most of this, but I do know that taxied away from the gate again, only to be recalled to the gate while “the authorities” sent samples to the medical lab the University of Frankfurt to ensure that we hadn’t all been exposed to swine flu. After waiting an hour and a half, we finally got under way to Cairo!

I arrived in Cairo around 5:00 am local time on Friday, May 1. I must say, I was not at all impressed by the airport of Egypt’s capitol city. After winding through some long corridors, we got to the sign that read “Visas $15 from any bank.” I knew that I would need to get an entry visa upon arrival, but I assumed it would be some sort of formal process through the customs and immigration service. Boy was I wrong. There were like 6 different banks, all of them open and all trying to get my $15. All of that for a little sticker that doesn’t have a date on it and didn’t require me to provide any pertinent information like the torture I went through getting one for France. Anyway, I got the sticker and cleared customs, then proceeded to get my luggage from baggage claim.

After I got my bag, I was approached by a man who asked me if I needed any help because he was “information.” He looked trustworthy enough with his official airport badge and business attire, much like 4 or 5 other men who were talking to other passengers, so I told him that I needed a taxi to the Santana Hotel. He told me that a taxi to the hotel, which is located downtown, is 100 Egyptian pounds ($20-25) and he would lead me to the taxis. I had been forewarned that “official” taxis are more expensive and I could find a cheaper regular taxi, but I was so tired, I think I would have signed away my first-born that morning.

Turns out this cab thing is a racket. The first man takes me out to yet another group of kiosks where he tells a man where I’m going. The second man then tells me to give h

im 100 Egyptian pounds and he will then take me to the taxi. I give him the money and he takes me on a long walk down a street and through a nearly-empty parking lot. As we’re approaching a parking structure, a van pulls up and the man puts my bag in and tells me to hop in. I’m thoroughly confused now because I never saw him call anyone, so how did this driver suddenly appear? Anyway, I climb into the backseat and my guide gets in the front. I thought we’d drop him off back a

t the terminal but he was clearly along for the whole ride. The entire drive, he kept asking me if I had plans for my stay in Cairo and trying to get me to hire a private driver. See what I mean by a racket? These so-called official airport taxis are really private tour companies. I took his business card to shut him up and promised I’d call if I needed anything.

I need to speak for a moment on my crazy driver. I thought he had road rage,

but then I realized that this is normal for Egyptians. Everyone here drives like bats out of hell, they make ridiculous lane changes, there are no pedestrian crosswalks and they need to put up some signs for goat and camel crossing. If someone is in your way, don’t slow down for them, just honk and make them get out of your way. Swerve, drive in the shoulder, whatever it takes to maintain your ridiculously high speed.

When we got to the hotel, the entrance was flanked by police officers and had a metal detector. I’m not sure if that was supposed to make me feel

safe, but I certainly was questioning my personal security. Even though check in didn’t officially start until 2 pm, I was able to get into my room for some much needed sleep. Too bad the room was frightening. According to my fellow travelers, the hotel was a 2-star property with terrible guest reviews. Lets just say, I’m thankful to be traveling with a sleeping bag and disinfectant because you couldn’t have paid me to sleep in that bed.

Somewhere around 9:00, there was a knock on the door and I was introduced to Betty, my roommate for the trip. She’s a really nice Chinese-Canadian and we’re getting along great. She’s done a lot of traveling like this so she makes a good roommate for me, the inexperienced adventure traveler.

In the evening, we had a meeting with our group leader and all of the travelers who had already arrived. There are 15 of us total – 10 Canadians, 3 Australians and 2 Americ

ans. Our leader is this guy named Adel (pronounced like “paddle”) and he’s really knowledgeable about all things pertaining to his country’s history. All of us in the group are pretty normal except for the other American. His name is Jeff and he’s terribly annoying. He drinks a lot, makes the most unnecessary comments and asks the strangest questions. After the group meeting, Betty and I dined together in the hotel restaurant before heading to bed in hopes of getting a good night’s sleep for all of Saturday’s activities.

We got up pretty early on Saturday and had breakfast in the hotel. All of our breakfasts are provided during the trip. We had to meet the group downstairs at 7:45 to load our bags onto the bus. Then we headed to Giza to see the 3 most famous pyramids and the Sphinx. After spending a

few hours in Giza, we went to a papyrus gallery where they demonstrated how the papyrus plant is used to make paper. They had a lot of interesting artwork done on papyrus and explained all of the stories and symbols to us.

When we left the gallery we went to a restaurant in the countryside for lunch and then drove downtown to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities which houses a large collection of ancient artifacts from Egypt’s history. It is also home to all of the riches from King Tut’s tomb.

After leaving the museum, we went to the train station where we caught a sleeper train to Aswan. I had never been in a sleeper car before, and the experience was pretty cool. We had a 14-hour trip from Cairo in the north to Aswan, which is not far from the southern border of Egypt and Sudan.

Our hotel here in Aswan is absolutely beautiful and I’m currently blogging to you poolside. Anyway, it’s almost noon and I need to get going. We have a few free hours here today to explore the city on our own and Betty and I want to see the market. Later today we’re going for a camel ride and then having dinner in a Nubian village.

This trip has been great so far and it’s just the beginning. I can’t wait to tell you more.


Bises,

Mlle. Alicia

Counting my blessings...

In the last picture I posted of this tree 3 weeks ago, it wasn't in this pretty pink bloom, so I had to share. The weather has been absolutely beautiful the last few days with lots of sunshine and temperatures in the mid- to high-60s. By the way, I talked to Suzy and she said that the smell is a "montagne de caca." Do you really need a translation? Apparently, they're collecting cow manure and this is the country, so it turns out I really am in Fresno....

I made my last rent payment today, which means that my stay here in France is fast approaching an end. I'm really amazed by how time flies. There were days where I felt the end of April would never arrive, but the time has passed rather quickly. I'm going to miss being here much more than I thought, but I am definitely anxiously to soak up some California sunshine and dine at my favorite restaurants.

Last time you heard from me, I was off to spend a day in Paris with the 9 students visiting from England and their 2 chaperones. We had a fun day hanging out at Sacre Coeur and les grands magasins (department stores). It was really a day spent shopping with trips to Starbucks and McDonald's.

And then Spring Break arrived. I spent the first week not doing much, but then Alex made his first trip to Europe and came to visit for a week. We had a great time, thought I think he was a bit overwhelmed by all there is to do here in Condé-sur-Noireau...LOL

It rained a lot during his time here in Normandy, which is alright since there wasn't much to do here, but we did spend a day in Caen walking around the city and visiting William the Conqueror's castle, which I had never been to either, and we ran into Dominic at Le Bar Alex and joined him for a quick drink. The second half of Alex's visit was spent in Paris where we went to Disneyland (yet another Paris site I had never visited), the palace at Versailles (one of my all-time favorite Paris monuments), the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. We also did a cruise on the Seine River and a bus tour of Paris at night. I even got him to eat escargots and foie gras! The picture to the right was taken in front of one of the many fountains in the Versailles gardens. I think Alex took about 600 pictures.

Next Thursday, I'll be taking a red-eye from Paris to Cairo, Egypt. On May 1, I'll start a 16-day tour of Egypt and I am soooooo excited. It's my first trip to Africa. While there are certainly more places I'm interested in visiting on that vast continent, I think this will be a great start. While I'm signed up for a group tour, I'm essentially traveling alone which is another first for me. I'm nervous and excited and so many other things. I can't wait to tell you all about it.

That's all for now. I have 5 more days of work to finish out my contract as an assistant d'anglais at Lycée Charles Tellier. I'll check in again soon!


Bises,

Mlle. Alicia

Spring is in the air and so is the trash...

As you can see in the picture, it's sunny, things are starting to bloom and the students are spending time outside. Spring must be in the air. But so is a terrible stench as well...

Lycée Charles Tellier sits right next to the local dump. I noticed the signs when I first arrived and I've noticed the trucks coming and going daily, but I never gave the dump much consideration because I couldn't smell it. That has now changed. I don't know if it's because the weather is warming up, people have changed their trash habits, or it's just a temporary fluke, but it smells like Fresno today (no offense to the fine people of Fresno).

Anyway, last week I went to Paris to get my hair braided. Yes, I rode the train 2 hours just to get my hair done. For those of you who know me well, this can't be entirely shocking seeing as I've been known to drive from San Diego to Los Angeles for a specific beautician. Some people in Normandy, however, found this a bit bizarre. But since they didn't really know anyone here who could help, of to Paris I went.

On my way home for the holidays in December, I met a young lady in the Paris airport. She's from Memphis and is a junior at an all women's college on the east coast, but is studying abroad in Paris this academic year. As I was contemplating what do about my hair, I figured I should ask her because when I met her in the airport, her hair looked pretty freshly done. And as luck would have it, she told me exactly where to go.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I was always sure that there had to be Black shops somewhere in Paris because there is a substantial African and Carribean population in Paris and I've seen a lot of weaves and braids there. Turns out, there is a Metro stop called Château d'Eau where you can find not only salons but many beauty supplies with all of the Black hair care products I've been missing from home.

Getting of the Metro at Château d'Eau is an experience. There are men standing in the station and on the streets trying to get business for their respective shops. And they are agressive. "Madame, Madame!" They'll call to you, they'll try to give you their flyers and business cards, they might grab your arm. They even speak in English. It can be a bit intimidating if you don't know exactly where you're going. Fortunately, Madeleine met me at the Metro and took me directly to the shop where she gets her hair done so there were no problems. She spent the day with me and then we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant near her host family's home. So you want to see how my hair came out, right?
Madame Georgette hooked me up. And she gave me a business card that looks like a frequent visiter card. I'm almost certain I won't get a chance to fill it up, but she was nice and I would definitely go back to her. It was just like being in a shop back home. Music, lots of talking, random men coming in to sell bootleg products...

There are some students visiting from England this week. We're taking a day trip to Paris tomorrow. I'll be sure to tell you all about it as soon as possible.


Bises,

Mlle. Alicia