I have been able to access the internet three days in a row now so I feel that I should keep posting as much as possible. And luckily each moment seems to be filled with adventures and memories so in just 24 hours I have much to update on. I am actually pretty exhausted because we took a sleeper train from Luxor to Cairo last night and they woke us up at 5 am and it is now almost 11 pm and so this may be slightly incoherent or ridiculous because my lack of sleep coupled with the heat of this internet cafe is kind of messing with my mind.

Last night after I left the internet cafe a few of us girls went back to the hotel pool and sat on the chairs and ordered some more ice cream as we waited for our carriage ride to be ready. I have made some solid friendships on this trip, and I am so excited to be able to reunite with many of these people next year and share this memorable experience. Anyway, our carraiges arrived and we went through the "non tourist" area of Luxor. It was, in a word (or two) life changing. We went through narrow market streets and dirty villages where kids ran out screaming hello and staring at us in wonder. We passed shacks cramed with families eating dinner, smoking hookah, or working. The stares were endless, as I am sure 8 horse drawn carraiges filled with digital camera toting americans would be. The children especially broke my heart yet brought me joy. They were so excited to see us and so eager to say hello and wave and run alongside the carriages. I wish I could find the same kind of wonderment in life like they do. Our driver even let me drive for a while and I could hear his life story and about his children and how they lived. It was truly incredible and much too short. We soon returned to the hotel and boarded the bus to head to the train station. Sleeper trains are not my favorite.

After the train and early wake up call this morning, we visited Muslim and Coptic Cairo. We saw the famous mosque of Mohammad Ali (and Jocelyn and I were admonished for forgetting to take off our shoes and walking on the carpet. Pretty much we can't do anything right). It was a gorgeous mosque full of color and lanterns and gilded walls and towers. And there was a beautiful panoramic view of Cairo as well. After the mosque we visited a few more (one dating back to 1357). And then we visited Coptic (orthodox christian) Cairo and a cave/sanctuary that the locals claim was visited by mary and joseph and Jesus when they fled to Egypt. To think that we were walking where Jesus could have been was so crazy. Too bad we were all dilusionally tired, but i don't think the significance was completely lost. Following a traditional lunch we returned to the hotel to find out we all had suites! Me and malory shared a room with six beds and four rooms and two bathrooms. we are living the life, that is for sure. we just relaxed this afternoon then walked into the city for dinner, and now I am here and my internet time is up! Thank you all for your prayers and for actually reading this!