Spain

Almost everyone I know either went to Barcelona or Madrid, but because I don’t have direct access to my parent’s bank account or a million dollar trust fund like the majority of the people on this ship, I decided to stay in Cadiz. I really enjoyed myself and it was very peaceful and it was really nice not to run into SASser after SASser. I spent all of the days by myself except one and I don’t have any issues with that.

Cadiz is a beautiful city surrounded on three sides by water. There are old city walls and even a fort out on the water that can be walked to via a wall. There is a monument to the constitution that was written in 1812, a magnificent cathedral, and a number of famous people’s houses. Christopher Columbus sailed from Cadiz on his second and fourth voyages which I learned from reading “The Worlds of Christopher Columbus.”

There was one rainy day that I stayed on the ship and worked out, read, and watched whatever movie was showing on the closed circuit TV. This is totally against most people’s principles, including my own, but I did go out that night and even found an English speaking person. One weird note here; there are more people in Vietnam, Burma, and India that speak English than there are in Spain. That might surprise you, as it does me, but it makes sense. These other countries learn English because it helps them economically because of the large number of English, Australian, and American tourists. English and Australians seem to be everywhere.

I talked to this guy about issues facing Spain, but only because I had spent that last four days learning about it. A week ago I wouldn’t have had anything to say to him. It is pretty amazing how well SAS does at preparing us. In my economics class, we had learned about how Spaniards and Europeans in general value job security more than job opportunity. It is very expensive for a company to fire an individual in Europe, as opposed to free in the United States. For this reason, it has a lot harder to find jobs in Europe, and people can’t take a break from a job and expect to have it or any job when they return like they can in the United States. Personally, it seems obvious that the opportunity is better but that is because I’m an American, and my friend I had just met really liked how much security he had but that is because he is a European. I guess neither is right or wrong, just different, and I know which one I value. He also was very mad that the UK, a member of the EU, had a colony in Spain, another member of the EU. Gibraltar is the place, and money is the game. Our ship fueled up in Gibraltar because there are no taxes. The people of Gibraltar voted to stay in the UK for this reason, so I’m not really sure what the big deal is. Spain still has colonial cities too, so they can’t claim any kind of moral justification.

Cadiz is characterized by narrow brick streets that suddenly open into open squares and parks. A lot of the streets look the same and they really have no pattern. There are quite a number of open squares lined with restaurants and bars. About siesta time (2-4 PM) these squares are packed with people eating and drinking. One day I was exploring the city and I came across one of these squares and I saw a “pizzeria” or Italian restaurant. I don’t know what it is lately but I’ve just been loving pizza and this place was packed so I knew it must have been great. I kept on walking for a while and then convinced myself that I should go back and eat. I retraced myself and got there right at five, just as they were closing.

Well on the last day I made my way back there, which I was really surprised I could find it, and sat for a good long time while drinking Cruz campo beer and eating two pizzas. It was fantastico! Some professor of computer science came in and he spoke English so we chatted for a while. After that I went and used the internet and called people.

I talked to Bryce and Bryant and it was surreal. I realized that being gone for this long makes me afraid that things will change. I love the way things are in the Gallatin Valley. I love Manhattan the way it is, and I love my friends the way they are, and I don’t want any of them to change, especially with me gone. Talking to them made me realize that none of that has happened, and it made me so happy!

Now I’m in the Atlantic and on my way back to America. It feels so weird because it feels so far away, but I know I’ll be seeing it in a week. One week! It feels like a million miles away, the same way it felt when I first got on this ship.

Now is the time to reflect on how I’ve changed. I’m still the same person who still thinks the same things are funny, still laughs at the same kind of jokes, still likes the same food, still likes the same music, still is a Christian struggling to be Christ-like, and remarkably is still a Republican.

But I have a greater love for Montana, a greater respect for America, a better understanding of my quality of life, and a better world perspective. I know more than I did when I started this voyage, but I could say the same thing about my first year in college when I took European History, Micro and Macro Economics, and International Relations. I don’t feel like a different person and don’t really think I am. Some professor this morning said that we don’t think we are different but our parents will be able to tell. I kind of think all this “change” is just so hyped up, just like India was. By the time I had gotten to India I was immune and desensitized to culture shock and poverty, so it didn’t hit me like it would somebody coming straight from America. At the same time, and this is how I’ve felt the entire trip, I won’t really change until I get back to my old lifestyle. Maybe India will become all its hyped up to be when I’m sitting in a lazy boy in a heated home after just getting out of a hot shower, in comfortable clothes and with a refrigerated beer in my hand. But maybe not, because we have all those on this ship except lazy boys, so I don’t really know what I’m talking about.

I would say the way I’ve changed the most is my religious and political views. Religiously, I’m more open minded. I believe God is more open minded than I previously thought, and I’ve already cited one of the Bible verses that has led me to this. Politically, I’m more of an environmentalist. I can’t believe the pollution I’ve seen and how it has destroyed things. I never realized that literally 99% of the world doesn’t enjoy the clean air and water that I do in Montana. I never realized that almost everyone lives in cities and can’t enjoy the wide open beautiful views of the Rocky Mountains.

My favorite professor is my economics professor, Gayle Allard. She is simply amazing. I love it when she lectures in global studies and shuts up the rest of the faculty. I love it when she says things like, “The free market has made everyone better off, and the trickle down effect does work. There is no debating this.” She is a lone voice of reason on this ship when it comes to many issues.

There is a weird phenomenon on this ship. People love to wear Ho Chi Minh and Mao Zedong t-shirts. I never thought of it, and even wore my Mao shirt once. But in one of our College Republican meetings, we had a Vietnam veteran present and were talking about this. I think people fail to realize that those were the enemy, and many people fought and lost friends fighting them. I quite honestly don’t see how some of the older passengers, notably the psychology professor, can wear Ho Chi Minh t-shirts. That would be like someone of my generation wearing an Osama bin Laden shirt when the future SAS voyage stops in Iran or Iraq; as crazy as it sounds it will undoubtedly happen by the anti-war activists.

The other day I was standing on the deck looking at the massive rolling waves of the Atlantic and I thought, “I can’t wait to get home! Get me to America ASAP!” But then I thought, “I’ll never get this chance again. Maybe I’ll never cross the Atlantic on a ship again, and surely I won’t see some of these people ever again.” Now I’m trying to enjoy my last days on this ship.

Croatia

I sat outside to eat breakfast as we came “alongside.” Dubrovnik is the smallest city we’ve ported in at about 50,000, and it was cold outside. I explained to Andy on the record, because he is our videographer, that I was extremely happy to be here because being from Montana I love cold weather and small towns. It only got warmer and by midday I had my Gallatin Valley Outlaws sweatshirt tied around my waste.

We walked to the Old City to see the first walled city. Every major town in this part of the world has an Old City which is where everyone lived back in the day when they had to worry about marauding armies. I think it would be very intriguing to live in a walled city. They built these walled cities back in the 1300s when almost no one had been to Asia and nobody knew that North or South America existed. It seems like they were walling themselves in as much as they were walling people out. Back then the mothers told their children not to leave the city after dark, and the rebels and adventurers were courageous to visit the next city. It’s incomprehensible to me, but I am sure the people loved their lives and loved the safe community they built up inside the city walls.

We followed the signs that said, “Cold Drinks with The Most Beautiful View” until we found a group of SASsers jumping off of cliffs into the Mediterranean Sea. The water was crystal clear and looked very inviting. The rocks and the water fulfilled all my preconceptions of what a beautiful spot on the Mediterranean is supposed to be. You’ve seen the pictures too I’m sure. All I had on was a pair of Turkish Whitey Tighties so I didn’t jump in, but I did think back to the times I’ve had on the Jefferson River in Montana jumping off cliffs of similar height.

Terris and I walked back to the ship, stopping for drinks whenever we pleased and even having a few given to us on the house. Apparently it was three miles between the ship and the Old City, but on the walk there it didn’t seem that long, but it definitely did on the way back. We took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up getting lost on this nature trail that followed along the sea and by people’s houses. We ended up grabbing a bus.

The next morning Zach, Terris, Jeff, Mike (Clown Shoes), Jason, and I hopped a bus to the island of Korcula, which is supposedly where Marco Polo was born. We didn’t get there until after dark, and on the way there we talked to a lady who explained to us that we weren’t going to be able to find a place because they are all closed because it is the off season for tourism. Apparently this country survives off of tourism during the summer and it is a totally different place than what we experienced. I could totally see this too because there was literally nobody around, and there were tons of shops, hotels, and restaurants that were not open. Luckily there was some guy who was still trying to make some money and offered us an apartment as we got off the bus. He had a place with six beds that he gave us for 500 Kuna. That worked out to less than $20 each so we were happy.

That first night on Korcula we went to one of the only places open and ate pizza and drank beer. The pizza here is some of the best pizza I’ve ever had. I’m usually not even that crazy about pizza, but I ate pizza after pizza! Somebody even told me the pizza here is better than the pizza in Italy, which is just a short ferry ride away. We talked religion and politics. Eventually it turned into a philosophical argument about if a human is more sophisticated than a plant.

The next morning we had big plans of renting scooters and cars and touring the island and visiting wineries but it was foiled by the massive numbers of faculty/staff who chose that day to be on Korcula. Everyone left to go to Split but Terris and I. We got our room for 200 Kuna that night. We met up with some people and did some wine tasting. All the wineries here are mom and pop places, with maybe one or two fields and the production plant in their garage. We went to two places and tasted wine, some of which was good and some of which was terrible. I thought about my parents while I was doing this and imagined how much they would enjoy this.

That night we bought a bottle of Jaggermeister, finished it, and ate more pizza. We hung out with my fellow Republican from Texas with red hair Luke who freestyled the entire night to my black buddy from Baltimore Terris’ beat boxing. It was great entertainment.

We caught the 0645 bus back to Dubrovnik the next day. It was the only way to get back.

I hopped into an internet café back in Dubrovnik and tried to finishing registering for classes. I’m not going to be able to finish up my general education requirements until next school year!

That night Terris and I bought another bottle of Jaggermeister and polished it off quickly before heading into the Old City where there was an Irish pub that was apparently really happening. We chilled there for a while, and then headed to the Latino Club Fuego, which was the main dance place for the night. It was full of SASsers including faculty/staff and crew.

The next morning Kymi and I walked out onto this peninsula and found a beautiful spot to sit and drink beer. We drank a bunch of beer and talked a bunch and watch a guy fish and catch octopus and then ate some more pizza. We missed getting on the ship by one or two minutes and we both got two hours of dock time in Spain. I honestly thought that I might go this entire trip without getting in one bit of trouble at all! I guess we should have been carrying our green sheet because neither of us knew what time on-ship time was.

Before everyone who reads this goes off thinking all I do is drink, let me just say that that’s not true! I haven’t bought beer on the ship since we were crossing the Pacific, and every time I drink in a country you find out about it. I did drink more than usual in Croatia because there wasn’t as much stuff to do.

Overall I totally enjoyed Croatia. I enjoyed how laid back and chill this country is. I enjoyed the small town feel. There are only four million people in the country and the biggest city is 700,000. It is full of natural beauty. It’s my kind of place! I’m really glad I got to visit a part of the Balkans and a part of former Yugoslavia.

Back on the ship, I am so glad we get certain websites for free. I’ve got somewhere around an hour left for the rest of the voyage, but I don’t have to use it for IHT, CNN, or NYTIMES. I’ve been trying to follow all the policy changes in Iraq, Iran’s quest for nuclear technology, Syria’s expanding influence, the race between India and China, Vietnam’s booming economy, Myanmar’s house arrested democratic leader, falling oil prices and OPEC’s response, and everything happening in the US House and Senate.

Right now I’m wearing traditional Shan clothing from Myanmar that I bought in Inle Lake because I have no clean clothes. All of my underwear is somewhere on the Explorer getting washed for five dollars.

I’ll end this post now because I have a field report to write for Earth’s Climate and I also have a large project for the same class I need to research.

Thanks for the encouraging comments.

Turkey

I learned something from Michael while I was strolling around Istanbul. He said he writes about one or two pages on each country. I told him some of my posts are upwards of seven. He is in a magazine article writing class and understands that people won’t read something that long, especially if it loses their attention. I also told him that I don’t edit any of my writing. It’s everything I write with nothing taken out. He told me that the kids who write “first I did this, then I did this” are the kids that get the F, and that is exactly what I’ve been doing!

Maybe this is why nobody commented on my last post, which was the longest one ever. I doubt anybody even got to the bottom of it!

For this post I’m not going to give the day by day commentary, I’ll just write it as one experience. I think this will make things shorter and more interesting. I stayed the entire five days in Istanbul, so it would be hard to remember what day was what anyway.

I was just standing out on the 7^th deck forward as we pulled away from Istanbul, Turkey. I was wearing moccasins, socks, sweat pants, shorts, a t-shirt, and a leather jacket. All I had in my pocket was my room card, and nothing was pressing on my mind. I could see the old city walls that bordered the western side of the city, and the road that followed along the sea and all the cars that were still on the road at 11 PM. All the mosques on the hillside were lit up. The cold air and frozen ears and nose reminded me of home, but I didn’t feel at home.

It was one of those alone, romantic moments that necessitate deep thinking. I actually felt more clueless at that moment than any other. I was humbled, I know that. I was awed at the beauty of the city. I wondered if I would ever be back. I tried to put my situation in perspective. I wondered if I really understood what I was doing, and asked myself why I didn’t think about it more often. I thought about if people think I’m arrogant when I write on my blog. It was one of those moments that I enjoyed so much that I wondered why they all can’t be this way, when they all should.

Istanbul was great. I never left the city and saw no real reason to at the time, but after hearing about the other stories I realize I would want to come back here and tour the rest of the country. Istanbul is the biggest city in Europe, even though only half of it is in Europe. For being the largest, it was very clean. There was no suffocating air pollution and there was no overwhelming trash on the streets. It was crowded, but I’m used to that by now.

One of the days Michael and I took the city tram to the end of the line. The trains here share the road with cars, buses, and trucks. The train has to stop at traffic lights, and comes to a jarring halt sending the standing people piling into one another. I liked riding it at rush hour because I didn’t have to steady myself with one of the handles hanging down, I could just push up against the person pressed against me and not worry about falling down.

When we got to the end of the line, we started walking in the general direction of what was called a “hippodrome.” We never found it, but it was a great neighborhood we strolled through. The streets were narrow, made of brick, windy, and hilly. The shops were not touristy and they wouldn’t have been found downtown. There were grocery stores that were remarkably similar to grocery stores anywhere. There were hardware stores. There was a local track with a group of girls exercising.

There was nothing to separate this place from downtown Istanbul, but it felt like a totally different place.

Our ship was docked a few minutes walk from all the major attractions, which was nice. It was the best port location we’ve had. We could walk to the Spice Bazaar, the Grand Bazaar, the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, the Cistern, and the subway that went to Taksim.

The Spice Bazaar was just across the Golden Horn from where we were docked, and shops and markets continued all the way up the hill to the Grand Bazaar. This city was really districted. Every shop was in this area, every nargile (hookah) bar was in one location, and every bar was in one area. It made things easy.

I enjoyed the street food to the fullest extent. It is everywhere, and it is very good. I don’t think I could look at another of the sandwiches or wraps again for a long time, because I ate more than my share. There are these large cylinders of beef or chicken that are stood upright next to a grill and rotated occasionally. They cut off slices of the meat, throw it in a tortilla or a bun, put some tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and French fries in it, sprinkle it in salt, wrap it in paper, throw a napkin in, and ask for a couple of Lira. There are also thin pizzas they put some lettuce on, sprinkle in lemon juice, and wrap it up like a tortilla. Then there are kofta sandwiches, which are some form of grilled sausages. There is ayvalik tostu, which is two pieces of toast grilled with cheese and meat in between, pickles and French fries in the middle and coated in ketchup and mayonnaise. All of it is top notch.

Taksim is the bar district, and it is sweet. Istanbul has a fantastic local music scene! I saw live music almost every night. The local beer, Efes Pilsen, is smooth and tasty. The Turkish language combined with heavy rock sounds good.

I went on a boat tour through the Bosporus Strait, and it gave a great perspective of how big Istanbul is. I also got to see the Black Sea! We saw the many palaces and forts along the Bosporus. I regret not getting to see Gallipoli which is quite a bit south, but maybe another day.

I learned that the Republicans lost control of the Senate and that Rumsfeld is out of a job through a rumor that traveled up and down the aisles of a bus. I have since had a chance to read some news, but I still have no clue about the feeling in America. I love America and I sincerely hope that the Democrats can bring positive change to the country. I hope that a new Secretary of Defense will move us forward in Iraq. I hope that they will do something about the deficit. If that happens I don’t know what to think, because the Republicans are supposed to be the party of fiscal responsibility.

Democrats were elected, once again, through criticism and not through original ideas. Now is there chance to come up with something, and America is waiting. They got where they are by tearing down President Bush, not by presenting a flashy new plan.

Tomorrow we get to Croatia, and it is too soon. Two days on the ship is not enough to get a good idea about all the complex issues that have gripped the Balkans. I literally had no clue about the break-up of Yugoslavia until recently.

The trip is flying by, and I’ll be home soon.

Egypt

I visited two different Egypts. I saw a polytheistic Egypt from 5,000 years ago, and I saw a modern day Islamic Egypt. The SAS trip I took went on a journey through ancient Egypt, which I thoroughly enjoyed and found very educational. At the same time I wanted to learn about the Muslims that currently make up all of Egypt and how they live their lives. I got both and learned to love the country.

I know I gave up ranking countries a long time ago because it just doesn’t make sense because they are all so different. I have developed a different rating system however. Countries fall into three different categories. Ones I never care to see again, ones I have to see again, and the others are in between. Japan is the only one I don’t care to see again. I have to revisit Vietnam and Egypt. China, Myanmar, and India are countries I would see again, but not until I’ve seen the rest of the world. Regardless, what I’m trying to say is that I really liked Egypt.

Our first port in Egypt was Adabiya. Adabiya is just south of Suez, and I’m guessing is just an overflow area for Port Suez. There were a few buildings, some shipping containers, and sand. There were some mountains that were pretty close to, but that was it. We pulled into some barren desert.

The first day of the six we had in Egypt I went to Suez City because it was close and I had to be back that night. It was a nice little city. We paid five dollars each to get there and of course the guy dropped us off in front of his buddy’s shop. We stood around on the street for a while, some of us going in and out of shops and generally just trying to figure out what to do. I always considered myself spontaneous and most people on the ship are the same. I mean a group of us just grabbed a cab to the nearest city with a full day to spend and no plans.

We eventually decided that going to get something to eat was a good idea, as it is in most cases. We didn’t want to take a cab to get there because we wanted to enjoy the walk. It was a nice long walk indeed, and we got to see a large part of Suez City. Unfortunately the place where we ate wasn’t that great. It was called Summer Palace and I ordered shish kebab. The beef was extremely tough, and it was served with cooked vegetables and French fries. The good part was that it was my first acquaintance with the Egyptian beer Stella. It tasted exactly like Rolling Rock which is one of my favorites. Jamie let me know that Rolling Rock wasn’t being made anymore which was kind of upsetting.

After that we decided to head to the Red Sea hotel because we could sit on the top and see the Suez Canal. It wasn’t that great of a view though and some of us decided to go enjoy the city more. The others sat there for three hours or so waiting to see ships coming through and it paid off. They saw a few Destroyers and an Aircraft Carrier of the US Navy go through!

We walked around some more and visited some more shops and then decided to sit down and enjoy some sheesha through a hookah. This is very prevalent throughout Egypt. On almost every sidewalk there are people sitting smoking hookahs, and in almost every shop there are hookahs for sale. We sat on the sidewalk, drank Coke, smoked sheesha, and watched Egyptian life go by. It was quite enjoyable, and an Egyptian guy sat and chatted with us for a while. He claimed Israel is America’s 51^st state, which illustrated well why anti-Semites hate America.

Because Suez City shuts down from 3-6 for a siesta, and there were only two places that sold alcohol, and there weren’t any sites to see, and we were done with the sheesha, we decided to do what we do best; walk around. We got a good feel for Suez City, but all in all it was pretty uneventful.

At six we headed to the only bar in town. We sat and drank and talked and ate peanuts. After we had our fill we went across the street to Pizza Pronto and had some pizza. Pizza is fairly popular here.

The next morning I left on EGY05: CAIRO/LUXOR. It was a couple of hours to Cairo, and our tour guide talked the entire way. She kept waking kids up who had fallen asleep and she blew me a kiss when I told her to keep talking because I was listening.

We visited the Step Pyramid of Zoser and Mastaba, and visited the Memphis site where there is a huge statue of Ramses II. Then we headed to Le Meridien Hotel for lunch and check in. We stayed at a very nice hotel that had a huge pool that circled around a bar and wound in and out of lounging areas. It was nice, and we could see the pyramids from it.

After that we went to the famous Cairo Museum. There were many ancient artifacts including things from King Tut’s tomb. It’s pretty amazing how long the stuff has survived.

After all this ancient Egyptian stuff we went to a bazaar. I had a nice time here. I walked around looking at the touristy trash with Andy and Taylor. They decided to get a hookah and smoke and chill out. I decided to go walk around some more. I love doing things by myself, and I think I might have just discovered that while on Semester at Sea. I found this shop where I bought something, which is a gift so I won’t name it here, but then I sat down and talked with the shop keeper. We had a nice conversation and somehow it moved to marijuana and hash. He offered me “the good brown Moroccan hash,” but I had to decline. He went on to tell me that he is a Muslim that goes out every night to the disco, drinks beer and smokes hash. I knew from pop culture that people in Egypt like to smoke hash and liked to smoke hookahs, but I wasn’t sure if it was still prevalent. Hash is illegal and people can get in a lot of trouble for it. I decided to start testing out how prevalent it is. As usual when a person walks down the street, tens if not hundreds of people offer you there product in a number of different ways. Every time somebody tried to sell me a t-shirt or granite pyramid or some worthless trinket I would ask if they had hash or marijuana. I got about ten bright eyed, smiley yeses and offers to “fly” within a few minutes. Then one guy comes up to me after he heard me asking about hash and says he is a policeman and starts pulling out his ID. This is when I realized I probably shouldn’t go around asking everyone I see about hash. Anyway the guy was just joking around and he promptly offered to smoke hash with me. After explaining that I don’t do drugs, I decided to end my experiment out of self interest.

Back in the hotel I got my fix of news. One of the things I miss most is being able to watch CNN or Fox News whenever I want. I would even go for BBC World. It was great to get caught up on world politics.

The next morning we headed for the Pyramids and Sphinx at Giza. We got there and hopped on some camels. This was one of the highlights. The best way to see the pyramids is definitely on the back of a camel. I don’t really know what it was but I just felt good at the time. The Pyramids and the Sphinx were interesting for me because they are some of the oldest human structures that exist today, if not the oldest. I’m not really sure if there is anything older. The Egyptian Empire was one of the first unified empires in the world. While the Egyptians had a unified Upper and Lower Egypt ruled by Pharaohs, Europe and presumably the rest of the world was hunting and gathering in nomadic tribes.

A lot of what I saw in Egypt I put in a Biblical perspective. Romans 2:13-16 says “For not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.”

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible because it explains how certain people will be judged. Ancient Egyptians and everyone else who has never heard the Gospel or Moses’ law will be judged on their conscience and their thoughts. I just love it. It is so just. So when I was looking at hieroglyphics inscribed in tombs 5,000 years ago I thought of this verse and wondered how the people fared.

After that we went to the Mohammed Ali Mosque and Citadel. It apparently is modeled after the Blue Mosque in Istanbul that I will get to see next.

For lunch that day we took a cruise on the Nile and I saw a whirling dervish. I thought of my dad because he likes to talk about whirling dervishes. There was also some belly dancing.

That night we went to the sound and light show at Giza. We sat in a place where we could see the Pyramids and the Sphinx. The show went something like this, “On this ground in the land of the Pharaohs the longest lasting structures of mankind were built.” BOOM BOOM BOOM goes the sound and FLASH FLASH FLASH goes the light. It was all very dramatic. You know me though, I buy into things like this and I really enjoyed it.

The next morning we woke up at 2:30 AM! We had to catch a flight to Luxor. This really threw me off. I’ll talk about this day, but realize that every time I sat down I fell asleep, and the flight and every bus ride seemed like two minutes. I didn’t feel fully rested until the end of the day. It was just a strange way to have to see Luxor.

The Valley of the Kings was all it is supposed to be. The tombs are in relatively good condition, and the hieroglyphs remain. King Tut’s tomb was the only one found intact, because the entrance was well hidden. King Tut’s tomb was also the smallest, but is famous because of all the stuff found inside. I can barely fathom how much stuff these other Pharaohs had. After visiting the tombs, Andy, Taylor, and I hiked up the side of the valley to get a good view. It was well worth it. One interesting thought is that everyone talks about how the tombs were robbed so many years ago and how big of a travesty it is. But didn’t modern day archaeologists rob King Tut’s tomb? What is the difference?

We then went to Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple, which looked to me like it always does in National Geographic or something else. I didn’t think I’d ever heard of it, but I recognized it when I saw it. It’s amazing how images can stick in our mind, and when we see these famous sites we may not know what it is but we recognize it as famous and touristy.

Then we went to the Colossi of Memnon for a short while to take photographs. Taylor and I were actually more amused by all the creepy Euro-Trash tourists who were walking around a conservative Muslim country bucking all cultural norms by wearing next to nothing.

We then checked into Le Meridien Luxor, which was just as nice as the last one. We had a free afternoon. I went down and used the internet for an hour for 10 bones. It’s actually called the Egyptian Pound, but an Egyptian accent sounds it out like bones, so we adopted that as the way to call it. They all knew what we meant. I realized that I need my advising number to register for spring classes, which is something I should have thought about before registration began. Now I’m stuck waiting for my number while all the classes fill up.

After that Chrissy, Andrea and I went out and about. We stopped at this bazaar and I sat and talked to an old man while they shopped. This guy was wrinkled and smoking a cigarette. He asked where I was from and I said America and he said it was a great place. He asked where in America and I asked him if he knew Montana and he said yes great people! I just started laughing at this point because this guy was so full of crap. He seemed like the kind of guy that could sit at a bar and shoot the breeze with anyone in the world for hours and hours. It was just hysterical.

After that we went to a local food market. It was just as intense as all the food markets we went to, with people selling fruits, vegetables, fish, and bread right off the ground. This one little boy kept following us around and kept inviting us to his house so we took him up on his offer. He lead us through some back alleys where all the people stared at us and generally made us feel unwelcome before we got to his place. There were cows in the street, and their back yard was ten feet by five feet fenced in menagerie of chickens, ducks, and a horse. His family was there and it looked like a very uncomfortable place to live.

We left and tried to find our horse and buggy driver. The kid asked us for baksheesh, and I gave him a bone or two, but he wasn’t happy. He kept asking us for money and I just told him he was a phony friend. We couldn’t find our driver, and we hadn’t paid him yet, so we felt bad getting a new one, but we had to get back to the hotel.

That night we visited the illuminated Luxor temple and this was my favorite stop in Ancient Egypt. It was massive and beautiful. Our guide did a great job of describing everything. There was a mosque built on it that was over 100 years old when they unearthed the temple, so they couldn’t destroy it. So there is an ancient Egyptian temple with a mosque on top of it. It was very cool because the place was so huge I couldn’t imagine it being covered by sand.

That night we went to a disco. We were playing pool in the upstairs, drinking the great Stella beer, enjoying the fresh air from outside when we caught a whiff of marijuana. We looked out the window and sure enough there were some Egyptians blazing it on the street. Andy said that he went around that night on a horse and buggy and his driver was blazing up the hash all night long and yelling at people and carrying on having a great time. Anyway we went to the basement and danced for a few hours and then headed back to the hotel for some much needed shut eye.

The next morning we visited Karnak temple, another great ancient Egyptian site that was well explained by Iman, our tour guide.

We ate lunch at the hotel and then headed to the airport for the flight back to Cairo. When we got to Cairo we took a bus to Alexandria, and we didn’t get back until 10 PM.

The sixth and final day I had free in Alexandria. I was so ready to travel by myself. I like the freedom of traveling alone, I like taking my time and I like being able to think. It is so easy to travel alone too! It’s pretty much guaranteed that there will be a taxi driver waiting as one gets off the ship or airplane. I immediately met a 71 year old named Mohammed who wanted to take me around Alexandria.

The first place I told him to go was Hotel Amoun. My dad had stayed here 30 years ago and I wanted to see it. He was stumped as to why I would want to go there because he said it was old and no good. I laughed and explained my situation and he gladly took me there. It was just as my dad explained it, at the end of a roundabout. There was a little food market nearby that I pictured my dad walking through when he was my age or a little older.

After that Mohammed took me to his mosque and explained a thing or two about it. Then I went to the Quait Bey Citadel (sp?) which stands where the old lighthouse used to be. This was a fort that was used by the army and it was in a great place to protect Alexandria from invaders. It was far out on a peninsula and served as a great place to see ships approaching. I walked around there for a while and sat on a walkway watching the ocean splash against concrete.

On my way to Pompey’s Pillar I ran into Andy and Michael and ate lunch with them and smoked a hookah. It is not uncommon to run into SASsers in any port city. Anyway Pompey’s Pillar was pretty sweet.

What I really wanted to see was the Library of Alexandria. It was huge and really nice. I spent two or three hours in there, but I could have spent more but Mohammed was waiting for me.

Mohammed took me to his favorite restaurant that he goes to every week. It was so awesome. There were no foreigners there, and I doubt they had an English menu. It was just pure authentic Egyptian, which was so nice. I forgot to mention that on my SAS trip we ate American buffets for every meal, which I formally complained about on the trip evaluation. This was my favorite meal in Egypt, and possibly one of my favorite of all time. It reminded me of Pita Pit because there was pita bread, about nine plates of sauces and vegetables, and we each had a plate of shish kebab. I made about four pita wraps and enjoyed it thoroughly. We drank some tea afterward and relaxed. By this time we were friends so Mohammed picked up the bill.

We then headed back to the ship. I only brought 35 dollars off the ship for the entire day which didn’t turn out to be enough. I only had ten dollars for Mohammed, but I told him I would go on the ship and get him more. He was obviously very apprehensive about this idea and had me write down my name and passport number. He asked for sixty dollars for the entire day, which included him paying for a number of my entrance tickets as well as my dinner, and I was so happy with him and felt so bad about not having enough I didn’t haggle.

He couldn’t come into the port area, so I doubt he could have done anything if I never came back out, but I aspire to be honest. He was indescribably happy when I actually came back and gave him the money he deserved. He kept saying thank you thank you good man good man and hugging me. While I was giving him my money, he threw his pack of cigarettes to a man who asked for one, and then the guy proceeded to walk off with his pack of cigarettes. With people like that around, I guess it made sense that he was so happy that I didn’t rip him off.

Thus ended my six day stay in Egypt. However, I’m still here because there are 12 feet waves on the Mediterranean and Alexandria Port is closed. I’m not sure when we are leaving or how much time we’re going to get in Istanbul.

I really liked Egypt a lot. It is not a democracy even though it claims to be. It is as much Middle Eastern as it is African, and it is a major player in Middle Eastern affairs. The people here are sarcastic and funny and like to have a good time.

I’ve talked about the theme of anti-Americanism before, and this was supposed to be the worst. All the previous countries have been absolutely pro America as far as I can tell, and Egypt was no different. Granted, most of them didn’t agree with what the US was doing in the Middle East and mainly didn’t agree with US policy towards Israel, but everyone I met something to the effect of, “America’s a great country. Welcome!” I can’t begin to count how many people smiled and told me welcome to Egypt even when I said I was an American. Even though many of Al-Queada’s leaders were graduates of Cairo University, and there have been terrorist attacks on tourist destinations in Egypt, I never felt unsafe. Granted, this most often was because someone wanted my money, but that is ok. Economics is more powerful than political feelings. We can get along economically very well, and I believe that is the future.

Egypt is a special place, but again allow me to switch gears and talk about some of my political feelings.

Recently I finished Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. I’ve also read Armed Madhouse by Greg Palast and Our Endangered Values by Jimmy Carter on top of all my reading for class.

Daniel Quinn is an environmentalist to the core who believes humans have made a big mistake by thinking we deserve more than animals. I disagree with that, but I do think we should do things to protect our environment. If I could pick one time in history to go back to, it very might well be the early 1800s so I could be a part of the Lewis and Clarke Expedition. I believe the American West is the most beautiful place in the world, and I would love to see it when millions of buffalo roamed freely, and when the skies turned black with the bird migration. I think it is so sad that it is not like that anymore. Someday I will see the Serengeti migration in Africa, the Caribou migration in Alaska, and the Amazon rainforest. I think these are some of the last natural beauties of the world. I consider myself somewhat of an environmentalist. I believe we need to protect the environment, and I believe it is the government’s position to do so. I believe that the economy and wealth become second to the environment. I believe companies should have to pay taxes on pollution.

At the same time I recognize the need for development and growth and all that goes along with it. I recognize that saving the environment costs a lot of money and will put people out of work. I want to find a balance between the two. When I’m elected I will work to find some kind of balance that fits right.

Greg Palest has let his hatred of George W. Bush cloud his thinking. He is so vehemently anti-Republican that he skews facts and can no longer look at a situation empirically. I would not recommend his book to anyone and I regret wasting my time with it.

Jimmy Carter wrote a great book. One of the values that he talks about is human rights. He talks about recent prisoner abuse in American prisons. I don’t condone abuse. I don’t think America should practice it. I think America should be a light to the world on human rights. I think Americans that abuse prisoners should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Going forward from these beliefs, I would like to work through the technicalities. I don’t understand how these polices have not been changed. I believe it has to do with secrecy and what not. America has always been the champion of human rights and I think it should continue.

Also, I believe in the rights of our citizens. I don’t know if any have been violated with the recent Military Commissions Act or the Patriot Act. I support the Patriot Act because I haven’t heard of any abuses, but I have heard of a number of foiled terrorist attempts. The moment an American loses a right, I’ll be the first to call for the abolishment of all these things. One of my favorite quotes is from Ben Franklin, “He who is willing to give up freedom for a little security never deserved freedom in the first place.” I’m not afraid of the terrorists and I don’t think we should give up freedoms to protect ourselves. 50% of Americans say they would rather bypass airport security and roll the dice about their safety once they board. This shows that Americans are not afraid, and I’m with them.

Let me conclude by saying that there are many technicalities involved and the issues are hugely more complex than I laid them out to be. That is why we have elected officials whose job it is to wade through all the information to try to come to a conclusion. Someday I want to be that person because I firmly believe in everything I’ve said.

This me in front of Hotel Amoun. 

Sorry Dad, you might have to tilt your head to read Hotel Amoun. 

Top left is Taylor and me in the Valley of the Kings. Top right is Andy and I on the Nile. Bottom left is Mohammed and I inthe restaurant. The bottom right is Mohammed and I right before I boarded the ship. 

The top left is near the Step Pyramid of Zoser. The top right is near the Pyramids. The bottom left is in the Mohammed Ali Mosque. The bottom right is in Karnak Temple.