Spring Break. A group of my girlfriends, and Megan, my friend from ASU currently studying abroad in Scotalnd, took a cruise down the Nile (well, technically “up” the Nile as it flows South to North). We were complete tourists. Included in the price per night of the cruise were all means, and buses to sights of interest when the boat stopped, along with our very own tour guide. Our guide was a certain man named Maged, a middle aged man who wore his shorts up to his ribs and tucked his shirt into them, complimenting this with red hightops and his socks pulled up to mid shin…haha. A really nice guy but every morning I would look forward to the clothing ensemble he had chosen for the day. He seriously knew everything there was to know about the sights were visiting. We viewed the Valley of the Kings (the sight of King Tut’s burial), Queen Hetshepset’s temple, Kom Omombo, Edfu, Philae Temple… It was so wonderful to be a tourist. I have spent the last few months trying to convince everyone (including myself) that I’m not just a tourist, that I live here, that I go to school in Egypt, that they can’t rip me off because I know what’s what. I also do my best to go along with local culture, covering my arms and legs and respecting whatever I can. But this cruise was filled with Europeans, and we girls spent the entire time on the boat in our bathing suits. It was BEAUTIFUL! I’ve got the sun burns to prove it. Woops. Haha. Three days was enough, though. It was so exhausting (slight sarcasm here) getting up for a tour, then spending the rest of the day laying in the sun, eating, laying in the sun, eating…you get the picture. Haha. Three nights was the perfect amount of time. I was just starting to get sick of it. I also learned something else on the cruise. BACKGAMMON. We girls are complete nerds. We spent the entire three days playing backgammon on the top deck of the boat. Yeah, the same game that they portray in the movies as being played by the elderly in nursing homes. It was a complete blast. We even had the owner of the boat sitting with us showing us different techniques. The game is huge here in Egypt, and Justin told me it’s also very popular in Armenia. Also, interesting enough, the Ancient Egptians played a game called Sennet which was very much like modern-day backgammon. So in accordance with the Ancient Egypt/tourist theme of our trip, we sat around playing backgammon and laying in the sun... Last night we had a THIRTEEN hour train ride from Aswan back to Cairo, overnight. Blegh. Most of us did manage to sleep. Tonight we have a THREE AM flight to Istanbul. Two nights in a row of lost sleep. But for good reason! I am so excited to see Istanbul. It should be amazing. There are ten girls going. Hopefully girl drama can be held at bay. Haha. It should be awesome!