Don't land in the poop!

Poop happens.

And in foreign countries and many dog parks/parks are the US...

You have to watch out for poop as you walk up and down the street.

Stepping in it can ruin your entire day,

In Egypt this takes on a whole different form.

Not only do you want to avoid stepping in it,

but if you have a feisty young camel like me,

you want to avoid falling into it as well.

Let me take you back a few steps to earlier today,

June 26, 2015 around 10am.

I've always joked that things just happen to me.

Things that would only happen to 1 in 1 million people...

yep, I'm that 1.

That's me.

I don't go out trying or looking for things,

they just seem to magically come my way.

Go figure.

I had underestimated how tall a camel was.

They are seriously tall...much more than a horse.

Most people would know this, but me,

nope.

I just wanted to ride one.

I didn't really think about what that all entailed.

I do now.

And I have a few bruises to show for it.

sigh.

When we arrived in Giza

our driver arranged for us to ride camels and have a tour of the pyramids.

I had already set aside my expectations that the camels were going to be prestine

so I wasn't surprised at how they looked.

It's been an interesting process putting aside my strong animal feelings during my visit.

But for my heart, I can't dwell on it too long.

So I won't.

The camel that was for me was named Pepsi.

He was a fiesty young dude, with a teenage attitude.

I thought, "Hey, no problem! I'm used to teenage attitude."

What I didn't anticipate was that getting on a camel is NOT,

and I repeat,

it is NOT like getting on a horse.

I did not know this,

and I feel that it is my duty to educate the world on this matter.

Getting on a camel is NOT like getting on a horse.

Don't hop up using the stirrup to balance you...

this will just make your camel hop up as well.

In the process you will be flung, sprawling to the ground

hoping to not land in a pile of camel poop.

Yes, this is what happened to me.

As I layed on the groud...

totally stunned that I had just fallen off a camel,

my racing thought was, "Where is that pile of fresh poop?"

I had seen in before and now I was worried that it would be plastered to my back.

That would not be the way to start a 2 hour camel ride.

Thankfully the poop was no where near my back, head or hands

and I sighed in relief.

I felt like a super idiot,

but at least it gave them something to talk about that day.

The rest of the time went off without a hitch or a fall.

Riding a camel is not for the unbalanced or the nervous person

or really for the person that is scared of heights!

Amy and I traded camels halfway through and Moses was a very tall guy,

much taller than Pepsi.

Moses did a good job keep me safe and wasn't as fast at getting up as Pepsi,

so that was great!

Moses and Sugar the guides horse.

Can't beat these moments!

Pyramid of Giza!

Pinch me!

I really can't believe that I've been there!

Just amazing...

Not everyone can say that they have sat of the ledge of the pyramid,

but Laura has.

Or hugged a stone made thousands of years ago!

But I have!

Whoa! THis amazing view was on the walk up to see the Sphinx

I was surprised at how small in was in comparison to everything else.

Photographs are usually taken at an angle so that it appears much larger.

Still awesome though!

Egyptian Bumper Cars and Lounging Lunch

There are two speeds at which life travels here in Egypt,

lingering slowness or super fast.

Not much in-between,

and actually those two speeds work quite well here.

Egyptians work on a slower pace when making plans to meet,

or how much time is spent eating.

As Americans we are so used to eating quickly 

and rushing to get to the next spot that the slow pace of meals feels very new and different.

There is something beautiful to just sitting back and enjoying every moment of the meal.

Just make sure that you don't have some place that you need to go to quickly...

you won't make it.

The good thing is that if you do need a quick meal,

there are plenty of quick options.

Super fast is reserved for cars or moving vehicles.

As expected cars move, weaving in and out of lanes

and some times,

not in a lane at all!

Lanes or at least the lines that mark the lanes

seem to be mere suggestions...

take them or leave them.

It's your choice.

It reminded me of traveling in Greece and Turkey.

Remember that Kelly and Sara?

The weaving in and out of lanes at fast speeds,

while our driver honked his signals to those around us?

When we first arrived and got in the taxi with Amy,

I was shocked at how little traffic there was around us.

It's Ramadan right now,

and since we arrived around 6-7pm

most people were home breaking their fast for the day

and eating a meal.

That left us on a basically empty freeway 

with just our taxi and a crazy dude flying by us on a motorbike

while laying on his stomach...no helmet, of course.

We couldn't help but laugh and wonder how in the world he could stay on!

Seriously!

Kids these days are the same everywhere.

ha!

On the other hand,

I was disappointed that Laura was not experiencing 

the true way that people over in this part of the world drive.

I had spent so much time talking to her about what the ride

was going to be like and what she could expect so that it wasn't a shocker.

The real shocker was that it was one of the smoothest 

and easiest rides we had since we began traveling.

Go figure.

Thankfully the next day (today, Thursday June 25th) she experienced 

the real Egyptian driving...and it was crazy awesome.

Cars traveling quickly and tightly so close together that door handles could touch.

How they don't touch is beyond my comprehension.

Though from all of the scraps and mirrors absent,

the cars do pretend to be bumper cars often.

Note to people moving to Egypt...Don't buy a nice car.

Just don't.  It's not worth it.

Instead, just find an old beat-up thing,

duct tape the bumper and side mirrors on,

find a sharpie to fill in or draw a design to cover any damage,

jam a screwdriver into the window frame so the window stays up (yes, I saw this),

and then sit back and let the bumper cars do their thing.

It's really the only way to go.

And really, that would be the most enjoyable way to go.

Once you have your car all mashed together and sharpied to your liking,

don't worry about learning all of those silly driving laws,

you don't need them!

Just know a couple signs and which dude in the police officer 

and which one is the soldier and you'll be fine.

If you find that you've gone too far,

also don't worry.

Just throw your car in reverse through the intersection,

while honking so that people know that you're there,

and back it on up!

Boom! You're to your destination.

Easy-peasy.

If you see another scrap from your travels,

again just pick out your sharpie color and go to town drawing.

Voila! Your car is new again. 

All in all, I can't help but just watch, giggle, 

and sit in awe at how people are able to navigate the streets without much 

regulation or at let what appears to be little regulation.

It's amazing really.

Plus, where else can you go and decorate your own car?

I feel like this could be a new trend...

maybe a need a new set of sharpies and an old car myself.

Oh man, my mind is churning already...

watch out world.

I have duct tape, sharpies, and a mind filled with ideas...

together we'll make an Egyptian masterpiece.

Zombie Corpses Got Nothing On Me

No, this post is not going to be about the Zombie Apocolypse,

though just as a reminder,

you have your plan in place, correct?

Ha! 

Traveling internationally sends me into a Zombie like state.

I'm in one place, then another, 

just herded around like a blob of zombies looking for their next meal.

I too am always looking for my next meal.

Follow along on this little adventure.

It's been a whirlwind the last few days!

Right now I'm sitting at the airport in Paris waiting for my flight to Cairo.

Laura is napping,

Which I'm secretly jealous of...

But I also thought that this would be a great time to write a few things.

First, there's a fabulous freedom when you're traveling in your thirties.

That was an unexpected surprise.

There's freedom in having more confidence 

when traveling that I can only think is attributed to age, ie wisdom.

Ha! Wisdom...I don't think that I've obtained that one yet.

But there is a calm that I have.

That is so nice!

We'll see if that continues into Egypt.

Paris feels familiar to me.

It has the same feeling of traveling in my younger days,

But without the financial stress.

I definitely don't miss stressing over cost.

As a twenty-something, that's as always a concern.

Not that I throw money around,

definitely not me,

but I'm not worried about it as I once was.

That gives me freedom to just enjoy.

Now I just feel like I can sit back and take it all in.

So what have we done, you may ask.

Well,

It's been a wild 3 days.

Adding Paris into our trip wasn't in the original plan.

Nope.

But when I started looking for flights it became clear that no matter what airline,

No matter what course,

we were going through Paris.

Naturally, how could we not stop! 

Time is always a restraint.

We only had so many days to spare 

and still be able to spend time in Egypt with Amy.

Therefore, Sunday to Wednesday it was to be.

Originally, I had big plans for Sunday.

I figured that we would rest up on the plane.

We'd be groggy when we arrived, 

but I knew that the excited would override that groggy fog.

Boy was I wrong.

I didn't sleep at all on the plane.

In the last couple hours of our flight into Paris,

I looked over to see Fuller sound asleep.

I fought back the urge to shake her 

so that she could be as miserable as I was,

but I dug deep and resisted.

The pangs of jealousy ran deep though.

Very deep.

No matter what I tried, sleep was not going to be my friend.

I was doomed to suffer.

Arriving at Paris I did feel a surge.

The excitement of checking this spot off my list was great, 

so it fought its way through my sleep-deprivation. 

We found our luggage (yay! It arrived!),

located a taxi,

informed him of our destination,

and off we went!

I think both of our eyes were huge,

jusst taking it all in.

There's just so much to adjust to

when arriving in a new country.

I found myself watching Laura 

and her reactions to watch she was viewing for the very first time.

The architecture,

the roadways,

the drivers, in cars, mopeds, and bikes,

weaving in and out of traffic.

It's intoxicating.

You find yourself in a blur of sensory overload...

and it's a good place to be. 

Arriving at the apartment,

we met the assistant and he showed us around,

making sure that we knew how to run things,

where things were located,

and other inportant information.

Once he left, we sat on the futon couch and took a breath.

I had my surge of energy and was ready to go...

I just wanted to take a quick shower.

oh wait, we should eat something real quick since it was Sunday.

On Sundays most stores are closed and the ones that are open,

don't stay that way for long.

Open and then closed.

You can see how getting food quickly became a priority.

So I forgo the shower 

and we head out down the street to find a little market.

Fortunately for us,

there was one right below our apartment.

Yay us!

Then I made the mistake.

I broke off a piece of bread and ate it.

Immediately I knew that had been the wrong choice.

But we were in Paris, how could I not eat bread?!

Those carbs do it to me every time.

I became really sleepy.

So sleepy, that I just wanted to lay down on the bed for a minute or two.

Not long, but just enough time to rest my little eyeballs.

Boom!

I was done and Laura was out too.

We were like corpses.

Dead to the world around us.

Both of us thought,

of we'll just set these alarms and wake up after short snoozes...

many snoozes later...

like 5 hours later, we had rested and 

could function more like humans 

and not so much like the walking dead.

Zombies no more.

I decided that I still wasn't going to get that much needed shower...

we had been told that June 21st is the Day of Music 

or the day when music is played.

All around the city muscians would be out playing on each corner.

Sounded like a good time to wander around 

and soak in all of the Parisan life that we could...

and we did.

But that will be told in the next post!

"Walk like a Parisan"

Oh the Places We've Gone

As Nerdy Chicks, we've done our fair share of traveling.

Some of us have traveled far distances, 

while others how spent time around the United States.

Nerdy Chick Amy
Amy has traveled to so many amazing places.  How lucky are Laura and I, that we get to have her expertise in Egypt?!  SO LUCKY!!

Create your own travel map - TravBuddy

Nerdy Chick Laura
This chick has gone all over the United States and is now spreading her wings and flying east.

Create your own travel map - TravBuddy

Nerdy Chick Lori
Going to add a few more green boxes to my map this summer.  :)
There are so many more countries to visit and I'm going to fill this map up!

Create your own travel map - TravBuddy

Want to see your own map?

Go to TravBuddy and make one for yourself!

It's fun to see all of the places light up on the map.

Alright, now get out there and go see something.

Nerdy Chicks Rule

Nerds.
Years ago, nerds were put down and made fun of.
It used to be something to look down on,
but now...I strive to nerd-out.
And really, now, nerds rule the world.


Nerd, 
according to the Urban Dictionary-

An 'individual', i.e. a person who does not conform to society's beliefs 

that all people should follow trends and do what their peers do.

A person who gains pleasure from amassing large quantities 

of knowledge about subjects often too detailed or 

complicated for most other people to be bothered with. 

Nerds exist covertly within the fabric of society, 

often choosing to 'nerd it up' in private or in the 

company of fellow nerds. It is for this reason they are 

feared the most - unlike geeks, who are easily identified, 

nerds can only be found out when casual conversation 

reaches a subject that they like nerding.

 We are going to be nerding out all over Paris and Egypt.

Chicks rock.
Chicks are awesome.
Chicks have been around since the 1600's.
Thank you Mr. Shakespeare.

And these chicks know their nerdiness.
We own it.
We relish in the fact that we can completely nerd out together.

Shakespeare, 1611

The earliest use of "chick" as a term of endearment for a young girl was in 1611 -- by Shakespeare in The Tempest (Act V, Scene I):

My Ariel; chicke That is thy charge.

Since we are teachers, learning never stops.

So join us on our adventures.

Who knows,

maybe you'll learn something!

No matter what, you'll get a glimpse into our nerdy ways.

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