Thursday, December 6, 2012
Hong Kong
We are incredibly spoiled by Hong Kong. It is a fact I am reminded of everytime I return to our hotel room. I say hotel room, I mean executive suite in the Hyatt. What is an executive suite? Well it is where all five of us guys live. Two rooms each with their own bathroom complete with large bath and rain shower. The rooms have comfy beds, a large desk, and a large television. The two rooms are connected by a common room with a couch, another Tv, and a kitchen. The best part is the view, from our window seats (where I eat my meals and drink tea) I can see the city,the mountains, and the harbour. The hotel also has a heated pool and a hot tub. I have been using the kitchen a lot. Not that there isn't good street food, I've found green peppers, eggplant, and tofu fried in batter as well as waffle balls (exactly like it sounds, balls of cooked waffle dough). But most the rest of the food is meat based. Luckily the markets sell tons of vegetables so I have been able to do stir fry, eggplant parmesion, avacado Mac and cheese, quiche, and even apple crisp. (It pales in comparison to my moms and grandmothers, but I like to try).
Hong Kong itself is a special city. The train system is excellent. The people are nice, and many speak English. Everything is quick and efficient. As we are several hours ahead of everyone we constantly joke that Hong Kong is the city from the future. During the week we have been busy with class, which is the most difficult part (I'm afraid I have no talent and little interest in Chinese art). But on the weekends we take advantage of the location going on hikes all day. Last weekend I took some of the group to see Hong Kong play Guam in the opening stages of the eastern Asian cup. It was a pretty small venue, but a decent game. I was just happy to watch some football again. Its been a long time.
This last weekend was possibly the best yet. On Saturday we took the ferry to Lamma island. It was first sunny day since we arrived and we took advantage of the weather. We roamed around the island, stopping to take in the views at regular intervals. Once we reached the top of the mountain we could see the whole city of Hong Kong accross the bay, settled in the mountain. Once we got back we decided to go out to celebrate the 100th day of Global. We left late with a somewhat silly plan, the last train runs at 1, so we would stay out until the first morning train ran at 6. It was fun, the night scene downtown is crazy. We got nachos at a hard rock cate. Then we went to some clubs (with me and Doug in our suits we had no issues getting in). We quite literally danced the night away. Then, tired out we found an overnight diner and I ordered a full English breakfast; eggs, toast, tea, baked beans, fried tomato, mushrooms, even veggie sausage. We returned and slept till 2. Our instructors had prepared some ice-skating at 3, so we rallied and headed to the mall. I forgot how much I liked skating. It put me in an uncharacteristically Christmas mood. I'm thankful now for all the time I spent on our frozen pond with my family. I guess years of messing around on the ice qualified me as a pretty decent skater within the group. Sudip (who was skating for the first time) and I skated the full two hours, running loops with the mountains rising in the background. When we were finally escorted off the ice my feet were killing me but I was grinning from ear to ear. I can not wait to ski in south Korea.
Its been great so far and I cant wait to see what else the city has to offer. We are going to see the hobbit in three days so that makes me happy as well. Till next post.
-Jordan
Thailand
India
Hello everyone, its been a long time. I wrote a blog post for Bangalore but quickly discovered it would not be published. To much transpired over that amount of time. I would need 100 posts to do it justice. It will have to be enough for me to say I owe much to the people at the ecumenical Christian center and a special thanks goes out to the kids for rekindling a enjoyment of cricket. (Which I now kind of understand.) Instead I will start in Delhi and try to catch up.
In Delhi we had quite the adventure. To set the scene, it's Diwali the festival of lights where Indians celebrate the triumph of good over evil. This means the streets are crowded and the air is full of smoke from the fireworks that go off every five minutes. Lanterns fill the street. Susie and Lauren needed to fill up their phone cards to call their moms, and me (as a guy) went with. Our first attempts failed until we met an Indian man on the street. He took us to a shop that was open. It was there that Susie, who had the wrong carrier, was thinking of buying a new Sim card. Our new Indian friend advised me against it, claiming that I was being way overcharged be because of the festival. We hurriedly left the store and our hero set to work. He called his friends and sent them on their motorbike's on a journey accross the city to put money on Susie's card. It took about 45 minutes but they succeeded. In the meantime we talked to our new friend, who first claimed to work at a hotel, then a hospital, then to have just gotten his degree in accounting. It was a bit sketchy but he was getting us the money we needed. At the end of the night he offered me his motorcycle to drive, insisting my friends could ride with his friends. I had to good sense to decline but let him flag down a rickshaw (the Indian equivalent of a taxi) for us. Not only did he make sure we weren't cheated he and his two friends gave us a loud and flashy motorcycle escort all the way back to the ymca. At this point we were practically falling down with laughter. We thanked him and he road off into the night. Turned out he was alright after all.
Of course the fallowing day we took a train to the Taj Mahal and Aggar fort. It is a clichéd place, but people visit for a reason. Its one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I'm afraid our instructors words feel on deaf ears as we stared with mouths with open. The tour (and more importantly pictures) took the best part of two hours. We were again reminded of how blessed we are to be on this trip. The following day we left for Thailand, very sad to be saying goodbye to India. Oh also I will never go to another mcdonalds. Call out to the McVeggie.
Jor
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
India
I've successfully made it to India. Everyone so far has been amazingly nice to us, a refreshing change from Egypt. We live in a very rural area and have to pay for internet so I'm going to make this brief. I'll post about both the end of Egypt and India when I have time but it might not be until Hong Kong. Oh well it will give everyone a break from my long-winded post.
I'd like to thank everyone for the birthday wishes, I had a really special time in Mumbai. Imagine my surprise when, at the club we were at, I was served a giant chocolate cake with my name (and Sarah and Yelena's names too, how likely is it that three people have birthdays over two days on this trip?) on it. The Indian students who we had met and had taken us out with them had gone to a local bakery they knew and gotten us the cake! It was pretty awesome.
Unfortunately that's all I have time for. Bye for a while.
-JT
I'd like to thank everyone for the birthday wishes, I had a really special time in Mumbai. Imagine my surprise when, at the club we were at, I was served a giant chocolate cake with my name (and Sarah and Yelena's names too, how likely is it that three people have birthdays over two days on this trip?) on it. The Indian students who we had met and had taken us out with them had gone to a local bakery they knew and gotten us the cake! It was pretty awesome.
Unfortunately that's all I have time for. Bye for a while.
-JT
Friday, October 5, 2012
An engagement and Alexandria
We returned from our excursions and resumed class. We had only two days before leaving for an mini excursion to Alexandria and El Alamein . Yet those two days proved to have their own share of excitement. Katie and Sarah has become good friends with two of the students at the AUC. These two Egyptian students invited Sarah and Katie to an engagement party (the lucky lady thought it was a birthday get together) and they wanted a guy to come with. The opportunity (or responsibility depending on your perspective) fell to me. So I found myself in a taxi cab with three AUC girls I did not know while the other girls went with their friends in another car.
Somewhere in the course of events we arrived early and the other car got a bit lost, or at least side-tracked. So I arrived with three strangers to a bit of Cairo I had not explored. We found the place and I at once realized that Katie had been a bit liberal with her use of the word "club" when inviting me. It was not a club in the traditional sense, instead it was a salsa-dancing bar and restaurant. What's more is our 50 LE (less then 10 dollar) cover charge included a free salsa dancing lesson. Well those of you who know me well understand that dancing would not be my number one choice of activity. So I was content to stand well in the back and watch.
The instructor went over the first step while I listened somewhat halfheartedly. He finished his example and asked for a male volunteer for an example. My eyes wandered over the crowd of 20 people in front of me and my brain suddenly registered that they were all women. The instructor caught my eye and before I could say "oh crap!" his assistant darted through the crowd pulled me forward with and iron grasp. All I could do now is try not to embarrass myself. A task that would be difficult as I was the only white person in the club and I had on my ridiculous sandels. I tried my best, and perhaps was evening starting to get a handle on the basic 8 beat set (mostly due to the skill of my dancing partner) when Katie and Sarah showed up. Now I won't say they fell over laughing, but they did need something to lean on.
The rest of the night was thoroughly enjoyable. Once the class ended and the music started the regulars showed up. And they were good. It fun to watch. What's more our cover charge allowed us.to buy anything on the menu. It's the best chocolate cake and cheesecake I've had here. The engagement went smoothly too, the music stopped and the girl was called forward. She was completely surprised, but after congratulating the happy couple we snuck out and left them to their celebration since we had to get up early to go to Alexandria the next day.
Alexandria was a trip of two sides for me. When we first arrived we tried to go to the beach. We were kicked out by a gaurd. Our only crime? Having girls with us. As it turned out the girls had a seperate beach, a much smaller and more crowded beach. Unused to such discrimination we went to the peer instead. It was no better there. We received so much verbal abuse for being American we soon retreated to a nearby mall.
Yes, you heard me correctly. A mall. Right next to where we were staying was a giant hotel called the four seasons. It took up a whole city block (maybe more like 2-3) and had a whole mall contained within it. We walked past posters of American girls modeling clothing from inside this suspiciously clean building. The westernization made me feel almost physically sick, no wonder we had received so much abuse on the street.
The next day we saw the other side of Alexandria. Alexandria has some extremely significant historical sites. We toured the fort, saw the place where the lighthouse (once on of the seven wonders of the world) stood, and visited the library which is probably one of the most impressive academic institution I've seen in a while. It was strange to comprehend both the historical and modern elements.
On our way back to Cairo we stopped in El Alamein , a famous site of the second World War. We visited the graveyard honoring the British troops who had fallen in North Africa. It was pretty sobering and had quite an impact on me, realizing I could have ancestors buried there. One inscription read under the name "some corner of a foreign land, that is forever England." Here was Churchill's offering of blood, sweat, toil, and tears. I just didn't expect to find it in Egypt.
-JT
Somewhere in the course of events we arrived early and the other car got a bit lost, or at least side-tracked. So I arrived with three strangers to a bit of Cairo I had not explored. We found the place and I at once realized that Katie had been a bit liberal with her use of the word "club" when inviting me. It was not a club in the traditional sense, instead it was a salsa-dancing bar and restaurant. What's more is our 50 LE (less then 10 dollar) cover charge included a free salsa dancing lesson. Well those of you who know me well understand that dancing would not be my number one choice of activity. So I was content to stand well in the back and watch.
The instructor went over the first step while I listened somewhat halfheartedly. He finished his example and asked for a male volunteer for an example. My eyes wandered over the crowd of 20 people in front of me and my brain suddenly registered that they were all women. The instructor caught my eye and before I could say "oh crap!" his assistant darted through the crowd pulled me forward with and iron grasp. All I could do now is try not to embarrass myself. A task that would be difficult as I was the only white person in the club and I had on my ridiculous sandels. I tried my best, and perhaps was evening starting to get a handle on the basic 8 beat set (mostly due to the skill of my dancing partner) when Katie and Sarah showed up. Now I won't say they fell over laughing, but they did need something to lean on.
The rest of the night was thoroughly enjoyable. Once the class ended and the music started the regulars showed up. And they were good. It fun to watch. What's more our cover charge allowed us.to buy anything on the menu. It's the best chocolate cake and cheesecake I've had here. The engagement went smoothly too, the music stopped and the girl was called forward. She was completely surprised, but after congratulating the happy couple we snuck out and left them to their celebration since we had to get up early to go to Alexandria the next day.
Alexandria was a trip of two sides for me. When we first arrived we tried to go to the beach. We were kicked out by a gaurd. Our only crime? Having girls with us. As it turned out the girls had a seperate beach, a much smaller and more crowded beach. Unused to such discrimination we went to the peer instead. It was no better there. We received so much verbal abuse for being American we soon retreated to a nearby mall.
Yes, you heard me correctly. A mall. Right next to where we were staying was a giant hotel called the four seasons. It took up a whole city block (maybe more like 2-3) and had a whole mall contained within it. We walked past posters of American girls modeling clothing from inside this suspiciously clean building. The westernization made me feel almost physically sick, no wonder we had received so much abuse on the street.
The next day we saw the other side of Alexandria. Alexandria has some extremely significant historical sites. We toured the fort, saw the place where the lighthouse (once on of the seven wonders of the world) stood, and visited the library which is probably one of the most impressive academic institution I've seen in a while. It was strange to comprehend both the historical and modern elements.
On our way back to Cairo we stopped in El Alamein , a famous site of the second World War. We visited the graveyard honoring the British troops who had fallen in North Africa. It was pretty sobering and had quite an impact on me, realizing I could have ancestors buried there. One inscription read under the name "some corner of a foreign land, that is forever England." Here was Churchill's offering of blood, sweat, toil, and tears. I just didn't expect to find it in Egypt.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Luxor and Hurghada
This past week we left for an excursion outside of Cairo. We flew first to historic Luxor for two days then spent three nights in a beach resort in the new tourist hot spot of Egypt; Hurghada. In Luxor we were led by a capable tour guide through ancient tombs and temples, as well as the luxor museum and even a place where they still make real papyrus. We rose early in the morning to beat the heat (my watch was reading 38°C by noon) then would spend the rest of the day chilling by the pool or in the shade of our balcony. We lunched at the local Egyptian falafel place.
Let's take a moment to talk about food. Our daily falafel cost us 5 Egyptians pound, which is just short of one American dollar in Zamelak, our home in Cairo, we can get it for 2. And its the best thing I've ever eaten. Why we wasted our time in the other restaurants for pizza, pasta, or rice is a mystery to me. (With the exceptions of crepes and bagels, my other main food groups). I also found McVities chocolate digestives in the store, the England crowd will appreciate my excitement over that find. But back to falafel. I would put up with the heat, the garbage, and even the occasional harassment just to eat that stuff everyday.
Anyway, after luxor we got back on a plane for Hurghada. Dear reader I will not lie to you. This second visit had not an ounce of educational value. We spent three days on the beach, swimming, playing frisbee, sunbathing (or for me reading and writing in the shade), snorkeling, eating at the hotel buffet, and more besides. Personally my favorite time was after dark when the other tourists had finally left the beach and the moon and stars (hidden from us in Cairo and Istanbul) shone accross the expanse of deep blue water. This is when I did most of my swimming too, despite the many jokes i recieved about eels and sharks in the night (Jakob, Ted, and Will it was much like our time at unistar... just... you know... in Egypt).
It was a great break for most of our group. I must admit I am not a huge beach person and began to grow restless by the third day. After all one can only apply spf 50 sunscreen so many times in a day before starting to resent the sun. Not that I will complain, I must admit we had a little chuckle to ourselves when we realized most of our friends would be in class during our afternoon swim. Alas such things can not last and we have returned to Cairo and our hectic schedule once again.
More to follow soon. Pictures too. Also heads up to those who use my st. Olaf email address. I can receive emails and reply to threads but can not generate emails since Olaf is blocking my contacts from being downloaded to my kindle (go figure). I'm trying to get some addresses through stalkernet so I can email my friends. Until I figure it out just assume I'm ok and am not neglecting you!
- JT
Let's take a moment to talk about food. Our daily falafel cost us 5 Egyptians pound, which is just short of one American dollar in Zamelak, our home in Cairo, we can get it for 2. And its the best thing I've ever eaten. Why we wasted our time in the other restaurants for pizza, pasta, or rice is a mystery to me. (With the exceptions of crepes and bagels, my other main food groups). I also found McVities chocolate digestives in the store, the England crowd will appreciate my excitement over that find. But back to falafel. I would put up with the heat, the garbage, and even the occasional harassment just to eat that stuff everyday.
Anyway, after luxor we got back on a plane for Hurghada. Dear reader I will not lie to you. This second visit had not an ounce of educational value. We spent three days on the beach, swimming, playing frisbee, sunbathing (or for me reading and writing in the shade), snorkeling, eating at the hotel buffet, and more besides. Personally my favorite time was after dark when the other tourists had finally left the beach and the moon and stars (hidden from us in Cairo and Istanbul) shone accross the expanse of deep blue water. This is when I did most of my swimming too, despite the many jokes i recieved about eels and sharks in the night (Jakob, Ted, and Will it was much like our time at unistar... just... you know... in Egypt).
It was a great break for most of our group. I must admit I am not a huge beach person and began to grow restless by the third day. After all one can only apply spf 50 sunscreen so many times in a day before starting to resent the sun. Not that I will complain, I must admit we had a little chuckle to ourselves when we realized most of our friends would be in class during our afternoon swim. Alas such things can not last and we have returned to Cairo and our hectic schedule once again.
More to follow soon. Pictures too. Also heads up to those who use my st. Olaf email address. I can receive emails and reply to threads but can not generate emails since Olaf is blocking my contacts from being downloaded to my kindle (go figure). I'm trying to get some addresses through stalkernet so I can email my friends. Until I figure it out just assume I'm ok and am not neglecting you!
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Tatooine pt. 1
"Say what you like about Egyptians but don't ever question their religion. We are talking about a people who refuse to represent the prophet Muhammad, even in their own art. To have a film degrading this holy figure is... uncomprehendable for them." -Our Egyptian Professor on the first day of class
We have made it to Egypt. I will start by reassuring everyone that I am completely safe. We are living on an island surrounded by the Nile, called Zamelak. It is very secluded and very wealthy, Doug calls it the 'Manhattan of Cairo'. We are living in the dormitories for the AUC (American univeristy of Cairo). They have strict rules including completely segregated rooms, bag checks, and armed guards just to name a few. To us these rules seem ridiculously harsh, but perhaps parents are reassured by the added security (I asked whether it was to keep rioters out or for controlling students, but our guide choose not to answer). We've had class everyday, ate at all the local restaurants, and played basketball in the yard (me and Conner are dominating despite our team being made up of a ginger and a Brit). We have promised not to leave the island, and for the most part have complied.
Not that we haven't seen the results from the riots. We get TV just like everyone else. And we've seen the effects. Perhaps later I will share my experiences and my reflections, but for now its just enough to say that this American who promoted this video has brought shame to the entire nation of the US and has made our trip, unfortunately, a little less pleasent. (I will share a picture of one of the buildings burned in the January riots, which were obviously far worse).
Lets move on to happier things. I've had fresh fruit for breakfast every day (mostly kiwi's and mangoes) and we don't have to worry about cockroaches, spiders, and other bugs since Conner (my roommate) found a gecko in his shorts the first day. In honor of Eddard Stark we have named him Ned, and he will protect us. Class has been really interesting, however after two classes of Arabic I am still unable to do more than order and say thank you. The Egyptians have been really nice on the island, a woman helped us get a cab to the museum yesterday and rode with us so we wouldn't get overcharged (the price? 1 US dollar for the whole cab ride). After playing basketball yesterday one of the staff brought out a soccer ball. "Talaata rikibt waahid" he said, by which he meant three on one, a well known soccer drill. My two friends raised the eyebrows at me, he was a larger man after all. But I have played with Jorge enough at this point not to judge by appearance and sure enough he had us chasing the ball in no time, despite his flip-flops.
The sites have not disappointed either. I could easily spend another day at the museum, seeing everything from the mummies, to statues, to giant statues, to walls full of hieroglyphs. The pyramids and the sphinx, while clichéd, were amazing. If it wasn't for our run-ins with the merchants and swindlers, I would never leave. Camel riding was perhaps my favorite part of the day. I felt like I was on Tatooine, surrounded by all the sand-dunes. (Plus my camel would make a wookie sound everytime I scratched his head). We wanted to rent camels for the day after that and just ride out into the desert. (I've been reading t.e. Lawrences seven pillars of wisdom so I totally would too.)
Well that's enough for now. We leave on a 6 day excursion tomorrow so I'll have more to share when we return. Hopefully the riots will be all done by then!
-JT
We have made it to Egypt. I will start by reassuring everyone that I am completely safe. We are living on an island surrounded by the Nile, called Zamelak. It is very secluded and very wealthy, Doug calls it the 'Manhattan of Cairo'. We are living in the dormitories for the AUC (American univeristy of Cairo). They have strict rules including completely segregated rooms, bag checks, and armed guards just to name a few. To us these rules seem ridiculously harsh, but perhaps parents are reassured by the added security (I asked whether it was to keep rioters out or for controlling students, but our guide choose not to answer). We've had class everyday, ate at all the local restaurants, and played basketball in the yard (me and Conner are dominating despite our team being made up of a ginger and a Brit). We have promised not to leave the island, and for the most part have complied.
Not that we haven't seen the results from the riots. We get TV just like everyone else. And we've seen the effects. Perhaps later I will share my experiences and my reflections, but for now its just enough to say that this American who promoted this video has brought shame to the entire nation of the US and has made our trip, unfortunately, a little less pleasent. (I will share a picture of one of the buildings burned in the January riots, which were obviously far worse).
Lets move on to happier things. I've had fresh fruit for breakfast every day (mostly kiwi's and mangoes) and we don't have to worry about cockroaches, spiders, and other bugs since Conner (my roommate) found a gecko in his shorts the first day. In honor of Eddard Stark we have named him Ned, and he will protect us. Class has been really interesting, however after two classes of Arabic I am still unable to do more than order and say thank you. The Egyptians have been really nice on the island, a woman helped us get a cab to the museum yesterday and rode with us so we wouldn't get overcharged (the price? 1 US dollar for the whole cab ride). After playing basketball yesterday one of the staff brought out a soccer ball. "Talaata rikibt waahid" he said, by which he meant three on one, a well known soccer drill. My two friends raised the eyebrows at me, he was a larger man after all. But I have played with Jorge enough at this point not to judge by appearance and sure enough he had us chasing the ball in no time, despite his flip-flops.
The sites have not disappointed either. I could easily spend another day at the museum, seeing everything from the mummies, to statues, to giant statues, to walls full of hieroglyphs. The pyramids and the sphinx, while clichéd, were amazing. If it wasn't for our run-ins with the merchants and swindlers, I would never leave. Camel riding was perhaps my favorite part of the day. I felt like I was on Tatooine, surrounded by all the sand-dunes. (Plus my camel would make a wookie sound everytime I scratched his head). We wanted to rent camels for the day after that and just ride out into the desert. (I've been reading t.e. Lawrences seven pillars of wisdom so I totally would too.)
Well that's enough for now. We leave on a 6 day excursion tomorrow so I'll have more to share when we return. Hopefully the riots will be all done by then!
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