Luxor

Traveling within Egypt is quite an adventure, partially because of the language barrier, partially because of the culture barrier and partially because it is just Egypt. However, it is amazing. I am going to split the weeks travels into two posts because there is a lot to write, and so I have something to post next week. I will talk about Luxor this week and Aswan/ Abu Simbel next week. Also, I would like to mention quickly that on our way to the train station it rained for less than five minutes, the first time it has done so since I have been here.
We traveled to Luxor by taking a sleeper/ overnight train from Cairo which was quite luxurious compared to the crammed cars that we witnessed leaving before us. Because it was the day leading up to Eid the trains were over packed and the demand for travel seemed to be quite high. As we waited at the station for our train, which was an hour late( pretty standard by Egyptian time), people fought, climbed on top of, jumped through windows and positioned themselves in between the train cars in order to catch a ride to presumably their families from the country side.
Upon arriving in Aswan our group was immediately surrounded by people begging us to take their taxi, book reservations in their hotel and with their travel agencies to take tours. Since the revolution, tourism has hit an all time low and the smaller cities such as Luxor thrive on tourism, so seeing a big group of white young travelers was the perfect pray for these men. After walking for almost more than twenty minutes they would still not leave us alone, and continued to harass us even after many shouting matches. Eventually we made it to the hotel, Happy Land Hotel ( which I would recommend to anyone traveling in Egypt). Immediately we set up a trip to see the Valley of The Kings.
The Valley of the Kings is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom . The valley stands on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Luxor. The valley is known to contain 63 tombs with over 120 chambers. It was the principal burial place of the major royal figures of the Egyptian New Kingdom, together with those of a number of privileged nobles. The royal tombs are decorated with scenes from Egyptian mythology and give clues to the beliefs and funerary rituals of the period. The valley has become famous for the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen and is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. Unfortunately no photos were allowed inside the whole place including the tombs themselves and when I tried to sneak some photos I was caught immediately.
We also visited the Temple of Karnack and Luxor. The Temple of Karnack was quite a wonder and sat on over 64 acres of land. The complex is a vast open-air museum and the largest ancient religious site in the world. One famous aspect of Karnack, is the Hypostyle Hall in the Precinct of Amun-Re, a hall area of 50,000 sq ft with 134 massive columns arranged in 16 rows. 122 of these columns are 10 meters tall, and the other 12 are 21 meters tall with a diameter of over three meters. We were allowed to take pictures here so most of what is shown below is from either of the two temples. We also got to experience the slaughter of many animals and see the streets filled with the bloody reminisces of the holiday. Below are pictures of The Temple of Karnack, other various temples/ ancient sites around Luxor and more pictures just from the trip.

The Galápagos Islands

Wow!! I am left breathless after indulging in a week vacation to the Galápagos Islands. It was the most amazing experience I could ever ask for.
The Galápagos Islands is made up of 13 islands around the equator in the Pacific Ocean that is located west of continental Ecuador. It is where Charles Darwin did his studies on evolution. It is a national park and a biological marine reservation that is home to a vast number of endemic species.
I traveled to the Galápagos Island with an amazing group of girls that were eager as I was to learn and take in all the beauty that the Islands had to offer. Out of the 13 different Islands in the Galápagos Island, we decided on visiting 3 islands due to our tight budget and time, but just being in one Island would have been enough because of all the many things that were available to explore.
Upon arriving to San Cristobal, we were immediately greeted by lovely sea lions that were resting and sun bathing on the sidewalks of the main streets. In San Cristobal we wasted no time and began to explore. We found a hostal and booked an amazing two day tour for CHEAP, and then headed to the beach to snorkel. Everything in San Cristobal was walking distance, so we walked over to Cerro Las Tijeretas (Frigate bird Hill) where I snorkeled for the first time in my life. It was the most thrilling experience ever. I was determined that I was not going to panic and just enjoy what was to come. We did not see very much sea animals, but that was only a warm-up compared to what we had coming the next day.
On our first day tour, we took a boat to two different sites which to me felt like a whole other world. We snorkeled in Islas Lobos (Island of the sea lions) where we saw tons and tons of schools of fishes, sea lions, blue-footed boobies, vibrant colored crabs, and Marine Iguanas. We then headed over to the León Dormido. It is called the León Dormido because from the highlands of San Cristobal, you can see a huge ‘lion shaped’ rock sticking out in the middle of the sea. Between the rocks it is formed a channel of water where the girls and I snorkeled through with a guide and that is where I could not believe my eyes. I felt like I was in the ‘Finding Nemo’ movie. Under water we saw sea turtles, all sorts of colorful fishes, and Galápagos sharks. Yes, I said it, Galápagos sharks. I swam with sharks. It was AMAZING!! Never thought I’d ever do that. It was the best feeling in the world. I can now say that I, Lorraine Perdomo, swam with sharks.
After a wonderful 2 ½ days in San Cristobal, we head to the Island of Santa Cruz on a small boat for 2 hours. That was an experience in its self. Upon arriving we again wasted no time and explored the Island. We went to Tortuga Bay (one of the largest beaches of white sand in all of Galápagos) and spent an entire day sun bathing, relaxing, and enjoying each other’s company.
The last Island we went to was Isabela, where it is home to Giant Turtles, Penguins, Flamingo birds, Marine Iguanas, sea lions, and Tintoreras (name for white fin sharks), which we all got to see.
This trip was a well worth every penny trip. I would most definitely recommend this trip to anyone who is thinking about traveling to Ecuador. I learned so much about the Galápagos Islands, and its beautiful and unique species. It is definitely a unique place to visit. The natives of Galápagos are amazing people filled with joy, happiness, and passion for its animals. It is a place that is protected and kept clean to prevent anything that would cause harm to their species.

                        

London trip!

This past weekend I went to London with one of my American friends and it was beyond amazing! We got there early Friday morning around 7. We planned to tours for the trip the first was a Harry Potter tour on Friday and the second was a hop-on hop-off bus tour on one of the iconic double-Decker red buses.

The Harry Potter tour was so cool. Not only did it take us to various parts of London that either was inspiration for the books but it took us to places where the movies were actually filmed. In addition, we got to see a lot of London that was not related to the series. I am a huge Harry Potter fan so this tour was a must for me, and it was well worth it. Sadly though, I have almost no pictures to show from my trip due to incident with my camera and the toilet. Opps.
After the Harry Potter tour we had about 6 hours until we planned on going back to our hostel so we navigated the city on our own. I am actually rather proud of us for being able to get around on our own. We only got lost once, so it was a big accomplishment. London is huge though, it was like being in New York City, we had to take the underground several times to visit everything we wanted to see. My favorite part of the whole day on Friday was probably the London Eye. Although I have a huge fear of Ferris wheels I forced myself to go on it and it was one fo the coolest things I have ever seen. You could see the entire city, and all the major landmarks. It was so different from anything I have ever done. I loved it!
On Saturday, we did all the tourist things. We visited Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, The London Bridge. The Tower Bridge. and so on. It actually took y breathe away at some point looking at all of these iconic buildings. It was a total pinch me moment. I simply could not believe I was in London. I had dreamed about going to London since I was a little girl so it really was a dream come true.
We spent the rest of the weekend at the other American’s friend’s school. It was nice to get to hangout with students from Britain. They showed us around the town they were staying in and made us proper English tea. Overall, I loved being in Britain for the weekend. It was defiantly one of the big highlights from my trip so far.

Eid Al-Adha

For the past couple of weeks I have mostly stuck to the greater Cairo area. It has been nice exploring the city more and more and getting to finely feel comfortable with some of the streets of Cairo. Of course their is something unexpected around every turn, but over all I am definitely starting to feel comfortable in this city. Also with the weather cooling off, it makes the daytime and the nighttime much more enjoyable. Its strange how 70 degrees can feel very cold. With makeup classes happening on Saturdays now due to all the time we lost during the student strike the workload has been a bit more heavy and concentrated. This has definitely cut back on touristy activities and trips that we would be able to do.
However, This coming weekend is a holiday called Eid al-Adha. Al-Adha is is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to honor the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened to provide him with a sheep to sacrifice instead. The holiday is celebrated by the

“Sacrifice of peoples best halal domestic animals (usually a cow, but can also be a camel, goat, sheep or ram depending on the region) as a symbol of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only son. The sacrificed animals, called Uḍhiyyah (Arabic: أضحية‎, also known by its Persian term, “al-Qurbāni”), have to meet certain age and quality standards or else the animal is considered an unacceptable sacrifice. This tradition accounts for more than 100 million slaughtering of animals in only 2 days of Eid. In Pakistan alone nearly 10 million animals are slaughtered on Eid days costing over US$ 3 billion.”

Also during this time many Muslims start their long pilgrimage to Mecca. As we don’t plan to do any animal slaughtering it will definitely be interesting to experiance the festival and witness the sacrificing. During the time off though, I am going to take a trip to Luxor Egypt which is about an eight hour train ride directly south down the Nile. We plan to visit the Valley of The Kings and the many other monuments that are their. While down there, if there is time, we will also go to Aswan and Abu Simbal, which is a UNESCO world heritage cite. I will post when I get back and hopefully have many pictures to put up!

Below are web cites where I got some of the information concerning Eid. If you are interested check them out or do some googling.

http://islam.onepakistan.com.pk/eid-ul-adha/

http://www.incendiaryimage.com/sketchbook/eid-al-adha-prayer-and-sacrifice/

“Welcome to our 3rd world country”.

It has been almost two months since my arrival to Ecuador, and so far I have learned a lot about this country. Ecuador is rich in culture and with an amazing history. Till this day I wake up and say to myself “wow, I’m really in Ecuador”. I say this because I am really out of my comfort zone. This is my first experience living abroad. And, so far there are many things that I love about the country and there are many other things that I dislike.
As many of you may know, Ecuador is a 3rd world country, but I didn’t really know what a third world country would be like, till I got here. In the area that I live in, Samborondone, a city with in Guayaquil, many times you forget that you are in a 3rd world country because it is very commercialized. Its 2 big shopping malls, its expensive restaurants, and luxurious homes makes you feel like you’re in, I don’t know, Miami perhaps. Compared to all of the places I’ve visited in Ecuador, this is the place that lacks the most culture. It is much Americanized, and the people here love it.
It is said by many that the people that live in this area, live in a bubble. They live in a bubble because they don’t realize that in the outskirts of the city and around the country, live people in extreme poverty. Just this past Wednesday night, as I was on my way home from school on the bus, my friend jumped up and almost screamed because the school’s bus driver almost hit a little boy who was probably less than 8 years of age. As I look out the window, the little boy left running; he was not scared at all, it was as if it were something that happens to him on the regular. As I looked out the window, astonished by what my friend and I had just witnessed, an Ecuadorian student blurred out “welcome to our 3rd world country”.
It is really sad to learn that while the rich are getting richer the poor can barely afford a full meal to eat. Ecuador is a country full of potential, but because of its corrupted people it won’t and will not progress.

Alexandria

Going to Alexandria was a nice break from the crowded smoggy streets of Cairo. Being Egypt’s second largest city, Alexandria certainly has a different feel to it than Cairo. Right away you can tell it is a Mediterranean city, with the constant breeze filling the streets and the colorful buildings lining the streets. Being one of the major port cities along the sea, the atmosphere of fish fills the air which is one of the main reasons it boasts some of the best seafood in the world. It also definitely felt less crowded than Cairo with a population of five million, compared to that of twenty million.

After visiting many tourist cites the two that stood out the most where the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa and of course The Library of Alexandria. The Catacombs are a mixture of Roman, Greek and Egyptian influence buried deep beneath the streets. The Library of Alexandria or, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, is quite a modern wonder in a city filled with ancient ones. The library almost seems out of place due to its modernity (being opened in 2002). When stepping inside the vastness of the open reading area it is quite amazing to look around and view the amazing structure. The history behind the Library itself is  interesting as well as the amazing database it now has on its online website. The library also has a printing machine which can print a 500 page book, cover and all, and bind it in under 4 minutes.  Below are pictures of the catacomb, the city, the Roman theater and The Library.

A month later!

I know I’ve been slacking with this blog lately but I promise I’ll be more on top of it! I’ve been here for a month now, and absolutely love it! We have made friends with the boys that live with my friend Michelle and they remind so much of my friends back home. They have a whole group of friends from back home that go to UL so we hang out with all of them. The boys are hysterical and so much fun to be around. I’m so happy that they have accepted us into their group of friends. We got really lucky finding such good friends here.
In addition, we have gone a few weekend trips already. We have only been to different places throughout Ireland, but it has still been amazing to see so many new places.
The first place we went was Galway. It was about two hours by bus but it was well worth it. Galway was beautiful. It was near the coast so we got to walk along a pier. Although, it was beautiful it was also very windy so when we were walking along the water we kept getting misted by the water. The waves were huge and kept crashing against the rocks which also got us a little wet. The city of Galway itself had great shopping. I was able to get a few gifts for some family members while I was there, and some gifts for myself. Also, I had my first traditional Irish meal while I was there. It was delicious, and for me to say that is a big deal, seeing as I am the world’s pickiest eater. Overall our first trip was very successful!
The weekend after we went to Galway we went to Doolin, Inis Oírr, and the Cliffs of Moher. That trip was an overnight trip, which meant we had to stay in a hostel. I was terrified to stay in hostel, after seeing one too many horrors movies, but it was actually really nice. The man who ran the hostel was extremely helpful and gave us a map and directions. So my fear of getting killed or robbed in the hostel was a tad irrational. On Saturday morning we took a boat tour from Doolin to the island of Inis Oírr. The island was small but had so much to explore. Once we got off the boat, we took a tour of the island in a horse drawn carriage. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and he was happy to answer any of our questions. The first place we visited on the island was a ship wreck. It was probably my favorite part of the day. It was simply cool to see a ship that had been there for over 50 years. The entire ship was rusted and some parts had fallen off but I don’t know I just found it so fascinating. After we saw the ship we toured all over the island in the carriage. Throughout the island there were 2-3 foot walls made entirely of stone that had been there for as long as 100 years. The tour guide said that families made them to mark their land and each generation just continued to build them. The walls were amazing, they lined the whole island and the roads were built around them. When you looked down from the highest point of the island the walls looked amazing. It really added to the overall beauty of the island. In addition, we saw a castle while on the island. It was the O’Brien castle from the 15th century. We got to go inside and even lock ourselves in what was once the dungeon. After the island we got back on the boat and explored Doolin for a while. And when I say explored Doolin, I mean we spent two and half hours walking on a path through hills that eventually led us into a bull’s pen then to a road that took us to the Cliffs of Moher. We were walking right on the edge of these hills above the Atlantic Ocean. At times we had to jump over rocks or cross streams and I was terrified that I would miss step then fall right off the edge into the water. Luckily, I didn’t fall, so that’s a plus. The walk was very tiring and took a lot out of us. Once we finally reached the Cliffs of Moher we were so relieved. The Cliffs of Moher were breathtakingly beautiful. We just stood on top the cliffs taking it all in. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. That’s when it really hit me that I was in Ireland.
Lastly, this past weekend we travelled to the Blarney Castle and Gardens. The Blarney Castle was probably the coolest thing I have ever seen. It was huge! And for so much of it to still standing is unreal. We went through all the rooms and each room was labeled as to what it was used for when the different lords lived in it. Imagining living in such exceptionally beautiful building was mindboggling. It must have been incredible to live in such a place. Once we reached the top of the castle we did what everyone has to do when they go to Ireland, kiss the Blarney Stone! We had to lie on the ground and arch backwards while someone held onto us to reach the stone. I think the castle is my favorite place that we have visited so far. There was just so much history and it told a story, it really just made you think. We also visited the Gardens that surrounded the castle. Unfortunately the gardens were not as great for me because I dropped my phone in a pond and completely ruined it. Don’t get me wrong the gardens were pretty and everyone else really enjoyed them but my time there was ruined by my misfortune.
Ireland has been nothing but amazing and I can’t believe we are entering week 5 for class already. Time is flying and it makes me so sad to think we have to leave in only 9 weeks. It sounds like a long time, but I don’t think it’s long enough!

Well after a week and a half of no classes, things are supposed to resume to normal as of Wednesday. The student body has finally reached an agreement with the administration over tuition prices and has worked out other demands which both sides were proposing. After the initial student strike and the closing of the gates, which allowed no one to get onto campus, the administration officially closed all school operations noting that it was a creating a “dangerous situation.” However, because the student body and administration seemed to be in a deadlock with no end in sight and we had already missed a week of classes, things began to get interesting when they threatened to cancel the whole semester, citing that we would miss too much class to make up and lose accreditation. So, towards the end of last week and the beginning of this week, we started online classes as well as having classrooms moved to the Zamalak dorms and the Tahrir Square campus. This proved to be a frustrating experience due to the fact that there was no provided transportation, direction and massive amounts of miss scheduling. However, after many distressed emails flying between teachers, students and the administration things seemed to partially work out and to the enthusiasm of everyone, as of late last night, classes are set to resume normally in two days!
Even though there was a lot of frustration and uncertainty regarding classes, all the time off was quite nice. During the past week I got to experience Cairo a lot more and did some walking through the streets (which is much more pleasant when the sun goes down). Also, it was nice to sit by the pool everyday which was quite empty due to the fact the campus was closed. Below are various pictures of the streets of Cairo, a picture of the dreaded traffic scene here and another of the entrance to AUC. There seems to never be a dull moment and I have definitely learned to expect the unexpected and go with the flow, so I guess we’ll see what happens between now and next week.

These are the picture to my last post.

My trip to Cuenca

My trip to Cuenca

 

This weekend I along with a few others international students had the opportunity to travel to a very interesting city in Ecuador called Cuenca. Our journey to Cuenca was a breath taking experience. As we drove to Cuenca, we were able to see the Andes Mountain’s and we were able to hike Cajas National Park. My trip to Cuenca was an amazing experience. As soon as I got off the bus, upon arriving to Cuenca, I immediately feel in love with the city. I definitely learned a lot about the city and its people. Cuenca is a city that has a very Spaniard feel to it. A lot of its architecture comes from Spain. The Cuenca flag is very similar to the Spanish flag. It has the biggest church in all of South America. It was built by both the Spaniards and the indigenous people.

One very interesting fact that I learned was that Cuenca was or is still considered the second capital for the Incas, Machu Picchu being the first. During our trip to Cuenca, I was able to see a lot of indigenous people everywhere. It was amazing. They women were dressed in there traditional attire. Seeing the indigenous women was a very warming feeling. It was a feeling like no other. They made me appreciate their culture. They were kind, friendly, and hard working women.

I definitely have to say that two days was not enough time to explore and to learn more about the city. This city is rich in culture and is a wonderful place to live and learn.

Interesting Facts that was learned:

Cuenca was rated one of the top 10 places to live.

It is home to many retired American’s (EE.UU)

Its delicacy is CUYE (Guinea Pig)

There are more than 800 different species of potatoes and over 1000 different types of corn.

Known for their panama hats.