Back in the Saddle Again

Monday 5/17/8:00pm CST Made it to O’Hare. Sitting in the international terminal now. In Chicago, someone decided it was brilliant to not have a single restaurant in the international terminal after security. People’s last stand in America, some of them for the rest of their lives, but they can’t even get a damn McDonalds cheeseburger! So I had planned to eat dinner here. No go, save for the expensive snack items. It is an eclectic group sitting around here. We look very different to begin with, but at least we are all Drake students. Majors and ages differ widely which is nice as I am not with the same folks as classes.
The flight is going to be just under 11 hours. This may be the longest jaunt I have ever done. Istanbul airport ought to be really entertaining. I am sitting next to one of my friends, which will make this flight pretty nice. I have full intentions of falling asleep though.
Dr. Cadd is bringing his family with. His daughter is really cute. The young girl is very lucky to have such an experience at her age. I think the first time I went overseas was with the French club in 10th grade. It was good training for things like this. Somewhere over the Atlantic when I wake up I will hopefully come up with something more interesting to read.
We are parked next to an Air Lingus plane bound for Dublin. The setting sun was right over the tail and greatly illuminated the cloud soaked sky in a crimson color. It was a great ending to a long day…Red Sky at Night, Sailor Delight. I will soon be sailing amongst the clouds on to the next great adventure.

Tuesday 5/18/10 8:00pm Istanbul Airport
The plane ride was great. I had some sleeping pills which worked pretty well. When I was awake, the Turkish airlines flight provided lots of entertainment. Everyone had audio and video on demand. Imagine our own personal dvd as well as Ipod that could be called up whenever you felt the urge. It took me a few tries to get through Master and Commander due to sleep but it was worth it. There was also a constantly supply of free drinks (all forms-which doesn’t mix well with sleep meds so I didn’t bother.) However once we got to our 6 hour layover, I could have a beer as Turkey’s laws are 18 (I think, we were not actually carded). We also planned out our “duty free” purchases upon our return flight. One of the shops had plenty of samples of Turkish Delight, which is a finger dessert that is pretty good.
I am really excited to get to Egypt. It will only be a 2 or 3 hour flight. The team is working well. I am right outside of a starbucks (which doesn’t have free Wi-fi so I am not sure when I can post all this. They are playing Ray Charles “You don’t know me.” It is pretty cool and I am sure a step above the “Istanbol was Constantinople” rendition some of the more musically eclectic of our team was singing earlier.
Anyways back to Egypt: we get in at two in the morning, sleep for a few hours then head to the museums. It will be nice to get right into it, but I am a little worried about jetlag. I am mostly excited for a shower. The last one I had was more than 24 hours ago as it is currently noon Tuesday at home. We are 8 hours ahead for the whole trip. Going to try to get some airport sleep (which is only slightly below dorm futon sleep). See you in the morning.


I am posting this after having been in Egypt for a whole day, I just haven't had the time to write about it. Shortlist: Saw the Pyramids (which we will be touring tomorrow), saw King Tut's mask/tons of other stuff at the Museum, and had dinner...on the Nile River, Hookah included.