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.

See the Pyramids along the Nile

Back in the saddle again! This Bulldog, after an almost two year stateside stint, is once again going to be abroad. I am once again returning to the sandbox that is the Middle East. This time I am staying in Egypt for 3 weeks. I am going with Drake, and am really excited!
Two of my favorite professors, Dr. Hamad, and Dr. Cadd are leading the trip. We will be taking two classes while there, one of Islam and politics, as well as a general Modern Egypt class. This is going to be very different than my last trips to the region. The last two was more spent on Arabic, whereas this will be more from the international relations side, as well as country specific study. The stress of leading will be greatly reduced too.
I am most excited for what Egypt has to offer. Jordan is great, but is generally a side trip for those coming to Egypt and Israel. It has always been a dream of mine to see the Pyramids as well as the Nile river (cue the song You Belong to Me: See the pyramids along the Nile, watch the sunrise on a tropic isle.)
As we close in on the trip I will be providing more, as well as in-country reporting. Sorry for my absence in the past, but this will hopefully wet your appetite again.

to look a lot like Christmas

I am really stoked for the upcoming Jolly Holiday lights. Waterworks Park, which is a fairly decent size park in downtown Des Moines with the river winding through it, will feature massive light creations. Think of the neighborhood Christmas lights on steroids! All of the proceeds go to help United way as well. The first night of the month long part there are no cars allowed. It is all walk through. One of the ROTC guys mentioned every soldier should grab a date that evening and head to it. Who knew some of these men had a romantic side?
I have been sick quite recently so I have been trying to get over that. Pretty sure I have made more tea in the last week than all of England for the last century. Hopefully that gets over quick because I need my voice back.
Basketball started this weekend. With a loss, but they will get back. Iowa state game is Tuesday. The place will be packed. I am really excited for that.

running down a dream

Thoughts on a tattoo:
I have been thinking of getting a tattoo. I decided I would want one only to commemorate an amazing event. Therefore I started searching for amazing events and decided on the marathon. A friend once told me “there are days when I do not want to run the Marathon, and there will be a lifetime of knowing I have.
I looked at interesting ones to run. One of the biggest setbacks is I live in an area not conducive to running for 4 months of the year. I despise running indoors due to the constant need to turn and stale air. Treadmill is also a no-no. That would get ungodly boring. The Disney marathon is over Christmas. That would be an awesome one, running through all the parks. The humidity and heat are something I would have issues training for. At some point in my life I want to run that one though. The Dead Sea Ultra Marathon is going to be my final run. Start in Amman Jordan and end at the Sea. 31 miles. First half is straight down hill. I hope they include the knee replacement surgery at the finish line. I have decided on the Memorial day race in Madison, my home area.
So upon completion of the marathon getting the 26.2 tattoo. At least thats the plan. We shall see.

constellations

This weekend was a good weekend. I went to Ranger Challenge to watch Iowa State compete. We watched the rope bridge, which is where there are two telephone poles and a team must get across via a rope as fast as possible. Then we watched weapon assembly/disassembly. It was like Forest Gump. The fastest time I saw was a 48 second. Then the grenade assault course. All pretty cool to watch.
There was a meter shower recently but due to cloudy sky I could not see it. Some of the best pictures though were on http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/
After my foray into astrophotography this summer I am hooked and want to try some more at Drake. One of the coolest things I like about going to a small school is that I may actually be able to do some of our work. With a small school it was possible to approach a professor and get the ball rolling on be able to dim the lights on campus. This will take a few months, so I will definitely keep you all posted.
My floor is going really well. The boss told me I was a good RA the other evening. I enjoyed this immensely. Some of my girls were initiated into a sorority which went well. A few of my girls had tennis matches and did quite well. My guys are doing well on their volleyball team.

All the pretty people

This week was homecoming at Drake. Eric Hutchenson gave a concert. I wasn’t there, but it was supposedly sweet. The day before Maya Angelou gave a speech to the packed Knapp center. Every semester Drake brings in someone of Angelou’s caliber and varies the field. Her, along with Thomas Pickering (for the Government folks) Ken Burns (Film maker) and a bunch others have graced Drakes grounds by their presence. Last weekend was a dueling pianos thing which my mother and brother were here for. It was a great time. My floor is doing an Office watching party this Thursday.
Once again Drake IR department has really earned it’s stars. There will be a trip for IR majors to Egypt this summer for 6 drake credits for two weeks. I might go, as it would be an amazing time.

All the leaves are brown...

I am an RA now. This leads to some very interesting stories, most of which cannot be shared due to the personal nature of those involved. The moment one comes up I will definitely let you all know.
My apologies for not writing for awhile. I have been very busy. The summer was excellent, though with less of an international theme. Spent time up on the Apostle Islands. Check out what I did with my father mark, and our friend John. http://www.friendsoftheapostleislands.org/
I have been here at Drake for 8 weeks. Classes are going well. The floor that I oversee of 38 first year students is fantastic. Life is going well.
The temperature is starting to fall, which makes morning workouts rather chilly. My Arabic teacher is from Egypt. She has never seen snow and though that 40 was cold. The winter might be pretty cold on account of the colder summer. The only time it got really warm I was on the island in Lake superior, where I was cold most of the time. I think this may be karmas response to two summers of average 100+ in Jordan.
Tour season starts soon here at Drake, so I will be sure to post responses to the questions I am getting. Rumor has it that Hubbell North is going to start soon, which means nice renovation done in time for next year! Score just in time for me to study abroad. Oh well at least there will be some improvement. I am really excited to see what it becomes, as the planning meetings for it were pretty interesting.