After 11 months in Malawi, I took a vacation with my family. We spent the first few days in Hong Kong before jetting off to Egypt. I would describe Egypt in one word: awesome! It was such a privilege to see a glimpse of the ancient life in Egypt. The moment we stepped off the plane we immediately started our tour. What better way to start than seeing the Giza pyramid and the sphinx? Our next stop was at the Cairo museum where most of King Tut’s 5,000-year-old relics remained on display, from the coffins that contained his internal organs to his golden mask. I practically came face to face with the man… because his mask was supposed to be an exact replica of his face so that his ka (spirit) would recognize him in the afterlife. Even though we spent our first night riding in a train from Cairo to Aswan, our accommodations on the Nile cruise was spectacular. During our 4-day journey on the Nile, we stopped at various ancient temples to admire the ruins and hieroglyphs. The Valley of Kings, where all the ancient rulers including King Tut were buried, was yet another site to be enjoyed. The stroll through the underground tunnels was hot and sweaty, but to have my nose almost touching the walls of pictographs was well worth it. Afterwards, we spent one night at the Red Sea… which wasn’t actually red. The water’s as clear and beautiful as it can be. Then, we went to visit the most popular temples in Luxor – Karnak being the largest in all of Egypt. Finally, we returned to Cairo and visited a mastaba, the original and oldest pyramid (believe it or not, the originals were ziggurats). It’s such a shame that so much of Egypt’s history has been damaged by the Crusades, colonization, globalization, but they’ve done more to preserve their culture and history than other countries have. I’d say the highlights were seeing these ancient relics that mystified the world for ages and watching the stories come alive on the walls. I could only try to imagine what life was like 5,000 years ago…
Then it was off to Singapore for 2 days. The Merlion is best known for its food, reflecting the conglomeration of Indian, Malay, and Chinese roots.
I’m nearing the end of my vacation. It has been such a pleasure to be able to eat Chinese food again… to drink soy milk that I don’t have to make from scratch… to be able to show my knees without worrying that others might think me promiscuous… to actually feel like I can breathe again without people gawking at me all the time… It’s nice to be able to step out of that environment and really appreciate the things that are taken for granted. The obvious is being able to eat the food I’ve grown up with all my life (not McDonald’s... I barely touched that stuff save for a few hashbrowns). For one thing, it feels nice to take hot showers… not pour cups of scorching hot water on myself when it’s 20 degrees out (in the winter). And actually use toilets that flush (the hole in the ground is not as bad as it might seem but it is when someone else uses your toilet and misses the hole). And I was finally able to catch up with all the world news… instead of receiving my Newsweeks a month or two late.
It’s hard to believe that I have another year left in Malawi without stepping foot on U.S. ground. I know it’ll fly by fast, because I have so much planned for this year. I have these to look forward to:
-my daily task of administering vitamins and recording children’s weights
-a proposal to USAID for building a shelter next to my health center, so that we can have shelter during hot and rainy seasons while weighing children and to provide a recreational center for youths
-providing technical assistance to a local community-based organization with HIV/AIDS, health, and income-generating activities
-my weekly meetings with our Youth Friendly Health Service Club and its committee
-teaching Life Skills (i.e., self-esteem, goal planning, relationships, communication skills) to secondary students
-working with the Debate Club and facilitating a tournament with 5 other debate clubs in our district
-introducing and implementing the Positive Deviance Hearth program to malnourished children and their mothers
-implementing and evaluating my nutrition program with the health workers and underweight/malnourished children
-facilitating the Sisters’ Club (a mentorship program) for at-risk primary girls
-organizing and implementing recreational activities at Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World)
-cooing at cute little babies J
That’s it for now… I’ll just end this post with a link to view some pictures from my trip to Egypt.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26853368@N04/
Enjoy!
Best,
Elaine
Then it was off to Singapore for 2 days. The Merlion is best known for its food, reflecting the conglomeration of Indian, Malay, and Chinese roots.
I’m nearing the end of my vacation. It has been such a pleasure to be able to eat Chinese food again… to drink soy milk that I don’t have to make from scratch… to be able to show my knees without worrying that others might think me promiscuous… to actually feel like I can breathe again without people gawking at me all the time… It’s nice to be able to step out of that environment and really appreciate the things that are taken for granted. The obvious is being able to eat the food I’ve grown up with all my life (not McDonald’s... I barely touched that stuff save for a few hashbrowns). For one thing, it feels nice to take hot showers… not pour cups of scorching hot water on myself when it’s 20 degrees out (in the winter). And actually use toilets that flush (the hole in the ground is not as bad as it might seem but it is when someone else uses your toilet and misses the hole). And I was finally able to catch up with all the world news… instead of receiving my Newsweeks a month or two late.
It’s hard to believe that I have another year left in Malawi without stepping foot on U.S. ground. I know it’ll fly by fast, because I have so much planned for this year. I have these to look forward to:
-my daily task of administering vitamins and recording children’s weights
-a proposal to USAID for building a shelter next to my health center, so that we can have shelter during hot and rainy seasons while weighing children and to provide a recreational center for youths
-providing technical assistance to a local community-based organization with HIV/AIDS, health, and income-generating activities
-my weekly meetings with our Youth Friendly Health Service Club and its committee
-teaching Life Skills (i.e., self-esteem, goal planning, relationships, communication skills) to secondary students
-working with the Debate Club and facilitating a tournament with 5 other debate clubs in our district
-introducing and implementing the Positive Deviance Hearth program to malnourished children and their mothers
-implementing and evaluating my nutrition program with the health workers and underweight/malnourished children
-facilitating the Sisters’ Club (a mentorship program) for at-risk primary girls
-organizing and implementing recreational activities at Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World)
-cooing at cute little babies J
That’s it for now… I’ll just end this post with a link to view some pictures from my trip to Egypt.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26853368@N04/
Enjoy!
Best,
Elaine
