Meet My Class

Hi everyone! The school year is almost over so my class took the time this week to help me keep my promise to the class I visited in Egypt. Do you remember that Kristin and her journalist friends promised to try and send a photo of my class so the girls I met in Egypt could see an American classroom? Well, here is my class! To be more specific, this is Ms. Beenblossom's 3rd grade class at Louisa-Muscatine Elementary in Letts, Iowa.

Can you see me? I am in the front row. Thanks everyone for taking the time to have your photo taken with me. Happy summer!

Until next time....

Back Home Again

Hi everyone.

I just wanted to send a quick note to let you know that I am back home in Iowa after my trip to Detroit, New York City, and Atlantic City.

Man...I am REALLY tired but I did help Kristin unpack some of my things from her suitcase.


I want to thank Keith, Kristin, Amy and all of their friends for another great trip. I learned SO much and I got to see lots of new things.

Until next time.....

Saturday in Atlantic City

Hi everyone! Sorry it has taken so long to give you an update but I have been VERY busy this weekend!

Yesterday, Kristin woke me up early and told me we were headed for Atlantic City, New Jersey. See if you can find it on the map.

I was shocked we were going to ANOTHER city. I’ve already been to 4 in the past three days (Chicago, Detroit, Charlotte, and New York)!

Kristin told me this was a very special trip. She and Keith were going to Atlantic City to get their big award for their radio program. Do you remember Kristin found out about winning the National Headliner Award while I was with her in Los Angeles? I was hoping Kristin would take me along for the event.

I thought we would fly to Atlantic City but Kristin told me it was going to be easier to drive. Kristin had reserved a rental car at a place just around the corner from our hotel in Manhattan but there were NO cars! Keith and Kristin were NOT happy about this. Luckily, there was another car rental place next door that had only one car available for us. It was a white mini-van. I thought it was cool because I got to ride in the back of the van all by myself! But Keith and Kristin didn’t seem all that excited about the van.

But, I was starting to question the plan to drive to Atlantic City when Keith actually started driving. Traffic is VERY BAD in New York City. Kristin had a map she printed from her computer to help guide us out of the city but it was VERY HARD. Keith had to drive like a taxi driver to get us through traffic. It took 40 minutes to go 15 blocks! I am NOT kidding.

To leave Manhattan, we had to take something called the “Lincoln Tunnel.” It’s a long, dark tube that reminded me of the Metro in Washington, DC. But Keith told me this was a special tunnel. This one is UNDER the Hudson River. How cool is that?! We drove UNDER water!

Once we made it safely out of the tunnel under the river, it was a fairly easy drive to Atlantic City. We had to take several toll roads. These are like the toll roads Kristin drives on to take us to Chicago. But one section was very different. At the start Keith had to get a special ticket. When we reached the end of the road, he had to hand-in the ticket with money. Very strange!

The highway goes past Newark, New Jersey. See if you can find it on the map. I thought this was cool because there is an airport right next to the highway. I got to see BIG planes take off and land as we drove by. Here you can see a BIG plane landing. How COOL!

Not long after I saw the big planes, Keith stopped at a place along the side of the road so he and Kristin could get something to eat. There were several mini-restaurants in one building. It is similar to the food court at the mall in Davenport. I think this is really neat to have this on the side of the road for drivers. And guess what? Keith says the place is called an oasis! I had no idea! I bet my camel from Dubai (named Oasis) would like to visit the oasis I did.

Once we arrived in Atlantic City, Keith and Kristin checked into their rooms at the Sheraton. The hotel is very nice and Keith and Kristin both got a gift bag when they checked-in. I thought this was strange. They’ve never gotten a gift bag at a hotel before. But Kristin told me the bags are a gift from the Headliners Awards. Wow…they won an award AND they get a gift bag! Kristin told me if I was really good, she might let me have some of the items in her gift bag. I promised I was going to be REALLY, REALLY good!


Keith had a really COOL room. Here I am looking at the view from Keith’s room.


If you look closely, you can see water behind the tall buildings. Keith told me that was the Atlantic Ocean. Cool! I got to see the Atlantic Ocean while visiting Atlantic City! I’ve flown over this ocean with Keith and Kristin but I have never seen it from land!

I think Keith knew I wanted to get a closer look at the ocean, so he and Kristin walked down the street to something called the “Boardwalk.” It is a LONG sidewalk made out of wood. It looks like a really long deck! Anyway, there are shops along one side of the “Boardwalk” and the ocean is on the other side.

Kristin kindly took off her shoes and walked through the sand so I could get a closer view of the ocean. Here I am with Kristin.


And here I am searching for seashells (although I didn’t find any good ones).

Do these photos remind you of something? They look very similar to the ones Kristin took of me at the Pacific Ocean in California. I thought the oceans would look different but this one looks the same to me!

After my visit to the beach, Keith and Kristin walked along the “Boardwalk” for awhile. Suddenly Kristin stopped and said I needed my photo taken with the street sign. I said OK but I had no idea why. The street was called Park Place. I think there is a street with the same name in Muscatine. But Kristin said this is a special Park Place. THIS is the Park Place listed on the game “Monopoly.” Wow! I had no idea!


Kristin later told me that the person who started Monopoly liked the names of the streets in Atlantic City and put them on his game. Cool! I am going to have to pay more attention to Monopoly the next time I see the game!

Before we left the Boardwalk, Kristin stopped at a small candy store to buy some salt-water taffy. Kristin told me Atlantic City is famous for salt-water taffy. Wow…another thing I didn’t know! I guess I must have been behaving because Kristin bought me a small box of taffy. BUT…she made me promise to share it with Aunt Lynn. So I guess I am going to have to wait until I get back to Muscatine to eat my candy.

Keith and Kristin’s hotel is on a street named “Miss America Way.” And, the hotel lobby has LOTS of photos, dresses, and jeweled crowns on display. I was starting to think we were staying at a special “girls” hotel. So I decided to ask Kristin why there were so many dresses on display in the hotel lobby. She told me that the Miss America pageant started in Atlantic City. She says this is a very famous beauty pageant and it is shown on TV every year. I had no idea! I really wasn’t interested in seeing all of the Miss America stuff. That’s for girls. But, at least now I know why there are so many Miss America items in and around the hotel.

The award ceremony was held in the convention center that is connected to Keith and Kristin’s hotel. We arrived just after 6:30pm. Our first stop was a room where several photos and large notebooks were on display. Kristin told me the photos were the pictures that won awards in the photography category. The notebooks were from the newspaper and magazine winners. There was also a TV in one corner of the room that played small parts of the winning radio entries.

After awhile, someone arrived that I knew. It was Mr. B! I met him on my first trip to New York. He is the host of Keith and Kristin’s radio program. He was also the host for the winning program. I like Mr. B…so it was nice to see him again.

Soon we walked into another room to sit down for a fancy dinner including salad and steak. While we were eating, people who helped pick the winners of this year’s National Headliner Awards talked about the program. One said there were over 1700 entries this year! WOW….Keith and Kristin’s radio program must have been REALLY AWESOME to beat that many other photos, newspapers, magazines, TV stations and radio programs!

The awards were handed out after dinner. I started to get worried because almost all of the awards had been handed out and Keith and Kristin still hadn’t walked up to the front of the room to get their award. Kristin told me not to worry.

I soon learned this is because the radio program won the BIG radio award and so it was presented near the end of the program. It was very cool to see how the awards are handed out. First, they put up pictures of Mr. B, Keith, Kristin and their friend Simon on the screen.

Then, one of the judges talked about the show and played some of the show for the people in the room. And there were LOTS of people in the room. I didn’t understand everything the judge talked about but I think it was all GOOD things.

Soon, Mr. B, Keith and Kristin walked up to the stage to get a special wood plaque. All three then told the people in the room about the program. I was too afraid to go up on stage with Kristin and Keith so I stayed at the table with Mrs. B. Afterwards, Mrs. B took my picture with Keith, Kristin and Mr. B holding their award. Thanks Mrs. B!

Whew! It was WAY past my bedtime when the award ceremony ended and I fell asleep in Kristin’s purse as she walked back to the hotel.

Until next time….

Greetings from New York City!

Hi everyone! Guess what? I am in New York City!! Can you believe it?

This morning Kristin woke me up VERY early and told me we were headed to the airport. I thought we were going back to Iowa but once we got to the airport Kristin told the check-in person that she and Keith we were going to New York City or NYC.

I was SO excited. I LOVE NYC!!!! Kristin and Keith are here today to talk with someone Keith met at a media conference. I didn't care why they were going. I was just really happy to be going back to New York!

I thought we would leave Detroit and fly to Chicago like Kristin normally does when she flies to New York. But today we flew to a place called Charlotte, North Carolina. See if you can find it on the map.

I didn't get to see much of North Carolina. We were only in the airport for about an hour. But, it was long enough for Keith to take a picture of Kristin holding me near a sign that proves I was in Charlotte.

This is great because now I can say I have been to North Carolina!. We switched planes in Charlotte and then we landed at LaGuardia Airport in New York. This is the same airport I've visited with Kristin on my two previous trips to New York.

Keith and Kristin are staying at the Crowne Plaza-United Nations in Manhattan. Guess where it is located? It's right near the United Nations....or UN. That's the place where important people from all over the world meet to solve big problems. Do you remember Keith and Kristin took me there on my first trip to NYC?

Keith and Kristin's rooms weren't ready when we arrived at the hotel. In fact, the person at the desk told Kristin that her room was changed to something called a "suite." I asked Kristin to write it down because the word sounds like "sweet."....which is another name for candy! I LOVE sweets! But Kristin told me that a "suite" is a special kind of hotel room.

I was worried this meant Kristin was going to have a bad room. But it turns out that Kristin has the BEST room in the hotel. It is like a mini-apartment with a small living room, a separate bedroom and the biggest bathroom I have ever seen! Kristin calls it a perfect NYC "penthouse." I have NO idea what a penthouse is but I think this is the best hotel room ever!

The best part is just outside of the bedroom. It is a place called a "terrace." It's an outside brick deck complete with a table and chairs. It's like the deck on the back of a house except this deck is 20 stories above the ground!

The terrace is SO COOL!!! It is REALLY high off the ground and it was kind of scary to look down. Here you can see the taxis on the street below.


It was kind of windy outside and I was afraid I might blow away since I am flat. But Kristin made sure I was safe. Here you can see me with Kristin at one edge of the terrace.


While I was looking around, I told Kristin that the building behind me in the picture above looked familiar. She told me that it should look familiar because it is one of the United Nations buildings. THAT'S the building Keith and Kristin took me to on my first trip to NYC. How cool is that? Here you can see an even better view of the UN from Kristin's "terrace."


And here I am sitting in one of the chairs.


Do you see the blue water behind me? Kristin says that's the East River. Kristin says there are two rivers that border Manhattan...the Hudson River and the East River. I saw the Hudson River during my first trip here. How awesome is that?! I can now say I've seen BOTH rivers in Manhattan.

Kristin says we are VERY lucky to have this room. Kristin said she didn't ask for a suite AND she says she isn't paying anything extra for this room. She thinks this is another one of those rewards she gets for traveling so much....except that it was a surprise reward. Well I think Kristin deserves this reward. She sure travels a lot!

I'm off now to spend some more time watching the taxis from the "terrace."

Until next time....

Photos, Photos and More Photos

Greetings again from Michigan. I am actually staying in Dearborn with Kristin. See if you can find Dearborn on the map.

Today was an exciting day. Keith, Kristin, and Amy spent all day working on the final details for the grand opening of the Stanley Foundation's photography project at the Arab American National Museum.

The event at the museum started at 5pm. So, I had to be ready to leave the hotel at 4pm SHARP! Two of the people who were part of Keith's "discussion" are staying at our hotel and they joined Keith, Kristin, and Amy for the drive to the museum. They are Ghida Fakhry and Antonin Kratochvil. I can't pronounce their names but they are VERY nice!

Ghida works for Al Jazeera...the television station I visited with Keith and Kristin in Doha, Qatar. But, Ghida doesn't work in Doha. She works in the Washington, DC office that I also visited with Keith and Kristin. How cool is that? I've been to TWO Al Jazeera studios.

Antonin is one of the people who took the pictures for the photography project Amy and Kristin have been working on. Here I am with Kristin and Antonin.


I really like the museum. It has LOTS of colorful tiles that look like painted pictures on the wall. There are also lots of displays for kids like me to explore. But one of my favorite exhibits is the model of the building that I've actually seen in real life! The building is called the "Burj Al Arab" and the real building is in Dubai. Here you can see me with the model.

If you go way down the page to my Dubai messages, you will see a photo of me and Kristin with the REAL building behind us. How cool is that? I've seen the REAL building!

Of course, the big attraction tonight is the room where BIG prints of the photographs that I helped Kristin and Amy pick out are hanging on the wall. OK...I didn't actually pick the photos but I was with Kristin and Amy in New York when they first saw the photos. Here I am with Kristin and some of the photos.


You might not be able to tell but in one of these photos, the girls are playing in snow. Did you know it snows sometimes in the Middle East? I had no idea! And do you recognize this picture? It is one of the places I saw in Luxor, Egypt. How COOL is that?!!


The museum has a gift shop and Kristin kindly let me pick out a toy to add to my collection. I chose a stuffed camel with the name of the museum on it. I LOVE camels and this one will be a good playmate for Oasis and Cairo. I think I am going to name this one "Media" because I've spent a lot of time learning about media on my adventures with Kristin and her friends.

I must have been very tired because I fell asleep on the way back to the hotel. So, Kristin kindly tucked me into bed with my new camel.


Until next time....

Surprise....I am in Detroit!

Hi everyone!

I am SO excited. This morning, Kristin woke me up very early and told me to pack my bags. I knew right away that Kristin was going on another trip. But, I was REALLY surprised. We just got back from Egypt 4 days ago! WOW...Kristin sure does travel a lot, doesn't she?

Kristin and her friends Keith and Amy flew to Detroit today to visit the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn. This is the same museum I visited with Kristin and Amy the last time I was in Detroit. They are here because a large display of the photos I helped Kristin and Amy select in New York are going to be on display at the museum.

Tomorrow night the museum is hosting a special grand opening for the photos. Plus, Keith is going to "moderate" a group discussion on Arab media. I think this means he is going to make sure people stay on task....just like my teacher makes sure I am doing what I am supposed to be doing in class.

Here you can see me with the postcard announcing the photography exhibit.


I am still tired from the Egypt trip so Kristin told me to get plenty of rest tonight. Tomorrow we will be at the museum most of the day. The museum is REALLY cool. So I can't wait to visit it again tomorrow.

Oh...I almost forgot. Kristin says she and Keith are leaving Detroit on Friday for another location. Hmm...I wonder where we could be going? Kristin says it is going to be a surprise. So, keep checking back to see what I am up to next!

Until next time....

Home Again!

Hi everyone. I wanted to send a brief note to let you know I am home from Egypt.

All is well but I am VERY tired. I am SO tired I haven't had time to help Kristin unpack (and she has LOTS to unpack)! But, I thought I would show you the last picture of me in Egypt. Here I am with Kristin and one of our guides, Shahira.


This photo was taken at our goodbye dinner. I am going to miss Egypt. It was such a great place. I learned many, many things and I met so many nice people. I hope I can go back and visit again someday.

I want to thank Kristin and Loren for taking me with them to Egypt. I also want to thank all of Kristin and Loren's journalist friends. They were all very nice. BIG THANKS!

Until my next adventure....goodbye!

Getting Ready to Leave Egypt

Hi everyone. Today is my last day in Egypt.

Kristin is busy packing and soon we are going to go to a special dinner to celebrate the trip. I am a bit sad to be leaving. I met so many nice people and learned so many new things! I wish I could stay longer but I suppose my Mom and Aunt Lynn would like to see me.

While Kristin is busy packing (and she has A LOT to pack), I am busy studying hieroglyphics. I am very interested in learning more about the ancient Egyptian alphabet. Kristin says if I study really hard, I might be able to read the pictures on the temples when I come back to Egypt (and yes...Egypt is another place I want to visit again!).

Kristin bought me this cool ruler that helps me learn the basic hieroglyphics.

Also, my Aunt Lynn sent me a few Web sites to help me learn more about hieroglyphics. You can even see your name spelled in hieroglyphics on one of them! Here are the sites in case you want to learn more.

http://www.upennmuseum.com/hieroglyphsreal.cgi and

http://www.greatscott.com/hiero/index.html

Thanks Aunt Lynn for sending me these links!

Kristin says we are leaving the hotel at 2:30AM Friday morning and our flight leaves at 5:30AM (WOW...Kristin must REALLY like early flights because it seems all of her flights are VERY early!). We will stop in Frankfurt, Germany again and get on a new plane and land in Washington, DC around 4:00PM on Friday afternoon. We are spending the night in Washington and I should be home in Iowa on Saturday afternoon.

I know from my last trip to the region that the flights are MUCH longer than they appear on the schedule. I bet I will have some of that "jet lag" stuff when I get back to the USA! So I better get some sleep.

Bye for now...

Back to School

Hi everyone! I hope all is well.

Earlier this week, Kristin took me back to school.....here in Egypt! OK, I actually didn't attend class, but I visited two school programs in a district called Beni-Suef.

It took us more than two hours to get to Beni-Suef by bus. It was a VERY bumpy ride (plus Kristin and I were sitting in the back seat of the bus!). I could tell we had left Cairo because suddenly there were no buildings and all I could see was sandy ground for miles and miles. It reminded me of how the desert looked outside of Doha, Qatar on the day I went to see the camels there with Keith and Kristin.

But all of a sudden I could see a large patch of very green land in the middle of the desert. Do you know what that is called? It's an oasis...just like the name of the camel Kristin bought for me in Dubai. It was cool to actually see a real oasis!!

Then, as we got closer to Beni Suef city, the landscape looked very similar to what I see when I look out the windows of my school bus at home in Iowa. In fact, I thought I was in Iowa for a second. It was very green and there were many fields of various crops including sugar cane, wheat, and corn. Yes...they even grow corn here in Egypt! Here is a picture of a corn field Kristin took from the bus.


Kristin told me the area was green because the Nile River is nearby. She told me the farmers here use various ways to get water to the fields to make the crops grow including canals. She called this "irrigation." I think this is similar to the way farmers near Muscatine use big sprinklers to water their crops in the summer time.

We actually visited two schools. Kristin told me the first was in the city of Beni Suef but I fell asleep on the bus just before we got to the first school so Kristin decided to let me take a nap.

But I was wide awake when we visited a second school in a very small village called "Tonsa al Malaq." The village itself is small. The streets are VERY narrow. They were SO narrow that I was afraid the bus wouldn't be able to get down the streets. But we eventually made it.

The school we visited in this village uses a concept called "Ishraq." This is a special program that includes math and spelling classes and sports. This sure sounds like the classes I take at Louisa-Muscatine school! When we arrived, students in an upstairs classroom were sitting at wooden desks and they were taking turns writing Arabic numbers and letters on a chalk board with their teacher.


But I quickly noticed I was the only young boy in the room. Kristin says that's because "Ishraq" is a program for girls. Isharq means "enlightenment" in Arabic. The goal is to help teach young girls in Egypt how to read and do math so they can go to more official schools. I asked Kristin why the girls needed a special program. She says in some countries girls are not allowed to school. I had no idea! There are plenty of girls in my school!! Although the girls in my class at home sometimes drive me crazy, I guess they are lucky that they get to go to school.

While we were visiting the class, my friend Michael asked our translator to ask the teacher if I could have my picture taken in the classroom. I think the teacher was a bit confused about my flatness but the translator told her I was a young boy from a school in America. Here I am with the teacher.


And here I am with one of the students.


After the pictures I think the girls were curious about my school although I couldn't understand the conversation. Kristin and her friends promised to see if someone would take my picture in my classroom in Iowa so Kristin can e-mail the photo so the girls can see how my classroom looks. I sure hope my Mom or Aunt Lynn can take my photo at school before the end of the school year so I can show the class I visited how my teacher and classmates look.

Did you notice that the teacher and all of the girls are wearing headscarves? Kristin says most girls in Egypt wear headscarves to class. I still think this is odd. But, I guess the girls are just being respectful like Kristin was when she visited with the Grand Mufti last week.

After we left the village, we briefly stopped so Kristin and her journalist friends could take a picture of something called a "step pyramid." This pyramid looks very different than the ones I saw in Cairo. This one looks like it has GIANT steps. Very interesting.


That's all for now. Until next time....

Family Dinner in Imbada

Hi everyone!

This weekend I had a very interesting dinner. All of the members of Kristin's journalist group were invited to eat dinner with families in a Cairo neighborhood called "Imbada." Kristin says this is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the entire city.

I wasn't so sure I wanted to have dinner with a family I didn't know. I would rather eat in the hotel's outdoor garden restaurant. But, Kristin said we had been invited to eat with this family so it was very important that I come with her for dinner.

The family we were eating with speak Arabic, the local language. So we had to bring someone with us who could "translate" any conversation. Our translator's name is Ismail. He works for VideoCairoSat, a local television company that has been helping Kristin's group in Egypt. Ismail is very nice.

Kristin's journalist friends Tina and Michael were also visiting the same family. We had to squeeze into a small taxi to get to the neighborhood. I was expecting to see a house but all of the families in this neighborhood live in tall apartment buildings. So, we had to climb up several flights of stairs (in a VERY dark hallway) to reach the apartment of our family.

The apartment wasn't very big but it was very clean. We had to take our shoes off at the door. I thought this was so we didn't get the floor dirty. Kristin says that is one reason but she also told me that in some countries, people are required to take off their shoes at the door as a sign of respect. So, I made sure to quickly take off my shoes!

The apartment didn't have very much furniture. But, they did have a TV and the children in the family were watching soccer when we arrived. Did you know that in Egypt soccer is called football? I had no idea! Kristin says in most countries around the world, if someone is talking about football they are really talking about soccer. How odd!

Anyway, our family was very nice. The father wore a long gray robe that Kristin says is a traditional kind of outfit. He works for Egypt's Agriculture Ministry and I don't think the mother works. She is expecting a baby next month. They already have four children...a boy (age 14) and three girls (ages 2, 8, and 10). The boy and the youngest girl wore regular clothes just like me (she even had a King Tut shirt on!). The mom and the oldest girls wore brightly colored long dresses.

Dinner itself was very different than dinner at my house. First, the mother insisted that I wash my hands (which I guess is a good thing). Then we were invited to sit on the floor. Guess what? They don't have a dining room table! So, we ate sitting on the floor. I think this is kind of cool!

Soon, the mother brought out a large tray of tube pasta and something called "kafta." Kristin told me it was ground lamb with spices. She also served us the same bread I have seen at nearly every meal during my trip in Egypt. Kristin calls it "flatbread." It is round and flat. The food was very good but I didn't eat much because I had a large lunch.

Our family didn't eat with us. The father told Ismail they had already eaten. Kristin says the family probably wanted us to have a special meal. I guess this makes sense.

I noticed while Kristin and her friends were talking with the father that the mother wasn't in the room. Kristin says in some cultures, women don't eat in the same room with men if there are guests in the house. Wow! I can't imagine having my Mom or Aunt Lynn eating in another room.

I must admit I couldn't understand anything the father was saying but he seemed very excited at times when talking with Kristin and her friends. Kristin later told me he was talking about politics. I decided to try to talk with the children. I also couldn't understand what they were saying but one of the girls showed me her school notebook. It was full of the lines and scribbles Kristin tells me is Arabic writing. I couldn't understand a single word! But I did notice she had THREE stars on one of her pages. She must be REALLY smart!

After dinner, the mother of the family came back to serve us cups of Coke and hot tea. We have had tea after many of our meals here. I think this must also be something that is common here in Egypt. It seems odd to drink hot tea when it is SO hot outside but I drank it anyway!

I know Kristin told me that this family lived in a very poor neighborhood ( it looked like the poor village we visited earlier on this trip). But, the apartment was nice and clean (cleaner than my room!). And, family seemed very happy.

Just before we left, we took some photos. Here are some photos of the family.

And here I am with the children.

Special thanks to Kristin's friend Michael for taking my picture. I like Michael because his name is the same as mine!

Now I am glad that Kristin made me come with her to dinner. It was very interesting to see how a family in Egypt lives. Kristin also told me that American guests do not have dinner in people's houses very often in Imbada so this was an extra special visit. Very cool. I like it when I get to do special things with Kristin and her friends!

Until next time....

Sandstorm Alert!

Hi everyone! I am back in Cairo. Kristin and her journalist friends are still very busy and I am still learning new things everyday.

Saturday afternoon I saw something I have NEVER seen in my life (not even on TV!). It was something Egyptians call "khamseen." Kristin calls it a "sandstorm." I've heard of thunderstorms, snowstorms, hurricanes, and even tornadoes but I have never heard of a sandstorm. Have you?

Anyway, it had been windy all day and even a few raindrops fell on my head as Kristin and her journalist friends walked to a meeting around 3:00pm. Kristin said the raindrops were unusual because it rarely rains in most of Egypt. I had no idea!

But it wasn't until we left the meeting that Kristin told me she thought something else was happening with the weather. The sky had turned a strange yellow-orange color and it was very cloudy. I thought the sky was an interesting color so I asked Kristin to take a photo of me against the sky. I'm not sure you can see much in this photo but BELIEVE me, it was a cool color!


A few minutes after this photo, Kristin and her friends decided we were seeing a sandstorm. I thought this was interesting so I wanted to keep my head out of Kristin's purse as she and her group walked toward the bus. But Kristin said I would be safer if I was tucked away inside her purse. Now I know why.

Kristin walked about half a block and then stopped very suddenly. She said a wave of sand was headed our way and we needed to get inside FAST. Here's the picture Kristin took just before turning around to RUN back to the building we had just left.

Don't tell Kristin but I peaked out of her bag as soon as she started running. Suddenly a big rush of air hit Kristin and her friends and LOTS of sand was swirling all around us. It was raining sand! There was sand EVERYWHERE. It filled Kristin's shoes and covered her clothes. It was also very hard to breath.

Kristin and her friends made it safely back to the building where they had just been and I could tell there was more and more sand in the air. So we waited until the bus could pick us up in front of the building. When it did arrive, Kristin told me to cover my mouth with a Kleenex so I wouldn't breath in as much sand.

It wasn't until we were on the bus and on our way back to the hotel that I could tell the sand was causing major problems. I couldn't see a thing. Kristin said it looked like a foggy morning outside except the fog was actually sand.

When we got back to the hotel, Kristin took a picture of the sky from her hotel balcony. Here's what I could see from Kristin's balcony on our first day here.

And here's what it looked like during the storm.


WOW! Can you see how strange it looked outside? I couldn't even see the Nile River through all of the sand! I told Kristin I thought it was cool. But, I was actually kind of scared (shh...don't tell Kristin). The storm ended after a few hours but it caused a huge mess. There were lots of traffic accidents and Kristin said several international news outlets had some stories about the storm over the weekend.

After the storm was over, I was curious about why it happened in the first place. Kristin said maybe it was the curse of King Tut. WHAT? Kristin says strange things have happened to people who have worked in King Tut's tomb. Some people believe that the strange things are messages from King Tut that he is not happy they are working in his tomb. Kristin says this belief is sometimes called "The Curse of King Tut." I had my picture taken in King Tut's tomb the day before the sandstorm. I hope he isn't mad at me!!!

Kristin told me not to worry. She doesn't think King Tut is mad about my photo. And she doesn't think the sandstorm was a message from King Tut. Whew!

Instead, Kristin says sandstorms are common this time of year here in Egypt. That's because most of the country is desert. I had no idea! See if you can find a map that shows Egypt's desert.

Well I better get ready for bed. I need to get extra sleep because I never know what exciting things I will see next on this trip.

I hope all is well with you. Until next time....

Luxor, Luxor, and More Luxor

I everyone. I hope all is well with you.

Kristin wasn't kidding on Thursday night when she said I was going to have to get up early on Friday. We had to be downstairs and ready for the bus at 6:00AM (that's REALLY early!).

I wasn't so sure I wanted to get up so early but Kristin did tell me that if I was good I might get to see King Tut's tomb. So, I decided to get up early. Now I am REALLY glad I did.

First, I had to make sure to wear my hat and put on lots of sunscreen. I thought this was strange because it was still dark outside. But, Kristin told me that I would need the sunscreen once the sun came up so I put it on. She also told me to bring plenty of water because it was going to be VERY hot outside later in the day.

We left the hotel just after 6:00AM and walked to a boat dock for a ride on something called a "ferry boat." Kristin says a "ferry boat" is one that moves people from one side of the river to the other side. I had no idea! On Friday we crossed the Nile River. Here you can see me on the ferry boat with Kristin.

Kristin told me that the two sides of the river are very important in Egyptian history. Luxor was once called "Thebes" and the people who lived here thought the sun was VERY important. Did you know that the sun rises each day in the eastern sky and sets each day in the western sky? I had no idea! But this was important when the area around Luxor was first built thousands of years ago. Most the the homes, buildings, and temples were built on the east side of the river because that's the side the sun rises on. Here you can see the sun rising on the east side of the river (or East Bank).


The tombs for ancient Kings and Queens (like King Tut) were built on the west side of the river. Kristin says the rising sun was viewed by the ancient Egyptians as a celebration of life and the setting sun was viewed as a sign of death.


It sure doesn't look gloomy over there does it? There were hot air balloons in the sky over the hills across the river. So, I'm not sure I really understand this "East - West" thing but Kristin did point out that our hotel (as is most of Luxor) was on the east side of the river. Very strange!

Once we reached the "west" side (or West Bank) of the river, we walked to a bus that was going to take us on a tour. Along the way I walked right past some camels. I have decided I really like camels. Here you can see me sitting in the bus watching the camels.


Our first stop of the day was a place called the Colossi of Memnon. These are two TALL statues. Our guide for the day, Mr. Wazery, works for Mr. Hawass and knows all about the temples and tombs in Luxor. He told us that these giant statues and the surrounding area were damaged in a big earthquake over 2000 years ago. WOW! You can see the large cracks in the statue Kristin and I are standing in front of.


It's hard to see me in this photo, isn't it? Kristin is holding me but we look very small next to the statue.

Our next stop of the day was a place called "The Valley of the Kings." This is where tombs of many ancient Egyptian Kings have been found hidden under ground. Guess what? Kristin says this is where King Tut's tomb is located!

I thought the tombs here would look like the pyramids I saw in Cairo. But I didn't see any pyramids. Instead I was surrounded by hills. I wasn't so sure this was where King Tut's tomb was located because it just looked like a bunch of rocks to me. But as we got closer to the main gate, I could see several arrows pointing toward large openings in the side of the hill.


Mr. Wazery says a total of 63 separate tombs have been found in this area. The most recent discovery was only a few months ago and Mr. Wazery told us that workers are still digging out the area of the new discovery. Here you can see the place where workers are digging at the new discovery site.


I wasn't as excited as Mr. Wazery was about the new discovery. All I cared about was tomb number 62. Can you guess which one that is? If you haven't already figured it out, here's a hint!


I was SO excited to finally be standing at the door of the tomb. Then Mr. Wazery surprised me by taking the entire group INSIDE the tomb! Can you believe it? It was SO cool. We had to walk down a very narrow and steep passage way. Soon we were underground in a small room (or chamber as Mr. Wazery called it). This is where King Tut is located. The room is dark and the ceiling is low but there are just enough lights that you can see colorful paintings on the walls surrounding King Tut. Here you can see some of the paintings on the wall (note...Kristin could not use her flash inside the tomb so the pictures may look a bit dark).



King Tut himself was in one of those mummy shaped coffins I saw in the Cairo Museum. And that box was located in a large rectangular box Mr Wazery called a "sarcophagus." Inside that was King Tut's coffin (and inside that is his mummy!). Here you can see me with King Tut's sarcophagus and coffin behind me!


How AWESOME is that photo?!

While we were inside I noticed that Kristin's group was the only group in the tomb. Kristin later told me that Mr. Hawass gave Kristin's group very special permission. The tomb was closed to other people while our group was inside. It turns out Mr. Hawass allowed this so our group could take photos. Kristin says cameras are usually NOT allowed inside King Tut's tomb.

WOW! That means my photo in the tomb is really special! Kristin says I should thank Mr. Hawass for giving her group special permission. THANKS MR HAWASS!!!

Well I had seen everything I wanted to see but Kristin said we were going to visit even more interesting sites. I'm not sure anything could be better than seeing King Tut's tomb but I was still interested to see what Mr. Wazery was going to show us next.

So we got on the bus and and drove a few minutes to a place called "The Temple of Hatshepsut." It is a really large temple that was carved out of the side of a hill.


I was too busy looking at the temple when Mr. Wazery explained why the temple was built. All I know is that it is really, really neat. I guess Kristin was right, there are other cool things in Luxor besides King Tut's tomb (but don't tell her I said that!). Here you can see part of the temple behind me and Kristin.


I'm not sure if you noticed but the temple has three different levels. Kristin and her group wanted to go all the way to the top. So we had to walk up ALL of the stairs you can see in the photo. Whew! It was hard to walk up all of those stairs. Now I know why Kristin said I needed a hat and a bottle of water. I was hot, tired and thirsty after walking up the stairs! But it was worth it. Very large statues are located at the top of the stairs. Man...the ancient Egyptians sure liked big statues, didn't they?


Kristin took a few more photos and then walked all the way DOWN the stairs and back to the bus. I think Kristin knew I was tired because she put me in her purse so I didn't have to walk down the stairs.

I am SO glad our bus had air conditioning. The cold air felt very good. Kristin later told me it was more than 100-degrees outside the day we visited Luxor. WOW...that is SUPER HOT!

After we left the Temple of Hatshepsut, our bus drove us back to the place where we got off the ferry boat early in the morning. Our next stop was on the OTHER side of the Nile River....so we had to take another ferry boat ride so we could get on a bus waiting for Kristin's group on the other side.

The next stop was a place known today as "Karnak Temple." It is another HUGE temple complex near our hotel.


Wow...I didn't think I could see so many cool things in one day! Karnak is even LARGER than the Temple of Hatsheput. There are more than 154 columns in one section of the temple. And, can you believe part of the temple had a roof in ancient times?! It must have taken a very long time to build all of these great monuments.

While walking around with Kristin and her group, I noticed two of the many columns. They have a pointed top. I think they look very similar to the Washington Monument I saw in Washington, DC. Kristin agreed they look similar to the Washington Monument but Mr. Wazery told us these columns are known as "obelisks."


Throughout the day I noticed a number of drawings and symbols have been painted and/or carved on the walls of the tombs and temples. Kristin says these symbols are called "hieroglyphics." Mr. Wazery told us hieroglyphic images are like our modern day alphabet. Each symbol represents a letter or word. When put together, the symbols told a story. I think this is similar to the way pictures and drawings in my books at home tell me about a story even when there are no words on the paper.

Here is an example of some of the hieroglyphics at Karnak (although I don't know what it says).


Mr. Wazery also said some of the symbols are actually ancient Egyptian numbers. Here is an example from Karnak.


I think math is pretty tough already....I can't imagine having to try and figure out these numbers since I don't know what they really are!

By the time we saw the "numbers" on the wall, I was getting very tired. It was VERY hot in the sun. Kristin and I kept applying sunscreen so we wouldn't get sunburn and Kristin made sure we had plenty of water. I don't know how workers could have built these giant temples in this heat!

Here I am with Kristin standing outside the entrance to Karnak.


As we walked out of Karnak, I thought the little shops nearby looked familiar. Kristin agreed and then told me she is pretty sure that a photo of the little shops near Karnak was part of the collection of photos I saw with her and Amy in New York and Detroit. Kristin wanted me to post the photo so Amy could see it. Here it is.


We returned to the hotel after visiting Karnak to get a cold drink and rest for a bit. Later in the afternoon (when it was slightly cooler), Kristin and many of her journalist friends went on another boat ride. But this wasn't like the ferry rides I took earlier in the day. Instead, the boat we were riding in was called a "felucca." It looks like a sail boat. Here is one sitting along the river bank (without it's sail up).


A very nice man used a pole to help push us up one side of the river and when we turned around the wind pushed the boat back down the river.

This boat ride was much longer and slower than the ferry ride. But I REALLY liked it because I could almost TOUCH the Nile River from my seat. I could also see young men fishing in the river with nets very close to our boat.

Here you can see me and Kristin on the felucca boat. See how close I am to the water?!! Don't worry...Kristin held me on tight so I wouldn't blow away.

After the felucca ride, Kristin had dinner with some of her friends and then we boarded the bus (with ALL of our luggage) and headed to the Luxor Museum. This museum is much smaller and newer than the Cairo Museum. It reminds me of the Stanley Gallery at the Muscatine Art Center.

There are many neat things from the area temples and tombs in the Luxor Museum including a few mummies. But, I must admit that I feel asleep half way through the tour.

Whew! I was REALLY tired from our adventures in Luxor during the day!

I didn't wake up until our plane landed back in Cairo (which was VERY late Friday night).

I don't care if I don't get to see anything else while I am in Egypt. I have already learned SO much. Until next time......