July 12, 2008

We had to be on the bus and leaving back across the Sinai at 5 am. Seeing as I am the chair of the travel committee here in the center, I was supposed to be there at 4:45 collecting everyone’s room keys. Well, I woke up at 4:43 sprinted over there and was there by 4:45. Got all the keys, woke some other people up who slept in and were on the road by 5:15. After another treacherous journey across the Sinai, we reached the Egyptian border, where the fun began. You see, I was attempting to bring a weapon across the border. I went through the Egyptian check out and the guy pulls out my sword from my bag and I gave him a big smile and tried to pull the idiot tourist card. Yeah my fellow students all thought I was retarded. Well, he started walking around looking for a superior official and then came back and suddenly just put the sword back in my bag and was like okay. Well, as we got up to the Israel border, Professor Draper comes up and goes, Tyler you might be in trouble up here at the next border, because quite frankly I had to bribe the guy to get you through that last border. I started laughing and was like ha ha okay sure Brother Draper. Then when he walked away another girl was like, no seriously Tyler I saw Brother Draper literally bribe the guy. He reached into his travel pouch and handed the guy 5 bucks! Ha ha My religion professor had to bribe the guy to get me across the border with a weapon! Come on that is hilarious! So when I went through the Israeli border I just had the sword slung over my shoulder and the guy was like do you have any weapons and I was like yup! He laughed and they gave me a hard time about it for awhile, but I just was like come on guys! Eventually the let me pass through, but made me promise to keep it in my bag until the States. Yeah, like that’s happening.

The best part of the journey was the Red Sea. No, it didn’t part, but we swam in it. Snorkeled in it actually. I have always imagined it to be kind of gross, but actually it is beautiful. Like beautiful. They have sweet coral reefs and the brightest blue water. Moses and those guys could have set up a resort if they did not have to pass through it on the way to the Sinai. The snorkeling was not bad. Yes, Park I found a sweet tunnel to swim through under the water in the coral. It was fun, I had a bunch of people follow me through after I did it a couple times. I felt bad because a lot of the girls got cut up on the reef, but they did not listen to my specific instructions, which were to take baby strokes. But, you get a little short on breath and you kind of freak out I guess. That was way fun though, the fact that I did tunnels in the Holy Land both under water and in the hills is just cool to me. I really am obsessed with tunnels now. Tunnels and the Dome of the Rock, and Pyramids. All of these things are very good. I really liked just sitting there at the Red Sea and staring at it. Again, I don’t know what it is, but sacred spots really just have a feel to them. Moses parted that Sea. I know that he did. I really loved just staring at it. That thing parted. Crazy. Crazy. But real.

Anyways, I loved Egypt. It was amazing. I wish I had more time for insight instead of just travel log, but I did not have my computer with me the whole last week, so this was all just done in like two hours and I am tired. The End of Egypt…Back to Jerusalem.