Wednesday, 16 May 2012

may 14 (Leah's)

 
This morning we had our breakfast that was included with the hotel. Not as extravagant as our buffet at our last place. It was just bread, jam, cheese, egg and tea. It was suffice. We decided to head out for a walk right away before it got “too” hot. It was only 10am. Once we stepped out side we were hit with intense heat. By the time we finished our walk at 11:30 it was probably like 40 degrees! All we wanted was water! We did have some, but it was still frozen, so we bought some from a guy selling it on the street. So nice! Water is definitely life giving here.
            When we got back to the hotel we met the Dutch guys that we shared the mini bus taxi with in Luxor. They just finished a three-day cruise along the Nile. We came to Mac Donald’s hoping for “free wireless”- but there isn’t. But at least there is a bit of AC and shelter from the intense heat outside.
            I did some hand washing in our bathtub and then I had a nice 2 hour nap. It is basically impossible to be outside at this time of the day without dying. After my nap we wandered down the “tourist” market street until we ended up outside the train station. Spencer had checked out a restaurant online so that is where we went. It was a pizza place. We got an Egyptian style pizza and it was actually quite good. There was a group of young guys in the restaurant too, one had a “wandering stare’ that seemed to be directed at me. I can’t escape this! Sometimes I wish I did have the burka to where. Or even better I wish I had an invisible button that I could press at anytime. It would mean less hassling for sure! Anyways, we enjoyed our meal nonetheless.
             We walked back down the same street to our hotel. Lots of people were out and about- hardly any tourist, mainly locals. It seemed to be family time; now that the heat wasn’t so oppressive. It was still hot however.            
            We ate some bread with nutella for “dessert” on the hotel roof. Its seems like horns are honking the entire time, maybe with a 2-3 second break every once and a while! We watched a Muslim man do his prayers while the Call to Prayer blasted from a near by mosque. It was nice to see the people down below and not have to worry about being hassled by them. We find it comforting to be out at night when there are more women around, it seems to make it feel more pleasant and also less hassling because the women are like a shield between us and the men so we are less of a target. We can mix in the crowd more when there are more women and their children out shopping in the streets.
            We both had bold showers to cool down before bed. It is a nice way to bring down your body temperate. I am not sure how people survive here in the dead of summer. You literally would feel dead. I think today was the hottest I have felt yet- thankfully there is not much humidity.  I think we drank our body weight in water today too. You feel thirsty all the time! Thankfully we can buy good, clean, bottled water. I feel bad for the people in the villages who don’t always have clean access to water. So many people live in conditions that I can’t even imagine having to live in. We saw a lot of places like this on our train ride. Its incredible how they survive.            
            When I lay my head down to sleep tonight I will continue to thank God for His grace and mercy on my undeserving life. I have so much compared to so many people and yet I can’t figure out why God chose me, but I am so thankful He did. We are undeserving of His blessings and grace, but in His love and mercy He has blessed us more than we can imagine. Thank you Jesus for saving and choosing us.

No comments:

Post a Comment