Tanzania-Kenya-Ethiopia-Sudan-Egypt

So I had to leave my kids today. It was one of the hardest things that I have ever had to do. They were all crying when i left and some were just sitting at the table just starring at their paper. It made me so sad, like I was leaving a piece behind me. Of course I will go back but who knows when it will be. I am hoping that it will be sooner than later but you never know. It was also a lot harder to leave the house than I thought it would be. I guess I am one of those people who makes friends easier, and I was starting to get to know everyone. The flight to Egypt was very long. I had to take a taxi to the airport, which was an hour. I saw mount Kilimanjaro though, it was pretty amazing. I then flew to Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Cairo. It was awesome to see the cities at night. My Friends apartment is cool too. I have a view overlooking the Nile River. Her roommates are awesome too! I didn't get into Egypt until 2:30 AM this morning (I am 7 hours ahead) After the initial excitement, I was finally able to sleep around 4:30 AM. I got up today at 8 with a general plan but no specifics. I ended up going to the Egyptian Museum which was amazing. I saw Tutankhamen's tomb and various artifacts throughout Egypt's History (which is very long) I wish I could have taken some pictures but you are no allowed to bring any camera inside the museum. Cairo is really overwhelming at first, especially when you are by yourself, but the longer I walked around downtown the more comfortable I got. Egyptian men are very friendly. I had people try to show me where things were when I asked how to get somewhere. I had one man walk me to this lunch place I was recommended to eat at (which was 30 minutes from where we were) then he ordered the food (which was amazing, beans in bread and then something else in bread) then he took me to tea, and then to get a SIM chip for my phone so I could have an Egyptian number. This was about 2.5 hours of his time. He was a student in University. He wanted to drive me to the hospital but I didn't trust all of that, I mean tea is one thing, but getting in his car is another. I made some excuse and got away. I knew I needed to go to the hospital here to get my foot checked out since the one in Tanzania is well below par, esp considering they never touched my foot. I went to Anglo-American Hospital. It is a private Hospital in Cairo. I walked in and did not have to wait at all. The doctor who did speak English took me right in. The cab driver waited for me, and translated when I first got there to figure out where I needed to be. After the first doctor saw me, another one saw me, then I had to get an Xray again. I ended up having a fissure fracture and now a new blue cast and a set of crutches. Here everything is pay up front as well. It was 250 Egyptian Pounds for the doctor, 50 for the xray, 60 for the cast, 30 for the medication, 75 for the taxi and 470 for the crutches. 1 USD is 5.6 Egyptian Pounds. I guess you could say it was an expensive day, but I fully promote travel insurance. I started crying at the hospital just out of frustration, and everyone got freaked out. The taxi driver told me it is very unusual to see people cry. Also, they do not have crutches at the hospital. The driver had to drive me all the way across town where I had to get fitted for the crutches. I was not prepared for the cost and felt overwhelmed and cried again. Once again the men freaked out, but they bought me a lemonade to try to make me feel better. The taxi driver waited through all this again. He was really nice. I was thinking, if a foreigner came to our country and this happened to them, would we be this hospitable to them...probably not...which is sad. In fact I felt people were more hospitable to me here then most people would be to me in my own country. It is a terrifying experience to be in a country where you know no one, cant speak the language or read the language and have been here 12 hours and now you are are crutches. But on the bright side I guess I will have strong arms. I am going to try to make it though the rest of Egypt. I am going to the pyramids tomorrow and Islamic Cairo. I am hoping I can still do Israel and Jordan but I guess time will only tell. At least here taxis are readily available and not THAT expensive. It is a cool city here though and I hope others do get the chance to explore it, if not for all the sites, simply for the amazing hospitality of the people!