Blog Like an Egyptian

This is it.  About 20 hours from now, I will board a plane for Amsterdam, and by Wednesday, I will be settling into life in Egypt.

Nervous?  Not at all.  Maybe I’m nervous that I’m forgetting something.  Excited?  Yeah, but I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet.  20 hours is a long ways to go.

It’s been a busy weekend, too.  The heat, coupled with an A/C-less car, has made errand-running a less than pleasant experience.  But I better get used to it, right?  It was about 100 degrees each day in Cairo this weekend.

Right now, I’m waiting for tip-off.  It’s like one giant Blazers game, times a hundred for me.

Let me explain.

After starting line-ups are announced before each Blazers game, there is about a 2-3-minute window when the players are pulling their warm-ups off, stretching a bit, shaking hands and getting ready for tip-off.  An energetic drum beat kicks in a bit.

That’s my favorite time of the game.  In those few minutes, it’s like I know the next 2-2.5 hours will be like nothing else.  I’m going to stand up, sit down, scream, high-five whoever’s around me, chant along, look at the big screen … in short, it’s a total experience.  I’m in the moment for that whole time.  In those final few minutes before the game gets underway, I smile, knowing that what’s to come will take precedence over everything else.

That’s what it’s like right now.  Seven hours from now, I will take up for work.  Six hours after that, I will leave work and not return for three weeks.  I’m going to spend three weeks in Egypt.  As in, the pyramids.  Cairo.  Alexandria.  Abu Simbel.

It still sounds unreal.  I never really expected the trip to happen; I waited for the other shoe to drop.  And here it is, just hours before I head overseas for the first time in my life.

I can’t wait.

Addendum:

Even though I’m gone, I plan on updating this blog!  I’m setting it up to update once a day, with our group’s whereabouts, happenings and goings-on that day.

And when I get back, you better believe I will have some great stories and photos to share.  I hope you stick around for it.

And if you’d like, you can receive e-mail updates for this blog by clicking the “Subscribe” link in the sidebar on the right side of this page.

Thanks for reading.

I’m ready for my big adventure.