The trip back was dreadful, but I knew it would be. I left Cairo at 3am. I cried while we were on the freeway heading for the airport. Sayid had arranged a taxi for me and called me on the cellphone to say goodbye. I have no fast conclusions about him but I believe that he did see me as an easy target for making some money. Although he seemed to genuinely like me, it didn't stop him from milking me for every dime he could get or seemingly give him any guilty thoughts. I guess my definition of friendship is a bit different than his.

Before I left his home, he gave me some papyrus as a present. I don't know that I accepted it warmly because I thought there were strings attached....but there weren't any.

This trip has made me realize how insulated my tiny piece of the world is. I also see how easy it is to be a tourist in a foreign country but never allow yourself to really see into the culture you're visiting. I don't think the groups of folks going on Thomas Cook Tours had anything remotely resembling the experiences that I had. I am humbled. I am thankful for the richness of my life, thankful I was born into a privileged background (something I don't think I was cognizant of at all before) and mostly very thankful that I'm not any kind of domestic or food animal that lives in Egypt. ;->

Speaking of animals -- I had a few things I wanted to share about meat. In the US, we tend to be pretty far-removed from animals that we eat. Theoretically we know it was a chicken or a cow or a pig, but when it's so cleanly packaged and you can scarcely identify where it came from on the animal it feels really remote. In Egypt, you can be eating chicken that was running around the yard just an hour ago. You see women walking home with birds on their heads and you know those birds will likely become dinner.

At the camel market, all of the smaller camels should be named dinner. And walking through the markets, you see big chunks of meat hanging, blood dripping down from them and they sometimes have their tails intact. It's much harder to forget that the tasty animal you're eating gave up its life for you.

Currently, I'm suffering from a new bout of turista that doesn't seem to be responding to the meds as nicely as the first bout. Between that and jetlag I'm sleeping most of the day. I am wondering how many of you budget travelers out there really stick to the peel it, cook it, leave it school of food? It seems unrealistic and doesn't seem to take into consideration improper handling, improper storage, improper sanitation, and not heating food to a proper temperature. I was much more worried about improper food handling than eating unpeeled cucumbers, though maybe that's why I got sick?

Kayla (the tired bellyaching donkey who is very happy to be home)