Rural Cairo and Children's Hospital

8/3/2009

My last day in Egypt was another full one, fitting right in with the trend.  I was on a SAS trip for the entire day.  We started out on a bus to Cairo.  We saw an art factory that was designed for children, and now is for mothers, to be able to work and make money through making tapestries and pottery.  It was amazing how intricate the rugs they were making were, and how quickly they wove them with no set pattern.  From there, we stopped for lunch on the Nile.  We went to a floating restaurant, with an amazing view of the river, since it was on the water.  They brought out the meal, and I was slightly throw aback to see it was basically a meat platter.  No good for me at all.  I tried to tell the waiter who set it down “vegetarian” but I don’t think he spoke any English.  A few minutes later, I heard another girl trying to explain vegetarian, and I turned and said “me too!”  They whisked away my plate, and I didn’t really understand what was going on, but as everyone else was getting their plates cleared and dessert brought out, I saw two plates come out of the kitchen piled high with French fries.  One of them went to me, and another to the other girl.  Apparently in Egypt, a sufficient vegetarian meal is a pile of French fries, and a few steamed vegetables.  After lunch, it was back to the bus.
Our last stop of the day was the Children’s Hospital.  It was specifically for cancer patients, and it was very nice.  It had been built through donations, and was a non-profit organization.  We got a tour of the hospital, and then we got to meet some of the children.  They were getting treatments, and all seemed very sad, but we had come equipped with stickers and pencils and other little gifts, and started passing them out.  The kids really seemed to like it, and it was nice to see how much of a difference something as simple as a sticker could make in these children’s mood.  After that, it was back to the bus and a race to get back to the ship.  We ended up not making it back until nearly 7pm, quite a while after on ship time.  Luckily, when you are late because of a SAS trip, there is no penalty!  Egypt was yet another amazing country.  I can’t believe how each new place I visit is able to top the last when I have such an amazing time in all of them!  It will be exciting to see what Morocco brings.