Travel III

This last entry, written from my very familiar work desk, will bring to a close this round of adventures. I will not even attempt to describe everything, but I did want to preserve two events by means of painted descriptions, not only for you, but for me too.

Egypt: Weddings are roudy affairs, full of lively music and lots of people clustered along a brightly lit street overhung with colored light bulbs. The women and men and children crowd on chairs and around the stage where the bridal couple sits on elegant thrones, like a king and queen presiding over their court entourage composed of happy relatives and guests. Sonja and I went with Asmaa' to the neighbor's brother's daughter's wedding (after making a guest appearance at another wedding down the street!) and immediately were ushered onto the stage for pictures with the happy couple, and in spite of our protests, danced with the bride and bride's family. By this time though, some of my reserve had worn off (as the initial shock of being thrust into the middle of a crowd of eager onlookers with camera phones had eased after some agonizingly uncertain moments of trying to "move to the Arabic groove" at the first wedding) and I enjoyed the festive atmosphere. Regardless of Asmaa's assurances, I felt very underdressed in my t-shirt and jeans as I danced around the flawlessly made-up and elegantly dressed bride. Her dress was dark pink, with golden glitter and a huge hem that I did my best not to step on! We left the wedding early, as we had an early morning wake-up for the next day's journey to Sinai.

Austria: We had a perfect day. After a few rainy days in the beginning, we welcomed the sunshine of our last full day in Leutasch. With most of the group gone, there were only four of us (and Bella the crazy mountain dog) that hiked up the mountain that day and made it to the summit where we toasted in the sun, ate the melting snow, and marveled at pretty flowers (ok, at least I did) and the breathtaking views of rugged mountains in every direction. Only two days previously we had hiked along the same path that was covered in snow, and now only the peaks had any! On our return we stopped at Wangalm, a mountain hütte where we had contentedly become regulars, addicted to their atmosphere, soup, coffee and schnaps. My sister's boyfriend was particularly taken with the three resident goats and the enormous pig that he dubbed Jumbo. As we ate delicious noodle soup, we watched the goats scrutinize a green motorcycle in the yard--I dare say they were most impressed with the backscratches they could get from the fenders. We were invited to drinks by the owner of the hütte, who took us down to the neighboring hütte with her friends, and we proceeded to have a cozy time even with the language barrier. (Here I must add that my three years of German studies have finally paid off, and I can communicate!!!! It is a thrill, I tell you!) With kisses and goodbyes, our time on the mountain ended with one more round of schnaps before heading down to the valley.

Thus ends the first tour of 2007. I heard many positive things from the students about it, and I do hope this means that they will be excited to go with Cubit Tours again next year! The outlook is definitely good; I know I'm in!!!