It's only Friday but I can't wait to get on that plane

Did a round of shopping today and actually made a list though I know there is stuff I need. Managed to misplace my Yellow Fever certificate and had to get a replacement. Also lost my original medical clearance form with all my labwork - again, got a replacement signed by my doctor. Hmmm, oh yeah, a case finally for my mini Dell laptop, a case for my regular laptop, a laser wireless mouse, noise cancellation headphones for my iPod, an iPod docking station that is a clock radio and stereo player that doesn't weigh too much. I'm hefting all purchases in my hands seeing what is absolutely not going to work. Fulbright advises us to bring our electronic devices with us in our checked baggage and not in the Diplomatic "pouch" shipped boxes of educational materials which by the way, I still have to mail. Tommorow, tomorrow.

Nancy and Heather are coming over tomorrow to help me organize. I figure I'll be more relaxed with a mojito - I have two bags of limes. I'm starting to get dyslexic talking about the trip, I mix up words when I'm a little stressed. I am totally looking forward to this though, just a little sleep deprived. Any day now, I'll have that travel dream where I've gotten to my destination and then suddenly find myself in the airplane going back to Philadelphia. I even have the dreams where I'm packing and have too much stuff and then end up leaving it all behind.

The reason why I can't wait to get on that plane is that that is the moment when I can finally relax. Well, as relaxed as I get on an 8 hour flight. tgfm - thank god for medication. I usually get very antsy at about three hours. And the eternal question, shall I go for the aisle seat for easy bathroom access or should I go for the window so I have something to lean on. I read that the t-people always choose the aisle person to harrass so maybe window. Want to get an actual pillow to take on the plane. Have you ever really slept comfortably with your neck in one of those neck pillows? Didn't think so. I hope I don't get seated next to the really big guy who keeps his legs in a huge pyramid shape, you know, where his left leg is all the way over on your right hand space. We get very used to our own little space on airplanes. I

haven't even looked at the local weather, probably a gazillion degrees. Anyway, after over 12 hours of actual flying time, not counting the down time in Frankfort, I'll be pretty ready for a shower. Nice that I'm being picked up at the airport. In Cairo, the handler comes in and takes care of your visa stuff - at least the Fulbright handler, Ibrahim. Then he gets my stuff brings it to the vehicle and takes me to my apartment and then, when I'm falling over with tiredness will take me for a little walk around my neighborhood because I promise not to drink the water. I do have a Brita filter but that's for my hair basically. What I did last year when I was desperate for water was boil some and cool it and made hibiscus tea with it. The Egyptians do make great hibiscus tea - very red, very tart, very thirst quenching.

I was checking out spy cameras in the shape of pens and stuff but didn't leave enough time to order one. They are pretty cool. They also have spy cameras that look like buttons - only black buttons but still great. I checked out the videos people had made. Stupid ones like driving in a car and looking at goldfish. I guess real spies wouldn't actually show clandestine operations. I love those TV shows like Leverage. I would have used the camera/video to record street life. oh well, probably just as well but wouldn't it be neat? However, to be honest, this totally goes against my "to observe is to disturb" quote that I always say to my non-Western art students. You will be getting plenty of regular photos from me, maybe even a camel somewhere but not at the pyramids because my camel will remember me. They sense fear, you know.

A mere ten days until departure

Today I am preparing a lecture entitled "Walk Like an Egyptian" based on Egyptian artifacts I have seen around the world for a retirement community in West Chester, Pennsylvania. I have taught classes on Egyptian art and traveled to Egypt for a total of five times. The lecture is tomorrow night at 7:30 pm. I had been invited to give lectures there and thought that this would be a good beginning. When I return in the Spring of 2010, I am going to use my wine knowledge (from an intensive Foundation Wine course at the Philadelphia Wine School, www.vinology.com ) which I completed on Friday. I wanted to create a class on Art, Food, Wine and Film and thought that the senior citizens would be my willing guinea pigs for a very short version of the class complete with real wine tasting. I can't do that in my state of Pennsylvania.

Although I only guessed two of of the four wines on the blind tasting, if I "kick butt" on the written online exam, I can look forward to passing. Actually, that old saying of don't change your first answer is pretty much right on. I had thought at first the wine #1 was a Sauvignon Blanc but the grapefruit didn't hit me as hard as I thought it should. I over thought it and chose Riesling. The other one wine #4 was a Cabernet Sauvignon, which I initially thought it was but I decided the herbiness of it and the bitterness on the back of my tongue made it a Sangiovese. Dumb me. I have to pass the online exam for the Intermediate Global wine studies exam. Holy merde.

In only ten days, I depart via United Airlines/Lufthansa for Cairo spending the next 4.5 months researching women's artistic heritage in over 40 women's organizations and NGOs. I have already done some preliminary work in Cairo last summer with seven workshops. My apartment is in Zamalek and in the same apartment building as a Fulbright couple with triplets who I met at the Orientation meeting in Washington, D.C.

I need to get back to lecture prep but wanted to start this blog. More later.