Last weekend's trip went on a 5 or 6 hour drive eastward to the Red Sea. Amazing! There are many things to complain about but spending 8am-1pm at the beach made up for all of it. If you haven't heard the complainy version of this trip and would like to, just ask me when I'm home and if I have forgotten the details, then I am completely over it! We went to a Coptic Monastery a few miles from the Red Sea, Saint Anthony's Monastery. It was interesting, this cute old monk was our tour guide, and I bought some neat pens from the gift shop. I took a lot of pictures but I wish I could remember all the facts and history he told us, but he talked in a bit of a whisper. It was warm and sunny and I really liked that stop!Our hotel was nice. Large rooms and we could jump our balcony and be at the pool. But why go to the pool when the Red Sea is two blocks away? The whole group (about 15) went out for Lebanese food and then took one of those tiny buses to get ice cream. Wonderful ice cream. Not a single one of us was unhappy about those waffle cones. A lot of us (girls, there were only about 4 boys in the group) decided we wanted the beach so badly that we'd wake up early, have breakfast and get to it! So we did.
These signs are funny. They mean no honking, I'm guessing. But I've never been able to look at one without hearing a honk within the 5 seconds it takes to look at it. No joke. The walk to the beach wasn't bad. and the beach was fairly empty because it was so early. They had a pool as well, since it was a resort. Scuba diving was available but we didn't get too adventurous. I tried water aerobics, beach volleyball with a soccer ball, and swimming out pretty far/deep into the sea (which is not something I can do well!). 
The water was nice, very salty. And the people were generally kind. Most of these tourists were from Germany and Scandinavian countries. The sand was grainy, the sun was warm, and I got to read a chapter of my homework! We left the partially nude beach to pack and check out. I had some great falafel sandwiches for super duper cheap and we headed back! On the drive home I learned how to count in Arabic and I learned the months in Norwegian. I'm picking up Arabic. Little phrases here and there. It helps to hang out with the people I do because whenever I use those phrases, they get really proud of me. It encourages me to try harder. I'm still working on the numbers though, they are important if I ever want to buy anything, which trust me, is all the time. Well, the conversation on the way home was enjoyable, that's for sure. Now, there's a reason I took a picture of mydog on my lap but I'm still a little upset about the whole thing. I'm glad I had him with me in the end. He is so lucky to be in Egypt with me, lucky dog. But not as lucky as I am to be here! 
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