All I can say is WOW!

I had an "I heart CGU" kind of day. I could make a t-shirt. I am finally recovered from jet lag and woke up at 9AM instead of 6AM. Glad for that. Made it to the library by 10AM to have my dissertation day. Read over the study I am working with primarily - lots of good ideas for literature to look for. Jessica called to see if I was going to the Leadership Roundtable I had RSVP'd for. Oops. I wanted to go still. Went in my jeans, crocs, and tshirt - typical library attire. Showed up at the meeting and it was all professors and directors - all dressed in professional clothes. Oops. Group of about 12. I saw the name Riggio and realized he has authored the book Multiple Intelligences. I have a notecard for comps on that book - and I was sitting at lunch across from the guy. Yeah. Jessica knows all the people in the room so it was no big deal to her. Several other big names in the field of leadership sat around the table. I wished I had dressed up just a little. Didn't say much - just listened and tried to look like I belonged. Left feeling a litle star-struck.

Another gorgeous day with sunny skies. Almost beach weather. Worked out for almost 2 hours. Then back to the library to study some more. Time flew by as I worked on my taxonomy. Then I went to a workshop hosted by the library on RefWorks. Apparently it is a web-based software to manage sources for bibliographies, etc. I have End Note but barely use it - I know it does more than I can make it do. So the 2 hour workshop showed me all the great things our program can do. CGU subscribes to the program - so it is free for all the students. Wow. I was so impressed. I could even keep quotes and citations in the program.

As I drove away from campus, I was so hyped up. A great research day. Great networking and learning day. Truly one of the best days I've had in Cali. If I could have worked in a trip to the beach, it would have been perfect.

Egypt lowlight - Camel ride up Mt. Sinai

Every day of the trip was fantastic EXCEPT for the Mt. Sinai day. I will attempt to convey my feelings on the day - but it worksk better in person. We got up at 1:30AM in order to be up Mt. Sinai for sunrise. I am more of a sunset kind of girl - but who would miss the adventure? We had camels to take us up the mountain and we were to walk back down. It was so early and so dark. We got to the base of the mountain and walked to where we would meet the camels. It was very exciting - to finally be riding a camel. Our guide assigned us each to a camel guide/driver kind of person. They dragged each of us by the hand to our camel. I saw my saddle and was skeptical. It was two wooden sticks - one in front and one in back. They had several blankets as a saddle cover. I barely squeezed between my two pieces of wood - then the camel stood up. I could not believe the pain. The stick was digging into my uterus - I told everyone that I was not going to be able to have children. I kept asking other people if their saddle hurt - they told me that it didn't. Some people didn't even have sticks. I was in serious pain and wanted to switch camels - the guide told me he would have to catch the other camel first. Really? He finally gave me a new one and it was better. But a piece of metal in the saddle was digging into my legs. There are no stirrups so my knees felt like they were going to fall off. I kept trying to ignore the pain and enjoy the moment. Not a chance. When we finally got to the end, I just wanted to get down. I fell on a rock and bruised my right side. I was so done. Had to climb 750 more steps to see the sunrise. It is not an easy hike - took a long time. Tons of tourists at the top and I so did not care about the sun. And we had a 2 hour hike down. What a day. If you ever go, I recommend that you sleep through that experience. Ride a camel at the pyramids and be done with that. It is too bad because the camels are so cute and innocent looking.

Egypt Highlight - my new nickname

All my other Egypt stories I posted were so serious - I thought I would tell the one about when I got a new nickname. It is unusual to be 33 and find a nickname no one has ever called you before. I made a new friend in my roomate Elyse. She helped me stay sane by being able to laugh at most things - a great person to have on a trip. We shopped in the bazaar one day in Cairo, which is mostly a gauntlet of shopowners harrassing you to enter their store. Once you are inside, the game is trying to get back out. So I am leading the way through the crowd since I am taller and Elyse is following. It is kind of funny to hear all the things they say to try to entice you. "Good price here" "No hassling" "How can I take your money" and my personal favorite "we have your size". If they knew American women, they would NEVER try that line. I was plowing through the crowd then stopped to see if Elyse was still behind me - which she wasn't. All I saw was a mob of salespeople. I kept saying "I need to find my friend, where is my friend???" She was gone - no trace of her. Then I heard a salesguy saying "Cabby, over here" - guessing he was referring to me - went over and sure enough, Elyse was inside the store. The storeowner said "Cabby!" when he saw me. Elyse said she wasn't going to buy anything unless they found Cathy first. Too funny. So from then on, I was known as Cabby. Sad part is I started answering to it like it was my name. That blasted "th" in my name always gives people trouble...

Egypt Highlight - My girl Hapti

Her real name was Hatshepsut, she ruled for 25 years from 1479 to 1458BC, during the 18th dynasty. She was a Pharoah, not just a queen. She is the only female Pharoah in ancient Egypt. She is known for the economic and trade progress she led, discovering new areas like Somalia, and keeping peace throughout her land. Her son came back after college and she did not give up the throne to him willingly. Our tour guide described her as devious when she created a legend about her birth - when he had praised male leaders for their cleverness. He kept saying how selfish she was for holding on to her power - i.e. stealing authority from the men around her. All of her images are rubbed out of her temple. Any space that looks like it had a person carved into the wall, is now removed. Rubbed out of history.

So anyone who knows me even a little might guess how I would respond to this situation. I found my all time fav soapbox and let the guide, as well as our group, know how I felt about this story. Hapti had her tomb built in the Valley of the Kings, rather than with the Queens. She built an oblisk that detailed her reign and had it placed in the Karnak Temple. Her son tried to build a wall around the oblisk to hide it from history. Interestingly, the wall has crumbled and the oblisk still stands. They TRIED to rub her out of history, but you can't. She made her mark on history and no one can take that away. I am inspired to study more about her, to be her advocate and defender. They may not like that women make history...but we do. No one can rub that out.

Egypt Highlight - Library in Alexandria

We had one day in Alexandria and it was incredible. It is right on the Mediterranean Sea. The water is this amazing dark blue color, with shades of green. We saw from the top of a Citadel, a beautiful view of the sea. One view looked just like San Fran. Our lunch was at a seafood place that overlooked the water.

After lunch, we had almost 2 hours at the Library in Alexandria - a new, innovative structure. The library in Alexandria was one of the earliest libraries in history. This new building is 7 stories tall, has capacity for 8 million books. 300 computer stations. They have Napoleon's whole Description of Egypt online for free in digital format. Truly inventive and brilliant in design and purpose. I was blown away. Just looking out over the books, I was struck with a love of learning, of reading. There is a deep love inside me for both. Can I devote my life to what I love? It was like I discovered something new - that I could discover new loves. Another emotional moment on the trip. We all agreed we could spend a whole day in that library.

So maybe I could teach in Egypt one day? If I do, would love to be near Alexandria.

Egypt Highlight - The Imam's Song

We visited Islamic Cairo for a day. The first mosque we saw was built by a Sultan over a thousand years ago. Our prof described the detailed architecture and the features we might not notice on our own. There was a unique minaret, windows that did not line up so it forced motion. It was a wonderful place. He said that the mosque can hold 1000s but less than 100 come each week for prayer. Egyptians never accepted the building as a place for prayer. A beautiful, empty sacred space. I wondered about his leadership - why he never got the buy in of his people? Seems like there is more to the story.

We saw a second mosque - where young boys are trained. Boys only it sounds like. Another beautiful building. Our prof asked the Imam to show us the holy room behind the prayer screen. He sang a call to prayer for us. The room was dark and cool. The song was in Arabic, so I am not sure of the words. His voice was so perfect as he sang. People were video-ing and pic-ing the moment. I could not move, just closed my eyes and listened. Next thing I knew, tears were coming out of my eyes and down my face. I kept thinking how much this man must love God. That his singing was bringing me closer to God - the role of any minister. I was so moved. That I could be a person that inspires deeper, more real love for God. Truly a moving moment in Egypt.

Valkerie

Seriously one of the best movies of the Christmas season. Lots of characters though - sometimes hard to follow. I THINK there are some good leadership lessons in the show. There is a scene where all the supporters hold up their cards - to signal their loyalty. Powerful moment, when you think of how loyalty to Hitler motivated so much hate. Then they mobilized their plan - incredible. Everyone was in place, did their part, worked like clockwork when the time was right. They say in the end that there were 15 attempts on Hitler's life, by Germans. Isn't it amazing to think about if one plan had succeeded? How differently the story would have gone. I was moved by his courage. His love for the country he knew. It was worth the $7.50 I paid to see it - and that was matinee price. Welcome to Cali. Go see it, let me know what you think.

Countdown to Egypt

I flew back to Cali on Monday, which should make for a short week. But the week is dragging on forever...maybe that is too dramatic. I have seen a movie, eaten out with friends, taken naps, packed and STILL the week feels like it is crawling by. It is odd. I guess I am just eager to go. I love to be out of the country and it is time! One day the weather condition for Cairo was "sand" - not sure what that will look like in person. Should be fun to meet my fellow travellers. Wondering if the political situation with Israel/ Palestine will have any effect on our travels. Wondering if I will really live overseas one day. Could I teach cross-culturally? Do I really have something to offer as a professor? I realized over the break that every potential of my past has been explored. All that is left to explore is the wide, scary, wonderful future. A year ago I could not have imagined where I would be now. Who knows where next year will lead? I'm hoping to post pics and blurbs from our trip. I appreciate your prayers for our safety.