Our flight is Monday evening, and we depart from Logan at 4:15. We're flying first to Frankfurt, Germany, where we have a layover before flying to Cairo. We'll have a little time to settle in there, but Wednesday morning we're taking a train to Aswan (about 549 miles south). The time difference taken into consideration, the first day and a half or so will be spent traveling - we'll arrive in Aswan late on Wednesday in Egypt time (early Wednesday for everyone back in the states). And that's when the fun begins.
I've borrowed a Nikon D70 from the photo lab to use for class. It's a bit retro (it uses a compact flash card... ew) but it's a nice camera and it does the trick. I'll also have my Powershot G10 on me for smaller trips - it's more compact, and it takes great photos for not being a dSLR. I feel like I'll be right in my comfort zone shooting in Egypt; even though it's going to be incredibly hot, the air will be dry and it'll be sunny almost every day we're there (http://www.weather.com/weather/monthly/EGXX0004?month=1). Egypt's known for being an ancient and beautiful place, but from a photographic standpoint, I'm most interested in its culture. Cairo is mostly Muslim, but there are also large Christian and Jewish minorities. The influence of religion in Cairo is undeniable. The city is densely populated and is home to almost 7 million people, making it the largest city in Africa and in the Arabic world. The metro area outside of Cairo is home to another 18 million people. Those 25 million people constitute a larger population than all of New England combined. It's also one of the world's busiest cities, and I think there will almost always be something interesting to photograph.
I worked over 40 hours last week and will be doing the same this week trying to save up money and prepare for my trip since I won't be working for five weeks while I'm there. I'm a little worn down as a result, but I plan on resting this weekend as I finish packing. I have to move out of my dorm still, so I'm going to be busy up until the Monday afternoon I depart, but it'll all be worth it once I get to Egypt. I truly think this is going to be the experience of a lifetime.
I won't be able to call people often - international rates are reeeeeeally expensive and there won't be phones readily available everywhere I travel. However, Wifi seems to be a staple in most of the cafés in Aswan, Luxor and Cairo. I'll keep this blog updated as often as I can, along with pictures from my trip. I also have a Facebook group set up (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=111000548917792&ref=ts) and there's a group for all seven of the photo students too (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=360058291270&ref=ts). I'll try to answer the occasional email when I have spare time too, but because I won't have consistent internet access, you may have to wait a while for a response.
And finally, if you want me to send you a postcard, please send me your mailing address. It will take a while for postcards or letters to get through the mail system in Egypt, but it's not really the same if I write the letters in Egypt and wait until I get back to the states to mail them. It's so much more awesome if you get mail directly from Egypt, right? Anyway, email me your address or send me a Facebook message, and I'll add you to my growing list of people to write to!
