Well, I am going to start adding it to my blog, because I love to reminisce. Simply put, I have a nostalgic heart.
Today, we are going to throwback to my trip to Egypt in 1998. I was 10 years old so my Egypt memories are very limited and I didn't really understand all that was going on around me.
Anyhow, my Thorkelson cousins and I had the opportunity to travel to Cairo, Egypt to represent the United States in some type of international children's chorus (Don't ask me how we got so lucky. I know my grandpa arranged it). It might have been a competition? If it was, we were disqualified pretty early on because we didn't have an original song - we had prepared "It's a Small World". (Once again, this is just how my 10 year old brain remembers it) And I apologize - my pictures in this post aren't the best quality since they are pictures of pictures.
***Update. I googled it. I participated in the First International Children's Song Competition. How cool is that?!
I think we were there for about a week and we got to experience some amazing things:
- We had a forever long layover in New York on our way to Egypt. My aunts had us sing "It's a Small World" over and over and over again. Plus, we were all matching...Super adorable, right?
- When we arrived in Egypt, they had a welcome crew for us. We spent our first hour in Egypt dancing with the Egyptian versions of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, and other popular American characters. It was more scary than it was fun. I wish I had a picture of this! One of my most vivid memories is doing some type of conga line and having Pluto's nose bouncing off the top of my head.
- We met other kids from around the world. None of us spoke the same language, but that didn't stop us from making friends.
- I rode a "felucca" on the Nile. It took us to a papyrus making museum. I remember being pretty shocked at how dirty the water was.
- We went to the Egyptian Museum. According to my memory, we saw the mummified King Tut. It was so spookily great. Did you know that mummies still have their hair?
- I rode a donkey to the pyramids AND the Sphinx and then a camel back. This was definitely my favorite part of the trip. Let me tell you though, riding a camel is terrifying. I think I cried it when it was time to get off - you are so far from the ground.
Random things I remember:
- The pizza from Pizza Hut was super salty.
- I think we were supposed to be there for a few weeks - but my childhood memory recalls some drama that my family came across that we weren't supposed to? So they cut our trip short. Maybe I made this part up, I have never talked to any of my cousins about this.
- Our hotel was amazing. Breakfast was my favorite. I got to watch them make my omelet every morning.
- There was a little girl on the flight home who wouldn't leave me alone. I tried to get my cousins to help, but most of them were asleep (it was a long flight). I think the little girl just wanted to play card games - which is hard when you don't speak the same language. At one point she spilled her soda on me. It was not my favorite.
I hope that there is a box somewhere at my parent's house full of more pictures, the journal I kept while there, bottles of sand from Egypt, the certificate saying I was a part of the competition, samples of papyrus, and other touristy type souvenirs.
Shortly after we got back, The Prince of Egypt came out. I was obsessed and saw it a few times in the theaters. I eventually had the entire soundtrack memorized, but you probably did too.
Looking back at all of this I am in awe at what I was able to experience at such a young age. And what a neat adventure to be able to share with my cousins.
After that trip I decided I wanted to travel to every continent. I discovered my love for different cultures and being immersed in something completely unknown and new. It opened my eyes to how big the world is and is something I will most definitely never forget.
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