When I first landed in Egypt, I walked out expecting to see pyramids. Instead, I saw airport workers out in the 70 degree weather staring at their phones that were on full blast, displaying none other than soccer. Driving through the city to our hotel, the billboards are filled with soccer players displaying different products– soft drinks and food the most. But, over the bridge we were crossing on the highway, I saw the beginning of something straight out of pictures I’ve seen all over the internet. None other than the top of the humongous pyramids was staring right back at me as we drove towards our hotel, giving me a sneak peak of the beauty Egypt had to offer later on. Another underrated aspect of Egypt was the fact that driving there felt like a big game of Mario Kart where everyone’s really testing their luck. Despite the lack of car lanes and traffic lights, making me question if I was going to even be able to finish the school year at times, simply looking around in Cairo, Egypt gave me lots to think about. The culture in a new country is always fascinating. Seeing people kiss on cheeks when they first meet, acknowledge all the people in a room when they walk in so they don’t appear rude, immediately look for the worker in a store to say greetings to them, and all the little mannerisms for me to get used to. The fact that when the weather is 60 degrees, people are wearing coats and acting like it’s below freezing was another thing for me to get used to. But, above all those little initial shocks, the most astounding thing to me was how unreal the city is. The first thing I thought of when I became aware of the fact that I was going to Egypt was the pyramids. I can finally say now, Egypt as a whole, not just the pyramids, is a magical and beautiful country to experience.

While I have a Middle Eastern background and can communicate in Arabic, the actual Egyptian language is like a huge riddle to me. So, my whole trip, I decided to play a little game with myself to try and see how far I can get speaking so that they won’t sense that I’m American and really can barely understand a thing. Everytime no one asked where I was from, I felt like I just won a game. Despite that, my mother embraced the tourist lifestyle, stopping at nothing, forcing me to take pictures with waiters in Egyptian restaurants wearing traditional clothing, and all the more embarrassing things that you would expect a mother to do. We even took a very stunning boat ride across the famous Nile River, looking at all the city landscapes that looks like it could be New York, but has a hint of something that makes it unique, like you could look at it for hours and see something new every time.

The part no one talks about is the ride up to the pyramids. You can see them from a mile away, laying on a big hill, but getting to actually be near them is the hard part. Taking a car there is wildly inconvenient, despite the fact that there are roads going up and down the hills to get to the part of the land the pyramids are on. The roads are inhabited by horses carrying mini carriages. We had to take carriages up there, and back down, which to me, was the scariest and most terrifying part of the whole trip. When you think about it, it doesn’t seem that scary, but when you see the wooden carriages and how the horses knees are just one force away from giving out as it carries you unevenly up a long hill as you’re hung on by a belt-like material to the horses back– it gets scary. It gets even worse when the driver decides to let me hold the reins of the horse and the horse decides that’s the perfect moment to start aggressively turning until we’re leaning on one side of the horse and about to tip over. But, as the carriage driver said, “Don’t worry and be happy” because the pyramids were just one short (terrifying) ride away. The scary ride is all the more worth it when you start nearing the view of the pyramids that Egyptians just casually drive by on their day to work. Now, of course, the pyramids are astonishing. Walking in a place straight from a postcard feels unreal, especially when you want nothing more than to just take a picture in your mind to look back on. It feels strange being in a place of such history and fame, but it also just feels more insane when you look at each little stone on them. It feels like a movie scene, like I was not even there. Then I had the bright idea to ride a camel– which I can now say that I have done, and will never do again thanks to the fear of it. But, keep in mind that looking at the pyramids from 7 feet tall still somehow does not even make them look any bit smaller!

All the little quirks aside, Egypt is a place that makes you feel history and curiosity no matter where you decide to stay. Heading on the long flight back home with my sand-stained clothes, I got to take a little bit of Egypt back home with me, the sand carrying history and memories with it.