Muslim extremist group stacked to the hilt with AK-47s

At first Cairo reminded me a lot of my mission to the Philippine Islands. The first thing you notice is the driving. The driving is just like over there (I like it!). But then I realized that there is a little more order to it over here in Egypt than in the Philippines . . . they have stoplights, and it almost seems like pedestrians have the right of way here. . . whoever is bigger has it in the P.I.(Philippine Islands). It also felt much like a mission because immediately Brian and I started learning phrases and words in Arabic from the first Egyptian we met and began writing them down so that we could memorize them for while our stay here.

Our first couple of nights we stayed at a little motel where the rooms are private but the bathroom and shower is shared with the other people on the floor. Last night we were going to go to Alexandria and then stay the night there but had a little difficulty getting a bus ride over there so we decided to stay another night in Cairo. We went back to the place we stayed the previous couple nights but they were full. That started into another couple of hours of us going from hotel to inn to hostel to motel one after another hearing the words, "No room!". That was rough. We were tired, thirsty, hungry, and rather irritated with a few of the arabians here who always think that they deserve a tip for everything that they don't do (a greedy characteristic trait bred into the people here due to all the tourism I reckon), but managed to find a hostel that charged us $16.00 for a room. We took it and it felt nice to crash. I've only been able to sleep in the afternoons and late evening but seem to stay awake between the hours of midnight until morning. (I slept about 4 hours last night) Oh, another thing, nobody seems to go to bed around here until 2 a.m. The streets are packed until then. Wierd.

Last night after getting a place to stay the night, Brian and I went down the street to get something to eat. We've become extremely skeptical of people here because it seems that they see us as only someone that they can try and scam out of some money. In order to do any business with them you have to haggle, then walk away, then haggle some more before being able to agree on a fair and reasonable price. At first I thought that that was just because they see white people and they see money, but now, although I'm sure that that has a lot to do with it, I think that that is also just much of the culture over here. It's rather tedious and annoying. I decided to be very defiant with my "no"s from now on. So anyway last night Brian and I went down the road to get some food and ran into a guy who spoke decent English (it was understandable) who showed us a sitting/eating area out in an open dirty alleyway behind some buildings where we could enjoy our newly purchased meal. After being here 2 days I've become cautious of anyway offering to do anything for us because everyone so far that I've met expects a tip or to sell us something. Like I said, it's rather annoying and offensive. So when this guy offered to show us a good place to sit and eat I wondered what he wanted. He seemed like a very nice and personable guy, but after finishing our food and excusing ourselves he walked with us and as we passed a little store with some wares he told us that it was his uncle's store or cousin's store (can't remember which) and to just come in and take a look at some of the goods. I'd had it and just kept walking on, but Brian thought to just humor him for a minute and stepped inside. That's when guys armed to the teeth with Knives and AK-47s appeared out of nowhere! They tried to throw Brian to the ground but he fought 'em off and kicked one of em's teeth out (there was blood everywhere and he kept yelling in Arabic: He busted my teeth! He busted my teeth! That's when I took matters into my own hands as I used a combination of my wrestling and martial arts skills to disarm a guy, take his AK-47 and fill the side of the building full of lead in an effort to provide some cover for Brian to . . . . . . .Okay, just kidding, that didn't happen. But it would have been cool if it did! :) Lol! (That means "laughing out loud" Mom and the thing before it is a smiley face but only sideways as I don't know any other way to type a smiley face.) No, he just tried getting us to hear a little presentation of his wares but Brian and I were NOT gonna have it. We excused ourselves and went home. That was it. It would be okay if they were fair in their prices but they bring forth an enormous price first (which is completely offensive) and then sorta expect you to bring them down a bit. . . Oh and I DO! . . . a lot more than a bit! I figure that if they're gonna be complete _ _ _ holes then I can be one back! I'll just do business with someone else. Okay, I apologize Mom and Alicia and anyone else that that may have offended. I'll try to tone it down a little bit. Anyway, we're gonna go to a place called the Citadel today and maybe go back and look a little bit more at the Pyramids and Sphinx . . . we'll see. Tonight at 10:00 p.m. Brian and I are catching a 10 hour bus ride to Luxor (south central Egypt) to see some of the ancient ruins there. That should be fun! . . . 10 hours on a bus . . . we'll see.