the biggest challenge...

the biggest challenge that i have been facing is LANGUAGE. talking. i rarely talk. when i do speak, it is usually with people that are using english as their SECOND or sometimes THIRD language. so it can be a bit tricky. especially with my vaste command of the english language...such as "dude", "that's sweet", "take it easy bro", "hot dang", "goodness gracious".

yesterday i was invited to sharm el sheikh for hisham's perfomance at the shark bay hotel. it was a long evening. we arrived around 7pm...popped some cold brewskie, sat...and sat...and sat a little more. we were waiting for the food...8...no go...9...don't think so...10...don't even think about it...11pm they casually start rolling out the food. i was STARVING. i think that everyone else was too. regardless, the buffet was bum rushed and i was left gnawing on some boiled carrots. undercooked boiled carrots. hell freeze over before i would open my mouth and actually say that i was hungry. so i sat there sipping tea sitting by the fire with friends. the only woman, yet again, nearly 100 bedouin men. mostly from the desert. a unique breed of humans. more mystics. anyway, sometimes i feel very uncomfortable. too much male energy. WAAAAY too much. but one thing i really enjoy about these nights is that you are left alone. bedouin men are not allowed to speak to an unmarried woman...much less look at one. so i can just sit and mind my own business. it's nice sometimes. sometimes i get really really REALLY bored.

the show was good. great, actually. as always. after, we head back to dahab and stop for gas before the checkpoint...yes, i said checkpoint...you think twice about drinking and driving when a couple of UZIS are staring at your face. ahhahah...anyway, i asked for a coca cola to tide me over the 1 plus hour back to dahab. the guys all call me GIBNA...it's arabic for cheese. hahahah...for real. it's hilarious...so they say "standa schwa-a, gibna...standa schwa-a"....(arabic for wait a little bit) and i'm thinking 'WAIT?! WAIT?!!! how can i wait anymore". but again, one of the life lessons i am POSITIVE that for me i have to learn here is PATIENCE...afterall it's a virtue. so i nodded my head and said "mashi". (okay).

next thing i know we are driving around sharm el sheikh at 3:30am...and my stomach is shriveled....when the smell of french fries....burgers....apple pies comes wafting through the window. i turn around and we are pulling into a MCDONALDS.....WAHOO MICKEY D'S! yessur. i wish i had brought my camera. however, sometimes moments like this are reserved just for your memory.

white american gir andl...6..yes...6! VERY nicely dressed BEDOUIN men...when i mean nicely dressed i really mean it...they take great care and pride in their fashion. it might look like dresses and towels to us, but it is much more. sooo here we are strolling in 6 + one rugrat deep. it was a feast none the less...french fries....a HUGE big mac...it was the size of my face. they definitely don't make them that big in the states. for sure! they just ordered a massive amount of food. it was so nice to EAT! and yes, it was mcdonalds...but shit, sometimes it's nice to have things from home. but boy o boy did everyone look at us...we are sitting there, half drunk, stoned and chowing on mcdonalds french fries and laughing. unique experiences.

but sometimes i shout very quietly..."GET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE".

the great and terrible.