the american.

i'm pretty sure this is how i'll be remembered forever in marsa alam, egypt. well first, apparently not many americans travel to egypt (such a loss), so for many of the hotel staff, i was the first american they'd ever met. and the most common response i got to being american? some praise for obama! that's right. people around the world are stoked for obama (plus, seriously, his policies for the MENA [middle east north africa] region couldn't possibly get any worse than bush).

biggest highlight of the vacation: i went scuba diving. and it was phenomenal! well, i was not phenomenal at it, but the experience itself was. so, a brief synopsis. i decide i'm gonna go diving (thanks to a fantastic birthday present from shauna and joe). i show up at 2 pm to get a brief intro to diving. i am following somewhat, and yet, also distracted by the attractiveness of my diving instructor. ok, so then we go out to the house reef and lagoon. on our walk out we talked about politics and certain people hating others (i was amazed how people responded to be being 'american' without knowing anything else about me). walid gave an example. apparently he was robbed in the town he lives in, but not is from. he said, of course, i don't hate all the people from that town, just the man that robbed me. exactly. at the time, it seemed so painfully obvious. of course you don't generalize your dislike to a whole group of people based on an experience with one of them. yet, how many of us do that consistently? ok, let the diving proceed. i practice breathing and equalizing and all these other terms i don't really understand. and then, let the dive begin. i tell walid, said attractive diving instructor, that i completely trust him, but not myself. and if i were on the oprah show, i think it'd be some 'ah-ha moment.' i trust this man i just met one hour ago but not myself who i have now known for some 29 years. good meredith. ok, so we dive. it's a bit crazy. i freak out a couple more times and we have to surface. walid is laughing. we're joking the whole time. he tells me this is his most memorable first dive (probably cause it's the most difficult). when we finally surface we're talking to another diving guide on the jetty. he asks how it was. i said good, but i was scared. and then, another 'ah-ha moment.' he says, yes, americans are always afraid for no reason--it's difficult to teach them to do anything. seriously.

this vacation was perfect. i was definitely sad to leave, although i realized that leaving meant that many hours closer to flying home. i do believe the countdown is now at 36 hours. can't wait to see many of you soon!