My time in Minya

Minya is very different from Cairo or AlRehab. You see poor people all the time in Cairo, but in Minya the poverty takes on a whole other level. Now, there are certainly well off people there, but passing by the farms and seeing the majority of the buildings just barely standing really speaks to a person. And it was a normal sight to see two or three kids riding down the street on a donkey. I saw donkeys everywhere! Anyway, Nashaat and Fadi took me walking around some and we talked about what life is like there. 

 They also bought me a Coca-Cola. I rarely drink soda at home but I knew i would be inevitable here, especially since I promised to bring back Coke bottles for two of my really good friends. Well, here's one down! Though, I will admit I have been drinking a lot of 7 Up, it's hard to say no to people when they hand me stuff...

Getting to see more of Egypt was a really great experience and I cannot even write down all that I felt there. One of the producers I work with was just telling me that his church does a lot of outreach for the poorest of the poor in Minya. I was really glad to hear that, because really, these people are stuck in a never ending cycle. They work hard, but can never make enough money to create an easier life. As I go around and see how true this really is, I feel called to help make a difference in people's lives. One of my favorite travel photographers is Austin Mann, and maybe one day I'll get to show the world how to help just like he does. 

After the training course was over, we made the trip back to Rehab. We were supposed to take the train back, just like we came, but there was a huge miscommunication and somehow we only had two return tickets instead of three. And since the train station couldn't help us out at all, we sold our tickets and took a taxi back instead. We traveled through the desert which led to some crazy sights. 

              Transporting Camels in a truck.

             Plenty of sand and semi mountains.

And we took a break at this random resort-like place halfway through. The sunset was beautiful!

Now to go through all the rest of my pictures from yesterday...three different people were taking pictures with my camera at this monster long video shoot. Now I have 400 + pics on my memory card. Wow.