Osama the Bus Driver

Oh Cairo. I think I just lived through a comedy routine trying to find my hotel room in the hotel we just checked into. My friend and I thought it was a good idea to take a "secret elevator" to get to our room faster and ended up wandering around with our giant bags, a lamp, and a couple pieces of chocolate cake. Once we figured out we were lost, we piled everything into the elevator, and I got in it just in time for the door to close. Egyptian elevators don't open back up right away when you tell them to, so I rode it down a few floors, with about 5 bags, and I could hear my friend yelling at me to come back the whole way. Hilarious.
Okay, maybe it's not that funny, but I spent 9 hours on a bus today to get from Siwa to Cairo. Everything is funny.
Siwa was yet another highlight of my trip. It's a small town built around an oasis in the middle of the desert, and is beautiful (despite the cockroaches). Yesterday was one of my favourite days ever. Got up early and went on a bike ride to the natural spring of Cleopatra and swam a little. Egyptian pizza for lunch (which isn't really like American pizza but is amazing), then onto jeeps for an epic six hour safari through the sand dunes. It was like a roller coaster ride, but scarier. Occasionally a jeep would get stuck in the sand and the drivers would run out with shovels and dig them out. It was unlike anything I've ever done before.
We stopped at multiple natural lakes and springs to swim, then stopped on the top of a big dune to drink tea and watch the sunset. It was great. After sunset, we drove over to a small camp where we ate yet another meal of chicken, rice, and potatoes (though this one was especially good) and sat around a bon fire looking at the stars, dancing, and listening to some Egyptian men playing drums. That was really fun. Our bus driver, Osama, wanted to dance but no one would dance with him. He got down on his knees and begged me to dance, and so I danced barefoot around the fire with our old, hairy bus driver named Osama (and he was wearing his pants like Steve Urcle). Hahahaha
Tommorrow is my last day in Egypt. Though I look forward to showing off my tan at home, I'm going to miss this country a lot.