The second leg our our journey around the world is upon us. And what better way to start the trip than with a baptism by fire in Cairo, Egypt. I say that because on the first leg we were fairly comfortable with our language skills (Genny especially), had a good grasp of the culture, and could get out of a hairy situation if need be. Here in Cairo, it's a completely different story. We cannot speak the language, it is both of our first times in a Muslim country and if a hairy situation presents itself, I am not confident we'd have the same finess Indiana Jones did in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" to get out of it.

Prior to arriving in Cairo, we had read that it was crowded, polluted and chaotic (charming, huh?). And in many ways it is. But it wouldn't be fair to leave it at that. What often is not mentioned is that it not only houses the last remaining Ancient Wonder (The Pyramids of Giza), but is chalk full of some of the most charming and friendly people you will ever meet. We have yet to meet the American hating, bomb toting jihadist that Fox news would have you believe the middle east is full of. Sure, we're not exactly in Iraq, but Egypt is technically considered the middle east and 90% of the population is Muslim. And well it's no secret that Muslims are given a bad rap. Instead, we walk down the street are met with smiles and people shouting "Welcome to Egypt." A few have even said "Thumbs up for Obama." In the last few days we have been asked on multiple occasions to be in pictures with Egyptians and their children. We can't fathom why anyone would want pictures of two strange Americans in their family albums. Could you imagine going through your photo album descibing these pictures. "Here we are at the beach...Here is the family at the pyramids...and here are two random Americans I met on the street and asked to kiss the baby."

Two memories come to mind when I refer to friendly Egyptians. First, while visitng a mosque at night, we were approached by about 10 young children. We soon learned that they were interested in practicing their English and we answered repeatedly the questions "What is your name," "How are you?" and "Where are you from?" They were particularly thrilled when Genny asked them to tie her head scarf for her. They even invited us to eat dinner in the Mosque with their families. We had probably our fanciest feast yet, consisting of shrimp and beef pitas with Tahini sauce. And it seemed that with every bite we took, we were offered more and more. In return they asked us to sing for them. They all sat in awe while I sang my best rendition of the only song I could think of off hand, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." Perhaps its first performance in a mosque. They all applauded enthusiastically when I finished.

The seconed encounter with overwhelming Egyptian hospitality we experienced this week came when we met the Egyptian/Russian couple, Moda & Vicky. We met them on the microbus on the way back from the pyramids and became fast friends. They invited us to eat, have coffee, and smoke sheesha (Sheesha is a flavored tobacco filtered through a water pipe. Sorry Mom. When in Rome, right?). We spent a day with them in Cairo, then another couple in their home city of Alexandria, where they treated us like we'd been best friends for years. Through our last week in Cairo, we have noticed the pollution, cars and people whizzing by, but what has really stuck with us is how amazingly welcoming and friendly the people of Egypt are.