Day 13: Cairo

Our last day in Egypt!! This day was long, but exciting. First, we had lunch at the Azhar Park. The park used to be a garbage dump, but President Mubarek's wife decided to turn it into a park. You would never know that it used to be a dump though. The food there was delicious. After we ate, we went into the park. There was a cell phone tower near the park that looked like a big pam tree!

Afterwards, we went to an orphanage. Before we left the U.S., we all gave our professor money to donate to the orphanage. We also bought some hats for them. Unfortunately, they were in school, so we weren't able to spend time with the orphanse, but we spoke to the director of the orphanage and his family. They really do great work in Cairo. They were building new facilities so that they can take in more children. They get them at such a young age and take care of them until they finish school. I was surprised that one didn't have to be an orphan to live there. If parents decide that they cannot take care of their child, they can take them to the orphanages to ensure that they are well taken care of.

After the orphanage we went to City Stars Mall. This place was massive! There were some really nice stores, so we were able to do more shopping before we left. We managed to find a couple of American teenagers that were just hanging out in Cairo. After the mall, we went to our professor's house in Cairo. We got a chance to meet some of his family, which was nice. After we hung out there for a while, we went to a dinner cruise on the Nile. There was a myriad of entertainment: singers, a spinning man, and a belly dancer. The group surprised me and another student with birthday cakes. They put fireworks on the cakes and sang to us. The end of the cruise signified the end of our time in Cairo, so it was bittersweet. From the cruise, we went to the airport to wait for our flight.