Orange Juice

I'm not sure, but I think it's fair to say that i have always disliked orange juice. I mean, I'll drink it if I have to, but as far as my choice of breakfast beverage goes, orange juice is not a contender. So now I bet you're wondering exactly what this has to do with anything related to study abroad. It does, I promise.
I went to Egypt this summer with two Penn State professors and a group of 12 students. It took an eight hour flight from Philly to Paris, a six hour layover, and another five hour flight from Paris to Cairo to get there, and needless to say, jet lag was in full-bloom. Even though I was excited to be in Egypt I was fore-square against getting on another plain the next day to fly from Cairo down to Luxor. So the second night in Egypt I am in Luxor, completely wrung out from a solid 48 hours of non-stop motion and not exactly sure what I just ate for dinner. This is the point where i start to wonder what exactly I've gotten myself into, or at least I would have wondered had i not completely passed out on my bed.
Breakfast came too soon. We had a lot to do that third day so by default the call to breakfast was ungodly early. I am by no means a morning person, walking dead might be pushing my level of enthusiasm for the morning hours. But I was in EGYPT! I was going to do my best to be alive, awake, alert, and enthusiastic in these wee early hours.
Breakfast looked really good: Rolls and pastries, fresh fruit, a man would gladly cook you an omelet for a smile. But then there was the orange juice; orange juice and nothing but orange juice.
So I got some. I had to! Breakfast requires some form of liquid to go down properly! So yes i got some, but I was not going to be happy about it.
I'd eaten almost the entire bagel and couldn't hold off on the orange juice any longer, i raised the glass, took a swig, and BAAM! Heaven in a glass! It was amazing, magical, spectacular, and so much more.
The oranges in Egypt don't receive as much water as they do in the States, a side effect other than being smaller is that they have a more concentrated taste.
Even though this fresh squeezed pulpy juice is generally not to my liking, i have tried every orange juice i have found since hoping to find something even remotely close to that wonderful breakfasting experience in Luxor when i sat with a glass full of amazingness and watched hot air balloons gently drift over the mountains and disappear into the Valley of the Kings. Egypt and I were going to be friends.

Posted by: Maura Denny, Egypt