For me, May began with a trip to Minya, to work on a Habitat for Humanity project in the Shousha village.  Hans, Kim, and I went down with a group from St. Andrews and it was a great opportunity to be immersed in the local culture for a couple days.  As a group we put roofs on several houses and painted one house. Women of the Shousha village work in the shade of trees outside their home Chickens live in this house with the people! Two of the kids whose house we roofed Nearly all the houses in Shousha are very basic mudbrick buildings with straw roofs This is an old roof, covered with straw, mud, and trash The roofs we worked on started with frame of 4x4 beams cemented into the walls of the house Our job was to nail down planks over the existing beams, making a stable surface to be covered with concrete. Hammering in the sun all day One member of the painting crew The roofing crews and homeowner after a day of hard work This family now has a separate area for the animals, rather than having the animals living with them in the home. The couple whose house was painted The beautifully painted blue house Josh (my fiancé, for those who don't know him) arrived in Cairo on May 17 and we've been having a great time exploring Egypt together. The day Josh arrived we went out to Al-Azhar park in the evening to watch the sun set over Cairo.  The views of the city from the park are fantastic, especially during sunset. Our first big activity in Egypt was a trip to Dahab, a beach town on the Red Sea.  It was extremely laid back and we had five days to lounge in the sun, snorkel, and eat good food. Breakfast in a seaside restaurant Lounging by the sea on Bedouin style blankets and pillows at dinner Dahab by night From Dahab, we went on an overnight trip to St. Catherine's monastery, where we climbed Mt. Sinai during the night and watched the sunrise in the morning.  I've now done it three times, but it is spectacular each time. Of course you can't visit Egypt without seeing the pyramids.  For me, this was the third trip, but it was my first time on a camel. Negotiating a camel ride for two All aboard! Even the camel smiled for this one!