21: being rolled on by a horse, riding a camel, theming this new year - When you fall off GET BACK ON THE HORSE!

Dearest Persons,
A few months ago I made my goal for my birthday to ride a camel on the day that I turn 21. How awesome will that be when I'm back in the States and people say to me, "Yeah, I got smashed when I turn 21" and I can say, "Oh yeah? Well I rode a camel!" Haa... way kewler than drinking ever!! :)
So yesterday was my 21st birthday and it was the BEST birthday ever, and mumkin the most painful birthday ever as well. :)
The birthday began the night before at midnight when my friends Justin, Jamie and Beth celebrated with me as the clock struck 12 and Justin and Jamie formed a big 21 out of their bodies... (the picture above) and it was just really fun. I had been having an identity crisis that day (as you are well aware of from my previous post about Africa) and they talked it out with me and Beth told me that it was ok for me to have an identity crisis now before I turn 21 so that then on my actual birthday it will have been over with and I can stop worrying about growing up and actually "being" 21 and just relax and have fun. Such wisdom, Besbusa! :) I love that girl. And I did... no need to worry about life or my calling or where I'm going to be in 10 years or how I'm a senior in a few weeks and what I'm going to do with my life afterwards... all I gotta do is trust in God, walk with him and it'll all work itself out and life will just be... HOT!! :)
So ok, yesterday morning was sweet... I got an amazing letter from my Anna and a card from Mom and Dad with some wonderful moola (thank you SOOO much!) and then I had long Arabic class and Nahed, my teacher, gave me a sweet Egyptian changepurse. She's such a sweetheart... all of us are going to miss her SO much after our final tomorrow. :( At lunch time my friends got me a HUGE chocolate cake and Tim's birthday is tomorrow, so we celebrated together and cut and shared the cake with everyone. And I'm telling you people... something is wrong with me... I don't like chocolate and I loved that cake. :) Oh yeah, and we had my favorite meal yesterday... noodles with green, yellow and red peppers and chicken and carrots... oh, sooo good!! We also had peas and carrots and cucumbers and tomatoes... it was THE best lunch ever!!
At 3 my Tabla class (Egyptian Drum Class) performed a concert for all of the other students. It was SOOO much fun!! Christina got some GREAT pictures that I hope to post before I leave for Turkey on Friday. Keep the eye out!! :) Then our tabla teacher Henny took us out to an amazing fool and tamayia place and we had the greatest falafel ever. It was really yummy. :)
And THEN!! Aimee and I went in search of a gamel... aka CAMEL!!!!!!!! :)
We took a taxi to Giza where the pyramids are... and we wound up with this shady guy and he said he would take us to the camels so we followed him. He took us in this really crazy sketchy horse cart to a stable where the camels were supposed to be. We walk in and the only animal in sight are horses. I probably said the word "GAMEL?" like 3 times every minute all night and every time I talked to the man. Aimee was cracking up. :) The man talked us into riding horses through the desert by the Pyramids in order to get to the camel and then we could ride a camel. I was totally kewl with that... I hadn't ridden horses when the other students did several weeks ago and Aimee loved riding them and had wanted to come back and do it again so we jumped on. The man went with us... and then it just started to get shady. :) Well, the whole experience was shady, but it became a little frightening. I realized just what it means that Egypt is a non-liability country and the implications that really has on my life. :) In other words... if I die no one in Egypt really cares!! :) Haa... but it's ok persons... I won't die, I promise. No worries. :)
So we take off and are riding through the desert and it's dark and it was beautiful because we kept riding past camels and they are just SO lovely and beautiful to look upon. I told someone the other day, "Lust? For a boy? No way... I only lust after camels." Haa. Just kidding. :) It was really fun and definitely an adrenaline rush... and all of a sudden we're galloping mumkin running uphill through the sand and the dark... Aimee and I are side by side and all of a sudden my horse steps in this giant hole in the sand and rolls... yes, with me on it. We rolled (I think... I don't remember for sure as it was dark and scary and happened so fast) to the left smashing my leg, then to the right, then back to the left and as I started to pull myself off the horse and was almost out of the saddle, I saw Aimee go down to my left which scared me for her... what really happened was that her horse stopped quickly and she lurched forward like she was going to fly forward, but she held her ground and was freaking out watching me fall and be rolled on by the horse and I guess I cried out and she jumped off... but as I looked at her the horse pulled me back to the right and rolled on my leg again... finally I jumped away and we got the horse back up after a while... and then I had to get back on. We were in the middle of the desert! I was really afraid and went really slow after that... but then I actually did gallop slash run three other times briefly.
Aimzers said to me as we walked back to the village on our horses, "You know what they say, Kara... When you fall off you gotta get back on the horse!" and she reminded me of Psalm 2o that says, "Some trust in chariots, some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall but we rise up and stand firm." We decided that this is going to be the theme of my 21st year... not that I fall off horses (I hope I never do that again in my life!), but that when I get knocked off I'll get up, get back on the horse and not be afraid to gallop again... or even if I am afraid, that I gallop again. Sweet, huh? Oh, and the other thing we realized... we'd been timing to see if I would ride a camel at the same time that I turned 21 in the states... 10:56am, which was 6:56pm here... and it was too dark to see our watches, nor did we check them for a while surrounding the time the horse fell... but we're pretty sure that the exact moment that I turned 21 I was in midair tumbling with the horse. That's funny. :)
We did get to ride a camel then... our guide led us to this crazy psycho camel that kept mooing and definitely did not want to be ridden... but we rode him for a little bit and took pictures, and yeah, I RODE A CAMEL ON MY 21st BIRTHDAY!!! WHOOT WHOO!!!! TOP THAT!! :)
In case you are worried about my body... yes, I am very sore. Both of my ankles are bruised, but not swollen much and I have a bruise on the inside of my left knee... but other than that I think my bones are just sore... you know that feeling after you ride a horse for a long time when you're not used to it and you just kind of ache... well it's that only probably times 4. :) But nothing is broken and I can walk and it was REALLY a great experience that I wouldn't trade for the world and I had a blast yesterday.
Oh yeah, and then afterwards Aimzers and I went back to the Villa and had a pizza party with my friends and Christina got me THE sweetest prettiest flowers ever!! They're like white lillies with this one orange and blue flower sticking up from the top... SO gorgeous!!
Yesterday was THE greatest birthday ever!! My email inbox and facebook wall are FLOODED with birthday wishes and so much love... thank you so much friends and family and dearest persons... I love you so much and SO appreciate all your notes!! I hope that I get a chance to respond to each of you before I leave for Turkey and travels on Friday... however, I may not so please just wrap your arms around yourself and give you a hug from me and know that I really DO love you and miss you and am thinking about you and SO grateful for your friendship and your loving on me!!
Have an INCREDIBLE day and hey... if you fall down today GET BACK ON THE HORSE!!! You SO can do it. :)
I love you!!
You are in my heart and prayers!
STANDING FIRM in His Mighty Grip,
Your Kara Joy