Amarna Letters

Don't Forget...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 05:31:00 -0400

…to follow along with my new ADVENTURES!

aucian-proud.tumblr.com

Just taking a stroll along the Nile :) #cairo #egypt #explore...

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 02:47:32 -0400

Just taking a stroll along the Nile :)
#cairo #egypt #explore #adventure (Taken with Instagram)

Coptic “City of the Dead” We pass it everyday on our...

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 05:15:28 -0400

Coptic “City of the Dead”
We pass it everyday on our way to school.
#cairo #auc #adventure #egypt (Taken with Instagram)

New Blog...

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 17:02:17 -0400

If you haven’t noticed, I created a new blog for my current trip to Cairo. Check it out!

aucian-proud.tumblr.com

Cheers!

Just a little snapshot into the university and the people of AUC...

Sun, 06 May 2012 21:32:49 -0400

Just a little snapshot into the university and the people of AUC :)

Jet Lag...

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 11:11:06 -0500

So I arrived safe and sound on Sunday night! The flights were long, but it’s great being back home. I head down to Santa Barbara today to unload my luggage, see friends, and start writing my 15 page paper that’s due in two weeks :(. Even though I’m glad to be back, I can’t STAND the jet-lag. This morning I was wide awake at 5 am, and couldn’t fall back asleep. So naturally I woke up and began to be productive.

It was a great few months, and I wouldn’t of traded it for anything in the world. Even though it was bittersweet to leave Egypt it was good to get out into another part of the globe to explore. Thanks for being devoted “followers” and for caring so much about my time abroad.

Until next time!

-Nick Brown

Last Day in London :(

Sat, 26 Feb 2011 09:07:25 -0500

So for my last day in London, I’ve decided to go and see another West End show. It’s a 2:30 matinee of “The Children’s Hour”. Look at the picture below to see who’s starring in it :).

It’s been a great journey, and I feel that I’ve grown up quite a bit in the past few months. It’s the farthest that I’ve even been away from home; and quite frankly it’s been the most disconnected from everyone in my life that I’ve ever been. I can’t wait to be home now to see everyone and to tell more stories that couldn’t fit in this blog. I fly out from Heathrow tomorrow at 11:05 am to Munich, and from Munich to Los Angeles. I’ll see everyone when I get home :)

Second to Last Day in England

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 06:57:42 -0500

The moment that I’ve been dreading is slowly drawing closer and closer; I leave for home in two days time. Although it will be great to get home to see friends and family (and to give my “Mum” a big hug!) I still want to stay here in England. It has been such a great trip, and such a lucky opportunity for me. Who would of guessed that I would of essentially taken a quarter off of school to travel around the world. Just a recap of the trip so far: traveled to 6 countries, “lived” in 8 cities, flown 7 times (with two more to come), countless times riding the undergrounds throughout Europe, 1 train ride through the Chunnel, several other train rides into London, and too much money spent to keep track of. Not to mention I’ve visited and seen 3 cathedrals, 10 important (world-class) museums and art collections, and 2 west-end plays. Whew!

Today I’m going to the University College of London William Petrie Musuem and Saint Pauls Cathedral.

Buckingham Palace

Me and Tower Bridge at Night

Antiquities? No! Don't support looting!
Jason

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 06:54:09 -0500

But it’s so Tempting! I can’t resist :)

A Foggy Day (In London Town)

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 08:35:45 -0500

Hello all! The weather over here in England has been a bit miserable; lots of overcast clouds and RAIN :( (not particularly my favorite). My trips to London on the train have been jam packed and full of many adventures. One of my favorite things that I’ve done this week: antiquities hunting! My parents for my 21st birthday have decided that I can buy my own Egyptian Antiquity if I find one. Keep your fingers crossed!

Some of the things that I’ve seen and done: Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster Abby (Where Prince William and Kate will be married), Cleopatras Needle, Trafalgar Square, the National Portrait Gallery, the British Museum, and Picadilly Circus. After this I will head over to Buckingham Palace, perhaps I’ll even see the Queen!

More to come soon!

Box Hill & Westhumble train station (where I catch the “rail” to London each day)

Trafalgar Square (with Big Ben in the background)

View of London

Update from London, England.

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 06:40:00 -0500

Hello dear reader. My long and extended stay in Europe is finally coming to a close this week. After having spent nearly two months away from California and my family and friends I’m starting to feel a bit homesick, but just a tad. I’ve been having a ball in England, having already gone down to the seaside resort of Brighton and going to London yesterday to go and see a matinee of the musical Jersey Boys; a fun-filled and jam-packed few days indeed (with more to come till Sunday!).

I’d realized last night that I had taken very little time to actually describe my stay in Amarna and what the people and the place were like. You can’t fully blame me for not having done it yet since I was still expecting to be in Egypt right around this time. Funny how things work out…

I will quickly say though that I found the Egyptian people to be very kind and helpful. They were always asking you questions of what you needed or would like, and in a way it was they who were seeking relationship with you; which I of course gave back to them in gratitude.

And in addition to having a beautiful people and culture, Egypt has a wonderful natural beauty about it as well. Even though the mornings when we had to get up and work were freezing, it was well worth it because of the chance you had to see the sun rise over the horizon. It was truly spectacular. The pictures can never fully give justice to what has to be seen in person to truly appreciate, and I unfortunately didn’t fully appreciate what I would see till it was too late. Hopefully next time I’ll know better.

Beautiful Egypt…

Me and dear Aunt Audrey in Dorking, England

Dorking, England with Aunt Audrey

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:06:10 -0500

So after a long and stressful morning, I have finally arrived in Dorking, England to visit with my Aunt Audrey. Where else can I begin but the begining? I missed my first train from Paris to London, because I thought for some reason I’d be able to get my ticket and go through customs within 30 minutes. Foolish, I know. This all happened of course after having had only four hours of sleep the night before, which didn’t help me in the least. I almost had a break down at the ticket counter as I tried to explain to the woman what had happened; she was kind, and got me a new ticket for free for a train that was leaving 30 minutes later. Once on the train I got a breakfast and a hot chocolate, which I spilled all over myself and my seat. Don’t worry, the story gets better.

Once in London I was frantically looking for a pay phone to call my aunt to let her know when I’d be getting into town. Unfortunately in this day and age when people all have cell phones, pay phones don’t exist! So what else could I do but get on the subway to a different train station to get down to my aunts. This all happened around 10 in the morning, so during London rush hour. I felt like an idiot standing in the “Tube” (as they call it here) taking up the space of three people because of my bags.

I eventually made my way down to Dorking Station after several train transfers and realized that I was still stuck without a pay phone OR internet access. I asked the woman working the ticket booth for directions to the nearest internet cafe. But because things were going so “smoothly” this morning I decided, by accident, to make things worse by heading 20 minutes in the wrong direction. Perfect. As I asked people along the way where Dorking Hall was they looked at me as if I was mad. By the end I was just telling people “Hello, I’m an American whoes lost. Please help me.” I was directed to the center of the village and as I dragged my 60+ pounds of luggage along the sidewalk, sweating like a pig and on the verge of tears I couldn’t help but feel like I stood out like a sore thumb. I have to say that even though I sometimes enjoy being the center of attention, I was not excited about all the attention I was recieving at the time.

But all is well that ends well. I was eventually picked up by dear Aunt Audrey and have settled into her lovely home. My guest room has a bedroom, bathroom AND sitting room. Not a bad set up, I must say! Definitely worth everything that I’ve gone through today

More to come soon!

Valentines Day Surprise & My Last Day in Paris

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 13:06:24 -0500

Bonsoir mes amis! (Good evening my friends!) All has been going well here in Paris the past couple of days. We have been doing a lot of fun and interesting things, causing our days to be packed full of places to go and people to see. Yesterday we went to visit the Musee de Louvre, which was incredible. By far the largest museum I have ever been to; so big in fact that by the end I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount of artwork that I was seeing. We made sure that we saw all of the museums highlights: the Venus de Milo, the Code of Hammurabi, the Dendara Zodiac, the Seated Scribe sculptor, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Mona Lisa, the “Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I” painting, and many MANY other works of art.

For a few days I had been planning to meet up with a friend of mine, Chelsea, who is currently living near Paris for the year. We agreed that the glass pyramid in front of the Louvre would be an easy spot to meet up. To my surprise Chelsea brought our other good friend Molly, who just happened to be vacationing in France right now. We had a wonderful afternoon of just hanging out with Brian, Shai & Becka. We wandered the streets of Paris for a bit and then headed up to the Sacre Coeur with a bottle of wine and a baguette with some cheese There we had an incredible view of the city of Paris. Afterward, the three of us went to the Latin Quarter to have a three course Valentines Day dinner, and then said our goodbyes from there.

This morning it rained, but that didn’t stop us from our sightseeing throughout Paris. Our biggest event for the day was visiting the Catacombs of Paris. It was two kilometers of underground passages that were filled with the bones of over six million Parisians from the 1700’s to the 1800’s. We had fun wandering the passages and scaring each other from around corners. The rest of the afternoon was spent walking around Paris, taking pictures of different sites, and then a mad search for a Creperie to satisfy our cravings. We ended up at a little stand in the park right next to the Eiffel Tower.

Me with the Mona Lisa

Chelsea, Molly & I at the Sacre Coeur

On our way down through the catacomb passages

Scary Skeletons

Beautiful Paris

First Day in Paris

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 13:08:00 -0500

Bonjour from Paris! After a lengthy (and rather horrible) trip from our hostel in Berlin to the airport we finally landed and set foot on French soil. Though our morning consisted of -1 degree Celsius temperatures and having to wait on outdoor platforms for 30+ minutes for our trains to come, we are relieved and excited to be in the city of lights and love! Our friend from the field school, Becka, met up with us today as she travels back to Vancouver; she’ll be staying with us for a few nights.

Our day in Paris started out by visiting the Lady of the city, Notre Dame. She is definitely an impressive and beautiful monument; not to mention quite large. We walked around inside the cathedral and took photos on the outside (typical of any American tourist). As we approached the cathedral, Becka and I were practicing our French and I told her “Ah! Notre Dame, elle est tres beaux!” I quickly realized that I’d made the mistake of saying “Ah, Notre Dame! She is very handsome!” Whoops, glad no Parisians were around to hear that.

After Notre Dame was the Eiffel Tower. We were worried that the overcast was going to ruin our trip up to the top and since we had bought our tickets in advance we had no choice but to venture up. However, we were pleasantly surprised once we reached the top and found the views of Paris from above to be breathtaking. We wanted to enjoy our visit to the Eiffel Tower, but found that the weather from the top was quite different from the weather down below, so we headed down to try to escape the cold. Once down at the bottom we were pestered by several men trying to sell us little Eiffel Towers, key chains, etc. We would tell one that we were not interested, take two steps and then be bothered by another salesman. Suddenly, as if a fire alarm had gone off, some 30 plus venders scooped up their trinkets laying on their makeshift tables and sprinted for the exit to the grounds. When I looked in the direction opposite of where they were going, I saw 10 bicycle police officers chasing them down and blowing their whistles. Between our fits of laughter we agreed that they got what they had coming to them.

Brian, Becka, Shai & I in front of Notre Dame

Brian, Shai & I at the top of the Eiffel Tower

Berlin Today, Paris Tomorrow!

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 05:41:01 -0500

So yesterday our group had to check into a different hostel in Berlin since we were unable to book more nights at our first place. Brian, Shai and I ended up at the “Green Eggs and Ham” hostel, while Sue went back home to Geniva, Switzerland.

Our visits of Berlin yesterday included the Pergamon Museum on Museum Island, where we got to see such treasures like: The Pergamon Altar, the Gates of Babalon, and a Roman Marketway Entrance from Turkey. All I kept telling Sue as we explored the museum was “The Germans are CRAZY!” You would not believe how big these buildings are, and I can’t even begin to think of how they transported these monuments half way around the world. But, they were beautiful and I will make sure to post photos when I have working internet again.

After a Tex-Mex lunch near Musuem Island, we travled down to the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche, one of the few remaining bombed buildings left in Berlin from WWII. It was a very unusual place to visit, who normally thinks of going to a bombed out church? The parts that were remaining have been made into a memorial of sorts, where the church has asked its visitor to practice forgiveness and grace to those that have done wrong to others. A very moving message.

Today we will head out to the Deutches Historiches Museum to learn about the history of the German Republic, and hopefully see some exhibits on Nazi Germany as well (I’ve been very curious about how the Germans view this period of their history since I arrived in Berlin). Then after lunch we will go out to the Schloß Charlottenburg, the summer residence of the old monarchy here in Berlin. Then tomorrow morning, at 7am, we are off to Paris to have a fun filled day of visiting the Eiffle Tower and taking a stroll down the Champs Elyssee!

First day in Berlin

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:28:00 -0500

After a quick flight from Amsterdam to Berlin last night, we arrived safely to our new home here in Berlin. We had met up with our good friend Sue, from the Field School, who had come a few days before to get settled in Berlin and find us a place to live for a few days. After a homemade meal of Veggie-Pesto-Pasta and catching up with Sue the four of us went to bed to rest up for our eventful day today.

Our visit to the Neues Museum on Museumsinsel (Museum Island) was incredible. This is the famous museum that houses Germany’s Papyrus Collection and Egyptian Antiquities. This includes the infamous Bust of Nefertiti discovered at Amarna, the city that I had the privilege of working at :). She was beautiful and stunning. I was so captivated by her that I was able to stand face to face with her for 5 minutes without thinking about anything else except the bust in front of me. The museum had an impressive Amarna collection as well which was fun to see; Sue and I kept talking quite loudly to each other about how less than a week ago we’d been at the site (hoping other visitors around us would hear and ask us questions).

After a delicious lunch of Currywurst (a sausage with tomato/BBQ sauce and curry powder to garnish) we headed off to see the Jewish Holocaust Memorial, the Bradenburger Gate, and Checkpoint Charlie (the only crossing point between West and East Berlin).

Me, Sue, Shai & Brian in the Neues Museum with the “Unfinished Bust of Nefertiti”

A photo I took of Nefertiti in her own private display room. Photos of her weren’t allowed, but I took one anyway (she’s the orange blob in the center).

Brian, Me & Sue (with Dunkin’ Donuts coffee) at the Jewish Holocaust Memorial

Sue, Shai & Brian at the Bradenburg Gate

What’s left of Checkpoint Charlie, the crossing between East and West Berlin

Last Day in Amsterdam.

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 17:26:21 -0500

Tomorrow we’re heading to Berlin! So excited to go, but sad to leave this little treasure of a city! I’ve decided to tell you all some fun facts that I learned about Amsterdam today on our Canal Cruise and from our visit to the Amsterdams Historisch Museum.

*On average a total of 3 vehicles a day will drive themselves into a canal

*But if that wasn’t enough, 1 person a day will fall into a canal by accident

*Home owners in the 17th century were taxed based on how wide there houses were. This is why Amsterdam is now known as a city with skinny and deep houses. This fact leads into the next two…

*The smallest house in Amsterdam is 90 cm wide, and still used as a home today

*Furniture, when moving, is pulled out of the house and put into the house via a crane and hook attached to the top gable. They are pushed through the front windows of the houses

Anne Frank Huis and Vincent Van Gogh Museum

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 09:22:00 -0500

This morning Shai and I went to visit the Anne Frank Huis (House) museum and memorial here in Amsterdam; Brian has already been so he opted to stay in and sleep. As Shai and I walked 25 minutes to the museum I couldn’t help but imagine Anne walking the same street, seeing the same things that I was seeing, and being all bundled up in layers of clothes which she had to take with her into hiding. It was a humbling and sobering experience for me as I walked through the building itself, thinking about Anne and her family and their friends having to stay hidden for over three years. The space was so small and cramped, and that was without furniture in any room. I couldn’t imagine what it was like with eight people living there, full of furniture, and with stacks of supplies and rations throughout the place. My favorite part of the experience was getting to go through the bookcase that hid the hiding place from the outside world.

After a fantastic lunch of Pancakes and Brussles Waffles (Belgium in America) the three of us headed to the Vincent Van Gogh museum. They have over 200 of his works, which was overwhelming; but the museum was able to showcase Van Goghs work from the beginning right up to the end. They had one of the five “Sunflower” paintings that have become so famous, as well as my new favorite “Almond Blossoms” painted by Van Gogh for his newborn Nephew, Vincent William Van Gogh (named after him).

Me with the “Anne Frank Huis” (The middle house with the black facade and nine windows)

Vincent Van Gogh Museum

First Day in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 15:42:00 -0500

We’ve finally arrived in Amsterdam; it was sad to say goodbye to Barcelona, but it’s exciting to be in a new place with good friends. The city is wonderful, I was telling Brian and Shai that I felt like Amsterdam was a big city with a small town feel. The rows of houses set up alongside the canals along with the small alley ways and fun little cafe’s remind me of what European villages look like in the movies. The houses and buildings are slowly sinking and falling over, just like Venice and Bangladesh; as you walk along the streets you see the buildings leaning this way and that and some of them have the tops leaning far over the sidewalk (a bit nerve raking to be quite frank). The only downside to the city I’ve found so far has been the smell of “relaxants” throughout the streets; but as the British saying goes “To each his own.”

Tomorrow a visit to the Anne Frank House and Museum and the Vincent Van Gogh Museum.

Our hostel, the “Hotel Sphinx”

Brian, Shai and myself wandering the streets of Amsterdam at night.

A typical row of Canal Houses.

So, is it wrong that I was thinking of the chorus to this song...

Sat, 05 Feb 2011 04:59:46 -0500

So, is it wrong that I was thinking of the chorus to this song as we were trying to get out of Egypt earlier this week? Haha