Forgotten

(Written back when I was in about 5th grade, enjoy and see how I've progressed)

Here I find myself packing away, looking around my straightened room, and ready for the long, exciting trip to Egypt. The excitement is so overloading, I am confused on even what to bring. I reach for a sleeping bag and realize that I will not need it, for I will be staying in a hotel. I think that I have everything needed for this intense trip, but know that I probably did not pack enough. While checking the contents of my suitcase with my dad, I soon realize that I have packed twenty pairs of underwear and only two socks. By the time that I am finally finished packing, it is time to sleep for I must get up and leave early the next morning. I look to my younger brother and see that he is also having trouble packing. He was three years younger, and yet, he almost stood taller than I. When the lights go out, my excited and young brother keeps me awake, talking about what was to come. I get the dreadful feeling that my brother will be an annoyance throughout the whole adventure. When I finally look at the clock before falling asleep, it is 11:30.
Soon, I find that I am already in Egypt. I look around me and I am walking through the Great Pyramid of Giza. I journey down steep steps that lead into total darkness and suddenly realize that I am no longer with the group I was with. I yell and scream, but no one answers me. I continue to walk, listening for any sound. I find a large room to my right, by feeling along the walls, and decide to enter. I search the room blindly, trying to find a way out and to the surface and instead find a hidden door. Slowly I open it and gasp. A light appears out of nowhere and in front of me, there is an ancient mummy walking towards me. I wake up, sitting in my bed and home, screaming, shaking, and worried that it may happen to me in Egypt.
The trip in the car to the airport seems to take forever, but I know that it will not be as long as the trip on the plane. I would have been bored, except I brought a Sega Game Gear for entertainment. The only problem was that my brother interrupted me about fifty times while I was playing, just to ask me what I was doing. When we finally arrive in the airport, we have to wait an hour just to get on the plane. During this time, I take time to explore the airport in San Francisco. When I board the plane, I am excited, this being my longest trip ever.
We have been flying in the airplane for five hours and I can see a huge city below me. New York! The plane lands and we get on a different plane. I soon find out that this new plane has troubles and that we would have to wait in the plane for a long amount of time. After waiting what seemed like days, and watching movies where my brother gave away the ending, we finally take off. The plane lands in Athens, Greece and it is already night. We take a smaller plane the rest of the way to Egypt.
In Egypt, I am asked to open my suitcase so that custom officers may inspect it. They motion my dad and I into another room. They take my Sega Game Gear out of my bag and ask me what it is. I quickly answer that it is merely a game. They take it apart and put it in another room for observation. They ask my dad about his camera and razor and put them in the same room. I am so frightened that my hands are shaking. In a mean voice, they tell us to wait outside. I am worried that we might be thrown in jail, but am comforted by my parents and told differently. An hour later, they take us into another room. What are they going to do to us?




To my relief, they hand us back our things all put back together and let us go to our hotel. We are exhausted driving to out hotel. When I get there, I fall fast to sleep. I am so glad that my brother is tired too, so he does not keep me up and instead falls right asleep. That night, I have the same dream as I did before I left, I wake up sweating.
The next morning I wake up to the sound of honking horns. I can’t remember where I am. Then, I take a glance outside my window and see the Nile River and incredible pyramids in the distance. I recall that I am in Cairo, Egypt. The people honking the horns of their cars are driving me crazy. It is a madhouse compared to the United States.
My brother wakes up before my parents and starts asking me questions like, “What are those pointy things?” He never stops talking. He finally quiets down a little bit when my parents get up. They tell us about the pyramids and the Nile River. I knew most of what they said, but listened and learned a few things.
During the day, I learn two new Egyptian words. La means No, and Sho-kran mean thank you. In Egypt, the people carry many things on top of their head and balance them very carefully. There are no stop lights, so the streets are very crowded.
The next day, we decide to go the market and the pyramids. My mom goes into a shop and buys many beautiful, glass, perfume bottles. We get a guide and two camels to ride around the pyramids. When I get off the camel, my butt aches from bouncing up and down. We walk into a dark pyramid. I find that I have to continually duck my head so I don’t bump the ceiling. I keep walking and suddenly realize I am not with the group. I am lost!



I do not know what to do. I scream for help, but no one hears me. I feel something prickling down my neck and shiver. Is it the mummy I dreamed about? No, it is just a spider. I swipe it off of my neck and continue to walk and listen for the group. It is so dark, I don’t even know where I am going. I go into what I think is a big room and hope it is not the room with the mummy.
Then, suddenly, I hear someone’s voice. It is my brother. I thank God that he talks so much and follow the voice. I soon find that I have caught up with the group, and that they never even noticed that I was gone. We see interesting hieroglyphics in a tomb. I am sure glad that I did not meet a mummy, or was lost forever.
While getting out of the pyramid, I bump my head many times because I am trembling so fiercely. When I get to the hotel that night, I had enough excitement for the day, so I go right to sleep.
The next day we go to Alexandria, named after Alexander the Great, by train. My family and I walk through the fort and see many cannons. The fort was used to protect the city from invaders. The Mediterranean Sea is very beautiful. A cool breeze from the sea makes it chilly outside and I shiver uncontrollably. We visit a Coliseum that was built during Roman times and I am amazed by the structure of it.
It is lunch time and I am really hungry. We order our food and when it comes, it tastes delicious, even though it doesn’t look that great. I don’t know what I am eating, but it is very crunchy. After consuming my second plate, I find out from my parents that it is squid and octopus. Now I feel as though I am growing tentacles and tubes.
We have to hurry and the traffic is terrible. I wish they would just learn how to drive. If we don’t get to the train depot in time, we will miss the train and I am worried that we will not get back to the hotel. We get to the train station just as the train is about to leave and I feel relieved that we will make it back.
The next morning we visit the Sphinx, which has the head of King Khafra and the body of a lion. It is at least five stories high and seventy-three meters long with massive paws stretched out in front of it. It was built to guard the pyramids of Giza. Our guide explained to us that the nose of the Sphinx got shot off by Napoleon Bonaparte. He had used it for target practice when he was conquering Egypt.
That night we go on a boat up the Nile River. I find it interesting that it flows north, not south like any other river. Why does it do that? Suddenly I hear the sound of music and out comes some belly dancers. They take me by the hand and start lifting up my shirt. They are showing my belly to everyone! I am so embarrassed. When I finally sit down, my face is red from humiliation. When we get off the boat, I am sad because I know that tomorrow we have to go home.
I pack my clothes the next morning and leave for home. We go to the airport and get on the plane. Luckily we didn’t have any delays on the trip home and it did not take as long as the last time.
We arrive home and I wish we could have stayed longer in Egypt I had such a great adventure. We start unpacking the bags and I realize that I don’t have my suitcase. What shall I do?