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Today during our free time( free time makes our guide nervous like letting ones kids drive the car for the first time, maybe because we ran off and ended up on our wild horse and buggy ride last time?) any way we ended up going for a walk around Tahrir square. We have come all the way from the ancient Egyptians to the newest Egyptian history in our travels! It was probably the safest of the places in Cairo that we went or it seemed that way because we did not have the crush of street vendors assailing us- 1 American dollar, one American dollar, welcome to Alaska ! And Obama ! All things that get hollered at us as we wander , everywhere we go. No , today at Tahrir square most Egyptians have other things on their minds . There is a small constant rally with a tent and cameras and a few protesters and Egyptians selling stuff to other Egyptians . American university is right there across the street and students wander around while men stare into electronics stores at seemingly nothing.lots of them( when we see our guide later at dinner he says Egyptians are obsessed with electronics) As you look across the square you can see the burned out National democratic party building( Mubaraks party) with a billboard showing happy children saying vote for them for a happy future!. No Egyptian thinks the Muslim brotherhood has a chance of winning the election because so many egyptians are for other party's, however they admit that sooo many Egyptians are illiterate and won't vote, I don't understand how they can feel so sure . Even our group leader who has been asked- maybe actually begged to run by his peers , admits they don't know for sure but they have high hopes of Egypt adopting a good constitution and electing the right president. He won't run for office because he can't afford to and he has a young family to care for. He also feels he can do good for his country doing what he is doing and teaching others about his country. Tonight he showed us video he and his friends put together taken on their phones during the revolution , things we missed while Anderson cooper and all were hunkered down in their hotel. These young men and woman were fighting for the future of their country and theirs lives. Tahrir square is now a tourist destination it seems , and as we walk through it and across the bridge back to our hotel I hear" welcome to Alaska" and " the Americans they are coming back ! This is good -and Obama! "With a thumbs up.
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