A wish to travel to Egypt

The Reading & Writing Class recently practiced words that show contrast or surprise (EVEN THOUGH, ALTHOUGH, DESPITE, IN SPITE OF, HOWEVER, BUT, YET) and wrote a paragraph or two about a favorite activity, place, thing, et al, using these words.

Here's Isabelle Dao's paragraph about her desire to visit Egypt someday.

I love traveling around the world. In the future, I want to visit Egypt. Three days ago, I met a classmate who told me that going to Egypt now is dangerous. HOWEVER, I strongly desire to go there. Egypt is the cradle of knowledge, and I need to learn more about this civilization. EVEN THOUGH I learned the stories of this civilization at school and from books, I would like to go to Egypt, myself, with a person who knows this country very well--for example, with an Egyptian guide. EVEN THOUGH this trip will cost a lot of money, I will go to Egypt because it's a dream that I have had for several years now.

My plans and my hopes for Nepal

This article is written by Isabelle Dao, who is currently taking our Reading and Writing class at our Midtown branch. This is titled My plans and my hopes for Nepal and in it, Isabelle talks about her upcoming journey to the highest mountain in the world. This is originally posted on Isabelle's own blog Nepal From Another Viewpoint.

My plans and my hopes for my trip to Nepal:

My name is Isabelle DAO, and I've always wanted to meditate on the "roof ot the world', and this next spring I am going to Nepal. This journey is not just a simple hiking trip around Nepal but also a hiking trip within myself.  This explains the title of this blog.

Itinerary:

This journey is planned for the 20th of April 2013 for 3 weeks. The first step is our arrival at KATMANDOU. We will stay two days in a guest house managed by Mathieu RICHARD. Mathieu RICHARD is a Buddhist Monk (of French origin), photographer, and author, who graduated in Cellular Genetics and has studied with the Tibetan "Grand Masters" of Buddist Meditation. He is particularly interested in the relation between science and Buddhism. He researches the long term effects of mental discipline on the human mind at the Universities of Madison (WI), Princeton, Berkley in the United States and in Switzerland.
After our stay with Mathieu Ricard, my group and I will go to the base of Mount Everest to the East of Katmandou at about 3800 meters of altitude. This is in the Buddhist region of SOLUKHUMBU, in the Sherpa Country, which was once the high spiritual and retreat center of Nepal.

Trekking and Activities:
In the morning, we will go hiking for 3 hours and in the afternoon, we will practice the fundamental techniques of Buddhist meditation, concentration and inner vision. Different techniques will be taught including Yoga, Qi Gong, relaxation, silent walking, isolation, ayurvedic massages and discussions.

The Aim of this Trip:

The goal is physical and spiritual well-being, a return to our basic qualities and to rediscover our senses.

The Teaching: 
The teaching will be conducted by a Nepalese Lama Guide. We will take our time to listen, observe and live the experience and our encounter, as we breath in nature and breath out life. As in my own field of Sophrology, we will strive "to be aware of what we are actually living". Sophrology is the science of conciseness and the value of existence. It is a technique consisting of a set of physical and mental exercises for reducing stress and promoting well-being.