Of Boy Scouts and Orange Blossoms

I'm escaping Cairo craziness for three days to get away and hopefully make some major progress on some massive writing projects. I went through a strange phase during my childhood of wishing I could be a girl scout. My mom was one, and I found her old scouting books, and to my over-active 10-yr-old imagination, scouting was what it was all about. That phase lasted approximately 2 weeks, and my smart mother who knew better never put me in girl scouts. This week, however, I get to live the life of a scout...a boy scout actually. I realize it's kind of the wrong gender, but beggars can't be choosers, or so they say. So I'm at AUC's Desert Development center with 15 boys of all ages and their families, hanging out at scout camp. There are tents everywhere, a big campfire, a rain shelter, targets for archery and rifle practice, an organic garden, and lots of flies. Luckily for my writing projects there is also a nice though sparse little room with a bed, a great cross breeze, a window overlooking an orange grove, a little table to use as a desk, and free wi-fi. But my favorite part about this little adventure? The overwhelmingly intoxicating fragrance of orange blossoms that fills the air, all the time, everywhere. It doesn't smell like Cairo anymore.