Don't Eat the Mummies.

While “Don’t Eat the Mummies” may seem simply like practical words of advice for anyone travelling to Egypt, this is, in fact, the title of the hit song from the movie Sesame Street Goes to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The song is being sung to Cookie Monster to remind him not to eat the Mummies and other various works of art in the Museum. I’ve been fascinated with Ancient Egyptian culture and Egyptology since my childhood. My first experiences with Egypt came when our family would visit the Field Museum in Chicago—where, at first, the half unwrapped mummies scared me so badly that I couldn’t sleep (I quickly got over that). I also remember watching the Sesame Street movie and being fascinated by the art of Egypt that was shown. As a sixth grader, I did a report on the art of mummification—complete with the re-creation of the way the brain was pulled out of the body (through the nasal cavity) using a pumpkin head pail, oatmeal, and a dental pick. I wanted to be an Egyptologist—even taking archaeology classes at the local college during high school.

However, I ended up going to a university that didn’t have an anthropology department, and along the way, changed my major, gained some experience in another field, and ended up at seminary. While I know this is where I am being called, the little Egyptology nerd inside of me is jumping up and down at the opportunity to travel to the land that I have dreamed about visiting for over 20 years. I’m not sure what to expect going into this trip—how I will feel once we arrive. I know that I am excited for the possibility of connecting my past—the Egyptologist, with my future—a church leader, in a country that is at once so ancient but at the same time very modern. I’m looking forward to seeing what this trip will bring. And I’ll be sure not to eat the mummies.

-Sarah Clausen