You can't make this shit up.

My mom saw our wonderful family friend, Bob Weddington, at a wedding last weekend.  She told me he was disappointed that I stopped writing.  I realized that I had because sometimes Cairo does that to you.  I didn't want to scare anyone at home, I didn't want to offend anyone here and I had no energy left at the end of the day to make sense of the events that people would be interested in reading.  That's not to say it's all been "scary" or that all I have to say would be "offensive," but those are the things that come to mind when I think about writing.  Of course there's fantastic things to write about, too, but I'm too busy doing them to write about them.

Sometimes living in Egypt is ridiculous.  Who am I kidding?  Living in Egypt is always ridiculous.  There's so many absurd things that happen on a daily basis that you can't help but laugh.  These are the things that when you really think about it, you can say "Oh...! This is the problem.  This is why this place is the way it is...I finally get it!" but you don't ever think about it because it's more fun not to.  Life is much more pleasant when you shrug your shoulders, laugh and go about your day because trying to explain or understand is just not worth your time.  Because when you finally think you get it, you realize you don't.  These are the things that when I cross paths with my friends here in the future, after I've left, no one else will get our quirky conversations and will be annoyed because they just won't get it either.
This past weekend, my good friend Jen and I went to Alexandria.  Alexandria, the city founded by Alexander the Great, is one that is known to be difficult for 2 American girls traveling alone, so Jen and I took our favorite driver, Ayman, with us.  Although Ayman hates going to Alex, we convinced him to and we're so glad he was there with us, otherwise the absurdities that follow would be less funny and more stressful.

Presidential elections are next week (even though we already know Sisi will be the next president) which has renewed the common Egyptian pastime of protesting.  On our way to check into our hotel, we drove right past one.  Jen and I looked at each other with a mutual "What have we gotten ourselves into" look.  After quickly checking in and dropping our stuff off, we got right back in the car to head to the famous Fort Qaitbay that guards Alexandria's Mediterranean coast from threats like Julius Caesar (hmmmm...not sure how well that worked).  On the way, we drove through another protest, which are now illegal but since they were Sisi-supporters, nbd.  Jen and I both rolled up our windows, wishing we could take pictures instead.  One of the many funny things about driving in Egypt is there are not any left-turn lanes.  So of course we had to make a U-turn, only to drive through it again.
While being followed by a large group of teenage boys at Fort Qaitbay, one of the younger ones asked, "Are you American?"  I replied with a snotty-sounding "No." In which he said, "Oh you're French."  That's one way to not be pegged by the negative label.  Thanks 'Merica.

The main reason people go to Alex is to visit the Library of Alexandria--the one that my Astronomy professor in college talked about when we needed a break from stars and midterms.  He told us the story of Alexander the Great and the library and one of it's greatest philosophers, Hypatia, in such an enchanting way that I highly considered a history degree.  If someone had told me ten years ago, that I would be standing inside that very library, I wouldn't have believed them.  And I shouldn't have.  Because the Library of Alexandria is temporarily closed on the weekends.  Of course it is.  Needless to say, Jen and I tried to go anyway.  When we arrived, even the outside courtyards were barricaded.  We asked a police officer (out of uniform but guarded by a military post, so we took him seriously) if we could walk through just the outside to take pictures.  He said no, but since this is Egypt, we went to get a coffee overlooking the library and walked to the other side to ask someone else.  We walked up to the next set of police officers (also out of uniform) and they immediately said the library was closed.  The funny thing though is we can see other people walking around and taking pictures.  So when Jen asked if we could just walk through the outside to take pictures, one of them asked our nationality.  Naturally, we both replied Canadian.  And then I met Alexander the Great.

So Alex was great.  We didn't get followed or harassed, minus at the Fort.  We saw everything we wanted to see and ate delicious food and we checked one off the "What to do before we leave Egypt" List.  We decided to leave Alex after lunch on Saturday in order to make it back to Cairo at a decent time.  It had only taken us 3 hours to get there just the morning before, but 5 hours on the way home.  Naturally, we sat in Alex traffic for 2 hours before we could really be on our way.  The wait was long and dusty due to road construction, but as soon as we got through the gate to exit Alex, we were flying (remember Ayman hates Alex).  Only to have to come to a sudden stop a couple minutes later.  What was causing this traffic, you ask? A man in a galabeya selling loofahs in the middle of the Cairo-Alex Desert Road, ya' know because you're super dusty from the traffic you just got out of.

***I wasn't going to write this post but changed my mind after a protest went by my apartment last night (simultaneously as a wedding was being celebrated).  I ran to the window while FaceTiming with Dana (because who doesn't want to watch a protest?!) and one of the last guys chanting away about Sisi or Morsi, was selling cotton candy.  And all you can do is laugh.  You really can't make this shit up.  34 days people.

Countdown.

Over the last 4 months, I have had many things to look forward to.  Naturally, I was able to keep track of all of these events by a countdown app on my phone.  I counted down to Dahab where I spent four days learning how to scuba dive.  I counted down to Dubai where I went to the top of the tallest building in the world.  I counted down to Ethiopia where I hiked across the Ethiopian Highlands with shepard boys and girls.  I counted down to Abu Dhabi where I partied with Jay Z.  I counted down to Hurghada where I learned how to enjoy scuba diving.  I counted down to Beirut where I learned how to speak Arabic while day drinking.  Now.  Finally.  I count down to Colorado where I feel the comfort of my own home.  And it could not come soon enough.

Living in Egypt isn't so bad.  I like my job.  My Second Grade team may be the most normal functioning team I have ever been on.  The kids are wonderful and make me laugh all day.  My apartment is pretty sweet.  It's on the best road in all of Maadi Degla.  I get to travel to the aforementioned places.  But I cannot wait to get home.  I can't wait to eat good food.  I can't wait to have heat and warm clothes.  I can't wait to see my family.  I can't wait to catch up with my friends.  And I can't wait to hang out with a certain boy.  

I looked back at past blog posts today about coming home.  It's funny.  As much as I love traveling, I write about coming home almost every time I travel.  They usually have the same theme though--not being ready to leave the place I am coming from.  Although I can't predict the future, this time it's different.  I don't know if it's Egypt.  Or if it's that I live here.  Or if it's that I've been gone too long.  Or if it's Colorado.  What I do know is this: the grass isn't always greener on the other side (Egypt doesn't even have grass).  So even though I am not coming home for good (yet), I know where I belong and will start an official Cairo Bucket list/Countdown to Colorado as soon as I return in January.  As much as this has been an adventure and an experience that I am thankful for, I know it's not for me.  Not now.  At the end to the school year, I will be headed home for good.  I'd love to give you details as to what has brought me to make this difficult decision over a fancy cocktail or a craft beer sometime.  

But I'm not done yet.  I still have lots of laughs with my friends and teammates here. I still have to teach some 7-year-olds how to read and write.  I still have to learn Arabic.  I still have to dive deeper.  I still have to see the region--Turkey, Jordan, and Greece for sure.  I still have to have some visitors.  I still have to visit my African family since I live in Africa.  I still have to see more of Egypt.  And for goodness sake, I still have to see the Pyramids.  So as I sit here now, counting the days, hours, minutes and seconds till I feel the frozen Colorado air on my cheeks, I know this adventure isn't over yet, but I desperately need a break.  Take me home!

115 Days

115 days.  That’s how long my summer was.  115 days of not really having to wake up too early.  115 days of home and travel goodness alike.  Of course I’m not subtracting summer school from those 115 days because that wasn’t really like work anyway.  115 glorious days of living simply, soaking in the sun and spending time with some really wonderful people.   Upon reflection, it was exactly what it was supposed to be—a chance for me to appreciate where I come from in preparation for moving to Egypt.  It. Was. The. Best.

Thanks to some of the best friends a girl could ask for, I was able to {pretty much} complete everything on my Colorado bucket list.  I got to see and do some uniquely Colorado things that I love or have never done.  I left with a renewed love for my city and state, which reminds me that no matter how long I am abroad, Denver will always be home.  Some highlights include rafting the Arkansas River beneath the Royal Gorge, standing at the top of Mount Evans, riding my bike like an Egyptian through Palisade, City Park Jazz with my favorites and catching a kickball, naturally. 

After summer school, Maren and I jetted off to Thailand.  Although maybe “jetted” isn’t quite the verb I should use because it takes a long time to get to Thailand.  We stretched our legs in Seoul for a day and then spent July touring Wats (Thai word for Buddhist temples), swimming with fish and Dana and feeding elephants.  I spent most of my time at Seed, a migrant resource center for Shan people (an ethnic group from Shan State, Burma) ran by Partner’s Relief and Development and Shan Youth Power.  I was teaching beginning English to some of the hardest working students I have ever had.  After working or going to school all day or night, they would come to Seed for three hours everyday to learn English.  What good is English in Thailand?  Besides the prospect of having the ability to speak to farangs (foreigners) hence getting a better job, most students were attending classes at Seed because they previously never had an opportunity to receive an education.  Some students fled Shan State or other parts of Burma in fear of being forced to become child soldiers, others left simply because there is no work and no school.  Similar to the plight that many undocumented workers coming from Mexico to the US face, Shan migrant workers are second-class citizens in Thailand.  They work low-paying, labor-intensive jobs and are frequently discriminated against simply because they are Shan.  Add in the fact that they are coming from a warzone that has been occupied by the Burmese military for the last 25 years which has displaced 2 million people and forced 150,000 kids to become child soldiers, not to mention Thailand does not recognize them as refugees, I was so grateful to get to know some of these warm and humble people.  I spent my mornings and nights teaching English that they could use with the next farang they see, hopefully at the vegetable stand they worked at in the market.  I was also learning a fair bit of Shan that I was able to practice with one of my Project Worthmore families once I returned home.  My students at Seed, most around the age of 20, are diligent and motivated.  They made me laugh, they taught me Shan and they welcomed me into their culture with open arms.  My most favorite day in Thailand was my last day at Seed.  After our morning class, one of my students, Kham Mon, took me to lunch and then shopping.  On the way back to Seed, she stopped at a market I had never been to.  I wasn’t quite sure why we were stopping, mostly because her English was only what I had taught her in the past two weeks—simple pleasantries and shopping vocabulary.  We walked through the produce section of the market, stopping in front of one where she greeted those working.  She looked at me smiling and asked if I wanted to go shopping.  I laughed as I realized that this is the vegetable stand where she works.  She slipped on an apron and stepped behind the table and asked, “How may I help you?”  I have never been prouder than that moment when I realized how much she had learned in just two short weeks.

After a few quick, but wonderful weeks back in Denver, I left for my new home, Egypt.  I had come to terms with the fact that summer was over, but upon starting new staff orientation in a country that is currently in a state of emergency (translation: 7 o’clock curfew), I was surprised to find out that my summer had been magically extended.  The school year would be delayed two weeks because many students travel very far each day to get to school and wouldn’t be able to with the current curfew in place.  And the Egyptian Ministry of Education said so.  Some might be stressed out that their new country may be a bit unstable, but I saw it as an opportunity to see another part of the country while picking up my Open Water scuba certification.  Luckily, there was already an Open Water class planned with our sister campus, AIS West. (I work at the main campus, but prefer to call it the East campus.)  So then I spent 6 glorious days in the Southern Sinai in a wonderful little beach town, Dahab.  I made my first good friends (albeit they work and live very far from where I work and live in Cairo) and learned how to breathe under water.  While the course was EXTREMELY difficult (who wants to purposely fill their mask with water 10 meters under the sea and then get the water out while still under water), in the end, it was totally worth it.  

So now, as I sit mentally preparing myself for the actual first day with students tomorrow, I can’t help but already miss my sweet summer.  But I am certainly ready for a routine.