The Last Hurrah

Well, after four months in Egypt, today is my last day. It's pretty sad actually. As much as I'm looking forward to seeing my friends, being at Lawrence, and eating food that doesn't contain beans, I really wish I was staying longer in Egypt. Arriving here and starting school was a bit of a rough adjustment, but Cairo really grew on me. I love this city. There's always something happening and the people are amazing. Obviously there are a lot of negative things that I've experienced here as well, but overall I'd say that my experience was entirely positive. It really challenged me and let me be independent in a ways I haven't been in the United States. I've grown to be fairly comfortable here and I only hope that I'll be able to return sometime in the not so distant future.

Kittens are the best study buddies.

I don't think it's really fair for me to try to reflect on my experiences in Cairo while I'm still here, But I'm sure I will in the coming months. I need some time to adjust to the cold and the culture, and I'm anticipating that reverse culture shock is really going to kick my butt. So we'll just have to wait and see what happens. I begin school in 12 days and am spending the time between now and then traveling, so it'll probably be longer than that before I really have time to think about this experience. And yes, that's right, I did just finish my semester yesterday, and I do start school again in less than two weeks. Thank you Lawrence. Everyone loves having class on January 2nd.

In the meantime, I'm off to Portugal for a week to see my sister and explore Lisbon. I'm hoping that it will be a nice first destination as I readjust to first world living (and to alcohol). But mostly I'm hoping that it'll be fun! So that's what's up.

Thanks for reading my blog. It was fun. As reluctant as I was at first to keep a blog, it really became a great way for me to think about my experiences, remember them, and keep everyone back home up to date! I'm pretty impressed with geographic diversity of my readership, and if you're reading this from the Phillipines, Ukraine, Sweden, or really anywhere else, or if I don't know you or that you're reading my blog, I'd love to hear from you. Post a comment or send me an email if you want.

So thanks.

Have a lovely holiday season, congrats on surviving the apocalypse.

Deborah