Holidays in Sinai, teaching practice, goodbyes, oh my!

Me on my balcony, last day in Alex

My five weeks in Egypt have come and gone far too quickly. As usual, it's not so much the place, but the people who've made this time so memorable. 15 people from all over the world, living in one apartment complex, learning to be English teachers and hoping to familiarize themselves with the people and culture of a pretty complex place. You can't help but become an insane little mini-family.

Two weeks ago a group of seven of us hopped on a bus and took the 12 hour ride to Sinai. We had a four day weekend due to the end of Ramadan and Eid, so we had to take advantage of the time and get away from Alexandria.

Our first stop was the little town of St. Katherine where the Mt. Sinai of Moses is supposedly located. Up to 1400 people per day hike to the top of the mountain to watch the sunrise and in many cases pray. We left our hostel at 2 am and hiked through the night to make it in time for the sunrise. Night hiking is something I'd never done before and it was a pretty unique experience. No sound but our footsteps on the rocks and dirt and no light except from the stars and our small flashlights. The stars were absolutely incredible. The band of the Milky Way was very distinct across the sky and I saw two incredible shooting stars.

The hike was challenging towards the end, but we made it to the top in time to see the sun start peeking out over the barren, rocky mountains. On this particular day we shared the peak with around 700 other hikers and pilgrims. After the sunrise, we began the long hike down to St. Katherine's Monastery. Being so secluded and off the beaten path, St. Katherine's is said to be the oldest functioning Monastery that's never been attacked or harmed in any way.

Sunrise over Mt. Sinai

The hostel that we stayed at in St. Katherine's was great and we did our fair amount of lounging in their tented sitting areas, but after a few days in the heat of these desert mountains, we were ready to head for the sea.

Hostel in St. Katherine

Next stop, Dahab, a seaside tourist-infested wonderland of hotels, restaurants and bars. We found a cheap place right on the water and spent the majority of our time laying around in the cozy seating area of the hostel's restaurant. Laying, eating, drinking, smoking hookah- doesn't get much more relaxing.

Another highlight of our two days in Dahab was snorkeling in the Blue Hole. One of the most famous diving/snorkeling spots in the world, the Blue hole is a 127 meter deep hole just off the coast surrounded by the most incredible coral reefs and sea creatures. It was my first time snorkeling and I when I put my head under the water for the first time, I was in absolute awe of what lie just below the surface. If only I had an underwater camera!

The Blue Hole

Vacation over, back in Alexandria we started our official teaching practice. Each student taught five hours alone and two with a partner. Our schedule completely changed for teaching practice, so our beach days unfortunately came to an end. The students who come to our classes are all volunteers and classes lasted from 3:00-9:00 pm. Depending on our class time, we picked from three different departure and return times. With class prep, teaching and observing other teachers, we ended up at TEFL for at least 7 hours per day, often times more. While it was nice to be able to sleep in a bit, I did miss our daily evening swims.

Hanging out at TEFL

For me, the teaching practice was fairly stress free. I've had experience creating lesson plans and teaching all kinds of students and the whole thing just comes fairly easily to me. I guess I'm just fortunate to have found a career path that I both like and am good at! For many of my classmates, though, this was the first experience they had with any kind of teaching. There was stress, tears, 10 minute classes, blank stares, praising of nonsense and more. In the end though, everyone got through it and I think came out with more respect for all of the great teachers out there. There's no question that it's hard work!

Only 7 of our original 17 are staying in Alexandria for the optional 6 week teaching internship and intensive Arabic course. As all good things must come to an end, we spent the last 3 days saying goodbye and wishing people well as the headed off to their next adventure. It's really quite incredible how dependent you can become on others in such a short period of time.

Going away celebration

Thanks to James, Amanda, Zane, Laura, Laura, Danielle, Read, Simon, Jules, Oscar, J.P., Faizal, Mohammed and Sara for an incredible month! And a special shout out to security guard Hamidou who made me delicious tea.

Now it's Cairo until Saturday, then off to Morocco!

Preparing for takeoff

Return leased car- check

Cancel insurance- check

Cancel phone- check
Cancel netflix- check

Spend lots of money on pre-departure food, drinks and fun- check check check

T-1 day until I depart for Egypt and all that's left to do is pack. I find packing to be a daunting, yet exciting task. It's impossible to fit everything you want, so what a fabulous way to de-clutter and simplify. Last time I undertook it all I had was a list ofrecommended items and an intense fear that I would leave behind something extremely important.

This time, there is no fear. I know exactly what I want to take and I know exactly what I'll be able to buy in Morocco. It's a pretty great feeling!

I've spent the last few weeks in my hometown of Mason, MI for family time. Thanks to all those who participated in the various parties and dinners. It's been a great few weeks!

Dinner and drinks with Gloria and Brenna

Family barbeque and pool party

Baseball game with Dad, Sue, David and Arika

Off to Egypt tomorrow. Wish me luck!

the departure

my last week in taf was insanely busy despite the fact that i stopped working. making the rounds to see all my friends was a bit exhausting and i was constantly on the go with the visits, giving away my stuff, paying bills and more. and of course anytime that i said goodbye to someone, they would say 'but i'll see you again before you go right?' Enchallah [god willing] i would say. but of course it would be impossible to see all of these people again. no one likes goodbyes.

my last 24 hours in town were actually quite boring up until the very end. i thought i would really come full circle by spending the last night at my host family's house. so i said goodbye to my apartment and made my way across town with all of my stuff. the exact opposite of what i did just 22 months prior.

when i arrived, no one was home. awesome. so i went out to the cyber and bought a chicken for the next day's lunch. when i got back the family was there, but there was nothing special about this, my last day. i hung out with khadija and the new baby and everyone else, but i was quite shocked that no one seemed to care or notice that i was leaving!

the following morning was the same, everyone went about their business as usual and i felt a bit lost. i made one more round and said some final goodbyes, and my host sister gave me some very hastily done henna. i played hopscotch with my little host sis and neighbors.

the whole while i was totally uneffected by thoughts of my departure. i thought 'i'm not even going to cry! this is no big deal!' i ate a final snack with some of the family and then it was time for me to make my 6pm bus. i grabbed my stuff with the help of khadija, aicha, tati and neighbor girl noura and we started for the bus.

just about as soon as we left the house i felt a sudden and drastic change within. on the short walk to the bus it was all i could do to hold in my tears. 'i'm leaving....forever' whoa. we were a bit early to the bus, but it was no time at all until i was crying uncontrollably and so were my host sisters. we hugged and kissed and told each other how much we would miss each other. then a bit of calm as we continued to wait. then as it was time to board the flood gates opened again and we repeated the process.

tati [my 9 year old host sis whom i love to death] was having an especially hard time and that of course only made the whole thing more difficult for me. finally i managed to get on the bus and took my seat, still crying as we start to pass through town.

just as we start to leave town, i notice a big black cloud of women on the side of the road. as we pull closer they are all waiving their arms and yelling [of course this is not the usual behavior of a conservative berber woman]. the bus driver thinks maybe someone will be boarding, but i know better as i leap from my seat and sprint to the door.

crying now even more hysterically i jump off the bus and run into the arms of my very best friends. everyone is crying, no one can even speak we just hug and kiss and cry and cry. the bus beeps its horn and i know it's time to go. with a final goodbye i run back to the bus where the other passengers are staring at me as if i'm some sort of alien creature.

it took a good half hour on the bus for me to somewhat recover from this traumatizing departure. and the next 4 hours were spent in reflection of what had just occured.

when i left america in 2005 it was sad. the goodbyes were difficult and i questioned whether i was making the right move. but it was a timed goodbye. a goodbye for two years. a departure that was not permanent, but very short lived in relation to the average life. those goodbyes were a walk in the park.

the goodbyes i said that day were by no means temporary. they were forever goodbyes, and these are significantly more painful. indescribable really, but a bit like a bit of your heart pulled out. this piece will never be replaced. this piece is in morocco.

of course i plan to call and write and visit [and i will], but it will never be the same. i'll never again be living there, just down the road from a cooking lesson or unlimited cups of tea, cookies, and laughter with these incredible people. never again will tati show up unannounced at my door for an afternoon of popcorn and tom and jerry. nope, these are not timed goodbyes.

leaving rabat and my 'boyfriend' mohamed was equally painful, but i dont think i have the energy to go into all that right now.

i spent 27 incredible months in morocco and i'm so greatful for every second.

thank you mohamed, habiba, zaina, fadma, naima, mamass, naima, aicha, hicham, abdelfettah, youness, boubaker, said, dalila, ahmed, hasna, ayoub, nadia, ijou, saida, zahara, all my soccer girls, asma, asma, khadija, khadija, khadija, aicha, mohamed, amina, tati, senna, brahim, noura, houssine, mourad, oumayma, and so many others. you'll always be in my heart.

full circle...an odd experience

Interesting how life interferes and the next thing you know three months have passed. today is the 8th, and i leave for the capital on the 25th. For those of you who struggle with math, that leaves me with only 17 daysl left. 17 days!

This weekend brought my replacement for a visit. Yes, I will be replaced and hopefully all of my time, energy and work was not for naught. Her arrival stirred up all kinds of thoughts and emotions. exactly 2 years ago i too came on my site visit. I was shown around by my predecessor and was generally very excited and overwhelmed to finally see the place where i would live for 2 whole years.

It seems like just yesterday and at the same time so long ago. This time it was my turn to do the showing. I'm sad at the thought of leaving all of my friends and work with someone new, and yet so proud of what i've been able to accomplish and to be able to leave her with so much. On my visit i was able to see and carry-on one activity, and my replacement was able to take part in four. Girls soccer, english classes, youth and women's clubs, and the preschool class at the women's center. She met all of the people she will need to continue these activities and is really excited to begin.

She even plays soccer! The transition from me to her will be a smooth one and i'm really thankful for that. this town just may see sustainability yet!

not only does she inherit a town, but also a bike helmet!

The past two years have been full of ups and downs. depression, loneliness, diarrhea....i've been there. but i can't think of anything more fufilling i could have done with my time. the ups have far outweighed the downs and it's been an incredible learning experience.

I'm thankful for every day, every friend, every cup of mint tea. i'm thankful for the support i've constantly received from everyone at home and for my fellow volunteers who are now lifelong friends. I'm thankful for the laughter, the dancing, even the tears. i'm thankful that i've made it.

As for the future, well it is certainly coming at me at full speed. I've begun the job search and am feeling quite optimistic, but that doesn't make the process any easier. and every moment i spend thinking about the next step, i can't help but feel like i wasting the little time i have left here.

17 days to say goodbye.

boubaker aka 'bob' is one of my best students!

hanging out in the Youth Center

last spring i helped the preschool teaches write a letter requesting toys from an association up north. they came!

like falling

today i had some errands to run. one of them involved picking up the ID cards of some women and making photocopies so we can officially start our "women's club" at the youth center. At the home of woman number two, something crazy happened. we chatted for a bit, then i got her card and made to leave.

she walked me to the door and it came up (it seems to be constantly coming up these days), that i have only 5 months left in this country. she told me how other volunteers have come and gone, and they are missed a little, but they are not like me. she said that she will miss me so much, and she doesn't know what she will do when i go. then her eyes filled up with tears. i kissed her and said how much i would miss her too, but inside my heart was breaking.

i've lived in this town for 19 months. these people are my family, they've taken me in, they've become a part of me and i only have 5 more months with them. at this point the time is going by so fast, that it's like i cant stop it, i can't catch up or get my bearings. yesterday i had 6 months to go, a week ago, i had 8 months. My excitement for the future makes it difficult to live in the moment and really take advantage of the little time i have left. I constantly think about the things to come. i can't even imagine what the day is going to be like that i leave this place, and i'm already dreading it.

on sunday i'm leaving and i wont be back for two months. a few meetings, a month of summer camp and a whole lot of leftover vacation time will keep me away, and while i'm excited for a fun summer, i'm also feeling sad.

the next 5 months are going to be jam packed with emotion. the time will continue to fly by, but i'm gonna do my best to focus on what's important right now. i'll never get these 5 months back, so they better be good.