the Adventure Hat.

The Adventure Hat: (n) a hat like object worn in adventurous situations or to create an atmosphere of adventure when situations are already ridiculous. For example: Siwa Oasis, Egypt. Where, during a New Year's Eve party, you are forced into participating in a bellydancing show.
And take obligatory tourist pictures.
And make friends with the locals, who take you on tours of their town by Donkey Cart, introduce you to their families, impart local sensibilities, and tell you that you, and your hair, cause problems. This one's name is Gom3a.
And go sandboarding in the Great Sand Sea in the Sahara with some Bedouin men that sing you Arabic love songs.
And have breathtaking incredible moments. Like watching the sunset over the dunes and remembering how incredibly small you are. What a way to ring in the new year.

the endings of oh-eight, in pictures.

A room with a view.

A new year, a new start. The view from my apartment. Yes, that is the Nile and most of Zamalek. Jealous? You should come and see it for yourself. More apartment pictures to come...

A new MCP.
Tiffany Curtiss, one of my heroes not only in AIESEC but in my whole life. One day, this woman cornered me after an AIESEC meeting to come to dinner. Her (gentle) pushing is the reason I have come so far in this organization, the reason why I have such high goals that I am working to attain, and why I have been inspired to see every side of this world, know it, and make it a better place. If you don't know her yet, you should get to know her. You will know her someday either way because when they say change agent, this is what they mean. This picture is from the very very beginning, and always makes me smile to think of all that has happened since then. Congratulations Tiffany, I am so excited to come back to AIESEC in the US in June and work with you!

A friend heading back stateside.
Roommate number two to head back to the USofA. This girl has infiltrated my vocabulary, made these past few months bearable, renewed my love for hopping around like a crazy, and is totally ball-hair. I'm going to miss bovering her and commenting on various repressions that we experienced in this country, and so much more.

A Jenny-Benny.
Hey guess what? I miss you. Yeah, that's right. Like tons.

A city that I love.
Cairo, Al-Qaharra, Masr. I love this city. Yes, you can see the pyramids in this picture, if you look really hard. I'm celebrating the entry of 2009 in Siwa with Christina, and in just over a week I will be flying to London and Paris. But Cairo is becoming home.

Happy New Year. 2009 I'm feeling will be a fantastic year, insha'Allah.

Khalas, AUC.

My semester just officially ended with my last exam. I am so incredibly relieved that it is over. And although everyone is talking about their plans for going home, I've got my own plan for the coming two month break. Not that I don't want to go home - it just didn't work out that way.

So - my plan:

Reading. I just borrowed 10 books from the library. yes, 10. There will be a lot of reading going on. And writing, insha'Allah.
Sleeping. So much sleeping will occur you won't even believe it.
Finding a new apartment with fast internet and a comfy bed for said sleeping.
Traveling. Paris and London for sure, and hopefully somewhere else, too. Maybe Israel/Palestine or Lebanon or Jordan or Syria or Siwa or something.
Showing my Mom what living in Cairo is like.
Fixing things that have been broken.
Getting more involved with AIESEC again.
Working on my Arabic.
Seeing touristy things that I still haven't seen since moving here in June.
Celebrate Christmas and New Year's Cairene style. With a touch of Americana.
Get ready to restart AUC in February.

And on another note - I was looking at my dashboard and basically the only thing on it are sticky-notes, the weather, and countdowns.
The weather is just a constant reminder that I live in the desert, but it's not too different from Atlanta weather honestly. It's about 60 degrees here pretty consistently, but it will keep dropping more.
The sticky-notes are mostly reminders - things I need to do, music I'm interested in, magazines and editorials that I want to look at getting subscriptions to in the states, and things like that.
But it's the countdowns that got me really. Here they are:

20 days until London and Paris
1 month until Mommy comes to Cairo
3 months until Audie comes to Cairo

All exciting upcoming events in my life. But why I mention them at all are the next two:

5 months and 11 days until home
6 months and 19 days since you've lived in the sandbox.

I have lived in Cairo for more than 6 months. And I am well past my halfway point. And there are less than 6 left. There are times when I walk down the street and can't remember what it's like to see stoplights. Or street signs in English. I don't know what it is going to be like not to listen to the call to prayer or smell limes and ta'amayia and shisha smoke when I walk home. Or when I was reading a website in Arabic and I didn't even notice it. Life in Cairo has become so natural that I don't even think about it, and that is both weird and kind of amazing too. It's just hard to make sense of it all sometimes.

A Long December

And it's only the second day.

I have to admit, though, that I am so relieved that the semester is ending. It has been - I'm trying to think of an appropriate adjective here - arduous? difficult? soul-searching? - whatever its been, its almost over. I am ready for the new semester specifically because it is new - a lot of new things. A new apartment, a new set of classes, new people, new chances, new experiences. On the other side of December bright and shiny and new.
But that means I have to get through December first. And that means a lot of other things. I have to finish a paper by the end of the term, and give a presentation about another paper I have already turned in. I have two exams, but strangely not really concerned about either of them. I have to revise, edit, and prepare a portfolio of my writing, as well as write my own curriculum for my independent study for next semester. I have to move out of my apartment, and watch everyone leave me, again. My roommates, friends, everyone non-Egyptian, basically, heads back to the states this month. I have to watch everyone leave, again. And I spend Christmas when everyone is gone. And I have to wait until March to see anyone from my life back home. Sometimes, I don't think my heart can take it.
Granted, December means Turkey. It means a break from school. It means I'm that much closer to going to London, and Paris. I'm that much closer to going home. I can't tell what is closer and what is farther away - my perception has gone all distorted.

It's scary. Everything seems so far away here. People, responsibility, the rest of the world. Everything just seems distant.

I've got to find a way to reconnect. Otherwise, this is going to be a long, long December.

Thankings.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and while there is no Macy's day parade or pumpkin pie or family of mine on this side of the world, I am still thankful.
Thankful that a year ago, I was closer than I thought to dying. That this year, I'm not. I'm thankful that I have a family that loves, supports, encourages, and pushes me to be a better person, even if they don't always understand the ways that I do it. Thankful for Cairo, for Chandigarh, for Atlanta, for around the world. For the people that are in all of those places. For the places in all of those people. I'm thankful that I know how lucky I am to be where I am, who I am, and the people that I am with.

This year has been so many things. Mostly difficult, frustrating, and challenging. But with that, I know who I am more than ever, and what I want to do.

So, thanks.

sup-dates.

1. ACTIVATE = major success. such AIESEC love. more later when I've got the time.
2. my whole body is sore, most probably because of the AIESEC dancing and complete lack of sleep. standard post-conference exhaustion.
3. the Russell Brand show is no more. there will be a hole in my heart.
4. I miss people at home - for serious. wa7eshtenikoo awy awy awy.
5. Working on a video for @GT. Yes, there will be @love.
6. It's November already. yeeeeeesh.

it's my birthday.

i did a little dance.

In the past month

this is what has happened to my life.

1. I got a new sister.

2. I spent a significant amount of money.

3. I have accomplished no great feats.

4. I realized how homesick I am for Georgia Tech.

5. I fell in love with Russell Brand.

6. I have significantly freaked out more than usual.

7. I have not yet packed, or gotten any closer to packing.

8. I have read no less than seven books.

I leave Sunday for Cairo. Let's hope I don't break down before then.

March.

March, the third month of the year, is named for Mars, the Roman god of war.

And war, in its many subtle and vicious forms, is a good way to describe the past few days of my life. And unfortunately, I think I'm on the losing side. I'm already battered and bloody, metaphorically speaking, so we'll see if I can make it to April without giving in. I already feel like the living dead, and it's starting to show, too. (my voice is attempting to come back after disappearing less than comically this weekend.)

I can't believe how fast this year is going, and I don't know if I can handle the speed. I mean, Friday starts spring break. Which gives me about two months before I leave for the other side of the world (about a year exactly from when I left for India). It's terrifying me because I haven't heard an official response from the school just yet - and I have kind of thrown all of my so called eggs in that basket. 2008 is a big year, and I feel like I am still waiting for everything to start.

they say it's your birthday...

i'm 20 now.
god, that's strange.

updates.

1. i am officially matched and going to india.

2. i finally put up pictures from morocco.

3. my freshman year is almost over.

4. embraced my first national leadership team experience.

5. realized how much i missed someone while in new york city.

6. should be more really be working on something productive. like now.