Just a few pics from my new Colombian life.

Cute sidewalk kiosk/restaurant

My school is beautiful!

The beach in Riohacha, about 45 minutes from where we live.

                            Bogota from the tram

 

Street shot - Albania

                                         Love the vegetation here.

My new home.

Top Ten Things I WON'T Miss About Egypt

Because of course, you take the good with the bad, and vice versa.

#10: No one ever having change and no one taking credit cards.
#9: Having to cover up in 5 million degree weather.
#8: Not ever understanding a damn thing anyone says. Even when you try your hardest. 10 months later and all I can really do is get around town in a taxi. Arabic: Hardest. Language. Ever.
#7: Corruption everywhere.
#6: Having to go to 5 different stores for simple necessities.
#5: Not being able to drink the water. Also, the toll on my clothes, hair, and skin after using what amounts to pool water every day.
#4: Stressing about getting paid every month and trying to get money back home with the crazy restrictions the banks started while the country quickly imploded around us.
#3: Working for a school that didn't encourage creativity or free thinking and encouraged gossip and maliciousness.
#2: The stink of Cairo and seeing animals being mistreated in all the different forms.
#1: Sexual Harassment. And not the innocent "Ooh la la" type, but the "Hey, whore" type. You wouldn't believe it unless you lived it.

 

Top Ten Things I'll Miss About My Time in Egypt

I think it's just going to be too painful to try to rewind through the last few months of my time in Egypt, so I'll do the "cop out" and compile a list!

#10: No rain. No humidity. No worries about weather at all.
#9: Shisha!!! Any time, any where.
#8: Sitting with friends at Ace Club and everyone has a different accent. I love accents.
#7: My Hash House Harrier friends. Nothing like almost dying in the desert then spending the next few hours drinking beer with crazy folks from around the world.
#6: All of my awesome, fun-loving, crazy rugby friends. My heart hurts thinking I won't see some of them again.
#5: Always a holiday feel in Cairo. It's one of the perks of being an expat. I was practically reliving college level partying those last 3 months. Going on and on and on with 3 hours of sleep, at most, a night. I can definitely say Cairo was never boring!!
#4: Cyprus with good friends. I went cliff diving, bought excellent homemade wine from the cutest village ever, and spent a day at the most gorgeous beach I've been to so far.
#3: My Safari experience. Life changing.
#2: Sitting with my Egyptian friends as they speak Arabic and soaking it all in. Pure relaxation.
#1: My habyby, who taught me that even a short relationship with someone from a completely different world, culture, and religion, that you know will not last, can change your life.


Bittersweet.




 

Wow!!

I think it's incredibly funny that my last post was right after Chloe went back to the states to finish 7th grade and then...NOTHING! Well, I made the most of my last few months of freedom for sure! I will eventually update this on all of my "doings."

Right now, I am typing this from Colombia, my new destination!!

Let's just say, I am very happy here after just 2 weeks!

More to come...

Cairo...alone!

Well, it's been almost 2 weeks since Chloe went back home to finish the school year in Palestine. Of course, it's been a bittersweet couple of weeks. I enjoy the quiet, of course, but it's just so...quiet.

She went back home on Thursday, March 28th and I went camping in the desert that Friday morning so I wouldn't have to sit around crying. (I did a lot of that at the airport and the next day). So, this weekend was the first official weekend alone in the apartment. It felt just a tad bit "off." But I have been enjoying being able to come and go when I want.

The desert trip was amazing. I've never slept outside with just a sleeping bag, much less in the desert. During a sandstorm! And there were desert foxes that raided our campsite as well. Good times. It was nice to be able to just go with the flow and not feel the need to rush around constantly.

Some pics:

 

Idiot Abroad

Funniest show ever. This one is in Cairo and it's pretty accurate.

Homesick

Well, I can say that I've partied at some cool places in different parts of the world, hung out with amazing people from all walks of life, from many different cultures and countries and lifestyles, in clubs and beaches and everywhere in between. And I'm just kinda over it all right now. I would rather be sitting around with my family playing cards or Scrabble or even just soaking in everything while reading a book (they think I do it to tune them out, but it's not true!). It's just one of those days. I could say it's because I've been sick, but that would be a lie. Sometimes you just need your family. And I can't get that for awhile and it sucks.