Oh what to say, what to say. I haven’t cried today..yet. I
cried a bit last night and came close twice today…but so far no tears. I blame
this on the innumerable people in airports coupled with my inability to cry in
front of people. Regardless, today has been hard. I slept one hour last night,
as I simple couldn’t stop thinking about Cairo. This city…this dirty, hectic,
loud, crazy city, without my fully realizing it, had become my home. I remember
first being brought to Zamalek and wondering how I could ever learn to like
this place. I don’t like dirty things, I don’t like being hassled, and I chose
Cairo to live in. Bad decision. But, against all odds, this city has won my
heart.
As I walked around yesterday to my favorite eateries and
hangouts in Zamalek I thought about my first week there. I remembered how
confused and lost I was. Everything looked the same. It took me at least 2.5
weeks to remember where the grocery store was, much less food places. I
remember being somewhat nervous going around Zamalek at night without other
people and when I had to go get a phone I freaked out because I wasn’t sure if
I’d be able to do that with my EXTREMELY limited Arabic. And I couldn’t help
thinking how much had changed in these four months. Going to Euro Deli, Alf
Leila or Goal was now second nature. Here I was walking around at 9pm, in the
dark, on my own, without a second thought. Now, when boys (as I can’t call
anyone who does this a man) cat called me I’d glare and yell at them in Arabic
to walk away. On the ride back to Zamalek the night before, I had spoken with my
taxi driver almost completely in Arabic for 45 minutes. Granted, I used
terrible grammar and “baby” sentences, but I did it and we understood one
another. When I picked up the taxi to get to the airport this morning and cars
almost hit us, or a person walked through the 4 lanes of speeding traffic, I
didn’t even think about it. Somehow, this city had become my own.
While, I am extremely excited to go home and see my friends
and family who I have missed dearly, I cannot fully express how much it hurts
to leave Cairo behind. God blessed me with such amazing friends here and so
many incredible experiences. This pain
is only deepened with the realization that unlike Europe of the UK, the
likelihood of me coming back here is slim to none. The friends I made for the
most part are American or European, I will be graduating next year, and I’ve
seen the sights. I have nothing calling me back to Cairo other than an
insatiable desire to relive some of the most amazing 4 months of my life.
That’s the problem with travel I guess. You stay somewhere long enough to fully
understand the way in which it functions and by the time you move on, it has
become home. Egypt is an incredible country that I pray you all get a chance to
visit at some point. Haha although, I’m very much of the opinion that you need
at least a month in Cairo to fully appreciate its idiosyncrasies. I’m persuaded
to believe that if any Westerner attempts to do Cairo in just a few days they
will leave never wanting to come back to the dirty, noisy city that it is. But,
nonetheless I pray you all get that chance. I feel so blessed to have been
given the opportunity to go and experience it the way I did. It is something
that I will hold dear to me for the rest of my life. When you go somewhere for
that long, I guess a piece of it comes away with you. I have a piece of Bayern
already, and now, Cairo, to add to my collection. Thank you, Lord, for this insane place. Thank
you for the friends I have made, the experiences I’ve had, and the overwhelming
reminders that you are constantly there and watching out for me.
I guess that’s another reason for my utter sadness at
leaving this place. I learned so much here faith-wise. God blessed me with time
each day to spend in the Bible and talking with him about everything going on
in my life. He opened doors to talk to people about faith, and blessed me with
friends who I could run to when I needed to freak out about something I had
learned in my walk with God. I came into this semester desiring to have time
each day to spend with God alone. I had come out of a period in our
relationship where I was constantly surrounded by other Christians and being
built up in my faith and I had prayed that God would do two things for me.
First, I prayed that he would use this semester to embolden me in my faith and
get the chance to grow on my own, without having the constant support of
Christian community. Second, I prayed that he would let me meet at least one
other Christian that I could turn to should I need someone to talk to. Well, I
got both and more. God blessed me with some amazing friends who, even when I
wasn’t hanging out with them, were constant reminders of what it means to walk
by faith. They were a constant encouragement when I was struggling, whether
they knew it or not. God had blessed me with people that would pray with and
for me, and allow me to be open about the things I needed the most. But, he
also blessed me with a community of amazing friends, who, though they don’t
necessarily believe the same things, were always there to talk to and simply
enjoy life with. I cannot begin to say how much the friendships I’ve made in
Cairo have meant to me. It will be hard to come back to the United States and
not be able to run downstairs and meet up with them for lunch whenever. It will
be strange not to go on fun, random weekend trips with these hilarious gents
and simply joke around the entire time. But, I am so insanely blessed to have
met them and had the opportunity to call them my friends. Life, in my opinion,
is nothing if you don’t experience it with others, and God has constantly
surrounded me with people with whom I could do just that. I pray that he
continues to do so; not only for me, but them as well. So, I guess, this sort
of turned into a half prayer, so AMEN. Thank you all for giving me the chance
to tell you all about the amazing adventures I’ve gotten to go on since being
here. I love you all! God Bless!
Psalm 150
Praise the LORD
Praise God in his
sanctuary; Praise him in his mighty heavens
Praise him for his acts
of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness
Praise him with the
sounding of the trumpet; praise him with the harp and lyre
Praise him with
timbrel and dancing; praise him with strings and pipe,
Praise him with the
clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals
Let everything
that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD.
