looks like we've got a lot to do...

let's get on it:

The job of the peacemaker is to stop war, to purify the world, to get it saved from poverty and riches, to heal the sick, to comfort the sad, to wake up those who have not yet found God, to create joy and beauty wherever you go, to find God in everything and in everyone.- Muriel Lester(1884-1968)

farewell, for now.

my exodus from egypt nears. saying goodbye isn't usually difficult because i'm pretty good at keeping in touch with people, even across continents and oceans. however, i feel like i'm leaving a job after the first year. in general, the second year is better than the first because you know what you're doing, you know your coworkers, etc.

but things happen the way they do for a reason. one year ago, there's no way i would've made a two year, overseas commitment (or of any sort, really). anyway, these last few days have been fun and fulfilling:

bowling, ice skating, snorkling in the red sea, going to the circus, and just enjoying my time with the people who have become my extended, egyptian family.

well, as usual, articulation and jet-lag preparation don't mix well. it's 4:30am. in a few hours, i will fall asleep sitting straight up on my direct flight to new york. and so, i will have exited egypt.

"Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." - Jim Elliot

and now, my friends, from egypt i part to be where i'm now headed.

T Minus 10 Days

And so, the beginning of the end has arrived:


1. Clean my flat
2. Eat all the food still in the kitchen
3. Spend a few days relaxing on the shores of the Red Sea
4. Write and send final postcards
5. Pack my bags
6. Eat a lot of Egyptian food
7. Find someone to print my boarding pass
8. Buy a cheap cell phone
9. Convince the McDonald's motorcycle delivery boy to give me a ride around town
10. Eat more Egyptian food
11. Update music playlists
12. Get to the "I can't put it down" stage of reading Les Mis.
13. Start one more dodgeball or popcorn fight with Lianne

What's to come:

one-nighter in New York

two weeks in Seattle (live jazz - chopsticks?, cheesecake, thai food, the pink door, aladdin's falafels, storage unit exorcism, visit The House, convince tiana and justin to move to hawaii, triangle cabin, mt. si, cousin's wedding, etc.)

three weeks in Hawaii (show ruth and maegan my island, hang out with the brothers before they're redeployed to the M.East, thank all of my friends and family with a huge "Egyptian" feast)

vacation with grandparents (going on a train trip from washington up into canada)

three weeks in Georgia and DC (one week of hanging out with old and new friends and a one week conference)

by the end of september, i'll be homeward bound.

belgium

known for its beer and chocolate...two things which we haven't tasted in our first few hours here.

however, our appetites are quite full from an afternoon of speed-walking through a nearby college town with one peurto rican, nine mexicans, three egyptians, one canadian (lianne), and two americans (me and a lady who lives in mexico). none of us speak dutch, or german, or french, or anything else (besides english) that could be helpful.

aside from the entertaining diversity (entertaining is an understatement....the fun and frustrations that come with such diversity only make a "stroll" through a foreign city much more enjoyable and exciting) of our group, i must admit that the two white-haired, 60 something year old, twin ladies walking around (matching clothes, shoes, and bags) were a highlight...seriously.

then there was the lovely moment i slipped into my jacket. it's not cold, but compared to cairo, it's a bit chilly. lianne and i went for a little stroll through a local park, sat and listened to the trees....a sound that i often miss living in the craziness of cairo.

i wish i had taken more time to learn spanish. it never seemed exciting enough for me in high school. however, now that my excitment involves knowing people and doing things with people, language acquisition is a bit higher if i continue with these international adventures. my limited recollections from afternoons with aunty martina and cote helped me find some common ground.........but honestly, it was ultimately mer. shwartsenager who came to my rescue.....believe it, i totally said it. and, i'll say it again:

asta la vista, baby!

all my bags are packed

i'm just about ready to go.

in one month minus two days, i'll be exiting egypt until the next time an opportunity comes along for me to return.

until then, i'm off to belgium for two weeks!

Lianne, Lianne, Lianne...what more need I say?

Why in the world do people (Lianne and I included) take all the clothespins off of the clothes line and put them in a basket so we can take them out of the basket and put them right back onto the line when the next load of laundry is ready to be dried? Seriously!?!

So, in my effort to eliminate a completely unnecessary and often tedious (although minute) task from the already strenuous demands of washing laundry, I suggest that we leave the clothespins on the line and simply clip the clothes to the line with the awaiting clothespin! Brilliant, I know.

With a roll of the eyes and an annoyingly entertaining tone, Lianne shares her thought about my ingenious: "You are SOOOOO lazy!"

LAZY? Wow, Lianne. No need to get personal, jeez! Being the humble, mature, twenty-two year old American living with a Canadian, I respond calmly, yet passionately, of course:

"LAZY?!?! It's people like me who invent microwaves and other conveniences that you Canadians enjoy!"

Pause.

Loud laughter.

Laundry folded....clothespins still on the line....until Lianne dries her laundry, that is. That's right...and after she finishes her laundry, I'll be the one taking all the pins out of the silly basket and clipping them back onto the line. Lazy? Ha!

Ten minutes later, Lianne invites herself to join me in the bathroom as I brush my teeth, wash my face, etc. By inviting herself, I really mean to say that she monopolizes the sink. Being the humble, mature, twenty-two year old American, I patiently brush my teeth to the side of the sink where I can no longer watch myself in the mirror (even after brushing my teeth approximately fourteen thousand and six hundred times before this occasion, I still find my self staring at the strokes of the brush....why do we do this? You know I'm not the only one :)

It's funny what we notice when we step to the side and stop looking in the mirror. For example, whenever I enter the bathroom, I can always tell if Lianne's already been in there or not. If she has, then I am guaranteed a free feet cleaning as the bathroom floor is covered in water.

Stepped aside, no longer looking at myself in the mirror but at Lianne in front of the sink and mirror, I notice that her face washing technique is like a fountain desperately trying to water a withering garden....minus the garden and add a few water-wrinkled feet, we have our bathroom floor after Lianne has washed her face.

I laugh, for obvious reasons. Without saying a word, she knows the reason I laugh and explains (rather defensively, I might add :) that if she brings her elbows closer to her body, there would be no Old Faithful; however, she informs me, bringing her elbows closer to her body takes a lot of effort, in fact, too much effort.

Whoa. Rewind:

With a roll of the eyes and an annoyingly entertaining tone, Lianne shares her thought about my ingenious: "You are SOOOOO lazy!"

And so, ten minutes of laughter, clean faces, clothespins on the line, water on the bathroom floor, I finish brushing my teeth, in front of the sink, looking in the mirror....for approximately the fourteenth thousand, six hundred and first time.


I don't really brush my teeth for ten minutes......but my wisdom teeth are poking through my gums and the brushingbrings momentary relief from this post-adolescent, teething process. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a basket to hide (there's always a way to ensure that others accept our genius ;)

A few more pictures

Here is a link to a few pictures from the past two weeks of traveling....

It's taking FOREVER to upload photos (almost 10mins for ONE picture!)....

So, my generous roommate uploaded my pictures onto her page with her newer, shinier, and faster computer.....

ENJOY!

Floating down the Nile and playing with many, many, many Egyptian kiddos!

p.s. Links to older albums can be found in the upper right corner of this page.