Final Days

Well, my friends, I am home at last, safe and sound. I know I haven't updated in a while, and for this you must forgive me. The final days in Egypt were, as I prefer my final days to be, hectic. I suppose there is something to be said for a leisurely ending of a chapter, but truthfully, we always want the final lines to be wild and exhausting. Otherwise we would never want to turn the page and find out what happens next. For my own sake, I will recount here what I can remember of the blur of that final week. Then I will close that chapter, and start a new one.

Sunday (20.Dec.09)
This was our last day at NVIC, and we spent the day there, furiously working on our papers.

Monday (21.Dec.09)
Something of a hectic day, since I had to get up early to rush to the American Institute to find an article. And getting around in Cairo is hectic enough as is, without having to deal with taxis and traffic and such. But I got my article nice and copied, and headed to the garden of the Cairo Museum to read in the shade of the palm trees there. It was a beautiful day.

I then wandered around the museum for a few hours, and finally met up with the others for our presentations. Mine didn't go quite as I had hoped; it was much shorter than I had anticipated, but it still went well enough, so I'm happy. The others were happy enough for a short presentation too. After presentations, Brenda and I went to my apartment to work on our papers as much as possible. Because that night we went back to After Eight.

Wust El Balad were playing again. The password to get in was Luna. We danced. Alfred was there again, and we lived it up. I met a girl from California (Sasha) who lives in Kenya. I met a guy (rather creepy) who was half-Egyptian, half-French (wore a black beret) and taught (or claimed to teach) art history at Cairo University. My friends saved me from dancing with him too much, but he did give me a compliment. "You feel Egyptian music," he said, "better than anyone I've ever seen." The girl he was with, standing by herself in the corner nearby, was not amused. I danced elsewhere. A lot.

Tuesday (22.Dec.09)
Even though the Belgians and I didn't get in until 3am or so, I was still up bright and early to head home and finish my paper. My plan was to finish everything but the Intro and Conclusion by 2pm, and even though I started an hour later than planned, I was done with everything but the Conclusion by 3pm. So I was happy.

So Brenda and I went shopping. :-) Then the group had our farewell party at L'Aubergine. Good food, and Brenda tried to make everyone cry by giving us all thanks for making her time in Egypt memorable. Gifts to Ilona, and then drinks and chatting. It was a great goodbye, and Brenda succeeded in making quite a few of us cry. :-P Cathelijne, Steffie, and Kenny (and their guests) were the first to head out, since they went the next day to Luxor. It was difficult to say goodbye, so we dragged the Belgiums (and a bottle of wine) back to our apartment.

Wednesday (23.Dec.09)
Wednesday was a garden party at the Belgian embassy for the students at the NVIC. They have a beautiful garden, and the meal was amazing. Barbequed eggplant (meat too, of course) and both Belgian and Egyptian dishes. Argh, so much good fooooood. It was a little cold outside, but the good conversation (and perhaps, in some cases, the open bar) kept us warm enough. Afterwards, when the sun had set, and Ilona had said goodbye and left, we grabbed a taxi, and the Belgians, and again went to our apartment, this time for our final goodbyes.

Quentin left first, and Brenda stayed a bit longer. When she finally left, I just couldn't stand it, so I followed her downstairs. I think we hugged goodbye maybe 5 times. Possibly 6. She and I just get along so well. I will miss her a lot. But we left each other laughing, and with promises of visits to Belgium and to Leiden, so I can't complain. :-)

Before bed I stood on my balcony for the last time, and watched the Nile slide by, and watched the lights on the water, and I said my goodbye to Egypt.

Thursday (24.Dec.09)
Thursday was our last day, but by then, it was already over. We planned to leave at noon, but the cleaning ladies showed up at 10am, so we left early. "We took no tearful leaving, we bade no long goodbyes." Our bewab found someone to take us to the airport, so the ride was wonderful, and quick. And who do you think we found in the airport? The Belgians! So we all had a drink, and said our post-final-goodbyes-goodbyes, and headed to the planes.

And here I will leave you, dear readers. Watching the Belgians walk away marked for me the end of my time in Egypt, and all there was to do after they vanished was to smile at the sun one last time, and disappear into the liminal world of airports.

It is not a garment I cast off this day, but a skin that I tear with my own hands.
Nor is it a thought I leave behind me , but a heart made sweet with hunger and with thirst.
Yet I cannot tarry longer.