An Ajer in Alex: The last bit of sun

Things are coming to an end here. School ended almost two weeks ago, followed by a nice goodbye ceremony and one last bus trip from our school out in the desert back to Alex itself, during which we were dancing the whole time to loud local music. The next day, on the glorious 17th of May (the Norwegian National Day, that is - shame on you if you didn't know!) I hosted a barbeque with Flynne and Ant, to celebrate all things Norwegian and try to gather as many people as possible before we all were to go our separate ways. With about 60 guests - of which at least 10% was called Ahmed - I think it can be said to have been a success, even though the problem with inviting so many nice people is that you never get enough time to talk to everyone. The general consensus was that my cinnamon buns are better than those from Cinnabon - I hope. Anyone who disagrees can consider themselves uninvited from next year's party.

Ahmed, Rachel and I - Rachel is an honorary Norwegian now after her commendable effort to follow the dress code of red, white and blue as far as possible

Flynne, Shahmaan and I

The day after we set off for Cairo, and from there on we went to Sharm el-Sheikh and Dahab on the fabled coast of Sinai. I travelled with Arendse and Linda from my school - Arendse is Danish but raised in Italy, whereas Linda is Swedish with an Egyptian father, so we were a sort-of-Scandinavian crew. In the rest of Egypt I feel almost naked if I show my elbows, so it felt really weird but nice being able to wear short dresses and bikinis again. Especially in Dahab, where you can see Saudi right across the bay - must be quite a contrast from one side to the other. It was my first time in Sharm el-Sheikh, and we really enjoyed ourselves, lying on the beach or by the pool tanning, go-karting for the first time (need I mention that I won?) and I also went to a spa for the first time, in our awesome hotel. We had a big, nice room with a lovely bathroom, there was a lot to choose from for breakfast and there was a huge pool, and for all this we paid less than £10 each a night. Can't really complain about that.

It was a nice break from the rest of Egypt, and I achieved my main goal which was getting some more sun before going home. Still, a couple of days in Sharm-el Sheikh sufficed. It is a quite overwhelming and artificial place, and everything there seemed totally absurd after eight months in Egypt. At least all the cafés turned off the loud club music they were blasting during the call to prayer - so I guess some faint trace of Egyptian culture still remains.

I had been to Dahab once before, which I wrote about here. After coming from crazy Sharm it was a relief to reach calmer, smaller Dahab, where we could walk everywhere. The only drawback is that you will walk past the same tourist touts again and again, and therefore have to keep up a minimum of politeness - something I hardly have the patience for anymore after a school year in Egypt. As last time, our time in Dahab was very lazy. It made me so lazy in fact that I was happy not much happened as it meant I had less to blog about. We went snorkelling once in the famous Blue Hole, but apart from that we were mostly just soaking up sun. Even though Dahab is easier to handle than Sharm, it feels just as artificial to me, and whereas I'm happy we went on this holiday, they will probably not make any lasting impression on me. Hopefully their sun will at least make sure that I'm tanned enough to not disappoint everyone when I come home to Norway - somehow people don't expect you to look pale after a year in Egypt.

A lengthy conversation with a British couple in Dahab made me really realise how much we've learnt during our time in Egypt, how much we've gotten used to and now see as perfectly natural, how different Egypt seems to us now than to someone who has arrived directly from Europe.

The following weekend in Cairo was a welcome opportunity to say goodbye to some very good friends, who for me constitute many of the things I will dearly miss about Egypt: the unexpected friendships with people very different from you, the warm hospitality, the (sometimes) easy-going socialisation, the relaxed atmosphere as you sit for hours in a café. I think Egypt has been steadily growing on me, and in spite of the stress of life here, I am sure I will mainly be left with fond memories of the country. Now it's time to leave, however, something I really feel now that I'm back in Alexandria. My only mission here now is to pack up and say goodbye to the rest of my friends, before heading for Norway after a short stop in London. It feels weird to be leaving this place, as after all the travelling, I have noticed how going back to Alex feels so much like going home.

It's sad to leave, but I guess it's better that way, as it means I've had a good time. Right now I wish I could stay a bit longer, but maybe there is never a right time to leave. And I'm also missing London and Norway and my friends and family there and really wish to be back there and see them all again - I just wish I didn't have to leave Egypt in order for this wish to be fulfilled.

To everyone who made my year in Egypt so awesome: I am very grateful, I will never forget it and I will never forget you. And hey, I'll be back! You better watch out for me!