forgive me, i've been bad.

yesterday was 12/12/12, marking exactly three weeks since i arrived in cairo. i haven't blogged properly once. it's a turning point, my stay here is half-over and i miss it already. doesn't that sound stupid? missing a place you haven't left yet and won't leave for another month. i've been putting off blogging since i arrived three tuesdays ago, but the guilt is now a tumour weighing down my face that i must remove or it will probably become fatal.

cairo can be a hard city to love. it is desperately crowded and always looking for space to breathe. it is a network of traffic that does not obey any lanes or speed limits, and pollution renders all the buildings to a layer of beige dust. crossing the roads is an art that has to be continuously practiced, and the people are the friendliest i have ever met. in saying all this, falling in love with egypt was an inevitable climb up a mountain i'm yet to reach the peak of. EGYPT IS AMAZING. sorry new zealand, you're officially almost replaced. teehee.

it feels like there's way too much to condense into one blog post, but the things i've done so far:

• shisha.
• shisha.
• shisha.
• eat egyptian food.
• wake up to praying at 6am for the whole first week and passing out at 9pm in the evening. who knew jetlag could be so helpful to your sleeping cycle? too bad it didn't last, i'm now sleeping way past midnight and struggling to wake up in the mornings, just as i would in new zealand.
• shisha.
• decided two hours before we had to depart that i was going to go to the siwa oasis with GUC interns which ended up being the most magical time, millions of stars and hot springs and tea and a culture that is a lot more relaxed and easy-going than bustling cairo.
• motorbiking helmet-less down cairo highways and feeling the most free i've ever felt.
• fell in love with sharwema and kepda, which are beef and liver sandwiches respectfully. 
• called in 'sick' to go to the black and white desert with AUC interns who are the coolest people ever.
• pretended to be sick at work when i came back, which wasn't difficult considering how damn exhausted i was.
• a lot of taylor swift with habiba and nour (my sisters). a loooootttt. pop music is officially universal. 
• risking my life in the hands of new driver nour.
• face masks, boy talks, being greeted aka jumped on by the family dog troy as i come home every day. 
• midnight galloping to the giza pyramids, smoking shisha and hash, not getting high and laughing at the other interns falling off their horses on the ride back.
• having a sore ass for a whole week after.

and because pictures speak a thousand words, here are some pictures to sum up my adventures!

i promise i will blog more, because if i don't i will forget everything i think and experience and feel. over and out! 

this blog post feels like it's all over the place because my mind is scattered in trying to recall the life-changing whirlwind that has been the past three weeks. all i can say is that i'll never be the same, and it's always about the people. but that's for another post (;

oh, and in other news, i quit my job. it's unfulfilling because instead of teaching kids art i'm doing reception and admin work, and planning a camp that's two weeks away. that's not what i came for, and by that time i'll be halfway finished my internship so just no, no way. i'm grabbing every opportunity by the testicles and running with it, and if i sense that a day passes by and i'm idle, things gotta be changin'.

whoever and wherever in the world you are, i hope you're having a lovely day. chin up and smile! 

day seven in egypt

I MISS EXPOSING MY LEGS.

thirty hours with myself

long haul flights are like being forced to eat mashed potatoes and watery soup for two weeks. it either drives you batshit crazy or you eventually acquire a sense of profound enlightenment. in my case, my thirty plus hours was most definitely both (and more). it took me from auckland to bangkok to zurich to cairo, with three hour stopovers.the feeling of sitting in transit, waiting for a connecting flight with only a backpack and a bag filled with a unicorn suit and a DSLR is freeing to an extent i cannot express. it's just you and the road, never looking back: just forward.here it is, personified into pixels.

thai air and their amazing food / service / entertainment / comfort / everything.

ka kete, aotearoa.

bustling gate D4 of bangkok international airport.

long lines, black and charcoal architecture, unique lights and the quiet richness of zurich.

looking out into the runway, dotted with red and white crosses.

travel diary.

expensive luxury watches.

expensive swiss handmade chocolates.

flying over the majestic snow-topped alps of europe, southern bound. soon these lush green lands turned into the dry orange deserts of northern africa.

i've now been in cairo for four days. i start working tomorrow and every day is an adventure unlike the last. i barely have time to photograph or write because i am so busy taking it in without any mediation, but blog again soon!

taming the packing monster

preparing for over two months overseas is like walking around a corner and getting roundhouse kicked to the face. you scramble up with the aid of your assaulter, and then you get kicked again. the slow build-up of injections, medicine hoarding, list-writing, insurance-buying, advice-seeking began two weeks ago. there were firsts: my first ever doctor's appointment, my first ever cash passport, having to say (temporarily) goodbye to my first proper job after filling out my first tax slip. and then tomorrow, my first time overseas truly all on my lonesome.

packing. it's an arduous process unless you make it fun, says mary poppins' distint relative. if you're going overseas and you want to make your life easier, this universal packing list is a total gem. use it!

60% of my things organized neatly and in sections. you can tell the separations between toiletries, souvenirs and the different clothes. disclaimer: i am not nearly as pedantic about this sort of thing normally, but this really helps you visualize how much will fit into your suitcase and what else you need to bring along. another tip: write down exactly what you brought so you know exactly what to bring back!

i received some helpers in the mid-afternoon.

the following are snapshots of the past few days, from getting an ISIC card to suburban walks to beautiful new zealand sunsets. it's bittersweet even though i'm so, so, so excited. egypt will be the complete opposite of what i've grown up in. but with that said! bring on the change.

see you on the other side.