maa salama

“Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes.”

I hate this time of year in Egypt, inevitably there are going to be people leaving. That is the problem with getting to know x-pats (i don't know if i like that term...) because none of them are here permanently. This is the the hard thing about living overseas: the goodbyes.

I've met so many people from North America and Europe over the years and they just keep coming and going and they all become a blur of memories after while. Some have come searching to find out who they are, to experiance another culture, to study Arabic, to do service work, to teach English, on government buisness, or one of their parents might be Egyptian and want their kids to experiance their native culture. Some have showed an enthusiasm for being in Egypt, some never stopped complaining about how difficult it is to live here, and some don't know what to think of this place. All of them have something in common though...they leave.

They all come for different reasons and they leave for different reasons as well. Sometimes their assigned terms come to an end and it is a slow process watching them pack up and say goodbye. Sometimes they get kicked out of the country by the government. Sometimes they just go crazy.



















^^ This year is going to be the hardest. I'm losing so many good friends who have been with me over the years watching other people leave and now it's my turn to say goodbye to them.