As I always do before an important event, such as an impending exam, research paper due date, or international relocation, I waste my time doing activities no sensible person would do the night before.
After a lovely iftar at a family friend's home, my sisters and I decided to go see the Will Ferrel/ Zach Galifinakis movie The Campaign. My logic with seeing a late night movie when I wasn't done packing was that I wouldn't get to see it in Cairo as they only get massive blockbusters such one of the Batman movies or a Pixar film. We returned home at about 11:45. My sisters went to bed while I stayed up sewing the Picture Book Cover Garland to decorate my KG classroom in Cairo.
Once I was finished with that, I pottered about until about 2 a.m. My dad woke me up around 5 a.m. to say goodbye before going to work. I gave him a half-conscious hug and kiss and went back to sleep until 7 a.m. when I shot up in a panic and proceeded to rip open all of my vacuum sealed clothing bags and removed another 5 lbs. of clothing, telling myself that I could get stuff in Cairo.
I weighed and reweighed my checked bags and panicked when I saw the needle on my travel scale waver between 49 lbs. and 51 lbs. My biggest worry before I left was that they would not accept my massive 35 lb. backpack as my "small" personal item.
After a tearful goodbye with my cousin Tiba and her adorable twins Mohamed and Miray, Hanna and I drove to work so I could say a quick goodbye to all my former coworkers (and also so I could print my itinerary.).
Once at the airport, we made it over to the makeshift United Airlines desk that was unceremoniously draped in black plastic sheeting and surrounded by exposed concrete walls. The family ( a muhajiba and her two kids) in front of me was having issues getting all the weight down on their luggage, so the agent ended up coming around and hand-weighed my luggage, claiming it felt like 50 lbs. I was very excited to not have to shift things around!
Hanna and I said goodbye and tears were almost shed.
Once at my gate, I set up my "office" while waiting for my delayed plane to board. The family that was in front of me were also at my gate and I ended up recognizing the woman as a T.A. that I had for a few classes during my first semester of Arabic in Fayetteville. Manal and her kids were moving to West Virginia so she could teach Arabic at a university there. I ended up hanging out with them in Houston and helping them move their many, many, MANY bags to their gate in Houston. Her kids were very sweet, but I could definitely see how hard it is to travel with kids! I have a newfound respect for my mom who traveled alone to England for her nephew's wedding with a 7-year-old, 5-year-old (me!), 3-year-old and newborn. I would like to have a video of that.
I boarded my Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt just in time and was pleasantly surprised to have a whole row to myself so I was able to stretch out and take several naps.
I was about 2 hours from landing in Frankfurt when I realized several things:
1. I'm possibly allergic to recycled air.
2. German seems like an easy language to pick up.
3. Oh my God! I'm actually moving to Egypt!
This will be the first time in my life I will be living more than a 3-hour drive from my family for an extended period of time. When my mom suddenly passed away in a routine surgery during my freshman year, I was so grateful to be able to be with my family quickly. The first time I studied abroad, my dad had to have emergency bypass surgery for a clogged artery. I freaked out because if anything happened to him during the surgery, it would take me 20 hours to get there. It's hard to feel so helpless in a situation like that.
When I land in Frankfurt, I will be meeting up at a McDonalds with around 20 other teachers that will be at AIS West. I am excited but I can already predict how awkward my first encounter will be... "Hey Y'all! Moving half-way around the world too?".
The one thought that is keeping me sane and calm about the whole move is that I've already lived in Cairo twice and have fully accepted the craziness of Cairo. The smells, the sights, the sounds, the traffic - it is like a direct assault on all of your senses.
Sorry this post is so long. I haven't been able to sleep well and the movie selection is terrible so I just keep adding to this. Next post, I will be in Cairo!!
Update: arrived in Cairo alive and well but had a very eventful trip getting here! New post tomorrow detailing the craziness!
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