Excuses, Excuses, We Use Them Every Day....

When I accepted the position in Cairo, one of the things that I was most excited about was the fact that I had an established blog. It was to be one of the strongest ways to keep in touch with those around the world and a way to keep track of this part of my journey. As you can very obviously tell, that hasn't happened - at all. I've been trying to think about why and here's what I've come up with:

1. Time. Yes, this can be said for all of us not matter where we are and what we are doing. However, it's gotten pretty busy here. Thankfully, not all of it is work. In fact, most of it isn't. Building a community is time consuming and worth every exhausting moment. Birthday parties, working out, hanging out, going out, girls' nights, shopping, exploring, softball games, cooking together, and so much more. I wouldn't trade a moment of it but by the time I sit down to share about it, my body is exhausted.

2. Learning a new culture. If the act of building a community weren't exhausting enough, the sheer magnitude of learning your surroundings would be enough to wear you out. When you live somewhere so different, you have to relearn everything from how to walk down the street to how to navigate streets/taxis. You learn that you really could kick some butt in charades because it is your best means of communication while you try to learn bits of the language around you. Plus trying to sleep through the new speakers the mosque got a month ago to further amplify the 5:00 a.m. prayer. It can overload your senses and leave you brain dead.

3. Relearning myself. Moving somewhere so different than all you have ever known will change you. I was warned but not prepared. Everything you know, think, feel, believe, and hope for are filtered through entirely new eyes. Every filter you thought through before is replaced and you start all over again. You feel more confident and sure of yourself. However, you also find yourself different. You know that if you really said what you thought about that facebook status update, it could start a fire of debate so you don't. You know that sometimes, it's better to talk about things rather than write them out because you can't discuss your new thoughts on a blog like you can face to face. You can't share because lots of people will not understand from lack of experiences.

So yes, life is full and good. There are good and bad days - many more good. So I'll try to share more but in the meantime, thank you for understanding!