Remember to Breathe

Well, it's official...my return flight home has been purchased. I was indecisive as to what I was going to do that I decided to utilize a tool that once decided my own family's fate long before I was part of this universe. If I have the story right (mom can correct me if I'm wrong)...my parents used a coin flip to determine their fate once. This was long before they had children and were what I like to refer to as hippies. They saw an ad in the newspaper for a summer job working on a fishing boat. The options were Australia and Alaska. They flipped a coin and Alaska it was! It was here that my older brother Ryan was discovered and then they moved to California where I was born and well, the rest is history. Had that coin done one more spin or flip--I would be possibly speaking with a funny accent these days.

Anwar at the hospital

In any case, I dug out what only coins I had: Israeli Shekels. I was a bit nervous about letting Israel decide my fate, but what the hell. It was a 1/2 shekel coin worth about nothing. One side displays the coin value and the other has something that looks to me like a harp or similar musical instrument. I decided the harp meant returning home. I stood in my bedroom, heart racing. I closed my eyes, took a very deep breath, and watched the gold coin spin through the air. I held out my hand, cupped the coin, and flipped it onto the back of my right hand: a harp lay staring up at me. I let fate take its course, as it's meant to, and accepted the decision of the coin.

Anwar at work before the sickness

I walked to town alone as Anwar had already left for work a few hours before. I stopped to buy some water for Jeena (more on her another time) and watched as she greedily drank up the cool water for about 10 minutes. I walked in a complete daze to Al Capone where I had dinner and then slipped away to the internet cafe. I went to Alitalia's site as they consistently had the cheapest fares available anywhere (I am officially boycotting Expedia and I suggest you all do the same). I went to the drop-down menu for my return flight date....close my eyes once again and let the number pick itself: 20. So there it is, I will be back in NJ on July 20.

Me waiting for dinner

It is, as you can imagine, a mixed bag of feelings. Now when I walk by my new friends that I've made here, I look at them in a different light; knowing that I will soon have to say good-bye to them. I also had to explain to an injured Ibrahim as to why I did not go to my interview at the Hilton today. But generally, everyone understands quite well the world of economics and that I can, quite frankly, make a hell of a lot more money working in America than I can here in Egypt. But the other side of it all is that there is a sense of calm that has come over me--I can stop fretting about what I am going to do with myself. I know now the time here that I have left and I intend to maximize it all and enjoy myself to the fullest.

Strange, but just after I finalized and paid for my flight...a frantic Al Capone worker, Mustafa, ran into the cafe to let me know that Anwar had gone to the hospital about 30 minutes prior. So I ran out and caught a cab to the hospital. There on the bed was Anwar with an IV drip in his arm and an army of friends standing around. It was just a chest cold of some sort, or as they say "his chest is tired." The hospital visit cost a mere $4.50...and that included medicine. Wow.

So Anwar is down in the restaurant enjoying some chicken soup and some tea with fresh mint. I am sure he will be up and running again in no time.

SO--if anyone was planning on visiting me at all here in Egypt--uh, book your flight now. I actually had gotten an email from my buddy Mike who teaches English in Madrid that he may make the trip out here in 2.5 weeks, so that will be fun if it happens. Other than that, I am going to spend my last 3 weeks or so doing my PADI certification and maybe some extra dives, take a camel trek in the desert one day, and generally spend plenty of time at the beach! I'm also looking into a 2-3 day trip to Jordan...but it's funny how a place can be fairly close yet it is such a hassle to get to. And for how poor the tourism industry is (generally) in the Middle East now--Petra is really expensive! So that's just a side thought for now. Then, Anwar and I will go back up to Cairo and do some travelling in the Western parts of Egypt before I leave on the 20th.