I'm heartbroken to report that my summer abroad program has been cut short - due to the recent unrest and uncertainty about Egypt's future, my group has been ordered to evacuate Egypt. The UC program's insurance kicked in and is flying us to Paris and then straight home to the United States. I won't get to see the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, visit the new library in Alexandria, or snorkel in the Red Sea. I tried to see if I could spend a week and a half in Europe and then take my normal flight home in mid-July, but unfortunately my airline company would charge me too much money so I won't get to use the evacuation as an excuse for more siteseeing. The only bright side to all of this is seeing my family early and spending part of the 4th of July with them (after my plane lands in San Francisco in the early evening).
I'm still partly in shock by everything and not ready to come home, but part of me is exhausted and resigned to our departure, especially after the crazy day it's been. I woke up this morning only to hear the news of our evacuation, ran around Zamalek to buy some last-minute souvenirs, spent hours looking up hostels in Dublin/Paris/Frankfurt/Berlin, packed everything and tried to fit all of my souvenirs/textbooks into my suitcase, and Facebook-chatted with many concerned friends and family members. The day is only going to get longer, considering that we're leaving to head to the airport in less than an hour and I'll be arriving in SFO about 26 hours from now... Hopefully I can get some sleep on the plane!
I have too many regrets about my time here in Cairo. I wish I'd talked to more local people (instead of mostly shop owners and taxi drivers). I wish I'd taken more pictures. I wish I'd bought more gifts at the bazaar. I wish I'd tried more food (and more flavors of ice cream at a local sweet shop I discovered yesterday). I wish I'd blogged more! Right now, all I can do is prepare myself for a long flight and hope that I can turn my shortened abroad experience into a dynamic law school personal statement...
I'm still partly in shock by everything and not ready to come home, but part of me is exhausted and resigned to our departure, especially after the crazy day it's been. I woke up this morning only to hear the news of our evacuation, ran around Zamalek to buy some last-minute souvenirs, spent hours looking up hostels in Dublin/Paris/Frankfurt/Berlin, packed everything and tried to fit all of my souvenirs/textbooks into my suitcase, and Facebook-chatted with many concerned friends and family members. The day is only going to get longer, considering that we're leaving to head to the airport in less than an hour and I'll be arriving in SFO about 26 hours from now... Hopefully I can get some sleep on the plane!
I have too many regrets about my time here in Cairo. I wish I'd talked to more local people (instead of mostly shop owners and taxi drivers). I wish I'd taken more pictures. I wish I'd bought more gifts at the bazaar. I wish I'd tried more food (and more flavors of ice cream at a local sweet shop I discovered yesterday). I wish I'd blogged more! Right now, all I can do is prepare myself for a long flight and hope that I can turn my shortened abroad experience into a dynamic law school personal statement...
