Our last day in Egypt

I just finished packing for the trip home. It seems so weird to be heading home tonight - pretty surreal! How did five weeks go by so quickly?

Class today was spent doing last-minute book edits and website gallery uploads. All the students (and Rob) now have 90 images each in the gallery, which hopefully gives viewers a more complete sense of what we've been seeing and experiencing here.

We had a shorter class today, because it was our last day. The school threw a little party for us - complete with an Oud musician and his band, and Egyptian sweets (which I love!). There was singing, dancing (by Denis!) and relaxing - everyone had just finished their finals, so there was a lot to celebrate!

Right before the party, Rob had us present our books on-screen to everyone with the projector. I think they were well-received overall, and I think it was definitely important for everyone to see what we've been up to - especially because this is the first year for the photo class in Egypt. Rob definitely feels the need to quantify our work for people, which I can understand totally. That's why I worked so hard on the website - it's so important to show people that we weren't on vacation for five weeks in Egypt, we were working just as hard as everyone else (but still having fun doing it!).

I was so exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel (I'm definitely ready to get home!) that I missed the lunch caravan and instead took a mental break for a while. I really can't believe I'm going home tonight (we leave the hotel at 1:30am). If I had the opportunity to make the decision to come here again, I absolutely would. I had the best time here in Egypt, and I've definitely grown as a person. This trip has taught me a lot about myself and my place in the world, and it's definitely put me out of my comfort zone consistently. I'm excited to be heading home, but I definitely will miss it here.