first stop: cairo.

cairo is maybe my favorite place in the whole world. my father was born and raised here, and his entire family still resides here. when my brother and i were young, we used to spend our summers between egypt and france, visiting family, but cairo has the most special place in my heart.

not only is our family very large here, but we're very close. we're a very large, loud, typical egyptian family. we travel to the beaches together, we go to the clubs (sport/country) together, we hang out together, and everyone is always eating, eating, eating. it's probably the one place in the entire world where i ever felt completely accepted. no one ever discriminated against me because of the way i looked, or because i speak arabic, or am muslim and half french, or am tall and large and have lots of dark curly hair. i fit in here, and don't get me wrong, we have our fair share of family drama, but it's the place i feel most comfortable.

so i'm starting out my year here. i'll spend the next 6 weeks with my family before heading back for a friend's wedding. while i'm here, i hope to maximize the time i spend with my family, while also getting out to explore some of cairo on my own- you know, solo travel, a la sabeel. i actually brought a lonely planet book on egypt, so i'm really interested to discover parts of cairo and the rest of egypt that i never saw as a "local." i may be choosing egypt as my "home base" when i venture back out for the 6 month trip. not only would it be amazing to spend the time with my family that i only get to see every 3-4 years now, but it would also be so much easier. i could stay with my grandmother, i could get a job here, i can speak the language... so we'll see. haven't made any decisions yet, but this is a good contender.