I must admit that I was quite nervous to return to Cairo, for various reasons, the most obvious one being the reminder of the extreme amount of stress I had while living here that almost vanished when I moved to Jordan. But I have found that in some ways, that stress is gone (maybe I've finally adjusted?) but in other ways, it is alive and well. This place was home for so long and holds a lot of "firsts" for me so it will always be a special place but I have definitely seen my share of challenges from it as well. For example, I returned to what used to be one of my favorite places in Cairo, Khan al-Khalili (the photo above), and was surprised to find that I no longer enjoy going there. In fact, I think I would be fine if I never returned! Martha laughed as I felt like I was enduring culture shock all over again. (Funny how I don't think she has experienced it yet...) However, I must point out that Jordan (which is more Arab than Egypt, in my opinion) was nothing like this so I think it's more of a "country shock" than culture shock (which happens to be one of my biggest pet peeves...when people use culture shock as an excuse for everything). And as I adjust, I am reminded of the wonderful blessing my sister is to me because it has made an enormous difference in simple, everyday things, like going to the supermarket or taking the metro to a friend's house. Just one more reason why I think we were not made to live life alone. Anyway, I am enjoying Cairo while I have it because I know it won't last forever...