Christmas Time in Egypt

December 2011 was spent in China with the school. This past Christmas, however, the school trip was really small, and so I was able to spend Christmas with my parents in Sharm El Sheikh. I was there from the 22nd until the morning of the 31st, and it was a fantastic time. 

However, and this is a big HOWEVER, my bag got lost on the way there. So, I flew from Rome to Cairo, and then from Cairo to Sharm. When I arrived in Sharm, my bag was not there waiting for me, and after waiting for over an hour to fill out my luggage claim, it hadn't come in on the next flight either. At that point I was not too worried, as the same thing had happened on my last trip to Sharm, and my bag arrived the next day. This time, I had brought a change of clothes and a bikini in my carry-on, just in case. Unfortunately, that did not prove to be enough, as my bag did not get there until the following Saturday!!! It was insane. I am just glad that my mum and I are close enough in size, and that I was able to raid her closet for the week. But all of my Christmas presents, chargers, diabetes supplies for my dad, and my carefully picked out wardrobe for the trip were all gone for that entire week. 

Other than that, though, it truly was a great time. There was an employee Christmas dinner the night that I arrived, to which I happily tagged along. There I got asked to participate in the staff Christmas Carol concert. I reluctantly agreed, but am glad I did, as it was fun. 

I'm second from the right, Mum is far right, and Dad is in his chef's uniform in the back.

On Christmas Eve night we sang Christmas carols for the guests in the lobby of the hotel. It was nice to get into the spirit of the holiday, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. That night we had a super fancy dinner in one of the restaurants, with my mum and one of her friends, Joanna. 

On Christmas Day, I went over to my mum and dad's place (I was staying in a room near the beach), and we had breakfast, played some games, and I opened a few presents that mum had quickly found and wrapped up (She had mailed me my Christmas presents from England, and I had put them into my suitcase to open on Christmas day). That afternoon we went round to one of mum's friends' houses and had a fantastic Christmas dinner. It was a lovely time, with lots of people, and really good food. We ended by sitting around a firepit outside, and it was really great. Dad was done with work by then, so we picked him up and dropped by the house of another of my parent's friends, and had some dessert and drinks. 

The view from Emma's house

Sitting around the campfire

With my Christmas cracker hat on!

The next day we went back to the airport to see if there was word about my bag, which there wasn't. I still didn't have any of my own clothes, so I asked for some compensation to buy some things. I was given 200LE (Egyptian pounds), which seemed like a lot to me, until mum told me the conversion. Just about $30. So I got my haircut instead!

Mum and I went to an Arabic food night at the hotel, which was on the beach in little tents. There were belly dancers, fire spinners, camels, and a snake charmer. It was cool to see it all, but I was not too happy about the snakes. However, the food was nice, and it was a fun night. 

Me with the fire spinner right behind!

I spent the next few days doing a couple of dives and lounging by the pool - it was a rough life!  Actually though, the water was so much colder than the summer (duh!) and I was a big wimp about it. I actually ended up wearing two wetsuits for one dive - a full long one, and then a short one over the top to keep in more core heat. I was definitely warmer, but I had trouble moving my arms and legs! I only did four dives while I was there, but they were all really nice and relaxing. One dive was just me and the guide, and it was soooooo peaceful and lovely. We didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but just floated along among the coral and fishes - it might be my favorite dive yet. 

Me and mum, lounging by the pool

My bag finally arrived on Saturday, just in time for me to unpack it, try to wear as many outfits as I could, and then pack it back up again. 

At Sails, the new restaurant

In the last days, I went to a Nia class, ate in Dad's new restaurant overlooking the water, and Mum and Dad had some people over for dinner one of the last nights, which was a fun evening. It was so nice to be able to spend Christmas with family. One of the best parts about being in Italy has been that I've seen my parents so much more frequently than I would have otherwise.