08/08/2012: A Dream Come True

I was looking through an old photo album in my parent's library, and came across a scene that I had not thought about for 20 years or so.  Dressed in a cheerful cherry red, I was hovering next to my cousins at the beach.  Clearly, a soggy sand castle was in mid-construction.  My cousins' hands were dripping with wet sand and their faces were overcome with unbridled glee.  My hands, however, were clasped safely together and my face was dimpled with a dainty smile.  This is Stephanie in a nutshell:  in general, I like things to be clean, planned and persistent.

So when I was given the opportunity to work from Zurich for three months in Summer 2010, I was initially hesitant.  I would have to clear out my schedule and reorient a significant portion of my life on fairly short notice, which would cause a ripple effect of consequences that I couldn't have anticipated even in my most imaginative moments.  I am so glad that I went, though -- it was a truly amazing experience.

Morocco was a particularly evocative segment of my summer in 2010.  For reasons that I still cannot logically and rationally explain, it felt like a dream come true -- or maybe an experience that I had had in a past lifetime.

That last statement is difficult for me to even say because I don't "believe in that stuff."  But I distinctly felt reverberations of a faded memory when I found myself in the desert, feeling as small yet collective as each grain of pink sand and each speck of white starlight.

When I returned home, I realized that I just had to go back.  But I will pause right here because you might be puzzled at this juncture.  Stephanie, the girly girl who had never before gone camping and who doesn't like to (literally) get her hands dirty, wants to return to a landscape comprised simply of sand, sun and sky?  Okay, so I don't want to stay there forever, but I felt like something was on the other side of the desert and that I needed to find it.  When I conveyed this feeling to Mohamed, he seemed to look into me and beyond me; I knew that he understood even before he confirmed as much verbally.

You know what's on the other side of that desert?  Egypt.  Today is August 8, 2012, and I am restlessly anticipating this trip.  I can't believe that I'm even scheduled to dance at a wedding on August 25 at the Hilton Hurghada -- which, as a belly dancer in America, is another dream come true because performing in Egypt is widely considered to be a beatific affirmation of abilities and talent.  I'm nervous because belly dancers are to Egyptian weddings as white gowns are to American weddings -- they are a focal point, and everyone pays excruciating attention to them.  I am even more excited than I am nervous, though, because I never thought that I would be able to check this item off my list!

I hope that my trip is replete with beautiful sights, unexpected opportunities, galvanizing challenges and tasty food.  I will post as often as I can, based on the internet access that I will have.  I hope that you will join me on this journey!