The final countdown

Geia sou (=Jassu)!

Friday 10th of Feb

I'm getting nervous and my friend Lotta must be losing her mind with me panicking every hour.. Today it was my last day at school. I returned all the assignments and past the last practical exam (on a second try though..). Wipii! The next time I'm gonna enter our school is on the last days of August! :) In the evening I gave my sister a ride to practise but I couldn't participate myself since I hurt my arm muscle last weekend on a game and the doctor told me to rest with it around three weeks. So my season is already over and I really would have wanted to play the last game. The hockey thing in Athens is still open because no one has contacted me.. I think I'm not gonna do it, as much as I would have wanted to go there and play ice hockey. I've come to conclusion that it's better for me just to be off ice and get some distance from ringette for a while and now it's a good chance! I think that way I'll be even more excited when the season starts again in August. 

The introduction week starts on Monday in Athens for the new students. I keep reading the partys and trips over and over again, getting more and more nervous and excited. In one way I'm totally counting dates to get to Athens but on the other hand I'm counting the days I've still got here in freezing Finland (-26 or so..).

Also the situation in Athens has been really restless what I've seen from the news. Lost of strikes with no public transportation going anywhere and also lots of demonstrations and riots in the center of Athens. Buildings on fire, over 6000 police officers on the streets, people demonstrating against the goverment about why they are the ones that have to pay for the mistakes of the goverment or the people who had made the mistakes. It's said that the salary for young people is around 500€.. I've also heard that in the near future the general strike might start and that would mean no water or electrity..

It's almost a tradition that something happens at the destination country. Two years ago before our interrailing trip the volcano in Island ereptud so we had to wait until last minute to know whether or not our flight would be cancelled. Last year the revolution fights in Egypt happened only 150 from our hostel..

Weekend 11-12th Feb

The weekend went past really fast! We had a game on Saturday which we won and I was really happy for our team even though I couldn't play. On Sunday morning I went to visit my aunt and both of my granmothers and straight to work from 14-21.

I listened a greek radio and greek songs and it's just so relaxing. The rhythm reminds me of hot summer holidays and the real greek athmosphere on Poros island. I also started seeing weird dreams, like me wandering around the streets of Athens with my backpack on and seeing soldiers and getting afraid and getting even more lost..

Monday 13th Feb

In the morning I had a hairdresser and then I went straight to the doctor to get some vaccination which had aged. Then I was off the see my godmother who is also my cousin and to pick up her son and daughter (my godson and his sister) from kindergarten. The evening went fast playing with them and talking with my godmother. :)

Last night the girl from the hockey team emailed to me and suggested that I would only take my skates there with me. That way I wouldn't have to pay any extra for the aircompany and she would have all the equipment for me. Their championships starts soon and I would also be part of their team by being able to play since she is going to announceme to the federation! Difficult one! 

Tuesday 14th Feb

I was at work from 7.30am till 2pm. Then I was trying to figure out some things to take with me to Athens. (I suck at packing!). Then it was time to leave for the last practise with my sister. Since I couldn't do anything I drove to see my friend Saija. We've only seen each other once after our trip together in Egypt! After the practise I told the team good luck for the last two games and see you after the summer. :/ Now I'm really starting to understand that I'm really leaving 'cause I have to say goodbye to every one at school, at work and to my teammates.

Watching my teammates practise on ice and I had only been of the ice for a week or so, I really wanted to get back on the ice!! It was so stupid just to sit on the bench. I decided that since I have such a good chance to get to know the Greece ice hockey, new teammates and play championship games that I really wanna do it! Especially since Georgia from the ice hockey team made it so easy for me! I'm gonna pack my skates with me, go there and win the championship of Greece ice hockey!

ps. Happy Valentine's day!

Wednesday 15th Feb

The day that I had been waiting for two weeks, arrived! Lotta came to my place in the morning to help me pack! And we got almost everything packed! :) Then it was time for Lotta's surprise. She had planned everything. First we went to our classmate Katja where we ate and then left for drinks to the center of Helsinki. They had planned everything! We went to this bar to which our other classmates also came! I had no idea! :D I had such a good night and while walking to home from the bus stop I didn't know wheather to cry tears of excitement, sadness or happiness. Such a weird feeling. I think I'm starting to understand that I'm leaving alone to a foreign country really really soon! It's quite scary at the moment.

Thursday 16th Feb

I did the last packing in the morning. Lotta came to my place to hang around and I borrowed her some of my clothes that I wouldn't be taking with me. Then we helped my sister get ready and in the afternoon we gave my sister a ride to school since she had her prom. On my way home I gave Lotta a ride to the bus stop and hugged her goodbye.. It was the worst feeling and I just couldn't fight the tears. :( Even though I know we'll talk on skype and text and stuff but still I wouldn't see her in so many months and I'm gonna miss her!! :'( In the evening my family and I are gonna go to watch my sister's prom and then I'll do the last packing and get to bed early. Tomorrow my flight to Copenhagen leaves at 6.40am so I have to wake up before 4am.. This is my last text before leaving so when I'll write the next one I'll be in ATHENS! :)

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed

by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

–Mark Twain

One month to go before moving to Athens!

Hello you all (four or less) readers of my blog! :D 

When I write this it's less than a month for my exchange period in Athens to start and I'm getting more nervous by the day. I'll try not to talk about it that often since I know that it makes my friend Lotta sad every time I even mention it. The weeks are just flying by and I've got so much to do before leaving like getting all the school things done, booking a hairdresser, ordering more contactlenses, seeing everyone before I go, passing all the exams, earning some money and of course practise hard and win some games. :) 

My friend sometimes calls me Monica from the FRIENDS tv serie since I'm so organized and, well, like Monica in many ways. One day we had psychiatry lessons together at school and we found a personality behaviour that was just like mine. It was called demanding personality.. Typical signs are: conscientiousness, pedantry and perfectionism.. On some levels that is just like me. I want to plan and know things before hand and I'm not such a big fan of surprises. So, being said that I really need to start growing some patience since I've heard and seen that nothing gets done that fast or effectively in Greece..  

After opening up that much I can tell you that I'm a bit nervous about some things (..still..). I haven't heard anything from the T.E.I school even though I emailed to them asking if everything is fine and if my paperwork was done. No tutor has contacted me. Nor I have heard anything for the ice hockey thing which I still don't know what to do.

I've started to think more about the practical training place which I still don't know where to I'm going. On same paper (which my international coordinator had forgotten to show me) said that I've got two days musculoskelatal and one day neurological rehabilition. That leaves four free days a week of which one is probably taken for the language course. Hopefully I'll meet people to get the time go past or otherwise I'm gonna spend all the free time in the gym.

To choose to study overseas takes a great deal of courage and consideration. In my case the consideration part took years.. I had to invest to my finance, time and effort. I've tried to work really hard to get money so I woudn't have to worry about the money in Athens. Effort was a bit bigger piece because of all the school stuff I had to do on my own to get all the credits fullfilled. On the other hand the decision to spent and live a little over three months abroad wasn't that big, I mean it's really only three months. It's gonna be part of my degree and hopefully I'll learn a lot both in profession and in life. It can be a life-changing experience. It will broaden my education on some way at least and it will definitely develop my confidence believing in myself and also my independence. I can never know what doors the experience opens and the new ideas I get for the future. 

 

Things on my mind..

When I write this the new year has just started and I got only 7 weeks to go before moving to Athens! I'm so excited but also really scared! I have no idea what to expect. I've been trying to get myself prepared but I can't totally be prepared for everything. 7 weeks are gonna go so fast that I'm terrified! I got still one week left from my holiday and I'm working everyday and I should also try to do some school stuff. Then I also got practises three times a week and games. 

School: So my school starts on the 9th and it's propably gonna be really tense because we have some days from 8am till 7pm! I have to return some assignments that I've got since I can't participate to all my lesson while I'm in Greece.

Ringette: We had a short break from the games but the next weekend we are already on again! Important games this spring and we need points to get to play offs! I also got an invitation to national team's weekend at the end of Jan! So, I'm looking forward to that anxiously and nervously because of the games we're gonna play there. So January is gonna go really fast!

..Then it's only couple of more weeks to go..

I'm nervous about so many little and mostly stupid things :D My best friend once told me to write down what for I'm nervous and what I'm afraid of etc.. So I'm gonna try that now.. Questions going through my mind:

• What kind of place my practical training will be? Is it only gonna be one place or will I go to different ones? Will I be able to do anything there? Will they speak good English? Will I understand anything? How to speak and communicate with Greek people who don't speak English? Will my English be good enough?

• Will I love my apartment? What if I don't? Will I get myself to feel like home? What if I can't cook for myself or I'm too bored to cook and I'll only eat some takeout food and get fat? :D

• Will I get the energy and drive to go to the nearest gym? What if I don't go there? ..then I'll be disappointed to myself.

•  Will I get new friends soon? Exchange students and local greek people both? I'm conserned that I don't want to or I'm gonna be too tired to go to some partys and places where to meet people?

• What if I'm gonna miss my family and my best friend too much? :( 

A little preinfo before the next dot. I play a sport called ringette and I've played it for 15 years. So ice sports are really close to my heart. I don't even know how I got this idea but I think it comes from many many months ago when I saw men's ice hockey World Championships division 3 games on news and I saw Greece playing there. I went to Greece ice hockey pages: icehockey.gr. I just got curious if I would have an opportunity just to skate in Athens. I ended up emailing to some random person and asking a little about Greece ice hockey in general and the ice rink(s?) in Athens. I got an answer almost immediately from the Greece national team's captain Jimmy who gave me an email address to women's team responsible Georgia. Jimmy also told me that he had told about me to Georgia. She answered to my email and seemed to be really excited and offered me a spot on their team. She told me that they have three ice practises in a week at 10pm on weekdays and 8.30 am on weekends. It would cost 7€/one time on ice. This would be such a great opportunity for me to get to know the local people playing the sport on ice. It would not be as serious as ringette in Finland and it would be a change for ringette. I've played hockey one season when I was 11 and sometimes I think it would be cool to start it again (if I had more than 24 hours a day). BUT..

• Am I crazy to leave to some Mediterranean country with my ice hockey gear? Should I just take a total break from ice and enjoy it? Or should I really go there, meet new people, have fun playing hockey and enjoying the ice time I can have to improve my skills also in ringette?

Oh, and one more thing. The woman renting the apartment let me know then I can move in immediatelly when I arrive. The girls living there now are gonna leave before I arrive. :) Good news! :)


" You measure the size of the accomplishment by the obstacles you had to overcome to reach your goals."

Student exchange in Greece, Athens spring 2012

Written in October-November 2011

Geia sas!

My exchange project started very early. Since I was in junior high I really wanted to go somewhere to have an adventure of being an exchange student. Mostly I thought of going to Canada because that's the country where my hobby ringette got started and I could play it there while being at school. That never happened 'cause I was way too young and shy to be going anywhere at that young age. + it would have been really expensive! The next thing I thought was going to Canada in high school for a year. Again, I was too shy to leave and I didn't want to graduate a year after my peers. During the last year of high school I thought of going to somewere to be an au pair for a year. I had already made a profile to one page online and contacted couple of families. Ringette was the biggest minus thing. I wouldn't have been able to play. And that was too important for me at the time (and still is). I searched for families that needed an au pair only for summer months. That never happened.

Then on my second try to study physiotherapy (on the first try I was left out for one point) to Metropolia Applied Sciences I heard about the chance to go abroad to study. It would be a work placement through Erasmus program and I wouldn't be left behind and I would graduate at the same time as the rest of my class! That was it, I really wanted to do it! This was my time, now or never! I thought it from every point of view I could think of. It would a spring 2012 and the work placement would be from March untill the end of May. It would be the best time considering my ringette season. The choise which country to go to wasn't difficult to me at all since I saw Greece, Athens on the list.

Even though I had really looked into the exchange I was still not sure. Could I really do it? Could I live alone or with some other student in a city of million people? Could I understand anything at the work placement? What about my training, would I excersice there at all? Or can I really make food for myself? What if our ringette team makes it to playoffs and I would miss them? Millions of questions ran through my mind. Finally my friend Lotta got me into my senses and really gave me the courage! I had filled the applications online but I couldn't push the sent button. I was there thinking it again and again and asking what if what if when Lotta said you can and you will do it and pushed the sent button for me! And I was really happy and also really nervous! 

The first applications I sent was in January 2011. I had meetings with my teacher to think everything through like how I would manage the lectures I'm gonna miss when I'm in Athens. We had meetings about the exchange and what it requires. First I got accecpted from my home instution the same spring. Then I just had to wait for the acceptance from Athens! And it took a while before they answered! I had to wait until fourth of October 2011! Then I really got nervous! First months passed and I thought of Athens almost every day! 

I had emailed to couple of Finnish students who had been in Athens before me and I got nice tips from them. I'm also an exchange tutor in my school and we had two boys from Athens to do their exchange in Finland in fall 2010 and I became friends with them. They have also helped me a lot! 

In Athens the school doesn't help you much to get a place to stay and there are no student houses in Athens like we have HOAS in Finland. I started looking for a place to stay and I had couple of internet pages I looked from. The only problem I had was that Athens is so big that I wasn't that eager to travel hours in the morning to my work placement (I don't know the work placement place..). One of the first notifications online, was sounding really promising! I started emailing to this woman and the more I talked with her the more I fell in love with the apartment she was renting. It had a great location, near the metro station, near the gym (only 700 metres!), near the center of Athens and within walking distance from the main sights of Athens. I wanted it! 

During chasing a place to stay I filled many papers that had to be sent to my host institution of Technological Educational Institute of Athens (T.E.I.). The papers weren't that difficult to be filled but it was difficult to know what needed to be filled! I also had to order an European travel insurance card, get a travel insurance from Metropolia and fill all the papers to KELA (where the students get student and housing allowance).
 

I got the apartment even though there was a little misunderstanding. The woman renting the place had thought that the girl living there before me would live in the beginning of February but she is leaving in March. I was planning to arrive to Athens somewhere around 13th of Feb. We solved the problem that I would try to stay at that woman's place (try because she has cats and dogs and I'm allergic..) If I can't stay there I'm gonna live in a youth hostel for maybe couple of weeks. 

I bought my plane ticket on 15th of November, paying 120€ and I'm leaving for Athens on 17th of February 2012! τώρα ή ποτέ!

Me in Athens in summer 2010

Egypt summer 2011, last day and the way back to home

The next and last morning was similar to many others. Waking up, breakfast and to the beach. We had came up with a plan since our flight from Sharm to Cairo was at 9 pm or so. We were supposed to give up our room at noon but we could still hang around by the pool with our luggage. Hanging at the beach I was just wondering the past days and taking last bits of sun while Saija headed to the water to snorkle. There were some fishes just by the shore where the water is only to our ankles. When we were walking from the beach to our hotel one local seller told Saija: "Oh my god you are so white!" ... Yeah well, I wasn't much browner than Saija and we had been wandering around the deserts and Egypt altogether for three weeks!

We had such a great time by the pool. It felt like beeing on some camping trip. There was no one else there and we listened to some great music through youtube from my phone. Madonna - La Isla Bonita and also Kings of Leon - Sex is on fire. We had bought some snacks for the day and also for the next night which we were supposed to spend at the Cairo Airport.

Leaving from Sharm to the airport.

There was this public toilet with showers beside the swimming pool and we were really lucky for that. So when the time was right we went there to take the last showers in Egypt and get ready and to start our journey to home. We left from Sharm around 6 pm to the airport. The sun was setting and while sitting in a taxi we got to see the last sunset on our trip. We were at the airport again way too early! The security guys almost laughed to us since we were there so early. In Finland we've got used to being at the airport around two hours before the departure.. We spent the time by playing cards and polishing our nails :D

At Cairo Airport waiting for our backpacks

The flight didn't take long at all. It was around 40 minutes and it felt like it only took of and then landed. We had to get our backs in Cairo (they didn't tranfer straight) and we had to wait them for a while. While waiting we saw one of our security friends Eslam who recognized us immediatelly and told us to come with him that he would help us to the right terminal since we would have to take some bus to the terminal. While waiting the bus we wondered why he was constantly talking on the phone and when the bus came he didn't want to get in. He said that some car would pick us up. Well, we were a bit suspicious since we didn't know Eslam so well as the other guys. Soon this car came and we saw BakkarBeko driving and smiling to us saying surprise. We put our backpacks in the trunk and got in. We left the airport area and me and Saija were a bit worried at first but then Bakkar started to explain. Before we had left from Cairo they asked to see our plane tickets home and they had noticed that we would have to spend the night at the airport. They had wanted to surprise us and give us a last view to Cairo and it's life at night!

We were so happy. We just smiled. Eslam couldn't come with us since we was working so we said goodbye and thank you to him and left to pick up Mohammed and Rami and then go to Cairo. The boys asked us where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do but we didn't have any idea! It was amazing to see Cairo for the last time, feel the crazy traffic and the athmosphere of the city. We had just talked with Saija that we would have wanted to eat Koshery for the last time but we didn't find the food from Sharm. The boys took us to eat at this very local Koshery place and it tasted magical! Again we weren't allowed to pay anything. 

Then the boys asked us what we wanted to do next. We hadn't visited any shopping malls so we decided it would be nice to see one. We drove to this shopping mall which was medium size and it was called Genena. It felt big even though it was only a medium size. Almost the first thing I could see was ICE RINK! I went totally crazy and the boys just smiled and laughed. I asked if we could go skating and we of course thought that the boys would come also. Well, they only paid for me and Saija to get to skate while they hold our pags. :D I insisted to have "boys" skates and the guy working there looked at me a bit long but finally gave me the skates. Then this young boy also working there came to give me help to get the skates on. I told him that thanks but I really don't need help.. 

We hit the ice and the skates were so unsharp that I barely stayed up. I was a bit disappointed since I couldn't skate with them at all. I had to hold Saija's arm for not fall down. There where many people staring at us and gathering to look at us and we felt like being in some ice skating competition where every one watched us. :D There was this boy working at the ice rink to help the children and other people to stay up and he wanted to skate with us and when he noticed that we could skate he really put up a show and we ended up even doing some pirouettes .. :DD

Saija, Rami, BakkarBeko, Mohammed and me

When we soon got enough of the skating we left the shopping mall and went to have fruit drinks somewhere in Cairo. We sat on the engine bonnet of Bakkar's car and talked about stuff. There was a mosque near and we got to wonder about the noice and the mosque for the last time. Then it was time to get back to the airport. Boys gave us a ride right in front of our terminal which would have been really difficult to find on our own. We hugged them goodbye and for the millionth time said thank you to them! I felt really sad 'cause they really had made our Cairo part of the trip perfect! What a great ending for our the trip! Our flight to Germany left somewhere between 3-4 am.

Tired traveller at the Munich airport

We didn't sleep much on the plane so at the Munich (Munchen) airport we were really tired. The airport was also really big and messy. We had to wait around four hours there and it was hard to find anything from there. We thought that we were really clever to go and sit in this coffee place with soft benches and Saija ordered coffee for us to be allowed to be there. I got sleep for over 30 minutes before some of the workers there came to wake us up.. On the last flight to home we watched all the videos and pictures and read our journal. On the plane we really didn't want to get back to reality! Both of us had to go back to work almost immediately when we were back at home. We didn't even want to think about it.

Again another trip of ours was finished. Three weeks of travelling around Egypt. We found the country full of great local and foreign people full of smiles and joy, the country was recovering from the revolution but it still had so much hope for the new future. All in all, great and eye opening experience with lots of great memories! Shokran to everybody, especially to Saija ♥

Egypt summer 2011, SHARM EL SHEIKH

After sleeping around three hours we woke up, packed our things and headed to find a taxi. We got the taxi immediatelly and it was this truck of which back space we climbed with our backpags. We had found out that some bus was supposed to leave for Sharm El Sheikh at 10 am. We got to the bus station and saw this one bus taking of when it stopped and some guy hopped out and asked where we were going. It happened to be this earlier bus to Sharm and they took us in. We were really lucky since we didn't have to wait at all and the payment was really small. The bus ride took 1,5 hours and we got off in the middle of nowhere!

Sharm was supposed to be this total tourist location and there was only this long road and nothing beside it! We started walking and taxis after another tried to offer us a ride for CRAZY prices!!! We just kept on walking and walking until I negotiated the price down with one of the taxi drivers. Turned out that the driver didn't understand anything! We had searhed online one hostel (it was the only one in Sharm we could find!) and I remembered some coordinates how to get there. At one point I was sure we should get out but the driver told that he knows better. He took us in front of these big gates from which the tourist area started and of course that wasn't the place where our hostel was supposed to be.. Little hangover, tired, hungry and thirsty (only one big hot water bottle with us) we started walking backwards towards the hostel called Griss Resort in the blazing sunshine. When we finally got there after walking 15-20 minutes, we took our backpacks off and the reception guy asked us if he could help us. We told him that we wanted two beds and he replied to us that they were full. Great! We didn't have any plan B. He told us to go to the near by hotel to ask them if they had room for us. We walked there and they had beds for sure but at what prices! We had gotten used to paying max 7 euros per night per head and they asked around 80 euros! It was all included but we didn't want someone to order the food for us or pay that much! That hotel had a computer at the reception so I asked if I could use it. They answered that sure but you can only play solitaire with it since it doesn't have internet. Thanks, that's excatly what I wanted to do!

We walked back to the big gates to the tourist area and decided to go inside and find some internet cafe to look for cheap hotels. There definitely weren't any other backpackers there! Only basic tourists with all included holidays. The area was so made! If someones been there and seriously tells that has seen Egypt, that's just wrong. There was nothing real Egypt there. The prices were so much more than in anywhere else! For ex. some similar bracelet that I had bought from some small bazaar, I had paid for 3 pounds and they asked 15 or more!?! The water, food, everything was much more than what we had gotten used to! The prices could be 10 times more than in somewhere else in Egypt. The streets were made and no cars were allowed inside the gates. I absolutely hated it! Never want to go there again. No offence, for someone it's the perfect place to relax but for us it was really weird being threated like real tourists. It felt like someother places in Egypt we had been quests for the locals and even became friends with them. In Sharm we were tourists with money.

Well, we walked around 90 minutes before we found an internet cafe! At some point I really felt like fainting so I took my backpack off and sat down in the middle of this shopping mall and one of its corridors to drink pepsi and eat bread and nutella to get some energy. The internet cafe wasn't helpful at all since we didn't know where all the hotels were located, didn't want to walk much anymore and most of them were full or couldn't be booked by two persons only. We paid over three times more for using the net than anywhere else before.

Finally at the hotel, Saija doing business.

We decided to just walk to the nearest hotel and ask for prices. We went to this really expensive looking Camel hotel and I asked for the prices. We wanted the cheapest room and at first the price was 50€ /night /head. And I asked really angrily from this shy boy that was that really the cheapest room in the hotel. After a while he told that oh, there is one cheaper but it doens't have a balcony! Argh. Well we took it and Saija handled everything which was usually my job but I was just too tired. We paid 30€/head/night for our room, the price included breakfast. We went to our room and as soon as my head touched the pillow I fell asleep and we slept for 3 hours!

Our hotel room

The hotel was popular among divers doing their PADI- courses or something like that. The hotel pool was also used practising the first dives. After waking up from our nap we took showers and headed to walk around in the tourist area. People trying to get us to eat places or trying to sell us something. We went to eat at this place where my friend had been and recommended that place. The food was okey but the price was higher than we had gotten used to. We just walked around and soon called it a night and went to our room to take it easy and hang around watching tv. Only a few nights ago we had laughed about how we both kind of hate scary movies and can't even watch the movie "I Know What You Did Last Summer".. I opened up the tv and the movie comes from there!! :D We were brave enough to watch it..

Different short things we had written down to our notebook:

• In Dahab we saw this 10 year old buy who was a total businessman! He spoke perfect english, russia and arabic! He tried to get us buy something from his shop and he also told us that he was learning to speak some other languages. He had all the same lines that the adults in Egypt had and it was so funny that we just laughed to him. He was cute but we didn't buy anything from his shop.

• Some men trying to hit us with the worts hit lines ever. Said to Saija who isn't that good of a swimmer.. : "You're a good swimmer" or said to me while having my hair like a mess and some stupid cap on upside down: " You have a beautiful hat."

• The best selling lines in Finnish that separated them from the other sellers: "Sika halpa" and one guy could sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider in Finnish.

• The lines we heard thousands of times: Where are you from? ; Nokia, Nokia ; Terve terve mitä kuuluu? ; Can you write this for me in Finnish?

• More arabic: Habibi = my love, Yalla = Come on /Let's go

On 19th of June we woke up at 9 to get ready for the breakfast which was great! Totally worth the money. The hotel also had a wifi-connection so I could use the internet for free from my phone. That way we didn't have to pay to use the net even though my phone was a bit slow sometimes. We had slept for 13 hours so we were energetic and were ready to start our final whole day in Egypt. We headed to the hotel's private beach: Viva Beach. We got towels from the hotel and some beach cards. The beach was small and there was nothing to do but to enjoy the sun and once in a while go to swim in this marked area on the water. Not much tourists there. Then we decided to go spent time by our hotel's pool. It was relaxing, there were only us there. I've always liked more swimming pools than beaches. I don't know why, maybe because when I was young we spent more time on the swimming pool in Greece than at beaches because I had said that the sea water hurts eyes and skin when it smarts. Anyway, I don't know the reason. I just like them better, not that much people to watch you or something. 

Then again it was a nap time and after that getting ready to hit the night or at least the evening. We went to eat and afterwards walk around on the streets. Two local boys tried to hit on us and they were really really annoying and even started to follow us. There was no danger since it was a public narrow path with restaurants, hotels and tourists walking next to us. I really had to raise my voice for the boys to get the message through. This older Irish couple watched to show and came to talk and walk with us. They were so cute and nice people! We talked with them at least 10-15 minutes while walking along the paths. They told us to have fun and to enjoy our lives and our travels! :) We separated from them and went to sit at this coffee/bar place where we ordered some last lemon shisha, fruit drinks and ice cream. :) It was our last night but we decided not to go out to find some club to party. We were at bed around 11pm. 

Kiwi, strawberry and mango non-alcohol drink :)

Egypt summer 2011, DAHAB part 3

17th of June was our last day in Dahab. Last night the boys had told us to go for a snorkling trip to the famous Blue Hole. So, in the morning we ate breakfast and left to Afifi's office to find him and get to the snorkling place. The office was closed and we just sat there and watched how the mosque across the street was filled with men walking there from all directions, taking their shoes of at the entrance and going in. We remembered that we had Afifi's phone number so we called him and agreed to see at noon.

The Blue Hole

Again we hopped to Afifi's jeep and started the short drive to the famous Blue Hole. On the way I tried to tell him to drive slower because we were actually really scared by the way he drove.. It was only a short drive to the place. According to wikipedia Blue Hole is a diving location on east Sinai, a few kilometres north of Dahab. The Blue Hole is a submarine sinkhole (a kind of cave), around 130 m deep. There is a shallow opening around 6 m deep, known as 'the saddle', opening out to the sea, and a 26 m long tunnel, known as the arch, the top of which lies at a depth of 56 m. The Blue Hole is notorious for the number of diving fatalities which have occurred there, earning it the sobriquet "World's Most Dangerous Dive Site" and the nickname "Diver's Cemetery". The site is signposted by a sign that says "Blue hole: Easy entry". Accidents are frequently caused when divers attempt to find the tunnel through the reef  "The Arch". 

We hang around at some restaurant next to the beach and were told that there were some security guys from Cairo's airport but Mohammed or BakkarBeko weren't there. When we had gotten our snorkling equipment we decided to hit the water. We didn't know anything about the reputatiton among the divers about the Blue Hole. Afifi sent some man with us to snorkle. (make sure we didn't drown I guess..) We walked around 100 meters or so to this site called "the bells" from where we went to the water. Along the walk we saw numerous plates that told about the dead ones. Their tombstones.

The place from which we went in to the water was breathtakingly beautiful. It was magical. All the colours we could immediatelly see in the water. All the fishes. It was amazing. The narrow "path" through the more open sea area was surrounded by coral reef on both sides. It was also a bit intimidating since it was so tight.

"The bells"

At first I was a bit scared that the way to the actual Blue Hole would be a long swim (around 200m) and we would not be able to get out of the water anytime we wanted. Thank god we didn't know about the history of the Blue Hole. The snorkling went really fast, it was easy to swim since the water supported so much, and we of course had a great time. Again we laughed a lot. For example, the man who was with us wasn't that good of a swimmer. We felt like looking after him that he wouldn't drown. He could only swim in a dog style. We arrived to the actual part of the Blue Hole quickly and it was like this big round circle. It only started a couple of meters from the shore. When you went to the water from the platform it was immediatelly 130 m deep! There were lots and lots of children who wanted to help us and show us all the best places around the circle. They were really annoying! Saija soon got enough of their behavior and left and I soon followed her. We got to see more fishes of different coloured and shaped, and the coral reef looked nice also! :)

Blue Hole

When we finally wanted to leave from there Afifi told us that he'll arrange a ride for us since he had some work to do there. Our ride ended up being this jeep full of Egyptian men and us.. We had a great time, they wanted to take pics with us. Like we were some celebrities. :D We had no idea where we were supposed to get of or whether the driver knew where to take us. When we had driven a while suddenly all the men got of and we were left alone in the jeep.  Anyway, we got to our hotel safely and didn't have to pay anything. :)

Our ride back.

Private beach

In the evening we left to eat to the same restaurant where we ate almost every time. We or at least I was following this cute young couple with even cuter little baby. The hot looking dad was Egyptian and the girl wasn't from Egypt and she spoke fluent English. After finishing our dinner we went to buy some beer and to sit in this private beach to enjoy the full moon. First one man from the next door restaurant came and gave us pillows to sit on. Then a bit later this other man came and gave us candle to give us some light. It was so relaxing to hear the ocean and to watch the full moon and the stars.

Private beach

Then we met the seven heaven group and hang around drinking and having a great time! The guys had rented or gotten some jeep to borrow that night since there was this desert party held at the desert! We had the best time with great great and sweet people! We were part of the Dahab group and it was awesome! Pictures tell more than a thousand words, right...?

At the jeep. We had at least 9 people sitting there.

From the left: Alain, Greg, Mo, Herre, Kurt

Taken when the sun started to rise and the party was over.

We arrived at the party and there was this camp in the middle of the desert. It had some bouncers at the entrance and we weren't allowed to get our drinks inside. We weren't asked any papers or anything. :D At the camp we could buy drinks which were held in these iceboxes to keep cold. There weren't many people there but there was this dj playing and he was from London! :D We sat in these huts, on the carpets drinking beer. :) We also had a push up competition, no idea were the idea came from.. The boys wanted me to do women's push ups but of course I wouldn't allow any advantages. No idea who won, but I wasn't the last one and I was the only woman in the competition! :D

Peter, Herre, Alain and Saija

The time went past really fast and suddenly around 5 am Greg told us that it was time to climp to one of the mountains to see the sunrise. I'll never forget it. It was just beautiful, I don't have words to describe it. It was amazing and the sun came up so fast. At the same time we could see the moon setting and the sun rising.

Myself, Peter and Kjetil on the top of the mountain

We climbed down the mountain and noticed that our jeep wasn't there. There was only this truck of which back space we all hopped. It was 6.30 am when we walked to our hotel. Some of them continued to eat breakfast together but we decided to get some sleep since we were supposed to wake up at 9 am.. We hugged everyone goodbye and I felt really sad. We had had such an amazing time with them and the boys really had looked after us and given great travel tips for us. At the hotel we got couple of hours of sleep until it was time to get up again. 

• Saija was trying to hunt down some English magazines for the whole trip. Cosmo etc. Without success.

• LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH was written in Dahab at this tiny hill with flowers. That was definitely something we did.

• Afifi said ALL THE TIME to us: Welcome to Alaska.. ('cause it was so hot and we were still really white..). It was so annoying! 

• Our speculation: Camels only have one hump, their forelegs straightens too much and hindlegs are backwards in the camel's body.