We have just left the community in Assuit where I have been volunteering. I was part of the committee amongst my team who organized a community farewell. There were a lot of things that seemed to be going wrong at the last minutes. Our weeks of planning seemed to be unraveling over a few hours. But most of our invited guests turned up and sort of on time. A faulty microphone caused further delay. My farewell speech in Arabic was a moment of stage fright. I found myself clutching to my speech, not having had tome to rehearse it enough, I concentrated so much on every word that no one else seemed to be in the room - so much for capturing an audience, and was just trying to pronounce the words correctly. I moved around every table stretching my Arabic as far as it would take me. It was strange to see all the people I had met at some point in my time in Assiut in one room. It made me realise how many people I had met out here, how easily I settled in. I am glad with how it went.

After this celebration of my time in Assiut I then headed off for a day in Luxor.

After a day among the monuments of Luxor I spent two days in Alexandria. Alex contrasts with Assiut, Luxor, Cairo and Minya. More liberal than Assuit, more relaxing than Cairo, and with the intense heat of Luxor, it sits at the very tip of Northern Egypt. The roofs of the buildings are finished, and there is a mix of European, Greek and Islamic influence all through the city. I arrived in Cairo, steeping out of the station to Ramesis Square. Ramesis Square is one of the busiest areas in the whole of Egypt - a never ending cycle of people. But my exploration of Cairo is very limited, after a quick trip back to El Hossam to get a few souveneers I went back to the hotel. In the evening I attended a British Council Event. The event was to celebrate this phase of the programme and our time in Egypt.

Egypt is a place where religion is intertwined with life, a land where traditions still prevail. Traffic streams in a continuous flow of orderly disorder. Houses forever reach into the sky, waiting for another floor to be added. The Nile is like its life source, the canals that flow from it reaching into villages, where the trains take longer than the cars, Tamayya (Fallafal) and fool (beans) are the staple diet. I've got used to the people and traditions and customs and now feel more aware of some of the problems as a country it's facing. Going there to work with an NGO and with a team who are half Egyptian and the same age range, has been a very unique experience. The next phase of the project I will be working in London with the same team.

Ma sallema Assuit (goodbye Assiut), Ashoocomb aller khari in shar ala - I hope you're well next time I see you.

Photos: Hannah Chisholm