A lesson in dependence

One would assume traveling to a foreign country, without friends, with no teaching experience and no Arabic would be an excellent lesson in independence. Being independent is part of the reason we travel right? Plus I am an American woman and we are a rather independent breed. Oddly enough coming to Cairo is turning out to be a lesson in dependence.

My birthday is a prime example. Normally I am all over plans, I know exactly what I want to do, who with, and I probably have an outfit picked out. A little over zealous? Yes. But, planning has always been part of the fun for me. I think for the last three years I have made reservations, mapped out a bar route, double checked the invite list, and made sure people were on board with my plans. Tomorrow I turn 24 and I just invited people today, I had to call a new friend to help me make reservations at a club, I will have to ask someone to help tell the cabby how to get there, and I will even have to ask a friend to help me get bottle service.
Side note: I am not really a baller with bottle services, but in Cairo you can bring your own liquor into clubs for a fee. It ends up being a better deal, especially when you have non-craptastic Egyptian alcohol.
I have little to no idea where to go on a Monday night in Cairo, I have no "must do activity," all but one of my roommates will be on vacation, and the old guard of friends are far far away. Things are a bit different this year.

People who know me at home know I have a hard time relinquishing control. I like to cook the whole meal or not cook. I like to plan whole trips. I like to know what is going on. This part of me is shrinking here in Cairo and I can't say it is all bad. My inner Martha Stewart is dying. I am learning how to, hopefully with some grace, be happily dependent upon other people for plans and how to go with someone else's flow.

Tomorrow I turn 24. Not a huge milestone, although it does sound like an age when you are no longer in college and that seems old.

Tomorrow I will celebrate a birthday with a party that I barely planned, did not check the invite list 12 times, did not pick out an outfit yet, and will ultimately have no control over. I am not worried though because a few good people will be there, others might come, there will be dancing, and there will be laughs.

Tomorrow planning will not be part of the fun, being there will be all the fun.

Tomorrow I will get older and less independent, luckily in the right kind of way.

Tomorrow my lesson in dependence continues.