The Focus of Fun and the Fun of Focus

After a leisurely weekend in Cairo, where I did nothing but enjoying the good life, the inevitable had to happen: Returning to Alex where we’ve got the sea, far less pollution and far more provinciality. (Is that an actual word?) When I returned from my trip with Simone, coming back to Alex felt like returning to another country. It felt weird, like it often does when one returns from a journey, big or small. The world of chill, making your own plans, visiting new and familiar sites and meeting new people was no more and it was back to routine and discipline. Sort of. I felt revived and willing and able to squeeze the very best out of the remaining five weeks at uni. It took me a few days to get into gear and then the weekend came and we fi-na-ly went to Agami. Agami is just outside Alex and synonym to Alexandrian beach life. If I pretend that Dahab, where you go to for the chill and the action and not necessarily for the sandy beaches, doesn’t count the last time I’d been to the beach was a year ago when I went on a well deserved holiday to Morocco (good times!). Arriving at the stretch of beach where Alex’ finests get together- if you want to join this rather incestuous bunch on their sandy stretch you have to be a member or know someone who is- was quite a shock. Men in funky shorts- some fitter then others- ladies wearing bikinis, leering, pervy men are absent and you almost hear as much English as you hear Masree (Egyptian Arabic); It could have been any Mediterranean beach in Europe and yet this is the Middle East. A world away from my conservative, aspiring neighbourhood and yet only 20 minutes by car! And now I’ve become beach crazy. I want to go everyday. Who needs to learn more vocab and grammar rules when spring has arrived and there are only five weeks to enjoy the few good things Alex has to offer? And then after two weeks of social gatheringings, absence of academic focus and vision, that reaches beyond the fun that is to be had in the now, I started feeling restless. Although I still love-hate Arabic and I can effort to lose my academic focus as this year does not count towards my degree and I don’t even have to pass exams, I still want a First. I also recently developed a very clear idea of what I want to do when I grow up and living the good life can be rather distracting in achieving this. I just want to be this wunderkind; I get good grades with minimum effort, am completely focussed on what I want to achieve, I party like its 1999 and am feeling good ’cause who needs sleep. Hélas, I’m a lesser mortal , it’s seems that choices have to be made. Life can be so tough…