#FriendshipinSiwa

I'm always concerned that in posts the complexity of life is misrepresented and that only the best bits are made public. I can begin to give a more holistic picture now... a good friend was/is producing a feature film, about a girl and her journey, with her friend the director and she asked me to shoot the Behind The Scenes ... BTS said my talented friend who shot the BTS for Star Wars (name drop). YES!!! In Siwa oasis which I visited about 30 years ago when tourists hadn't really discovered it. More YES!!!!

We arrived in oct and shooting was postponed for about a month. They went back to their children/husband/dog I took advantage of having none of those, checked in with my mum and stayed till shooting began a month later. I remember trying to slow down time before they left as I hate transitions - it didn't work. They found a comfortable hotel with a garden and left the local fixer with instructions to 'mind' me. The fixer, an Amazigh man - 1 of about 33,000 - was an excellent host and a lifeline for navigating this essentially male-only culture (more later) and I started to see so many parallels between this island oasis in the Great Sand Sea and my own island home in the Caribbean Sea.

The hotel owner and staff were also great hosts, full of warmth ensuring I ate too much 3 times a day. It was indeed a Paradise of 'home' as the hotels name advertised - minus the mosquitos and cold (more later) and scratching cats. The transition to living 'alone' was easy. There I also met some fantastic Egyptians who passed through who shared the intricacies of Egyptian society from a woman filmmaker in the male-dominated film industry and a corporate-turned- farmer.

The production wrapped about a week ago although time plays with you here so who knows... Talking to friends in the UK I decided against returning to winter and covid darkness and i will edit here. Decisions are not always ideal and have consequences. The last time I decide to sit covid out in Kenya - it took 10 months and now it's Siwa warts and all knowing mum is 'alone' yet cared for. Siwa is misleadingly cold. A friend told me when he came to live in Siwa everyone talked about the summer heat no one mentioned the cold cold winter and he, even in the midst of it... cyan' deal! As a Trini I concur!!!! So I'm transitioning once more from living with a production crew to living - for the first ever, I realised- in my own house and making it home. Yesterday, I lit and kept burning a fire in the living room - in the fireplace people. Last night I went to the desert with my badass friend Śârâ Äbraham Êsmât for the 'just was' full moon. This morning I Face-timed my 10-year-old great nephew and bro-in-law for said nephew's ancient Egyptians project and put another POV on it as 'our woman in Siwa'. I'm putting on my big girl pants! I love friendships with meaning and am bad at superficial so I'm manoeuvring this male-dominated society and seeking out great women. And boi, are they there. Friendships take time although they can start off fast! I'm learning to take my time and I'm relishing it when I dare to jump!

Me with the badass @Sara