I was born there, raised there. It made me the person that I am today… but then again, I was only a kid. I didn't experience the adult life over there.

My first school was Islamia English School. I was recently informed that it was shut down. I learned how to recite the Holy Quran there. I learned a lot about Pakistanis, Indians, Bengalis, and… Arabs. It wasn't fun, attending at Islamia English School, but it was definitely productive in terms of the mind. Arabs usually felt superior, a higher race. Non Arabs had the upper hand though, since the only Arab teachers were the ones that taught Arabic and Islamiat. Many arguments and fights too place. In PT class (funny… I still don't know what PT stands for)… we always played soccer. Arabs against Non Arabs. We usually lost. I remember that I wanted to make an end to the big ass Arab ego one day when I turned around and scored an own goal on purpose… trying to prove that we shouldn't be divided like that. I was so wrong. You shouldn't turn against your own people just in order to prove something. I was only 10 at the time. I clearly remember that day.

I left IES and went to join the 8 graders at Emirates Private School. That's like High School to those of you who're not familiar with that system. At EPS they were all Arabs. Non Arabs couldn't afford EPS at the time. Of course today it probably ain't the same. EPS was fun. It wasn't educational. The teachers sucked big time. They hired one Irish dude to teach Economics. He was always drunk. He told us that his wife and kids left him. A year later after I returned to Egypt, I learned that he killed himself. His name was Mr. Leech. There was also Ms. Riley. She was from Essex. She always wore a long skirt and I'd say her clothes were modest enough; however, her skirt had that cut (I dunno what it's called and I don't care) that reached her knees. When used to gather at the side of the class where, when she crossed her legs, "something interesting" could be viewed. It was a boys only class and one out of the 25 of us ended up gay. I learned years later that he was gay since puberty. اللهم احفظناWe've all managed to find our way to communicate with women as far as I know. Coed schools can kiss my ass. It's not a dating service is it?

They also had three Bosnian dudes transferred from Bosnia during their war. The three of them were good friends of mine. I remember how their parents thanked me for being a good friend. It was very touching. I regret not mailing them when they got shipped back to Bosnia. Every letter they sent took about four months to reach me. I gave up on them.

At EPS I discovered that I know by heart more Surahs (Quran) than everybody in my class. I was better at English and Arabic as well. Islamia English School WINS!! Non Arabs WIN!! I know that mathematics is the only language that is internationally spoken, but if you don't know your native language or your religion… then what good are you?

At EPS I had my first crush. I was 12 at the time.

I miss my old gang. I miss the Cultural Foundation. Even though the place sounds nerdy, it was still cooler than any mall. Every exhibition that was held there stood tall. The film room was as big as Stars Cinema (I watched Evita twice by mistake in there). The Emirati Book Fair offered a discount of a minimum of 45% on any book. At Egyptian book fairs you can only get around 5%. And we still call ourselves the center of the Arab Culture. Culture my ass!!

I miss the fireworks on the National Day. I miss the walks across the city (it took around 60 minutes to walk across Abu Dhabi). I miss the Shallal and the Dallah… their orange trash bins too (they actually have trash bins there). I miss stopping at red lights in traffic. I miss how the police had the city secured 24/7. We actually felt safe.

I miss Thomas Cook Al Rostomany. They only charged 30 Dhs for an International Money Order check. Over here it costs too much that banks are actually cheaper. I miss the good ol' days when 1 Dirham = 0.9 Egyptian Pound.

I miss Aiwa, Akai, and the Made in Japan myth.

I miss Eldorado cinema. I miss the Tourist Club. I used to play for their soccer team and we won the local club tournament two years in a row. I have three gold medals stashed somewhere; one of them for Best Midfielder in the tournament.

I miss how I actually practiced Japanese with a Japanese kid who joined the team. Kombanwa, Ito. I miss the Skating/Arcades/Restaurant place they had there. I miss their Pizzeria. I miss their record store and Aziz who used to give me cool discounts on older albums. Theirs tasted better than Pizza Hut. I miss the Coop mall and its music store. I miss Hamed and Hamdan center. I miss that book store that used to sell MAD magazine for only 5 Dhs a piece. (MAD magazine sucks now, I think)

I miss how the air was clean and odorless and how tap water wouldn't kill you if you drank it. (My nose kept bleeding for six months when I first moved back here)

I fucking miss calling it the F word. Lol

Now… home is Cairo. I'd sure miss Heliopolis after midnight.