British teacher Gillian Gibbons, who was jailed in Sudan for letting her students name a teddy bear Muhammad as part of a writing project, arrived home on Tuesday after being pardoned — ending a case that set off an international outcry and angered many moderate Muslims.

Gibbons’ flight arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport shortly after 7 am and she told reporters she was looking forward to seeing her family and friends. “I’m just an ordinary middle-aged primary school teacher. I went out there to have an adventure, and got a bit more than I bargained for,” Gibbons said at a press conference. “I don’t think anyone could have imagined it would snowball like this,” she added.

Gibbons, who was jailed for more than a week, was freed after two Muslim members of Britain’s House of Lords met with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and the teacher sent the President a statement saying she did not mean to offend anyone with her class project.

“It has been an ordeal but I’d like want you to know that I was well-treated in prison and everybody was very kind to me,” she said. “I was very sorry to leave Sudan. I had a fabulous time there. It’s a really lovely place, and I managed to see some of the beautiful countryside while I was there.”

Gibbons said she did not want her experience “to put anyone off going to Sudan—- in fact I know of a lovely school that needs a new Year Two teacher”.

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