And in the Beginning....

Getting here was what I like to call "unfun" but being here is what I like to call FANtastic.
A brief run through: After some 38 hours or so of travel I, along with 26 others, made the trek to the Cairo Airport successfully and uneventfully. Although tired, no one was sick and no one lost luggage (a little bit of a lie because one guy lost a bag but got it the very next day). We met 3 other classmates at the airport along with our staff members. For the rest of the day we moved in to our awesome apartments and had a family dinner. There are 8 girls in my apartment, of which I room with 2 (Dana and Anna) who are great! The apartment definitely have its quirks, but overall it is very impressive with air conditioning, hot water, and lots of space.
The past couple days have been a lot of orientating events (a bus tour, a trip to the Mosque-during Ramadan, and lots of group time). We start classes next Wednesday...which I am so nerdily excited for!
Yes, I have seen the Pyramids because they are so surprisingly close, if not in the city itself, which I find bizarre...But we only drove by and did not stop. But for all those who begged post cards, they are not yet in the mail!
Cairo itself is insane. I knew it would be crowded and hot, but nothing really prepares you for the reality of a new and completely difference place. I live about 3 blocks from the Nile (crazy, I know) and so last night a few of us took a stroll along the river of legends just becuase we could. This, would be a perk of Cairo. But it is so darn populated that a lot of the city was not built with much forthought. Buildings are hastily built to accommodate the population explosion that continues on. Fertile land is covered with rickety 10 story apartment buidings that won't out last the Michael Jackson saga....which I approximate to be about a ten year ordeal. Neighborhoods vary widely, with a class system very much still in place. It is expected to drive from the posh neighborhoods to the really poor ones in a matter of minutes (but truthfully hours because Cairo traffic is litterally a parking lot). The neighborhood I am in is called Agouza, middle class and small. It is charming and definitely has the potential to feel like home really fast! It is nice that I live about 2 blocks from the Villa where we have meals, class, cultural activities, and hang out times. The internet cafe I am sitting at right now is only a couple blocks further than the Villa. I love the walking culture, the street life, and the quiet and altered season of Ramadan here in Egypt. People are easy going and love to hear my struggling Arabic.
I couldn't speak highly enough about the group of people I get to be with for the next 3 and 1/2 months. We are diverse, well educated, caring, friendly, ferociously funny and endearing in terms of our team dynamics. It has been a short 3 days but we are already going to deep places as a result of both going to a Mosque, and sharing past experiences. The Mosque lead us to a long and challenging talk about Islam and Christianity and what it all means. And hust starting to share my experience with Palestine with my new friends has lead to even more challenging conversations. I really loook forward to getting to know all of these people more and learning with them and from them.
You could say that I am happy, but it doesn't quiet do the job :)

Il la likah

The Dirty Details

I would really like to just skip posting an awkward introduction to a blog that I am still a little bit ashamed of creating….but, alas, it must be done. Leaving for over 3 months leaves much to be told about the time between my departure and return, and hopefully that story will be told here, on this blog.

3 months, you ask? Well, yes! I am studying abroad this fall in EGYPT! My love, passion, and semi-addiction to the Middle East has lured me back to my heartland. I will be studying with a group of 30 university students in Cairo with a teacher from the American University at Cairo. The program itself is a Middle Eastern Studies regime which features history, politics, culture, religion, and of course Arabic! Thankfully, the woeful Arabic that got me through Palestinian adventures has since bloomed into a more structured, proficient assortment of nouns and verbs thanks to my Yemeni Arabic teacher Khalid, whom I love. In fact, I spent an hour the other day on a bus ride alongside a diplomat from Burkina Faso who spoke fluent Arabic and I was able to hold a semi-coherent conversation with him! Amazing! So now I claim to be trilingual (wow, just kidding).

Back to the point, I will study and learn, play and volunteer. My semester abroad will mostly be spent in Cairo attending class and volunteering once a week at a location TBD. There is a weeklong home-stay, but I will be living primarily in a dorm/apartment situation (not sure on details quite yet). Undoubtedly I will see the Pyramids and send everyone who wants postcards (especially if you donate money to the cause). Embarking on adventures has become a part of my innermost character so I intend on seeing all of Egypt (Luxor, Aswan, Dahab, Sharm al-Sheik, Alexandria, King Tut's tomb to fulfill the 6th grade curiosities that still linger, etc.).

Egypt is just not enough though. One of the program’s best feature is a travel section where the whole group of students takes class on the go. We will visit Turkey, Syria, Jordan, and Israel/Palestine (HOORAY)! I can hardly sit still just thinking about it!

Well, I leave in less than 2 weeks and really need to start preparing for all of this greatness. I am terribly excited for it all, and hope that you will come along with me. (Plus I dont want to suprise anyone when I marry an Egyptian camel trader instead of coming home in December)