I am taking two Arabic classes (one in the Modern Standard Arabic that I've been taking for two years and one in Colloquial Egyptian) and three political science classes. My Arabic classes seem as if they'll be difficult, or at least definitely at a different and faster pace than in the United States. I think that will be good for me though. Already, I think just from being around Arabic and hearing it spoken outside a classroom (which I rarely if ever did in the US), I can tell I am starting to become more comfortable with speaking and even more so with understanding what people are saying. I am by no means fluent, but it is exciting to be able to, or at least think I am able to understand the general idea of a conversation.
My political science classes seem similar to the political science classes I have taken at Notre Dame. I think I will enjoy all of them. One is Comparative Politics of the Middle East. My professor said we will be taking a thematic approach as opposed to a country by country or case study approach. I have only dealt with comparative politics using the case study approach, and I enjoyed that, but hopefully I will find this interesting also. Another is Introduction to Development. Development is an important thing to discuss when discussing comparative politics, the area of political science I think I am most interested in, so this course, although it seems a little dry as it deals mostly with theory will hopefully be helpful to me, especially if I plan to do any research in the future. However, for this class we are required to volunteer for an Egyptian NGO. At first I was skeptical about this seeing as my experience with Egyptian bureaucracy has not been the best, but after contacting someone from a program called Ana Masry (translated into Arabic: I am Egyptian), which is a part of Nahdet El-Mahrousa, I think I am going to enjoy and benefit from my experience. Ana Masry focuses on promoting development among young Egyptians by promoting tolerance among Muslims and Christians through the use of various forms of art. In my e-mail to the program coordinator, I explained that I was a Christian and that I had taken a class in Islam at Notre Dame which focused is part on the often overlooked similarities between Islam and Christianity. The program director said this was a part of the program that had yet to get off the ground, but it sounded like I could design a way to integrate it into the program. That sounds like a huge responsibility (though it is probably for the better because those of you who know me know that, in the nicest of terms, art is not quite my area of expertise!), but I am excited to meet with the director to discuss how I can begin to work on that and help with the program. It should be a great experience. For class, I am required to keep a blog detailing my experience, so I will be sure to post a link once I begin my volunteer work.
My final class is a Development Studies Seminar. I think this will be very interesting and most like the comparative politic class I took at Notre Dame. We began our class by discussing the term development and what it means. I was surprised when the professor, who is Egyptian, asked the Egyptians in the class if they considered Egypt a modern society. When they answered affirmatively, he, through questions like, "How is the farming done in Egypt? Do people use machinery or do they use their hands and their animals?" insinuated that it was not modern but transitional. I thought it was interesting how hard he was on the Egyptians in the class and how negative his attitude seemed about his own country. Through talking with other Americans, we have concluded that professors tend to be harder on the Egyptians. This is possibly because the students that attend AUC are of the upper class in Egypt. Although the Americans in the class probably come from families with more money, these Egyptians when compared with other Egyptians are among the most wealthy in Egypt, and that is apparent through things like the dress on campus and the maid and laundry service in the dormitories. It's an interesting class dynamic to witness.
And although the professors are harder on Egyptians than Americans, I don't think anyone is particularly hard on anyone at AUC. In my Comparative Politics of the Middle East class alone, the professor informed us that he would be strict about attendance, meaning he would take it every single day...after Ramadan ends in two weeks of course. He also said he would not tolerate lateness in any form...so we should be sure to enter the room no more than 15 minutes late. Even the Ana Masry director, who sounded so enthusiastic about the program and eager for me to get started, told me to contact her again after Ramadan. At first this may seem lazy to Americans but I think it is an important thing to note about Egyptian society, and societies in general that are predominantly Muslim, that religion is so pervasive into all aspects of life. It's certainly not something we are used to in the United States, and I would venture as far as to say it's not even something I am used to at Notre Dame. An 'Our Father' to begin a class pales in comparison to the daily calls to prayer, which are braodcast throughout the city, the praying in public, and the vast majority that strictly observes Ramadan and makes it a part of not only their religious life but their daily social life. As I have said, it is the most interesting cultural phenomenon I have ever witnessed.
I guess I will close by saying I finally made it to the pyramids today, and they were amazing! I took a lot of pictures (which I am still having trouble uploading to my blog-sorry!), and spent most of the day in shock and awe, as I think most tourists do. Unlike visitors though, I have to come home to do homework, which I should get to now. With classes starting it's kind of a wake up call that this is not only a sight-seeing, cultural-immersion experience-it's school too! I think Notre Dame would probably appreciate it if I kept that in mind! Hopefully I won't have too much schoolwork and I'll be able to post again soon!
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