Monday, December 21, 2009

My Last Day in Cairo

As I sit here in the library of AUC for one last time, I can say that I have (almost) successfully completed the semester at the American University in Cairo. (I say almost because there is one bus ride between me and being totally finished with AUC. But as soon as I make it back to Zamalek today around 3PM, my AUC experience will officially come to a close). I was finished with my last final on Saturday, December 19, but in typical AUC fashion because things close early/never open on various weekdays/weekends, I had to come back to campus one last time to visit the campus book shop, as I had promised some people I would bring them back t-shirts from AUC. I also wanted a shirt for myself, almost as a reward for lasting an entire semester at this university. I really shouldn’t complain as much as I do. None of my classes were truly awful. Some were very different than they would have been in the US, I am sure, but none were completely awful. I also think that I did well or at least decently in most of them. So when I put down AUC, I am not putting down the classes or the instructors per say because, at least in my experience, these have been fine. It’s just that it floors me that the institution itself is considered a functioning university. It needs work, no doubt, a lot of work. The sheer process of requesting a transcript on Thursday was a nightmare that involved an hour long search through the library for a book that I had already returned. And that’s not even to mention the four other offices I had to go to, and to some of them multiple times, to actually make the transcript request. Everyone helping me in the process was very nice, it was just a classic example of AUC inefficiency and extremely frustrating. The efficiency of Notre Dame is definitely something I will welcome with open arms in January. And I will feel for the seven ND students that will just be getting their first taste of AUC inefficiency as I am settling back into classes at ND.

I’m actually a little worried about what might happen for these students. There has been some talk that AUC will not open next semester (three guesses why, and if you don’t say ‘swine flu’ as your first guess, I think you should lose your next two guesses), or more likely that it will not reopen until the beginning of March. (As of now, I think it is supposed to open for the spring semester in early February. There is a winter session beginning after Christmas and ending in late January that may also be cancelled. This session actually has a greater chance of being cancelled than the spring semester). I don’t know what ND would do if this happened. The problem is that, even if AUC were to just push the semester back until March (meaning it would end in early July, I assume, unless there is some other plan about extending class hours/days in class, etc), they probably would not give sufficient notice that this was their plan. Again I understand that this is not completely their fault as the government often forces their hand at the last second in these matters, at least in my experience. The ND study abroad students are scheduled to arrive in Cairo in late January. If they get here and then AUC makes its announcement, they are really stuck here with nothing to do. At that time, we will already have had three weeks of classes at ND. (If the semester is cancelled at AUC, they will probably need to come home and re-enroll at ND as soon as possible, but if it is just pushed back until March, they are going to be forced to stay here and then start school then. This won’t be the worst thing in the world because they will have the same great opportunities we had to travel, but because they will presumably be here until July, it hurts their chances and abilities to participate in summer internships and jobs, which are important to political science majors between their junior and senior years. I don’t know what will happen, but I hope next semester brings no cancellations and even if it does that everything works out for the students that will be studying abroad here.

And to finally move away from the topic of AUC, perhaps forever, I’ve realized that I really do like Cairo and that I will miss it a lot. It’s not America. It’s a far cry from it, but there have been times this past week (when I’ve been pretty much removed from AUC) that I have thought about the aspects of Cairo that I really did appreciate and enjoy. Because we have had less work as everyone is finishing up final, we have been going around the city, trying to get as many as the ‘musts’ done as possible. This has mostly included visiting Cairo and Zamalek restaurants and cafes and buying any and all souvenirs that we may want or need. It’s actually a good thing I am leaving. Lately, I cannot control myself whenever we are around anything that can be purchased! I figure it’s not too much of a bad thing though. I don’t know that I will ever be back here and I do not want to have any regrets upon leaving. (Though I may regret the looks of my bank account especially when I have to start having to think about things in terms of, GASP, American currency! The exchange rate is something I will definitely miss!)

I would say our final exploration of Cairo began last week when some ND students visited from Rome. I was so glad that they came to Cairo because I want other people to experience what I am experiencing, and I also loved hearing about their experiences living, studying, and traveling in Europe. (That is one big difference between studying abroad in the Middle East and studying abroad in Europe. Traveling is so much easier in Europe. Everything is right there. My friends from Rome had a list of things they wanted to do in Egypt in a week to ten days or so. This included Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, Dahab, and Mt. Sinai. I told them this was going to be a daunting task! There is so much more that goes into traveling in the Middle East. Everything is a trip, usually a long trip. And when you factor in security and crossing borders, which some of them will have to when they continue on to Jerusalem, you need to make sure you leave more than enough time for traveling). It seemed like they liked their experience in Rome, though I was comforted by the fact that they said their universities there were far cries from ND. But after we told them of AUC, they agreed that it seemed they had it pretty good in Rome. They also said they never thought they would see traffic worse than in Europe…until they came to Cairo. Oh, the wonders of Cairo. Anyway, we went to a small Zamalek cafĂ© with them called Crave. It wasn’t the most authentic thing in the world, but it was great for a big group and it was a nice dinner. We also had another guest join us. A few weeks ago, my grandfather had a strange reaction to a flu shot and had to see a neurologist. During his last appointment about three weeks ago, the doctor mentioned that he was from Egypt and that he would be visiting family there with his family over Christmas. It came up that I was there and that his 19 year old daughter, who is a sophomore at Drexel, would be with him. My mom gave the doctor my contact information and the girl e-mailed me and asked to meet. I invited her along to dinner, and though I was worried about meeting/finding/coordinating everyone, everything worked out perfectly. I think the girl really enjoyed spending time with us and I hope we showed her a nice time in Cairo. It was really nice to see some familiar faces and to make some connections to home.

A few nights later, for a friend’s birthday we went to the restaurant Tabula in Garden City (a region of Cairo very close to Zamalek serving Lebanese food). The restaurant was wonderful! I even had ‘lamb cubes’ which were basically a lamb shish kabob, and though lamb is something I wouldn’t normally eat, I am glad I was living a little dangerously. It was a great meal. The restaurant was very nice and decorative too. And Garden City was a nice thing to see. It is a very, very upscale neighborhood. It is actually home to the US Embassy. The street that the restaurant is on is actually not accessible (at night? At all times? I’m not sure of the specifics) by car because of the restaurants proximity to the Embassy. We walked past the Embassy on our way to the main street to get a cab back from the restaurant. Although it is behind a concrete wall, it is gorgeous and massive. (I am not sure of the exact statistic, but I have heard something like it is the biggest embassy in the world outside the US. From what I can gather this means if you exclude all the embassies in the US, some of which are huge, the US Embassy in Egypt is the largest in the world. This makes sense considering Egypt is the second largest recipient of US Aid (behind Israel). (That’s another interesting thing we learned in Cairo, and some of us are thinking it might be a good idea to have a few chats with a few representatives about this issue, especially where US Aid at AUC is concerned. And it for sure is concerned in this capacity in a big way. There are “US Aid: Paid for by the American People” stickers EVERYWHERE.) It was a great feeling passing the Embassy. Seeing the words, “Embassy of the United States of America” gave me almost a giddy feeling. This is partially because I am returning home soon, but partially because I have come to realize after being away from the US everything that those words, “The United State of America” represent worldwide. They are revered and respected worldwide. It sounds cheesy, but I am not only proud to be an American but appreciative and grateful that I have experienced life as an American, that I have grown up in an American way of life. It is not a privilege all have and it’s one that is too often taken for granted in my opinion.

Aside from the trip to Garden City and also a final trip to Khan El Khalili (which was stressful and entertaining as always; highlights: fake sneeze followed by “I’m sorry I’m allergic to beauty,” “you have magic eyes,” a quest for Turkish coffee in a box (which we ended up getting in a bag and saying “fine, perfect, at this point just scoop it into my hand,” mastering the art of bargaining without even trying/wanting the item being bartered for, and an hour long semi-hostage situation that my roommate and I got ourselves into looking for a soccer jersey), we have been mostly exploring Zamalek. Last night we went to a highly recommend vegetarian restaurant, which also had meat. It’s kind of a must in Egypt. It was very Americanized, but very, very delicious. We followed that with a trip to Mandarin, our favorite Zamalek ice cream place. And earlier in the day, we visited the Egyptian Craft Center in Zamalek which sells produces made by Sudanese refugees. It was a really cool little shop in an apartment building, and we made some neat purchases.

Tonight, we are going to Sequoia tonight for dinner. It’s an Egyptian restaurant which is famed for its various shisha (hookah) flavors. Apparently, there’s caramel and that’s unheard of! I don’t smoke shisha, but everyone is excited and I am equally excited for some delicious Egyptian hummus one last time before leaving.

After dinner each night, we have been going to local Zamalek cafes to have a drink and smoke shisha. It’s really a nice way to wind down our time here. Really, I think we are just trying to spend as much time with each other as possible. The biggest thing I will miss about Egypt is the people. It has been so sad now that people have started to return home. Luckily, there are several people on my flight, so I think I may be done with sad goodbyes for the most part. Though I am sure tonight might bring a few tears. The people that I have met here have been truly incredible, and we all mean so much to each other. What we have done over the past four months has not been easy, and if we did not have each other there is not a doubt in my mind we would not have made it. Part of the reason we were able to deal with AUC each day is because we knew that we could come back each night and over delicious dorm food (I’m not being sarcastic, we grew to love it, possibly because rice, vegetables, hummus, pita, and chicken were the only sources of consistency in our lives) rehash the bizarre and frustrating events of the day. And because we had each other we could always laugh about it and get up the next day to repeat the process all over again. Because of the situation we were thrown into together, we have become closer in four months than most people are able to become in years. I am so grateful to them and they will always have a special place in my heart for having been with me through what I would consider the most challenging time in my life. They are amazing people, I wish them the best of luck in the future, and I know that they will all do incredible things both in their work and in their lives. I hope to stay in touch with all of them and I know I will never forget any one of them.

Aside from being upset about leaving the incredible friends I have made in Cairo, there is a part of me that is sad to go home. I am definitely ready to go back to the US and to see my family and for it to feel like Christmas, but it’s sad that this period in my life is ending. First of all, it has been something that I have been anticipating for almost a year (when I was accepted to the study abroad program), and even before that. And now it is over. There’s an element of sadness in that. But there is also a huge sense of accomplishment. This is, without a doubt, the most difficult and courageous thing I have ever done. It has helped me so much, both form an academic standpoint and from other perspectives as well. I have learned so much culturally here that I would have never learned in the US and that it will be greatly beneficial for me to know considering what I hope to do later in life. I have also grown immensely as a person and learned so much about myself. I came to Cairo terrified, but I am leaving feeling like I can truly do anything. Being Cairo has not always been easy, but it has always been worth it. Even knowing what I know now, given the chance to go back in time and decide not to come, I would definitely, without a doubt choose to live and study here. This has been the most incredible, unforgettable, worthwhile experience in my life. I do not regret one second of it and I am so fortunate to have been given the opportunity to participate in the program. I should not even comment further on my experiences here because they truly speak for themselves. I will never forget my time here. I think it will and I hope it will be a defining moment in my life.

With that, I think this blog is coming to a close. I want to thank everyone for reading. I hope it has been interesting, funny, and enlightening. It was a great way for me to document a lot of what I experienced in Cairo, and I enjoyed writing it. Right now, I am going to go grab a final ‘yogurt, granola, and honey’ from Jared’s Bagels (my go to spot on campus) and then board the AUC to Zamalek bus one final time, officially ending my semester at AUC. Tomorrow my flight leaves at 10:10AM and it is due into JFK at 3:15PM. (Thankfully although the blizzard on the East Coast interrupted many travel plans, many of which belonged to ND students returning home from Europe or simply from ND, the storm has finally passed, and if all goes according to plan, which I am desperately hoping that it will, our flight should remain on schedule. I cannot believe I will be in America tomorrow. It is almost surreal. But it’s also terribly exciting. Hopefully, as I am walking through the terminal at JFK there will be big glass windows through which I can see the snow and some greatly anticipated Christmas carols playing! I can’t wait!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Wrapping Up: Small Pyramids and the English Language

I am writing this entry on December 10th. At this exact minute twelve days from now, I am scheduled to be somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean a little over half of the way home. Not that I am counting down or anything! Honestly, though, I cannot believe that I have less than two weeks left in Cairo. In some ways it feels like I have been living here forever. In other ways, it feels like I just arrived yesterday. I will say more about that in a final post, but for right now I'll just say that at this point, although I think this has been the greatest experience of my life, I am ready to be at home with my family, and for Christmas no less. Doing Christmas related things in Egypt, such as listening to Christmas songs, just doesn't feel right. On a related note, listening to an Arabic Christmas song set to the tune of "Jingle Bells" today in my colloquial class just felt weird! I think the feeling is mutual among most of the American students here. There are several ways we are counting down our time (and also several ways we are planning to sabatoge the trips of the lucky few who are leaving as early as December 16th or 17th, but I won't get into those). I can (and believe me, I have been) count(ing) it down by the number of papers I have left to turn in: 3 (1 is done; 1 is outlined, and 1 isn't started); the number of finals I have to take: 4 and the number of presentations I have to give: 1. This seems like a lot and it is; AUC being AUC operates in a way where most classes do next to nothing all semester and then have enormous amounts of work in the last week or so. Honestly, it's one of the most efficient systems I have ever seen. (That's sarcasm, sarcasm to the extreme). It is going to be hard to focus on studying; it is always difficult to study for finals after the semester ends (which AUC's semester ends after classes on Monday), but I think it will be even more so in Cairo. Hopefully, I'll be able to focus long enough to do well with all my assignments.

And finally, my favorite way to count down has to be mentioned: the number of bus rides I have to take to and from AUC: 9 (including the one I will depart on when I am finished with this entry)! The fact that this number has dropped to the single digits makes me happier than almost everything I have experienced in the past four months!

Another sign that we are coming close to the end of our time here was the last English class I taught on Monday night. It was a short class because we only administered the final exam that we had created, but I think it went very well. We reviewed right before the exam and tailored the review almost exactly to questions on the exam because we felt that it was unfair to expect the students to take a test after not having had class for two weeks (the previous week was the break week and the week before that the transportation to the center for us did not arrive at AUC to pick us up, forcing us to cancel class). Only six students came to the exam, which consisted of reading, grammar, and listening comprehension sections. I am proud to say that all six students did well. Out of 25 points, the most points lost were 5. One student, Fatima, received a 100%! I know that the exam was easy and that we did not teach all the material in our teaching packet, but I hope that the results on the test can be taken to mean that we at least taught the students something. As I have said, they really, really want to learn. Almost immediately after the test, they were asking when they would receive their results and when they would begin classes again. (We e-mailed the test results to the director as well as our recommendations about which students should progress to the next level, becuase not all students took the exam, and the director is supposed to be calling the students with their results and giving them information about when their next classes will start, which should be in February or early March). A few students also asked about attending the graduation ceremony for the Level 5B students (our students were Level 4B; if they continue to progress, they should be graduating a year from now). This shows how excited they are that their turn to graduate will be so soon. I wish them all the best of luck in the future.

Teaching, although it was difficult, so much so that I know I could never do it, was very rewarding. The STAR program is something I am very glad I was a part of. I learned a lot, not only from a 'teaching English' standpoint, but about the struggles faced by refugees and their desire to improve their situatuions. I have an immense amount of respect for all of my students. They are truly an inspiration. Shaking their hands and having them thank me was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

A Monday night spent teaching English would not be complete without a hilarious tale from the train, and this Monday definitely did not disappoint. There were three of us on the train; all girls so we were in the women's car. About half way through the train ride, a woman came up to us and told us she was so glad to see us. We did not know what she meant, but she asked us where we were from and we told her America. She told us she had an Aunt in Chicago, and then apologized that her English was not very good. We told her it was fine and they she was doing very well. She then told us she wanted to talk with us in the future, and had us put our cell phone numbers in her phone (which had as its background Jesus's face...she was clearly Coptic) and write down our e-mail addresses. As writing while standing on the train is difficult, this whole exchange took us almost the whole rest of the ride. She has yet to contact any of us, and I am not sure that she will, but the whole situation was not only funny but also surprising to us. It was complimented by a situation one of our fellow teachers then described to us from her class that day. Apparently one of her students who is going home to Sudan over Christmas break, mistook her questions about his trip to mean that she wanted to accompany him and spent quite some time telling her where she would cross the border and where his family would be to pick her up! She thinks that by the time she left the situation had been sorted out and he is no longer expecting her!

These situations are funny but they are also telling. They are funny to us because the concept of wanting to make any kind of contact possible to allow for your immigration to another country is so foreign to us. Here, in Egypt and in the greater Middle East and around the world, there is a cultural standard set that there is better out there and people try desperately to achieve this. Moving from one country to another is not thought of as such a monumental thing, as American would consider it, because it is thought to be somewhat of a common goal. Americans have no idea what it is like not only to want to leave their country but to want to leave it to create a new and better life. It was interesting to make this realization. It made me feel grateful for the fact that I am American and because of this, there are some things such as immigration, that are common to so many people worldwide, that I will never have to consider. I am thankful that my experience in Egypt has revealed to me things like this that I never would have considered had I never left the US.

And, on a lighter note, speaking of funny situations, I would not like to describe our trip, taken last weekend, to the Djoser Step Pyramid at Saqqara (which is the oldest pyramid in the world) and the Red and Bent Pyramids at Dahshur. These are some of Egypt's smaller pyramids. (There are 19 standing pyramids in Egypt).

Deciding a visit to these pyramids would be a good trip to make on one of our two unscheduled days off (AUC extended our holiday break for two class days, four days total, due to fears of swine flu), we researched a little about the sites and found that they were only about 45 minutes from Cairo. It was unclear whether we should take a tour or go on our own, and after looking around a bit, we decided to just jump in a taxi and make the visits acting as our own tour guides. We were a little concerned about having a taxi as our mode of transportation, but it turns out it is fairly common for taxis to stay with you all day when you request to be driven to Saqqara. So, without even really trying, we acquired our own personal driver for the day! (I wish we could say we were traveling in style, but considering our taxi broke down almost every time the driver put the car in park, which resulted in a quick repair at the Dahshur Pyramids where we watched him open the hood and literally bang some thing around in there before airing out the engine a bit, I certainly would not say we were living the life of luxary. We made it through the desert though, which was more than we expected because as we were going down a hill at one point all of us were looking at each other with looks that said, 'you know we are pushing this taxi back up this hill if we ever want to get back to Cairo, right.' Fortunately, we miraculously made it back up the hill, due, no doubt to the airing out of the engine that I just mentioned.)

The ride out to Saqqara was a nice one. It's very jungle like in the area where these pyramids are. There was a lot of grass, trees, and water. Those are not things you see often in Egypt, especially in Cairo. The Step Pyramid was very interesting and we spent about an hour there taking pictures and reminding ourselves why site seeing among European tourists is something we vowed to never do again!

We then made the quick trip over to Dahshur. At Dahshur, we could climb up part of the Red Pyramid and then descend down into it. Although the insides of pyramids are not all that interesting, we figured we might as well make the trip down. This was probably a bad call on our part. To go down into the pyramids, you need to almost slide down a steep wooden plank with metal steps built into it. It's not easy to do and this climb was definitely the steepest and longest we have ever done at a pyramid. It also did not help that the lights on the plank and inside the entire pyramid had gone out. (Our guess is that the fumes we smelled in the pyramid, which we are not really sure exactly what these were except that they were probably dangerous, may have cracked the lightbulbs.) So, it was pitch black, the air was thick with dangerous vapors, and we were climbing down a steep plank. As if all this wasn't bad enough, we were doing it with European tourists who were making things ten times more difficult. At some point, we basically decided to act as if we were the only ones in the pyramid and turned ourselves into what you could call a huge show. We routinely took out our (useless) cell phones in attempts at creating light and even took a few pictures (even though it is 'strictly prohibited' in pyramids, hoping the light from the flash could help us get our bearings. We called out to each other several times. One of my friends shook his water bottle and told us to follow that sound so we would know where he was. At one point when we were at the bottom of the plank, I became a little lost and disoriented and said, 'Guys, I don't know where I am. Guys, can you hear me. I don't know where I am. I'm in the middle of a room I think. I'm touching a...man...' And indeed I was, a German tourist, I presume. My friends came over and grabbed me and we spent about five minutes in the room we had climbed down to before heading back up. It was definitely an experience.

After the Red Pyramid, we made a quick stop at the Bent Pyramid, which really does have a bent shape. It's really cool. Thankfully, we could not go into this pyramid. We climbed up to a platform and took some pictures, and then decided to call it a trip and return back to the dorms at Zamalek. Overall, it was a very fun and relaxing trip and a great thing to do to wind down our time in Cairo. I think it will be our last site seeing excursion. To think that our site seeing has finally ended in Cairo is somewhat daunting. I remember arriving here and thinking it was impossible that I would ever see all that I needed and wanted to see here. This proved to be somewhat true, but my friends and I agree that we think we have seen a ton and are pretty happy with all the incredible sights that we have managed to see in only four months!

And I'll finish this entry by saying this: bus ride 'T-9 Bus Rides,' commence!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Istanbul

When I planned my trip to Istanbul, my greatest worry was flying by myself (because as everyone knows, flying is one of my least favorite things to do in the world). I realized that I have only flown completely alone one other time in my life. It helped that my parents were also flying out of Cairo that day around the same time, so it was easy for me to get to the airport and find my gate with their help. When I got to the airport, it was easy for me to check in, but it took my parents some more time. By the time we went through Egyptian Immigration, we had just enough time to walk downstairs to my gate. It soon became clear that I would be the only American on the flight. After a few minutes, they called us up to go through security to wait at another area of the gate. I said goodbye to my parents and wished them well on their long journey back to the US and headed toward this area. We (me and all the Egyptians on my flight, I don't think there were even any Turks) were kept in this area for only a few minutes before we boarded buses that brought us to the plane (there was no gate ramp, we walked onto the runway and up the steps). I boarded the plane and found my seat. It was a big plane and pretty nice. We waited on the plane for a while and then taxied for what seemed like forever before finally taking off on the two hour and ten minute flight. It was a pleasant flight. The highlight was probably when the steward coming around handing out breakfast said to me, "You're not Turkish are you?" I am guessing this was his reaction to me because it was clear that I was not Egyptian and also fairly clear that I was not Turkish. I responded that I was not. I was actually American, and studying abroad this semester in Cairo. He became very excited and told me that he was going to America next month. I asked if he was going for work, and he said yes. I told him I was going to America next month on the Cairo-JFK flight, and he said that, yes, this was the flight he would be working. I told him the date I was flying, but he was not sure if he would be working that day. We exchanged telephone numbers (I was a little skeptical about this. Honestly, I think it's an innocent, nice thing and as a nervous flier it will be great to have a contact on board for my long flight home, but as an American especially you can't help but be nervous about these sorts of things. I made sure to tell him that I would be flying with three of my friends, two of which are boys. And he seemed fairly receptive to this). He told me to contact him closer to the date we're leaving.

We landed right on time and that is when it hit me that while I was worrying about the flight I probably should have been worrying about landing in Turkey (where they speak neither Arabic nor English as their primary language) alone. I basically followed the crowd to obtain my Turkish visa and make my way through Turkish immigration. I then tried to exchange some money because I had been texting my friends (who arrived in Istanbul from Cairo several days before) and they wanted me to meet them at the Palace in Sultan Ahmet. I did not know what any of this meant, but I knew I needed to take a taxi and I knew I would probably need some form of currency other than Egyptian pounds to do this. I tried to exchange my pounds for Turkish Lira but was told that I could not exchange Egyptian pounds because (and this is a direct quote), "Turkey is part of Europe." This is interesting on many levels. England is part of Europe also, and I am assuming that they, along with other European nations, such as France, Italy, Switzerland, etc. would be able to, as the US is, to exchange any and all kinds of money. Also, certain European countries, specifically France, may have their own opinion on whether or not Turkey is "part of Europe." But I will say more about that later. Right now, thankfully, I did have some American dollars that I was able to exchange for Lira. After walking outside the airport, I also took some Euro out of an ATM. Considering I had just been told how "European" Turkey was, I figured it might be a safe thing to have.

I then quickly found a taxi and took the twenty or so minute ride to Sultan Ahmet. It was a great ride. The taxi was clean. Turkish roads are modern, and there are traffic laws, lights in appropriate places, and beeping only when absolutely necessary. It looked like there was little to no pollution in the air. We drove along the water, which the taxi driver told me was the Sea of Marmara. There were lots of ships out, many parks around the sea, and even a running route along the sea. It made me want to run outside! After marveling at all this during the ride, I was dropped off by a cafe, of which I texted my friends the name. They told me they would be right there. Unfortunately, in that time the cafe owner came to talk to me. He tried to have me tell my friends I would meet them at the Four Seasons instead, where his daughter worked. Apparently, he could also sell all of us carpet there. I warded off his pleas for just long enough before everyone arrived. I had my luggage still with me, so we divided that up among us (which meant the boys had to take turns carrying my Vera Bradley bag. I felt bad about this, but only slightly so, because it was also quite funny).

After meeting with my friends, we went headed to the palace. To do this we walked through the Hagia Sophia square, so we saw the exterior of both the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque (they are across from each other). They were gorgeous. The palace was also quite impressive. It was huge and there were many exhibit type rooms. My favorite room was the room filled with the clothes of the Ottoman Sultans. Their clothes were huge. I can't tell if they were actually that big as a people (because their thrones, which are also on display) are huge also, of if they were just swimming in their clothes. Either way, most of the garments were made of silk, and one was even made of velvet, and were absolutely beautiful. The clothes dated back as early as the 16th century and as late as the 19th century, so it was also interesting to see the evolution. We also saw countless swords and jewels. Then came one of the most interesting sections. In one of the exhibits, we saw the "Staff of Moses," "Sword of David," "Footprint of the Prophet," and "Hair from the Prophet's Beard." All of us doubted the validity of these claims, but then again you never know. In this room also, were various pieces of the Karbala in Mecca, which we thought to be legitimate and very interesting.

After touring the palace for several hours, we went to an early dinner at a Turkish sort of diner. It was empty and they were not offering much of their menu because it was still during the Eid Holiday. On Sunday apparently, things would be more open and running normally. It was decent however, and over the meal, everyone filled me in on what they had been doing in Turkey in my absence. The highlight apparently had been Friday when they took a ferry to Asia (apparently part of Turkey is in Europe and part is in Asia) where they wandered around a fairly residential district. They were quite lost at one point and were having little luck with their map, so they asked a nice Turk to point them in the right direction. He told them they were probably lost because the map they were looking at was of Europe, not Asia and he helped them find their way back to the ferry. During their time in Turkey, they had also sampled the various types of street food and they recommended several types to me, including bagels, chestnuts, corn, fish sandwiches, and Salep (a kind of milk drink with cinnamon). They also raved about the Turkish Delight and Apple Tea. And they filled me in on the transportation situation. We were lucky enough to be staying at a Marriott because one of my friend's dads used to work for them, but it was quite far from the sights and cabs were getting unbelievably expensive. So they had figured out the train and trolley system, which was efficient and inexpensive. They said I would learn quickly that small change was a life saver, as each ride was 1.50 Turkish Lira. (The exchange rate between Lira and USD is 1.45, the dollar being stronger). After dinner, we went out for ice cream, and I got the chestnut flavor. It was very good.

The boys then decided to stay out to go to some bars, while the girls headed back for an early night. I was definitely fine with this because I was tired from traveling and I was excited to get up and out early the next day to see the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque.

Unfortunately, when we woke up the next day it was raining. Actually it was pouring. We decided to save the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque for the next day when the weather would be better. (The weather in Turkey was cold as it was and in the rain it would have been miserable). We went to a breakfast place by our hotel. I had Menemen, a traditional Turkish breakfast with eggs, cheese, and vegetables in a sort of tomato sauce. It was very good. After breakfast, it had stopped raining some, so we decided to go into the city. The boys went on a hunt for a Turkish Bath and the girls shopped. We bought scarves, boxes of Turkish Delight and Apple Tea, and lamps. The scarves I bought were beautiful and I love the lamp I bought as well. Shopping took us a few hours and afterward we returned to out hotel for a while before heading back into the city to meet the boys for dinner in Taxim, a 'posh' region of Istanbul. We had dinner at a fish market. I had the salmon, which was delicious. We then went to a bar on 'French Street' where the boys had been the night before. We sat at an outside table (a lot of bars and restaurants still had outdoor seating options even though it was cold; most provided heat lamps for those seated outside). We stayed for a bit and then caught the train back. It was a nice night.

The next morning I woke up early to go to the gym in the Marriott and although I had to be up very early to do this, it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The gym in the Marriott was beautiful and the treadmills overlook the pool which overlooks the Sea. The sun doesn't rise in Turkey until about 7:15AM, so I was lucky enough to see the sun rise over all the ships on the sea. It was a great sight and a great way to start the day. Every time I looked at the Sea in Turkey, I couldn't help but think of my grandfather. When he was in the Navy, on the USS Albany, he was stationed in Turkey. I am not sure if his ship was on the Sea or not and I don't think that now there is much of a military presence of the Sea, but seeing the ships on the Sea did remind me of him. It's amazing to think that so many years ago he was experiencing some o of the same things I am experiencing. When I asked him about Turkey, he told me it was beautiful and very clean. I would agree with him about this. He also said it was very religious. This is something very interesting that I will talk about more at the end of this post.

We started our day by heading to a breakfast buffet in town. After breakfast, we went over to the blue mosque but it was closing for noon prayer, so we went over the the Hagia Sophia. This was the big downfall of the trip. The Hagia Sophia is closed on Mondays. We were incredibly disappointed but there was nothing we could do and it was no one's fault. We took some pictures outside and then wandered around for a bit, sampling more traditional Turkish food, such as Potato pancakes, which we were lucky enough to watch them make for us at a cafe. At about 1:30PM, we went back to the Blue Mosque and were admitted (though not through the Turkish entrance, where we first tried to be admitted. I think it could have worked out for me. My head was covered. But the blue eyes of the other three girls I was with were a give-away. It was no problem, we just had to be directed to the appropriate entrance, which someone was happy to do for us. On the whole people were very nice in Turkey). The mosque was incredible inside. It was most interesting to watch the people there praying. After we spent some time there, we went to the tower, which has a great view of the entire city. I took some amazing pictures there. The tower is near the water so after we left, we walked along the water a bit. It was very interesting to see the people fishing there. After walking around the coast for a while, we headed back into town for dinner. (I had a Spinach pancake, which was great!) After dinner, we bought some Baklava and Turkish Delight and planned to enjoy it over a movie at the hotel, so we could call it an early night before having to be up early the next day to travel back to Cairo.

The next morning we took an early shuttle to the airport for out 12:30PM flight. Having been in Turkey, we were a bit disheartened to return to Cairo, where there is pollution, traffic, inefficiency, and much less modernization and development, but we were comforted by the fact that we have only three weeks left in Cairo. (And we were also encouraged by the fact that though we would return to Cairo, we would not return to AUC. In true Egyptian fashion, classes have been cancelled nation wide until December 6 because there is a fear that the return from the Eid Holiday would accelerate the spread of swine flu. By AUC's schedule, we are only missing two additional class days, Wednesday and Thursday, but we now have four days off in a row, Wednesday-Saturday, before classes re-assume on Sunday. In some ways it's good, we're planning a sight-seeing trip to the Step Pyramid. In some ways it's frustrating. But most of all it's something we're all coming to expect and becoming accustomed to. TIE.) Regardless, we were all tempted by the 11:30AM flight to Chicago. We kept each other strong though, and we are currently back in the Zamalek dorms ready to tackled these last few weeks.

I enjoyed my short time in Turkey a lot and I am glad that I went there. Besides incredible sights, it was an interesting place to consider, considering its current involvement in international politics. It is trying as hard as it can to be "European" because it desperately wants EU membership. Our consensus opinion is that it is almost there. We said it needs about five to ten more years to perfect its development. I'd say it is maybe just a step behind Israel and leaps and bounds beyond Egypt and Jordan (if I were judging it against the rest of the Middle East). It is interesting also to consider that France is the country most instrumental in blocking its entry into the EU. The reason for this is obviously because of the huge Muslim population in Turkey. (France has taken various anti-Islamic measures over the past few years, the most controversial being its attempted ban on the head scarf, which it considers an 'bold or ostentatious statement of religion' or something similar to that). Turkey is 98% Muslim. However, we did not know this until we read it in the guide book while we were waiting in the airport. It is clear and it is interesting that Turkey is successful, whether intentionally or unintentionally (and I think it is probably at least a little intentionally) at hiding this fact. Although saying 'hiding' is a little strong. It might be more appropriate to say making this fact not instantly recognizable or at the forefront of Turkish life, society, and culture. For example, Egypt is 90% Muslim, but Islam is much more central to Egyptian life. There is no doubt that this approach to religion in Turkey is based on Kemal's secular development of the country (as Kemal is still revered to the utmost in the country), but I can see how this approach might have become even more embraced when Turkey began its campaign to gain EU membership. From the perspective of someone interested in International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies, Turkey was definitely and interesting, important, and insightful country to consider. For this reason, as well as many others, I am glad that I was able to visit Istanbul during my time studying in Cairo. As with most of everything else about which I have posted, it is an experience I will never forget.

A Visit From Mom and Dad

Just over a week ago, my Mom and Dad arrived in Cairo and stayed for five days. Their visit had been planned for almost a year, as they scheduled it almost immediately after I learned I had been accepted into the study abroad program here in mid-January. They decided to arrive the Monday before Thanksgiving and then spend the Thanksgiving holiday, my favorite holiday, with me before leaving on Saturday. This plan worked out well because AUC had scheduled a break for Eid El-Adha (the holiday that celebrates the annual pilgrimage to Mecca) beginning on Thanksgiving day. I was excited that my parents were planning to visit. A lot of parents of the other students have, but then again, a lot of their parents have not. It's not an easy trip to make and it's certainly not inexpensive. I was very grateful that my parents were willing to make the trip to come see me, and it was something that helped me make the decision to study abroad. I was also excited that my parents would have a first hand account of what I have experienced this semester.

My parents' flight left from JFK headed directly for Cairo on Sunday night, and they were due to land around 12:15PM on Monday, Cairo time. I told them I had classes until 2:50PM on Mondays and would take the 3PM bus home from school, then head right over to their hotel, the Marriott in Zamalek, to greet them. Some of this was true; I did have class until 2:50PM on Monday, but because I had yet to miss a class, I decided to skip the day and meet them at the airport. This was partially because I wanted to surprise them and partially because I know how crazy the Cairo airport can be (even though there was a car that the hotel was providing for them). I remembered that my flight into Cairo landed about an hour early, so I planned to get to the airport around 11:30AM. I thought this would provide plenty of time, as my parents would need to pick up their luggage and go through Egyptian Immigration. So I planned to leave the Zamalek dorms around 10:45AM, possibly a little later. Around 10:15AM, just on a whim, I checked on my parents' flight status. For some reason, it said that the flight had already landed at 9:45AM. I didn't see how this was possible, but I ended up leaving for the airport as soon as I possibly could. Luckily there was minimal traffic and the taxi driver was able to sort out with the airport guards which terminal would receive a flight from New York (I probably would have found out and brought this information with me had I had more time) and I arrived to the airport just before 11AM. Not surprisingly, when I inquired about the status of the flight at information, I was told it would be landing at 11:37AM. Why it was listed as having landed two hours earlier, I have no idea. TIE. So I sat with multiple Egyptian families and drivers in the waiting area. The flight was announced to have landed just before noon, and at around 12:30PM, passengers began to stream into the waiting area. At around 1PM, my parents , led by their driver, walked through the doors. It was great to see them, and I called to them, but because of a twelve hour flight, the fact that they were not expecting to see me, and the mass amounts of Egyptian families gathering around, they did not hear me. So I ended up walking up to my mom from behind and tapping her shoulder. She was shocked to see me! We all hugged quickly and then followed the driver who was booking it out of the airport. It was a great surprise and well worth skipping class. I am glad I did it.

The drive to the hotel was a great introduction to Cairo, as midday traffic was horrendous. We got to the hotel a little after 2PM. It was a gorgeous hotel! My dad checked in and we went upstairs to the lounge before going into my parents' room on the fifteenth floor, where they unpacked a little. My dad, who hadn't slept on the plane, settled in for a nap, and my mom, who had slept a little, went with me to my dorm to pick up some things because I decided I would stay with them on the pullout couch in their room. The walk to my dorm was interesting. I had forgotten that my parents would not be used to navigating Cairo streets, where it is often easier to walk in the middle of the street then on the sidewalk and where there is constant, constant beeping from all vehicles. My mom kept grabbing me and pushing me away from the traffic. It was pretty funny. We also walked to my dorm past the Algerian embassy. That was interesting for my mom to see, and the riot police were still out in droves on Monday. (She was also able to see some of the broken glass that hadn't been cleaned up yet after the weekend riots). When we got to the dorms, I managed to sneak her up into my room. (My dad would definitely not be allowed up to my room because he is a man, and parents in general are not supposed to be in the rooms. Apparently, AUC does not want to deal with the complaints from parents about things like their children's dorm room views. I am sure I have mentioned before how affluent the majority of the students at AUC are). My mom liked my room. It is definitely bigger than my room in Lewis Hall at Notre Dame and with a lot more closet space! After finishing up in my dorm, we walked back to the hotel and woke my dad up for dinner. We ate at a small cafe in the hotel, and it was very good. I then went with my Dad to my dorm to grab a few more things and to show him around. Again, the walk there was pretty funny because my Dad kept grabbing me, nervous about the traffic. My parents are both very city-savvy, but it's a whole other breed of traffic here! We walked back to the hotel, and we sat downstairs for a while and then called it an early night. For the first time in months, I was able to watch Around the Horn, PTI, and SportsCenter before bed. I don't know if I have ever been happier in Cairo.

The next morning, I had breakfast with my mom and then took a taxi to my internship. I spent a few hours there, but told the rest of the staff I needed to leave early because my parents were visiting. They were fine with this. I arrived back to the hotel just before noon, and my parents and I set out for the pyramids. On the way down in the elevator, I explained to them that I thought the best way for us to do the pyramids was to get in a taxi and just walk around them on our own. They agreed, saying they really had no intention of riding camels or anything like that. This ended up being ironic because somehow we ended up on a Marriott tour which stopped at the Egyptian Papyrus Museum (which was very, very interesting) and then brought us to a small shop in a small village where we were given the choice "camels or horses." Being that things were already so far out of our hands, we went for it and said "camels." Riding a camel is definitely not easy. You mount them while they are lying down and then you lean back when they stand up (you need to lean back or you would fall forward off the camel, as it stands on its hind legs first and then its front legs). The ride is tough too. You definitely sway a lot. Side to side and forward and backward. After getting up on our camels, we headed toward the pyramids with our guide, Sam, who was on a horse. We climbed a mountain for a panoramic view of the site. It was unbelievable. I had been to the pyramids before, but this was definitely a much more amazing way to see them. We took some photos before we went travelled down the mountain to crawl inside one of the smaller pyramids and then continue on to see the Sphinx. We then headed back to the town to drop off our camels and head back to the hotel. Looking back, I am very glad we decided to do the pyramids this way. You can't really be in Egypt without riding a camel, and it was great to have a guide who was actually knowledgeable about the site. He told us some really interesting information. For example, he said the slaves who had built the pyramids were killed after they completed their work because the Pharaohs did not want anyone to know exactly how the pyramids had been built or where the gold was hidden within them. Considering it is still a mystery as to how the pyramids were built, this makes sense. I think my parents had a nice time. At least I hope they did, despite the fact that we were all definitely sore from our camel riding excursion the next day.

Monday night, we had dinner with some of my friends here. It was really very nice. My parents liked everyone a lot and said they learned a lot about AUC and Egypt just by listening to us talk to each other. For the first time, I felt like my parents were understanding and relating to the fact the Egypt, and AUC especially, are not the most efficient places to be. It's hard to convey to someone who has not been in Egypt exactly what is meant by this. My parents said they could see why I've said again and again that if it was not for my friends here, I don't know how I could have done it. They thought it was great that this experience was something we were all undertaking together and said they were very impressed with everyone.

On Wednesday, we went to the Egyptian Museum in the morning. Even the second time there, it is overwhelming. We went pretty quickly through the first floor and spent some more time on the second floor. My mom was really interested in everything, and my dad thought the two mummy room and the animal mummies were very, very cool. We left the museum after a few hour and walked back to the Marriott, making a quick stop at Chili's on the Nile for a snack. My dad loves Chili's, and a Chili's lover in Egypt should definitely not leave before taking a trip to Chili's on the Nile. That night we went out to dinner at the Sushi restaurant in the Marriott. It was honestly the best Sushi I have ever tasted!

The next day was Thanksgiving, so we spent it in typical Egyptian fashion at Khan El Khalili. It was definitely less crowded during the day, but my parents were impressed by its sheer magnitude. They made some purchases and were pretty good bargainers. The funniest part of the whole day was that all the shop owners thought we were Spanish and spoke to us in Spanish. That never happens when I am with my friends. Sometimes we get German, but usually they think British or American. I guess my family is very Spanish looking. Just imagine if my sister, who looks the most European out of all of us, had been with us! After we shopped, we sat at a cafe for a while. My mom and I had lemon juices and my dad had a turkish coffee. Everything was very good, and we had a nice time talking with the cafe owner who told us about how he used to work in the US and his family. He was a smart guy and very nice. He showed us some famous Khan El Khalili sights and let us smell some perfumes from his friend's perfume shop before helping us take a taxi back to the hotel. My parents were struck by how nice he was and were pleased when I said many Egyptians were like this.

Thanksgiving dinner was not exactly everything I could have asked for, but it was pretty close. Turkey, cranberry sauce, sliced sweet potatoes, steamed veggies, bread, and apple pie (from an American restaurant in the Marriott). My parents and I all thought everything was delicious and I again told them how eternally grateful I was to them for allowing me to have my favorite holiday, even if it was with an Egyptian flair! After dinner, we sat outside for a while before turning in for bed. It was an overall great holiday.

The next day was the actual Islamic holiday. I had heard horror stories that there would be animals slaughtered in the streets on this day, as that is a traditional custom of the holiday, but it honestly was not that bad. Zamalek was actually the emptiest I have seen it. I think most families travel for this holiday. My mom and I walked to my dorm and did see some sheep pent up in the middle of the street across from a butcher shop where there was a small crowd gathered and it looked as if there was slaughtering occurring. Everything was clean and under control though and we kept our distance, so it really wasn't a problem. We spent the day packing things up and lounging by the pool, which was very relaxing. We had an early dinner and again called it an early night.

The next morning, Saturday, we all left for the airport early in the morning. My parents were headed home and I was headed to Istanbul to meet my friends who were spending the break there. (They had left from Cairo on Wednesday). It was good that I was leaving along with my parents, or I would have been much sadder to see them go. There is part of me that is shocked they made the trip to Cairo. As I said, it is not an easy trip to make. And neither one of my parents have ever traveled outside the US before (if you exclude resort destinations in Mexico, Jamaica, etc). Cairo as your first big trip is daunting! I can see why they were so astounded that I have survived as long as I have here. It's tough for me, and for all of us study abroad students, but we've adjusted because we've only been set in our American ways for about 20 years. My parents have been set in their ways for more than double this amount of time. So I do recognize how difficult it was for them to come here on so many levels, and I am so grateful that despite this, they still made the decision to visit me. It appreciate it, and it really means a lot to me when they tell me that they are proud of me. I miss them a lot and I can't wait to be home with them. The only downfall of the trip was that my sister could not have accompanied them because it would have been too much of a conflict with her schedule at ND. I think she would have gotten a lot out of Cairo and it would have been great to have someone my own age to relate to about it. I am sure she will get a vivid picture from my parents though. It would have been great to see her also, and I cannot wait to see her and the rest of my family in just about three weeks. It's unbelievable that that is all the time I have left in Cairo. And it is going to fly by. My few days in Turkey, which I will post about now, were a blur and I am sure the rest of the semester will go by just as quickly, if not more so!