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So I've been in Cairo for a little over a week now, and I'm still not entirely sure what I think. For the first few days when I got here, I honestly felt a complete indifference about being here. I wasn't at all excited, but I didn't hate it, either. I just didn't care. I think I was just so overwhelmed by the experience that I didn't know what to do. I'm now more excited about being here and actually really excited for classes to start (I'm a nerd, I know. It's something I've accepted). We have a week before classes start, and I have very few concrete plans, so the idea is to explore Cairo. The problem is, I don't feel very comfortable exploring on my own. I tried a little bit of it in the Downtown area today, but I've never experienced so many stares and catcalls. I mean, I get anxious when I'm walking around Chicago by myself, so exploring an enormous city (famous for its harassment of women) where I speak very little of the language is a little much for me. I'll just have to gather up some exploring buddies to come with me.
Enough of my musings. I'll tell you all about what I've been doing for the past week, since I'm pretty sure that's what you're more interested in.
Here's the basic rundown for my first week here (please refer to my photo album for accompanying pictures):
-on the plane from JFK I discovered there were about 15 other AUC students also on the flight. Brittani, who was sitting right behind me and actually informed me of this, and I have actually become pretty good friends. And when we go to the airport they all had requested an AUC pickup (which shockingly was actually there), so I just hopped onto that shuttle and wrote my name down. I assume they'll track me down for the fifteen bucks at some point, but that could be sometime next year. AUC rolls pretty hardcore on Egyptian time.
-i'm still geting used to the food, but there are enough american-style places around here that if I ever have a craving for McDonald's, Cinnebon, Hardee's, Hard Rock Cafe, or TGI Friday's, I'll be set. It's not that Egyptian food is particularly bad, it's just sort of bland. And stuff I'm not used to eating, so I still have to adjust. And getting sick from the food two nights ago hasn't encouraged adventurous eating.
-My six-day Surviva Arabic class was crazy, but worth it. The teacher was a very nice, matronly woman, who encouraged us to ask her any questions about anything. We also played fun games like Guess Who (in which we had to describe Denzel Washington through twenty questions in Arabic. it was fantastic and ridiculous).
-I have my classes! I'm in Elementary Arabic (I think the second or third semester. The placement test kicked my ass, and we use a different textbook at Macalester, so it'll be fine. A little review never hurt anyone's language skills). And I'm in Intro to Colloquial Egyptian Arabic, so two classes of Arabic should be good. I'm in 3 other courses as well (for a total of 15 credits), but I'll probably drop one of them. The problem is, I want to take all of them. They are, Art & Architecture of Ancient Egypt, Art & Architecture of the City of Cairo, and Intro to Islamic Art & Architecture. So apparently my focus while here is going to Arabic and Art & Architecture.
-I went horseback riding at night near the pyramids. Unfortunately, my pictures didn't come out that well, but it was pretty cool. And a little scary, since two people fell off their horses (my roommate was one of them) because the saddles were too loose. Probably because the horses were skinny and obviously not treated very well. We actually rode past 4 dead horses in the desert. And my horse I rode on the way back stopped and turned around when we got close to the stables because he didn't want to go back. One of the stablehands whipped the horse's legs to get him moving again. The views were incredible, and riding horses in the desert isn't something you get to do often, but it was also a strange and depressing experience in many other ways.
-The first night here we went on a felucca ride down the Nile. It was gorgeous and completely surreal.
-We went to a really nice restaurant in Mohandiseen (a neighborhood in Cairo) called Sidi Mansour as one of the organized school trips with a bunch of the SOLs (Student Orientation Leaders). The food was good and the sheesha (hookah) was also good (we had peach), and we got to talk to three of the SOLs for awhile, which I really liked. I mean, I did sort of come here to be able to interact with Egyptians and we've been in a bit of international student bubble since getting here. I hope I see Abdullah, Saied, and Abda al Hamad more during the semester. They were very friendly and interested in talking to us about Egypt and hearing about the U.S. from us.
-We went to Khan al Khalili, which was incredible, but, again, a lot to take in. The merchants just constantly harass you, especially if you are obviously a foreigner and a woman. I look forward to going back there when i have something specific to buy and haggling a bit (and practice my Arabic).
-I met up with Elena and Kayton (the other two Mac students at AUC). Kayton is living in the same dorm I am, and Elena is in an apartment down the street from the dorm. The view they have is incredible.
-Other than all of that, I've been hanging out with people and exploring mostly Zamalek (the island/neighborhood my dorm is in).
And now I am off to a birthday dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. Peace.
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