So I have been a pretty bad blogger over the past two weeks, but I have been busy with final exams, papers and presentations, as well as packing. We had a four-day weekend, and spent Tuesday sleeping and recovering from the week. Wednesday I went into full on study mode for my exams, and then took a break to see a movie with Andi. We had wanted to see “Easy A” but unfortunately it was no longer showing, so we saw “Due Date”. It is a comedy with Zach Galifianakis and Robert Downey Jr. driving across country. The hit lots of bumps in the road (no pun intended), but in the end they make it through. It was ironic we were seeing it at the end of our semester in Egypt, as it seemed really allegorical. We had a bumpy ride, but we were almost at the end.
Andi and I went to Cairo on Thursday. We went to Khan al-Khalili for the last time and bought some souvenirs before meeting up with her friends Andrew and Cosette who graduated from Duke last year and are doing a year long program in Cairo. I had met them with her last time we came to Cairo, and it was really great to see them! We went to the Yemini restaurant again, and kept them laughing with some of our crazy stories from the semester. We finished our night at a rooftop bar near our hotel, and it was oddly peaceful. I say oddly because Cairo is really the city that never sleeps. I have never really been a huge fan of Cairo, but I realized that the cool (seventy degree) December weather makes the craziness totally bearable, and that it is actually a really amazing place. Andi was even talking about coming back to do another summer program there! Because we have spent a lot of time in Alex, feeling trapped, we can appreciate the opportunities of Cairo, and are able to look past a lot of its shortcomings.
Friday we met up with Seif, who I was put in contact with through a family friend. He lives in Cairo, but has worked abroad, and is about ten years older than us. He took us to the garden at the Marriot, and yet again showed us that Cairo can be fun and beautiful. He couldn’t believe how tough our experience had been, but helped us see how unique it was. He also kept saying, “You girls are toughies,” and was really impressed with the amount of Egyptian Arabic we could speak. Andi and I both agreed that we definitely liked Cairo this time around, and felt ready and refreshed for exams.
Saturday brought the biggest storm Alexandria has seen in twenty years (great timing…just as we are leaving). It lasted two days with high winds, hail and rain. Buildings all over the city were destroyed, there were several deaths, and most of the city was under water due to the poor drainage system. I waded my way to class and exams, and it didn’t really faze me cause we were so close to the end.
Sunday and Monday were basically a blur, as all of my tests were those two days. Considering the fact that my classes and teachers were my absolute favorite part of the experience, I can definitely say it was bittersweet.
Tuesday was the official final day of the program. My one class had been canceled, so I spent the day packing. That evening we went to a group dinner at the boys’ dorm (which was a PALACE compared to the girls’ dorm). All of our teachers and Egyptian roommates came, and there was a talent show after dinner, including a few skits on daily life in Egypt, hilarious imitations and moving poetry readings. After the talent show, Nehad thanked everyone for the semester, and FINALLY announced that the pledge was over! We all said our goodbyes, and went back to the dorm.
My plane to Turkey is at 7 AM on Thursday, so I spent today relaxing, and making sure I was all packed. I am so excited to go to Turkey, and then home. I am absolutely ready to get out of Egypt; however there will be things I will miss. I will miss the temperate weather, running along the Mediterranean Sea, drinking tea at any time of day, everything being insanely inexpensive, using random Arabic phrases and having everyone understand and I am sure there are a million other things that will come to mind sporadically as I go through my daily life at Penn next semester.
I have had a very different abroad experience than most American students who choose to spend a semester in another country. I have been exposed to the evils and the beauty of this country, one of the oldest in the world. I have proved to myself that I am stronger than I ever anticipated, and learned first had that good things never come easily. I have met people and seen things that have changed my life. Robert Frost said it best in his poem “The Road Not Taken”:
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
I want to thank everyone who has followed this blog, as well as all of my friends and family for all of their love and support throughout the semester. To all of you who were here with me in Egypt, we wouldn’t have made it without each other, and I thank you for always lending an ear even when you had a hard day. Thanks to the girls who hosted me in Europe, and everyone who checked in on me every once in a while, and a special thanks to those few who sent me encouraging emails/texts/Skype chats/gchats on a daily basis making sure I was doing alright. As well as a special thank you to my wonderful parents, who endured many tearful Skype calls, as well as flew half way across the world to see me. Sometimes I feel like you went through all of my trial and tribulations with me from thousands of miles away. I will not be posting in Turkey, as I am not sure about my Internet situation there, so this will be my last post! Hope you have all enjoyed the blog, and I will see you State side.
Me eating my fool sandwich in front of the Sofitel on the Corniche
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Ten Days!
I have had a pretty busy week, and have not had a chance to update. Friday, I spent the day studying, and then went to Liz’s apartment for our program’s Thanksgiving celebration. Everyone pitched in and brought something to the meal, I brought plates and utensils, and it was a success! I was so impressed with the boys, and they did most of the cooking, including the best sweet potatoes I have EVER had, and some pretty awesome cornbread. All of us were so happy to be eating traditional Thanksgiving food in Liz’s beautiful apartment. A lot of the Egyptians came to the dinner, but none of them tried any of the food. Almost everything was Halal, and there hadn’t been any dinner in the dorm that day, so I was confused as to why they weren’t partaking in the feast! I asked someone if he had tried the food, and he gave me a look and said, “No, it looks strange.” I wanted to say, “We eat YOUR weird looking food everyday,” but I refrained. I was really surprised, and for some reason kind of hurt, we have been living in this country for almost four months, taking in the culture as best as we can, and are often criticized for our lack of open-mindedness, yet they couldn’t even try some food?!
I mentioned Liz’s apartment being quite nice. It is spacious with a full kitchen, living room, dining room and bedrooms, and fully furnished. I think that if I had the opportunity to live an apartment in Egypt, the experience would have been different, and probably a lot easier. This is simply because we really have no chance to escape from the culture, or just hang out, and an apartment would fulfill both of those need. Alas, that was not possible, as it is mandatory to live in the student dorms, and students staying a full year can move into an apartment after the first semester.
Saturday was my final class on Christianity in Egypt, and I had to do a fifteen minute presentation. I am thrilled to be coming to the end of the program, but it was bittersweet finishing my class with Ustez Emad, as I thoroughly enjoyed it. The rest of the school week was pretty uneventful, and I spent Wednesday working on a video for my Egyptian Colloquial class. The video is supposed to be on the “Dos and Don’ts of Egypt” for the incoming students. There were a few road blocks, as it is against Islam to be in films, except for official purposes, and most people were not willing to be filmed. We found a group of middle school boys who were willing to be in the video and harass us, so as to show how to handle harassment. They were hilarious, and sort of nervous about the whole thing, thinking it was going to be on American television, but we explained to them that it was just for a class, and then even more agreed to participate. We went all over the city, pointing out the best spots to visit, and the best things to do.
Wednesday night was the first night of Hannukkah, as well as the beginning of December! It was sad to not be home for Hannukkah, and not even be at school with my friends, but Andi, Tik and I went to Harry Potter, which was a nice break from Arabic. Tik was surprised at the amount of harassment we got when leaving the movie theater. When he expressed this, Andi promptly replied, “Welcome to my life.”
I spent Thursday doing work. Andi and I went to a café to get a change of scenery. We tried to get a cab or tram or bus to the café, and it took us over half hour. We asked the driver what the issue was, and he reminded us of the soccer match that was occurring in Alex at that exact time. Nobody was working, as they were ALL at the soccer match. No, this was not a special match, or a final of any sort, it was just a normal soccer match, and all public transportation pretty much shuts down.
Friday I went to a Coptic mass with Jessie, and my teacher Ustez Emad, and his family. The entire service was in Modern Standard Arabic, except for some bits in Coptic, which is pretty much a dead language. A lot of the prayers are extremely similar to those in a Jewish Shabbat service, which was really surprising! My teacher had mentioned that he had the same experience when he went to a synagogue in the States, and that there is a strong bond between Judaism and Coptic Christianity. We had lunch with his family after the service and then I went back to the dorm to do more work. I lit the Hannukkah candles with Ariana and Brianna, and it nice but made me a little homesick!
Today I had my final exam for Islam in Egypt, as well as the speaking part of my final in Modern Standard Arabic. I am totally finished with my one on one class, and my other classes are coming to a close. I went running after my exam, and I thought about how beautiful the sky here is. You can’t see all the pollution and the sad state of the buildings if you are just looking up. The sun was setting over the Mediterranean, and it was pretty magical. I have trained myself to look down at the ground or at a random spot in the sky, so as not to make eye contact with anyone and get any unwanted attention. I was running and minding my own business, when a random teenage boy attempted to punch me in the face. I ducked and he ran after me and hit me in the back of the head. I was really upset, but finished my run and realized that there is absolutely nothing I could do about this, except to stop running, which I do not want to do. Instead I chose to just get over it, and think about the run itself. That’s what Egypt has taught me to do. I am now able to recover from small traumas, by dealing with them quickly and internally so I can move on. Ten more days until the end of the program!
I mentioned Liz’s apartment being quite nice. It is spacious with a full kitchen, living room, dining room and bedrooms, and fully furnished. I think that if I had the opportunity to live an apartment in Egypt, the experience would have been different, and probably a lot easier. This is simply because we really have no chance to escape from the culture, or just hang out, and an apartment would fulfill both of those need. Alas, that was not possible, as it is mandatory to live in the student dorms, and students staying a full year can move into an apartment after the first semester.
Saturday was my final class on Christianity in Egypt, and I had to do a fifteen minute presentation. I am thrilled to be coming to the end of the program, but it was bittersweet finishing my class with Ustez Emad, as I thoroughly enjoyed it. The rest of the school week was pretty uneventful, and I spent Wednesday working on a video for my Egyptian Colloquial class. The video is supposed to be on the “Dos and Don’ts of Egypt” for the incoming students. There were a few road blocks, as it is against Islam to be in films, except for official purposes, and most people were not willing to be filmed. We found a group of middle school boys who were willing to be in the video and harass us, so as to show how to handle harassment. They were hilarious, and sort of nervous about the whole thing, thinking it was going to be on American television, but we explained to them that it was just for a class, and then even more agreed to participate. We went all over the city, pointing out the best spots to visit, and the best things to do.
Wednesday night was the first night of Hannukkah, as well as the beginning of December! It was sad to not be home for Hannukkah, and not even be at school with my friends, but Andi, Tik and I went to Harry Potter, which was a nice break from Arabic. Tik was surprised at the amount of harassment we got when leaving the movie theater. When he expressed this, Andi promptly replied, “Welcome to my life.”
I spent Thursday doing work. Andi and I went to a café to get a change of scenery. We tried to get a cab or tram or bus to the café, and it took us over half hour. We asked the driver what the issue was, and he reminded us of the soccer match that was occurring in Alex at that exact time. Nobody was working, as they were ALL at the soccer match. No, this was not a special match, or a final of any sort, it was just a normal soccer match, and all public transportation pretty much shuts down.
Friday I went to a Coptic mass with Jessie, and my teacher Ustez Emad, and his family. The entire service was in Modern Standard Arabic, except for some bits in Coptic, which is pretty much a dead language. A lot of the prayers are extremely similar to those in a Jewish Shabbat service, which was really surprising! My teacher had mentioned that he had the same experience when he went to a synagogue in the States, and that there is a strong bond between Judaism and Coptic Christianity. We had lunch with his family after the service and then I went back to the dorm to do more work. I lit the Hannukkah candles with Ariana and Brianna, and it nice but made me a little homesick!
Today I had my final exam for Islam in Egypt, as well as the speaking part of my final in Modern Standard Arabic. I am totally finished with my one on one class, and my other classes are coming to a close. I went running after my exam, and I thought about how beautiful the sky here is. You can’t see all the pollution and the sad state of the buildings if you are just looking up. The sun was setting over the Mediterranean, and it was pretty magical. I have trained myself to look down at the ground or at a random spot in the sky, so as not to make eye contact with anyone and get any unwanted attention. I was running and minding my own business, when a random teenage boy attempted to punch me in the face. I ducked and he ran after me and hit me in the back of the head. I was really upset, but finished my run and realized that there is absolutely nothing I could do about this, except to stop running, which I do not want to do. Instead I chose to just get over it, and think about the run itself. That’s what Egypt has taught me to do. I am now able to recover from small traumas, by dealing with them quickly and internally so I can move on. Ten more days until the end of the program!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving!
Friday I woke up late, and did work, but felt like a zombie and was THRILLED to go to sleep early. Back to class on Saturday, and it was nice to see everyone, and it seemed like I had never left Egypt. It was a generally normal day, but I couldn’t help but notice the genuinely horrific smell on my walk to school. I realized, that it was the aftermath of the most recent holiday, Eid al-Adha.
Eid al-Adha is a holiday in which Muslims traditionally sacrifice a sheep. The background of this is that G-d told Abraham to kill his son, Ishmael, to prove he was a believer. Abraham obeyed, but no matter how many times he put the knife to Ishmael’s throat it would not cut it. G-d told Abraham that he had proved himself, and that he should sacrifice a sheep instead. In current times, if you have the means, you are to sacrifice a sheep, keep a third of it for your family, give a third to your friends, and give a third to the poor. While I was away for the celebration, I did get a glimpse of some early sacrifices preparing for the big festival right on my street.
Flash-forward almost a week later, and the lamb’s blood (is it Passover yet?) and remains of its fur and innards are still embedded into the sidewalk. It doesn’t really rain here, and it seems that any efforts to clean it up were unsuccessful. The smell was unbearable.
Additionally, it seems that this last home stretch is difficult for all of us in Egypt, and for a lot of my other friends abroad. We are SO close to being done, but there is definitely still a decent chunk of time. I made the decision, after much deliberation, to change my ticket home from Jan 5th out of Tel Aviv, to December 21st out of Istanbul. I am so thrilled that I will have more than five days at home before my next semester of school, and an adequate period to re-adjust to America. I was initially extremely excited to travel, but my plans were not solidified, and honestly providing me more anxiety than necessary. Those places will always be there, and I think Istanbul will be a wonderful end to a trying semester.
On another note, my insomnia has returned with a vengeance. Several nights in the past week I have laid awake and listened to the muezzin call the Fajr prayer, the first prayer of the day between first light of dawn and sunrise usually around 5:30. Needless to say, I have been somewhat of a zombie lately, and hopefully I get back on track soon!
On Monday evening, I went to 3seer Mecca, a juice bar, with some of the Egyptian girls and we met up with a group of the guys (both Egyptian and American). It was great, but due to my exhaustion I wasn’t an active participant in the conversation. As the topic of conversation shifted to soccer, I became more of an observer, noticing that while the Egyptian guys seemed comfortable with the girls, they would never utter a curse in front of them. They all comfortably shook my hand, but would never dare to do so with an Egyptian girl (as touching her in any way would scar her reputation). Even with these seemingly progressive interactions and meet-ups at the juice bar, there are still so many boundaries between men and women in Egypt.
Tuesday was relatively uneventful, with the exception of my history class. We are learning about the end of the monarchy in Egypt, and to our surprise our teacher spoke very frankly about Egyptian government. He cited 1951 as the year when the last “real elections” took place, after which, all elections have been seemingly fixed. This is pertinent now, as there are Parliamentary elections this Sunday. Additionally, we spoke about 1948, and the beginning of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Little did my teacher know, that he was explaining the differences between Zionism and Judaism to three Jewish students (yes there are only three of us in my class, and yes we are all Jews). It was great to hear him go on for about ten minutes about how Zionism is a movement, and Judaism is a religion, and that educated people in the Middle East distinguish between the two, and how anti-Semitism is frowned upon in most educated circles.
Wednesday came and went. We had make up classes, because we had an extra day off in October. I visited Ahmed, the hairdresser, who was surprised that I actually had the language skills to speak to him, given I had last seen him in September when I was going through major culture shock. However it is great to be able to see my own improvements and the amount of the language I have acquired in such a short time. My ECA class went to a movie, which was exciting because I could understand it! However the movie itself, labeled as a comedy but actually rather dark, was bizarre. It was about a man who you are led to believe has Alzheimer’s, when actually it is all a rouse put on by his two sons and they are leading him to believe he has the disease so they can control his money. He finds out about the rouse, and spends the second half of the movie getting back at them. I was exhausted from my insomnia, and went to bed super early and slept for twelve hours.
Today was Thanksgiving, my first not with family, and I woke up very late. I spent the entire day alternating doing work and doing absolutely nothing. The program is having a Thanksgiving celebration tomorrow evening, but tonight there was nothing planned. I went to Chili’s with four other girls to have a taste of America, and we had such a nice time! I’m sad to not be in America for Thanksgiving, and it was definitely hard to be motivated to do my work today but we really tried to make the best of it together!
I came home and skyped with my family, and my mom passed the computer around to various family members. It was great to see everyone, but sad to be missing out on the event. I think that everyone abroad right now is having a similar Thanksgiving experience.
Eid al-Adha is a holiday in which Muslims traditionally sacrifice a sheep. The background of this is that G-d told Abraham to kill his son, Ishmael, to prove he was a believer. Abraham obeyed, but no matter how many times he put the knife to Ishmael’s throat it would not cut it. G-d told Abraham that he had proved himself, and that he should sacrifice a sheep instead. In current times, if you have the means, you are to sacrifice a sheep, keep a third of it for your family, give a third to your friends, and give a third to the poor. While I was away for the celebration, I did get a glimpse of some early sacrifices preparing for the big festival right on my street.
Flash-forward almost a week later, and the lamb’s blood (is it Passover yet?) and remains of its fur and innards are still embedded into the sidewalk. It doesn’t really rain here, and it seems that any efforts to clean it up were unsuccessful. The smell was unbearable.
Additionally, it seems that this last home stretch is difficult for all of us in Egypt, and for a lot of my other friends abroad. We are SO close to being done, but there is definitely still a decent chunk of time. I made the decision, after much deliberation, to change my ticket home from Jan 5th out of Tel Aviv, to December 21st out of Istanbul. I am so thrilled that I will have more than five days at home before my next semester of school, and an adequate period to re-adjust to America. I was initially extremely excited to travel, but my plans were not solidified, and honestly providing me more anxiety than necessary. Those places will always be there, and I think Istanbul will be a wonderful end to a trying semester.
On another note, my insomnia has returned with a vengeance. Several nights in the past week I have laid awake and listened to the muezzin call the Fajr prayer, the first prayer of the day between first light of dawn and sunrise usually around 5:30. Needless to say, I have been somewhat of a zombie lately, and hopefully I get back on track soon!
On Monday evening, I went to 3seer Mecca, a juice bar, with some of the Egyptian girls and we met up with a group of the guys (both Egyptian and American). It was great, but due to my exhaustion I wasn’t an active participant in the conversation. As the topic of conversation shifted to soccer, I became more of an observer, noticing that while the Egyptian guys seemed comfortable with the girls, they would never utter a curse in front of them. They all comfortably shook my hand, but would never dare to do so with an Egyptian girl (as touching her in any way would scar her reputation). Even with these seemingly progressive interactions and meet-ups at the juice bar, there are still so many boundaries between men and women in Egypt.
Tuesday was relatively uneventful, with the exception of my history class. We are learning about the end of the monarchy in Egypt, and to our surprise our teacher spoke very frankly about Egyptian government. He cited 1951 as the year when the last “real elections” took place, after which, all elections have been seemingly fixed. This is pertinent now, as there are Parliamentary elections this Sunday. Additionally, we spoke about 1948, and the beginning of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Little did my teacher know, that he was explaining the differences between Zionism and Judaism to three Jewish students (yes there are only three of us in my class, and yes we are all Jews). It was great to hear him go on for about ten minutes about how Zionism is a movement, and Judaism is a religion, and that educated people in the Middle East distinguish between the two, and how anti-Semitism is frowned upon in most educated circles.
Wednesday came and went. We had make up classes, because we had an extra day off in October. I visited Ahmed, the hairdresser, who was surprised that I actually had the language skills to speak to him, given I had last seen him in September when I was going through major culture shock. However it is great to be able to see my own improvements and the amount of the language I have acquired in such a short time. My ECA class went to a movie, which was exciting because I could understand it! However the movie itself, labeled as a comedy but actually rather dark, was bizarre. It was about a man who you are led to believe has Alzheimer’s, when actually it is all a rouse put on by his two sons and they are leading him to believe he has the disease so they can control his money. He finds out about the rouse, and spends the second half of the movie getting back at them. I was exhausted from my insomnia, and went to bed super early and slept for twelve hours.
Today was Thanksgiving, my first not with family, and I woke up very late. I spent the entire day alternating doing work and doing absolutely nothing. The program is having a Thanksgiving celebration tomorrow evening, but tonight there was nothing planned. I went to Chili’s with four other girls to have a taste of America, and we had such a nice time! I’m sad to not be in America for Thanksgiving, and it was definitely hard to be motivated to do my work today but we really tried to make the best of it together!
I came home and skyped with my family, and my mom passed the computer around to various family members. It was great to see everyone, but sad to be missing out on the event. I think that everyone abroad right now is having a similar Thanksgiving experience.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Welcome Back to Egypt?
Two tube lines were down on my way to the airport, and all I could think was that traveling is never simple, even in western civilization. Otherwise, my flight went very well! It was five hours, and I landed at 8:45 PM Cairo time (seven hours ahead of EST). I promptly went to the bus station, and got on the next bus to Alexandria.
I felt refreshed after my time away, and actually excited to be back in Egypt. All of the people at the airport were surprised I was speaking Arabic, and I was happy that I still felt very comfortable in the language, even after ten days away!
I got on the bus at a little before 10PM, and took a Tylonel PM, figuring the journey would be long, but I could sleep through it. My BlackBerry had very little life left, so I turned it off, and prepared for a long nap.
Unfortunately, this was not what transpired. By 11:00 PM we were still in Cairo. The bus broke down in the middle of the city (what is with me and broken busses?), and the driver didn’t seem to be doing anything to fix it. I stayed calm for the first hour, trying not to fall asleep standing on the side of the road. A woman and her brother, as well as a businessman who was fluent in English, befriended me, and we worked together to decide what should be done. We missed all of the other buses to Alexandria, the trains stop running at midnight, and a taxi is too dangerous. We ended up waiting on the side of the road until 1:00AM, when the new bus came.
I finally called my mom from my Egyptian phone to let her know I was on a bus. I started to cry. I was exhausted, and they Tylonel PM in my system wasn’t helping, and I realized that for the first time in Egypt I had actually been frightened. Rationally, I knew nothing would happen to me. But being a twenty-year-old girl standing on the side of the street in Cairo after midnight is not the safest thing, and i could no longer ignore the lump in my throat that was present throughout the entire wait.
I pretended I was asleep, but the other passengers gave me some water and told me to have my own row to myself. I passed out on top of all of my stuff, as I hadn’t allowed the driver to put my suitcase under the bus, and woke up in Alexandria at 4:00 AM. The woman and her brother wouldn’t let me take a cab alone, and they dropped me off at my dorm. Once in my room, I was pretty wired, so I unpacked and did some laundry before passing out until 1 PM the next day.
Did I expect smooth sailing on the trip from Cairo to Alex? No. I have also learned, by now, to be prepared for anything. However that bus experience was worse than expected, and worse than the way to the airport because it was at night. Despite the experience, I am going make sure I get the most out of the next three weeks.
I felt refreshed after my time away, and actually excited to be back in Egypt. All of the people at the airport were surprised I was speaking Arabic, and I was happy that I still felt very comfortable in the language, even after ten days away!
I got on the bus at a little before 10PM, and took a Tylonel PM, figuring the journey would be long, but I could sleep through it. My BlackBerry had very little life left, so I turned it off, and prepared for a long nap.
Unfortunately, this was not what transpired. By 11:00 PM we were still in Cairo. The bus broke down in the middle of the city (what is with me and broken busses?), and the driver didn’t seem to be doing anything to fix it. I stayed calm for the first hour, trying not to fall asleep standing on the side of the road. A woman and her brother, as well as a businessman who was fluent in English, befriended me, and we worked together to decide what should be done. We missed all of the other buses to Alexandria, the trains stop running at midnight, and a taxi is too dangerous. We ended up waiting on the side of the road until 1:00AM, when the new bus came.
I finally called my mom from my Egyptian phone to let her know I was on a bus. I started to cry. I was exhausted, and they Tylonel PM in my system wasn’t helping, and I realized that for the first time in Egypt I had actually been frightened. Rationally, I knew nothing would happen to me. But being a twenty-year-old girl standing on the side of the street in Cairo after midnight is not the safest thing, and i could no longer ignore the lump in my throat that was present throughout the entire wait.
I pretended I was asleep, but the other passengers gave me some water and told me to have my own row to myself. I passed out on top of all of my stuff, as I hadn’t allowed the driver to put my suitcase under the bus, and woke up in Alexandria at 4:00 AM. The woman and her brother wouldn’t let me take a cab alone, and they dropped me off at my dorm. Once in my room, I was pretty wired, so I unpacked and did some laundry before passing out until 1 PM the next day.
Did I expect smooth sailing on the trip from Cairo to Alex? No. I have also learned, by now, to be prepared for anything. However that bus experience was worse than expected, and worse than the way to the airport because it was at night. Despite the experience, I am going make sure I get the most out of the next three weeks.
Londontown -Part Two
Tuesday was another packed day. My friend Sam from my program in Egypt happened to be in London also, so we spent the day together, as Ange and Jess had class. Sam and I met up at the Tate Modern. After that we walked across the Millenium Bridge, past St. Paul’s, and through Hyde Park and Knightsbridge. The day was beautiful, the streets were charming and we were both thoroughly enjoying our time in civilization.
We had a super long lunch at a beautiful restaurant and then continued walking around and found ourselves traveling through Notting Hill, and all over the Kensington area. Eventually we ended up in another part of town around the Old Street tube stop for excellent Thai food.
The fun of just walking around a great city like London is undervalued. I think I was particularly happy because the city is decently clean (VERY clean in contrast to Cairo), and it was a wonderful change to not have people blatantly staring at me.
Wednesday, my last day in London, was a fabulous! Andrea and I got up early and went to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Upon arrival we were given iPod touches that had an interactive tour of the cathedral. It really made all the difference, as we learned SO much about the cathedral (the first cathedral on that spot of land was in the seventh century, and Christopher Wren’s cathedral that stands now is the fourth) and thoroughly enjoyed our time there! It is so incredibly beautiful and rich in history. The iPod even showed us a clip of Charles and Diana’s wedding in the cathedral in 1981, which was poignant given the long awaited engagement of Kate and Prince William (yes yes I got caught up on my British gossip while in London.)
After St. Paul’s, I met our family friend Morgan at a hotel that overlooks Hyde Park for lunch. I enjoyed seeing her, and we even called my dad to say hi! The view was spectacular, and I could see beyond the park all the way to the London Eye!
On my way back to Ange and Jess’s I stopped and picked up half price tickets to Les Mis! Jess had seen the show the last time she was in London, but Ange had never seen it. I was in the show once, and have seen it twice, but I felt that it was a great opportunity to see it again, and I felt like I was revisiting an old friend. The story is so beautiful, and the cast was pretty good! I cried my way through the second act (from “Bring Him Home” onward, if anyone is familiar with the show), and was thrilled that Ange enjoyed it just as much as I did!!!
I had such a wonderful time in London, a part of me wishes I could stay, but the other part is ready to finish my program in Egypt (a little more than three weeks are left). My trip to Europe left me feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the last few hurdles of my semester!
We had a super long lunch at a beautiful restaurant and then continued walking around and found ourselves traveling through Notting Hill, and all over the Kensington area. Eventually we ended up in another part of town around the Old Street tube stop for excellent Thai food.
The fun of just walking around a great city like London is undervalued. I think I was particularly happy because the city is decently clean (VERY clean in contrast to Cairo), and it was a wonderful change to not have people blatantly staring at me.
Wednesday, my last day in London, was a fabulous! Andrea and I got up early and went to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Upon arrival we were given iPod touches that had an interactive tour of the cathedral. It really made all the difference, as we learned SO much about the cathedral (the first cathedral on that spot of land was in the seventh century, and Christopher Wren’s cathedral that stands now is the fourth) and thoroughly enjoyed our time there! It is so incredibly beautiful and rich in history. The iPod even showed us a clip of Charles and Diana’s wedding in the cathedral in 1981, which was poignant given the long awaited engagement of Kate and Prince William (yes yes I got caught up on my British gossip while in London.)
After St. Paul’s, I met our family friend Morgan at a hotel that overlooks Hyde Park for lunch. I enjoyed seeing her, and we even called my dad to say hi! The view was spectacular, and I could see beyond the park all the way to the London Eye!
On my way back to Ange and Jess’s I stopped and picked up half price tickets to Les Mis! Jess had seen the show the last time she was in London, but Ange had never seen it. I was in the show once, and have seen it twice, but I felt that it was a great opportunity to see it again, and I felt like I was revisiting an old friend. The story is so beautiful, and the cast was pretty good! I cried my way through the second act (from “Bring Him Home” onward, if anyone is familiar with the show), and was thrilled that Ange enjoyed it just as much as I did!!!
I had such a wonderful time in London, a part of me wishes I could stay, but the other part is ready to finish my program in Egypt (a little more than three weeks are left). My trip to Europe left me feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the last few hurdles of my semester!
Londontown -Part One
I arrived in London at 9PM GMT on Saturday, and took the Tube over to Jess and Andrea’s dorm in Waterloo. Being with my friends, in an English speaking country, in one of my favorite cities in the world was definitely the remedy to my Middle Eastern misery.
On Saturday night we went out to a club and had a great time (I love that the legal age is eighteen, it makes life so much easier). The tubes close at 12:30, so we ended up walking back through some of London’s most famous areas, and it was a wonderful welcome to the city. We crossed the Waterloo Bridge and saw Parliament and Big Ben all lit up, as well as the London Eye, and in the other direction St. Paul’s and the Tate Modern.
I have been to London before, on my own and with my family, so I didn’t feel the need to do major site seeing. Sunday morning we woke up late, and Jess and I took the tube to Portobello Market and walked around all afternoon. It is such an adorable area with so much character, we ended up spending hours there. Even the rain couldn’t wreck my mood, as I was having so much fun going into different shops and eating amazing cupcakes at Hummingbird.
When we returned, I went running along the Thames. It was absolutely surreal, as I have been running through the ruins of what used to be the glorious city of Alexandria. I got to run by all of the monuments mentioned before, and felt totally at ease, with nobody staring at me or trying to grab me. Since I enjoyed it so much, I made sure to run again over the next few days!
The rest of the evening was low key, we went out to dinner, and I spent time with them and their suitemates who were great. They live in a suite of six people, and they all have their own rooms and bathrooms, but share a kitchen and common space. It was great to meet new people, and see what a very different abroad experience is like!
Monday morning I woke up to beautiful weather. I was meeting my other sorority sisters, Nina and Julie, as well as their roommate, Mia, for lunch on the other side of the city, and I decided to walk. Throughout my walk (more of a leisurely mosey) I decided that London is so magical for several reasons: 1) there are very few tall buildings, which gives the city a quaint feeling, making it less intimidating than New York 2) the architecture is absolutely beautiful, and so much older than anything in the States, I felt like a Jane Austen character was going to roll up in a coach as I was walking around the city 3) the city is very spread out, and each neighborhood has its own traits, yes this is a characteristic of every major city, but I feel like it is so much more prevalent in this city 4) everyone has such cool accents, and 5) it is a truly international city, there are people from every place in the world, and this is represented by the languages you hear spoken and the excellent ethnic food available on every corner, and because of this characteristic, is easy to feel connected to the city. I didn’t feel like a foreigner or a tourist, I blended in easily, and not because I speak English, but because I could speak any language and be any ethnicity and not get a second glance in London.
Lunch was great! Again, it was so nice to see more friendly faces and hear about all of their abroad experiences. After lunch I met Jess at the National Gallery, which was absolutely beautiful. They have such a comprehensive and diverse collection of art, ranging from Medieval Art all the way through to twentieth century art, and some very contemporary pieces as well. I personally enjoyed the Post-Impressionist section of the museum, and made up for missing the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. We walked back to their dorm, and we made dinner in their kitchen. After dinner I did laundry, which was really exciting. I haven’t used a dryer in months, and right before I left the washer on my floor in the dorm broke. It couldn’t process the detergent for some reason, and just moved the clothes around in water, leaving them discolored and still not clean. After several tries with various machines, I took all my clothes into a shower stall and washed them with a bar of soap…definitely not fun. So needless to say, a real washer/dryer was a fabulous change.
We all took naps and then went out to a club nearby in a big group, as one of the other suitemates had a visitor as well. We walked back from the club (across the suspension bridge), and again saw the skyline which never ceases to amaze and excite me!
On Saturday night we went out to a club and had a great time (I love that the legal age is eighteen, it makes life so much easier). The tubes close at 12:30, so we ended up walking back through some of London’s most famous areas, and it was a wonderful welcome to the city. We crossed the Waterloo Bridge and saw Parliament and Big Ben all lit up, as well as the London Eye, and in the other direction St. Paul’s and the Tate Modern.
I have been to London before, on my own and with my family, so I didn’t feel the need to do major site seeing. Sunday morning we woke up late, and Jess and I took the tube to Portobello Market and walked around all afternoon. It is such an adorable area with so much character, we ended up spending hours there. Even the rain couldn’t wreck my mood, as I was having so much fun going into different shops and eating amazing cupcakes at Hummingbird.
When we returned, I went running along the Thames. It was absolutely surreal, as I have been running through the ruins of what used to be the glorious city of Alexandria. I got to run by all of the monuments mentioned before, and felt totally at ease, with nobody staring at me or trying to grab me. Since I enjoyed it so much, I made sure to run again over the next few days!
The rest of the evening was low key, we went out to dinner, and I spent time with them and their suitemates who were great. They live in a suite of six people, and they all have their own rooms and bathrooms, but share a kitchen and common space. It was great to meet new people, and see what a very different abroad experience is like!
Monday morning I woke up to beautiful weather. I was meeting my other sorority sisters, Nina and Julie, as well as their roommate, Mia, for lunch on the other side of the city, and I decided to walk. Throughout my walk (more of a leisurely mosey) I decided that London is so magical for several reasons: 1) there are very few tall buildings, which gives the city a quaint feeling, making it less intimidating than New York 2) the architecture is absolutely beautiful, and so much older than anything in the States, I felt like a Jane Austen character was going to roll up in a coach as I was walking around the city 3) the city is very spread out, and each neighborhood has its own traits, yes this is a characteristic of every major city, but I feel like it is so much more prevalent in this city 4) everyone has such cool accents, and 5) it is a truly international city, there are people from every place in the world, and this is represented by the languages you hear spoken and the excellent ethnic food available on every corner, and because of this characteristic, is easy to feel connected to the city. I didn’t feel like a foreigner or a tourist, I blended in easily, and not because I speak English, but because I could speak any language and be any ethnicity and not get a second glance in London.
Lunch was great! Again, it was so nice to see more friendly faces and hear about all of their abroad experiences. After lunch I met Jess at the National Gallery, which was absolutely beautiful. They have such a comprehensive and diverse collection of art, ranging from Medieval Art all the way through to twentieth century art, and some very contemporary pieces as well. I personally enjoyed the Post-Impressionist section of the museum, and made up for missing the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. We walked back to their dorm, and we made dinner in their kitchen. After dinner I did laundry, which was really exciting. I haven’t used a dryer in months, and right before I left the washer on my floor in the dorm broke. It couldn’t process the detergent for some reason, and just moved the clothes around in water, leaving them discolored and still not clean. After several tries with various machines, I took all my clothes into a shower stall and washed them with a bar of soap…definitely not fun. So needless to say, a real washer/dryer was a fabulous change.
We all took naps and then went out to a club nearby in a big group, as one of the other suitemates had a visitor as well. We walked back from the club (across the suspension bridge), and again saw the skyline which never ceases to amaze and excite me!
Amsterdam!
Because of patchy Internet while traveling i didn't get the opportunity to post about the rest of my trip, and will be posting them all now!
I left Leuven early on Thursday to meet up with some of my sorority sisters (Lora, Sami, Brittany and Stef as well as Lucy who is in Tri Delta and Louisa who goes to Johns Hopkins) in Amsterdam. They are all studying in Paris for the semester, but were spending the weekend in Amsterdam, and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for me to see another new place!
I arrived in Amsterdam around 1PM on Thursday, and was greeted with the worst weather possible. It was freezing, pouring rain and windy. I was warned that people in Amsterdam suggest everything in the city is walking distance. We knew the hotel wasn’t far, but we wanted to take a cab because of the weather, and were turned down by several cab drivers all of who told us to walk. This would NEVER happen anywhere else I have ever traveled, as it seems counter productive to the livelihood of the cab drivers!
We walked around for a while and went into a coffee shop, and saw firsthand why Amsterdam has such a crazy reputation. There are “no smoking” signs everywhere, but they say “TOBACCO PROHIBITED, MARIJUANA ENCOURAGED” or something to that effect. Needless to say, this is VERY different from Egypt. If an Egyptian is caught with drugs, their punishment can be as severe as to get their hand cut off.
Because of the weather, we eventually decided to go to one of Amsterdam’s many museums. We spent the afternoon and early evening in the Heineken Experience, which was a really well done exhibit. We learned how beer is made, and got three free beers with admission! They also had a really cool room with reclining chairs in front of televisions showing a loop of Heineken commercials from the 1960s until today.
We had dinner at an amazing restaurant, I honestly don’t know the name of it, but it was wonderful to have western food and spend an evening with so many familiar faces!
The next morning we got up early to go to the Anne Frank house. It was an amazing and moving experience. We all agreed that it provided an amazing amount of insight into her family, and it was easy to see that they were all very close, especially from the video interview of her father. The museum worked to preserve the story of the Frank family, as well as educate all of its patrons on the general history of the Holocaust. I was happy to have shared that experience with my friends, many of whom happen to be Jewish as well.
After Anne Frank we had pancakes, one of the many things Amsterdam is famous for, and then set off on a bike tour of the city. We were really lucky that the weather held up, and we took a three hour tour, stopping at all the main sights. The Vandelpark was one of my favorite places, as it reminded me a lot of New York City’s Central Park. Amsterdam is such a beautiful city, which is rich in history. One of my favorite parts of the tour was when the guide explained that all of the houses along the canals are build to be slanted inward. All of the houses have hooks on their roofs, where people’s stock would hang in the sixteenth century, so as to avoid getting wet if the canals flooded. The houses are tipped forward so the stock wouldn’t damage the façade of the house but hitting against it.
We spent the better part of the afternoon walking around after the bike tour, and then partook in rijstaafl for dinner, which is a seven course Indonesian meal. There are an abundance of Indonesian restaurants in Amsterdam, as it was a Dutch colony. I have never eaten Indonesian food before, and we all agreed it was a wonderful gastronomic experience. The food came all at once and we feasted for a while, enjoying savory sauces and different types of rice and vegetables. I would definitely do it again! We were exhausted after our long day and decided to turn in early.
The next morning, we slept in, and went to breakfast at a place called Bagels and Beans. We were so thrilled to have bagels! They were more like fancy bread in the shape of a bagel, but beggars can’t be choosers. Afterward we went over to the museum square and took pictures in front of the “I Amsterdam” sign. Then we waited in line for the National Gallery. The museum itself was amazing, with a lot of Rembrandts and Vermeers. It is no my favorite period of art, but the building itself was architecturally beautiful, on the inside and the outside, and the collection was extensive and impressive. Unfortunately I didn’t have enough time for the Van Gogh, but I have seen a lot of exhibits (at YCBA and the Met), and enjoyed the last few hours walking around Amsterdam with my friends before hopping on an InterCity train from Amsterdam to Belgium, and then the Eurostar from Brussels to London.
I definitely want to go back to Amsterdam, preferably in the summer, as there are beaches nearby and it is a beautiful city to walk around. It is a ton of fun, but also rich in history and culture.
I left Leuven early on Thursday to meet up with some of my sorority sisters (Lora, Sami, Brittany and Stef as well as Lucy who is in Tri Delta and Louisa who goes to Johns Hopkins) in Amsterdam. They are all studying in Paris for the semester, but were spending the weekend in Amsterdam, and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for me to see another new place!
I arrived in Amsterdam around 1PM on Thursday, and was greeted with the worst weather possible. It was freezing, pouring rain and windy. I was warned that people in Amsterdam suggest everything in the city is walking distance. We knew the hotel wasn’t far, but we wanted to take a cab because of the weather, and were turned down by several cab drivers all of who told us to walk. This would NEVER happen anywhere else I have ever traveled, as it seems counter productive to the livelihood of the cab drivers!
We walked around for a while and went into a coffee shop, and saw firsthand why Amsterdam has such a crazy reputation. There are “no smoking” signs everywhere, but they say “TOBACCO PROHIBITED, MARIJUANA ENCOURAGED” or something to that effect. Needless to say, this is VERY different from Egypt. If an Egyptian is caught with drugs, their punishment can be as severe as to get their hand cut off.
Because of the weather, we eventually decided to go to one of Amsterdam’s many museums. We spent the afternoon and early evening in the Heineken Experience, which was a really well done exhibit. We learned how beer is made, and got three free beers with admission! They also had a really cool room with reclining chairs in front of televisions showing a loop of Heineken commercials from the 1960s until today.
We had dinner at an amazing restaurant, I honestly don’t know the name of it, but it was wonderful to have western food and spend an evening with so many familiar faces!
The next morning we got up early to go to the Anne Frank house. It was an amazing and moving experience. We all agreed that it provided an amazing amount of insight into her family, and it was easy to see that they were all very close, especially from the video interview of her father. The museum worked to preserve the story of the Frank family, as well as educate all of its patrons on the general history of the Holocaust. I was happy to have shared that experience with my friends, many of whom happen to be Jewish as well.
After Anne Frank we had pancakes, one of the many things Amsterdam is famous for, and then set off on a bike tour of the city. We were really lucky that the weather held up, and we took a three hour tour, stopping at all the main sights. The Vandelpark was one of my favorite places, as it reminded me a lot of New York City’s Central Park. Amsterdam is such a beautiful city, which is rich in history. One of my favorite parts of the tour was when the guide explained that all of the houses along the canals are build to be slanted inward. All of the houses have hooks on their roofs, where people’s stock would hang in the sixteenth century, so as to avoid getting wet if the canals flooded. The houses are tipped forward so the stock wouldn’t damage the façade of the house but hitting against it.
We spent the better part of the afternoon walking around after the bike tour, and then partook in rijstaafl for dinner, which is a seven course Indonesian meal. There are an abundance of Indonesian restaurants in Amsterdam, as it was a Dutch colony. I have never eaten Indonesian food before, and we all agreed it was a wonderful gastronomic experience. The food came all at once and we feasted for a while, enjoying savory sauces and different types of rice and vegetables. I would definitely do it again! We were exhausted after our long day and decided to turn in early.
The next morning, we slept in, and went to breakfast at a place called Bagels and Beans. We were so thrilled to have bagels! They were more like fancy bread in the shape of a bagel, but beggars can’t be choosers. Afterward we went over to the museum square and took pictures in front of the “I Amsterdam” sign. Then we waited in line for the National Gallery. The museum itself was amazing, with a lot of Rembrandts and Vermeers. It is no my favorite period of art, but the building itself was architecturally beautiful, on the inside and the outside, and the collection was extensive and impressive. Unfortunately I didn’t have enough time for the Van Gogh, but I have seen a lot of exhibits (at YCBA and the Met), and enjoyed the last few hours walking around Amsterdam with my friends before hopping on an InterCity train from Amsterdam to Belgium, and then the Eurostar from Brussels to London.
I definitely want to go back to Amsterdam, preferably in the summer, as there are beaches nearby and it is a beautiful city to walk around. It is a ton of fun, but also rich in history and culture.
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