Eid Mubarak!

I have been in Egypt for two weeks now, and I definitely feel more comfortable here. The past few days have been pretty low key. On Saturday the highlight was definitely eating at an authentic fish restaurant. I ordered a “small, white fish, grilled, without the head.” Additionally we went to a public concert at the Library of Alexandria, which started four hours late…oh Egypt.
On Sunday, a large group of us went to a student’s house to have an Eid meal. He lives in the countryside, very similar to Rasheed. We walked around the area for a while, and then went to his house. The hospitality here is unmatched. He and his siblings wanted to know everything about us and take pictures with us.
Its hard not to feel like a tourist attraction because EVERYWHERE we go no matter what we are wearing or how we are walking we get hissed at or harassed in some way. I now know what it feels like to be a character at a theme park and have people constantly wanting photos with you, but I don't have a costume to take off at the end of the day, its part of my daily life.In the past two weeks alone I have been shouted at in English, Spanish, Arabic and French. Additionally, I have been called “asal” (sugar cane) and “ishtaa” (cream), and asked if I “wanted sex”. It can definitely be trying on ones nerves to say the least, especially with the persistent ones.
Today was the first day of classes (YAY!). My first class was my Arabic language class (MSA) and is a literature class of sorts. We have a special book that’s a collection of articles from academic works with drills and writing exercises. The class is small (six people) and moves quickly, I just hope I can keep up!
My second class was my history class. My teacher is an adorable man who looks like an Egyptian W.B. Mason. He went over the syllabus, and explained we will not be having written tests just oral ones. He then proceeded to give a lecture on the beginning of the 16th century in the Middle East, and after an hour he had us summarize the lecture. It’s a fun group (just four students) and should be interesting!
I then met with my one-on-one professors. All of the students in the program work directly with a professor for three hours a week on a topic of their choice. My one-on-one is “Religious Life in Egypt”, and I have two professors. I meet with the Dr. Saeed for two hours a week to learn about Muslim life in Egypt, and Ustez (teacher) Imad for one hour a week to learn about Christianity in Egypt.
My ECA class was great. My teacher, Heba, is hilarious. She mouths words in English to us if we are absolutely confused, and it’s a big class (about ten people) but a really fun group.
All of my teachers gave us their cell phone numbers, and assured us that we should contact them if we have any problems at all. This opportunity is so different from ANYTHING I have found at Penn, where lectures have sixty people at a minimum and three hundred at maximum, and professors have two hours of office hours a week.
After class I studied with Allie (from Davidson) and Ariana (from Tufts) and the Library of Alexandria. There is free wifi, and a considerable amount of security, but it was absolutely incredible to be studying below sea level. The building is amazing (even rivals Huntsman Hall), and it was a great place to get work done!
After dinner a few of us went to the Citadel with Andi to celebrate her birthday! We got ice cream and walked around a little.
I have a lot of work for Saturday, but I only have one class tomorrow at 2PM, and then the weekend!