Weekend Rollercoaster

The past few days have been an emotional rollercoaster. I knew exactly what I signed up for, and Middlebury definitely delivered. I am bombarded by the culture and language in every aspect of my life, and it definitely took its toll on me. After countless nights of insomnia, I finally cracked, and begged my parents to buy me a ticket home (a part of me is surprised I lasted this long before asking them for one). After a lot of complaining and tears we all decided my number one priority should be sleep, so I have been actively trying to sleep more, and have been somewhat successful.
Fueled by Tuesday’s breakdown, I went to Cairo with Andi and Stephanie (a girl from GWU). The trip was interesting, and it was definitely nice to get away. The train was punctual (one point for Egypt!) and rivaled Amtrak in its quality. We took second class which totaled to be LE70 round trip (about $13). We found a clean hostel in a great area (thank you hostelworld.com) for a whopping $15 a night for three people, and set out to meet Stephanie’s friends at a Yemeni restaurant.
Last time I was in Cairo was during Ramadan. Strangely, the city was LESS hectic on a normal day. We took the subway, and it was fantastic! It looks a lot like the Underground in London (it was built by the French when Egypt was under their occupation) and was cheap, efficient and air-conditioned! There are also special women’s cars just like the tram in Alexandria.
Stephanie’s friends were great to chat with, and the restaurant was awesome. We ate salat mushakl (a soupy meat dish) fasah (very similar soupy, cheese concoction but with beans) and fusholeyah (a rice and meat combo). No utensils are provided, and you are given massive (maybe two feet in diameter) pieces of bread that look kind of like Indian naan bread to scoop up all the food. It was a totally awesome experience, all for LE12 (about $2). I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture, so I guess I will just have to go back!
We met up with some more Americans (and may have broken the pledge to talk to them, but oh well) and it was really great to hear a range of experiences. All of them were in different programs, from different American colleges, and knew different degrees of Arabic before coming here. Hopefully they will come visit Alex and we can show them around.
That night I had some more insomnia…ugh…I think it’s rooted in the anxiety spurred from basic daily life in Egypt. I am a major control freak, and 95% of things here are absolutely out of my control. I am working really hard in losing any expectations and just rolling with the punches, but that saying about old dogs and new tricks really stands true here.
The next day we ventured out across Cairo to an ex-pat neighborhood that has an authentic American diner called Lucille’s. To say we were in heaven would be an understatement. I got a fajita (which was awesome) and the other girls got pancakes. We each got diet cokes (the fountain soda kind not cans!) and there were free refills. It was so much fun! While the restaurant was run by Egyptians, almost everyone in there was speaking English, and we were the only table speaking in Arabic.
Full and happy, we went to the old location of the American University in Cairo (it recently moved to Heliopolis a suburb of Cairo), to meet up with some of Andi’s friends. They both just graduated from Duke, and are incredible at Arabic. They were really patient with us, and not once while talking to them did I feel like they were condescending, a stark contrast to some of the more advanced speakers in the Middlebury program. We had a great time, and told hilarious stories in Arabic! It is extremely rewarding when you get your point across, even if it takes a while.
The train back was even better than the one to Cairo because it arrived early! I did some work and a load of laundry and promptly passed out, commencing my first full night of non-codeine induced sleep!
This morning, when I was watching a Criminal Minds episode before starting on the rest of my work, one of the characters quoted Eleanor Roosevelt, and it was particularly inspiring. She said, “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this, I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Now she was probably referring to World War II, but I definitely can relate this to my life at the moment. I can do this, and I will do this. It is definitely not easy, but it is worth it.