Masallamah Ya Misr

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.