Study Abroad, Northwestern University

September 22, 2007
Culture Shock Has Never Felt So Good. A Trip Up the Nile: Uganda to Cairo

After spending the summer in rugged northern Uganda on the Northwestern ENGAGE Uganda study abroad program, Cairo felt like a breath of fresh air. Well, not exactly, as it currently ranks #1 in the world for worst air pollution, but you’ll soon learn what I mean. As of today, I will have been in Cairo for exactly one month. I have completed my third week of classes, become involved in volunteer activities with refugees and school clubs, learned how to hail a cab, perfected the Egyptian colloquial greetings, eaten loads of falafel and fuul (a traditional Egyptian bean dish), smoked sheesha and learned to play backgammon, and have been to see the pyramids and the sphinx (of course).

I have had the privilege of traveling the world quite a bit already, but let me tell you, Cairo is a place that has me uniquely excited about my four month stay. There is so much to explore in this city and in Egypt in general. My particular view of Cairo is biased, as the lens from which I’m coming involves not only previous travel but having lived this past summer in rural northern Uganda where I lived in a homestay setting with a traditional Acholi family, where I did my wash by hands and killed chickens for dinner, where I was learning the Acholi language Luo, where I walked on red dirt roads and rode on boda bodas (motorcycles), where I worked with a small community based organization, where I couldn’t find much in the way of American food, where I could see the stars at night. Cairo was a slap in the face…and a good one at that. Just as I had begun to miss the “American” aspects of life back home, I arrived in a city that had a fair mix of both western influences (globalization) and of traditional aspects and cultural norms.

Well, it felt like a sauna when I arrived, almost to the point of passing out (it was about 105 degrees and because it is a Muslim country, I had to dress conservatively with a long sleeve shirt and long pants). It has cooled down considerably since then and now the weather is quite pleasant, leveling somewhere in the 80s-90s. I no longer sleep with the air conditioning on in my apartment and often wake up cold! Bodies just somehow adjust to major temperature differences, it’s quite amazing.

The city of Cairo is a bustling city of just under 20 million (although some statistics claim it’s more like 30 million due to the daily influx of workers commuting into the city). There are people everywhere, at all times of the day. Cairo is a city that never sleeps. It is a very Muslim country, almost even more than I expected as it is a big, international metropolis. Most Egyptians still abide by cultural dress, such as the hijab and burka for the women and the galibayya (long, traditional robe) for men, and customary norms, such as male-female segregation in public spaces. Western clothing is abundant, but usually only amongst younger populations and especially amongst the American University in Cairo (AUC) Egyptian students (who happen to look like supermodels—they are dressed to the nines!). Western clothing is also found on naive European tourists who decide to wear clothing so revealing I wouldn’t even wear it as pajamas in the U.S. in my own room in 110 degree weather! I’ve been to the Egyptian Museum twice now (it is amazing—thousands of thousand year old artifacts are shoved in every nook and cranny, along with King Tut’s mask!) and I am still amazed (and often outraged) at the display of skin. You know you’re truly in Egypt and understanding of the culture when you think a regular t-shirt is a bit too revealing! But really, the juxtaposition between a Muslim woman in full burka—where everything from her eyes to her fingers to her feet are covered in cloth—and a tourist wearing a tube top and short shorts is quite alarming.

Currently, the month Ramadan is in full swing. The call to prayer can be heard five times a day—morning, noon and night. The call is projected through loudspeakers from the mosque minarets. As it is custom for Muslims to fast (no food, water, cigarettes, or sexual intercourse) from sunrise to sunset, the night comes alive at sundown. Ramadan lamps (large, ornately decorated metal) hang in stores, restaurants and homes. Fireworks and celebration over huge meals (Iftar) can be witnessed throughout the night. Classes during the day have been moved earlier or later, depending, as people wish to rush home to break the fast. While I am planning at some point to try fasting for one or two days, it is quite a different experience to get used to. As I don’t want to offend anyone, I often find myself retreating to corners of the cafeteria, out of the site of those who are hungry, to snag a bite to eat. Quite a few American study abroad students are trying to fast—some with genuine interest in learning more about the culture through empathy, and others simply because they wish for a competition. Most Muslim AUC students applaud them for trying to make it the whole month, which is reassuring.

While there were some things that I needed getting used to (such as the “tss tss tss” from vendors on the street trying to get your attention, not being able to make eye contact with men as I’m a woman, the crowded subway system, the insane traffic), I’m unbelievably happy in Cairo. My friends—American, Egyptian, and international—are diverse—culturally, linguistically, and academically. My classes, which include both Standard (written) and Colloquial (spoken) Arabic, a class on Arab history, a political science class on political and social thought in the modern Arab world, and a class on non-Muslim communities in the Muslim world, are all adding to my knowledge and understanding of the Middle East. As of this upcoming week, I will be auditing a graduate studies class through the Forced Migration and Refugee Studies program (I believe this might help me with my intended research on how refugees become active agents in reconstructing community once in a different country). I am also about to begin my two volunteer positions, one in a community outside Cairo where I will be teaching an all-women’s class of refugees—mainly from the Horn of Africa—English and other necessary skills. I will also be helping out with the arts co-op at St. Andrews United Church, one of the faith-based organizations in Cairo currently aiding the refugee community. Weekends are spent catching up on homework, finally getting sleep, and exploring different parts of Cairo. When my friends and I feel the need to escape for a weekend, we plan trips around Egypt and elsewhere. We’ve been to places such as Dahab (a beachside city with outstanding snorkeling—and camels!) and Mt. Sinai, which we climbed and which I fell off of (only slightly, but enough to need stitches). I still climbed up to see the sunrise though, and it was spectacular. On our way down, Bedouins offered us tea in their hole-in-a-cave shelter. It was a surreal experience. Future adventures include other parts of the Middle East and travel plans are currently in the works.

Cairo and AUC have incredible opportunities for those willing to get out there and explore. Every other week over these next few months, I’ll be sharing my experiences with those at home. Until then, maa-salama (goodbye, in Arabic).

I apologize for the long break in communication—Cairo has pulled me under with an incredible force. It's a good force, alhamdullilah ("Praise to God" in Arabic). In these past few months, I have spent the majority of my time working in refugee communities with artists. I am still very busy with schoolwork and have final exams and papers these next two weeks (I have to say, I miss Northwestern's 10-week schedule!). Many of my weekends have been spent either traveling to other areas in Egypt or Middle Eastern countries or scrambling to get a grasp on my schoolwork, all the while volunteering. Here's a rundown of what I've been up to…

Cairo’s weather has cooled down considerably, and, as a person with terrible circulation, this is not good news. Average weather is in the 60s—it can get as high as mid-70s but can go as low as the 50s during the night. Mish kowayyiz! (“not good!”). I sleep with socks on every night and had no other choice but to get a heavy blanket. I really don’t know what I’ll do when I go back to snowy Chicago…I was just talking to friends and they said there’s currently a white-out. Uh oh…

The city of Cairo is still as bustling as ever, people are out at all times of the day (and night). It is clear that Egyptians have taken notice of the temperature drop too. While most Muslim women are covered head-to-toe anyways, more layers were added to keep out the cool breeze.

I still enjoy Egyptian/Arab food, and it is good that the price of food from street-side stands doesn’t make a dent in your wallet (my bank account is hurting after so much travel). I definitely eat much less Egyptian food than when I first arrived. My apartment is above a western-style grocery store, Metro Mart, and this enables me to buy imported goods and other delightful things, including fresh produce (even Washington State red apples—from my home state, ironically). However, even in Egypt I am a typical college student and survive on the bare minimum (and least expensive) in terms of food: a lot of pasta, bread and tuna fish.

My study abroad friends are their same old selves. There are mixed emotions in the air right now, as many of us are getting ready to leave, but we haven’t yet come to terms with saying goodbye to each other and leaving the city of Cairo for a much different world. We have all immersed ourselves in Cairo, but definitely like to remember parts of home. Dressing up for Halloween and attending a fundraiser Halloween bash was fun.

My Arabic is improving, but not drastically. I am getting quite good at written Arabic and can read and understand the alphabet and the vocabulary I have learned in class. My spoken Arabic class is a different story. The teacher is a lovely old woman named Sophie, and, while she tells us amazing stories about her youth, about Coptic Christian traditions, and about King Farouq (her favorite and most frequented subject, although none of us know why), she doesn’t teach a whole lot of Arabic. This is unfortunate, but so it goes. Regardless, the class is entertaining. I mostly practice my conversational Arabic in taxis with the driver and with my refugee friends, all of whom speak Arabic. The fun dynamic with them is that they are trying to learn English while I am trying to learn Arabic—we swap words, make tons of mistakes and enjoy ourselves. It almost always ends in bursts of laughter. My most frequented Arabic words and phrases are: izayyak? (how are you?), kowayyiz (good), momkin (perhaps), inshaallah (God-willing), alhamdullilah (Praise to God), mumtez or tamem (excellent/wonderful), maasalema (goodbye), aywa, la’a (yes, no), mish arif (I don’t know), yimin, shimel, ala tuul (right, left, straight ahead) and ana taliba fi gamea amrikayya (I’m a student at American University). All useful, yea?

The schoolwork at AUC is not particularly difficult. There is a lot of busy work, but it is manageable, especially if—like some of my friends—you choose only to do homework and have few to none activities outside of school. I don’t mean to sound judgmental, but these people confuse me. I completely understand simply wanting to study in another country, but my one—and most important—suggestion would be to go learn about the city and community in which you live: meet people, make friends with people outside the study abroad circle, volunteer, travel, try new foods, explore museums and ancient sites, but most importantly, get out of the house!! Too many of my friends are stuck on getting perfect grades or pouring themselves into school work. Time abroad is also a time to learn about yourself outside of the school atmosphere. I think I might have gone overboard in this way having taken on so many extracurriculars (I volunteer at four different places during the week), but I’ve never once regretted it. I’ve learned far more outside of class than I think I could have ever learned in a university setting, anywhere, at any time. It all boils down to personal choice, style, and wishes for study abroad, but I do recommend looking up from the books every now and then! For those planning on studying in Cairo next year, make sure to at some point take a midnight felucca (boat) ride—instead of doing homework! You won’t regret it, I promise.

As I said, Arabic language study is going well. My other classes are a fair mix of quite interesting and quite dry. For study abroad students, it’s a mixed bag in terms of what classes you get (many classes close during registration, and thus choices become almost random—registration was a nightmare this fall, but they are putting it online next semester, alhamdullilah). I really enjoy my Arabic Studies class ‘Non-Muslim Communities in the Muslim World’—the teacher is enthusiastic and clearly interested in the material. My absolute favorite class, though, is my ‘Introduction to Forced Migration and Refugee Studies’ with Dr. Barbara Harrell-Bond, the previous director of FMRS at AUC, an extremely well-known refugee advocate, the founder of the Refugee Studies Program at Oxford, and currently, a distinguished adjunct professor at AUC. (Everyone—and I mean everyone—interested in international issues, humanitarian aid, and refugee issues should read her book Imposing Aid—it’s basically the Bible for such subject matter). Her class has really helped increase my knowledge base and conceptual framework in the international aid realm, a topic I am currently very interested in. I am in the process of writing a research paper for her class titled “Art as a Sustained Mechanism for Coping with Economic and Social Disruption: An Exploratory Study of Cairo's Refugee Artists.” It is part ethnographic/participant-observation based research (in terms of my work with Cairo’s refugee artists) and part literature review. It is in the works, and is due next week. Inshaallah it will all come together as planned!

I volunteer quite a bit during the school year at Northwestern, and I knew it was something I wanted to do while in Cairo. While I indeed wished to learn Arabic, my primary reason for coming to Cairo was to learn, firsthand, about refugee, immigration, migration, and displacement issues. To me, Cairo seemed like the best place to go—it is a major hub of the world, especially that of the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe. It is one of the most important places to study such a topic.

I was awarded a Study Abroad Research Program (SARP) grant from Northwestern’s Study Abroad Office to conduct preliminary research for my senior honors thesis in Anthropology. My initial topic related to how refugees in Cairo, particularly women, become active agents in reshaping their lives and in restructuring their communities once in a different country. I hoped to explore the ways in which women, caught between their home country and the country in which they seek asylum, have retained cultural values and practices in an ever-changing world, and in Cairo's case, an often unforgiving environment. As is typical with research ideas, it changed once I arrived, and even more so during these past few months of volunteering in several distinct refugee art communities. My new research topic has similar attributes, but takes a different form. I am currently exploring how the creation of art by refugees is a coping method both psychosocially and financially. I am interested in when and why different individuals started creating artwork (some were trained artists in their home country, some started making handicrafts once in Cairo). I have met a fair mix of those people who created art prior to displacement and continue it in Cairo for personal expression and financial reasons (selling artwork at bazaars and having gallery exhibits) and those who learned handicraft skills (knitting, crocheting, jewelry making) once in Cairo in order to sell their work and supplement an often meager income (it is illegal for most of these refugees to obtain jobs in Cairo, even if they are granted refugee status). In addition to reasons why people have turned to art, I am interested in how their artistic styles have changed from country of origin to country of asylum. This Monday night I am attending a gallery opening called “On Strange Ground.” It is an exhibit dedicated to art created in exile and its meaning (both by African refugees and by American/European expatriates in Cairo). Several of my friends have work that will be exhibited and I feel lucky to see them in a setting that gives them such high recognition.

I have so enjoyed getting to know the people with whom I work in my free time. On Sunday nights I teach an intermediate English class to 10 Sudanese students. The teaching center is a 30-minute metro ride from AUC and in a community north of Cairo. I chose to work here, instead of at AUC, because I wanted to learn about a community and neighborhood outside of Cairo. I have become very familiar with the metro system, although I have not—and will never—get used to the crowded metro cars and the curious stares from men…but so it goes! Teaching there on Sunday nights is a great way to start my week. They are a wonderful class and it was fun to celebrate our student Tina’s birthday last week with cake and party favors.

On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, after class at AUC, I go to St. Andrews Relief Ministry. This ministry has an extensive program for refugees and acts as a home away from home. English, math, science, art, drama, and computer classes are offered to students of all ages. I teach an organized art class to younger students (ages 10-15) on Tuesday mornings, as well as an informal painting class to two teenage girls, one from Eritrea and one from Burundi (ages 13 and 14). The girls, especially, are delightful and we have become close having bonded over conversations (sometimes in Arabic, but mostly in English) and the sharing of painting styles. We all enjoy the class, if you even might call it that (we just set up some paints, paper, and other materials outside the art room at St. Andrews and welcome anyone who wants to join), and I have seen these two girls grow as artists in numerous ways. In a sense, St. Andrews has become a home away from home for me as well. I often spend upwards of four hours there on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, painting, creating other artwork, and chatting with friends (most of them are adults, their time spent in Cairo ranging from 3 years to 20 years). Those who make use of St. Andrew’s art room sell their work in bazaars around the city (at AUC and in different schools/institutions in Cairo). They always invite me to stop by, and of course, I always do. It is exciting to see them in their element—passing along artwork, telling the story behind a painting, haggling over the price! Bazaars are also one of my favorite things ever and I like to explore (and often buy).

On Wednesday nights I travel an hour by bus to a smaller city outside Cairo called 6th of October. Here, I work with a brand new English training program. I have a class of 11 made up of several Sudanese students but primarily Iraqis. It is particularly interesting working with the Iraqis, and it is by all means unique. As their American teacher and friend, I have become their personal image and perception of America, outside of world events and news broadcasts. My Iraqi student Rossia (a mother of several young children and a teacher by profession) came up to me after class last week, gave me a big hug and said “why you not come to my house?!” and proceeded to invite me over to meet her children (her husband is in our class as well), to eat traditional Iraqi food, and to celebrate our friendship. She also offered to do my makeup and cut my hair, which confused me a little bit, but maybe it was lost in translation?! Regardless, I trust her enough to cut my hair if that is indeed what she wishes to do! My teaching partner Anooj and I will go there after class next week and I’m very much looking forward to it.

Saturdays are always busy for me. If I have decided not to travel over the weekend, I stay in Cairo and attend the Sawa Workshop at Townhouse Gallery and then teach casual, conversational English to a women’s handicraft co-op run by my Eritrean woman friend Fatma. Townhouse Gallery is a contemporary art gallery which has become an arts avenue for those who would otherwise have none. It is a place for people of all cultures and nationalities to come together to celebrate, exhibit, and share their art. The Sawa Workshop (sawa means “to come together”) is an open workshop on Saturday mornings starting at 11 am for anyone interested in creating artwork. While it is often a time for open painting, there are also organized classes like the photography workshop held two weeks ago where attendees were given cameras and photography assignments. Their artwork was then displayed in the main gallery. Art is my strongest passion and this has become a perfect avenue for both the creation of it and for meeting a diverse group of individuals. After the Sawa Workshop, I head over to an AUC classroom to teach English to women of all ages and from all over the Horn of Africa—Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia. I work with them on valuable conversational skills (greetings, getting directions, going to the grocery store). They are all eager to learn English, and many of them are eager to teach me handicrafts (even though I am terrible at crocheting!). Several of these women have become like family to me, especially Fatma (the founder of the informal women’s co-op), and they threw me a 21st birthday party at Fatma’s house with cake, treats, soda, traditional Eritrean tea, home videos showing traditional dance, picture-taking, presents (including a stuffed animal bear and roses), and lots of laughter. I honestly, honestly could not imagine my birthday spent in a better, more fun, and more rewarding way. My other friend Fatima’s birthday (a young university student in the co-op) is on December 9th and I have been invited to her birthday party celebrations. That is finals week for me, but I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

I’m planning to throw a goodbye party for all of my friends in the refugee community (maybe order some pizza?) before I leave in late December. I made a “guest list” yesterday, trying to gauge how many people could actually fit in my apartment living room and I came up with 22 names of people with whom I consider close friends. This number astounded me. It’s definitely more people than I consider myself close to in the AUC study abroad community! I really value these individuals and consider them close friends with whom I will stay in touch with for years to come. I am already in the process of finding a way to come back next summer, maybe for one month, to see my old friends and to finish up necessary research for my Anthropology thesis. We’re going to miss each other very much, I can already tell.

Beirut, Lebanon
I have been quite busy these past few months. I travel over weekends and holidays (the only two we’ve had are Eid—the end of Ramadan, and Thanksgiving). Besides Mt. Sinai/Dahab (mentioned in previous blog), my next biggest trip outside Cairo was to Beirut and the rest of Lebanon. Traveling to Beirut at this time seemed risky—there had been a car bombing two weeks earlier—but once there, we never once felt unsafe. The security was increased and police were stationed every few blocks. They were very stern, checked contents of our bags when we would go to places like the city square, and enforced that we refrain from taking pictures of the effects of war (bombed buildings not yet rebuilt, destroyed bridges). Even with visible signs of a very recent war, Beirut is a gorgeous city by the sea. The city, especially the area where our hostel was, seemed quite dead—very few tourists were there beyond those from AUC. Locals came out in the mornings on their way to work and at night during the weekend. It ended up being a great time to visit; the city was peaceful, quiet, and not crowded. I went with 8 of my friends and we had similar goals for the trip: see the ancient sites (temples, ruins, towns/cities around Lebanon) during the day and to go out for amazing food and dancing at night. The Roman ruins at Baalbek were the coolest thing I saw in Beirut, by far. They were huge and spectacular. We went swimming in Byblos one afternoon and had amazing sea food. We visited American University in Beirut; their campus is definitely more visually appealing, but there is much more to explore in Cairo/Egypt so I am happy where I am.

Siwa Oasis
I took a weekend with friends to go Siwa, a small oasis town 10 hours by bus outside Cairo. It is a mud-brick town near the border to Libya. While this town is becoming increasingly touristy over the years, it is still a look into the past. Siwa’s oasis is ancient—I think around 12,000 years old. My friends and I rented bikes and road around town for several days, shopping in street-side shops, exploring the ancient sites (the Temple at the Oracle, where Alexander the Great received his “mission”!) and different oasis pools, seeing the salt flats, picking dates from palm trees to eat (man, they are sticky), and venturing off into the deserted desert for sunset. With the blue sky, clean air, and traditional lifestyle, it was a definite break from Cairo’s bustles.

The Black and White Desert
This was a great weekend away from Cairo. Several of my friends and I went caravanning around the desert in desert jeeps. Our driver was absolutely insane and drove like a total maniac, flying over sand dunes and whirling around desert shrubbery. It was hard not to fly around in the bouncy back seat. It was exhilarating! We were only in the desert for 2 days and 1 night, but we saw the major sights—the Black Desert (mountains and hills made of black volcanic? rock that shoot up from the tawny-colored sand), the old and the new White Desert (huge, white, alien/moon-like stone formations) and the Crystal Rock. I collected many little stones and fossilized corral and shells and took tons of photos. We had long chats by the fire with our two Bedouin guides over Bedouin tea, had a scrumptious dinner of chicken cooked over fire coals, and slept under the stars. We hoped to catch a glimpse of the desert foxes that roam that area, but saw nothing but their footprints ALL over the campsite the next morning. Sneaky creatures they are…

Istanbul, Turkey
For Thanksgiving, I went to none other than the country of Turkey. Turkey for Turkey, I thought. My friends and I had a huge Thanksgiving feast at this little restaurant that served traditional Turkish food, and while no turkey was served, we did have a family style meal. I think there were 12 of us there. We took up a big portion of the restaurant and were looked at with astonished and curious faces! My boyfriend Nathaniel came out from Chicago to visit me in Turkey and it was a long-awaited reunion. It was fun having him meet my study abroad friends, exploring Istanbul’s sites (we saw the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, the Palace, and took a cruise on the Bosphorus), and sleeping in—it was vacation after all. It was my birthday weekend, and I love seafood, so we went out to dinner at a nice seafood restaurant to celebrate. For dinner, I had the biggest lobster I’ve ever seen in my life. It was as big as my femur, I’m not even kidding. I obviously didn’t need a lobster this large, but with the little/broken English of the waiter, he put in the lobster that I had asked to see for a size reference. Oops. It was delicious nonetheless!

My time in Cairo is now winding down. I was supposed to go to Petra and the Dead Sea in Jordan this weekend, but I have far too many finals and papers that following Monday. I am finished with school and finals on December 12th and have until December 21st, when I fly home to Seattle. My friend and I are currently discussing the possibility of visiting Jordan and Israel after school finishes, but we shall see. Luxor/Aswan and Alexandria also did not happen while I was in Cairo, but inshaallah I’ll visit them next summer. I have loved my time in Cairo, but I’ll have to say, after 6 months outside of America, the next travel I’m looking forward to is the travel home!

Celebrating my birthday in Turkey