Final Thoughts from Cairo

As I sit here on my balcony looking out over the busy, noisy street that has become so familiar, I find it hard to believe this is one of my last days in this city—at least for a while. This semester has been a crazy, enlightening, and all-too-short adventure. Looking at my past blogs amazes even me. Did I really do that?!

I'm currently finishing up my last two papers--one on obstacles to peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the other on concepts from the book Exclusion and Embrace by Miroslav Volf. Both are intimidating, but by tomorrow afternoon I will be done! I'm going to visit my homestay family for the last time tomorrow evening and then Saturday the group is going to Anafora (the retreat center where we once held Coptic-American day) for a few days of debriefing. After 2 more days to soak in the last of Cairo and say my sad goodbyes, I'll be off to my homeland.

As I think of going back to the States, I am making a list of important things for myself to remember upon my return. Here’s what I have so far. Hope you enjoy them.

-It is no longer acceptable to walk within inches of a moving vehicle. There is a thing called “J-walking”. It’s illegal. Also…when driving, remember that there are traffic laws you are supposed to abide by.

-When you go buy a $5 meal at a fast food place (which for your stomach’s sake, I would recommend waiting a while before tyring), try not to think about that fact that you could buy over 10 bowls of koshery or 20 falafel sandwhiches for the same price. $5 really isn’t as much money as you think it is.

-When you walk past a crowd of men (and don’t be surprised when you actually see women walking the streets as well!) and you don’t hear comments like “Wow!”, “O my God!”, and “I am single!”…don’t start to think that something must be wrong with you.

-When you get home, don’t freak out about that strange, mysterious sound you don’t recognize. It’s called quiet. It’s a good thing.

-It’s summer. Girls will probably be wearing shorts and tank-tops. Don’t judge. It’s acceptable here and not necessarily immodest or skanky. In fact, you should do it too. It’s okay.

-Don’t bargain with store owners. There’s a thing called a fixed price.

-You live on an isolated hill in West Virginia. If you need something, you actually have to drive somewhere instead of just walking out your door. And here's the kicker...there is no public transportation! :O

-There is a giant piece of equipment next to the washing machine. It’s called a dryer. You can stick your clothes in there instead of hanging them, but don’t be surprised if they no longer fit afterward.

That's all that currently comes to mind, but I'm sure I'll be finding more once I'm home. Sometimes you don't notice how much you've changed until you go back to the beginning. But I am excited to be home again! It'll be good to be with my family and to process.

Thank you to everyone who I know has blessed me with prayers. I cannot tell you how much I've appreciated it. I hope you've enjoyed the blog! I love you all! And I would absolutely love to grab coffee and swap stories with anyone interested upon my soon return :).

Israel/Palestine

I’m not sure how to even begin this entry, but I’ll tell you upfront that it will only touch the surface of what I’ve experienced in the last few weeks. We arrived in Jerusalem March 31^st and stayed the first five nights at Jerusalem University College. It was BEAUTIFUL ! There were other American students that we could talk to, gardens to read in, and even a piano that I was able to play. We all loved staying there, but we moved to the Austrian Hospice after Easter Sunday which is more inside the city and closer to everything. Here’s a list of some things I’ve done since being here:

*Heard from a variety of speakers covering different perspectives on the Arab-Israel conflict. Among them was Archbishop Elias Chacour-author of one of my favorite books Blood Brothers.

*Toured Jerusalem and saw many many sites including the Garden of Gethsemane, the Tear-Drop church, the Temple Mount/City of David, etc.

*Walked the Via Dolorosa on Good Friday. This was almost the death of me. It was literally the most dangerous thing I’ve done this semester.

*Went to the Sunrise Easter Service and the Garden Tomb. It was also the first English church service I’ve been to this semester.

*Walked through Hezekiah’s Tunnel!

*Visited Yad Vashem (Holocaust Museum)

*Shabbat Observance at the Western/Wailing Wall

*Saw the Golan Heights and spent the rest of the day in Galilee/Nazareth. This included seeing ruins of a synagogue Jesus taught in, the supposed house of Peter’s mother-in-law, the church of the Enunciation, the Mount of the Beatitudes, etc. We also took a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee!

*Spent a day in Tel Aviv walking along the beach, playing on an amazing big-kid playground, and flying a kite!

*Spent a day in Bethlehem. It doesn't look like the Christmas Carol. For there in the little town of Bethlehem is a huge wall dividing the West Bank from Israel. The wall was covered in graffiti--phrases like “This is the wall at which you should weep” remaining in my mind. We also met/had lunch with students from Bethlehem University.

*Visited/had discussions with students from Hebrew University

Today we hiked up Masada! If you don't know the story behind it, you should look it up. I was excited because I can remember my dad enthusiastically telling me all about the fortress and the story behind it. And today I got to see it for real! It was quite the hike! In my opinion, it was harder than Mt. Sinai because it was so steep! Afterward we went to En Gedi-the place where David hid from Saul. It was BEAUTIFUL and we swam in some springs/waterfalls. What a day! We have our last speaker tonight and then we have a final free day in Jerusalem before we return "home" to Cairo.

It has been a great two weeks, but mentally challenging as I expected. We've all been overloaded with opinions and information and our final 2 weeks in Cairo will be spent trying to spill it all back out into FOUR different papers. We have a lot of processing to do. It's hard to believe that the semester is almost over!

Until Cairo!...

On the Road to Damascus/Jordan

After a visit to Ataturk’s tomb/ memorial and a visit to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, we left Ankara last Thursday and flew closer to the Syrian border which we crossed by bus. It took awhile to cross as they had to fingerprint us all and go through our passports, but we got in and stayed the night in Hama (which has a very sad history that you should look up). The next day we went to the largest and best-preserved Crusader’s Castle in the world—Krak des Chevaliers. It was amazing. I think I was living out every kid’s fantasy of having free-reign to explore a castle. We then ate a wonderful Syrian meal and visited a monastery in the Aramaic-speaking village of Maalouia. From there we drove to Damascus, the oldest city in the world, where we stayed three nights in a monastery guest house. During our first day in Damascus, we got to tour and then experience the Hamam (bathhouse). That was quite the experience…but surprisingly enjoyable :). I loved walking the quiet streets of Damascus (included Strait Street!) and visiting all the shops. Sunday we got to experience Palm Sunday! The nearby church was too crowded to actually go inside, but I got to observe the parade of adorable children dressed up in fancy white outfits and a marching band going through the street celebrating. Monday we made a visit to a US Console and then headed to Jordan which is where I am now. I swam in the Dead Sea today! Well, in actuality I floated. It was great fun. I also exfoliated myself with Dead-Sea mud :). Between that the bathhouse in Damascus, my skin is becoming very soft! Traveling has been great so far, and as I predicted the time is travelling fast! We leave Jordan tomorrow and head to Jerusalem where we will begin to dive into depth on the Arab-Israeli conflict. The next two weeks will be intense and challenging in ways, but I am too filled with excitement to be anxious. I expect the next two weeks to be some the most life-changing weeks of my life thus far. I will let you know…

Turkey Part 1

This has been a semester of many firsts for me. Several got added to the list this week, including a not so good one—lice. I believe I got infested from the orphanage I volunteered at, as I was constantly holding kids and kids were always playing with my hair. I discovered this the night before we flew to Turkey, which meant a long night/morning of getting my hair treated and combed out. The next night my friend Sarah chopped off my hair and treated it again…which meant another late night. BUT now I am clean and sporting a new hair style :). I was SO blessed bv the girls who helped me out! It’s true friendship when you’re willing to give up your sleep to comb eggs out someone’s hair.

On a brighter note—TURKEY!!! Wow. I don’t know where to start. I love Istanbul. The first day we got a boat tour and had a chance to get settled in our hotel and scope out our location. It’s incredibly “modern”, beautiful and filled with life. I forgot that I was in the Middle East until I heard a call to prayer. Thursday we went to Koch University and received a lecture on the history of politics in Turkey. The lecture was great, but I was enthralled by the University itself which was incredibly impressive and huge. We have sometimes two lectures a day from a variety of speakers with a variety of view points, and then we have an enormous amount of reading to do every night to prepare for the next day. I’m learning a lot about the politics of Turkey! It’s all really quite fascinating. I’m also getting to see some sites. Friday we went to the Hagia Sophia and The Blue Mosque. I remember making a short video about the Hagia Sophia in high school for Art History class, but I never imagined I would actually get to see it! Very cool. I’ve also just done a lot of exploring on the streets that are covered with shops. I walked into a Starbucks the other day; it was very strange. I even met two Americans inside (one from Tennessee!). Like I said before, I keep forgetting that I’m in the Middle East. On Saturday my friend Sharon and I took a ferry ride to ASIA which is right across the Bosphorus. We were pretty excited about it. We also went to a Turkish church service and sang some worship songs we recognized in Turkish. It was nice to be in church; I miss it. I just can’t wait to be in an English service that I can understand :)! Today we went to the US Consulate building and were able to listen to a panel with different expertise, and then we went back to Asia to explore more! We have one more speaker tonight and then we say goodbye to Istanbul tomorrow morning to head to Ankara for a few days. Part 1 of travel has definitely been a success!

Random Fact::

It is illegal in Turkey to criticize Ataturk (the founder of the country). This includes stepping on a coin with his face on it. And because youtube contained "illegal" critiques of him, youtube is banned :).

Adventures in Alex

Something very strange occurred last weekend. We had it free! With nothing scheduled for us to do, a small group of us decided to take a train up to Alexandria. We spent most of the time in the ENORMOUS Alexandria library. It took us about an hour to get in the first time because we had to 1. Buy a ticket. 2. Turn in our bags. 3. Register our laptops. 4. Go through a metal detector and inspector. It was pretty intense, but once we were there I managed to finish my paper on the western influence in the history of the Middle East. We didn’t spend the whole time being studious though! We had some pretty great adventures. Here are just a few:

*Stayed overnight in a hostel that cost us each only $6 (with beds of boards and a fun elevator you could ride without shutting the door)

*Ate at some great restaurants and drank the world’s best fresh fruit juice

*Enjoyed some time at a Brazilian coffee shop and taught “rock, paper, scissors” to observing business men beside us

*Got swarmed by Egyptian men beside the Mediterranean that took some time to get rid of

*Ran into a mid-westerner who was backpacking to Morocco (!) and also met a really neat, older couple from New Zealand that we decided we want to be like when we got older

It was a great weekend! Sunday we went to Al Ahzar – a nearby school which is very much like the Johnson Bible College of the Arab World. We heard from the director (though nothing of substance was said) and then ate lunch with the students. It was interesting. It was especially interesting to compare that experience with the experience of meeting with students from the Dutch-Flemish Institute a few weeks back. Talk about different worldviews.

Well, now that we’ve all made a home in Cairo, it is almost time to leave it. This week we have two more papers due and two finals in Arabic and Islam. Then it’s time to pack our bags and head to Istanbul, Turkey where we’ll be for the first week!

Random Fact:

To me, the nicest thing about living here is that everything you could possibly need can be found right outside your door. If you’re hungry, you can walk down the street and buy from various produce sellers, or you can walk into the bakery or order from Mr. Koko who makes Chicken Schwerma, rice, French fries, etc. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, the sweet potato man will be coming down your street with his cart. Walking down the same street, you also pass pharmacies, a clothing store, a stationary store…anything you need!

Floods. Sunburn. Ice. One Weekend.

Last week as usual was good, busy, and full of stories, but I’ll skip to the most interesting part. While I was excitedly packing my bag for a hike up Sinai last Thursday, Egypt decided to change our plans and have its annual storm. Personally, I always love good thunderstorms. Cairo, however, cannot handle one. Due to its lack of a drainage system, the streets were intensely flooded, and while we knew Mt. Sinai would be in no condition to climb, we decided to venture out in our bus and try to make it straight to Dahab. The streets were about imposible for driving and we ended up sleeping overnight in the bus, reaching Dahab TWELVE hours after we left. Once we arrived we realized it was well worth it. If heaven looks anything like earth, I think it might just look like Dahab. I spent Friday snorkeling in the beautiful, blue water of the Gulf of Aqaba (The Red Sea!!). It was my first time to snorkel, and it was amazing (after I got over the initial “I think I’m suffocating” feeling). The coral was beautiful and the fish were fascinating and colorful. I laid in some sun, and ate at delicious restaurants by the water. Doesn’t it sound like paradise? Saturday was the same story. We went to “The Blue Hole” where we snorkeled some more and soaked up some sun. It was so nice to just relax and be and forget about the ominous papers,quizzes, and assignments sneaking up on us all. That night we left our hotel around 11:30 and arrived at St. Catherine’s/Mt. Sinai around 2:00 a.m. to begin our trek up the mountain. It was beautiful. And freezing. We bundled ourselves up and faced the extreme winds up the path, dodging camels on the way up. We reached the peak in time for the sunrise around 5 (?), enjoyed the view (even in the frigid temperature), and made our way back down. On the way back to Cairo, we made a pit stop and saw the supposed place where the Red Sea was parted (!) and where Moses turned the bitter water of Marah sweet. It was truly a great weekend. My camera unfortunately decided to die right before I reached the top of Sinai, but many others have pictures I will eventually steal. I wish you all could fit in my pocket so you could experience it all with me!

Now I'm back in Cairo, and it's back to classes and homework. We only have 2 1/2 weeks left here before our travel component begins! I have no idea how time flew so quickly. Two weeks from today I'll have completed the three papers I have due (Isha'Allah) and will be packing my bags for Turkey! I can't get too ahead of myself, as I could easily feel overwhelmed with how much there is to cram in these next few weeks. I'm still loving my time here and have to stop myself sometimes several times a day just to say, "This is my life!" :).

Random Facts:

The “Big Blue Hole” is really…a big blue hole.

I could see Saudi Arabia from Dahab!

When I go back to Johnson next semester, I plan on keeping my desk at its lowest level and sitting on a floor cushion. I like this.

It’s time for me to make another visit to the chocolate-covered-peanuts man…

Siwa, Sahara, and Scary Amounts of Food

What a great few weeks it has been! On the 10th, we all headed by way of a ten-hour bus ride to Siwa-a desert Oasis where the culture is very different than Cairo. We got to meet a Siwan family and then we rented bikes and explored. We rode to a great salty lake that lets you float like the Dead Sea and then rode back in the dark under a starry sky. The next day we took a desert safari. What does a desert safari include? You get in a jeep and you speed over sand dunes in the Sahara Desert. Does it sound amazing? It was. I also tried to sandboard, but after going down twice I gave up and just watched :). After watching the sunset and enjoying some Siwan dates and tea, we headed to a Bedouin camp where we ate a classic Bedouin meal, sat around a fire, and slept under the stars. It was an amazing weekend, and I was sad to leave. There is the short version.

Sunday night we met our families that we stayed and experienced true Egyptian life with for the week. I was adopted by a mom and her 3 (of 7!) daughters who were close in age to me. The youngest one had just turned 17 and she was the English-speaker of the family. I was impressed with her. They lived in a neighborhood about 20 minutes by taxi from where I live in Agouza, so it was a fairly easy commute. Here are a few things I experienced:

FOOD: The first day of my homestay, I ate FOUR FULL meals with a snack and many tea breaks in-between. I quickly learned that if I came close to clearing my plate, it would promptly be refilled with just as much if not more than I started with. …I really have gained weight since I’ve been here.

Late nights: To my family, going to bed at 11 pm (which is what I normally do) is like going to bed at 7. 11:00 is about the time my dinner was served.

Awkward silences with my mom: …

An Engagement Party!: My sister Nevin took me with her to an engagement party which was just as big if not bigger than a wedding reception in the states. It was a lot of fun to watch.

Great TV: We watched television a LOT. I saw some pretty great dramatic soap operas and a lot of good music videos. I also watched Oprah.

Grass!: Yesterday my sister Isro’ took me with her friend to an International Park. We just walked around and hung out in the shade. I had a lot of fun and it felt good to be in some nature.

It was great, great week, but it feels good to be back “home” again and stay away from the kitchen. It was a humbling experience, as I truly felt like a child in every way. I was being taught words and practicing my alphabet with my family; everything was done for me, and my hand was always held while crossing the street. But humility brings you more knowledge. So I’m a fan.

A lot is planned for this week, and on Thursday we leave for Mt. Sinai/Dahab! After that, there are a lot of papers due that are creeping up on me. I better get started!!

Random Facts:

If you talk to me for 2 minutes or less, you might think I’m conversational in Arabic. After 3 minutes, however, I’ve exhausted all my vocabulary and you realize I know nothing.

Egypt has made a tea-drinker out of me. I'm especially a fan of shey w leban (Tea and Milk!)

Egypt loves drama. People will just start yelling and fighting like someone has committed murder...and then it's over. And everybody is friendly.

There's an update of my life :). Love you all!