New Beginnings

This week marked the first week of my MAT year! I worked with all of the other wonderful interns in my cohort as camp counselors this week for a Gear Up camp put on by Quantum Learning. The kids who we worked with came from four Prince George's County high schools. They all have shown promise in their schooling; however, when they get to that point they will be first generation college students. Therefore, we all came together to work with them on study skills, and interpersonal skills so they will have all of the necessary tools to make it after high school.

Before we go any further I would like to give everyone some background on how things have been going in my life for the past few months. Let's start back at the end of April...I had finished writing my SMP (St. Mary's  Project, thing undergraduate thesis) and sent it to my adviser. I had a pretty solid powerpoint and scripted speech to present on May 2nd to the entire history department, my friends, and my family. When, as stories go, May 1st rolled around and my hardrive crashed. I had my SMP backed up, but not my powerpoint and script. Needless to say I was a mess. Then on the way to Annapolis to have my hardrive replaced a rock flew up, hit my windshield, and cracked it. Margaret was in the car with me and I hate to say it, but saw me at my absolute lowest. But she was a trooper and kept me sane.

All in all the presentation went well. YAY! But that whole experience put me in such a funk.

Gala was wonderful. I got to see several tipsy professors, always a fun thing. Graduation came and went. The moment everyone looks forward to I approached with lots of apprehension. This whole year I have been comforted by the fact that I would be back on campus. I didn't have to worry like everyone else about impending adulthood. And then the world fell on me all at once. My. God. I'm really here. I had been talking about getting a Masters since High School when I found out I would be going here. But now it was a reality. My five year plan was complete. After this, I'm done.

My mine was on rapid crazy chaotic mode. Where do I go from here? I hadn't had to think about the future, and I had finally put on the shoes that I was so grateful I didn't have to worry about my senior year of college.

This pressure haunted me for the six weeks that I was home. I began to look into PhD programs and look inside me to figure out what in the world I wanted out of my life. Where do I want to be by the time I'm 30? 50? 100?

I'm a worrier. And I think I had perfected the art by the time I got here at the end of June. I was so concerned that this program was going to start and I was going to realize that I really hated the one thing I have ever wanted to do with my life, teaching. But I can say without a doubt after this camp that I know I am working towards everything that I want and need out of my life.

Do to the length of this post I'm going to put the rest of my week with the camp in another post.....more to come soon!

The Problems with Ignorance

I am loving my summer down at St. Mary's. I am learning so much and gaining tons of experience with artifact conservation, and identification; as well as archaeological practices. I work with an amazing group of people and surprisingly enough the numbers of men and women are almost equal, 8 men 7 women. In a field that historically has been dominated by men it's good to see that women are starting to show up out in the field.

The real reason why I'm writing this though is because I'm irritated and want to talk about an issue that is often pushed aside in the US. Since 2000 we have been engaged in 2 wars. And as a result the only thing that we typically hear about Israel and Palestine are when missiles are fired. When the flotilla incident happened I was happy to see that the world started taking notice of the injustices that are constantly inflicted on the Palestinian people.

As human beings we all are entitled to clean water, food, shelter, medical care, the right to live, and the right to feel safe. I think that we can all agree on this. However, these are the things that are being denied to Palestinians. In Gaza after the Gaza war in 2008 many of the water treatment facilities were destroyed. Israel does not let in cement, for fear that cement will be used to make bombs. And therefore, the treatment plants cannot be rebuilt. Furthermore, Israel has control over the pipelines which move water into Gaza and they have the ability to greatly limit the amount of water enters Gaza. I was trying to find this fact sheet I saw once but I couldn't find it....it gave the break down of what the UN says every human being is entitled to (ie 30 liters of clean water a day) and then next to that it gave the amount of that good which each individual in Gaza receives every day. It was shocking the contrast between the two numbers.

Now Israel is saying that they are letting goods into Gaza. However, in a conversation I had with a friend of mine the other day who lives in Gaza I asked what goods they were actually receiving. (I've learned to not trust news services and if I really want to know what's going on I need to go directly to someone on the ground.) She told me that the goods they are receiving are things that you don't need to live day to day.  For example, ketchup, sewing needles, and makeup. She also said that electricity is getting more spotty every day and if anything since the Flotilla incident things have gotten worse not better as Israel is claiming.

I just hope that one day people will be able to put aside all of the atrocities that each side have inflicted on the other. I do not think that blowing yourself up or planting bombs is the best way for peace. I also do not think that building walls, which have been deemed illegal by the UN, or denying people basic needs is a way for peace.

What will solve this problem is each side recognizing that in the end we are all humans and this humanity is what binds us together. We in the US also need to realize that every news source will not tell the Palestine's side of the story because each year the US gives millions of dollars to Israel so the TV stations would be reprimanded for speaking out against Israel (Israel receives the most assistance over any other country from the US....which doesn't make much sense because they are very well off...what about those third world countries where people don't have running water?) This means that we have the hard job. Seek out atypical news sources. Talk to people who have been to the Middle East. GO to Israel AND Palestine. Ignorance is Fear. If we abolish Ignorance then Fear will also disappear.

An interesting article

This article was in one of the newspapers on campus and created LOTS of drama in the international community...Enjoy! (all typos exist in the original article)

xoxo
~S

Atheism By: Hager Ibrahim

In a previous issue of Caravan, my dear fellows Mai Shams el Din and Heba Khalil wrote about atheism On Campus. At the first glance I was very attracted to read their articles as it is such a sensitive issue to be addressed in Egypt… well, yes AUC is still part of Egypt! I wouldn’t lie to you, I just didn’t feel well after reading. I won’t deny the fact that I know “Egyptians” on campus that are atheists, yet, I felt like I got a lot to say.

My friends talked about the Egyptian Law that AUC abides by; about foreigners on campus who feel that they are not welcomed enough; about the diversity that AUC offers; about the tolerance we shall have. Yet I wonder what is it exactly that we are requested to have in order to be tolerant enough?

We accept very liberal dressing styles inside AUC as a community, it’s not against any Egyptian law, but I wouldn’t say that our average dressing code is the acceptable dressing code within the Egyptian community. Yet, we are still not tolerant enough? I believe this tolerance issue leads us to a deeper question. As students in AUC we have to revisit out perception of out university. Is AUC actually American? Egyptian? Or simply and American-based system on Egyptian Land? To what extent are we truly conforming to the Egyptian perception about AUC what states that AUCians are spies on Egyptian land and that its youth are being transformed by the Powerful state of America to serve its own interests in the Middle East specially in a country that is considered one of the centers of Islam in the World?

Knowing that the Religious distribution of Egyptians- according to CIA world fact book 2009- is approximately 90% Muslims and 10% Christians; and taking into consideration the profound religious roots that are deepened in the Egyptian community, we find ourselves (Muslims and Christians) opposing many of what could be considered in America “Freedom of Choice”.

An American thinker would say that you are free to choose your religion, and a Religious Muslim would say that as well. Yet, a Muslim would have much more to be concerned with. We would care that Muslims stay as is, for we shall not forget that as Muslims we have the “Redda” concept that applies to Muslims who convert into other religions. Although this concept is heavily debated in religious arenas it should be taken into consideration. The same shall applies to Coptic Orthodox Christians who care to preserve their unity and belief. Additionally, a religious Muslim would take into consideration the concept of “Al Amr del maa’roof wal nahi a’an el monkar” which entails that a good Muslim shall advice others of what’s right and speak out when seeing something wrong. Finally, if a person is a true believer in any religion, he/she would probably like to see his/her children believing in the same religion out of the love of seeing the children doing what is right.

I am not sure how foreigners feel that of whether they are accepted enough on campus. But my guess is that, at the most, Egyptians are very welcoming to foreigners, and they don’t try to change them. It’s out of the concept that “it’s none of our business!” Yet, tolerating Egyptians getting affected by American thought to the extent that it contradicts their basic religious beliefs… That gets me back to the semester I spent in Portland, OR, USA. Portland is known to be a place for what’s ever is freaky and unusual in America, a place of maximum liberty, a haven for athiestsand a place where almost 10% of the population are homosexuals. A place where the last generation that considered itself Christian is over 60 years Old. Moreover, it’s a place where I found that homosexuality is encouraged more than being straight! I just wonder if this is the development of freedom of  “everything” kind of thinking, would that city exists in 50, 100 years from now?! I Doubt it! There wouldn’t be enough straight people to produce new generations!

Forgetting about the Egyptian Law, We need to ask ourselves several questions. Could we reach that stage one day? Is that what we want? Are we supposed to be more tolerant forwards accepting the existence of foreigner atheists? Are we being transformed into what America wants????

Pictures from Istanbul! (and I would write what all the pictures are but I can't figure out how to do that....getting the pictures up was hard enough!)

Ketchup

(pre warning I accidently hit the italics button and can't get it to turn off and be normal...I'm sorry) 


Yeah....so Ketchup. Every time I order food on campus I am given 5 packets of ketchup.....and I have no idea why! Order pizza, I get ketchup. Order a turkey and cheese sandwich, I get ketchup. Order spaghetti.....and they give you ketchup. WHY?? Especially with foods like pizza, and spaghetti, why? One time I got pizza and I told the guy no ketchup....and he started laughing at me. I don't know why. Maybe they think Americans really like ketchup on everything because they are always trying to give it to us. 


Sometimes when they give you your food they say, "We give you special American ketchup!" (meaning Heinz....but it is all Heinz ketchup...so then I get confused....am I being hit on through ketchup innuendo???) I don't know.


In conclusion I want to know if Egyptians think that Americans REALLY like ketchup. Because right now I would totally say that they do. 


xoxo
~S

We need to chat

Things work a lot differently here in Cairo. To put it eloquently...time here is not something that you see on a clock. It cannot be measured. It is in the sky. Especially with it being Ramadan right now everyone looks up at the sky to see when the sun will rise to stop eating, and when the sun will set to start their feasts. Ramadan is never a Grecian calendar month; it is a lunar month. It begins with the moon disappears and ends when it fades away again.

So yeah I know this sounds pretty and cool and all but what I am trying to get at is a minute...in no way means an American minute. Here 1 minute=15 minutes and tomorrow means 3 days from now. It was annoying at first. Then I thought it was kinda adorable. (In the cliche oh look at how relaxed their culture is compared to the GO GO GO type of lifestyle they have in the United States.) But it has become annoying again.

WARNING here comes the part where I vent so if you don't want to here me complain then stop reading!

So I got here and my door didn't close. It took them 4 days to make that happen.

Then when my door closed I couldn't open it with my ID. It took them 3 days to make that happen.

Today I forgot my phone in a classroom. I asked 6 security guards to open the door for me so I could go in and get it. NONE OF THEM HAD KEYS and the guy with keys wasn't coming back until after Iftar (8:30). But I did eventually get it back.

Okay thats my time rant. On to other subjects.

Also they suggested that the international students bring travelers checks with them....but there is no place to cash them on campus (the bank wont do it) and so I don't know what to do.

The fire alarm keeps going off EVERYDAY (a few times it went off in the middle of the night....the night before classes started it went off at 2 am). But they have people come and fix it every day with no avail.

Until two days ago the fire alarms all chirped in our rooms. Then after the alarm went off at 2 am the other day they started again. (They just stopped chirping today at 4 o'clock! YAY)

Then the school sent out two different and conflicting Ramadan schedules (we need a different schedule to accommodate Iftar). Which left both students and PROFESSORS confused about when classes even started. Today I waited for 30 min before my professor came because he had the wrong time for that class.

I went to add Intro to Political Science today because I need it to graduate and I figured why not take it here since their Poli Sci department is awesome. But the women who helped me was (pardon my language) but she was a bitch. She told me that I could not take the course because it was a 100 level course and I was a Junior and only Freshman could take them. (and she wouldn't even listen to me when I said that I needed the class and my school would accept it for credit.) Then asked me what my major was and suggested a class. I asked what it was about and she THREW the course catalogue at me and told me, "Look it up yourself! AND MAKE IT QUICK!". I just said yes to the class. But I got back to my room and e-mailed my school and they said it wouldn't count as the poli sci class that I need to take to graduate. So the wonderful women at SMCM who takes care of credit transfers wrote a letter for me to show AUC saying that I need this class. I really hope they let me in!!!!

(All I know is that I can be REALLY grateful that I don't ride a bus...or this list would be MUCH longer!!!)

I really love St. Mary's so much right now! This place is beautiful and looks amazing. But it can't function! (I mean even the professors didn't know what was going on!!!!!!) A few problems are excusable. Everyone makes mistakes. But really look at this list! How can this many things go wrong when I have only been here for ten days. I really hope things get better. I have faith that they will when classes get started. But if this continues I don't know if I can take it.

~S

First Day of Class

I had my first day of class today and I think that everything will go smoothly. The only thing that I am worried about is understanding my professors through their accents. Also after looking at the silibi (SP??)that I have gotten so far I think that classes here are a lot less work than they are back home. I'm not complaining. But I am worried that I will have too much time on my hands. I think I am also going to try to add another class so I will be taking 5 classes.

Things were a bit crazy today because the school sent out two different Ramadan schedules. So no one was really sure about when they were supposed to have class and some people didn't even know that the Ramadan schedule even existed. It was slightly chaotic...but then everything here is always a bit out of order. You get used to it. I think that this trip will make me less anxious all the time....Or just cause me to have a mental break down. :-P

Thats pretty much everything for now. I know I said I would write about my Bedouin Night....but I'm not really feelin' it right now. I promise I will! Maybe on Tuesday when I don't have class. Oh thats another think thats kinda weird. The school week here is goofy. I have classes on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Tuesday there are no classes and our weekend is Friday and Saturday. It is defiantly going to take some getting used to!

Much Love

~S

Internet in the Desert is not Reliable

Hi Everyone! Sorry that it has been a few days since I last posted. Things got busy on campus and my internet was down for a few days. But everything is fine now! Inshallah things will be fine for the rest of the semester.

I have had 4 days of my Survival Arabic class and have learned A LOT! I often find myself wanting to speak in Spanish. I have no clue why. I rarely try to speak English. But I keep thinking and wanting to respond in Spanish. On the positive side of things; I can sound out words and say them when I see them written in Arabic. I can count to 10...100 if I am awake and alert. I can say, "Hi" and "Good Bye", as well as have a few simple conversations about things like food, and prices of food/taxi fair. I am really happy that I took this class because it gave me something to do during the day and made me get my body on Egypt time. ( I still know people who are staying up until 6 am and then sleeping until 2 pm.)

Monday was pretty uneventful except for a trip into town...which became a trip to City Stars. We got into town on the AUC bus. Then found out that the next bus back to the school wasn't until Midnight. (and if you know me I am totally not an evening person.) So my friend Alison and I got a cab and went to City Stars. The cab ride was CRAZY! Picture rush hour DC traffic....with no lines on the road....and a cab driver who is young and willing to take risks. We were weaving all over the place. Making lanes (well there are no lanes....but if there were, we would have been making new ones). I am positive that riding in a cab in NYC after this trip will be a piece of cake! (There were a few times where we were so close to the car next to us that I could touch them IN THE CAR without any effort...it was an interesting experience) But none the less these guys seem like they know what they are doing.

Then we got to City Stars. (City Stars is a HUGH 7 story mall in Cairo. Name a store and they have it!) I had arranged to be taken back to school by Sarah (who totally saved me that night! THANK YOU SO MUCH!) and so while she was eating dinner we wandered around and checked out the stores. I was shocked to find quite a few Lingerie stores. What was defiantly the weirdest part of the experience was during Iftar the whole mall was empty. All the stores closed and everyone headed to the food court. WHICH WAS PACKED!! There were no seats so people were sitting on the stairs and on the floor. Also what I thought was pretty wild is that there is a place to pray in the mall itself. So maybe Monday was more interesting then I thought! :-)

On Tuesday I went to Khan el Kahlily Bazaar and it was AMAZING. (the bus driver got lost on the way there...which is not uncommon...and so we only got to spend and hour there but it was worth it!) I got a scarf which is so pretty. (I love bargaining for things!) They had lamps everywhere that reminded me of Aladdin. Tons and Tons of trinkets, scarfs, rugs, ornate boxes, and lamps. (This is totally where I am going to get souvenirs!) In order to keep track of everyone in the bazaar people looked for blonde heads. If you got separated from the group you just needed to spot a yellow head and head that direction! At the end of the evening we chilled at the coffee/Shesha bar until to bus came. I had fresh Mango juice. Words cannot describe how good it was! The tea was also wonderful and so different from the states. When we were getting ready to leave we attracted a lot of attention. Nothing bad, just a lot of waving and people saying "Welcome!". (The kids seemed the most amused by all of us!)

Wednesday was fun. After class the school provided us with Iftar and entertainment. The food was AMAZING!!! Mostly because I got to eat veggies!!! I MISS VEGGIES SO MUCH! The food here is very meat heavy, very good...but lots of meat. They set up a stage by the library and tons of tables for all of the international students and first year students. We had greenbeans, carrots, and peas. As well as chicken, beef sausage, and rice. I had water, pepsi and apricot juice to drink (IT WAS YUMMY). For desert we had pudding with nuts in it. I was full and happy!

After we ate a club on campus played a movie they made. It was supposed to show arab history through time and be a comedy. But everyone at my table got distracted when in the first 5 minutes of the show they had characters appear in black face. I was sitting at a table with 7 students (2 were African American) and 3 profs. All of the students were staring with their mouths open. The profs didn't react. So an interesting conversation got started about how, yes minstrel shows are not part of Arab history. Therefore, they probably don't realize how offensive black face is. But still, it really hit a nerve, and we all had a MAJOR case of culture shock. (Not being able to flush toilet paper was odd but you get over it. Seeing people in black face and no one reacting but the Americans. Was really weird because that ideas is so ingrained into out culture. But it is in no way present here.) Afterwards they had a DJ come and play music. It was fun to watch people dance because they don't touch each other. (They kind of hop) I found it amusing.

Yesterday I had a Bedouin night....but this post has gotten LONG so it will just have to be by itself!

MUCH LOVE!

~S

P.S. Hopefully I will be able to figure out how to post pictures with my blog soon!

What's on the Agenda

Here is what I will be up to for the next few days!

I had my first day of Survival Arabic today! I can now say hi 3 different ways and goodbye 3 different ways. I can say where I am from and how to say my name. I also learned numbers and letters...kinda (we went through it REALLY quickly so I am not sure how much of it will stick. I know I will have it after the first semester though!) I think that the class will be very helpful and the people who aren't taking the class are pretty much hating life right now because they are running out of things to do.

I also have a few trips planned for the next few days.

Tonight I am going to Khan El Khalily. Khan El Khalily is a market in downtown Cairo. We are going at 9:00 pm I know it sounds late but that is early for most people here. I have been at a grocery store at midnight and there were whole families there and I mean everyone! (little babies is strollers, toddlers...) I think that Cairo is really the city that never sleeps!

Tomorrow I am hopefully going on the Nile River Cruise. But the bus leaves at 5 from Zamaleck and I have class until 5:30 tomorrow....so I might be going I might not be. It all depends on the bus system which can be pretty chaotic around here and if I can get out of class early. I really want to go though! I have heard only amazing things about them. I would be going for Iftar, and while we are there there would be tons of entertainment!

Then Thursday I am going to do a Bedouin Night out in the desert! We go and eat dinner then ride horses....I'm not really sure of all the details I have just heard that it is absolutely amazing.

Sadly I can't do the pyramids on Friday because of my class :-( I am really sad about that. I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to go. But it is at the same time my class is. I think a group of people that I have met are going to go to the pyramids on a weekend later in the semester when it is cooler so I will defiantly jump on that!

Lastly I am on the waiting list (2nd in line!! I REALLY hope that I get to go on this trip!!) to go to Luxor and Aswan. It is a 4 day 3 night trip to so many places further south in Egypt.

I guess that is all for now. I am also planning to go up to Alexandria one day with some friends in the future as well. I hope that everyone is having fun back at home!

Much Love,

~S

Comments and Concerns

Things overall are going well here. I have figured out how to eat while I am on campus. It is kind of annoying though because I don't have a meal plan so everything that I eat I have to buy out of pocket every day. This also means that I am slightly concerned about having enough money to do everything that I want to while I am here....but I think I will be okay. I found a way to get to a grocery store using the bus system here on campus. In order to save money I think that I will buy breakfast things and some snack things there. So at the most I need to only buy 2 meals on campus a day.

I still don't know how to change in travelers checks. I'm going to go to the bank on campus today and try to figure that out. This is VERY important because I am running out of money! (between buying food, and school supplies, and a down payment for a trip I'm actually currently a bit short to buy a bus pass...I have the money it is just in travelers checks at the moment.) OH! and I am really not happy that I have to pay 300 LE ($60) to get a student visa! My travelers visa is good for 6 months but apparently I still need to get a student one.

My door now shuts! But my ID won't open my door....and we don't know why because I got a new ID but it still doesn't work! Therefore the problem must be in the door itself. We will just have to wait and see how that pans out.

I was quickly typing this as a way to distract myself from going to my crash course in Arabic...but that starts at 10 and I need to find the building it is in! So I am off to class! HI to everyone back in the states!!! Especially everyone at SMCM! I miss you all so much and I don't think I realized how much that place meant to me until I was away from it.

Much Love,

~S

I'm in Egypt

Hi Everyone! This will be my first full day in Egypt! I can't wait! My room is quite large there is a lofted bed a large L shaped desk, a wardrobe, and some shelves. But lets start back on the airplane! The flight went well! I remember flying over the Mediterranean Sea and seeing the coast of Africa for the first time. It was pretty and slightly dotted with clouds. Then the closer we got to Cairo and the farther we got away from the water the more the sky changes to a weird gray, tan, pink color. (I am assuming it was the dust in the air...hoping it wasn't pollution! lol) The land looked like what you would expect...large expanses of sand dotted with attempts as growing things and little villages.

All my luggage made it and after waiting for a bit for everyone to figure out what was going on we piled into a van to take us to the school. (and I mean pile) We fit about 14 college students....as well as their luggage into a slightly larger than normal size van. (I took pictures. They will be up later) We drove around for a bit and learned that if you plan of going anywhere in Egypt U turns will be made. (I don't know why but in order to get out of the airport I think we took 3 U turns!) Then we got to campus...when through security AGAIN and were able to get into our rooms. I am in Unit 12: each unit has 3 floors and the roof is a porch area. My floor has 3 doubles on it and one single. (I still don't have a roommate but hopefully I will be getting one today!) The bathroom is nice: two sinks, two toilets, and two showers (and these showers are BIG). The school is beautiful and I can't wait to explore it later!!!

I did get really frustrated when I couldn't get the internets working last night but finally they are up and running! For some reason the fire alarm went off at 11 pm last night and again this morning...no one will tell me why. But I see people doing work on something outside so that might be the cause.

I miss home A LOT! But I am really hoping that this semester goes well!! I miss everyone back in the states so very much! I LOVE YOU ALL!

Why I chose Egypt.

Why not?

I have always wanted to study abroad. Many countries have floated through my head over the years (Ones I know my parents would have been more happy with...ie England). But I have never been the one to take to easiest path...and I wanted to go some place different. It is rather simple for me to go to England or France....Egypt not so much. This provided the perfect opportunity! (And my friend Susan went. She is to blame for planting the seed in my head! :-P )

I have always been a history buff and I feel very cheated that in grade school I was never taught ancient, African, or Middle Eastern history. I do not want to be another teacher that continues to ignore half of the world and doesn't teach their students about it. Especially when ancient, African, and Middle Eastern history is arguably some of the most important and most interesting history their is! (YAY Pyramids and Mummies!) Without Muslim scholars the western world would never have known the works of Aristotle. Aristotle's works were translated into Arabic and then crusaders brought his works to the west. Muslim scholars in Baghdad invented the magnetic compass, and the lateen sail. Both of which completely altered the history sailing. And without them Europeans would not have been able to make it around the world, or to America. Muslims were the prime scholars in the world and living in splendor back when the people in England were still living a squalor.

These laps in education merely uneducates the students who are supposed to be learning. Furthermore, it breeds stereotypes and prejudices. (ie...We don't learn about these places therefore they are not important.) This is why I want to go to Egypt. I want to face every stereotypes that I have heard. I want to see for my self what it is like to live in Africa, and in the Middle East. Because clearly living in the United States has not shown me an accurate picture.

So what's going on here?

If you haven't heard yet I'm heading off to Egypt on the 28th of August. This blog is my attempt to stay adequately connected with my family back in the United States while I am gone. So I promise to attempt to try to possibly make posts as much as I can.....maybe! I tend to forget to do things like tell people what is going on in my life. As a result these posts may at times be pointless, however, they will assure you that I am alive and at least functioning enough that I can type out a few stories! :-)

(WARNING: Grammar and Spelling will often be wrong. When this happens use your imagination...I find that makes the reading experience more exciting!)

xoxo

~S