Reflection

It is hard for me to put my reflection on my time in Egypt into words. The months of May and June are a blur of tours, classes, adventures and more. I can say that I feel that this experience has changed me as a person. Before going on this trip I was a very organized, somewhat controlling individual and the mellowness that I have acquired during my stay in Egypt has truly changed a part of me. Not only have I changed in this way but I have learned and grown so much. I’ve acquired more knowledge in the past two months than I ever could sitting in a classroom in Boston. The immersion factor of this Dialogue was an integral part to my learning process. I am completely grateful and appreciative for the opportunity to take part in this experience.

First, the activities and site visits throughout the trip were all enjoyable and informative. The guides that were included all were well read on their individual topics and really brought something to the overall tour – including Michael Mousa, Iman, Linda, and Prof. Sullivan. I was able to learn about Egyptian history through different perspectives and I must say that although the days did get draining there was never a temple I did not appreciate. The pyramids were amazing, I returned to the desert twice after the group visit and I cannot believe that I can say I’ve climbed into a pyramid (Dahshur). I did not like the U.S. Embassy but I feel that was a general consensus whereas the Arab League was very informative and interesting. The Whirling Dervishes’ show was definitely a treat and I thought it was incredible to watch, I would recommend going back. I enjoyed all of our excursions to different cities – Luxor, Aswan, Alexandria, Marsa Matrouh, Siwa – even being stuck in the desert with a crew like ours made everything okay. The stay in Alexandria seemed a little rushed because it was only a day tour but still very interesting and enjoyable for most of the people that went. I really did like Luxor and Aswan but by the end of that excursion I was happy to not hear any more cat calls or be grabbed in public, which really turned me off. Back in Egypt though, the city broke my poor spirits and I got back to normal.

My Arabic class was one of my favorite parts of this Dialogue. Although the days did drag on with the four our class periods - some of that being my fault with my late nights out with friends – I cannot believe all the information I retained in the short time period we had to work with. I owe that to Syonara. She was really a great teacher, who made learning this tough language a fun experience. Not only was Arabic language discussed in class, but Arab culture in general and women’s roles in that culture. Syonara introduced videos and songs into the classroom for better understanding as well as visits to restaurants, her own home, and chatting with people around the AUC. Although at some points I felt out of my comfort zone, Syonara was always there to assist with any questions or concerns that I had. The classroom was a very open place. Just from the great experience I had in Syonara’s class, I know that I want to continue studying more Arabic and advancing on the learning that she has set up for me. I wouldn’t have been able to survive half the my time in Egypt, around Khan el Khalili, ordering food at Fel Fel Beih, or many other things without Syonara’s guidance.
The second part of the overall class work was the Service Learning element of this Dialogue. Overall I feel that I really did try to make a difference with the NGO but I don’t think that I did. I worked in the knitting factory where I was in charge of photographing all of the products that we needed to put on the website. Aside from some slight interactions with the workers at the workshop, I felt that we were just over in the corner doing our own thing and I didn’t really see who was actually benefiting from this work. I personally don’t think that the website is going to be maintained by anyone at the AUC and therefore isn’t really going to have an impact on the business of the knitting workshop. As far as my group is concerned, my part of the group that dealt with pictures and cataloging worked very well together and we were able to get everything done once we were back to the hotel that day. The second part of our group was the interviewing side, which seemed to be a little unorganized and did not turn in their information on time. I can’t comment much on the evaluation of this group because I wasn’t really around them but I can definitely say that all of my team members really did work well. The second part of my individual service was volunteering at St. Andrews. I found this volunteer work to be a very inspiring experience. The first week there I met two very different and interesting people – Dmbek and Albino – both of which are refugees from South Sudan. Albino sat and talked with Joyce and I about life and his philosophy on it for well over an hour. The intelligence and understanding that radiated from this man was surprising and humbling. I, personally, with my lack of knowledge on refugees had an idea in my head that this people would not be very smart and Albino surely proved me wrong. Dmbek was another interesting person who wanted to talk about America and specifically American music; I think he might have even known more than I did. I know that technically my job at St. Andrews was to tutor English, but I felt that most of my time spent there was just like chatting with an old friend about life. I really liked my days at St. Andrews and I found it an enlightening experience which I would recommend as a service option on future dialogues.

Now that the logistical aspects of this reflection are finished, I want to touch on one of things I experienced the most on my stay in the Arab world, and that is contrast. I found contrasts daily while living in Egypt including rich and poor, men and women, rural and urban, and definitely the differences between Egypt and America. First we can talk about the social classes in Egypt and the dissimilarities I observed with them. What I found most puzzling during my stay was the complete lack of a middle class. We were able to see the poor and rich alike but with no sign of something in between. Within the rich and poor realms, of course we can find varying degrees and you can normally grasp which degree a person falls under by the way they dress. I must say though that things are not always what they seem. Take Syonara for instance, when she is out and in class I would perceive her has a lower class woman because of how she dresses and talks about money. But when were able to visit her at her home most of us where confused to find a home not resembling any ounce of poverty which we could only attribute to some Egyptians blurred view on themselves in their society. At least that is what we gathered from this specific case, of course there are many impoverished people like those of Establ Antar who know they’re poor but the contrast is found when there are people driving around in expensive cars and designer clothes through the city. I really noticed this contrast when one night we were taken with our Egyptian friends to a place in Muquttam that overlooks Cairo. Now Muquttam is where we normally visit for our service work so I felt the difference of going up there to help with the knitting workshop compared to driving up there in a BMW to just look at the city. I can hardly explain how this made me feel because it really was just weird for me.

Of course the one contrast that I can really speak to from personal experience is the differences noted between Egypt and America. And now I know that the list may seem endless in this category, but I just want to touch on two aspects that really startled me during our stay. When we were in Luxor on our way to dinner, there were some children that approached us asking for money which wasn't too out of the ordinary. I gave a girl a sugar packet that I had in my pocket because I was out of money and surprisingly she seemed to enjoy it a lot. After this event it really started me thinking on how I was raised as a child in America. Of course the cardinal rule of childhood in America is to not talk to strangers, however in Egypt we find young children trying to sell items most of the day to tourists who are complete strangers. They also come up to these strangers and ask for things, food, money, baksheesh. The sheer idea that I would have been allowed to walk the streets near the Luxor Temple alone at night when I was that age really boggles my mind. It is definitely just a cultural difference that really struck me weird when it occurred. And then I noticed on another instance when a group of us was going to El Fishawy one night and we left around 2 or 3 AM only to find babies out in the street playing. It really just is different.

The second aspect of the Egyptian, American divide I wanted to touch on was hospitality. I found an overwhelming sense of hospitality mostly everywhere I ventured when in Egypt. You are always getting offered things and you always feel bad refusing because Egyptians tend to seem upset when you do not accept their acts of kindness. I saw this one day in Coptic Cairo while walking with Grace who was recognized with Prof. Sullivan by a street vendor who proceeded to shower grace with cheap jewelry that she did not want but eventually took because it is extremely difficult to turn down these acts of graciousness. Abduh and Hayaam, as well as Syonara all showed more generosity and kindness then I would have ever expected. This is something you don’t experience in American with people that are strangers. I think this also ties in to what I discussed before and how children are embedded with the don’t talk to strangers mentally, and therefore Americans tend to not trust people as easily and not be as open as we found some Egyptians to be. Even the students we met at the Fulbright Commission were quick to invite us out and hang out with us every chance possible. They seemed to be genuinely happy to trek all of us around their city so that we could experience it with them which I found very uplifting. I know that if they were to come and visit here I would want to reciprocate their kind actions, but I feel that a lot of the people here would not do the same.

Honestly, I have found my second home. The experience in Egypt is something I thought I couldn’t put in to words, as you see I did, but I don’t even feel like this reflection actually grasps all the emotions inside me. I’m happy to be home but sadden at the thought of not walking around Zamalek or hopping in the vans to see Abduh’s smiling face or just being in Egypt. I miss it all and I will continue to miss it until I am able to return to this great country that I really have fell in love with. Egypt has me smitten. And lastly, I want to thank Prof. Sullivan and Cynthia for making this all possible for me, I thank you a million times over, and hope you know that what you’re doing is a great thing. I will miss you Egypt, until we meet again.