Welcome to my Blog!

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Ahlan wa Sahlan ya Shabab!

Welcome to my blog for my experience of studying in Egypt for the 2011-2012 year! I am extremely excited about what's in store for my life in this upcoming year and I am grateful that you are sharing in this experience with me. First off, why Egypt? Well, for starters, who doesn't want to travel to Egypt? There is so much history here it makes your head spin. One doesn't need to go far to see such sites as The Pyramids of Giza, Old Cairo, Islamic Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor and Aswan, or the Red Sea Coast. I hope to hit all of these places within the coming year, as well as a few other neighboring countries. I have a big fascination with the Middle East; it's history, politics, and one of its languages. In a nutshell, I knew I wanted to study somewhere in the region. This is not my first time in the MENA (Middle East/North African Region), however, as I spent nine weeks last summer in Jordan. As much as I loved my time spent in Jordan, I wanted to go somewhere new and experience another country's culture and see the similarities and differences between them. Egypt was calling my name and I could not resist!
Officially, I will be studying at The American University in Cairo, located in New Cairo, about 35 minutes from downtown (aka Tahrir Sqaure). One thing I was looking for in a school was a great Arabic language program and AUC has the best. That was another reason for coming to the MENA. I have been studying Arabic at my home institution for the past two years, and I really want to enhance my skills and become better accustomed to speaking, reading, and hearing Arabic. I find it to be an extremely beautiful language, and I want to dedicate as much time as I can to learning its intricacies. This is also a major reason why I am studying abroad for an entire year, rather than a semester. To be immersed for a year in a language like Arabic is more beneficial than one semester, imo.
Finally, the question I get all the time when I tell people I am going to Egypt (usually with blank stares or you're crazy! eyes) is it safe? In my opinion, no country is ever really "safe", though some are obviously more stable than others. I do feel safe here, though. The school has a very good security system in place and an emergency plan if anything happens (in sha allah it will not). Also, if I avoid areas of protesting and don't go right into the melee, I believe I will be just fine. The Revolution caught the eyes and hearts of the world last January, and I am beyond excited to study in this area of the world as I find what happened absolutely fascinating and inspiring.
Again thank you for reading my blog, I hope you enjoy my thoughts and my photographs. I will try to keep this as updated as possible. Shokran Jazeelan waaw Mara al Salaama!

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