Sarah in Egypt

Arriving in Egypt

Hello, Everyone!

 I arrived in Cairo safe and sound, and I’m finally settling into my new life.  I live with Shannon and Huma, my fellow Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars from the U.S., in the neighborhood of Mohandesseen, which is pretty crowded and very popular with the locals.  My neighborhood is quite conservative, and my roommates and I stick out like a sore thumb.  However, everyone is very friendly and helpful.

 I live in the bottom floor of a two-story house, a rare find in this part of the city which is covered in high rise apartment buildings.  We have three bedrooms, one and a half baths, a large, open kitchen, a dining room, living room, and reception area.  Our apartment is furnished and has great character. I’ll be sure to post pics of our place in the future.

We have met a few of the people in our neighborhood.  Our landlord, Dr. Samy, and his wife, Madame Soraya, are an adorable elderly couple.  Their adult daughter lives Canada with a family of her own.  Dr. Samy and Madame Soraya were instrumental in helping us find our way once we moved into the apartment. Then, there’s Uma Mohammed, a round, jovial woman who cleans our apartment.  We have also established friendly acquaintances with employees at our local bread shop, fruit stand, women’s clothing shop, local restaurants, and the like.

My classes are very interesting.  I have four classes, all of them in Arabic, which focus on Arabic grammar, vocabulary, issues in Arabic media, and Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (slang/common language). My instructors are all enthusiastic about teaching the language and quite willing to go above and beyond for any student who needs additional instruction. They have such passion and are personally invested in the success of their students.  I am truly lucky to have them.

Now that I am settled, I am able to start exploring Cairo and Egypt in general.  Last weekend, I went on a trip organized by the AUC Arabic Language Institute (ALI) to the Citadel.  It was breath taking.  Here’s a website to check-out if you want to learn a bit more about this historical site:  http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/citadel.htm

 This coming weekend, we are travelling to Alexandria with ALI. I’ll be sure to post some info about that trip next week.