Hey everyone!
The past few days have been a whirlwind of activity around the university, with lots of outings to the surrounding districts to sightsee. For the fraction of the cost of similar trips in the US, I've been able to go on sailing trips on the Nile, have a traditional Bedouin dinner, and horseback ride by the pyramids. The dinner was great and offered a wide variety of foods, such as shish kebab, rice, and fresh fruit. During the course of the dinner we watched traditional Bedouin and Sufi dancing; the whirling dervish dance was nothing short of rivaling stuff on America's Best Dance Crew. I have pictures from it that I will upload soon. Also, the group had the chance to dance with the staff and a wedding party that had arrived. The whole thing reminded me of the wedding parties I saw back home working in Cape May. The horseback riding was a little crazy because we got to the stables at 9 o'clock and everything was pitch black. I don't think I've sweat so much as I did when I first got on the horse and began to ride out into the desert. The night sky was so clear and it was amazing to hear nothing but the wind blow across the dunes.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
I've Made It This Far
So I have arrived in Cairo! The plane ride alone was pretty epic, clocking in at around 10.5 hours straight from New York City to Cairo International. Unfortunately, because of a mixture of nerves, homesickness, and excitement, I did not sleep for much of the ride. If you would have seen me after we arrived in Cairo, I would've appeared to be half-dead by the way my head would dip if I wasn't doing something.
After making it through customs, the group that I traveled with to Cairo was picked up by members of the AUC staff and driven to the Zamalek neighborhood campus of the university. Situated almost immediately outside of downtown Cairo, Zamalek was the AUC's main campus until this year when all academic classes will be moved out to its new campus in New Cairo, about 15 minutes outside of the city. There seems to be a general mood of joy at the prospect of moving to a cleaner, less-noisy area to encourage the growth of the university. The university is amongst the most prestigious in Egypt and enrolls the upper classes of Egyptian society, reminiscent of Ursinus back home.
As for the people I've met thus far, they're a lot like myself. The vast majority of my peers are from the coasts, both east and west, and studying some form of Middle Eastern history, politics, or other social science. Likewise, many of us have no clear-cut career path in mind, hoping this semester abroad will help us with that issue. Speaking of which, I met a young man on the plane that had recently graduated college and was AUC alumni, who decided to return to Cairo for a year to teach.
This week will be my orientation for the university, so it's all about getting situated and acclimated to the culture.
Bye for now,
Andrew
After making it through customs, the group that I traveled with to Cairo was picked up by members of the AUC staff and driven to the Zamalek neighborhood campus of the university. Situated almost immediately outside of downtown Cairo, Zamalek was the AUC's main campus until this year when all academic classes will be moved out to its new campus in New Cairo, about 15 minutes outside of the city. There seems to be a general mood of joy at the prospect of moving to a cleaner, less-noisy area to encourage the growth of the university. The university is amongst the most prestigious in Egypt and enrolls the upper classes of Egyptian society, reminiscent of Ursinus back home.
As for the people I've met thus far, they're a lot like myself. The vast majority of my peers are from the coasts, both east and west, and studying some form of Middle Eastern history, politics, or other social science. Likewise, many of us have no clear-cut career path in mind, hoping this semester abroad will help us with that issue. Speaking of which, I met a young man on the plane that had recently graduated college and was AUC alumni, who decided to return to Cairo for a year to teach.
This week will be my orientation for the university, so it's all about getting situated and acclimated to the culture.
Bye for now,
Andrew
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