Comin' Home

Just the other evening a friend and I had a lengthy conversation over dinner about our experiences in Cairo and what we expected going back to the States. Taylor, a junior at American University in D.C., has been here longer than I have, since last February, and had returned home for the summer vacation. Through a history course and our involvement in the university's Palestinian activist group we have become close friends, often listening to each others' thoughts about all sorts of things: girls, politics, our undiagnosed neuroses. While our conversations often drift to the subject of longing for home, this time we dwelt on the topic for most of our dinner. Both of us had had busy weeks and in Taylor's case, a particularly stressful talk with a girl he hoped to start something with while here. For as much as each of us loves Egypt and the friends we have met here, we have both reached our breaking points and are ready to return home. Unlike the feelings of wanting to stay I get while on vacation, I now count the days until flying home. This is not to say that I do not still have amazing experiences ahead in the last month. I mean I will be traveling to the Sinai Peninsula and Israel/Palestine for my upcoming breaks, which will surely be epic in every sense.

I think at the heart of Taylor's and my longing for home is the fact that we have become overly frustrated with particular aspects of a society that remains foreign to us even after all these months. For instance, personally speaking, having had food poisoning nearly 7 times, with the latest occurrence happening this past weekend, has definitely put a damper on my experience in Cairo. Likewise, as a result of this, I become more easily agitated by otherwise minor annoyances, like attempts to make me pay more for whatever, be it a taxi ride or food. I guess you might say I am wrestling with trying to make sense of my experiences here and gain insight from them. To be honest, I am afraid of returning home in some ways. I know that I have changed, whether for better or worse. I am probably a bit more lazy than before and will miss going out for coffee and sheesha. At the same time I have found new internal strengths that I never knew existed previously. Considering this whirlwind of emotions I expect my transition back into American culture to have its hardships. Having lived under a dictatorial, conservative society I am sure some aspects of the States will seem just as foreign as coming to Egypt back in August. The one thing that is very clear right now is that the way I was living before coming here will never be the same. I recognize that in many ways I had been extremely selfish, like filling my closet and drawers with clothing I wore only once and then forgot about. Or praying to God for more of this and that.

Ma'salaama for now,
Andrew

Currently Listening To:

The Lawrence Arms "100 Resolutions"