القاهرة: I made it!

The beginning to one of the most incredible experiences of my life thus far, my first week in Cairo has been a whirlwind of new everything - a new city brings new faces, smells, sounds, and flavors. While I was initially pretty anxious about spending four months in a country that many warned me to steer clear from, I now am thrilled to be in a city that is so vibrant and full of life.

The depiction of Cairo in the American media today is solely focused on Tahrir Square - the area downtown where the protests and demonstrations are occurring. I wish that the media would occasionally show the other neighborhoods of Cairo, where life is going on in complete normalcy and peacefulness. My neighborhood, Dokki (pronounced Do-ee), is full of little shops, sheesha bars, a market area, restaurants, and Cairo University. It is thronged with people that are simply going about their day to day routine. I feel safe walking around and exploring my neighborhood - in fact, many people greet me with the staple phrase, "Welcome to Egypt!" Contrary to what you might think, foreigners are typically welcomed by Egyptians on the streets of Cairo. When Egyptians learn that we are American students here to learn Arabic, they beam smiles.

So far, the students on my program and I have been attending our week-long orientation so that we can better adjust to this unfamiliar environment. Our program director, Matthew, first introduced us to the concept of Intercultural Communication. His objective is to remove the American filters that we came here with and help us to perceive our surroundings through an Egyptian lens. We have created a framework to compare culture so that we can assimilate into the Egyptian way of life. Instead of learning to do's and don'ts here, we are learning why. It's pretty awesome, and I think it will definitely help me understand everything that I experience here.

I know that many of you are really concerned about my safety here. If there is one thing you should worry about, it is me crossing the streets of Cairo. Seriously, it is a game of Frogger everything I encounter an intersection. There are no lanes, there are no crosswalks, and there are no stoplights. Traffic flows and you must dodge, duck, dip, dive, and DODGE around the cars. Luckily, we learned the human shield technique -- pick an Egyptian who is also crossing the street, and shadow him/her as you both cross together. It is very effective, albeit slightly creepy haha

This first week has made me realize how truly excited I am to be here. I am so happy with my program, my apartment, and the new friends I have made on the trip. I will post pictures soon -- the internet is very slow here and pretty unreliable. I will try to write as much as I can :)