Giving Thanks in Cairo

The semester got pretty rough this last month and a half; thus the no writing in my blog.  School, work, friends, I had an issue with each and it drained me and I had a hard time finding the energy to put it all into words that wouldn't sound self-pitying.
Today is Thanksgiving.  Well, it's only 5 am at home so most people are already asleep. I've already eaten.  A few days ago I found out that everyone I hang out with here was going to be gone today and that i would be celebrating alone.  I was worried that I would be really homesick and cry in my stuffing.  However.....
Mom sent me 2 boxes of stove top stuffing and I was able to save one until today so just having my favorite Thanksgiving dish is equal to a mood elevator.  I also somehow ended  up with the fixings for mashed potatoes- my other favorite dish!  Turkey is good, but always served as more of a palate cleanser for the other two anyway.  So I made my stuffing, mashed my potatoes with garlic and yumminess and turned on the 1947 version of Miracle on 34th Street.  That's about all I needed.  Yes I miss my family but we're going to recreate Thanksgiving dinner on Christmas anyway and thanks to the internet I get to talk to them often.  So, here's what i'm thankful for this year (in random order):
1.  Cairo- I get to live in an amazing city (well, near it) and experience something interesting every time I go out.
2. Stuffing!- thank god mom sent me some!
3. Internet- without it I think I would be more homesick but emails and skype and IMing have kept me in touch with all the people I miss and I don't feel so alone.
4. Family and Friends- without the support of all the people I love I could never have found the confidence to move 7,000 miles away from home and after 3 months, finally feel comfortable here.  I know that I have a safety net if ever I should fall and that in itself is the most amazing thing to be grateful for.

In less than a month I'll be home.  I have mixed feelings.  On one hand it will be amazing to see everyone and be home to celebrate Christmas and have  some normalcy which I have extricated from my life.  However, I also feel like it might set me back.  After 3 months I feel like I belong here.  Things are settling down and I feel more comfortable in everyday happenings.  Spending 3 weeks away might make it harder to come back.  But these are the breaks :)

Classes.....oh classes.  I guess I was lulled into a false sense of security in the beginning of the semester.   That coupled with my horrendous procrastination skills and being sick these last 4 days have kinda made this last part of the semester super exciting!  Tons of essays, paper, drafts of my thesis proposal.  I'm not good at working on my own (something I need to get over, pronto) and I've been neglecting my thesis research because it feels like I'm doing something naughty.  Let me explain:  I enjoy reading about my thesis topic so much, and it's something I've been interested in for so long that when I do "research" it feels like recreational reading and it's fun; therefore, I should be doing reading for classes which is slightly laborious and lacking in fun.  Hilarious.  I know I picked the right topic then...

So far grad school is fun- in the way that we're given more agency (I'm trying to enjoy that part) and we finally get to study a topic of our choice.  I think next semester will be different, though.  The first semester at a new school in a new program is always a little rough.  You need to push boundaries, see when you can fudge a little and when you need to work your ass off.  When I get back from vacation I'll feel a little more prepared to work.  I think I experience culture shock in a nice capsule of denial.  I don't feel like I have culture shock, I enjoy new experiences, but I also don't seem to have the energy to do anything too strenuous which means I'm stressed on some level.  When I come back I'll be in my own apartment, insha'allah, and living off campus will help me feel more like an adult than I do in the dorms.  Having never lived in the dorms it's been an interesting experience....I feel like I'm 18 again.

Off to finish my holiday movie and spend one more day recovering.  The weekend is for work!

I wait for sleep to come as it provides some brief reprieve from the monotony of the days

Ah School

Now that school has started I have less to write about...fewer adventures and more time in.  It's still only the end of the second week of classes so I'm still getting a feel for things.  However, I can't help feeling dumb.  I know wherever you are in life there's someone smarter or more cutting edge and you should only compete with yourself bla blah...
I'm excited to start my research although I have no idea how to do it and where to begin.  I suppose I need to work with two agencies mainly but I don't know whom I should speak with and what I exactly want to know.  Well, such is the start of a Masters I guess.  I'm scared because a few people I've talked to seem to think my thesis will have to be twice as long as normal since it will be for two degrees.  That's about 250 pages.  That's a book!  I tried writing a book once, never finished....
I feel slightly renewed in my fervor, however, as it seems an opportunity has presented itself.  It may not pan out but it could be another rewarding experience and something valuable for my cv.  Speaking of, I applied for a winter internship at the World Health Organization.  They say it's really hard to be chosen so I'm not worrying about it.  I figure if they see my name enough they'll eventually pay attention.  (the only issue if I do get chosen is finding funding to pay for it since all expenses are my responsibility but I'll worry about it if it come to that).

I love that every time I leave campus I have a story.  Long story short- wanted to see the pyramids at sunset and get some cool pics. Taxi driver didn't know where the pyramids where.  THE pyramids.  Last remaining wonder of the ancient world PYRAMIDS and he took us to pyramid street.  Oh my.  And everyone neglected to tell us that the pyramids close, that's right, at sunset.  So....we went to Zamalek and had a nice little night out.  Real trip to the pyramids postponed until we make plans and double check that the pyramids will be open.  Still not sure how you close something like that, it's like closing a mountain....

The Red Sea is Really Blue

At the end of Ramadan there's a 3 day feast called Eid al Fetr.  We were informed by many other students that no one stays in Cairo and everyone takes advantage of the break for a mini-vacay.  Well, realizing that after this break I will really start grad school I desperately wanted to go somewhere.  On the Sinai there's a town called Dahab that was recommended many times as a beautiful place for diving/snorkeling and just general beach time. So....my roommate and another friend decided, "what the heck, let's go with out anyone's help!"  That's not exactly true, we asked people where the bus station was and the best way to get tickets.
So, middle of the night in Cairo and we are in the up-scale neighborhood of Heliopolis, wandering around the mall and just killing time.  The 11 o'clock bus we had intended to get on was booked so we had to get tickets on the 2 am bus.  Did I mention that the bus ride is about 8 hours from Cairo to Dahab?  So at 1am we take a cab to the bus station and attempt to get tickets.
Now, on a side note, cab rides here are always an adventure.  Sometimes the drivers don't know where to go but they'll pick you up for the fare anyway.  Sometimes they don't have a meter and you get to bargain over the price.  This includes,
"How much?"
"So far over the norm that you'll either be a stupid tourist and say yes or we'll bargain," etc.
Always settle on the fare before you get in. They aren't too agreeable about pulling over after a few blocks.
Back at the station, thank god one of the girls speaks passable Arabic and we were able to figure out where our bus was coming and get on the right one.  We were a little nervous because we were the only women waiting in the station. At 2am.  Slightly conspicuous.

We get on the bus and discover that we don't just sit anywhere but there are assigned seats. Oops.  So we end up in the very front seats which affords us no room for our legs or carry-ons.  Slightly uncomfortable ride....And the drivers were creepy and kept staring at us in their rear-view mirrors and trying to find out if we had husbands or not.  Crank up the iPod and pretend to be asleep....
So Dahab is gorgeous and right on the Red Sea.  Our hostel is so close to the water that when the tide comes in it comes part way up the wall.  Our room was cute and just what we needed.

We had a great time shopping along the waterway that first night and dining on the roof.  I enjoyed some shisha as dessert while the other girls fended off the millions of cats that roam the area looking for scraps.  Day two we waded into the water and got to see a ton of starfish and snails while we felt the rush of the warm water on our legs.  It was nice to be on a beach :)  We also went horse back riding along the water and through a lagoon and I was proud of my girls, they did great.  Especially riding english, which is no easy task when you haven't been many times and the guide had us trotting most of the ride.
We dined under the stars again and got to see the crescent moon and accompanying star that makes me think of some nation's flags.

The next morning we only encountered a small hassle which dealt with the bill at our hostel.  Always get a receipt since cash is the majority currency....
The bus back was a lot less crowded, the seats were nicer, and the trip was faster.  We arrived home tired but content.  At least I did.  Something about the beach always refreshes me.  I had a great time and can't wait for the next big Eid which will be before thanksgiving.  We're planning something big for that one.

Desert Wind

Moving to a new city is always challenging.  There's the issue of obtaining basic necessities: food, water, shelter. After those needs are met, there are others that beg to be exercised.  I never expected to feel isolated in a city of 20 million people.  Being in a new "mega city" has its perks (so I'm told): less pollution, noise and otherwise,  less crowding, less trash, etc.  However, I find it lacking in one of the fundamental privileges of living in a city: people.  Since the world changed tactics and left the agrarian life aside humans have adapted to overcrowding and rationing resources.  But in the city there was more life!  More access to one's desires.  The view my window affords me is of a stone wall.  Desert trees break the monotony of tan but bring no sense of life to the view.  The only people I see from my window are the guards employed by the University to see to our safety.  A few of them chat, laugh, drive by on golf carts but the sense of isolation is acute.  

     Many of my fellow adventurers are having difficulties adjusting to the location, I feel like I never left home, it just got hotter.  Here in "little America" we are denied the opportunities that living off-campus would have provided.  I want to experience the city!  I want to be subjected to "noise pollution;" in fact, I can't sleep in stone-silence and have always needed some proof of life in order to feel comfortable enough to sleep.  I think on the tribes of Bedouins existing in desert silence with only a small group as a buffer to the loneliness.  I couldn't do it.  

Ima Own This

Had my first class, the class that "everyone" dreads: Classical Social Thought, i.e THEORY!!! dun dun dun.....
I actually seem to enjoy the foundations of different disciplines:  ballet, dressage, theory!
I think I would probably be more scared if I hadn't been so prepared.  Every theorist that is listed on the syllabus is familiar to me.  yay!
I'll probably freak out when I add my other classes to the mix and don't have time to expostulate on various social theories but as of right now, i'm heaving a sigh of relief.  My next class is going to stress me out because of transportation and I can barely understand the professor, I have no idea what the class entails.
Should be interesting.
My mantra for the semester:
I WILL NOT PROCRASTINATE!
This is the worst place to do it and I can't afford to get less than an A. So...here goes.  This semester is mine!

Summer is Over

Summer officially ended.  Today is the first day of classes!  I'm excited, a little nervous, but I know I'm well prepared.
I had a fun week- got to go out a couple of times in Zamalek which included a rooftop bar over-looking the Nile. Amazing.  I think that's the neighborhood I want to move to.  It's full of trees and historic buildings and expats so it has a huge international community.  It's hard hanging out with only American students however, or people that are trying to create their homes in Cairo.  Maybe that's why there's so much anxiety in first years- you want Cairo to feel like home but it doesn't.  I'm here to experience something different so i'm trying to take everything as it comes.  It helps that other people are worried and I can put on a brave face to calm them down. Maybe I would be freaking out if everyone else were calm.
I've loved it so far.  yes, the bureaucracy of trying to finalize the financial aspect of school  is annoying but so far I haven't questioned my decision to come here.  I've also had 2 years of mental prep....
I love Arabic.  I'm in that frustrating stage where I remember some things but not enough for it to be useful.  It's fun listening to other people and trying to figure out what they're saying, though.  Arabic is so pretty, even the sounds are curved.
Off to the gym to start this semester with good habits.