Things are beginning to speed up...

Ok, so these are some fairly awkward picture of my roommate and I. We had a little too much at the Mediterranean. The last picture of me is at one of the oldest Mosques still standing in the entire world in Cairo.

This week my flat mates and I came to the realization that this semester goes by incredibly fast. I’ve now been in Cairo for just over a month and in many ways this place has become my home. I’ve fallen into the routine of walking by the body shop on the street corner where cars and car parts litter the streets, of passing by the tea shop where older men converse and ramble at us in Arabic as we walk by, of casually stepping aside to let a car pass leaving only inches between its front fender and my legs, all on the average walk to class four times a week. I’ve come to enjoy walking around the neighborhood at night when it comes alive with the celebration of the setting of the sun and the ability of the Muslims here to eat during the month of Ramadan when they fast during the day light. Yet I know that very soon this small bit of routine and familiarity which has come will soon come to an end. The next month goes something like this: this Wednesday we leave for Siwa, an oasis in the desert for 5 days, from there we transition into our homestays which will last for 10 days, the week after that we travel to Luxor and Aswan for 6 days, and then less than a week later we leave for our travel component which spans 5 countries and 4 weeks. After that our semester is over and we go home with tons of information, life changing experience, and an abrupt end.

By no means am I complaining, but I just want to give everyone an idea of the intensity and business which comes with this program. I’m incredibly blessed and wouldn’t have it any other way, but sometimes it gets to be a little much.

That being said, I haven’t updated this in a while, so I’ll get started and keep it as brief and informative as possible.

Classes: Continue to be challenging but amazing. I’m learning so much about Islam, the local politics, and the situation of the region as a whole sometimes I can’t handle it. But although it’s incredibly overwhelming, the way in which we are learning and the questions I have to ask myself are changing the way I look at the world and the way I see myself. What’s amazing however, is that through all this I see my faith strengthening as I drop what’s not necessary and focus on what is. Arabic is difficult but is genuinely fun as we are able to directly apply it every moment we walk outside our door. Overall, classes are going great, and the best thing is that I’m not so much worried about grades as I am about learning, it’s incredibly liberating.

The Sweet Stuff: What’s great about being here is that I can always justify going out and not doing homework by chalking it up as Arabic practice, or truly experiencing the culture which in actuality is far better learning than I’ll ever get from a book, right?

-Alexandria-We took a train and spent two days in this historically rich, harbor town. We went to museums, ate at local restaurants, saw Roman ruins, swam in the Mediterranean, and enjoyed a weekend away from the business, noise, traffic, and pollution of Cairo. I even took some risqué photos with my roommate which you can see on this post.
-Breaking the Fast (Iftar)-Since it’s the holy month of Ramadan, 3 of my flat mates and I took part in the fast by not eating or drinking during the day. That night we went to a local Mosque to eat with Muslims who had fasted all day. After struggling through a day with no food or water, we sat in a tent with about 50 Muslims and as we heard the call to prayer at sunset we tore into the food which was provided and attempted to converse in Arabic with those we ate with. It was awesome to see an aspect of Islam which brings Muslims and families together as one community to focus on God and have all people, both rich and poor, satisfy the pangs of hunger with a meal. As Christians, the guys and I had great respect for the men and women who did this all month, and I felt as though it was a moment where two very different groups, normally at extreme odds, came together for at least a short time.
-Ashraff and Sharif-My roommate and I met up with some guys we randomly met at a soccer game. We went to a café, drank strawberry juice, talked about football (soccer), politics, religion, and our respective countries. The next week we went bowling and had a great time having fun and participating in some lighter discussion than our first meeting by debating questions such as, “Would you rather have 3 arms, or have hands for feet?”
-Coptic weekend-We spend an entire day with a group of Coptic young people. Coptic Christianity was founded by the St. Mark 2000 years ago and is very similar to Eastern Orthodoxy, although I won’t go into the details. We discussed the problems, advantages, differences, and similarities between our brands of Christianity. At the end of the night we played sang songs together, played games, and had an awesome time.
-Sufi Jazz Concert-As part of my “cultural activity” I’m learning to play an Egyptian drum called the tabla. Our teacher invited us to his concert which was held in an open-air venue surrounded by Mamluk period buildings dating from the 8th Century, behind one of the most important Mosques in Cairo. It was an incredibly mix of great atmosphere and amazing music.
-Night at the Café-Just tonight, my roommate and I decided to go to one of the many cafes, were men sit, drink tea, and smoke sheesha (Hooka). It was slightly awkward at first, Egyptians don’t expect to see two, white Americans drinking tea with them in a place rarely visited by tourists, but they warmed up to us. It was a great opportunity to get to know some of the people in our neighborhood as well as practice and learn Arabic.


Well that’s about it. In two days we leave for the desert Oasis of Siwa where we’ll swim in cold springs, go on dune rides, go sandboarding, and sleep in the desert. It’s a pretty tough life. Thanks to everyone who reads and please keep me in your prayers!

Jonathan

Sinai Dahab

So here's the update on the fun of studying abroad. This last weekend we took a trip to Mt. Sinai and the tourist town of Dahab.

We left Cairo at 6:30 PM on a bus and nine hours later, after a short stop for a flat tire, we were at the base of Mt. Sinai ready to summit the traditional site where Moses talked to God. Traditionally you're supposed to climb it at night so you reach the summit as the sun rises. To be honest, it wasn't a religiously enlightening experience, but it was fun to see the bedouins with camels and people from all over the world climbing this mountain. Once we got down we went to St. Catherine's Monistary which houses a huge collection of ancient icons as well as the actual burning bush where Moses witnessed God! They even have a fire extinguisher next to it in case God decides to reveal himself again.

From there we traveled to the costal resort town of Dahab. While there we stayed in a quaint hostel with an opened lobby and palm trees, and we ate at amazing resturants reclined on pillows right next to the Red Sea. But best of all we got to do some world class snorkeling, which is supposedly second in the world only the The Great Barrier Reef. Many of the guys and I also made some quality purchases which made our snorkeling experience even more enjoyable. I however, forgot to put sunscreen on the back of my thighs, which usually is not a problem, but for some reason was on this trip as you'll see from the pictures. I felt like I was in a fantasy land.

Jonathan

Eurotrunks and a Burning Bush

The Madness Begins

The last two weeks have brought a sense of the reality that will be my semester, a reality filled with too much intellectual stimulation, too many challenging cultural interactions, and far too much fun. I've been hit with the reality that I will be extremely busy the rest of this semester while being thoroughly challenged in a variety of ways.

Classes have started and we've just begun to scratch the surface. I have Arabic class four days a week, and it's actually really fun. Arabic is obviously an extremely challenging language, but we have been taking it pretty slowly and we have a good teacher. It's also exciting to be able to learn the language of the people around us and be able to say more than "hello," "good bye," and "How are you doing?" to them. Although we haven't moved much passed that, we are moving slowly.

The other classes I'm taking are making me more excited to learn than I probably ever have in my entire life. The first day of my Islam class I spend the afternoon touring ancient Mosques which displayed the changes and history in Mosque Architecture. It's not everday one gets to learn about Islam from a practicing Muslim, in a place rich in Muslim history, while visiting ancient Muslim places of worship. I heard a lecture on the 5 pillars of Islam in an Iwan of a Mosque built in the 13th century, it was an incredibly surreal experience.

My other classes are just as interesting as we get speakers from different vocations and walks of life to speak to us on different subjects concerning Egypt and it's political situation. This way of education is so much more raw and real than anything I have experienced in my educational career. It's a completely different way of looking at things and is challenging in many different ways. The speakers often have very different ways of looking at the world and I nearly always have more questions and greater challenges to deal with. To quote one of speakers, "When I get done I will will have just as many questions, but these questions will be on a much higher level." I already am feeling my perpectives being stretched and the challenge of stepping outside of my own western perspective. I'm striving to understand more about myself and the way the people here precieve others, themselves, and truth.

Keep me in your prayers!

Jonathan

My living quarters

Here's what my neighborhood looks like from the front windeo and balcony of my flad. I also included some pictures of our living room, also known as the Paisly Palace, and my incredibly neat and clean bedroom.

Camels and Pyramids

Here's my cliche "picture in front of something sweet." They were however, amazing to see up close.

End of Orientation Week

I’ve been in Egypt merely a week, but it seems like I’ve been here weeks already. If I have to go home tomorrow I think it’s already been well worth it considering everything I’ve already experienced. And one quick note, when ever I refer to the program I’m in, The Middle East Studies Program, I’ll just use the substitution, MESP.

Tonight concludes the final night of orientation week, and what an incredible night it’s been. Here are some quick highlights:

- I went to a market and in downtown Cairo, next to a large and beautiful Mosque, smoked the best hookah (sheesha if you’re in Egypt) of my entire life. Although it was the one and only time I’m allowed to smoke this semester, that’s probably better for my lungs.
- I rode a boat on the Nile twice, once with a small group and a second time with the whole program.
- I visited a Coptic Church which sat close to 1000 built into a cave just outside of Cairo.
- I wandered around the neighborhood trying to talk with locals and improve my terrible Arabic.
- I spent an entire day at an orphanage holding children less than a year old to let them experience some loving touch and simultaneously put them to sleep for their afternoon naps.
- I took part in a “Commitment Service” where the people in our group really opened up to one another to commit to making this the best semester possible. We ended the night by singing several songs and improving the harmony parts of the Doxology, the song MESP students are known to sing in the numerous holy places we visit throughout the semester.
- My sweetest experience/adventure I’ll expound on a little bit further. The event for that day was to experience the Metro (Egypt’s Subway), and to find a place to eat. I was with a girl from our group, Ashley, and after walking around a nice little touristy area, we saw that the Metro went to Giza. By using our highly advanced, liberal arts educated minds we thought, “Hey, the pyramids are in Giza, let’s go see the Pyramids.” To make a long story short, after meeting a man who slightly conned us, we rode a few buses and the next thing we knew we were riding a camel around the Pyramids. Yes, that’s right, a camel. After the camel ride we then had to find our way back home, which took some luck and a crowded bus ride, but we made it back safely. All in all, we paid a little too much for the camel ride and were somewhat taken by this guy, but it was really sweet!

Tomorrow we start actual classes and I’ll finally have a chance to increase my knowledge of Arabic and we’ll get to start digging into some of the difficult issues one must encounter when studying the Middle East. I’m extremely excited.

And as much fun as this sounds, there will be increasingly challenging times ahead as the semester progresses. I’m away from all my amazing friends at school, I’m in a completely different culture, I’ll be challenged by a difficult language, and I’m sure all this will eventually begin to bear down on me and really stretch me as a person. I’m incredibly blessed to do all of this and I know I will learn and incredible amount not only about this culture, but about my self.

Continue to keep me in your prayers!

Jonathan Kuik