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