Bird Bird Sideways-Guy Scarab

Fun Fact #1:

Egypt does not observe Daylight Savings Time. This means that on November 4th the time difference between me and you will increase by one hour! Until then, Cairo is only six hours ahead of New York, seven ahead of Appleton. 

Clearly I've still got my priorities straight.

 
In honor of my impending departure, I've decided to write a bit about my motivations for going to Cairo. This is a longish post both because I feel strongly about it and because I'm procrastinating. If you just want to see pictures, or you're thinking "she's not even in Egypt yet," skip this one and check back in a week or two.

As I've spoken to various people about my plans, I've gotten many different reactions. I've been told that I'm going to die, that I'm young so I think I'm invincible, and that going to Egypt is rash and stupid. But I've also heard about other people's fantastic trips to the pyramids, hitchhiking across Egypt, forgotten passions for Egyptology, and how wonderful it is that I'm choosing to go outside of my comfort zone.

I've known since I started college that I wanted to study abroad, and last year I decided to apply to AUC. I feel that studying abroad is a fantastic opportunity to learn about something that I am unable to learn about at Lawrence. I've been researching Islamic art and architecture, and have become fascinated by the history of paper and bookbinding, so that made Egypt seem like a natural place to go. In addition to suiting my academic interests very well, Egypt is culturally very different from the U.S. and will provide me with a great opportunity to challenge myself, to learn about another culture, and to eat some delicious food. I'm sure it will be a fascinating time to be there given the political changes that are occurring. I anticipate that it will be terrifying, enlightening, difficult, and rewarding. Hopefully I'll pick up some Arabic as well.

Many of the concerns that other people have expressed to me pertain to dangers present in Cairo because of the revolution, or to my general safety as a Jewish American female. There are dangers everywhere, and I certainly don't need to go to Egypt to find them. I understand that I'm taking certain risks. I intend to make intelligent decisions and not put myself in any unnecessarily dangerous situations. But I'm not going to stop living because of perceived dangers on the part of Americans who only read the headlines. That said, there are many people who support my decision to study in Cairo, regardless of their personal views on it, and I completely appreciate all of the awesome wishes and the help that I've received.

The next time I blog I'll be in Egypt! When I arrive it's supposed to be 97 degrees and sunny in Cairo. Don't worry, I'm bringing lots of sunscreen.