We survived the 1st week!

Orientation week is done! 

As much as I am glad it is over with and we can start classes/get on a normal schedule orientation week is really helpful! Our program director teaches us about cultural differences and how to be aware of and manage culture shock. My favorite thing he teaches us is the 4 stages you go through when living in a different culture.

1.     1. The Honeymoon Stage: Unconscious Incompetence. This is the stage where you don’t know what people are saying to you but you don’t mind because you are finally here! I may be in this stage for a while =P

2.  2. The Hostility Stage: Conscious Incompetence. This time you get frustrated because you cannot understand what is going on or why people do different things then you are used to! A very frustrating stage.

3.    3.  The Acceptance Stage: Conscious Competence. Finally you learn enough of the language and culture to get by and you feel much more comfortable with your surroundings!

4.     4. The Home Stage: Unconscious Competence. You feel at home in this new exciting place =) And then of course you go into reverse culture shock when you move back to your home country!

Also, during orientation week we learned survival Arabic! Very helpful! Most of us have learned formal Arabic, which is similar to Shakespearian English to us Americans. So, it doesn’t really help us in conversing with people in the streets, restaurants, or cab drivers! Egyptian Arabic is what is spoken and used in day-today life so knowing how to get to the Giza Zoo instead of the Pyramids this yr was extremely useful =P

After orientation week we get to go to the place everyone wants to go see when they go to Egypt, the only remaining wonders of the ancient world, the Giza Pyramids!

It never gets old seeing these majestic structures reaching into the sky. Taking cheesy touristy pictures is a must =P

Of course, usually the Giza Pyramids site is crawling with tourists but with the economic downturn in Egypt, caused by the shift of power still happening, there were hardly any people there! We had the site to ourselves!

And yet again I get to ride a camel down to the Sphinx. Such an incredible experience and I think I’m starting to like riding camels! =D Sort of...

Well, after orientation and the Pyramids excursion, classes are finally beginning…we have had 2 days of classes and I have Tuesdays free! But tomorrow is the anniversary of the revolution…

We don’t have classes because, ironically, it is still a holiday called Police day…but we are staying in our apartments all day so no one needs to worry about us =) and insha’allah (god willing) we will have classes again on Thursday and I will be able to finally stay in Egypt for an entire semester!

Move-in!

Move-in days! Being the first to arrive I get to help introduce all the new kids to the program and Cairo! =) It’s a lot of fun to introduce people to this city I enjoy so much. Even simple tasks like going to the market are fun…

After showing our first arrival, Brian, around I head out to hang with Mariam! Mariam was one of my Egyptian friends I met last year and have kept in contact through facebook. She also shares a common love of languages and….CATS =D One of the reasons I love this city is because of all the street kitties! Hehe but Mariam took me home to enjoy a homemade Egyptian lunch and dessert =)

As much as I loved eating a great meal, the best part was her kitties! I have wanted to meet these kitties for a year now! If you are reading this blog you will quickly find out I loooooove cats.

Taxi cab back to Dokki we meet our newest arrivals two girls, Sophie and Camille, and one boy, Eric.  I was, of course, stuffed after the wonderful meal but all of us went to a popular restaurant called Gad. Mariam made us order in Arabic it was a good refresher =)

Finally back to the apartments meeting two more newcomers, Pam my new roommate and Andrew. Getting closer to bedtime as we chill in our apartment trying to warm up! Tomorrow is the final day of move-in and then orientation begins on Sunday! 

Welcome to Cairo...again!

Welcome to Egypt! Again! I am so glad to be back in this wonderful city. To those of you who don’t know, I was in Egypt this time last year but our program got canceled a few weeks into it because of the revolution! Luckily I got a second chance to study abroad and here I am back in Cairo and in the same apartment we were locked down in during the revolution…

I am the first to arrive in our program with AMIDEAST. There are only 14 of us this year! The 10 of us girls are in the larger apartment with the amazing balcony with a view of the pyramids and the Nile, and the 4 boys are one floor below us.

Already went to the market to get the food I missed most when I left last year, balady bread! This is basically Egyptian pita bread that is simply amazing! 

Unpacking my many suitcases and fighting jet lag, I’m settling into my room. Wish me luck and I’ll keep posting blogs as my second adventure unfolds in Cairo!