Giving Thanks

This thanksgiving I have so many things to be thankful for. First, I am thankful for my mom and dad for preparing me to go on this journey. They have both taught me so much and I appreciate them very much. I am also very grateful that they had the courage to let me come to Egypt. I am also thankful for Rose, Will, and Elizabeth. They are always there to support me through everything I do, and I love them very much. I also appreciate the constant support of all of my friends back home. They are always giving me encouragement.I appreciate my teachers back home and the support and help they have been giving me. This experience has made me appreciate so many things. I am thankful for my host families. I have been in three families. Each of them opened their home to me, and treated me as a a part of their family. Two of the families only knew I was coming with a few days notice, but they still welcomed me just as warmly. I am just so grateful to be with such caring and loving people. The care and assistance I have been given is remarkable. One time when I was sick, my host mother checked my fever every two hours all night long. While at the time, this act was quite annoying to me, I know see how much she cared for me. She had only known me for two weeks, but she was willing to come all through the night checking my fever, rubbing my head, and giving me 7 up. I am just so thankful for these people. The generosity and hospitality I have been shown is another thing I am so grateful for. The people in Egypt amaze me each and everyday by the sincerity of their kindness. The question "do you need anything?" is constantly heard by my ears, and I appreciate those saying it. I am thankful for my arabic teacher, and him inspiring me to want to learn arabic. When I first came, I did not really care about how much arabic I learned, but now I truly want to learn it. One of the main things I am grateful for this thanksgiving are the friends I have made in Egypt. These friends have become like family. We have been there for each other through the ups and downs, and we care so much for one another. It amazes us to see how close of friends we became so quickly. They helped make my transition to Egypt so much easier, and I know they are there for me if I ever need anything. I even have such a greater appreciation for the world and the people in it. It was something I always knew, but experiencing it gives it so much more meaning. I have learned so much from people and experiences already. It inspires me to want to travel to more to learn from other people and other cultures. There is just so much to be thankful for. Having this opportunity makes me so thankful plus all of the things it has shown me to be thankful for.

Half Way

I don't even know where to start in descibing how amazing this experience has been. I feel I have grown so much as a person. Each day is like an adventure waiting to be discovered. There have been plenty of challenges in this journey, and times where I have felt like giving up. It was all worth it though, and I can not imagine not being here. I just have this feeling that this is where I am really supposed to be. In the short time I have been with my host family, they have made me feel like I am a part of their family. The country and the people in it are incredible. There is such a unbelievable sense of community in a city that is so huge. The other day, I was on the metro and a lady waas giving her daughter a chocolate wafer, and she offered my friend and I the wafer as well. Little things like that just make me stand in awe. We are all cramped and tired standing on the metro and people are still offereing everything they have. Sure, there are ups and downs each day. For example, catching taxis is always testing your luck. You may get one that wants to talk an tells you all the sites you are passing, and to teach you words in arabic or you may get one who is really grouchy and doesn't want to deal with you. You just have to take a deep breath and deal with whatever is thrown your way. It may be a day when you feel like you are constanly getting yelled at on the street, but then you see your friends and you forget it ever happened. Friendship. In Egypt I have made some friends that I know will be my friends for the rest of my life. We care for each other so much, and have helped each other through the school frustrations, host family moves, culture conflicts, arabic struggles, and everyday troubles. We are together all the time, and I mean all the time, but we never grow sick of one another. We have alot of fun. We find new cafes, travel to new places of the city, and simply enjoy one another's company. That is one thing about living in a huge city. There is always something new to do or a new place to go to. With public transportation everywhere is sinply a microbus, taxi, or microbus away. It makes everything so spontaneous. We are never quite sure exactly what we want to do or where we want to go. Do we want to go relax in a cafe? do we want to take a felucca on the Nile? do we want to go shopping? do we want to go to a movie? do we want to go to the club? the possibilities are endless. Never really having set plans has made me so much more relaxed. It is essential in the city. You have to be somewhere, but then you are stuck in traffic. There is nothing you can do about it, you left ten minutes early, but you will still be late. It is ok. That is nothing to worry about. I have found a passion for learning arabic. In the beginning I thought it doesn't really matter if I learn arabicbecause it is too hard, but taking lessons and seeing improvement has really made me want to continue to practice and learn arabic. In such a short time I have seen so much improvement and I want to continue to study it. Every sunday, tuesday, and thursday I look forward to going to arabic, and I spend time outside of lessons working on it. Because I am enjoying myself so much, sometimes it makes me sad to think that I am half way done and that I only have three months left, but I can't think that way. I just have to live each day to the fullest and appreciate the time I have here. In the coming months I want to practice my arabic more, and continue to explore Egypt. Mostly I just want to enjoy my time with people I love in this beautiful country.

Egypt vs Algeria

Last night was the soccer match between Egypt and Algeria to determine who would qualify for the world cup. The city and country were very excited in anticipation for this big match. For a few days before the match, people could be seen waving flags and honking thier car horns to the beat of the cheer for the team. Yesterday is when the city reached the peak of its excitement. As I was walking down the street to meet my friend, people everywhere were wearing their black, white, and red, beating drums, waving flags, honking thier horns, and yeliing "Masr." Cassidy met me at the bookstore and we continued to a Cafe to meet Carrie. It was a sports cafe and we figured it would be a good place to watch the game. Little did we know that we had to buy tickets in advance. So, we were standing out in front of the cafe trying to decide where to go when all of a sudden a man comes out and gives us each a ticket. We sat with a the group of people who gave us tickets. Oh, how I love Egyptian hospitality and generousity. By the time the game started, the cafe had become packed with people cheering on the country and team. People were yelling, singing cheers, and beating drums. The game started at around 7:30. Three minutes into the game, Egypt scored. The place went crazy. Everyone jumped up and down, hugging and cheering. The rest of the game was very close with no one scoring. Everyone was getting very nervous becasue in order for Egypt to advance, they had to win by three. If they win by two, they would have to play algeria again, but there would still be a chance. In the last few minutes Egypt scored again. it was now 2 to 0. Everyone was really excited then. It had actually happened. Egypt was still in the running. At the conclusion of the match we walked to the street. The street in front of the cafe was filled with people in the street. It was a huge group. They were dancing, cheering, beating drums, spraying fire, and waving flags. I needed to catch a taxi, but there couldn't be one on that road because the people were bocking the street, so I decided to walk to the bigger road. I simply found many many many more people standing in huge groups celebrating. Every car that rode by was waving a flag out the window, honking in the beat of the cheer, and yelling "masr". There was such a exciting feeling in the city. I walked back to my house. The whole way back I saw more and more people celebrating. When I got back to my apartment, I found my host siblings on the roof cheering and yelling. After a while, we went back out on the street to witness the celerations. It was quite a night. Egypt will play Algeria again on Wednesday in Sudan to determine who will go the the world cup next summer. Yalla Masr! Yalla Masr!

مدرسه في مصر

School started in Egypt on October 4th which was around five weeks ago. School was delayed because of Ramadan and Swine Flu concerns. I am going to school at Misr Language School. It is located in Haram near to the pyramids. There are two other exchange students from my program at my school, so it wasn't too difficvult of a transition.
Each morning I wake up at 6:25. I make my breakfast which usually consists of a grilled cheese and get dressed. We wear uniforms, so I always know what I am going to put on. I have to wear navy blue pants, and because I am a senior I wear a pink polo shirt. I leave the apartment at 6:50 and walk to my bus stop. My bus usually comes around 6:55. It is more of a large van. There are around 8 other kids on my bus ranging from 1st grade up. It is around a thirty minute ride to school from Mohandiseen to school. Of course, traffic is always the determinant in that. I enjoy my ride to school because we pass over a very interesting area in Cairo. Our bus goes on this road that overpasses great big green fields filled with various crops all bordered by many apartment buildings. Many of these apartments are only half built, but completly lived in. The fields remind me of how I would picture ancient Cairo. Still today, the work is hand done with only the assistance of donkeys. Also, on the way to school I judge the smog level by noticing how soon I can see the pyramids. On a good day, I can see them as soon as we get to the overpass while on other days I dont see them until midday at school.
We arrive at school at around 7:20. I walk to the american division building of our school. Our scool has five divisions: the natioanl, french, special needs, british and american. Our building has the american and british grades kg through 12. I sit on a bench and wait until morning lines. Usually a few friends come up and we talk until it is time to line up. Morning lines is at 7:45. The Koran is read for around five minutes while we all stand. Then we chant something in arabic that translates to I am proud to live in Egypt. We stand in line based on grade and gender. After, we walk up to the 4th floor to begin our classes.
I am taking English language, English Literature, Art, Physics, Calculus, and Computer. The schedule is different every day, and you dont always have each of your classes each day. There are only 10 people in the 12th grade including 3 exchange students. The grade is so small because the Egyptian system had a time where there was a 6th grade and then there wasn't. The classes last around 40 minutes long. Teachers change classroom instead of the students. It is a new thing for this school because they are making precautions for swine flu. I thought I wouldnt like that, but I have gotten used to it. It is actually quite convenient. I do have to go to a different class for physics, art, and computer though. Classes are much more relaxed here than I am used to. I think it is an American System thing though. The main focus for student in this system is mainly to do well on the SAT. For students in the National System, there is a large focus on exams that they must take at the end of their last two years in high school. These exams determine which faculty of college you can go to based on the grade you make on the test. Because of this, many people focus simply on these tests and have private tutors in many subjects. For example, my host sister, who is in her last year of high school has probably 8 private lessons a week in multiple subjects. She however doesn't go to school much because she doesn't gain any benefit from being there.
The first few weeks I was very frustrated with the manner that my classmates behaved. it was shocking to see how they disrespected the teachers and the level of apathy that they had toward their schoolwork. After around two weeks, the students started acted better and I became more used to their behavior. Now, we have become friends for the most part. They are all nice to me and we talk some. I have met up with one of them outside of school on multiple occasions. They all just like to have a good time and have fun.
Because I have several free periods each day, I spend that time volunteering with the elementary students at my school. Each day I try and go to the fourth and fifth grade break. We play red rover, sharks and minnows, freeze tag, and steal the bacon. Mostly we play with the girls because most of the boys play soccer during the break. Also, I help in various classes. Mostly I go to the first grade class and help them with whatever they are working on. Also, I help with guided reading for second and third grade. At the end of the day I usually walk a group of kindergardeners to their bus. Helping the kids is my favorite part of school. i actually feel like I am getting something done and I really enjoy it.
Our school is different from most school in that it has clubs and sports. Wednesday is club day. We signed up for a club at the beginning of the year and we go to it for an hour before break each wednesday. I am in the pottery club. There are around ten kids in our club. There is a wheel that you push with your foot to make the clay go around. A man also helps us alot with it. I went the first day and made a litte pot, but because there is only one wheel, I haven't gone again. It is still enjoyable. Sports day is on Monday. It is for an hour at the end of the day. I am in Tennis. We do a few drills and then play a few games.
The school day ends at 3 each day. I get on my bus and we usually make it home by 3:50. On Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, I have arabic at 4:30. So, I walk home, and eat lunch really quick. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day. I have to leave the house by 4:10 to try and catch a taxi and make it to Zameleck on time. Usually there is alot of traffic, so I barely make it, but it is ok. I really enjoy learning arabic and seeing my friends at the arabic lesson. On the days I don't have arabic, I still come home and eat right away because I have a fitness lesson at 5 at the club with my host sister. My weeks are very busy , but fun filled.
My school is on quarters, so starting next week we have quarter exams. There are rumors that school is going to be canceled after the Thanksgiving/Eid holiday because of Swine flu concerns. It would be canceled throughout December and January. The school, however has some back up plans in case that is to happen. School in Egypt has been quite an experience because it has allowed me to relly see the views and priorities of the Egyptian People.