I’ll admit I was supremely jealous reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s famous memoir, Eat, Pray, Love. Her tales of traveling the world for a year left me drooling. I also scoffed at the practicality of such a lifestyle — “real” people didn’t just pack up and jet off to places like Italy, India, and Bali. Yet here I am in Egypt, studying abroad through the St. Olaf Global Semester, a truly unique program that sends students to eight countries in five months.
We started out in Switzerland for a week, then Germany for another week, before finally “settling down” in Cairo. Only for a month though, before heading to India, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, and finally South Korea. Eat your heart out, Elizabeth. And yes, we actually do get academic credit (although my parents have yet to be convinced this isn’t just a five month vacation). Along the way, we’re studying history at the American University in Cairo, religion at the Ecumenical Christian Center in Bangalore, art at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and sociology at Yonsei University.
(Above: Me with one of the Berlin Bears, part of a city-wide art installation!)
Throughout the entire five months, we’re also taking a cultural psychology class through St. Olaf, examining how the mind is inextricably linked to culture and therefore how the very psychological makeup of people differs across the world. Translation: expect a big share of culture shock. I didn’t experience this as much in either Geneva or Germany, aside from the fact that nearly everything is twice as expensive, but Egypt has definitely been an eye-opener. Our group is incredibly lucky to be here right now, to have the opportunity to not only experience such a different culture than our own, but to witness a country transitioning its own culture.
We’re staying at a dorm complex owned by the American University in Cairo, one of the most prestigious universities in the Middle East. It’s on Zamalek Island in the middle of the Nile, which is much more affluent and less realistic of the rest of the city, but also a great location security-wise. For example, every time we return to the dorm, it’s become routine to open our bags for security inspection. Guards are posted at the entrance around-the-clock. And there are other aspects of campus life that are very different from a typical American college. Women are strongly encouraged not to go out alone, even during the day. Men are housed in a completely separate area of the complex, with guards at the entrance of each side to prevent intermingling (you’ll even get some serious stink-eye for sitting too closely together). Alcohol is strongly frowned upon, and playing cards is technically illegal.
(Above: Mural at the American University of Cairo – it’s made up of thousands of smaller pictures taken during the revolution!)
It’s a lot to take in all at once, and I’m still getting used to an environment that does feel stifling and restrictive at times. But the people of Cairo have also been incredibly friendly and welcoming. The security guards put up with my stumbling attempts at Arabic with a smile, and we’ve become regulars at a local restaurant. I eat koshary, a mix of rice, noodles, lentils and chickpeas, just about every meal of the day. I’m even growing to love the heat, despite having to wear long pants and shirts with sleeves. Our group visited the gleaming new AUC campus outside of Cairo, and it’s pretty clear that student life there is not so different, even with the occasional protest – there’s a caf and coffee shops, groups of students mingle between classes, and people flirt despite the rule against PDA.
(Above: Biking around Lake Geneva!)
My favorite quote of the moment comes from writer Neale David Walsh: “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” Cairo definitely wasn’t in my comfort zone when I first arrived about a week ago. But instead of thinking how uncomfortable I feel trying to cling to the “American me,” I’m trying to fit myself into the life of a student in Cairo: dressing more conservatively, attempting to speak Arabic, and yes, even walking like an Egyptian.
*Catherine O’Connor ’13 is on Global for first semester and J-term. She majors in Asian Studies with a concentration in Chinese.