Reflection on Reflections

This weeks’ reflection dinner marked our first month in Cairo. As we shared our stories of our most recent experience with our St. Andrew students- taking our students on an outing- I realized just how much exposure we had had to Egyptian society in the past month. We discussed the problems that some of us encountered when we took our refugee students to the Egyptian museum or cinema, and our conversation, which touched on issues of race and poverty, forced me to think about how the service-learning purpose of our trip influences the way in which we interact with society around us. When I think back to the past four weeks, I realize how Cairo had started to grow on me. I was surprised by how quickly we had adjusted to the way of living here, the work ethic, the culture- all just in under a month. Our work at the two community project sites has enabled me to come into contact with Egyptians from all walks of life in a way and become both a part of as well as an outside observer of Egyptian society- where I can both appreciate and critique my experience and purpose here. When we shared our observations of attitudes towards our refugee students, I noticed how we appeared to have taken their treatment personally, feeling frustrated and upset over the treatment of our students in a way that even the students themselves did not seem to feel. This, to me, was one of the greatest indications of how closely we had started to build connections with the population we were serving, making their pain our own, and to me, this has been the most rewarding aspect of the time we have spent here so far. I can already tell that returning home after 3 weeks, is going to take longer than an 11 hour plane ride.

This Week's Tidbits - June 21

This Week’s Titles:

• Teaching Troubles
• Crying and Smiling Children
• Journey to the Center of Hai al-Asher
• Homework Vs. Lesson Planning Vs. Sleep
• Professor Lo and the Eternal Battle For Interwebs
• The Birthday Party
• Street Fighter: The Victorious
• The Twilight Saga: Cairo (cause the kids at I the Egyptian are routinely getting bitten)

Songs of the Week:

• “Hot ‘n Cold” by Katy Perry
• “Down” by Jay Sean
• “Jump On It” by Apache

Quotes of the Week:

• “What do you mean by Hello Kitty drugs?” –Zuri, befuddled by her teacher’s story
• “Where’d the blondes go?” “Where the pigs went.” –John, on how beautiful blondes like Andy aren’t seen around here because they continually stop traffic
• “Don’t lose your stuff, or else it will end up on some old man’s Christmas tree,” –Hannah, on the moral of story she read in her Arabic class
• “I freakin’ love unicorns…I probably shouldn’t have admitted that…It’s like 10 Galleons a hair.” –Brendan
• “Pregnant is just a dot away from being camel.” –John, on spelling Arabic words
• John’s Vader Voice, in Arabic: “Luke, I am your father.”

Favorite Moments of the Week:

• Street Fight in Khan el-Halili
• Zuri Eating in Class
• Moana Caking
• Zoe’s Birthday
• Working at the NGOs
• Coptic Cairo
• Lecture with Raymond
• Teaching Time to St. Andrew's Students
• Teaching "Ninja" to the Kids at I the Egyptian

Today's Tidbits - June 6

Today's Titles:

• Everyone Delivers
• Arabic 2 vs. the Placement Exam
• Andi vs. Invalid Wells Fargo Phone Numbers
• Nusaibah vs. The Stationary Store
• Fernando and Moana's Embassy Adventure
  

Songs of the Day:

• "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel
• "Apache" by Sugar Hill Gang

Anonymous Quotes of the Day:

• "What's the news, Fat-mah?"
  
• "You're lucky not to be a refugee."
  
• "I bet your father is part of the NRA."

Favorite Moments:

• Receiving the magic coffee wand (and the coffee with it!) at Arab Academy
• Meeting a soon-to-be-Dukie (who was way too nice to us!)
• Comparing ICS Majors to car dealerships ("Everything's pre-approved!" - John)
  
• Fry sandwiches
• Crown pizza (Pizza Hut + Cream Cheese)

DukeEngager of the Day: Zuri (who hopefully is feeling much better now)