Off to Egypt

In about six weeks, I will be packing my bags and heading off to Egypt for six months. My reasoning, however, for graduating early and going to such a country for a semester has left some people a little perplexed. To be honest, it’s just as complex and complicated to me.

Back in February, I applied for a scholarship-based program that sends young Americans from across the country to learn languages in developing countries. The program, which is sponsored by AFS (American Field Service), NSLI-Y (National Security Language Initiative – Youth)  and the State Department, offered seven countries for prospective students to go to: Turkey, Russia, South Korea, China, Turkmenistan, India and Egypt.

I immediately chose Egypt because of its deep, complex culture, and for their beautiful language, Egyptian Arabic. I have always been enamored by the United States’ involvement in the Middle East, which is why I chose the country as my first choice.

The application process was lengthy. I had to write three essays, send in transcripts and test scores, get letters of recommendations, and be interviewed multiple times. In the end, only 400 applicants out of 1600 were accepted into the program.

I am finding out more and more info about my trip as the days lead up to departure. Instead of being assigned to a school, as many students will be, I made the decision to work in a community service project. This means I will be spending around 30 hours a week working with disadvantaged Egyptians, and learning Arabic along the way. Since the whole point of this trip is to master a language, I will be spending around eight hours a week learning Arabic in a classroom setting.

I will be staying with a host family, and depending on the socioeconomic status, I may be able to bring my computer along with my camera. Despite many Americans’ perception of Egypt as an underdeveloped, even primitive, nation, amenities such as Wi-Fi, television and public transportation are everywhere in Egypt.

The whole point of this government-sponsored trip is to see how well young Americans adapt to new languages, which is part of a broader project here in America to make learning a second, or even a third languages, compulsory early on in life. This is the State Department’s first year in sponsoring such a program, and I will be heavily involved with their analysis; I will be meeting with my adviser weekly, and will even be taking surveys years after my trip abroad.

I leave on January 27, and come back June 27. Exactly six months. I’m not quite sure what to expect, but judging by the reactions to the students already over there, I think it will be an amazing experience. Hopefully, I will be able to utilize my fluency in Arabic when applying for such jobs in the journalistic field. I think what I am most excited about for this trip is the cultural change, the culture shock, I will be subjected to. Every aspect of their society differs from ours. Religion is different, government is different and gender roles are different. I hope that I will learn about Egyptian culture just as much as they will learn about my culture here at home.

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