Why Egypt?

When I tell Americans that I will be spending the upcoming year studying abroad in Cairo, Egypt I immediately look for the raising of eyebrows. Usually some amalgamation of interest, disbelief, and - from one especially irate hairdresser – “Are you crazy??” follows. Many think I am, at best, naïve and perhaps foolish to venture to a country that has undergone such drastic political and social unrest this year. Yet as I watched (usually via Al Jazeera English live stream on my laptop) scenes from the wave of popular upheavals and protest movements sweep across the Middle East and North African regions, I felt an unparalleled sense of pride in my young Arab counterparts. In a dorm room over 6,000 miles from Tahrir Square, I felt empowered on their behalf and I vehemently wished I could be a part of it.

Yet my fascination with this region of the world spans back further than this eventful, transformative year.  My freshman year at The George Washington University I began taking Arabic as a foreign language. The cultural elements of my studies opened my eyes to the fact that the Middle East was a region of the world that I was extremely ignorant about. This came as a particular shock to me as I have grown up traveling – my parents work internationally – and considered myself knowledgeable about world affairs. I realized that the ideas I had about the Arab World were largely shrouded in romanticized myth and permeated by media depictions of terrorists from a “backward society.” This lack of understanding bothered me as I learned more, through my international studies classes, and realized the extent of U.S involvement (diplomatically, economically, and certainly militarily) in the region. Aided by the gentle (but not really) coaxing of my Egyptian Arabic professor, I came to believe that studying in the Middle East, and specifically in Cairo – the “heart of the Arab world” – is not only necessary to broaden my perspective of an oft-misrepresented place and people, but a moral imperative for an American striving toward a career in international relations.

After transferring to the University of San Francisco this past Spring, I declared a minor in Middle Eastern Studies and soon found a study abroad program offered through AmidEast. The program gives American students the chance to study and live in the center of Cairo while learning both Modern Standard Arabic and Egyptian Arabic –a perfect fit for my interests. 

Insert revolution. USF all of a sudden isn’t so sure about sending a white American female to this tumultuous social/political climate.

I, on the other hand, was busy focusing on the unprecedented social, cultural and political rennaissance that Egypt will likely undergo after decades of dictatorship, as factors making next fall an incredible time to be in Cairo. Professor Stephen Zunes, Chair of the Middle Eastern Studies department at USF, compared being in Egypt right now to “living through the Prague Spring” during the down fall of the Soviet Union!

All to say, as someone who felt inspired by the nonviolent acts of civil insurrection that took place this past year, and specifically the role that Egypt’s youth as well as women played in the protests, I can envision no more fertile ground to continue my studies than the banks of the Nile.