Cairo, Egypt

American University is situated in the heart of downtown Cairo at Tahrir Square. The professors for my classes are Egyptian, and once you’ve gotten used to their accents in English, they’re really fascinating. The thing you quickly learn here is that AUC provides a haven for Egyptians to come and express their true opinions. In many of my classes, it’s not uncommon for people, including the professor, to critique President Mubarak or Islam in general, something they are unable to do in public. Of course this freedom of speech is often directed at the US. In my International Organization class, I’m the only American, and certainly the only blonde, and the anti-American comments are sometimes directed my way. Nevertheless, it provides for some pretty interesting debates. People here love talking about politics.

We’ve been traveling almost every weekend since we’ve gotten here. Last weekend we went on the most amazing trip to the Bahariya Oasis and the Black and White Desert … The White Desert is actually made of chalk that has been exposed for years to differential weathering and this erosion of soft particles resulted in eerie protrusions of hard rock…

In addition to school, I’ve joined the club STAR, which is a student organization to teach English to the refugees in Cairo. There is a huge Sudanese refugee population in Cairo, and a recent influx of refugees from Palestine and Iraq. I have two fellow teachers and about 15 Sudanese adult men students, and we teach for two hours, twice a week. We are literally in charge of the classroom, including creating a curriculum and administering tests. It’s a great deal of work outside of the classroom, but it’s been such a rewarding experience to listen to their stories about their escape from their native countries.