Wednesday, September 10th, 2019
The past week has been both incredibly exhausting and enriching. I found myself grappling to find the purpose and meaning behind my identity as a tourist in this foreign culture, especially when my time in Egypt has been so short. Despite my limited time here, I feel I am leaving with experiences integral to deconstructing and reanalyzing my cultural biases, which arguably is one of the most valuable aspects of this program.
Cairo
On our first full day in Egypt we visited the Egyptian pyramids of Giza, rode camels, and saw the sphinx. Even after seeing countless photos in textbooks and stories back home, the pyramids were more spectacular than I could have imagined. I was shocked when we were able to climb up into the pyramid and physically interact with this grandiose piece of history.
The visit was even more impactful with all of the knowledge shared by our guide Amani. She explained the Ancient Egyptian belief that “Everything around us, the sun, and the stars die and come back to life, so with the right steps, we will too.” The construction of the pyramids was for the purpose of fulfilling this rebirth and afterlife of the Ancient Egyptian pharaohs. I was fascinated when Amani told us that the pyramid shape was inspired by that of sun rays peeking through the clouds and meant to assist in helping the spirits of the deceased fly to the sky. Another interesting architectural detail within the pyramids that I was unaware of is how every entrance to the pyramids is oriented toward the North Star because since the star never dies, it shone as a symbol of immortality to this ancient society.
We followed the site visit with lunch at a local vendor, where we clearly disrupted their normal business and customers, with about 10 of us ordering Hawawshis after a recommendation from Aml, one of our classmates who is actually from Egypt! It has been so special getting to experience Egypt with her by our sides and to be able to discuss the culture and country from not only an outsider’s perspective, but also from the perspective of someone who calls Egypt home.
After lunch, we stopped at an Egyptian jewelry store and papyrus shop. At the jewelry store, my friend Alexa and I were greeted by a man working there named Chico, who was eager to show us our names in Egyptian hieroglyphics and read our personalities from them. From my hieroglyphs, Chico pinned me as a creative and honest person, with a weakness for sweets and isolation. Whether by isolation he mean that I don’t like being alone or that I struggle with isolating myself, I’m not sure. However gimmick-y it was, Chico’s reading served as an important reminder that I should be mindful of granting myself “alone time” on this extremely residential program and being okay with that decision to be alone for a little bit. With so much always happening, it is hard to not feel pressured to keep going 100% all the time… even if I know I need a break. So, thanks Chico!
We had a delicious dinner in the hotel that night, though everyone was so deliriously tired and loopy that our entire conversation may or may not have revolved around everyone’s irregular bowel movements. We wrapped up dinner with a group reflection in the hotel lobby. It was special to hear everyone open up and be so vulnerable with their thoughts about their position in this totally new culture. One experience I shared during this reflection was an interaction that happened at the jewelry store with Chico. As I entered the shop and began looking at the window cases, I was smiling and laughing after ending a lighthearted conversation with one of my peers. Meanwhile, Chico was starting up a conversation nearby with Alexa and suddenly asked, “Why is she laughing at me? Is my English that bad?” I felt awful. Quickly, I tried to explain that I was just in a good mood, but I couldn’t help but notice the feeling of guilt settling in the pit of my stomach. This moment made me think about how my imposition in these unfamiliar cultures may make people uncomfortable or inconvenienced, even if it is subconscious or unintentional. One of our group leaders, Joel, made another important reflection on how being surrounded by such a new and unfamiliar culture has the ability to shake you awake, and that awareness — that identification and questioning of your own biases — can be uncomfortable.
Luxor
On Saturday, we had a 3:30am wake up call for our flight to Luxor. We were all given breakfast boxes which consisted of a couple pastries, some lunch meat, cheese, and a yogurt. Exhausted, I slept nearly the whole flight, waking up with a package of cookies on my lap. We arrived at our Luxor hotel a bit before 8, at which time everyone collapsed into their beds for a morning nap.
At around 8:45am, my professor Elizabeth and I decided to adventure out to find my new malaria medicine. (Originally, I had been taking mefloquine, but after a pretty bad night terror I was advised to switch medicines.) We asked a lady at the front desk about the nearest pharmacy and were told it was the second left (maybe a 5 minute walk).
That was far from the case.
Luckily we found our Luxor guide Hasad to guide us before we left. We took off trailing behind him in the middle of the streets as traffic zoomed around on both sides of us. “Traffic in Egypt is not like traffic in the US. Here there are no rules,” he said, trying to be reassuring (though it had the opposite effect). I kept my eyes out for the “second left,” but the lay out of the streets had no obvious “left” by the definition of a left in my home context. After a couple minutes of walking, he yelled something to the driver of a passing bus without doors who promptly stopped, and we were instructed to hop in. When we arrived at the pharmacy, I entered the sterile white shop, which smelled oddly like a hair salon and sold a peculiar assortment of baby products, candies, and beauty supplies. After a lot of confusion and translation with the woman behind the counter in her white lab coat, I was able to purchase the medicine I needed for just 90 Egyptian pounds (roughly $5), and we were back to the hotel quickly.
That afternoon, we got to visit the Karnak Temple, one of the largest religious buildings ever constructed which spanned almost 250 acres. Remembering this temple as the Temple of Amun-Ra from AP Art History, it wasn’t until we arrived that I realized where we were going. I was SO excited. The rich history and expansiveness of this temple made walking through it an unforgettable experience.
By the time we finished at the Karnak Temple and headed to our next destination, the Luxor Temple, the sun had begun to set. Walking through the Luxor temple during sunset was perhaps one of the most beautiful sights I have and will ever see. The front view of the Temple looks slightly offset with only one of the obelisks from the temple still there. The other stands in the Place de La Concorde of Paris, France. After viewing the Luxor Obelisk in Paris and discussing the displacement of artifacts from their origins and their rightful locations today, seeing this lone obelisk at the Luxor Temple was striking. I feel so excited about how this program provides me with a tangible way to compare cross cultural histories and contexts, and the lone obelisk at the Luxor Temple represents one example of that.
Sunday started with another early morning and a delicious buffet breakfast. We then boarded the bus to the West Bank of the Nile where we visited Hatshepsut’s temple, another one of my favorite temples studies in my AP Art History class. Being able to walk the steps, touch the columns, and view the hieroglyphs and statues up close was surreal.
Then, we visited the Valley of the Kings, where over one hundred Pharaohs are buried in elaborate tombs, once filled with all of the possessions they desired to have in the afterlife. This site contained the tomb of King Tut, who was one of, if not THE, most well known Egyptian figures in my upbringing. However, King Tut’s tomb was not one of the 3 tombs we visited in the Valley of the Kings because as our tour guide explained, there is simply nothing in the tomb anymore and there was not enough time to elaborately decorate the tomb before his death, as he died young and quickly. I found it interesting to consider how the tomb I was most familiar with was so quickly written off here. Though we didn’t enter King Tut’s tomb, we were able to visit 3 other tombs in the Valley of the Kings, all vibrantly decorated with beautiful colored hieroglyphics. I was in awe of the artistry. Like many monuments we’ve visited on this program in Egypt, we were able to be inches away from the art which, at least for me, made it much more personal and impactful. At home, there would have been a panel of glass between the hieroglyphics and me, both metaphorically and physically putting a barricade between myself and history.
Then we visited the Valley of the Queens, which side note- was half the price of visiting the valley of the Kings and had far fewer visitors. The tombs here were smaller. When entering the the chambers, the ceilings were the perfect height for me to stand tall with an extra centimeter until the ceiling. Interestingly enough, these tombs did have glass protecting the hieroglyphs, perhaps to protect the vibrant coloring that still remained very much in tact.
When we returned to the hotel sweaty and hungry, a group of us set out to return to the falafel stand we found the day before for lunch. Even one day later, I felt even more comfortable walking around in Luxor amongst the loud traffic and inquisitive stares. After getting a falafel, I split off with Seda and Anni in search of Egypt’s national dish, koshari. Koshari is a delicious mix of rice, lentils, macaroni, and a spicy tomato chili sauce. Anyway, I was shocked by the immediate difference in how we were treated as a group of girls rather than that of when I was walking with Patric and Elijah a couple minutes earlier. Instantly, men on the street made comments and gave unapologetic stares. One image that stays in my mind was that of a man on a motorcycle who drove looking backward at us for longer than safe in congested traffic. That being said, it’s important that we recognize and acknowledge this as a universal problem for women, not just something that happens in Egypt.
Sunday evening was a dream. It kicked off at the pool with a surprise birthday party for Silas, our professors’ youngest child. He is such a bright, intelligent kid. We are so lucky to have the Leer family on this program! We spent a couple of hours of talking, listening to our Global Playlist, eating birthday cake, and lounging in the pool, which was practically floating in the Nile River (you crossed a bridge over the Nile to get to the pool). Then, Patric started a conversation with a man on his boat next to the pool and set up a sunset cruise for our group! So, we spent sunset cruising along the Nile drinking mint tea, dancing, and singing. Once the sun set, there was a moment where they turned the music and engine off and we just floated quietly. In this moment, I felt so content — so grateful for this incredible opportunity and these inspiring, loving people.
Cairo
Another early wake up (4:30am to be exact) and we headed to the airport to catch our flight back to Cairo. I had the whole row to myself, as it was a relatively empty flight. As we descended back into Cairo, the song “A Soft Place to Land” from Waitress began to play. I may or may not have teared up a little bit as we landed and the chorus hauntingly sang “May we all be so lucky.”
But seriously, may we all be so lucky. This program has been a dream.
We went straight from the airport to the Cairo Museum. It was amazing to see just how many artifacts were in this museum compared to the more modern museums I am accustomed to. A few of my favorite things in the museum was the Narmer Pallete, King Tut’s mask and chair, and two mummies (and so much more). There is currently a new Cairo Museum in construction (said to be arranged in a much more “traditional” fashion), so I feel really lucky that I was able to visit this museum in its original context and layout.
Today is our final day in Cairo. It started with a visit to the American University of Cairo, where we listened to lectures on Egypt’s political past, present, and future. It was interesting to get this context, however, I would have loved to attend these lectures earlier in our Egypt stay. We also had the chance to get a tour of the campus from a current AUC student, and it was BEAUTIFUL. The expansive facilities and programs were really impressive.
For lunch, Noah, Alexa, and I shared a delicious bowl of koshari in the little campus cafe. As we were sharing, a student sitting at the end of our table leaned over to us and commented, “It is so funny to see three people sharing a bowl. That’s not very common here. I’m glad you’re enjoying our cuisine.”
This comment continued on into a much longer and incredibly insightful conversation with the student, George. George is a chemistry graduate student from Egypt working to develop chemicals for cleaner water sources. He previously had spent about 8 months doing research at universities in the US, so we were able to talk with him about comparisons and observations between the two cultures. This conversation touched on so many things that it would be impossible to summarize in one paragraph. However, one thing that stuck with me was when asked about his thoughts of our home culture, he responded that he feels United States culture is very isolating. Life is too structured and hurried. When he lived in Washington D.C., though he was inspired by the work ethic, he missed the spontaneity of life in Egypt. This way of life is so engrained into American culture that I feel it is inescapable, but I do hope that George’s reflections can help me remember to stop and smell the roses.
Egypt, you have been new and beautiful and more inspiring than I could have imagined. I feel so lucky that I was able to walk through your streets, have my breath taken away by your ancient treasures, try your delicious cuisine, and learn from your intelligent people. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Solveig
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