It is 7pm on Saturday and we've been in Cairo exactly 24 hours now. Last night we were warmly welcomed by the American University in Cairo's staff who checked everyone into the hostel on Gezira island. After a nice Egyptian dinner of pizza, almost everyone went straight to bed. The rest was well merited and necessary for a busy day today. This morning started off with an orientation to our new digs in the hostel followed by a longer orientation to Cairo at the University, which is located on the mainland. Dr. John Swanson, a man who President Oden introduced as someone who is knowledgeable about everything, provided us with a short history of AUC and a taste of the status of politics and religion in Egypt today. His insight was particularly interesting when he talked about how most Cairenes keep Americans and America's foreign policy separate. Rather than hate all Americans because they disagree with what our government is doing abroad, people in Cairo seem to have a large capacity to welcome individual Americans with open arms.
Our next speaker, Ms. Mona Kamel Abdel Salam certainly did not prove him wrong when she gave a hearty "Ahlan wa sahlan!" to the class. In an hour and a half, Mona had all of the students (and Faculty and Staff) speaking "Survival Arabic," which includes "my name is," "Good Morning," "Thanks be to God," and the every important "Excellent!" Although it was quite a lot packed into a small amount of time, I think her enthusiasm made everyone eager to retain the words and phrases that she taught.
Class was followed by a large lunch at a nearby eatery called Felfela and then a two hour bus tour of Cairo, narrated by the Renaissance man, Dr. Swanson. As we winded through the packed streets of Cairo (home to nearly 20 million people!) he shared facts and anecdotes that conjured up images of the many historical layers that can be found here. For example, half of the city was desert only a century ago and now contains Cairo's new pricey suburbs, as well as a large number of impoverished slums. The tour was fantastic and certainly put us in the Cairo state of mind. Although it will be nice to take a break tonight, I think we are all eager to explore and learn more about this fascinating country in the weeks to come.
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