In Cairo and Loving it

Hey everyone, so I am officially in Cairo and have been just taking in the experiences as much as I can. This city is so beautiful, amazing and crazy all at the same time. The first night was just getting into the Cairo and getting settled. I got a phone and did some Egyptian pounds and then took a walk around the area of Zamalek and truly realized where I was, everything is very foreign yet somehow strangely familiar and makes me feel like I'm at home. Everyone here is from so many different places, one of my roommates is from Sweden and the two others are from the East Coast and I have met people from all over the world here.

Last night I ventured out with my roommates and people I have met here and enjoyed Turkish coffee in Zamalek and walked through the Island here just enjoying the sights. Later that night we all went on a Falluca ride on the nile which runs straight through the heart of downtown Cairo and you can see everything lite up at night. It was a very sobering moment to be sitting there eating Egyptian desserts and looking around at the city alive at night and knowing this is my home for the next 10 months, I feel so fortunate to be able to embark on such an amazing adventure.

It has been very interesting to experience Cairo during Ramadan as well. Everything is shut down during the day for the most part and the people are very quiet and peaceful because no one is able to eat from sunrise to sunset. That has made it particularly hard to experience the culture and food here during the day but at night the city comes alive. After the Falluca ride we adventured out into the night and went to a hotel hookah bar that sat on the roof top and overlooked the city and listened to live music. I have had some very funny and interesting things already happen to me and I will be posting stories of them as I keep track and relay them to everyone.

Alright its time for a bit of rest after a long day at the campus orientation and only getting 3 hours of sleep the night before (Yes mom and dad I know that is not very responsible but I am in Cairo for the experiences as well as learn and school has not started yet and yes I promise to make smart choices and be safe). I will post tomorrow to let everyone know how orientation is going. Salaam!