travels

Today I galloped on a horse in the desert around the pyramids. Ah!!! I adored it. It was fantastic. Its one of those things you put on your life's "to do" list, but rarely does it actually take place. But it's true... I was there and I bought a beautiful green scarf at the sphinx and so I wore it and.... Ok I just felt like an Arabian princess. :) It was great. And I rode a camel. That was pretty magical. I kept thinking of the peoples of the past and how camels were their form of transportation through the desert... I felt like I fell back in time a little. Maybe some 2000 years. :)Today I got to live in the past a little and that has blown my mind. Seeing those ancient creations reminds me of how small I really am in history. It's comforting, really. I just forget about my troubles when I think about how small and insignificant I really am in comparison to 3,000 years of time and millions of people who have lived here and dreamed here. The people who lived here when those pyramids were being build thought like me. They had feelings like me. Their heart could break too, they could feel sorrow, they could feel joy. They felt the same heat and walked in the same sand as I did today. It makes me think that I am part of something bigger. Yes we change a bit from culture to culture but we have so much in common... Our ability to feel and think and love beauty... We're just a part of time, and there is nothing new under the sun. Plus, God did spectacular things here. I was reading in the Psalms yesterday and David was going over God's blessings to Israel, and he talked about every thing that God did in Egypt... Turning the Nile into blood, the flies, the killing of the first born child...right here. Where I am.

Last weekend I went to Alexandria... That was interesting. It wasnt as beautiful as I thought it would be and the men were such harassers. So much worse than the men here. It was nice being along the Mediterranean though.. It reminded me of Sao Miguel. Plus I got closer to the people in my group, and we made memories. Like being in Radio Shack for an hour trying to buy alarm clocks. Then being attacked at night in the water by about 15 women and children. They love Americans here! Nice people, but very in your face at times! I actually loved that experience though. I talked to the women and they helped me with my Arabic and I could tell they were kind and we were all in good spirits. I went to coffee shop there in Alex and saw a wall clock and was inspired by it. I really want to open a coffee shop one day. I always have. But I think I should. It's what I'd love to do. Any ways Alex was once a center for amazing minds, it should be more taken care of! But the Egyptian government doesn't have enough money to restore and keep up their historical buildings and antiquties. They have more important things to worry about, like the fact that they're severly over populated... Ill post about that sometime. Egypt is very interesting.

1. The view from our hostel room!

2.We chilled on the wall by the sea

3. My hostel mates: Amanda, Kara, Alisson

People have been asking about my classes so here's what and when they are:
-Breakfast and devotions (our chapel/church)at 8:00
-Arabic language at 9:30 (our teacher is a professor at the American University in Cairo. We have an AUC ID and can use their facilities which is great for researching and chilling with westerners when we need a break)
-break between classes when we eat "fishar" (popcorn =), and "aish" (pita bread) with nutella (our new obsession here)
-Islamic Thought and Practice at 11:30(Our professor is an Islamic Architecture and History expert. So far we've had a tour of 3 mosques and one in-class lecture. She is amazing and I love her voice. It's slow enough to take notes which is key to me and she always sounds like she's telling a story. I'm going to know so much about Islam when I leave here...)
-Lunch at 13:00 at the villa.

We will eventually have People and Culture, and Conflict and Change classes... After we finish our Islam class. Sometimes in the evenings we have lectures at the Dave (the director's) flat. We've had 4 so far. They're on different issues.. Poverty, social issues, women's issues, living in the Middle East... The people who lecture are so intelligent, and many of them talk to us "off the record", so we get to hear their personal opinions. One day we went to the Arab Political Strategic center and heard two directors speak. Amazing and controversial. I am incredibly blessed to be able to be studying here. How could I better learn about Islam than from a Muslim Middle Easterner, in the Middle East? And to learn about Middle Eastern politics from a director of the Arab Political Strategic Center, at the center and off record?

I'm also taking tabla (Arabic drum) and bellydancing lessons. They're a total blast.
So yes. This week has been much better than my first week. My first week was terribly hard, I'm not going to lie. I'll talk about it maybe in my next post. I'm doing much better now and I know I'm going to love living here for the next three months.
Oh and I know my sending address now. Send me a letter! =)

Juliana Shepherd
Middle East Studies Program
Po Box 213 Zemalek
Cairo, Egypt.

Sadly no pacages are allowed (customs issues).

Yay for old and beautiful places.