Ilhamdullilah
So this may sound kind of cheesy and may be somwhat reminiscent of that disney movie "The Color of Friendship" but I had to donate some time to explain the amazing new friend I have found here in Cairo. Well actually I didnt find him, but its no big deal. We all know how WES is everywhere, and usually this can be so damn annoying. But there is that 1% of the time when wes connections turn out to be great and then you find yourself thanking wes for being so small. Shout out to Karimah '09 for introducing me to her friend Mohamed.
I have always known that one of the points of studying abroad is to exchange culture and ideas with local people and learn more. But I think we find it more often than not, that students studying abroad stick together in an All American group and never really branch out. I have done some of this with the friends that I have made here, which is great, but I truly am blessed to have met Mohamed. I find myself talking to Mohamed about anything...anything at all, and our deep conversations topics ranging from religion to love to Common sometimes have even distracted me from practicing my arabaic (the original purpose of our meeting). His mind is brilliant and yet comforting. Sometimes I find myself forgetting that we are sitting by Khan el Khalili and I am in the middle of Cairo because it feels like I have already known him for so long. It is also interesting to learn about issues from his male and muslim point of view. Despite being enrolled in 5 courses, all reading intensive, I know already that my greatest lessons will be what I learn from hanging out with Mohamed. I know that this will be a friendship that will continue long after I leave Cairo (a date marked as D -DAY on my calendar) and for that I truly am blessed.
I think my man Humphrey Bogart said it best in the last line of Casablanca...
So this may sound kind of cheesy and may be somwhat reminiscent of that disney movie "The Color of Friendship" but I had to donate some time to explain the amazing new friend I have found here in Cairo. Well actually I didnt find him, but its no big deal. We all know how WES is everywhere, and usually this can be so damn annoying. But there is that 1% of the time when wes connections turn out to be great and then you find yourself thanking wes for being so small. Shout out to Karimah '09 for introducing me to her friend Mohamed.
I have always known that one of the points of studying abroad is to exchange culture and ideas with local people and learn more. But I think we find it more often than not, that students studying abroad stick together in an All American group and never really branch out. I have done some of this with the friends that I have made here, which is great, but I truly am blessed to have met Mohamed. I find myself talking to Mohamed about anything...anything at all, and our deep conversations topics ranging from religion to love to Common sometimes have even distracted me from practicing my arabaic (the original purpose of our meeting). His mind is brilliant and yet comforting. Sometimes I find myself forgetting that we are sitting by Khan el Khalili and I am in the middle of Cairo because it feels like I have already known him for so long. It is also interesting to learn about issues from his male and muslim point of view. Despite being enrolled in 5 courses, all reading intensive, I know already that my greatest lessons will be what I learn from hanging out with Mohamed. I know that this will be a friendship that will continue long after I leave Cairo (a date marked as D -DAY on my calendar) and for that I truly am blessed.
I think my man Humphrey Bogart said it best in the last line of Casablanca...
"...I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship"
ilhamdulillah(thanks to god)
ilhamdulillah(thanks to god)
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