Ten days of colloquial Arabic… check. Next on the orientation agenda: nine days of teacher training. These sessions have been interesting to say the least. No, they are not thought provoking or challenging in any capacity, but I have been instructed to refrain from mentioning any topic resembling religion, politics, or controversial issues such as dating or marriage. What complete BS!!! I did not come to Egypt to be censored by paranoid veterans of the Egyptian educational system. I completely understand the importance and necessity of being sensitive to contentious cultural, political, and religions differences, but to pretend they do not exist is doing a significant disservice to my students and myself. Nonetheless, I will tread softly (or at least consciously) of the fact that I am an ambassador to the United States first and a teacher second.
Now that I think about it, though, my colloquial Arabic instructor was excellent at being both a cultural ambassador while remaining respected as our teacher. After our Arabic exam on Saturday the 4th, we went to a restaurant for dinner and to hang out one last time since our classes with her were over. The five of us (four students and Mariam) shared our travel experiences, ideas about living in other countries, family background, how our religious practices influence our ideas about life, love, and the hereafter, and our perceptions of Egyptians and Americans respectively. This was one of my most favorite nights in Cairo thus far. Sure, most of our conversation was in English, but she gave us a glimpse of what life in Egypt looks like. She shared her opinion about domestic politics, the ailments of Egyptian society, and how Islamic traditions influence her decisions. I hope that I have ample opportunities to share in this capacity with my students and that they will share their stories with me as well.
Other than warnings about topics to avoid, however, teacher training has been laughable. It is amazing how well native English speakers can perform elementary speaking and listening activities… I am a pro at skimming articles and answering WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, and WHY questions IN ENGLISH. Who would have thought that a bachelor’s degree would have prepared me for such proficiency!?!?!
Sarcasm and frustration aside, these training sessions would be far more purposeful if we knew what our responsibilities at our respective universities entail. All we know is the location of our job, nothing more. Actually, Grace and I (we are both going to Alexandria University) are in the midst of sorting out details which could include us serving as the primary teachers of university English classes with 40+ students. We panicked and that is an understatement. This program has reiterated since our DC orientation that we are to be ASSISTING teachers, NOT conducting our own classes. In case you didn’t know, I am NOT qualified to teach a collegiate level class on my own. Okay sure, I have a rather proficient command of the English language, but HELLO I am a native speaker!!! Yes, I am a little worked up over this and I knew that my responsibilities would be more than explained by Fulbright since the Egyptian educational system has a serious shortage of teachers. Grace and I are hoping to get some more specifics from our supervisor when we visit Alexandria the 17th and 18th to go apartment shopping, but until then I will just have to be patient and flexible… the first two words I would use to describe myself in every situation… I hope you are laughing or at least rolling your eyes, Dad.
Outside of teacher training, this past week was rather slow but full of excitement for Eid. Eid is the holiday at the end of Ramadan which for us translated to six days off from training. We decided to take a vacation (well, a vacation within a vacation cause in reality this year in Egypt is a seriously amazing vacation) and go to the beach in Dahab. Ella and I made reservations and went to the bus station to get tickets a week in advance, while others went shopping for beach towels and bus snacks. Sitting in training served as time to plan packing lists and day dreaming of how nice it will be to get away from the smog and noisy streets of Cairo.
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