Day 35

February 23rd

Today I spent a lot of time sleeping. It was awesome. First I didn’t wake up until 11. Then we went and had lunch with a bunch of Notre Dame Alumni in Khan-al-Khali. These people were on a tour sponsored by Notre Dame, and hosted by David Burrell, a former Professor at Notre Dame. Burrell was very smart, as was everybody at the table. They were also all quite sophiscated and kind people, people who you wouldn’t mind sitting down with and really getting to know. I really like people from Notre Dame, and I love the fact that simply being from the same school has built a network that allows us to get together on the other-side of the world. It really is a Notre Dame family.

However, I also got the feeling that because they were on a tour they were only exposed to the small ritzy part of Cairo. Only Burrell could speak Arabic, or at least of the people I meet, and they only got to spend 10 days in the country. You can’t hope to see a country and truly get to know it in 10 days. Hell, I can’t hope to understand the country and I will be there 5 months. The one comment that I did remember most of all, is that they thought the children here were just so happy and carefree, especially compared to China, which a few had visited. While, I cannot compare to China, I would hardly say the Children here are especially happy. Children in general are a pretty resilient to whatever life throws at them. However, I don’t think these people saw the kids who were living on the streets, or those who were working in the shops and living in total filth. I am not saying that these people are wrong at all, I just think they didn’t get to see enough of Cairo, as they only got to see the Kids who were in a Church Choir. I think the important lesson for me is to also make sure that I am not making generalizations for a country which I really do not know.

The other thing that one of the nice ladies told me was that I really needed to soak in everything. It will be over before I know it, and then I might not be back here for a long time. Time is fleeting, and she said this would be on the formative experiences in my life. Its nice to hear that again, because sometimes you can get so bogged down with class and what not that before you know it you are gone. Thank God I am staying for the summer as well.