Travel Websites

There are a few fascinating websites I have stumbled upon about travel. I continue to find more so the more interesting websites will be posted on this part of the blog. So come back to this particular post often to see what's new! I hope you enjoy!

Information About Egypt
Country Specific Information from U.S. Department of State

Almost Fearless "Work Wirelessly. Travel the World. Do Anything."
Vagabondish "The Travelzine for Today's Vagabond"
The 50 Most Inspiring Travel Quotes Of All Time
Overseas Digest "The adventure of living and working abroad."
Frugal Traveler "Seeing the World on a Budget."
Adventure Divas "A New Brand of Pilgrimage"

Preparation Continues

I have just purchased my round trip ticket for Cairo! Now that I have my ticket, I feel like I cannot change my mind anymore. Not that the idea had ever crossed my mind! I am becoming more nervous as my departure date draws closer. I still need to learn a few basic Arabic words and I would like to study the culture a little more before I leave. I have an application for a crash course in “Survival Egyptian Colloquial Arabic” which I plan to send to the AUC New York office tomorrow. I have yet to apply for a visa and must do so soon. Today I received my Arabic phrasebook and dictionary in the mail which I had ordered a few days ago. I’ve already read a few pages and I am beginning to feel the excitement of learning a new language.

I feel like there’s still so much for me to do before I’m ready to go. Actually, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to entirely prepare for whatever awaits me in Cairo. No matter how many books and websites I read about the culture and what to expect while in the city, it will not compare to the actual experience. But this is the exciting part: experiencing a culture first hand. It’s like taking a trip on white rapids and falling in the water…the water rushing everywhere around you and you don’t know which way is up or down at first. Soon you find your head above water once again and… a refreshing breath of air. It’s good to be alive.

Preparation

After my acceptance to study abroad and my acceptance at AUC, I have gone through a whirlwind of paperwork and preparation. All the students at my school who were accepted to study abroad for a semester or a year were required to attend orientation meetings at the study abroad office. The orientation could be considered a class since we met once a week for two hours and had homework. I already had an overwhelming schedule and adding another class made life very hectic. I would have had a hectic semester even if I decided NOT to apply to study abroad, so preparing to study abroad definitely made things worse. It has been, by far, the worse semester of my college existence (academically). Luckily, I had a few friends who also decided to study abroad (purely coincidental) which helped ease the pain of sitting through a two hour "class."

Here is my "To Do" list since I was accepted:

For Home University
- attend weekly orientation meetings
- meet with financial aid adviser (mandatory, at least twice)
- meet with academic adviser and finalize curriculum plan for rest of college career
- schedule health appointment, take tests for disease, receive shots.
- forwarding address
- ensure housing for return to school
- ensure labor position for return to school
- curriculum plan to student services
- transfer of credit form
- airfare!
- International Student Insurance Card
- other insurance
- application for loan
- beg family and friends for funds
- obtain signatures from various individuals from around campus who are apparently important. 


For AUC
- submit recognition of acceptance to university
- submit curriculum plan
- health appointment
- VISA! (first, tourist...will receive student VISA upon arrival)
- Housing application and deposit
- register for classes
- arrange for airport pickup
- apply for intensive Arabic class (taken upon arrival to Cairo to help acclimate).

(Feels like something is missing somewhere).

My list doesn't look so bad on paper, but it really has been a bit of a headache to deal with on top of all my classes and my labor.

Soon, everything will be completed and I will be ready to step off the plane in bustling Cairo.