Prelude to the Escapades

Dear Readers,

Now would be when I introduce myself, but 99% of readers know me personally, and the rest of you can read the little snippet to the right of this post, so I'll skip the intro except to say... I'm Beth, I'm a first-time blogger, and I'm happy to be here! :)

I’ve never had any interest in blogging, because my life hasn’t been interesting enough to warrant a blog. But three days from now, my life will be much more interesting; I’ll be spending three days in London to sightsee, and then studying abroad for eight weeks in Alexandria, Egypt. Needless to say, these two months are probably going to be the most interesting of my life. It’ll be not only my first time living outside of the U.S., but also my first time setting foot outside of the Americas. Hopefully, I’ll be spending the majority of my time thinking, speaking, living, and breathing Arabic instead of English – which will also be a huge change, because I’m monolingual. And by the end of the two months, I’ll have a full year’s worth of intensive advanced Arabic under my belt, so I'll be able to call myself "proficient"-- which will be awesome for many reasons, including but not limited to: 1) I've always wanted to be bilingual, and 2) future employers will love it!

I’ve known that I’d be studying abroad over a summer in Alexandria ever since I transferred to Georgetown from the University of Montana two years ago. Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service requires that before its students graduate, they must become proficient in a second language. Lots of people I know were able to quickly and easily pass this test due to being bilingual or trilingual already, or having taken many years of a language in high school. I, on the other hand, had forgotten most of my high school French and had only taken a year of non-intensive Arabic at the University of Montana – so, as a sophomore, I had to start Arabic all over again at Georgetown, putting me a year behind. I knew I’d have to make up that lost year over a summer, and when I had to choose between 1) a summer in DC, taking a class on the Georgetown campus; 2) a summer in Middlebury, speaking nothing but Arabic and not being able to communicate with friends or family for three months; or 3) this trip to Alexandria; It was an easy choice. I wanted to study abroad, I wanted to learn more about Middle Eastern culture, and I wanted to be able to talk to my friends and family in America while I was there.  So, here I am, on the verge of leaving the Americas for the first time… and it still hasn’t sunk in.

It’s going to be stressful, but not for all that long; I’ve heard from friends and family that when you move abroad and/or when you immerse yourself in a foreign language, the first couple of weeks are the hardest. Therefore, the part of this trip that I’m most looking forward to is the latter six weeks. By then, I’ll be more comfortable with the language, less self-conscious, more adjusted to cultural differences, and more accustomed to the ridiculous amount of homework I’m going to have. By then, I won’t be worrying about embarrassing myself in front of native Arabic speakers anymore. By then, I won’t be homesick.

In the meantime, I’ll be focusing on the details: packing, last-minute studying, seeing my friends one last time before I go, dealing with the logistics of my trip to London. I especially like focusing on London; there may be plenty of loose ends and potential complications in Egypt (e.g. the election drama that’s going on over there right now), but in London, I have everything planned. My friend Amy – another Georgetown student who is studying in Alexandria -- is meeting me in London, and we’re going to see the sights, eat great food, and deal with jet lag as best we can (with caffeine and loads of sleep). We initially planned the trip on a whim, just to spend time somewhere fun and low-stress in a time zone close to Egypt. But I’m so glad that we planned it that way. I already know that it’s one of the best spontaneous decisions I’ve ever made. (Not to brag or anything!)

So, I’d better get back to studying, packing, and being generally productive. Expect many more of these! I will be using them as study breaks in Egypt. I hope you all enjoy the blog; after all, you are the reason I’m starting it. I want to update you, my friends and family, on how the trip is going, and to constantly reassure you that yes, I’m still alive; no, I haven’t been sold into human slavery, so you won’t have to send Liam Neeson to rescue me; and yes, I’m having a good time.

In short: Excellent escapades await me – and they vicariously await you too! Keep checking for updates, and please, post as many comments/questions as you like. :)

Tally-ho and ma’a as-salaama,

Beth C-C